Well it’s been a while since I posted about this subject, but fourteen months later this is where I’m at with it, my internal “Operating System Moral Code” intact.
Having changed over to Mac OS X seven years ago for home (my IT work still requires me to be supporting XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.x & Windows 10) using Windows only for games and finally ridding myself of my PC a couple of years ago, I’ve had to arrive at a compromise for a few of my favourite games. Yes, I did post earlier that I was going to miss out on this game, but in the end, I wanted to play not only Galactic Civilization III but several others as well. I wasn’t willing to re-engage in the PC market, a new solution needed to be engaged.
Crossover used to be an option for me early on in the piece and I’ve been a subscriber since 2008 until now. Unfortunately with no forth coming solid 64bit compatibility I’ve decided to drop my subscription when my current one runs out. Instead I’ve made the move over to Parallels for my games that have no OS X port or native version. VMware is my option for other Windows applications that I’m required to use or support but for gaming my experience is that Parallels is the superior product. They put a great deal of effort into support games with significant hardware requirements and currently support both 64bit Windows (up to Windows 10) AND DirectX 10. I can provision a VM with 2 CPU cores, and 16 Gig of RAM and 2 Gig of Video Memory. So far this has played everything I’ve thrown at it that I need to continue to play under the Windows OS.
So now I can run Skyrim, Supreme Commander (Forged Alliance, NOT 2), Distant Worlds Universe, Galactic Civilisation III, Neverwinter Nights 2, Metro Last Light, Sorcerer King, Elemental & Fallen Enchantress. I even had Anno 2070 running as problematic as that was for a lot of users! All of these are running as flawlessly as they would in a Non Virtual Environment, and Parallels is usable for those even without an IT background. I’ve even pre-purchased Ashes of the Singularity in the hope that once DirectX 11 is supported under Parallels, I’ll be playing that. Unfortunately I must have misread the minimum specifications at some time and thought DirectX 10 was the minimum rather than Version 11. However I’m confident that Parallels is putting work into that in background now, as they know a significant chunk of their market is the performance of Windows Games in their product versus VMware’s.
The reality is that we DO have three different Operating Systems in the mainstream (many others outside that) and are likely to for quite a while yet. We make our choices based on both our needs and our preferences. Those of us who can make our preferences meet our needs are often as lucky as skilful.
Instead of having a Chest Beating Display, we should be constructively encouraging Stardock to natively support our preferred Operating Systems as well by voicing our support and then voting with our pockets when they eventually do step outside the Windows Environment again. They stepped out of OS/2 years ago to go where they saw the best business opportunities flourishing, and they will again if it’s shown to be feasible.
I’m somewhat disappointed that I need to buy a VM Environment to play I wish to continue to play, but $100 AU (approx) is a small price for me to pay to continue to be able to play the games I’ve listed above. It’s not like I haven’t spend more than that on my games in the first place. The longer I can play those games while streamlining my hardware investment the better off I am really, and the longer I get to enjoy those games.
So I continue to Petition for native versions in my preferred Operating System, and I WILL vote with my dollar if there’s the opportunity to do so.
