Mac Qs: Does VVVVVV work on PowerPC? + Can I launch Steam vvvvvv without steam?

[pubjoe]

Hi,

My Son and I loved playing through VVVVVV.  He has his own computer - an imac G4 1.25ghz.  Is the Mac version of VVVVVV a universal binary and would it run on a PowerPC system?

Second Question:  I noticed that on a Windows PC, the VVVVVV exe can launch independently of Steam.  But on the Mac, it won't.  When I try launching vvvvvv.app, it complains and fails to run independently.  Is there any way I can extract the game from my Steam Library to put on another Mac?

Thanks for reading. 

[Terry]

1) As far as I know, it should work, but I've never tested it on that system. Try downloading the demo and seeing how that works first: http://lemming.ceri.se/mirror/terry/vvvvvv/vvvvvv_demo.dmg

2) The game's DRM free on steam, so you should be able to just copy the game from whatever directory steam installs it to! Not sure where that is on a Mac, but on a PC it's a subdirectory of wherever Steam's installed.

[pubjoe]

Wow.  Thanks for the fast reply Terry.

I can't try the demo on the computer just yet, but I'll give it a go soon.

As for the vvvvvv (steam) .app, it is in a similar location as the PC (steamapps/common/vvvvvv), but when I double click it, it appears in the dock and then immediately vanishes.  Only when Steam is already open will it launch, then double clicking on the app starts the "steam launcher" and begins vvvvvv.

I can look inside the vvvvvv.app package and in there I can find a "movie.swf" - but opening this alone will only start a never-ending "loading: 0%" movie loop.

To be honest, all this is only a problem for me if it even works on a powerPC.  So I'll try the demo tomorrow and see if it works.

Thanks for your help.  And thanks for such a fantastic game.  VVVVVV is exactly the game that I wish I had made.

Cheers.

[pubjoe]

Just so you know, I tried the demo on the powerpc imac and it works brilliantly in windowed mode.  It was slow in full screen, but the demo version doesn't have an option to remove filtering so I hope that the full-game set to full-screen will be full-speed.

As far as grabbing the application out of steam goes, it just won't work.  It works on the windows version, but not on the mac.  Maybe I should try asking on steam's forums.  Basically I love the game, but I don't want to pay for it twice ...and I know, I probably shouldn't have bought it from steam in the first place.

VVVVVV is exactly the game that I wish I had made.

Well, I mean, 'could have'.

[StephenM3]

Isn't one of the main points about Steam that you can use your Steam games on any computer?  Can you just install Steam on the other computer and play it that way?

[pubjoe]

No, unfortunately not on this computer as Steam doesn't work on PowerPC.

[Terry]

Come to think of it, it's possible that the mac steam version of VVVVVV doesn't work on powerpcs. I dunno - the mac app store removes powerpc versions from the universal exe, so maybe steam does the same.

Anyway, just send me an email and I'll make out a free order for you from fastspring, DRM free.

[pubjoe]

Thank you so much.  That's very kind.  ...Email sent. 

Come to think of it, it's possible that the mac steam version of VVVVVV doesn't work on powerpcs. I dunno - the mac app store removes powerpc versions from the universal exe, so maybe steam does the same.

Possibly ...But it won't launch without steam on the intel mac either. 

[pubjoe]

Thanks again.

It works superbly on the 1.25ghz imac, up to 3x scaling in fullscreen mode.  On '4x' or 'full' it starts to get a bit slow.

I have an old 700mhz powerPC mac that I've been meaning to ebay off.  Before I do, I'll see if that can manage it.