Mac vs Windows

The Game Room
1

No, it’s not what you’re thinking.

I just recently noticed that the Age of Empires games are available for Mac. Now, my brother has a Mac, and we were thinking of perhaps doing a little one on one, the only snag is, I’m a Windows user.

I’m mostly interested in either AOE II and AOE III here. I know with AOE II I can play other Windows users using Hamachi (or just over local network). Is it possible to play against one another in a similar way?

I know cross platform online play is not impossible, because Xbox Live is open to PC users for certain games. But I know what it has been like trying to play AOE in the past, you need the precise build and version to join a game together, so I imagine this might cause a problem with Mac and Windows.

Anybody know anything about this? Aware of any workarounds? Are there any games that can be played on Mac and Windows online against one another?

2

[moderating]
Since this is about computer gaming, I think you’ll get more responses now that I’ve moved the thread from General Questions to the Game Room.
[/moderating]

3

I don’t know about AoE3, but I know for sure that AoE2 doesn’t support Mac vs. PC. I had a friend with a Mac back when it came out and it wouldn’t work. We had to play Starcraft instead (and later Warcraft III).

I’d bet that AoE3 is the same way, but like I said, I don’t know. Pretty much any game using DirectPlay isn’t going to support Mac-to-PC.

If you’re willing to leave the RTS genre, the number of titles improves. RTS is pretty much just Starcraft, the Warcraft games and the Myth games.

4

All of Blizzard’s games work cross-platform without any hitches. When they come out with new versions, it’s for all platforms at once.

5

Hmm, so there might be some Diablo II on the cards then, if Blizzard has their act together with cross platform play.

Do you know if there is an actual list of titles anywhere? I’ve tried googling various things to find one, but to no avail. Mentioning Mac and PC in the same sentence on google just finds tons of comparisons and sites that are pro windows or pro mac. Annoying :stuck_out_tongue:

6

Heroes of Newerth (Linux / Mac / Win) is a full-blown title based on an extremely popular Warcraft III mod (“DoTA”).

If you’re a RTS fan and not familiar with this variant, it’s worth a look. There are some other titles in the same genre (League of Legends, Demigod), but HoN is far superior those IMO.

7

I’m waiting for a game of HoN to start right now. It’s an amazing game.

I think I have five beta keys left for folks who’ll use’m. At least three for sure.

8

I’d use one. That looks really interesting.