RobT

My Feedback: (17)

Drift,

I do not think apple is offering bootcamp anymore as a download since it comes with their newest operating system

macuser

How many of you are using an iMac to run flight simulators??

I'm an iMac (Macintosh/Apple) user and want to get a flight sim before I get an RC helicopter. I understand that I can use BootCamp (that's offered under Apples' new Leopard OS) to run a Windows OS and then run a flight sim such as Realflight's G4.

I'm currently about to get a new computer and I'm wondering what people think I should get as far as CPU speed, graphics card, RAM size and screen size for the simulator to work well in relation to cost. I've done a bit of reading online and gamers say the Macs basically suck for games. The biggest problem seems to be the lack of a good 3D graphics card choice or something to that affect. I've also read conflicting info on what screen size to get (20" or 24" ). Apparently bigger isn't always better. I currently have an iMac with a 20" screen, 1.83GHz processor, 512MB of RAM (upgradeable to 2MB), and an Intel GMA 950 - whatever that is. I'm running Tiger 10.4.1.1 but rather than upgrade I was thinking of getting a newer iMac with Leopard and BootCamp (need another computer for my girlfriend anyway) but can't decide what I should spend the money on. Some would suggest I get a PC but after spending the last 5or6 months on an iMac I never want to go back to PC.

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

jimbyjoe

hi mate
i am running an iMac 20" 2.4Ghz with 1GB RAM, with 10.4.11. I use this for audio recording and it is plenty fast and has enough memory. THe screen size is adequate - 24" would be nice but it might be getting a bit too big then. All i can recommend is getting to an Apple dealer and trying out a 20" and 24".

all new machines will come with Leopard. I was a month or 2 too early, but from what i've heard of Leopard it doesn't bother me, though a lot of the bugs might be ironed out by now (though i'm speaking more to do with audio stuff).
with my recently purchased esky heli i got eski's simulator, but it only runs on windows - so i'm exploring my OS options for this
k

macuser

Jimbyjoe, am I correct in assuming that although you have an iMac, you are using a PC to run your flight sim? Good idea about checking an Apple dealer to compare graphics on the 20" vs 24" monitors. I guess I should also ask the 'Genius's' at the Apple dealer what they think about running a flight simulator and what is required. My only concern is that they'll tell me I should get the most expensive machine, etc. This may be so, but it's nice to have some outsider opinions. Thanks and happy jammin' Jimbyjoe

jimbyjoe

no, i don't have a PC in sight! in fact when at work I usually do Mac keyboard shortcuts on my PC! the alphamac one is mac native. i have Parallels (run Windows on your Mac) but am yet to get an operating system. Well I did put Win98 on (that was the only windows install disc i have), and needless to say, they are 3 hours of my life i won't get back! but Parallels is really good to run windows on, or just wait until you get your new iMac and use bootcamp. winners are grinners!

k

rallison

driftair,

Sorry, I was stuck in real life and did not see your post 'til today. As noted in a later post, BootCamp is no longer available as of 12/31/07; Mac useers who want to run Windows must now run Leopard. Sorry for not being able to see your post and get back to you right away.




Macuser,

I'm running RFG3.5 on my 2Ghz 17" iMac with 2GB, booting into Windows XP SP2, which was set up using BootCamp. Performance is adequate so long as I: 1) stick to the photofields and stay away from the 3-D environments; 2) the aircraft is relatively simple to render; and 3) I don't use all the best rendering settings, streamers, etc.

If you're considering RF4 and are seduced by simulated environments like the rippling water and nighttime carnival, I would definitely beef up your system. 20" will do, but max your processor and be generous with RAM. In particular, if a video processor/RAM upgrade is possilble, get it.

In the Apple store, they may have systems set up with a Windows partiion; if so, ask them to download the RFG3.x demo from the GreatPlanes RF website so you can judge for yourself how it runs on that system.

As someone forced to use Windows at work, but has been Mac'ed out at home since 1995, I'd recommend you stick with Mac and run what Windows software you must by booting into a partition. Best of both worlds.

- Rick

macuser

Thanks rallison

For macintosh/Apple/iMac users out there: Will 'Crossover Mac' allow us to run flight sims without using BootCamp?? And might it allow us to run sims without getting a registered copy of windows?? That'd be cool.

see www.tuaw.com/tag/crossover/ for more info on this.

Crossover Mac is currently at the Beta 2 phase (free for download and trial) and due for release in mid summer 2008.

jimbyjoe

OK well i've installed XP on my Mac and am running it via Parallels. So i've installed FMS (the flight sim that comes with Esky stuff), but when i try to run it I get an error message and need to close it, with the option of sending it, which I didn't.
Am tempted to see if it will run on my work PC but I could probably get found out for putting non-work stuff on....working for the Government does have its downsides...
k

macuser

From what I've read on other flight sim, gaming and RC sites, these simulators will only work on Macs with BootCamp, and not with VMWare or Parallels.
check www.rcgroups.com

macuser

Check out a review for 5 flight simulators in winter 2008 edition of Radio Control Helicopter. The article is geared for heli fanatics, but'll give some insights to others. It includes: Aerofly Professional Deluxe, Hangar 9 FS One, Phoenix R/C Flight Simulator, Great Planes Realflight G3.5, and MRC's Reflex XTR. The authors give a one page layout for each game and rate Realflight's the best for beginners and XTR as more suitable for intermediate to experts. FS One is more catered towards fixed wing aircraft they say, and Phoenix's flight sim is the cheapest and most versatile. Aerofly P.D. has great graphics, excellent physics, and lots of heli models to choose from. Hope this is of some help to those thinking of buying a new flight sim game.

bigbird007

First of all, put me down for a Mac RC flight sim!

Second, Boris, thanks for the link to the Mac software and keep up the good work!

I recently bought a Mac Pro quad core 3GHZ and a 20" cinema display. I've installed XP (and curse it every time it quits) and Realflight G3.5. I'm impressed, outside the klunky windows interface it works well. I've got everything maxed out and it's very smooth. This is my first RC sim for the simple reason that I wouldn't buy a windows machine. Works for me.

I believe I've read that there is software out there to port windows software to intel Macs without starting over, not so?

Bigbird

jimbyjoe

mate - are you runnign XP on boot camp or a virtual machine? I was running Parallels (VM) on Tiger until halfway through a firmware upgrade on my phone, it crashed, and turned my phone into a brick. So I went and bought Leopard, put XP on via Boot Camp (which means you can utilise the video card properly), and was flying pretty nicely. But FMS just didn't cut it, so I dowloaded Clearview, tried my controller with it, liked it, and bought a licence - not bad, only $40. It's not exactly Realflight but it's still fairly good and a lot more realistic than FMS.

Plus, my boss just gave me Lo-mac's Lock-On, which is a flight simulator/fighting game. Fully good eh. unfortuantely that means I'll be spending more time on the computer than I should

k

bigbird007

jimbyjoe,

Bootcamp, although I don't like having to boot back and forth I wanted the full experience and not emulation. Not to mention the direct-x problems.

I would like to hear from someone who knows about the software for porting games to intel based Mac's though, I read somewhere that it was being worked on...

bigbird

da Rock

You know, this thread is 1 year and 4 months old. Pretty amazing.

nelsonmay

If you guys are really looking for something, like I am, try contacting a developer or gamer. There are a lot of kids out there that can write code or adapt code to the OS X platform. The Apple Market share is growing, but companies still don't want to take the leap in R&D on niche products until they know they can get a decent ROI. For the time being, we may not see a good FS for a MAC unless someone writes something that is compatible with the ESKY or any other controller, via USB. But be patient, it will come. BTW, older PC's in Goodwill stores are dirt cheap and an sure they have enough of horsepower to run a win program. My PC is 6 years old and runs the demo of Realflight. Even if you love macs like me, it still is better that pickup pieces on an airfield and coming home bummed out.

macuser

I've just upgraded to 2GB of RAM and added Leopard so all I need to run G4 is a Microsoft OS (and G4). I haven't used Bootcamp yet because I don't have a PC OS so I'll have to wait a bit longer. I'm kinda waiting until I get a new iMac because my current one has an integrated Intel G950 graphics chip and it won't likely run G4 very well. I'm also hesitant to mess up my computer with viruses when I update the windows OS.

I have to say I was envious of a previous poster who just bought a Mac Pro. Those things have some real power and can run several high end graphics cards at the same time. If I was going to get crazy like that I'd buy a dedicated PC for gaming.

bigbird007

The way I look at it, buy near the top of the line and it will be good for years to come. My last computer is over 5 now (pretty long in the tooth for a computer). I expect this one to last as long. Of course as soon as I bought it they updated it to 8 core as the standard config! It does run G3.5 pretty sweet.

Oh, for a Mac Version!

bigbird

bluesky123

My Feedback: (2)

We've finished Mac port of our software:
http://www.milehighwings.com/
From now on, all future releases will be published simultaneously for Windows and MacOS.

Now, you can configure our USB interface or work with our new wattmeter/data logger completely on Mac, either PowerPC or Intel based. The only limitation is that MacOS should be version 10.4 or newer. We've considered making eFlightWorks compatible with 10.3, but Apple's USB communication code has too many bugs in this MacOS version, most of which was fixed in 10.4.

Boris
MileHighWings R&D

bigbird007

Thanks again for the effort Boris! Now if only the Sims were ported over

bigbird

GallopingGhost

OOO my Fruity Friends.....
The truth is Macs are only about 5% of the market and perhaps less in the RC world. Do you expect them to spend the development costs to provide a sim to 28.5 people? Ok I guessed at the number there may be 29 or 30. If they did that it would cost more than a blinged out Giant Scale plane. Now don't think I am a Apple hater, I'm not (but I do prefer oranges) but you must come to grips with the economics of it all. When Steve ( God) Jobs created your world he made your world differently from ours. You are welcome to join our world with all it has to offer.

bigbird007

And we are, my mac will run windows too. Of course I don't have to deal with all the virus'... I'll use your gaming operating system for games and RC sims and my mac OS for the rest. Thanks God (steve)

bigbird

The R/C Man

Of course I didn't read the entire thread but this is what I am getting. If you purchase a new Mac Book Pro (which has Lepard pre-installed) you can add Windows and run a sim like AeroFly correct? I just want to be sure. My Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop is 4 years old now and I would really like to switch to a Mac. So this set up should run it fine right? Thanks!

Jason Arnold

Yes it will work fine. I use Phoenix on my iMac.

Cheers
Jason.

lsnover

My Feedback: (19)

Just be careful which Mac you purchase. If you get the "Pro" you will be in good shape. Some of the lower end machines have on-board "shared memory" video cards that do not perform well for 3D video games. Macbook Pros, mid level iMacs and the Intel Mac Pros are all fine. The basic Macbook (non pro) and low end iMacs should be avoided if you want a good gaming experience.

You also will need to run Apples BOOTCAMP to get good 3D performance (ie. you boot the Mac AS as a PC). The emulators (Parallels and VMWARE Fusion) are great for running both OSes at the same time and for general productivity apps., but the 3D performance is well below par. As a note, you can setup a partition on your hard drive for Windows/Bootcamp, that can be used when you are running your Mac OS with Parallels or VMWARE (i.e. you can use the same Windows installation in both "modes").

Boris, what exactly does your software do? What software can you use it with?

Cheers!
Lee
(Mac user since 1984 by choice, Windoze user by force since Windoze 386)

lsnover

My Feedback: (19)

A million flies love to eat you know what. But that doesn't mean I want to join them for dinner. There are times where you have to eat what's in front of you. LOL. That said, dog food is fine in a pinch, but I'll take the T-Bone when I have a choice. ;-) I would buy a good Flight sim for my Mac in a heartbeat if there was a choice.