Help with a purchase decision

Sharur · 07-12-2007, 12:18 AM

I'm looking into purchasing this game, it looks very interesting (and just the sort of thing I wished for years I could get out of games like MVP Baseball and MLB 2Kx). However, the manual (distressingly) informs me that a Mac license is not valid for the PC version, and vice versa.

I'm a college student. I have a Mac (OSX 10.4.10) laptop, an iBook G4 with a 1.2 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM. That does meet the minimum specs, but not the recommended specs. And indeed, just from poking around in the demo, the game seemed slow, although navigation aside from loading screens seemed smooth enough. My laptop is always with me, though, so it would be convenient to have the game on it.

I also have a souped-up Windows PC desktop that stays at school. I have no doubt it could run the game without breaking a sweat. However... it's at school, and I want to play the game now... (especially because during the school year I tend to have less time for this sort of thing).

So, my question, preferably for anyone who's tried running this game on a low-end Mac, is whether it will be too much trouble to run the game on my iBook to make it worth buying the Mac license. If the performance really is a non-issue, then I'll get the Mac version. But I'd rather not spend my $35 only to find out that it's unbearably sluggish. Can anyone enlighten me?

injury log · 07-12-2007, 01:29 AM

My specs- iBook, OS 10.4.2, 1.33 gHz, 1 gig RAM, and the game runs very well, simulating a full Majors/minors universe (no other leagues).

Now, you have less memory, and the game uses a lot of memory, so I don't know exactly what would happen on your machine. The demo should give you a very good indication of what speeds to expect with the full game; the demo is fully functional, but the game will get a bit slower over time as you build up a longer league history. With that RAM, you'll probably not be able to 'import full MLB history' if you're starting a historical league, although that's not a feature I've ever wanted to use. You'll also likely want to conserve memory by not running other apps simultaneously with the game. There are also some logged crash issues with some of the player pictures generated in the game that may be memory-related; you may need to disable the player faces if crashes happen. So, my advice:

-if you can upgrade RAM, probably good to do so;
-if you find the demo too slow, things won't be better with the full game;
-if you can't upgrade RAM, expect to be unable to use some non-essential (cosmetic, really) game features, and don't expect to be able to set up, e.g., a 20,000 team universe;
-get the game on one of your machines at least- it's a fine product.

Hopefully someone else with specs more similar to yours will be able to tell you how things run for them.

Curtis · 07-12-2007, 03:51 AM

I've got an eMac, 10.3.9, .7gHz, 1Gig RAM. I have no problems running the game for universes the size injury log indicated, basically 180 teams or less, but I may be less particular than you are. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that OotPB runs better on Panther than it does on 10.4. It does take a long time to load (2.5 minutes+).

I agree with injury log that you should upgrade your RAM, particularly if you intend to make use of FaceGen.

Sharur · 07-12-2007, 06:55 PM

Thanks for the help. Since it sounds like RAM is the only potential issue, and it's an issue that can be addressed, I think I'll try just playing it as-is and see how it goes. If it drives me nuts, I'll fork over the money for the extra RAM, as that's something I've been thinking of doing anyway.

07-12-2007, 12:18 AM	#1
Sharur Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 12	Help with a purchase decision I'm looking into purchasing this game, it looks very interesting (and just the sort of thing I wished for years I could get out of games like MVP Baseball and MLB 2Kx). However, the manual (distressingly) informs me that a Mac license is not valid for the PC version, and vice versa. I'm a college student. I have a Mac (OSX 10.4.10) laptop, an iBook G4 with a 1.2 GHz processor and 512 MB of RAM. That does meet the minimum specs, but not the recommended specs. And indeed, just from poking around in the demo, the game seemed slow, although navigation aside from loading screens seemed smooth enough. My laptop is always with me, though, so it would be convenient to have the game on it. I also have a souped-up Windows PC desktop that stays at school. I have no doubt it could run the game without breaking a sweat. However... it's at school, and I want to play the game now... (especially because during the school year I tend to have less time for this sort of thing). So, my question, preferably for anyone who's tried running this game on a low-end Mac, is whether it will be too much trouble to run the game on my iBook to make it worth buying the Mac license. If the performance really is a non-issue, then I'll get the Mac version. But I'd rather not spend my $35 only to find out that it's unbearably sluggish. Can anyone enlighten me?

07-12-2007, 01:29 AM	#2
injury log Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto Posts: 9,162	My specs- iBook, OS 10.4.2, 1.33 gHz, 1 gig RAM, and the game runs very well, simulating a full Majors/minors universe (no other leagues). Now, you have less memory, and the game uses a lot of memory, so I don't know exactly what would happen on your machine. The demo should give you a very good indication of what speeds to expect with the full game; the demo is fully functional, but the game will get a bit slower over time as you build up a longer league history. With that RAM, you'll probably not be able to 'import full MLB history' if you're starting a historical league, although that's not a feature I've ever wanted to use. You'll also likely want to conserve memory by not running other apps simultaneously with the game. There are also some logged crash issues with some of the player pictures generated in the game that may be memory-related; you may need to disable the player faces if crashes happen. So, my advice: -if you can upgrade RAM, probably good to do so; -if you find the demo too slow, things won't be better with the full game; -if you can't upgrade RAM, expect to be unable to use some non-essential (cosmetic, really) game features, and don't expect to be able to set up, e.g., a 20,000 team universe; -get the game on one of your machines at least- it's a fine product. Hopefully someone else with specs more similar to yours will be able to tell you how things run for them.

07-12-2007, 03:51 AM	#3
Curtis Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Watertown, New York Posts: 4,567	I've got an eMac, 10.3.9, .7gHz, 1Gig RAM. I have no problems running the game for universes the size injury log indicated, basically 180 teams or less, but I may be less particular than you are. Also, I have a sneaking suspicion that OotPB runs better on Panther than it does on 10.4. It does take a long time to load (2.5 minutes+). I agree with injury log that you should upgrade your RAM, particularly if you intend to make use of FaceGen.

07-12-2007, 06:55 PM	#4
Sharur Bat Boy Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 12	Thanks for the help. Since it sounds like RAM is the only potential issue, and it's an issue that can be addressed, I think I'll try just playing it as-is and see how it goes. If it drives me nuts, I'll fork over the money for the extra RAM, as that's something I've been thinking of doing anyway.