History of Mac Oni: Difference between revisions

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{{Hatnote|For the overall history of Oni's development, see [[Oni]]. For information on the unusual European Mac releases with extra files, see [[European Mac releases|HERE]].}}
Unlike Oni for Windows, which wasn't updated or patched by the developer after its release, the Mac version of Oni has a complicated history due to changes in the Mac platform, and has evolved throughout the years.
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==Windows 1.0 to Mac 1.1==
==Windows Oni 1.0 to Mac Oni 1.1==
[[Image:Classic_Mac_Oni_Get_Info_window.jpg|thumb|Bungie's original Carbon PPC build of Oni 1.1 for Mac OS.]]
[[Image:Classic Mac Oni Get Info window.jpg|thumb|Bungie's original Carbon PPC build of Oni 1.1.]]
While Oni was developed by [[Bungie West]] simultaneously for Windows and Mac OS (with the PS2 port being done in parallel by Rockstar), the game's development was not completed for both PC platforms at the same time. Oni was gold-mastered for Windows [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=6259 around mid-November 2000]. The Mac version continued in development for [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=7653 at least another month]. As a result, while [[Mac betas|the Mac betas]] had version number 1.0 as in Windows (see [[Oni_(folder)/readme.txt|Windows read-me]] for version number), the retail version of the game app for Macs had the version number "1.1" (pictured, right; also see the [[Oni_(folder)/Oni_ReadMe|Mac read-me]]). But even long after 1.1, the Mac Oni app would continue to evolve.
While Oni was developed by [[Bungie West]] simultaneously for Windows and Mac OS (with the PlayStation 2 port being done in parallel by Rockstar), the game's development was not completed for both platforms at the same time. The date of the retail Windows application is 11/3/00, the game data is dated 11/4/00, and Oni was reported as having been [[wp:Software release life cycle#Release to manufacturing (RTM)|gold-mastered]] for Windows [http://oni.bungie.org/newsarchives/2000/nov00.html#xbox around 11/17/2000]. Although the date on the Mac game data is 11/20/00, the Mac version continued in development for another month, partly due to a graphics bug discovered [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=7653 at the last minute]. It was probably gold-mastered on 12/20/00 based on the date on the demo application (which doesn't have the joke creation date seen to the right), and based on [http://carnage.bungie.org/oniforum/oni.forum.pl?read=8045 this post] by Matt Soell. (There's a report of a [http://oni.bungie.org/newsarchives/2001/jan01.html#gold late Mac GM date of 1/2/01], but this doesn't make sense unless the code underwent further last-minute changes after the demo.)


==Classic to Carbon==
It appears that the Mac version of Oni required a change to the layout of the game data files (the addition of .sep files; see [[Windows Oni vs. Mac Oni#Game data files|HERE]] for details). The required changes to Oni's code were made after the final build of the retail Windows Oni application, but because the Windows demo was not released until [http://oni.bungie.org/newsarchives/2000/dec00.html around 12/17/00], it was built on the version of the code which used .sep files.
As seasoned Mac users will recall, the Macintosh has been through three major technology transitions since 1984. '''First''' came the move from [[wikipedia:Motorola 68000 family|68k]] to RISC-based [[wikipedia:PowerPC|PowerPC]] processors in the early '90s. Thus, when Oni began development in 1997, all Macs ran on PPC processors. Apple was about to release Mac OS 8, but it was still based on the System 1.0 code from 1984, and they were hoping to start fresh with a new OS as soon as possible. To that end, Apple acquired Steve Jobs' company [[wikipedia:NeXT|NeXT]] to use the NeXTstep OS as the basis for their new OS. The Mac's '''second''' major transition, from OS 9 to OS X, started in 2000/2001 -- an awkward time for Oni.


In 2000, Bungie was merging into Microsoft, and Take-Two was assuming command of the Oni IP (as detailed in the [[Oni#Post-release|Oni]] article). Having been in development years before OS X released, Oni had probably been getting built as a "Classic" app, referring to the Classic Mac OS (anything before 10.0). Upon its release, the best that Bungie could do for compatibility was build the Oni application as a "[[wikipedia:Carbon_(API)|Carbon]]" app, meaning it was written primarily for Mac OS 9 but able to run on OS X. Unfortunately, the Carbon build was not without issues in the OS X environment.
As a result of reaching gold status first, the Windows retail Oni application is labeled as version 1.0 (as seen in the [[Oni (folder)/readme.txt|Windows read-me]]), and Bungie's build of the game app for the Mac is version 1.1 (pictured, right; also see the [[Oni (folder)/Oni ReadMe|Mac read-me]]). Besides any fixes to the code made after Windows Oni was gold-mastered, it's likely that additional bugs were fixed between the production of the Windows demo and the Mac release, based on issues observed in BSL in the Windows demo application that aren't present in Mac Oni.


However, the release of Mac OS X in spring 2001 was awkward timing for Oni. The best that Bungie could do for compatibility before Oni released in January 2001 was to build the Oni application as a "Carbon" application that was compatible with developer previews of OS X. Carbon apps could be written primarily for OS 9 and still run in OS X. Unfortunately, when OS X released, the Carbon build of Oni displayed various issues in that environment.
{|
|valign=top|
==Carbon to Cocoa==
==Carbon to Cocoa==
[[Image:Omni Oni Get Info window.png|thumb|Omni Group's Cocoa PPC port of Oni.]]
[[Image:Omni Oni Get Info window.png|thumb|The Omni Group's PPC Mac OS X port.]]
Then, at the end of 2001, [http://www.omnigroup.com Omni Group] [http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/archive/omni-press/2001/000008.html released] a "[[wikipedia:Cocoa_(computing)|Cocoa]]" (native OS X) build of the game which they had produced for free. This became known as the Omni build (now usually referred to as the PPC build). Their new builds (released through 2003) kept Oni stable for several years. The last Omni build is still available [http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/story.php?ArticleID=7003 here] and [http://www.omnigroup.com/ftp/pub/software/MacOSX/10.1/Oni-1.0v1.36.dmg here]. However, as computers advanced, a critical bug cropped up on both Macs and Windows machines, where Oni's querying of the graphics card at startup caused a crash. Once the patch was figured out in Windows, it was carried over to the PPC build. Other patches were made in time; see [[AE:OMNI|here]] for details.
Then, at the end of 2001, The Omni Group [http://www.omnigroup.com/mailman/archive/omni-press/2001/000008.html released] a "Cocoa" (native OS X) build of the game which they had produced for free. This became known as the Omni build (now often referred to as the PPC build to differentiate it from the later Intel build). Their OS X builds (released through 2003) kept Oni stable on the latest Mac OS for several years. The last Omni build is still available [http://files.omnigroup.com/software/MacOSX/10.1/Oni-1.0v1.36.dmg here]. However, as computers advanced, a critical bug appeared in both Windows and Mac Oni: the game would immediately crash while querying the graphics card at startup. Once a patch, made through hex editing, was figured out in Windows, it was carried over to the PPC build. Over time, additional patches were made by fans to the PPC build; see [[OMNI|HERE]] for details.
 
|
==PPC to Intel==
==PPC to Intel==
However, in 2006 Apple began their '''third''' major Mac transition: the [[wikipedia:Apple's_transition_to_Intel_processors|switch to Intel processors]], back to CISC architecture and moving away from the PowerPC chip for which both Bungie and Omni Group had built Oni. For a while, PPC apps could still be run in OS X using [[wikipedia:Rosetta_(software)|Rosetta]], but support for the old architecture was expected to eventually phase out. In 2009, [http://www.feralinteractive.com/en/ Feral Interactive] (Oni's Mac distributor outside of North America) [http://oni.bungie.org/community/forum/viewtopic.php?id=848 expressed an interest] in putting out an Intel-native build of Oni. They obtained the source code from Omni Group, who had begun porting it to Intel, and [http://oni.bungie.org/community/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=31710#p31710 made a beta release in 2011], shortly before OS X did away with PPC support. The release is stable, although it has a few non-crashing bugs, and incorporates a number of patches requested by fans, detailed [[AE:FERAL|HERE]].
[[Image:Feral Oni Get Info window.jpg|thumb|Feral's most recent Intel Mac build.]]
In 2006 Apple began the [[wp:Mac transition to Intel processors|switch to Intel processors]], moving away from the PowerPC chip for which both Bungie and The Omni Group had built Oni. For a while, PPC apps could be run on Intel Macs using [[wp:Rosetta (software)|Rosetta]], but support for the old architecture was expected to eventually phase out. In 2009, [https://www.feralinteractive.com/en/ Feral Interactive] (Oni's Mac distributor outside of North America) [http://oni.bungie.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=848 expressed an interest] in putting out an Intel-native build of Oni. They obtained the latest version of Oni's source code from The Omni Group (who had already begun porting it to Intel), and made their initial public release of Oni for Intel Macs in the spring of 2011, a few months before the first version of OS X without Rosetta was released. The Feral build of Oni incorporates a number of changes requested by fans, detailed [[FERAL|HERE]].
|}


[[Category:Oni history]]
[[Category:Oni history]]

Latest revision as of 03:52, 10 December 2022

For the overall history of Oni's development, see Oni. For information on the unusual European Mac releases with extra files, see HERE.

Unlike Oni for Windows, which wasn't updated or patched by the developer after its release, the Mac version of Oni has a complicated history due to changes in the Mac platform, and has evolved throughout the years.

Windows Oni 1.0 to Mac Oni 1.1

Bungie's original Carbon PPC build of Oni 1.1.

While Oni was developed by Bungie West simultaneously for Windows and Mac OS (with the PlayStation 2 port being done in parallel by Rockstar), the game's development was not completed for both platforms at the same time. The date of the retail Windows application is 11/3/00, the game data is dated 11/4/00, and Oni was reported as having been gold-mastered for Windows around 11/17/2000. Although the date on the Mac game data is 11/20/00, the Mac version continued in development for another month, partly due to a graphics bug discovered at the last minute. It was probably gold-mastered on 12/20/00 based on the date on the demo application (which doesn't have the joke creation date seen to the right), and based on this post by Matt Soell. (There's a report of a late Mac GM date of 1/2/01, but this doesn't make sense unless the code underwent further last-minute changes after the demo.)

It appears that the Mac version of Oni required a change to the layout of the game data files (the addition of .sep files; see HERE for details). The required changes to Oni's code were made after the final build of the retail Windows Oni application, but because the Windows demo was not released until around 12/17/00, it was built on the version of the code which used .sep files.

As a result of reaching gold status first, the Windows retail Oni application is labeled as version 1.0 (as seen in the Windows read-me), and Bungie's build of the game app for the Mac is version 1.1 (pictured, right; also see the Mac read-me). Besides any fixes to the code made after Windows Oni was gold-mastered, it's likely that additional bugs were fixed between the production of the Windows demo and the Mac release, based on issues observed in BSL in the Windows demo application that aren't present in Mac Oni.

However, the release of Mac OS X in spring 2001 was awkward timing for Oni. The best that Bungie could do for compatibility before Oni released in January 2001 was to build the Oni application as a "Carbon" application that was compatible with developer previews of OS X. Carbon apps could be written primarily for OS 9 and still run in OS X. Unfortunately, when OS X released, the Carbon build of Oni displayed various issues in that environment.

Carbon to Cocoa

The Omni Group's PPC Mac OS X port.

Then, at the end of 2001, The Omni Group released a "Cocoa" (native OS X) build of the game which they had produced for free. This became known as the Omni build (now often referred to as the PPC build to differentiate it from the later Intel build). Their OS X builds (released through 2003) kept Oni stable on the latest Mac OS for several years. The last Omni build is still available here. However, as computers advanced, a critical bug appeared in both Windows and Mac Oni: the game would immediately crash while querying the graphics card at startup. Once a patch, made through hex editing, was figured out in Windows, it was carried over to the PPC build. Over time, additional patches were made by fans to the PPC build; see HERE for details.

PPC to Intel

Feral's most recent Intel Mac build.

In 2006 Apple began the switch to Intel processors, moving away from the PowerPC chip for which both Bungie and The Omni Group had built Oni. For a while, PPC apps could be run on Intel Macs using Rosetta, but support for the old architecture was expected to eventually phase out. In 2009, Feral Interactive (Oni's Mac distributor outside of North America) expressed an interest in putting out an Intel-native build of Oni. They obtained the latest version of Oni's source code from The Omni Group (who had already begun porting it to Intel), and made their initial public release of Oni for Intel Macs in the spring of 2011, a few months before the first version of OS X without Rosetta was released. The Feral build of Oni incorporates a number of changes requested by fans, detailed HERE.