Will there be a Macintosh version? No formal answer has been made, but it sounds like it's feasible at the very least. Here's an excerpt from the forums at Inside Mac Games. rogue 27 is me, Michael Eilers is one of the important people at IMG, and John Morris is the programmer who did the Macintosh versions of Heroes III and Heroes III Complete.
rogue27:
Not much to say, but here's a screenshot. I guess the game is supposed to
come out in September. I hope there will be a Mac version.
Michael Eilers:
Unfortunately, details on this game that I found at a fan site indicate that
it was made with an entirely new-from-the-ground up engine, which makes a
Mac port MUCH less likely than with Heroes III/Heroes III complete (which
were based on the same engine as Heroes I and II)
John Morris:
Actually, this will greatly IMPROVE the chances of porting it over. Heroes 3
(as well as 2 and 1) has legacy code in it that goes all the way back to
Kings Bounty. When I ported Heroes 3, I did it from scratch (not using any
of the Mac code from 2), so doing another port from scratch is not an issue.
The Complete version was almost a total re-port as well since 90% of the
code had been changed or modified. And to be frank, it is amazing that the
current game works at all considering how it is a complete mish-mash of
styles, with all of the different programmers that have worked on it.
The new engine is much cleaner and I have been talking with the development
lead to make sure that cross-platform considerations are made at all levels.
It looks like the editor may get screwed again since they are looking at
keeping the new version in MFC. But, if we are lucky, they will agree with
me and make networking cross-platform.
These statements in no way represent that the port WILL happen, since that
is a business issue mostly. We also need to see what 3DO can muster since
they have really taken it on the chin recently and had to fire a large chunk
of their people. NWC wasn't affected much by the layoffs, since they are one
of the few subsidiarys that make some good money.
rogue27:
Hmm... good news and bad news. At least it sounds like the port is a
feasible idea, and it's great to hear that people are talking and looking at
the possibility. I've heard/read about 3DO's troubles as well, but as long
as it will be profitable, I would imagine that they'd want to do it. The
real question is whether or not the Mac ports have been that profitable.
John Morris:
Considering that they have consistently made money on the Mac ports, it
would be stupid of them not to have a Mac version. It may not make a LOT of
money, but it always makes something (which is better than some of 3DOs
projects). Not to mention the fact that they have such a low overhead since
they never put much effort into the marketing. ;)
Good news indeed! Not only do we have a decent chance of seeing the game available for Macintosh but it may network with the Windows version this time around. Let's hope so!
Please keep in mind that nothing official was announced here, and these are just possibilities.
