3D Games & Apps Compatibility Website for PDM

I have seen a few calls for a site to catalog different applications, particularly 3D Games and other 3D Applications and how well they work under Parallels Desktop for Mac, like the areas provided by Wine and Codeweavers.

I, too, want to have a place to go to find out how to get my software working, and keep this information around for reference whenever I need it. Therefore, I decided to put one together and host it. I am not sure how many people will make use of the site, but I am opening it up for those who want to come in and put up reviews of their successes (or check out review(s) that are there).

--> The Unofficial Parallels Desktop for Mac Compatibility Wiki

I have started things off with my own detailed overview of Half-Life 2. I have a few other things written up that I will add when I am not being sucked into World of Warcraft or the Real Life game. I have a fairly large library of other games I will be testing and posting my results on. I encourage others to help by adding new reviews of their own.

I have also added a forum to discuss changes or request new reviews of software not already covered.

The site is very unpolished, but it serves the needs I have identified. More polish will be added if more people use it. Otherwise, I will just tweak it as things break or are needed.

 

Nice Idea.

How can i add failure and success stories?

 

edit: Read a few posts down...

 

Whats the point of having discussion on that website versus the parallels forums? It would be more helpful if the compatibility discussion was held in the actual parallels forums, it would help a wider range of users versus trying to branch off and start your own forums. Maybe its just so you can have better control over the moderation. I feel the folks at Parallels are mature enough to not be bastard operators from hell BOFH.

As a parallels user I am not interested in discussing this anywhere else unless there are good reasons for it. Like I said this is the most helpful place to discuss I think. No need to duplicate efforts.

Nice idea though!

 

Well noted, and I considered all of that when I was putting the site together.

The forums on that site are (mostly) for the purpose of discussing that site itself, so that changes and suggestions can be made.

As far as why I have chosen to branch off another site as opposed to just relying on this forums, it's because forums are fluid.

Lets say someone wants to find out more about running "Game X" under PDM. That person has two options: 1) Page through a massive "Game Compatiibility" thread and hope to gather more information, or 2) Perform a search for "Game X".

Searching is great, but in many instances that search will return many threads and many posts that may not be relevant (such as threads asking other people if Game X worked, then replies saying that Parallels should provide refunds because Game X doesn't work as well as they would have hoped).

There are ways around this, such as having Parallels create a new forum that has threads on specific titles and replies on how well these work. Unfortunately, all we have is the general Technical Discussions area right now.

So yes, I agree that it's rather poor to have a branch site where the topic of specific app compatibility is discussed. However, there are no better options at the moment, at least for me. (And the site is just as much about giving me a space to put notes in as well as others.)

 

Impromptu new feature!

There is a link on the left called "Add New Review". It will pull up a form where you type the full name of the game or app you want to review. You will be presented with an edit box for the new page with a really messy starter template.

If the game or app already has a review, it will simply show you that page where you can edit it if you want to change it.

 

Is the registration busted on this thing?

I registered but after it claimed I was logged in it behaved as if I wasn't and when I tried to log in it wouldn't take my password.

If you feel like filling in the article btw, baluders gate II/vista works full screen only and 3d acceleration off, Thats the same as bootcamp vista except for the full screen thing.

 

Not sure what happened. I deleted your account on the forum so (if you want) you can try to make another user account. I noticed you spelled your username with a capital B, so perhaps when you were trying to login you spelled it with a lowercase b. (It is case-sensitive)

Anyway, I have put up a post on the boards and I will make a new article for Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn tomorrow when I have an opportunity.

 

I think a wiki is a great idea. It's much different than a forum, noted above due to search capabilities. Maybe if it grows large enough, Parallels can link up to you. Good luck!

 

Good idea.

 

Added Command and Conquer: Renegade and its rating, only tested A Path Beyond though (it uses the same engine).

Also added 3D Studio Max but won't let me edit.

 

For whatever reason the 3D Studio Max page didn't get created at all. Try using the "Add New Review" link on the bar on the left.

 

I am happy to see someone take up the challenge of collecting this info, but... I have to say that a Wiki page is hardly the correct choice. This needs to be databased and indexed. It needs a form front-end to ensure useful data is collected across the board. Every variable needs to be identified, quantified, and recorded for entry. This is going to turn into a mess pretty quickly. I guess it's better than nothing.

 

I am a developer by trade. My first attempt in creating this site was to build an application that functioned more-or-less spot on with the needs you stated above. I documented bits of the database design and diagrammed what I had, came up with ideas for how to implement change control (versioning), comments, addition of new content, access control. The works.

I took a step back and had two realizations. I have a full-time job, and I am a World of Warcraft addict. Oh, and a girlfriend that doesn't like being ignored for periods of weeks. I was going to be spending enough time testing software and providing site cleanup that I really didn't have the time to start something that would likely be rushed, flimsy, and insecure.

So, I started looking for pre-built FOSS solutions. It has to be FOSS so that

1. I can afford it (I have my own bills to worry about in Real Life)
2. I can change it if something doesn't work the way it needs to
3. I can scrutinize it to determine if it has any performance issues or is just plain coded wrong
4. Because I like the idea of Free and Open Source software.

I found nothing that was as complete as the site needed. There are a few dodgy ratings systems that I might have been able to modify, but they are more akin to giving ratings to articles on a news site. Not exactly the kind of "fluidity" I am aiming for. I chose to go with a wiki because it has plenty of great advantages.

1. It is customizable (and UPDMCW has a good amount of customization)
2. It is free
3. Articles can be edited by anyone, and edits can be rolled back
4. It supports the use of templates so that new users get at least a basic idea of how to present their reviews
5. Unlike many ratings systems, it allows the community to explain what they were experiencing, rather than just provide a number of stars and a forum behind the third page. I provide a forum, but it can be ignored, whereas in other ratings systems, you must go through a thread of posts to get to the real meat of how well something works.

Perhaps I just wasn't looking in the right places. I would love it if anyone could find me a zero-cost off-the-shelf solution to address the site's needs (first look at the site to get an idea of what is going on). It must not only be efficient but complete and secure. It must support public modification of non-critical information (i.e. reviews as opposed to site configuration), and work on any Linux/Apache/MySQL setup without the need to mess with any configuration options of the underlying components. Failing that, I would also be open to seeing someone write a robust PHP or Perl application fron scratch and release it under a GPL or BSD-style license.

Whew, I guess I came off a little defensive there. I must love writing books. That's not my deal, and I have not taken any offense at your post because, frankly, it's intelligent and explains things that are absolutely true. I just want to illustrate that I have thought of these things already and I am not just rushing into something without planning.

 

thank you, this will be very handy.

 

It's a nice idea but I hope that developers will work hardly to improve the big compatibility issues.

 

Work hardly or hardly work? Especially when all you need to do is write a glowing Release Notes (and have them conveniently slide over into news articles that are just as succinctly glowing).

 

I think they sincerely put in the best work they can. It's just that they need to convince others in the company to operate with some sense of reality as well (like marketing, management, etc.).

 

I wrote there some reviews, and will try to write more. )

 

Everyone puts in the effort... this isn't the special Olympics or the movies like "I am Sam" or "Radio"... they want patrons, they dont want to be patronized. So the effort was made, and you can blame Marketing all you want, but whats done is done: you don't ever want to have to make excuses... it just doubles your problems. You can place the blame anywhere, but this is reality & business... consumers care not about they really tried. We pay for what is advertised & if it's a far stretch from what is advertised then we get pissed & complain... it's not rocket science.