Hello there!

Some time ago I bought a license and after some time of intense playing I switched over to a brand new Intel iMac.

Because I am still interested in LFS (one of the best racing games ever made!) I am looking for a way to install LFS to my Mac WITHOUT installing Windows. I am glad that I finally got rid of it and I simply don't want to install it (via Bootcamp) just to play one single game.

There's that software called 'CrossOver' which allows you to install Windows software but LFS doesn't have an installer so that wouldn't work.

Are there any known solutions to that problem?

Not without running parralels or similar im afraid

Parallels is probably your best option without actually using bootcampfor a proper windows install. Keep in mind that LFS will probably run really crappy through parellels.

I heard that parallels does not have 3d-acceleration support, yet. You could try "darwine" which is a "wine" implementation for intel macs. (http://darwine.opendarwin.org/)

Oops, now I noticed that CrossOver is wine, too. And it's the commercial version from the authors of wine. So I bet it should be possible to run lfs with it, too. Even if lfs doesn't have an installer.

Quote :

Not without running without running parralels

No 3D application support, i've tried .

Linux is the way to go, if you really hate Windows. Personally I use bootcamp for LFS on my Mac and it works a treat. As that's almost all what the Windows install gets used for (a spot of programming and ocassionally Paintshop Pro), I dont have any problems at all.

I tried LFS in Wine under Linux, but it wasn't exactly playable. Speed was lower than on Windows but still acceptable, but the graphics were incorrect IIRC. You can always try, of course. Maybe you have more luck than me.

Good news:
CrossOver (latest beta for Intel Macs) allows to play LFS and I didn't notice any problems except that the car's shadows don't work and that you need to play around with the screen resolution.
My display is set to 1440x900 but LFS has problems with that resolution so I had to change the game's resolution to 800x600 at 32bit.

The performance is good, I get around 42 FPS but I am still playing around with the settings.

Ouch, with bootcamp and default settings I get a typical framerate of 90, and i'm only using the 17" model.

Quote from Becky Rose :

Personally I use bootcamp for LFS on my Mac and it works a treat. As that's almost all what the Windows install gets used for (a spot of programming and ocassionally Paintshop Pro), I dont have any problems at all.

Same here (except for the programming and graphics bits that I do only on Mac).

Quote from MrNase :

Good news:
CrossOver (latest beta for Intel Macs) allows to play LFS and I didn't notice any problems except that the car's shadows don't work and that you need to play around with the screen resolution.

Interesting! Keep us informed, please.

Have you tried multiplayer? And I don't suppose you can use any addons like Pitspotter or Momoled, can you?

Quote from Becky Rose :

Ouch, with bootcamp and default settings I get a typical framerate of 90, and i'm only using the 17" model.

I limit the framerate to 90 on my MacPro. But keep in mind that CrossOver is still in beta, Becky. So performance improvements are probably due at some point.

MrNase: Are those 42 FPS in single player, or multiplayer?

What's your reason for not wanting to use Boot Camp?

I use it on my iMac, and I can't see any issues with it.

Unlocking works, Multiplayer works.
Couldn't test the addons, will do so tomorrow.


Becky Rose: CrossOver itself needs a lot of power.

Quote from MrNase :

My display is set to 1440x900 but LFS has problems with that resolution

no it doesn't. I've been racing at 1440x900 for months now. Typically get between 60fps and 130fps, depending on the track and the number of cars.

granted, this in on a straight up windows box, so LFS running on a mac might have issues, but that would be because of the Mac (which supports 1440x900, that's the res i run on my g5 also), or the Crossover app, not LFS.

And considering Macs support 1440x900, i'd guess that its a limitation with crossover. still, good to know that it does work, for the most part

Quote from spookthehamster :

What's your reason for not wanting to use Boot Camp?

From my very first post:

Quote :

I am glad that I finally got rid of it [Windows] and I simply don't want to install it [Windows] (via Bootcamp) just to play one single game.

But don't let us start a Pro-Windows/Pro-Mac discussion here..


FL!P: Singleplayer-mode only.


glyphon: Alright, let me correct my statement:
The problems I have using a resolution of 1440x900 might occur because I am running LFS on top of CrossOver which is still in early beta stage BUT I've installed some other games and they don't have resolution problems... As long as the game itself works, I don't care about the resolution because even an ugly game is better than no game.

Quote from MrNase :

Unlocking works, Multiplayer works.

Nice!
Could you please post which mac you use?

And input device. Wheel?

Intel iMac 17'' with 1.5GB of Ram

I am currently using the keyboard because Apple's Mighty Mouse acts strange while playing and you can't accelerate and brake at the same time because the mouse has so to say only one button.

Apple and their single mouse button, I use a PC mouse on my Intel Mac, and the right mouse button does stuff in every program... Including finder.

You really must hate Microsoft when you rather run at 800x600 42fps than install xp and enjoy proper resolutions and higher framerates..

Becky, the mighty mouse doesn't have 2 buttons, it only detects pressure on the right side and does a "if pressure = right then right click else left click" type behaviour, which makes left and right mouse presses impossible. (atleast thats how it was explained to me)

Pitspotter works fine on Linux/Wine, so there is a high chance it will work on darwine too.