A few weeks ago, I wrote about playing retro games on a Mac.
I’ve been getting back into gaming recently (I used to be a PC user) and tried to run Quake 4 on my MacBook. When I first tried, in September last year, I had no luck at all - it was virtually unplayable. But then Leopard came out and a few months after it came the Leopard Graphics Update. So I decided to try it again.
Now, it actually plays quite well! On modest settings, it is completely playable and enjoyable. It’s not 120 FPS, but who cares if it plays fine, right?
Read more to find out how I did it!I had to use a custom autoexec.cfg file. All id software games run the same. The autoexec.cfg file isn’t there by default, but basically it allows you to specify a bunch of advanced settings that aren’t available in the game menu. Before using or fiddling with it though, make sure you load Quake 4 at least once and go into “Settings” then “Video” and click “auto-detect” first. This sets everything up properly so you can use the following file.
After a bit of digging, I found a site here which has a bunch of pre-made autoexec.cfg files to run Quake 4 in a variety of settings. I picked the “Balanced” one.
To use it, open TextEdit (or any other text editor - I use Smultron personally) and copy the following into it:
seta image_usePrecompressedTextures “1″
seta image_useCompression “1″
seta image_downSizeLimit “256″
seta image_ignoreHighQuality “1″
seta image_downSizeBumpLimit “256″
seta image_downSizeSpecularLimit “64″
seta image_downSizeBump “1″
seta image_downSizeSpecular “1″
seta image_downSize “1″
seta image_lodbias “0″
seta image_preload “1″
seta r_useCachedDynamicModels “1″
seta r_skipBump “0″
seta r_skipPostProcess “0″
seta r_skipSpecular “0″
seta r_skipNewAmbient “0″
seta r_multiSamples “0″
seta r_useFastSkinning “0″
seta r_shadows “1″
seta r_useOptimizedShadows “1″
seta r_useTurboShadow “1″
seta g_projectilelights “1″
seta g_skipParticles “0″
seta g_decals “0″
seta g_brassTime “50″
seta g_muzzleFlash “1″
seta g_doublevision “0″
seta g_showPlayerShadow “0″
seta g_skipItemShadowsMP “1″
seta g_skipPlayerShadowsMP “1″
seta image_anisotropy “2″
seta ui_showGun “1″
seta image_filter “GL_LINEAR_MIPMAP_NEAREST”
seta s_maxSoundsPerShader “0″
Now save the file as autoexec.cfg and put it into the “base” directory under the “Quake 4″ directory. Load Quake 4 and enjoy!
i am very impressed with your… ULTRA NERDYNESS! I dont think my macbook will be able to handle it, as i have core duo, not core 2 duo! I will give it a shot though!
Hi! I have been looking for a solution like this for a while. I used to love Quake 3 Arena but got bored of the old maps and low quality graphics. I tried playing the demo and it ran somewhat slow. If I get the full version of Quake 4 do you think my MacBook 2.16 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo will handle the game with one of these .config fixes? I would really appreciate your input before I go ahead and buy the game. Jeffrey
Hi Jeffrey,
Yeah, it will run. I’m guessing that you have the model after mine, which comes with the Intel X3100 instead of my GMA950. The X3100 is a little better so you will get better performance than me.
You can expect some lag during the really big scenes in the game, but it will still be playable. The beginning of the game is one of the biggest scenes in the game, so if you can survive this, you’ll be fine!
Good luck!
Actually, I am not even interested in the single player. I am just not into fighting bots, despite how good this single player has been reviewed. I am more concerned with the multiplayer. Have you tried the multiplayer on your macbook? Thanks.
Hi Jeffrey,
Multiplayer I’m not sure about. I’m not a big multiplayer fan, but I just had a game and it seemed to run well enough though. Again, laggy at some points but I think it is playable and largely dependent on your internet connection. A lot of this is just a matter of personal preference - playable to me might be unplayable to you.
If you are after multiplayer, I can suggest Counter-Strike and Urban Terror (www.urbanterror.net - its free!). They both work very well on MacBook’s. I use CrossOver for Steam/Counter-Strike. Might be better for you if you are after multiplayer.
Not sure where you are from, but try to find a games retailer that will let you return games. it is hard to find a physical retailer that stocks Mac games - maybe the Apple Store will do it?
Anyway, please let me know how it goes!