The First Fear on the Mac: Notes of a Neophyte
Jun 11, 2007 0:02:06 GMT -5
Post by columbarium on Jun 11, 2007 0:02:06 GMT -5
Having to ask for rudimentary computer gaming advice can be embarrassing, especially when everyone around you seems to be an expert. It can feel even worse when your platform is the Mac, since many PC users dismiss the Mac OS as crippled hype. As of this writing, OS X is also peculiarly unsuitable for serious game implementation (controller options aren't even offered). Yet vintage games, which don't use sophisticated graphics or setups, should be unproblematic for Mac users -- in theory. In practice, the main problem has been the lack of software support.
Luckily, Clock Tower: The First Fear is now playable on an Intel Mac with the help of the latest version of Snes9x:
www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11337/snes9x
The latest IPS Patcher I've found is here:
www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18522
An utility for creating IPS patches for the Mac is available here:
www.neillcorlett.com/uips/
Earlier versions seemed not to work consistently. This one does well enough.
In case any Mac novices happen to be reading and are leery of using an emulator, here are a few quick and obvious suggestions. Most people will never need them, being far more tech-literate than I. Those who do, however, might not find help easily. Recently, a Mac user on another game forum wanted to play CTTFF and posted a request for advice, but no one there would help him. I've seen similar requests elsewhere meet with similar silence.
The latest Snes9x for Mac works quite well on Mac Pros as well as the MacBook Pro and MacBook. Users who aren't using a standard desktop keyboard, prefer some special layout or are exclusively right-handed will have to reconfigure the keys. Fortunately, the Help menu lists all default key commands, which are also graphically represented under the Configure Keyboard menu. The rest of you, who are content to use the Snes default map, might find the next bit moderately useful.
The following Legend is paraphrased in part from Aeon Genesis's own instructions, which are bundled with his CT port. The wording and target keys have been changed to apply to the Mac keyboard (and to reflect my personal concerns).
UP, DOWN, LEFT AND RIGHT ARROWS (Control Pad): Press to move the cursor.
COMMAND KEY + R: Hold down both keys to pause or resume the game.
COMMAND KEY (A) + ARROW KEYS (Control Pad): Hold down the Command Key while pressing the Arrow Keys to cycle through your inventory. The Inventory Menu won't be available until after you've collected at least one item.
OPTION KEY (B), better known as the Panic Button: Press rapidly whenever Jennifer's portrait flashes or she appears to be in trouble.
CONTROL KEY (X): Press to make Jennifer stop walking.
LEFT AND RIGHT SHIFT KEYS (Y): Press the left key to make Jennifer walk to the left; the right, to make her walk to the right. Double-tap either key to make her run. During an intro, transition or ending, you can also press this key to skip cut scenes or pointlessly slow banner animations.
When the cursor becomes a broken-lined box, press Shift to make Jennifer examine or control the target person or object.
Z and X KEYS (L and R): Press to make Jennifer run to the left or the right.
ENTER/RETURN KEY (Start): Press to start or pause the game.
ESC: Press to exit the game.
1 KEY: Press to save your exact place within the game as a "freeze frame." Press the Return Key to complete the saving process.
0 KEY: Press to load a saved point (or "freeze frame") within the game.
Q KEY (Quick): Press to speed up the game and fast-forward through intros and cut scenes.
W KEY (Slow): Press to slow down the game.
Whenever Q or W is pressed, the display will read "Turbo Mode" and show the speed change in increments or decrements.
The Linux version of ZNES seems barely to work on the Mac, so OSX users should probably avoid it for the time being. Before patching, the keys are conveniently mapped, but Jennifer walks haltingly and the lack of menu options is maddening. (Perhaps the prefs and tweak menus are simply inaccessible on a Mac, since I doubt any self-respecting Linux user would put up with an emulator that can't be customized.) Once patched, the action proceeds swiftly but the controls don't work, and, again, there are no options for changing configs or checking settings.
As of this weekend, I've gotten through the first part of CTTFF (being a klutz and a schmendrick!), but I can at least verify it all works. I've downloaded both available versions but have only played through part of AG's translated Japanese port.
As an editor, I can appreciate unusual attention to grammar and style. Considering how CT games normally read, Aeon Genesis and Tsama seem to have taken pains to make the translation for this port feel especially natural and correct, bringing out qualities in the dialog and captions that are normally obscured by clumsy syntax, bad diction, incorrect possessives and unintended homonyms. Even famous games, such as the English versions of Silent Hill 1 and 2, had problems which AG and Tsama's work manages to avoid. The result is an improved user experience for English-speaking CTTFF fans: less flinching and smirking, more effortless flow to keep one's head in the game.
Luckily, Clock Tower: The First Fear is now playable on an Intel Mac with the help of the latest version of Snes9x:
www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11337/snes9x
The latest IPS Patcher I've found is here:
www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18522
An utility for creating IPS patches for the Mac is available here:
www.neillcorlett.com/uips/
Earlier versions seemed not to work consistently. This one does well enough.
====================
In case any Mac novices happen to be reading and are leery of using an emulator, here are a few quick and obvious suggestions. Most people will never need them, being far more tech-literate than I. Those who do, however, might not find help easily. Recently, a Mac user on another game forum wanted to play CTTFF and posted a request for advice, but no one there would help him. I've seen similar requests elsewhere meet with similar silence.
====================
The latest Snes9x for Mac works quite well on Mac Pros as well as the MacBook Pro and MacBook. Users who aren't using a standard desktop keyboard, prefer some special layout or are exclusively right-handed will have to reconfigure the keys. Fortunately, the Help menu lists all default key commands, which are also graphically represented under the Configure Keyboard menu. The rest of you, who are content to use the Snes default map, might find the next bit moderately useful.
====================
The following Legend is paraphrased in part from Aeon Genesis's own instructions, which are bundled with his CT port. The wording and target keys have been changed to apply to the Mac keyboard (and to reflect my personal concerns).
==================
[glow=red,2,300]The First Fear's Control Scheme Transposed to the Snes9x Default Map
[/glow]
[/glow]
UP, DOWN, LEFT AND RIGHT ARROWS (Control Pad): Press to move the cursor.
COMMAND KEY + R: Hold down both keys to pause or resume the game.
COMMAND KEY (A) + ARROW KEYS (Control Pad): Hold down the Command Key while pressing the Arrow Keys to cycle through your inventory. The Inventory Menu won't be available until after you've collected at least one item.
OPTION KEY (B), better known as the Panic Button: Press rapidly whenever Jennifer's portrait flashes or she appears to be in trouble.
CONTROL KEY (X): Press to make Jennifer stop walking.
LEFT AND RIGHT SHIFT KEYS (Y): Press the left key to make Jennifer walk to the left; the right, to make her walk to the right. Double-tap either key to make her run. During an intro, transition or ending, you can also press this key to skip cut scenes or pointlessly slow banner animations.
When the cursor becomes a broken-lined box, press Shift to make Jennifer examine or control the target person or object.
Z and X KEYS (L and R): Press to make Jennifer run to the left or the right.
ENTER/RETURN KEY (Start): Press to start or pause the game.
ESC: Press to exit the game.
1 KEY: Press to save your exact place within the game as a "freeze frame." Press the Return Key to complete the saving process.
0 KEY: Press to load a saved point (or "freeze frame") within the game.
Q KEY (Quick): Press to speed up the game and fast-forward through intros and cut scenes.
W KEY (Slow): Press to slow down the game.
Whenever Q or W is pressed, the display will read "Turbo Mode" and show the speed change in increments or decrements.
==========================
The Linux version of ZNES seems barely to work on the Mac, so OSX users should probably avoid it for the time being. Before patching, the keys are conveniently mapped, but Jennifer walks haltingly and the lack of menu options is maddening. (Perhaps the prefs and tweak menus are simply inaccessible on a Mac, since I doubt any self-respecting Linux user would put up with an emulator that can't be customized.) Once patched, the action proceeds swiftly but the controls don't work, and, again, there are no options for changing configs or checking settings.
As of this weekend, I've gotten through the first part of CTTFF (being a klutz and a schmendrick!), but I can at least verify it all works. I've downloaded both available versions but have only played through part of AG's translated Japanese port.
============================
A Note on the CTTFF Translation
As an editor, I can appreciate unusual attention to grammar and style. Considering how CT games normally read, Aeon Genesis and Tsama seem to have taken pains to make the translation for this port feel especially natural and correct, bringing out qualities in the dialog and captions that are normally obscured by clumsy syntax, bad diction, incorrect possessives and unintended homonyms. Even famous games, such as the English versions of Silent Hill 1 and 2, had problems which AG and Tsama's work manages to avoid. The result is an improved user experience for English-speaking CTTFF fans: less flinching and smirking, more effortless flow to keep one's head in the game.