Click to enlarge

Few PC ports have been as highly anticipated -- and so delayed -- as Logicware's port of Aliens vs Predator to the Mac OS. However, this shooter may actually be ready to ship before the end of October. Recently we spoke to Logicware's and Contraband Entertainment's Bill Heineman about their port of Fox Interactive's terrifying title. We have learned that he has finished porting Microsoft's DirectPlay networking protocol, allowing PC and Mac players of this game to battle each other over a online or LAN game seamlessly. As the DirectPlay API is a closed, proprietary network protocol, it had to be 'reverse engineered' -- in other words, it had to be ported by educated guesswork, as the actual 'guts' of the API are Microsoft property.

According to Heineman, the actual solo game of AvP has been complete for some time, including a software renderer (a graphics engine that does not require a 3D card) and OpenGL support, but Fox insisted that they game be playable between Mac and PC. As the game's networking is based on DirectPlay, this caused the major delay in the development and release of this title.

Aliens vs Predator is Fox's first-person shooter based on a combination of several successful media franchises: the creatures and humans from the Aliens movie trilogy and the intergalactic hunters from the Predator series. With a long solo game that is often cited by reviewers as the most terrifying gaming experience ever, you creep through the corridors as a lowly marine trying to avoid being skewered on a spear or torn to shreds by alien claws. However, in multiplayer the game really begins to shine -- you can assume the viewpoint of a marine, an Alien, or a Predator, each with their own special abilities, enhanced vision and tactics. For more about this game, be sure and read IMG's preview, which we did over a year ago. For those who are interested, the port of AvP to the Mac was announced in January of 1999, with a due date of that Summer.

Now AvP is in final testing at Fox, and Heineman estimated that the game will be released around October 20th. Currently Fox is testing DirectPlay on Mac for incompatability issues with online games.

In related news, Heineman has also confirmed that Contraband's port of Ritual's first-person shooter Sin is finally complete and is in testing at United Developers pending 'gold master' status.

Aliens vs Predator Preview

Contraband Entertainment

Logicware

Logicware (add to watch list)

MacPlay (add to watch list)

Fox Interactive (add to watch list)

Aliens vs. Predator: Gold (add to watch list)

Search for other Mac games news stories or browse our Mac Games News Archive.