New Mac OS X port for Macintosh users!

Discuss Chaos Strikes Back for Windows and Linux, an unofficial port of Chaos Strikes Back to PC by Paul Stevens, as well as CSBuild, an associated dungeon editor.

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ChristopheF
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New Mac OS X port for Macintosh users!

Post by ChristopheF »

I have added a Macintosh port of CSB for Windows to my web site.
Get it from here: http://dmweb.free.fr/CSBForWindowsLinux.htm
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Paul Stevens
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Post by Paul Stevens »

After all these months! That is great. I hope that
anyone who tries it will let us know how it goes. Is
it based on version 9.6? Does it use the standard
data files? Can you, for example, play ConfluxII on
it with the custom graphics? Or are there file conversion
utilities?
DaveWeb

Many Thanks!!

Post by DaveWeb »

A few days ago I was horrified that the Atari ST computer I keep in my closet to play Dungeon Master would no longer work! When I wrote about it in my blog (and even linked to your site) somebody wrote to tell me that a version of CSB had been ported to MacOS X!! This is fantastic news!

I read on your Win/Linux page the following:
"You may also be interested by Chaos Strikes Back for Windows & Linux, which is a port of the Atari ST version allowing you to play both Dungeon Master and Chaos Strikes Back on PCs under Windows or Linux."

I figured out how to play CSB, but how do I play the original Dungeon Master? Is there a module to download somewhere?

Thanks again for keeping such a great game alive!
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copperman
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Post by copperman »

Not having a Mac etc. I cannot verify what I am about to type. ;) You can get the latest PC version from Here.Although I'm of a mind that the .dat file will be the wrong endian, unless Motorola has adopted Intel endian. If this is the case you could try getting the Amiga ADF files or whatever ST emulators use these days or even try your original discs; and extract the .dat files. Or I'm sure they could be emailed to you by some kind soul. If this is all useless jibberish I apologise, I'm going through nicotine withdrawal because I've just quit a 20+ year tabacco addiction. :twisted:
Don't be scene or herd!
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Post by Paul Stevens »

DaveWeb:

I suspect that it wll be easy to play DM now that you
have CSB working. Get the CSB for Windows and
Linux version 9.6. In your directory replace the
Dungeon.dat and the Graphics.dat with the files by the
same name in the DM directory from the 9.6 release.

But that is why I asked the questions above......are the
original files used or is there a convertor? Christophe?????
Thomas???? Where are you when we need you?
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Post by DaveWeb »

I don't seem to be having much luck getting the PC version of the DM graphics and data files to work with the OS X port of CSB. I'll try some of the other suggestions here and post if (when!) I get it working...
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ChristopheF
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Post by ChristopheF »

Let me clarify a few points:

The Windows and Linux versions of CSBwin are supplied as a single package at the Encyclopaedia.
For these two versions, there are batchs scripts to play either DM or CSB.

I don't have a Macintosh to test that port, but here is what I think would work:
The Macintosh port only contains the data files from CSB, not the files from DM. So if you want to play the DM dungeon, you need to download the Windows/Linux package, get the DM data files from it (dungeon.dat and graphics.dat) and replace the files supplied with the Macintosh port. That should work.

The DAT files supplied with CSBwin (ALL versions) are always the DAT files from the Atari ST version. No endian issues to think about, the program manages that for you.

I don't know if confluxII works with the Macintosh port, nor do I know which version it is based on.

A last note, you might need the latest unrar program from www.rarlab.com to uncompress the Macintosh port archive (as with all .rar files on my site).
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Post by DaveWeb »

No joy.

By control-clicking on the Chaos Strikes Back app and selecting "Show Package Contents" you can navigate down to where the DAT files are stored.

Replacing the "graphics.dat" and "dungeon.dat" files there results in a game that will load just fine (cool!) but once you get to the dungeon entrance, the mouse pointer will move, but not respond to clicks... you cannot "enter," "resume," or even click on the credits scroll at the bottom.

At first I thought that maybe the files were case-sensitive, so I changedthem to UPPER CASE. That didn't work, so I tried replacing the CONFIG.TXT as well without success. I'll keep trying things until I (hopefully) find something that works.

BTW, the "Stuffit" decompression utitlity that comes with MacOS X handles RAR files just fine.
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Post by Paul Stevens »

Then I guess there is no hope unless we can
get in touch with Thomas somehow. Evidently
he does not read this forum. Or perhaps reads
it only on weekends or something.
Sousuke

CSB for Mac can't be run.

Post by Sousuke »

I have noticed CSB for Mac released a while ago.
ChaosMacOSX.rar was downloaded and it expanded by UnRarX.
I tried to double-click and run Chaos Strikes Back.app.
However, it was not run.
Is another file required to run it?
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Post by DaveWeb »

I had a few problems downloading a complete archive... it took me 4 attempts before the download was not truncated and the file would run properly. Maybe if you delete the copy you have and try another download? What version of MacOS X are you running and on which machine? I've run CSB flawlessly under MacOS X v1.3.2 on both a Dual 1.4 ghz G4 and my 1 ghz Powerbook.
Sousuke

Post by Sousuke »

Power Mac G4 800MHz, Mac OS X (10.3.2), 1.25GB RAM
If ChaosMacOSX.rar is expanded by UnRarX2.0, Chaos Strikes Back folder will be made.
Chaos Strikes Back.app and README.rtfd are contained in the folder.
But ChaosMacOSX.rar is expanded by StuffIt Standard 7.0.3, Items in the folder becomes 22 files.
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Post by tomas zahradnicky »

Paul Stevens wrote:After all these months! That is great. I hope that
anyone who tries it will let us know how it goes. Is
it based on version 9.6? Does it use the standard
data files? Can you, for example, play ConfluxII on
it with the custom graphics? Or are there file conversion
utilities?
Hi Steve,

I finally got to release it. The port is based on 9.03 version I had with minor changes so user boxes are not red as they were etc...

-Tomas
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Paul Stevens
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Post by Paul Stevens »

First let me apologize for misspelling Tomas' name. Sorry.

In a private correspondence Tomas has said that he plans
to upgrade the port to version 9.6. I suggested that we
go all the way and make a 9.7 release so that the MacOS
and Linux version can run ConfluxII. ConfluxII is a whopper
and should be as widely available as possible.

Both CSBwin and ConfluxII need some fine-tuning so it will
not be released tomorrow. There will have to be a lot of work
to make the CSBwin code more amenable to the Macintosh.
So that future upgrades will be easier to port. Our experience
with Linux shows that it can be (relatively) painless if enough
#ifdef #endif pairs are introduced. And there may be more
changes to CSBwin to accomodate requirements of ConfluxII.

Tomas is also looking into making the DM files work with
the Macintosh release.
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Post by DaveWeb »

In the screenshot for the Linux version, I notice that CSB is running in a window. Is something like this a possibility for the MacOS X version?

Not that I am complaining mind you... if full-screen is the only option, I am thrilled beyond words to have that much! Just curious.

It's funny how I've bought a string of new "dungeon" games with far better graphics and such, yet none of them captivate me the way CSB and DM have. I just got "Dungeon Seige" and, while it's very pretty to look at, I'm bored with it already after only two nights of play.
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Post by cowsmanaut »

too true. I found much the same with that game.. I did notice people in the past trying to take games like Dungeon seige (heck even currently) and heretic etc to make Dungeon master maps in them. Trying to mod them to the point of being as close as they could get with in the given format.

It's very obvious to me that this game had one of the best designs and well thought out puzzles such that few games could ever top it.. this is the game that continued to inspire the future of the genre..

moo
Guest

Post by Guest »

Is something like this a possibility for the MacOS X version?

I'm internally testing it with 1024x768x32 in a non-movable window. All this is because I blit directly on the screen to get most speed and if it were in the window then moving it would break the window layering so I deciced to run it in fullscreen mode. The game internally runs in 640x480x32.

-Tomas
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Post by Paul Stevens »

With respect ot playing DM on the Mac Version:::::

Tomas wrote to me privately and said that he had
tried the DM files on the macintosh and they worked
OK. I think he got the files from:

The 'dungeon.dat' and the 'graphics.dat' are part of the 9.6 release.

http://dmweb.free.fr/Downloads/CSBWindowsLinux96.rar

There is a CSB directory and a DM directory. These are the
original files from the Atari disk.
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Post by DaveWeb »

I have tried everything I can think of in replacing files in the CSB "package" to get the original DM working... including variations in capitalization for the names, and their locations. Each time, the dungeon loads, but mouse clicks to "enter," "resume," or view the credits scroll are ignored. I'm taking the files from the same CSBWindowsLinux96.rar suggested.

If Tomas has DM for MacOS X working, perhaps he wouldn't mind posting the DM package for us? That would be much appreciated, as I'd kind of like to run through it again before hopping into CSB!
Durendal

character files

Post by Durendal »

First off, as a Mac user and longtime fan of DM, many many thanks to you Tomas! Secondly, I was wondering about characters. I played DM extensively on my IIgs and have extracted the .dat and .bak files from a character disk. I was wondering if there was any way I could hack these into the CSB app and use my old characters.
Durendal

save

Post by Durendal »

I can't get the saved game to work! I start it up, select the characters, then try to save the game. Regardless of which .dat file I save it to, it quits with no error message when I save it. I figure this might be natural, but when I try to resume the game and start the dungeon, it tells me there's no saved game in the disk. There is no option in the Utility to "MAKE NEW ADVENTURE" as the readme says. It just puts me right to the saved game menu. Anyone else having this problem, and is there a workaround?
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Post by beowuuf »

All versions use the same atari files as their basis, not PC nor Mac files f this is what you are using.
Also I know Paul decided not to touch the code for the converting of DM parties to CSB, so it just generated an error message if you tried it.
I don't think the linux or Mac versions have this feature either, so possibly react the same without error code?

There is nothing to stop you using an editor such as CSBuild to edit the hcsb.dat file though, and altering character stats to what your original characters possessed so you can reincarnate them fro mthe hall of champions instead...
Durendal

nope

Post by Durendal »

Well, I downloaded it again and unstuffed it with UnrarX. It wouldn't launch. I guess using Unrar is a bad idea. Another download and expansion with stuffit fixed the saving problem, but now it starts me out on level 6 of the dungeon in the worm generating room next to "Run and Jump". Several redownloads have not fixed the problem. What gives?

Can I use the CSBuild editor on a Mac?
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Post by Paul Stevens »

starts me out on level 6 of the dungeon in the worm generating room next to "Run and Jump"
That's wonderful. Everything is working properly then.
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Post by Paul Stevens »

Can I use the CSBuild editor on a Mac?
Nope.
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Post by beowuuf »

Or, to put it in other words...this is how CSB starts, with you thrown into the deep end : )

If you are pressing 'prison' and getting this start, that is bad, as what should happen is you get a hall of champions with new characters to select
You save the game with your new party, THEN restart using the utility, go straight on to 'make new adventure' and point it to the prison saved game...

If you put your characters and stats on the board then someone, me if no one does it by tomorrow, can edit a saved game for you perhaps?
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Post by Sousuke »

A question is in the person who has played CSB for Linux/CSBuild.
What was used for uncompressing a rar file? :?:
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Post by beowuuf »

Winrar, you can get it from www.rarlab.com/download.htm
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Post by Sousuke »

Thank you,beowuuf. But I forgot to say that I'm Mac user.
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Post by beowuuf »

Oops, shouldn't have called it winrar, link for Mac its on there, its http://www.rarlab.com/rar/rarosx-3.3.0.tar.gz

Have you managed to get it working yet? (can't follow the rest of this thread easily at work)
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