Classic Mode runs some games horribly? (Stutter and such)

[Mansen]

Resolved

Hi folks.

(I know Classic Mode is a little out of the discussion topics here, but I haven't found any other forum that still seems to know about OS9 and Classic Mode yet)

So I finally managed to get my old 400Mhz G3 running (Harddrive was burned out - Finding an IDE drive is pretty hard around here oddly enough ), but a lot of the games I've installed and run through the Classic Mode interface run really poorly. Which kind of bums me out as the only reason I got this machine was to play my old games properly (Since Sheepshaver doesn't do 3D or is stable enough to play for hours on end - for me at least)

Anyway - Specifics.

400Mhz G3 - 1GB SDRAM upgrade.
Mac OSX 1.4 (Tiger), fully updated according to System Update.
9.2.2 OS9 Classic Mode installed
I'm pretty sure Quicktime is one of the last revisions (I could go check). Got an update for it through the FutureCop: LA disc.

Games I've tried so far.

Wolfenstein 3D
The viewport will stutter suddenly and the viewport freezes - Game still continues, which means I'll take a lot of damage from enemies while unable to react at all. It's not just a quick stutter, but up to a second or two. (This is really odd - Sheepshaver ran it perfectly except for mouse control back when I used that)

If I turn off Quickdraw? the stutter goes away, but instead the viewport starts lagging behind depending on how I move - Very odd looking.

FutureCop: LA
Oddly enough the one game that I wouldn't have expected to run properly - Yet it runs exactly how it's supposed to. In full Hardware 3D at that.

Simcity 2000
Runs as I'd expect - No noticeable slowdowns, stuttering or anything like that.

Civ 3: Call to Power
Runs really slow - Which I find odd since Macintosh garden puts it at needing a 180Mhz Processor, which is just under half of what I have. The interface is slow, the game feels slow.

Bonus question: Is there a way to hide the dock while I'm running OS9 fullscreen apps? Aside from outright killing it through an applescript or such?

[Ronald P. Regensburg]

Why run MacOS 9.2.2 in MacOSX Classic mode? Your G3 should be able to start up from the installed MacOS 9.2.2 directly.

[Mansen]

Equal parts old habits (I've grown used to OSX's GUI windows - Especially the fact that it opens folders within the same window and it has the nifty "minidock" on the left side of the window)

...and equal parts not having any luck actually burning a OS9 disc successfully yet.

I'm currently using a "pre-installed" OS9 System Folder from a NetBIOS? .dmg I found by accident through google. It'll boot classic mode no problem, but if I tell OSX to restart into it, I'm hit by an Appletalk? Server login prompt of sorts. I assume it is some sort of client>network server distro.

Anyway - Haven't been able to burn OS9 correctly yet (My G3 only came with a Tiger DVD). I tried burning an .iso from the web on my Windows laptop (only burning capable drive in the house) and the G3 just chews on it for two minutes, making unhappy noises and then spits it out again - In OSX, not even on boot.

[Mansen]

Well colour me surprised - I actually managed to install OS9 from within Classic Mode through dumb luck.

Well I guess we can call this one resolved then - Classic Mode isn't part of the so If real OS9 won't play these games properly, only a lack of extensions can be the cause.

Thanks for provoking my mind into finding a solution, Ronald.

[adespoton]

Classic Mode suffers many similar limitations to SheepShaver, as it only has the hardware access passed to it by the host. Running "old" software does best on a 400MHz G4-G5 processor running 9.2.2 directly. Altivec can be a definite help in some titles.

So, if you still have issues, it could be your G3 chip that's dragging you down; I remember just before the switchover there were definite performance issues on my G3s with recent software.

[Mansen]

No kidding - Never knew Classic Mode was so "gimped". I'm so happy I decided to buy a mac with true OS9 support.

Everything is running great so far - Wolfenstein is drawing properly, Call to Power is fast as heck, even titles that outright refused to work in Classic are now running great.

Biggest issue is installing everything - I'm too lazy to reboot constantly, so thankfully Classic Mode will let me install everything and just have it "reboot" within OSX.