The Macintosh version of the game, which is a somewhat modified and enhanced version of its MS-DOS counterpart, was released on a CD featuring seven audio tracks that are supposed to be played throughout the game. I succeeded in running the game on many different builds of SheepShaver and Basilisk II. However, no matter what emulator or configuration I used, I was struggling with the following problems:
1. The game is so slow that it's unplayable. For some reason, every Mac emulator seems to make the game run as if it's in some sort of extreme slow motion even if you play it at 'Game Speed: Fastest' in the preferences. Tragicomically, the problem persists even though you access hidden options and set the game speed to 'Lunatic'. This can be done by clicking on the 'Game Speed' drop-down list and pressing 'CTRL' and 'Windows Logo Key' simultaneously. Take a look at the screenshot below to see what I mean:
----------------------------------------------
2. The audio CD soundtrack does not work during gameplay. I think I may know the reason for this though. According to the game manual, you can enable the audio CD soundtrack on your System 7 OS via 'Apple Logo' >> 'Control Panels' >> 'Sound' >> 'Sound In', and by choosing 'Built In' as the source for recording. You should then click on the 'Options' button, select 'Internal CD' as your input source, and make sure that the 'Playthrough' checkbox is ticked. Here's a screenshot from the manual, illustrating how System 7 should be configured for the audio CD soundtrack:
However, when I go into 'Apple Logo' >> 'Control Panels' >> 'Sound' >> 'Sound In', it says that there is no sound source for recording. This is what I see when I access the 'Sound' menu and select the 'Sound In' option from the drop-down list:
Despite this problem, I can play the audio CD tracks on AppleCD Audio Player which comes pre-installed with System 7.5.3 and 7.5.5.
----------------------------------------------
3. The audio quality of the game was insanely low. Even if the audio bit depth was relatively low (e.g. 8 bits), the music and the SFX should not sound so dreadful – it's as if the audio was compressed in so lossy a fashion that you hear a constant background hiss when any audio is being played.
----------------------------------------------
Just so you know, the game seems to take advantage of the following system extensions: Quicktime 2.5, Sound Manager 3.2.1, Display Manager 2.0, and Communications Toolbox Tools. You are presented with the option to install or update these system extensions when you install the game. I even grabbed a quick screenshot of the folder that contains these system extensions on the Warcraft CD:
Even if you choose to install the extensions, the problems mentioned above are still present in the game.
According to the manual, Blizzard has provided the following system requirements and recommendations for the game:
Here below, you can see my primary SheepShaver configuration (which is based on advice taken from here and here). I tried to play around with the settings as I saw fit but to be honest I was just grasping at straws. So, after numerous failed attempts, I decided to call it quits for the time being.*Warcraft has a minimum requirement of System 7.0 or greater. It requires a Macintosh or Power Macintosh (or compatible); for best results, a 68040 or PowerPC processor is strongly recommended. Warcraft is completely native on the Power Macintosh.
*Warcraft requires a color display with a minimum of 256 colors and 640x480 resolution.
*Your system should have at least eight megabytes of total memory.
I cannot seem to determine what factors contributed to this disappointing outcome. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to remedy all these problems?ROM: Old World ROM
OS: System 7.5.3 & 7.5.5
RAM Size: 1024
Video Type: Window
Window Refresh Rate: 60Hz
Width: 1024
Height: 768
QuickDraw Acceleration: Enabled
JIT Compiler: Enabled
Other: Both 'QuickDraw 3D' 1.5.4 and 'QuickTime 4' installed
