Older Games in Tiger and in Tiger Classic

Recently have had a lot of trouble running one specific old game ("The Dig") in Classic. That problem is solved, but in the lengthy troubleshooting I ran across other weirdness with other games, including OS X versions, which had various solutions. I thought there might be some interest here in insights and results.

_Mac OS X Games_

Myst IV and V: The "Install Shield Wizard" will not install either of these games under Mac OS X 10.4.11 with the latest update of Java (Release 9). After dragging the "Myst IV Setup" (or "Myst V Setup") icon from the DVD to the hard disk (as instructed), double-clicking it results in a 2-3 second opening of the installer followed by closing.

There are two invisible files on the DVD(s) titled "mac.command" and "macinstall.jar." When the "setup" app opens "mac.command," the error message "cannot find /wizard.xml" is returned. If the Java launcher is used to open "macinstall.jar," the error message "macinstall.jar is incomplete or corrupt" is returned. So neither Myst IV or V can be installed.

I found that doing an "Archive and Install" from the original Mac OS X Tiger (v 10.4) Install Disc 1, immediately followed by installation of Myst IV and V, worked fine. Once the programs are installed, Software Update can be used to bring the OS X version up to 10.4.11 and the Java releases up to and including Release 9, and the games will play normally. (Updating the OS before installing these two games results in the original problem.)

The above problem may exist for other games released during Tiger's earlier incarnations; I think the issue is that the current Java release(s) are not backward-compatible with the original InstallShield installer application.



_"Classic" (OS 9) Games under Tiger_

The Dig: This game sets colors to 256, which my ATI Radeon X800XT graphics card, or the Mac OS, apparently cannot tolerate for this game. Opening the game always results in game audio starting, but with my display stuck on "DeskPicture," with screen colors shifting as the game scenes change. No game video appears. The solution for this particular game is to open the game, and in the Classic Finder menu, select Control Panels, then Monitors, and reset the colors to "Thousands." The game will then play normally.

My experience has been that almost all Classic games require the "Indeo Video 3" codec in the System Folder/Extensions folder to play properly. This is certainly the case with "Traitors Gate," "Starship Titanic," and "Timescape." Some other games, like "Journeyman Project 3 - Legacy of Time." "Myst Masterpiece," and "Riven" do not need that codec. (Later versions of the Indeo codecs seem not to work with those that require the "#3" codec.)


FWIW, at the moment after all the trouble excising the demons, my PPC G5 is happy playing any of the following games:

_Under Max OS X Tiger 10.4.11- fully updated including Security updates_

Myst III: Exile - with caveat that the CHUD "Processor Prefpane" is installed and set for CPU #1 only
Myst IV: Revelation - installed under OS X 10.4 as described above
Myst V: End of Ages - installed under OS X 10.4 as described above

_Under Tiger 10.4.11 Classic - with Indeo 3 codec in Extensions folder_

Myst Masterpiece
Riven
The Dig - set up as above
Starship Titanic
Traitors Gate - This game does not like to eject discs when it puts up an "Insert Disc #x" screen. Generally has to be saved at the step just before the requirement, then loaded at that point... then the disc will eject.
Journeyman Project 3 - Legacy of Time
Timescape
Rhem
Rhem 2 (optional; two versions... the other runs under Mac OS X up through 10.3)
Obsidian

and others...