Cider: Frequently Asked Questions
The list below includes several frequently asked questions about Cider. If you are a developer or publisher and have a question that is not listed here, please feel free to contact us at cider@transgaming.com for additional information.
- What is Cider?
- How does Cider work?
- Who is Cider for?
- How do I maintain the source for a Mac game?
- Who's using Cider?
- I want to use Cider for my game, how do I get it?
What is Cider?
Cider™ is an extremely powerful technology that allows games to be released day and date with their PC counter-parts giving publishers significant upside revenue potential and leveraging marketing and branding initiatives. Cider also allows publishers to release either dedicated Mac versions of their games or PC/Mac hybrid versions (i.e. both versions of the game in a single box).
How does Cider work?
TransGaming's Cider™ Portability Engine is a proprietary technology that allows PC games to be enabled on Apple's Intel Macs without the traditionally expensive and arduous need to redevelop a game from the ground-up. Cider acts as a "wrapper" around the PC game dynamically translating PC API calls to the Mac OS X operating system. As such, games can be enabled with Cider in a matter of days to weeks as opposed to the typical man years that traditional development takes.
Cider works by directly loading a Windows program into memory on an Intel Mac system and linking it to an optimized version of the Win32 APIs. TransGaming's Cider implements common multimedia Windows APIs such as Direct3D, DirectInput, DirectSound and many others by mapping them to Mac equivalents. This allows games to run with equivalent game play and performance but without the typical brute force porting effort typically required to bring games to Mac.
Who is Cider for?
TransGaming's Cider™ product is licensed to developers and publishers. Cider has ignited a Mac gaming revolution with the largest and most successful game publishers continuing to adopt Cider to bring their top titles to the Mac. With Cider, more top tier games have been released for the Mac in the last two years than ever before and Cider today is creating a paradigm shift, giving Mac users access to some of the biggest and best games. If you are a game developer or publisher looking to bring your next hot title to the Mac and are interested in finding out more information, please send an e-mail to cider@transgaming.com.
How do I maintain the source for a Mac game?
TransGaming's Cider™ technology utilizes the very same game source that is used across both the Windows and Mac platform. Developers need to only maintain a single source tree for both platforms. The same copy-protection, lobbies, game matching and connectivity are available on both platforms. Patching is made easy as the Windows patch will also support the Mac version of the game.
Who's using Cider?
TransGaming currently has signed agreements with top tier publishers for some of the largest gaming franchises in the world. See the Cider homepage to see who's using Cider and check out a list of Cider Powered Games. Many Cider Powered games are available to purchase as a digital download at www.gametreemac.com or by visiting the Apple store.
I want to use Cider for my game, how do I get it?
If you are a developer or publisher looking to utilize Cider™ for your next game, please feel free to contact cider@transgaming.com with your details to get information about enabling your game with Cider.