Mac Source Ports

Developer: id Software
Release Date: December 9, 1997
Source Code Release Date: December 22, 2001

Quake II is a first-person shooter, the second in the Quake series. Yamagi Quake2 is the most mature and advanced port actively being maintained.

  Buy Quake II on GOG.com

  Buy Quake II on the Humble Store

Developer: New World Computing
Release Date: October 1, 1996

Heroes of Might and Magic II is a 4X turn-based strategy game. Ranked once by PC Gamer as the sixth-best game of all time it features resource building, new factions, skills, and a single-player campaign.

  Buy Heroes of Might and Magic II on GOG.com

Developer: Pumpkin Studios
Release Date: April 10, 1999
Source Code Release Date: December 6, 2004

Warzone 2100 is a post-apocalyptic real-time strategy game from 1999 whose source was released in 2004 and whose content was released as freeware in 2008.

Although my aim is to host signed and notarized game bundles on Mac Source Ports, the Warzone 2100 Project has done incredible work on this port and has logistical reasons for not being notarized yet. While they work through that process, I decided it was worth making an exception to the site's policy so that Apple Silicon gamers looking for a full, free and polished RTS would be able to find it.

Because the app bundle is not notarized, on first run you may run into issues. The shortest answer is to right-click on the app bundle (wz2100.app) and select Open. The long answer is here.

Developer: Chris Sawyer
Release Date: October 15, 2002

Another game from the mind of Chris Sawyer, RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 shares the same pixel art style and hardcore interface as his other games.

  Buy RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 on GOG.com

  Buy RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 on the Humble Store

Developer: Epic MegaGames
Release Date: May 7, 1998

Although never as big as Mario or Sonic, Jazz Jackrabbit did well enough with a hungry PC gaming crowd to merit a second game in the series. It's your standard shareware sequel story: more levels, more twists, better technology. If you liked the original you'll like this one.

It also has a very confusing release strategy. The original game was shareware, when you bought it you got the full Jazz Jackrabbit 2 game. Later, it was re-released with an additional episode under the title Jazz Jackrabbit 2: The Secret Files. Then came a release called Jazz Jackrabbit 2: The Christmas Chronicles, which adds Christmas-themed levels. So when you get the game on GOG you might spot two entries, neither of which look like they're the base game, but both should work in Jazz² Resurrection.

  Buy Jazz Jackrabbit 2 on GOG.com

Developer: Thalion Software
Release Date: April 11, 1993
Source Code Release Date: May 7, 2023

The Commodore Amiga was one of those computers where it jumped ahead of the competition by several miles, but then stayed there for a long time and got surpassed by the competition. I think this is why there's such a distinctive look to the games the platform and why it was so accessible to smaller game designers, the types we'd call "indie" today.

Ambermoon is an RPG for the Amiga that really looks like an Amiga game. It was the second part of an unfinished trilogy. Although the original game's source has been released, the source port we're pointing to is Ambermoon.net which like it sounds is a recreation of the original game in C#/.NET (the original game was Amiga-specific Assembly language and isn't a great candidate for portability).

In addition to being able to download it below from the developer's GitHub page, the game is also available on itch.io as a "Name your own price" download in case you want to support or tip the developer.

Developer: Bungie
Release Date: December 21, 1994
Source Code Release Date: January 2000

The year is 1994. The world can't get enough of DOOM. Everyone that is except for you because you own an Apple Macintosh and DOOM is a PC game. You comfort yourself with your superior port of Wolfenstein 3-D but it's just not the same.

Bungie Software Products Corporation to the rescue! Marathon was released as the Mac's answer to DOOM, and a game which was its opposite, as it was not on the PC. Bungie would go on to make a trilogy of games in the Marathon universe before starting work on the Mac-exclusive Halo

Of course what really happened is Microsoft bought Bungie and Halo became an Xbox exclusive. Halo and Marathon may not share a universe, but Bungie put Marathon references in all of their Halo titles, including embedding the Marathon logo in the original Halo box art.

Bungie released all three Marathon titles as freeware in 2005 so the downloads from the Aleph One project include the entire game. No need to dig out your old discs here.

Developer: Bungie
Release Date: November 24, 1995
Source Code Release Date: January 2000

Marathon 2, released a year after the original, was also released for Windows 95. The game featured engine improvements and a plot that took place 17 years after the original. The graphics for this release have been upgraded from the release on XBLA.

Bungie released all three Marathon titles as freeware in 2005 so the downloads from the Aleph One project include the entire game. No need to dig out your old discs here.

Developer: Bungie
Release Date: October 15, 1996
Source Code Release Date: January 2000

Marathon Infinity finishes out the Marathon trilogy and, curiously, returns to being a Macintosh exclusive. Like its predecessors it includes both single and multiplayer. According to the Aleph One site, this entry is the most popular of the three today with regards to online multiplayer.

Bungie released all three Marathon titles as freeware in 2005 so the downloads from the Aleph One project include the entire game. No need to dig out your old discs here.

Developer: Runing with Scissors
Release Date: September 24, 1997
Source Code Release Date: December 29, 2016

Postal is... something. It is simultaneously controversial and accepted. It is dark and sinister and yet also a parody not to be taken seriously. It's a satire of violence in pop culture while also being a violent piece of pop culture. A mass murder simulator handled with all the gravity of an angstly teenager doodling in a school notebook, when playing the game you're not sure to what extent you're witnessing a commentary on how society views violence, or if you're contributing to it.

It is also a fascinating slice of late 1990's game development outside of the major corporations and, given that the developer still exists today and still makes new entries in the series, an interesting example of long term success. They've made multiple sequels, spin-offs, remakes and even a movie.

When Runnning with Scissors released the source code to the public in 2016 they jokingly-not-jokingly said they wanted someone to port it to the Sega Dreamcast. Someone did. I figured if it can run on the Dreamcast it should also run on Mac and it does, officially, but only as a 32-bit Intel app.

So here it is. Back on the Mac again. Note that the assets it uses are the original version's, which is free on Steam and GOG, but not the Redux version. It should work with the files from either the Mac or Windows versions of the game.

  Buy Postal on GOG.com

  Buy Postal on the Humble Store