RPG/Dungeon games for older MBA

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turb0

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Aug 20, 2004
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Looking to do some light gaming on my 2011 MBA. Basic stats are 256GB hdd, 4GB or RAM, 1.7GHz i5., and a Intel HD3000 w 386mb.

This is not a gaming machine, I know that for sure. I feel like this thing overheats just encoding videos in iMovie 90% of the time.

I'm just looking for something like a Diablo 3 or maybe a FF game that I could play every now and then (leaning more towards Diablo style vs FF though). I'm not sure the newer games in the AppStore would work well on my laptop at all. I did try playing DOTA 2 for about 5 minutes but it was completely jittery and lagged the whole time.

Thanks for any recommendations!
 
I recommend a SNES Emulator and a PS3/PS4 controller. I enjoyed this setup quite a bit while traveling. Played FF IV, V, VI. There of course is always Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana as well as Earthbound, Zelda, and Super Mario RPG. Tons of options. Not to mention if you get bored and want to play action or Platformer there are tons of options. The DK series, Super Contra, R-Type, Darius Twin, Gradius III, Super Mario World, etc etc.

Diablo 3 will run on it, with low settings. I ran a 2010 MBP with a 320M with D3. And it did okay. I did have 8GB of RAM though, but your graphics card is technically faster. You could also try HOTS with reduced settings if you enjoy playing DOTA 2.

You can also go onto the Steam store and try to find some indie titles. There are some great ones with "Retro 16 bit" graphics that are modern. Hyper Light Drifter, Shovel Knight, Terraria, Transistor. Maybe Tyranny and Wasteland 2... although those are 3D titles.

As another side note, I'd recommend getting fan controller software like iStat Menus to control the fans in the machine. I find with my MBPr, the machine won't kick on the fans quick enough during intensive tasks, leading to glitches. So whenever I game or render etc on it, I kick the fans into a higher setting which helps maintain GPU temps (and CPU temps too, but really the GPU tends to be the problem).
 
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UnknownSouljer said:
I recommend a SNES Emulator and a PS3/PS4 controller. I enjoyed this setup quite a bit while traveling. Played FF IV, V, VI. There of course is always Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana as well as Earthbound, Zelda, and Super Mario RPG. Tons of options. Not to mention if you get bored and want to play action or Platformer there are tons of options. The DK series, Super Contra, R-Type, Darius Twin, Gradius III, Super Mario World, etc etc.

Diablo 3 will run on it, with low settings. I ran a 2010 MBP with a 320M with D3. And it did okay. I did have 8GB of RAM though, but your graphics card is technically faster. You could also try HOTS with reduced settings if you enjoy playing DOTA 2.

You can also go onto the Steam store and try to find some indie titles. There are some great ones with "Retro 16 bit" graphics that are modern. Hyper Light Drifter, Shovel Knight, Terraria, Transistor. Maybe Tyranny and Wasteland 2... although those are 3D titles.

As another side note, I'd recommend getting fan controller software like iStat Menus to control the fans in the machine. I find with my MBPr, the machine won't kick on the fans quick enough during intensive tasks, leading to glitches. So whenever I game or render etc on it, I kick the fans into a higher setting which helps maintain GPU temps (and CPU temps too, but really the GPU tends to be the problem).
Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas! I never thought of the emulator on this machine before.

I to have a fan controller and normally have that running at higher speeds when I'm encoding videos or recording some multi track guitar parts in Garage Band (while playing along to multiple tracks).

I'll look on amazon for a decent PS3/PS4 controller that's compatible (I do have a XBOne).

I do need to look into getting a new Macbook, but I'll be damned if they aren't getting more expensive......
 
turb0 said:
Thanks for the ideas! I never thought of the emulator on this machine before.

I to have a fan controller and normally have that running at higher speeds when I'm encoding videos or recording some multi track guitar parts in Garage Band (while playing along to multiple tracks).

I'll look on amazon for a decent PS3/PS4 controller that's compatible (I do have a XBOne).

I do need to look into getting a new Macbook, but I'll be damned if they aren't getting more expensive......
Click to expand...


I would recommend an official Sony one. There are drivers in OSX for it. So it's the easiest to get working.
 
I forgot to mention some of my favorite games of all time would work just fine on your MBA.
Fallout 1/2 and Planescape Torment. Which of course are all RPGs.

===

EDIT: And I also play a lot of Hearthstone... but I suppose if you haven't started that, you may be less inclined.
 
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