Atlantico: I tried to run the Macintosh X-Wing Collectors' edition CD version in both Basilisk II (Mac 68k) and SheepShaver (Mac PPC) emulators a few months ago, and the terrible thing is that it runs, it launces, the concourse works, mission selection works, entering missions works and then. .. when missions start, the game runs in slow motion.
It was heart-breaking.. emulation got it a hair's breadth from working. It was unplayable, but so close to working. (cry)
DarthKaal: Not surprising it ran slowly, as Classic Mac emulators can't emulate 3D accelerated cards.
I really hope that it will be possible one day, because lots of Mac versions back then where made by the original developers, and as they were released after their original PC versions, they often came with extra features and slightly modernized engines.
To this day, I still dream of being able to play the Classic Mac version of Dark Forces which had a higher resolution (both in rendering and textures) and few additional cheat codes.
It is true what you say about 3D acceleration and the Mac emulators, they can't handle that - but the Mac versions of X-Wing and TIE Fighter are (fortunately) not 3D accelerated, it is all done by CPU. The Macintosh versions are conversions and improvements of the DOS versions of XW and TF.
That being said, there is of course the 2D graphics API on classic Macintosh, QuickDraw, which these games use and perhaps the emulation can't deal with.
Either way, the result is the same - but it is as you say, Dark Forces for the Macintosh was a big improvement over the DOS version.
During the 90s there was a strange attitude towards the Macintosh by LucasArts, DOS was the leading development platform, but the Macintosh was the "deluxe" platform.
If only LucasArts had given DOS users a reasonable free upgrade to the Collectors' edition X-Wing. I just can't deal with the 240x200 resolution in game and no match-speed-with-target.