Software testing update:
Oni
MDD 1.25Ghz SP G4
OS 9.2.2: Ran installer. App started, opening cutscenes played. When it cut to the main menu, all I had was a black screen. Music played, but had to force quit. Couldn't see the cursor after the force quit, and had to randomly click around the screen to hit the quit button. Could not play.
OS 10.4 Tiger: App runs just fine in classic mode. No opening cutscenes, but menu shows up full-screen, and the game runs extremely smoothly with maxed-out graphics settings. (1024x768, 32-bit color). Appears to be a bug when coordinating keyboard and mouse movement that leaves me running in a straight line. Also got a hard crash after about ten minutes of playing.
Wallstreet PDQ 300Mhz G3
OS 9.2.2: Ran installer. App refused to launch. OpenGL error. Couldn't get the hardware acceleration to work. I assume it's a problem with the RageProLT.
eMac 700Mhz G4
OS 9.2.2: Had trouble getting the CD mount, and when I did, the installer crashed. I think it may be residual problems from the time sitting outside and the soaking the CD drive received. Will try installing over AppleTalk and report back.
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More to come.
Also, in use, the MDD really does feel like a machine designed for OSX. In OSX, I have the ability to adjust both color depth and resolution on the monitor. In OS 9, I can only adjust color depth. In OSX, the machine sleeps properly. In OS 9, the fan never stops. In OSX, the CD eject button on the keyboard works. In OS9, it doesn't. Some of these issues are probably fixable. But in OSX, they just work.
But at this point, I'm curious to see how high-end OS 9 apps like Oni perform on slower G4 machines like the 700Mhz eMac. If performance is good enough, I would probably recommend that a person looking for an OS 9 box choose something designed and optimized for OS9. One clue would be a machine with a button on the CD door to open the drive. That would mean anything pre-Quicksilver.
Thoughts?