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Fix for Humble Bundle-bought Uplink, Macbook, Mountain Lion

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 3:22 pm
by john-whitlock
I was able to get Uplink working on my new MacBook Pro running Mountain Lion. First, the problems...

I redeemed my HB code in Steam and installed the game. It ran and went to full screen mode, but things were wrong right away. Instead of the dialer, I just got a blue box that appeared for a second. No other graphics - no representation of my computer or the uplink server. When I connected, I got the welcome text, but it was printed as if it was in a box that was too small for it, and there were no visible scroll bars. I was able to press 'Enter', and then I got two lines of text, something like 'About Us' and 'Register'. The distinctive bullets weren't there, or the header, or anything. When I hovered my mouse a few pixels below the 'About Us' text, some help text appeared at the bottom of the screen. I could use Enter to proceed, and maybe Tab, but with the black-button-on-black-background motif, I wasn't really able to play the game.

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling w/ Steam, deleting the Uplink folder, etc. etc. Now Uplink crashes whenever Steam launches it. Oh well, I hope Introversion reads their crash reports.

So, I downloaded the Mac Native version, allow unsigned applications to run, and got a very similar experience (full screen, useless black-on-black theme).

Now, the solution:

  1. Download, install the native version (I went to Humble Bundle to get it), run it once, Cmd-Q to quit
  2. Open up the Terminal
  3. Change to the Uplink directory (for me, cd /Applications/Uplink.app/Contents/MacOS/)
  4. Run with parameter:

    Code: Select all

    ./Uplink -graphics_fullscreen +graphics_screenwidth 1024 +graphics_screenheight 640


This will run Uplink in windowed mode, with all the chrome, small enough that you can actually get to the Options button. You can then play with the settings to make the largest windowed screen your display can handle. These options will then be saved and become the default when you launch it the next time.

Happy Hacking!

Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:10 pm
by Correa
Thank you. This fixed my trackpad problem on Mac. After starting the application from

Code: Select all

/Users/$USER/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Uplink/Uplink.app/Contents/MacOS


With your command line, then the mouse was working in windowed mode. Changed settings to a proper resolution and to fullscreen and it still works.

Re: Fix for Humble Bundle-bought Uplink, Macbook, Mountain Lion

Posted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 11:48 pm
by Wigglyratty
john-whitlock wrote:I was able to get Uplink working on my new MacBook Pro running Mountain Lion. First, the problems...

I redeemed my HB code in Steam and installed the game. It ran and went to full screen mode, but things were wrong right away. Instead of the dialer, I just got a blue box that appeared for a second. No other graphics - no representation of my computer or the uplink server. When I connected, I got the welcome text, but it was printed as if it was in a box that was too small for it, and there were no visible scroll bars. I was able to press 'Enter', and then I got two lines of text, something like 'About Us' and 'Register'. The distinctive bullets weren't there, or the header, or anything. When I hovered my mouse a few pixels below the 'About Us' text, some help text appeared at the bottom of the screen. I could use Enter to proceed, and maybe Tab, but with the black-button-on-black-background motif, I wasn't really able to play the game.

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling w/ Steam, deleting the Uplink folder, etc. etc. Now Uplink crashes whenever Steam launches it. Oh well, I hope Introversion reads their crash reports and Mcdonalds menu with prices.

So, I downloaded the Mac Native version, allow unsigned applications to run, and got a very similar experience (full screen, useless black-on-black theme).

Now, the solution:

  1. Download, install the native version (I went to Humble Bundle to get it), run it once, Cmd-Q to quit
  2. Open up the Terminal
  3. Change to the Uplink directory (for me, cd /Applications/Uplink.app/Contents/MacOS/)
  4. Run with parameter:

    Code: Select all

    ./Uplink -graphics_fullscreen +graphics_screenwidth 1024 +graphics_screenheight 640

This will run Uplink in windowed mode, with all the chrome, small enough that you can actually get to the Options button. You can then play with the settings to make the largest windowed screen your display can handle. These options will then be saved and become the default when you launch it the next time.

Happy Hacking!



I've already gone through a similar situation when I had to live in a region where cable internet didn't exist, I decided to hire satellite internet services, it's the same used on cruise ships and in cars that participate in rallies in the Sahara desert.. .and it's not as expensive as many people think, google it and you'll find plenty of satellite broadband options, you can run all the games without any problems.

Re: Fix for Humble Bundle-bought Uplink, Macbook, Mountain Lion

Posted: Mon Jul 04, 2022 1:17 pm
by Maxtoun
I recently bought a macbook. I dreamed of a MacBook for a long time, but I always felt sorry for spending so much money on a computer. I found a great option at the refurbhished macbooks UK website. Actually, a refurbished macbook is just as good as a new one, it works great, only it costs 30% less.