The Mac OS X Client's absymal performance is a joke.

[Caerai]

I'm starting to get concerned it's my machine... I'm running at 3fps in Limsa and I'm using the 2015 Macbook Pro with the following sepcs:

2.9GHz Processor
512 GB Storage
3.1GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 memory
512GB PCIe-based flash storage1
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
Built-in battery (10 hours)2
Force Touch trackpad

While I wouldn't expect it to run smoothly I would at least expect to get about 20 - 30 fps... or am I expecting too much lol?

[Nemna]

Intel Iris Graphics 6100

This would probably be an issue even if the client WERE working properly. I believe it's below the minimum required specs (minimum is Intel Iris Pro, I think).

That said, it would be interesting to install Boot Camp and see how the game performs in its Windows incarnation with your setup.

[Jaysnuh]

So, for this first time since installing the game, I too am able to post on the forums. If new players who came on board with the release of the Mac client have (like myself) been unable to post until now, we probably haven't really seen the scope of the problem yet.

Adding my experience to this thread:

As a longtime WoW player, I foolishly thought that a respected developer like Square-Enix would be playing somewhere in the same ballpark as Blizzard, which has demonstrated consistently that solid Mac, native Mac ports - with simultaneous releases, dedicated development and support teams, etc. - is good business. As the client was downloading, I was telling my wife about the high regard in which I held Square, having played most of the Final Fantasy titles -- and truthfully, having successfully gone back to the drawing board after the initial failures of this game.

It didn't take long for me to realize that Square really isn't in a position to clean the floors at Blizzard HQ in terms of Mac development.

First: Preordered the game, received the bonus items codes, but no early access, no explanation as to why. It was clear from every storefront, from Amazon to Square's own store, that the Mac client was nothing more than a careless afterthought. No physical version and no CE says a lot more than Square may realize.

Second: OMG the registrations. First at the online store to order, then again for a Square-Enix account. That wasn't enough. I needed to register at the Mog site as well to claim my bonus items. OK. Thought I was done.

Launched the game. So far so good; graphics are lovely; the character creation tool is magnificent. I click enter world: I don't have an approved code to play. I am sent back to the Mog Station, where I can see that I clearly am registered and that my Mac code appears as "Active". I create a new character and try to log in again. This time...success!

I'm excited. The cut scenes are 60FPS and things look beautiful. Then I'm dumped into the game world...heartbreak.

I can stand and turn and look everywhere with high FPS - game looks marvelous. I'm running on a high-end i7 Mac with a ATI 6870 card - not this year's tech, but I have 60-100 FPS on WoW and can play most PC ports (like the recent Tomb Raider reboot) at a rock-solid 60 FPS at 1920x1080. I know from experience that Macs do just fine for gaming - when developers care about the quality of their product.

Then I start to move forward. I am running through molasses. Total slide show. FPS ranges from 7-15. There are no other players on-screen; it's the phased introductory area. I lower the graphics quality dramatically. Frame rates inch up a bit; now dropping as low as 10 and ranging as high as 25. The smoothness of motion waxes and wanes, seemingly without reason. I step into huge outdoor areas and the framerate chokes, but it chokes on the indoor areas, too. There is huge mouse lag.

Okay, so performance is awful. I figure I'll give it a go anyway. Unfortunately, the game has decided that it will respond to some mouse clicks and not others. I often cannot click the "X" to close a help window. Sometimes the System Configuration window will not allow me to click on any of the buttons. (Yes, I specified mouse+keyboard control at the beginning). At one point, trying to ESC out of a window (which would sometimes work when it stopped accepting clicks), I was thrown into controller mode with all the little Playstation controller symbols scattered about the UI. The mouse gets "stuck" on the right hand side of the screen when trying to run/turn, so that I'm constantly accidentally opening quest info windows, which ironically cannot be clicked closed.

I was considering leaving WoW because a) I've been playing on and off for 10 years, and b) I've not agreed with the direction the game has been taking over the past few years. I was so excited to have a chance to try a new MMO, set in one of my favorite fantasy universes. Square missed the opportunity to win me over as a FFXIV player - maybe for the next 10 years, for hundreds and hundreds of dollars over the life of the game.

All I can see now is how well Blizzard does the things that Square has failed at. Simple things, such as a stable game client. Not even getting into player support (a dedicated Mac support forum, for example) and actual development resources aimed at high-quality, native, simultaneous releases. SO disappointed in this company.

I too have requested a PC code in an effort to make something of my $60 purchase (and expecting that refunds will not be given). I see that some people here have received responses; I've had none so far. Spread the word, guys - email the big gaming and tech sites and share our story. They're always looking for content, and I expect they are more likely to get a meaningful response from Square than we are at this point.

[Audiam]

I was just about to buy the Mac client version last night, but was a little lazy getting out my own card to pay for it and didn't read this thread then. Two weeks leading up to Heavensward's release, I also found it pretty tedious on the fact that there was barely any information to go off on for the Mac version of Final Fantasy XIV. I really wanted to preorder it, but there was so little to go on and hoped that when HW would be released, there would be no issues. Unfortunately not.

Your guys' efforts to crack down on this major issue is extremely commendable. I've been keeping tabs on this thread the entire day since I found it this morning. I'm pretty disappointed in SE myself in that while currently they're addressing other issues, this thread still has remained untouched by staff. No heads up or anything that this issue has, at least, been "officially" recognized. Please do soon, Square Enix, because I would happily wait a little longer for a much more stable version of the Mac client as I've finally had enough of the PS3's pretty atrocious load times and its own array of glitches.

[Caerai]

This would probably be an issue even if the client WERE working properly. I believe it's below the minimum required specs (minimum is Intel Iris Pro, I think).

That said, it would be interesting to install Boot Camp and see how the game performs in its Windows incarnation with your setup.

Thanks for that, I wasn't sure because under minimum specs on the website it says "Mac Os X" and that's all.

I had a look and the Iris 6100 should be able to run FFXIV: http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/...06100%20Mobile

[Tatsuo]

This is what I got as reply after being persistent (3 tickets)
Don't let yourself getting brushed off. You don't have to accept this shitty piece of software.

Dear xxx,

Thank you for contacting the Square Enix Support Centre.


We are very sorry to hear that you wish to request a refund.

In order to escalate your issue to our Tier 3 Support, we will need the following information:

- Email address currently registered to the account
- Order Number (SEE-STORE-XXXXX)
- Full name on the account

Once we have this information, we will be able to process your request. Please bear with us and things will hopefully be resolved soon. We thank you for your patience and understanding at this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.


Kind regards,

The Square Enix Support Centre team

[JDHiro]

I have good experiences with playing it in Windows 8.1 in Bootcamp. On your machine that should perform very well. Maybe that's a temporary solution if you have a PC version? Personally I hoped to finally wipe Windows from my Mac, but alas. Guess I'll keep it for a while longer, combined with some play sessions on PS4. Trying to get used to the controller.

I do all my work in OS X, and I don't really want to shut everything else down to play 1 game all the time. I also didn't pay for the expansion on Windows.

Not a bad workaround for most but - SE promised a Mac client, I REALLY want to have a usable Mac client.

[Sakei]

I have no doubts that Square Enix could handle a mac release well in-house, but they outsourced this to TransGaming. SE has several iOS games available that work well, and they are pretty good with working across multiple platforms. It seems they should have had more oversight of the port. TG hasn't delivered on this and it's hard to believe they didn't notice how poorly it runs.

[JijaYanin]

If WB can suspend sales of Arkham Knight to fix it, SE should do the same for the Mac client.

[Avenger]

Good point that there are Square Enix games that work fine on Apple hardware like iPads, which also use OpenGL and OS X. It is not an impossible task to deliver a game that actually works well on OS X (indeed Blizzard's games work just fine as well.)

Surely it's not too much to ask for a Mac FFXIV client that actually delivers decent performance.

The decision to go with Transgaming/WINE rather than a native OpenGL Mac port seems to have led to abysmal performance, and it's hard to imagine anyone at Square Enix would think was anywhere close to meeting their standards for quality and performance.