Mac client needs to be reborn..? :(

[Brianmj]

WoW can run on a piece of shite computer so a Mac client is no big deal for WoW.

WoW has a D3D renderer and an OpenGL renderer. Those things take time to write. It's a big deal for Blizzard.

[Kerwin]

For the Windows version of the game, DirectX is used as the graphics API, while OpenGL is used for the Mac version. Though Windows has OpenGL as well, when it comes to the drawing systems for games such as FFXIV, the performance of OpenGL is inferior to that of DirectX.

Yes! Lay the smack down on those hipster nerds who claim Mac is better. LOL Have fun with your overpriced INFERIOR computer. xD

[Delily]

Yes! Lay the smack down on those hipster nerds who claim Mac is better. LOL Have fun with your overpriced INFERIOR computer. xD

I'm relatively certain that the only ones making the claim that X is better are the PC users. It's like an Android vs. iOS argument, the Android users seem to be the most vocal.

[Everest]

I got my refund this morning! See you all in boot camp!

What was your procedure to request refund? I've had open tickets for a few days now asking for the same. Thanks

[Kerwin]

I'm relatively certain that the only ones making the claim that X is better are the PC users. It's like an Android vs. iOS argument, the Android users seem to be the most vocal.

Focusing on the game and not diverting to a completely different comparison, mac users have to simulate (bootcamp) windows in order to run certin programs better. That's laughable in my opinion and inferior as said above.

[Avenger]

Thanks so much for the response and commitment to improving the Mac client!! We appreciate your efforts to make a Mac version even though it is not currently up to Square Enix's usual standards of quality and performance.

The Mac version of FFXIV uses the same executable files as the Windows version, and it was created using middleware that allows for functions of Windows to be converted into functions that can be executed on a Mac. This middleware is constantly running for the Mac version, which is an overhead not found in the Windows version. However, this is not a Windows emulator; it is middleware that transposes various types of functions so that they can be properly ran on a Mac. One example where this system is used is for converting the functions of DirectX into OpenGL.

This almost certainly the root cause of the very low performance. As many Mac users have noted with dismay, even Parallels (a full virtual machine monitor) runs the Windows FFXIV client with better performance than the Transgaming/Cider/WINE-based wrapper.

One thing I would like to add with is that Apple has announced their next Mac OS, El Capitan, will have features that may largely improve the performance for running various games. We’ll be talking to Apple about this and continue to make performance improvements so that the gaming experience on Macs are even better.

It would be absolutely wonderful for the game engine to natively support El Capitan's improved graphics technology! such as Metal. Metal has already greatly improved graphics performance and quality for games that use it on iOS, and it should provide similar benefits for games that use it natively on Mac OS X.

[Delily]

Focusing on the game and not diverting to a completely different comparison, mac users have to simulate (bootcamp) windows in order to run certin programs better. That's laughable in my opinion and inferior as said above.

We don't simulate running Window with Boot Camp, we run it directly. Boot Camp modifies the MBR so BootX (the name for the boot loader) can load Windows as opposed to OS X. Before virtualization, having multiple OSs on single computer was a pretty common thing for most developers and advanced computer users. It's neither inferior nor superior.

[Avenger]

We don't simulate running Window with Boot Camp, we run it directly. Boot Camp modifies the MBR so BootX (the name for the boot loader) can load Windows as opposed to OS X. Before virtualization, having multiple OSs on single computer was a pretty common thing for most developers and advanced computer users. It's neither inferior nor superior.

This is exactly right. The Mac is a PC, and it runs Windows just fine. However, it would be really nice to be able to run FFXIV on Mac OS X without having to reboot into Windows.

[Avenger]

please forgive me if this sounds condescending but the standard laptop settings is not the lowest you can go and some of the settings are just unnecessary shinies
just to be sure you should try the below settings and see if it improves anything

It is definitely much worse if you run at anything more than the lowest resolution with everything turned off, as you suggest.
With everything turned off, you can play at a marginal 15 FPS, whereas with higher settings you may be stuck at 5-10 FPS.

[Avenger]

WoW has a D3D renderer and an OpenGL renderer. Those things take time to write. It's a big deal for Blizzard.

It has also definitely paid off with Diablo 3 and StarCraft 2 working well on the Mac. FFXIV is a great game, but Blizzard does a great job supporting the Mac, even having a single package that includes Mac and Windows versions on day 1.