Mac Studio M1 Ultra runs FFXIV but screen is black

[jhollaz]

With the new patch, I'm finally able to log into the game on my new mac studio. I can hear the audio, my mouse can see buttons (indicated by the pointer hover state), and I'm able to click through the menus. I just can't see anything as the screen is black.

I'm hopeful that there will be a fix for M1 ultra users like myself, but I haven't found any new info. Does anyone know?

[Kgabu]

I'm using a Mac Studio M1 Max and everything runs fine. Hopefully they'll fix the M1 Ultra problem soon.

[jhollaz]

Glad yours is working. I hope there is a fix coming.

[Dynratygus]

Good morning and thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums

If you have not done so already, could you try the following:

- Click the Apple Icon at the top left screen. Once there, select 'Select Preferences'.
-Click 'Security & Privacy' >Firewall >Firewall options.
-Click the '+' symbol to add a new application to the fire wall.

Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums

[jhollaz]

Good morning and thank you for posting in the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums

If you have not done so already, could you try the following:

- Click the Apple Icon at the top left screen. Once there, select 'Select Preferences'.
-Click 'Security & Privacy' >Firewall >Firewall options.
-Click the '+' symbol to add a new application to the fire wall.

Thank you for visiting the Final Fantasy XIV Technical Support Forums

I'm not sure what this has to do with my issue. I checked, but my firewall is always turned off anyway. I don't have a problem connecting to the game. The game connects, and actually runs (hear the sounds, mouse can select menu buttons, etc), but the game screen is black.

[jhollaz]

Any update for this issue? Is it being worked on? I'm still not sure what the mod questions had to do with my issue. I'm not using a firewall.

[jhollaz]

It's been a while with no response, so just asking again - is there any update for this issue with M1 Ultra users?

[Kgabu]

Sorry to hear you're still having problems with your Mac Studio. I have the firewall turned on on my Mac Studio but don't think that's related to the problem. Maybe you should post details of your Graphics/Displays (from About this Mac) as this may help resolve the problem.

[jhollaz]

Thanks for the reply. Here is my system:

Mac Studio
With the following configuration:
Apple M1 Ultra with 20-core CPU, 48-core GPU, 32-core Neural Engine
128GB unified memory
2TB SSD storage

Apple Studio Display - 27 inch (5120 × 2880)

Running macOS Monterey version 12.5

[Giginen]

The issue is the 128gb of memory. I have the same issue, 64gpu/128gb/4tb Mac Studio Ultra, and am relegated to playing FFXIV on an older, lesser equipped machine. It seems something in FFXIV's coding causes endless viewport frame buffers to occur in MacOS in systems with more than roughly 80gb memory. You can watch what happens with your memory if you open Apple's activity monitor and then try loading FFXIV. You'll see the game immediately take almost all of the memory, and either crash, or get stuck at the black screen you describe. Until the company that creates the Wine wrapper for the MacOS version finds a resolution for this, MacOS changes somehow, or we can pray Square makes a true M1 MacOS client, since it is the future of Apple, the game will not play on your, mine, or any other Mac with 128gb of memory. Do some online searching, you'll find a lot of articles/posts about it.