WoW Universal Binary is out

[ZildjianKX]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- World of Warcraft Client Patch 1.9.3 (2006-02-07)
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Love is in the Air!
Are you looking for love? All of Azeroth soon will be! As winter
draws to a close the races are starting to seek that special someone.
Be on the lookout for amorous individuals! Put on that special
perfume or cologne, express your love, and receive gifts in return!
Prepare yourself... love will soon be in the air!


Mac
- Added native support for Intel-powered Macs such as the iMac (Core
Duo) and MacBook Pro. World of Warcraft is now a Universal
Application. Be advised that the minimum supported MacOS X version
has been changed to 10.3.9; World of Warcraft version 1.9.3 and later
will not launch on older revisions of MacOS X.


Battlegrounds
- The default graveyards in Alterac Valley for each side were moved
further up the tunnels away from the battlegroud exit. This should
prevent accidentally leaving the battleground.


Paladin
- Eye for an Eye - This talent will now still do damage when the
paladin is stunned. In addition, if the critical hit kills the
paladin, damage will still be dealt to the spellcaster.
- Greater Blessing of Sanctuary - Paladins with Righteous Fury will now
generate extra threat correctly when this Blessing procs.


Rogue
- Deadly Poison V - The charges were inadvertently not increased with
the new rank of the ability. Increased from 105 to 120 charges.
- Slice and Dice - This ability should no longer miss.


Warrior
- Shield Block - This aura will now correctly be removed when the
charges are all consumed. However, it is still possible when fighting
multiple opponents to get extra blocks due to technical restrictions.


Items
- Arcanist Gloves were not receiving the intended spell damage bonus;
this has been corrected.
- The Stamina and Intellect on Kezan's Unstoppable Taint were
inadvertently flipped; this has been corrected.
- The Enigma's Answer and Stormcaller's Wrath effects now have tooltips.
- The mana regeneration effect from food no longer causes threat.
- Quicksand Waders are now Bind on Pickup.
- The Slime-coated Leggings now have their proper nature resistance.
- Prophetic Aura, Mageblood Potion, Wizard Oils, and the Mana
Regeneration bracer enchant no longer generate threat for the wearer,
and should also provide the increased mana regeneration on normal
ticks instead of every 5 seconds.
- The Ancient Hakkari Manslayer has the proper icon again.


Professions
- The Engineering schematic for the Tranquil Mechanical Yeti now
requires a Cured Rugged Hide rather than Ice Thistle E'ko so that
both Horde and Alliance Engineers can make the recipe.
- Stormshroud Gloves are now Bind on Equip.


Quests & Reputation
- Grammar fixed for gossip associated with the quest "Trial of the Sea
Lion" in Moonglade.
- Fixed a bug with the quest "Glyphed Oaken Branch" that was having the
quest become available sooner than it should have.
- The reputation modifier of Squire Leoren Mal'derath has been reduced.
- Zandalar Tribe reputation rewards for killing mobs in Zul’Gurub have
been increased.
- Winterfall Spirit Beads and Deadwood Headdress Feathers now stack in
quantities of 250.


Raid & Dungeons
- Various bugs have been rectified in the Ahn'Qiraj dungeons.
Molten Core
* It should now be very difficult to remain out of combat while
fighting the bosses in Molten Core.
Zul'Gurub
* A small number of spawns have been removed from Zul'Gurub to allow
for a slightly faster clearing time.
* Increased cooldown on Poison Bolt Volley of High Priestess Mar'li.
* Slightly reduced the melee damage of High Priestess Mar'li.
* The vengance effect gained by the death of the raptor Ohgan during
the Bloodlord Mandokir fight has been increased in power.
* Reduced the overall damage of High Priest Thekal.
* Slowed the rate at which the panthers spawn during the High
Priestess Arlokk fight.
* Hakkar:
Melee damage reduced.
Cause Insanity should now correctly target Hakkar's current target,
rather than closest.
Cause Insanity will no longer remove all threat gained.
Reduced the damage dealt by Poisonous Blood Siphon.
Increased cooldown on Blood Siphon.
Gained an Enrage ability after 10 minutes in combat.
No longer has the Slow ability.
Corrupted Blood now deals direct damage with a following damage
over time effect and no longer spreads to others in the raid.
Fixed a bug that was causing Corrupted Blood to target the current
target rather than the intended random target.
* Increased duration of Poisonous Cloud emitted by Sons of Hakkar.
* Shades of Jin'do are now considered Undead.
- Slightly increased the movement of Lethon's Spirit Shades.
- Reduced the duration of Lethon's Draw Spirit from 7 seconds to 5
seconds.
- Fixed a bug that would cause Lethon's Draw Spirit to spawn two
spirits per person instead of one.
- King Gordok can no longer be seperated from Cho'Rush the Observer in
Dire Maul.


World Environment
- Royal Dreadguards, Undercity Guardians, and Ironforge Guards will now
detect enemy players at the same distance as the other cities' guards.
- Fixed a bug that would cause you to dismount in certain areas within
the Undercity.

[DeSnousa]

Out of curiosity how big is this patch to download?

[ZildjianKX]

Out of curiosity how big is this patch to download?

The PC version is 24 megs, the mac version is 30 megs.

[MacRumorUser]

The PC version is 24 megs, the mac version is 30 megs.

30mb ? seem's awfully small doesn't it?

[ZildjianKX]

30mb ? seem's awfully small doesn't it?

Not really, it's a small update, and the WoW binary is only like 14 megs, and the WoW launcher is only 1 meg.

Edit - Interestingly, the patch downloader and the patch installer itself are not universal binaries. Not that it matters, but still interesting.

[MacRumorUser]

Cool... Only where can I download it :confused:

Doesn't come up yet when I start the game.. Any link/url I can follow?

[Sutekidane]

Comes up fine for me on my core duo imac. 30.1mb.

[MacRumorUser]

Comes up fine for me on my core duo imac. 30.1mb.
It's probably because your in the states I guess. You'll be getting the en_us update, whilst I have to wait for the en_GB....

Out of interest is there any performance increase? Or does it make any difference at all? It would be good indication of speed boost we should expect from other apps when they switch to universal...

[srobert]

Cool... Only where can I download it :confused:

Doesn't come up yet when I start the game.. Any link/url I can follow?


http://www.blizzard.com/support/wow/?id=aww01810p

According to this link, 1.9.2 is only available from the Blizzard Downloader. Maybe it's the same thing for 1.9.3.

I can find no mention of 1.9.3 on Blizzard's website.

[Sutekidane]

It's probably because your in the states I guess. You'll be getting the en_us update, whilst I have to wait for the en_GB....

Out of interest is there any performance increase? Or does it make any difference at all? It would be good indication of speed boost we should expect from other apps when they switch to universal...

Servers are down right now, so I don't really know how big the performance increase is yet. Seems pretty noticeable in the log in screen though. I'm sure it'll be great, probably around 30fps average on medium-highish settings.

[dothog]

Servers are down right now, so I don't really know how big the performance increase is yet. Seems pretty noticeable in the log in screen though. I'm sure it'll be great, probably around 30fps average on medium-highish settings.
I was able to test the beta of the WoW UA on my 2.0 GHz Core Duo with 2 GB RAM and 256 MB x1600. The number you put there ("around 30 FPS") is exactly what I saw with my sliders set medium or high. I'm even thinking of dialing down the resolution a notch (I run in window) just to see how smooth a consistent 40-50 FPS will look, but we'll see.

I'm really impressed with how quickly Blizzard got in the intel-native ballgame. They've supposedly been working on the UA since the Intel announcement in June 2005. It's pretty clear that they are committed to making games for Macs.

The UA beta was really clean, too. I only saw a few consistent errors that I could trace back to the UA, and I'm sure they've been worked out.

[Josh396]

I'm downloading it now. I'm expecting it to be a pretty good improvement since I was able to get 25 fps under rosetta. I'll know in about 5 minutes or so.

[MacRumorUser]

I'm downloading it now. I'm expecting it to be a pretty good improvement since I was able to get 25 fps under rosetta. I'll know in about 5 minutes or so.

20 minutes? Wowsers what connection do you have :) Look's like the screenshot we all saw with 100FPS was a load of rubbish I guess.....

Just paid for my three monthy sub (I had given up a couple of months ago, thankfully all your characters remain when you re-new). Hoping the update shows up on this side of the Atlantic soon....

[Josh396]

20 minutes? Wowsers what connection do you have :) Look's like the screenshot we all saw with 100FPS was a load of rubbish I guess.....

It was slow at first but it picked up. I was thinking the same thing about the 100 FPS too. Hopefully it will be up to around the 50 or so I heard about in the next patch or two. The good thing is it's the first patch and I've heard the drivers for the X1600 aren't that good right now so there should be progress to be made.

[rbarris]

20 minutes? Wowsers what connection do you have :) Look's like the screenshot we all saw with 100FPS was a load of rubbish I guess.....

Just paid for my three monthy sub (I had given up a couple of months ago, thankfully all your characters remain when you re-new). Hoping the update shows up on this side of the Atlantic soon....

The "100 FPS" screenshot was demonstrating the Intel native application at Macworld, in a relatively simple scene (running around in Stormwind in a low crowd area). No, I don't think I have seen the game hit 100 FPS in Rosetta..

The 1.9.3 patch will be rolled out to each region during the normal service window this week (Wed/Thu IIRC).

[Josh396]

The "100 FPS" screenshot was demonstrating the Intel native application at Macworld, in a relatively simple scene (running around in Stormwind in a low crowd area). No, I don't think I have seen the game hit 100 FPS in Rosetta..

None of us expected to see 100 FPS in Rosetta. I didn't even really expect to see 100 FPS when the patch came out. Any improvement will be great but that amount of FPS got everyone excited for when the actual patch came out.

[Bubbasteve]

I have 1.5 GB of Ram in my iMac Core Duo 2 Ghz and I'm impressed w/ the new patch... not blown away but I appreciate it

[colocolo]

I have 1.5 GB of Ram in my iMac Core Duo 2 Ghz and I'm impressed w/ the new patch... not blown away but I appreciate it


Could you please elaborate? I think we all want to hear about the fps... as detailed as possible, please.

[Josh396]

Could you please elaborate? I think we all want to hear about the fps... as detailed as possible, please.
I have a 20" Intel Duo with 2 GB of RAM and 256 VRAM. I get 20-30 FPS with almost every setting on Max, except for two. The game looks much better but I was hoping for a little higher FPS. I have a friend who has a 3 Ghz Pentium 4, 1 GB of RAM, and a 256 MB X600 video card who gets 35+ FPS with every setting on Max. I was hoping for about the same performance but it's not bad at all. Hopefully with the next patch and an updated driver for the video card it'll jump up a little.

[Gurutech]

I have a 20" Intel Duo with 2 GB of RAM and 256 VRAM. I get 20-30 FPS with almost every setting on Max, except for two. The game looks much better but I was hoping for a little higher FPS. I have a friend who has a 3 Ghz Pentium 4, 1 GB of RAM, and a 256 MB X600 video card who gets 35+ FPS with every setting on Max. I was hoping for about the same performance but it's not bad at all. Hopefully with the next patch and an updated driver for the video card it'll jump up a little.

How's the performance when you are in IF(or OG) or pretty laggy area of the game? (instance etc?)

[Josh396]

I actually haven't been in IF yet or any instances but I'll go on right now and check that out.

EDIT:
I was actually pretty impressed with it's performance in Ironforge. All my settings were maxed out except Terrian Distance and Environmental Detail which were half way up and I never dipped below 18 FPS. The bank was the only spot that dipped below 20 FPS, every other spot I got 30 FPS. Not that bad for having the settings maxed out. I didn't try to fly out of IF yet but I will when I get back on. I'm assuming I won't get the normal slide show that I'm used to. I need to do some work but when I finish I'll try some more spots out if no one has already.

[MacEffects]

Cool, now I can play my Level 31 Warlock even better :p :D High Level Characters please make jokes now :cool:

[bluebomberman]

Nice to see games get some main page lovin'.:)

Sad to see my Rev. A G5 iMac be obliberated as a gaming machine (not that it was ever a screamer to begin with).

[LimeiBook86]

EDIT: Well the news-link mentioned WOW and UT, wonder why they linked it like that...:confused:

Unreal Tournament 2004 runs better than it did on my PC! It's smooth, fast, and beautiful! I had to go pick myself up a copy at the Apple Store to test it but, oh boy was it worth it. I love it :D I'd like to see an ATI control panel or something for the new Macs, that'll be nice.

[nagromme]

Now the apps I really rely on are starting to arrive ;)

UT 2004 is a great game... Actually, it's endless new games forever--due to the massive community making free maps, characters, weapons, and even whole new game types that don't remotely resemble UT. Lots of variety, from RPGs to third-person story-driven games. All Mac-ready. Start by downloading JB! (http://jailbreak.beyondunreal.com) (And don't overlook the fun Mac gaming (http://macclan.net/) clans out there ;) )

[Abstract]

Since it's not running under Rosetta, I was expecting MUCH higher FPS than this. If they ran fine under Rosetta, I thought they would be blazing fast if native. :confused:

[bluebomberman]

...and even whole new game types that don't remotely resemble UT. Lots of variety, from RPGs to third-person story-driven games. All Mac-ready.

They have RPGs mods? Tell me more.

[Sutekidane]

meh, I'm not impressed at all about the performance. I guess I'm spoiled by my PC with a radeon x800 in it... I get like 30-40fps with low-medium graphic settings. I think it may be the ram, but the game stutters kinda often. I'm not too happy, but I guess its definitely better than before.

[Josh396]

Since it's not running under Rosetta, I was expecting MUCH higher FPS than this. If they ran fine under Rosetta, I thought they would be blazing fast if native. :confused:
You're not the only one. Right now I'm getting the same FPS as I was under Rosetta but now my settings are maxed out. So while the numbers may not be higher there is a big improvement. As others have said, hopefully we'll see improvement with another update or two.

I just don't get how they we're getting 100 FPS in Stormwind even if there weren't any other people in the city.

[MacsomJRR]

Yay! My life is over again!

[Josh396]

meh, I'm not impressed at all about the performance. I guess I'm spoiled by my PC with a radeon x800 in it... I get like 30-40fps with low-medium graphic settings. I think it may be the ram, but the game stutters kinda often. I'm not too happy, but I guess its definitely better than before.
How much RAM do you have? I'm getting around 30 fps with the settings maxed out. I have 256 VRAM and 2 GB of RAM so I know it's helping out a lot but if you only have 512 of RAM maybe you should upgrade it to see it that helps.

[gunm]

Rats, I may have to renew my WoW sub just to see this for myself...

[Sutekidane]

How much RAM do you have? I'm getting around 30 fps with the settings maxed out. I have 256 VRAM and 2 GB of RAM so I know it's helping out a lot but if you only have 512 of RAM maybe you should upgrade it to see it that helps.

I have the default 512mb, which is not nearly enough, and I can't afford anymore since this thing was way too expensive as is. Oh well, I should have known better than to consider my imac a hardcore wow machine.

[AidenShaw]

Edit - Interestingly, the patch downloader and the patch installer itself are not universal binaries. Not that it matters, but still interesting.
Haha....

One fairly common hiccup in the move the 64-bit Windows has been the 32-bit apps that still used 16-bit installers. (Windows 64-bit doesn't support 16-bit applications.)

Guess it's good engineering (or human nature) not to "fix" things that aren't broken...

[gekko513]

Since it's not running under Rosetta, I was expecting MUCH higher FPS than this. If they ran fine under Rosetta, I thought they would be blazing fast if native. :confused:
It would depend on wheter the CPU or the GPU does the heaviest lifting for that game. A mostly GPU intensive game wouldn't benefit as much from a universal binary as a CPU bound or a balanced game.

[nagromme]

They have RPGs mods? Tell me more.
There are tons of UT2004 mods, but two with RPG elements that come to mind are UT2004RPG (which simply adds a level-up system to ANY gametype, and boosts all your stats, such as firing rate, with experience) and Alien Swarm which is a really neat top-view squad-based tactical shooter. Neither of those is a traditional fantasy RPG in the D&D mold, but I wouldn't be at all surprised of those are out there as well. (There are definitely fantasy-inspired mods, but not being an RPG fan I haven't looked for UT fantasy RPG.)

[sw1tcher]

You're not the only one. Right now I'm getting the same FPS as I was under Rosetta but now my settings are maxed out. So while the numbers may not be higher there is a big improvement. As others have said, hopefully we'll see improvement with another update or two.

I just don't get how they we're getting 100 FPS in Stormwind even if there weren't any other people in the city.

The 100FPS Jobs got as MWSF was a result of Jobs' RDF*

* Reality Distortion Field

[jer2eydevil88]

(And don't overlook the fun Mac gaming (http://macclan.net/) clans out there ;) )

Wow! This website is ugly, in fact it’s a new kind of ugly for Mac users; one might think the color yellow should be used less predominately.

Oh and its good news all around that these games have been ported, especially UT2004 as its a really great game.

[illegalprelude]

yea, god I love UT04. game is soo sweet

[Bear]

Interestingly, the patch downloader and the patch installer itself are not universal binaries. Not that it matters, but still interesting.Why replace something that isn't broken and only runs for a very short period of time?

I suspect the the downloader will become a Universal App in time.

As a side note, performance on PPC processors is greatly improved with the 1.9.3 patch.

[jared_kipe]

Though I don't really like UT2004 it does play fabulously with the universal binaries.

[Josh396]

The 100FPS Jobs got as MWSF was a result of Jobs' RDF*
[/SIZE]
I'm clearly still under the RDF.;)

[Nermal]

I guess I'm allowed to break my NDA now that it's been officially released. I've been running an Intel build for about a week now on my 17" (1.5 GB) and use the following settings with good performance:

Terrain Distance: Half
Environment Detail: High
Anisotropic Filtering: Low
Terrain Texture: Low
Texture Detail: High
Enable All Shader Effects: On
Terrain Highlights: On
Full-Screen Glow Effect: On
Death Effect: On
Vertex Animation Shaders: On

I didn't touch any settings that require a restart, because I'm too lazy :p but if someone finds some "better" settings then please post back with them :)

[Josh396]

What do you consider good performance?

[ksgant]

I'm not going to be impressed at all if I get a iMac and play WoW I suppose. Thought the FPS numbers were going to be a little better.

Of course my frame of reference is using a Dual-Core Athlon with a 7800GTX and I get 60FPS with every setting set to max, even by the bank in Ironforge. In all fairness, the 7800 is a tad overkill for a game like WoW.

But this is still great news, which means when the bigger PowerMacs (or whatever they're going to call them) come out with beefier videocards, it will keep right up just fine with a PC playing the same game.

[Austin.xstone]

Its good to see some game makers comming up with the stuff.

I mean you have to have the odd game between working - dont you? :rolleyes:
Can't wait till some of the Pro App's start comming out with the Universal Binary support.

[Nermal]

What do you consider good performance?

Anything over 25 frames/s (same as a TV) is good enough for me. WoW tends to sit at around 45 with the settings I mentioned, although I've seen it get as low as 27 in some places.

[tiselday]

I guess I'm allowed to break my NDA now that it's been officially released. I've been running an Intel build for about a week now on my 17" (1.5 GB) and use the following settings with good performance:

Terrain Distance: Half
Environment Detail: High
Anisotropic Filtering: Low
Terrain Texture: Low
Texture Detail: High
Enable All Shader Effects: On
Terrain Highlights: On
Full-Screen Glow Effect: On
Death Effect: On
Vertex Animation Shaders: On

I didn't touch any settings that require a restart, because I'm too lazy :p but if someone finds some "better" settings then please post back with them :)

I have a question about that is very important for me: noise. After playing for 3-4 hours, does the iMac get noisy and hot? I am asking this because I got the original iMac G5 17" 1.8GHz when they came out, and had to return it because the noise it generated after heavy use. Now I am using a PowerMac 1.8SP (late 2004) w/ Radeon 9600 that stays calm and cool no matter what.

[ZildjianKX]

I have a question about that is very important for me: noise. After playing for 3-4 hours, does the iMac get noisy and hot? I am asking this because I got the original iMac G5 17" 1.8GHz when they came out, and had to return it because the noise it generated after heavy use. Now I am using a PowerMac 1.8SP (late 2004) w/ Radeon 9600 that stays calm and cool no matter what.

I have the same G5... you call it calm and cool? A G5's fans go blazing under load, drives me nuts.

[vouder17]

Anything over 25 frames/s (same as a TV) is good enough for me. WoW tends to sit at around 45 with the settings I mentioned, although I've seen it get as low as 27 in some places.

This is pretty damn good! IMO. I still get 4-5 FPS sometimes in IF..sigh :(

[tiselday]

I have the same G5... you call it calm and cool? A G5's fans go blazing under load, drives me nuts.

Well, you are using a Radeon 9800, whereas I am using the fanless 9600. That might explain the noise difference, as I have read that the 9800s can get quite noisy (it's actually the PCI slot fan that makes much of the noise).

Using Harware Monitor after a long session of WoW, my temps and fans do not differ too much from the idle status.

[vouder17]

i was looking on the WoW website and someone has posted some screen shots. the 100FPS was not a screen from the fully native app. Linky (http://web.mac.com/ciparis/iWeb/Wow/intel.html)

[gammamonk]

I just tried the UT2004 Universal Binary Demo from apple's site. I have a powerbook 1.5ghz, which is of course not intel, but the performace went way up. I tried the previous demo and my framerates were unplayable. I just enjoyed a few maps of UT on my mac!

PPC users of UT should apply the patch too!

[lasuther]

I have a question about that is very important for me: noise. After playing for 3-4 hours, does the iMac get noisy and hot? I am asking this because I got the original iMac G5 17" 1.8GHz when they came out, and had to return it because the noise it generated after heavy use. Now I am using a PowerMac 1.8SP (late 2004) w/ Radeon 9600 that stays calm and cool no matter what.

I played WoW last night for 3 hours, no noise or heat that I notice. My frame rates dipped as low as 25FPS, as high was 50FPS, and was usually at 30FPS. I did a 10 man Strat UD run.

I will be able to tell you alot more, since I play about 3 to 4 hours a day.

lasuther

[MacRumorUser]

European servers now have the universal binary update...

What setting's are you guys using? Resolution etc...

On my powermac dual 1.8 g5 Radeo X800XT with 20" cinema display.. I have 4x Antialiasing, 1680x1050 res and all the other options set to max except draw distance to 3/4 and get around 45fps at all times....

iMac duo, does not handle so well, obviously this is the gfx card, but what settings & res are you using?

Did notice loading times seemed shorter now on the imac duo than on the powermac g5? Although I havent updated that to 1.93 yet..

Also has anyone noticed the fecked up shader effect underwater?

[BenRoethig]

The Core Duo isn't the best gaming processor out there by a long shot, but it's still a great deal faster tan the fastest G5. A P4/PD or an Athlon 64 with a better graphics card would yield best better results. This is very impressive how early we are in the transition process. I can't wait to see what happens with merom/conroe debuts, the PowerPC is finally put to rest, and intel compilers/optimizations are used.

[nagromme]

I just tried the UT2004 Universal Binary Demo from apple's site. I have a powerbook 1.5ghz, which is of course not intel, but the performace went way up. I tried the previous demo and my framerates were unplayable. I just enjoyed a few maps of UT on my mac!

PPC users of UT should apply the patch too!
Is there a Universal demo too? I was wondering that--it doesn't look to me like the demo IS universal (yet). In which case Core Duo users should NOT be put off by the demo performance.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/games/demos_updates/unrealtournament2004.html
(Or am I missing something here? It looks like the patch is Universal but the demo is still dated from last year.)

I do know that they keep updating the demo over time, which is great: for speed, AND so that your demo game online can be joined by retail players, so you actually can try multiplayer. (So many games have only demo-to-demo multiplayer, and then if the game isn't new there's nobody to play with.) So I'm not surprised that your G4 saw more speed from a newer demo vs. an older one.



(And don't overlook the fun Mac gaming clans out there (http://macclan.net/) ;) )
Wow! This website is ugly, in fact it’s a new kind of ugly for Mac users; one might think the color yellow should be used less predominately.
Your helpful suggestion is noted ;) I didn't come up with the white-and-orange-and-blue scheme myself, but I like our page because it's NOT black or very dark like nearly every clan and gaming page is. (Macologist.org being a notable exception.) "A new kind of ugly" seems a little extreme, but people's tastes do vary :)

[Josh396]

i was looking on the WoW website and someone has posted some screen shots. the 100FPS was not a screen from the fully native app. Linky (http://web.mac.com/ciparis/iWeb/Wow/intel.html)
I'm actually impressed they were getting near 40 FPS at the bank in IF. I have the same computer they used except I have 256 VRAM and I was getting around 20. I'll try to tweak the settings to see if I can get the same results.

[nxent]

I was able to test the beta of the WoW UA on my 2.0 GHz Core Duo with 2 GB RAM and 256 MB x1600. The number you put there ("around 30 FPS") is exactly what I saw with my sliders set medium or high. I'm even thinking of dialing down the resolution a notch (I run in window) just to see how smooth a consistent 40-50 FPS will look, but we'll see.

I'm really impressed with how quickly Blizzard got in the intel-native ballgame. They've supposedly been working on the UA since the Intel announcement in June 2005. It's pretty clear that they are committed to making games for Macs.

The UA beta was really clean, too. I only saw a few consistent errors that I could trace back to the UA, and I'm sure they've been worked out.

i've always liked blizzard. always dedicated to making games for macs. solid games, too. my only question for them is if/when are they planning on releasing starcraft 2...

[WinterMute]

I'm running WoW on a 17" 1Ghz Powerbook right now, and my wife "plays" on a 700Mhz eMac...

The new patch has improved performance for me, IF is no longer a series of random hops at peak times, it's around 8-10 fps, crap yeah, but useable, I ran a 5 man DM instance today and got a solid 20-30 fps which isn't bad for this old girl believe me.

There is now talk of a 20" iMac replacing the eMac, and I think an Intel machine might well be on the cards.. Thank you Blizzard, one patch has succeeded where a few months of hints and wheedling have failed.

Odd how we can get a new mac when the wife wants one but it's out of the question when I mention it...!:D

Here's to 60fps and IF looking the way it should...:cool:

(damn, this means I need a Macbook Pro too.... bugger!)

[Nermal]

I have a question about that is very important for me: noise. After playing for 3-4 hours, does the iMac get noisy and hot?

No. My old iMac G5 would get very loud, but this Intel is still whisper-quiet after solid WoWing :)

[MacRumorUser]

THere's a couple of graphic errors on the new imac 20" 256mb Video..

Under water with boom shader effect on, causes the sea to look like a bowl of thick syrup.

2x Antialising causes funny graphics anomolies. Start a game as a human and watch the intro and see the funny lines & tearing....

Of course these can be avoided by disabling those options..

New X1600 drivers are needed though and more optimisation for it...

[bericd]

My car died on me on the weekend, and needs a lot of money thrown at it, so I cancelled my order for the MacBook Pro.

The day I cancel it, I see the unibin for UT2004 come out.

That plain sucks.

[nagromme]

My car died on me on the weekend, and needs a lot of money thrown at it, so I cancelled my order for the MacBook Pro.

The day I cancel it, I see the unibin for UT2004 come out.

That plain sucks.
Your fate is to have an even FASTER MacBook, later this year :)

[shawnce]

As a side note, performance on PPC processors is greatly improved with the 1.9.3 patch.

I bet they are now using GCC 4.0 (likely why the requirement for 10.3.9 and later) to compile the game. This will result in better code for PowerPC.

[AoWolf]

World of Warcraft made page one I feel obligated to reply!

[deitytay]

How do I show the FPS for WoW on my powerbook? I just installed 2GB of ram up from 1GB and wanted to see the difference.

[shawnce]

Haha....

One fairly common hiccup in the move the 64-bit Windows has been the 32-bit apps that still used 16-bit installers. (Windows 64-bit doesn't support 16-bit applications.)

Guess it's good engineering (or human nature) not to "fix" things that aren't broken...

The downloader is downloaded by the game on demand and then launched. So likely to limit download size for the downloader itself they don't make it universal since the game can download the one that matches the systems arch.

[bericd]

Your fate is to have an even FASTER MacBook, later this year :)

Indeed. I'm already looking on the bright side, but It means a few more months trapped inside a DELL laptop - dual booting OsX for my non gaming needs (no QE support for my ATI card).

[HiRez]

How do I show the FPS for WoW on my powerbook? I just installed 2GB of ram up from 1GB and wanted to see the difference.Control-r

[scu]

This alone will increase the demand for Macs.

[jjdubz]

Hey: Anyone have any idea's on why my game lags so bad? UT 2004 with patch plays like I'm online (in Calif.) playing on a server in Europe or something. I haven't done my home work on what video card is stock in this box (slot loading G4) but the minimum requirments say 933MHz G4 or G5. I've tried turning down settings but it made no difference.:confused:

[chibianh]

Hey: Anyone have any idea's on why my game lags so bad? UT 2004 with patch plays like I'm online (in Calif.) playing on a server in Europe or something. I haven't done my home work on what video card is stock in this box (slot loading G4) but the minimum requirments say 933MHz G4 or G5. I've tried turning down settings but it made no difference.:confused:

Do you mean 'lag' as in the video is jumpy? or do you mean 'lag' as in ping times?

If your video is laggy, then it's most likely your video card. If your ping is high, then it's your connection.

[gekko513]

No. My old iMac G5 would get very loud, but this Intel is still whisper-quiet after solid WoWing :)
Ooooh, no I'm tempted into replacing my iMac G5. I hate the iMac G5 fan spinning up for every little computation that needs doing.

[MacRumorUser]

If your ping is high, then it's your connection.

Never had any lag problems with WOW. in fact for a long while I played the game via ISDN without any hitch...

[jjdubz]

Do you mean 'lag' as in the video is jumpy? or do you mean 'lag' as in ping times?

If your video is laggy, then it's most likely your video card. If your ping is high, then it's your connection.

My game play is way b-e-h-i-n-d my reaction time, just like playing on a server across the globe. My connection is Cable, so I'm sure it's not that. I will check my video card asap!!!!

Thankxx

I actually checked my video card (about time eh?) with only 16mb of vram I went ahead and ordered a Radeon 9000 with 64mb of sdram. Not state of the art, but the max this old G4 can handle.

[Nermal]

Ooooh, no I'm tempted into replacing my iMac G5. I hate the iMac G5 fan spinning up for every little computation that needs doing.

Yeah, one of my guildies referred to my old iMac G5 as a 747. Pretty accurate :p

[shawnce]

I bet they are now using GCC 4.0 (likely why the requirement for 10.3.9 and later) to compile the game. This will result in better code for PowerPC.

Finally got a chance to play WoW... yup they now report GCC PowerPC built instead of a CW (code warrior) PowerPC build.

[LagunaSol]

Yeah, one of my guildies referred to my old iMac G5 as a 747. Pretty accurate :p

If your iMac is a 747, then my dual G4 867 is a AC-130 gunship with guns blazing. I hate listening to this thing.

[Hydra]

Could intel iMac owners comment on the noise issue please?
What does it sound like if you play like for an hour or two?

I hate my iBook noise, normally it's silent but when the fan kicks in after playing for 30-45mins or so it makes really loud noise after that.

[Nermal]

Scroll up to post #61.

[Hydra]

Scroll up to post #61.
thx for the tip, sounds good :)

[jjdubz]

Cool... Only where can I download it :confused:

Doesn't come up yet when I start the game.. Any link/url I can follow?


I don't remember the link for macpatch3369-2, just do a Google search and I'm sure it'll come up. The .dmg I downloaded is 578.2 MB's, a bit larger others have mentioned. I noticed no improvment, I'm sure I will after I installl my new (for my G4) Radeon 9000.

[MacRumorUser]

It's alright, they updated European servers now.

Some information affecting performance on iMac Duo...

Just a small bit of info for you guys. Today I finally recieved my mini dvi adapter and hooked up my 20" imac + 20" Apple Cinema for dual display goodness.

Now maybe as suspected, running with two screens does effect performance.
My framerate in most areas fell around 3-8 FPS average with the second screen on (even though the machine blacks it out)...

I'm guessing this is because of the shared video ram - effectivly you get half the ram per screen (my case 128mb per screen)

So if those few extra frames make a difference to you, unplug the mini dvi...

[DeSnousa]

I hate my iBook noise, normally it's silent but when the fan kicks in after playing for 30-45mins or so it makes really loud noise after that.

You have the same spec iBook as me, 1.2 G4, 768MB of Ram, 5400rpm drive and the 9200 graphics card.

What kind of frames could I expect in WOW, I'm guessing 10-20 fps from what the iMacs can do.

[Hydra]

You have the same spec iBook as me, 1.2 G4, 768MB of Ram, 5400rpm drive and the 9200 graphics card.

What kind of frames could I expect in WOW, I'm guessing 10-20 fps from what the iMacs can do.
Lol not that high, 1024x768 and low details U'll get maybe 20fps when looking at the sky with nothing visible, average fps is around 10 when playing. And if you go into instances it drops dramatically, I remember in MC I got solid 1.7fps when fighting, and when doing Lord Kazzak I got 1.5fps.

But still the game is more than enjoyable and very addictive :p

[fansub]

has anyone tried WoW out on a 24" iMac, im looking at buying one and i want to know if i can stick with the 1GB of RAM and the GeForce 7300 with 128mb, or, if with the screen res at 1900x1200 ill have to get a bit more grunt to power it?

[BenRoethig]

If you're looking at the 24", you're better off just paying the extra money and getting the 7600GT

[fansub]

yeah looks like ill have to, also, burning crusade requirements are saying 1gb of ram minimum. :eek: looks like ill have to pay for 2gb of ram aswell as the graphics card. one other thing does WoW take advantage of the 64 bit processors in the new intel chips?