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This whole thread arguing about running a triple A game on minimum spec is quite pointless. It’s like complaining why it doesn’t run well on a pc with integrated graphics…

The real question is how does BG3 run on a high spec Mac vs gaming PC. Has anyone run the game on 4K and ultra setting using a m2 max 32gb? How does it compare performance wise vs say a rtx 3070 or 4070.

I have it running on rtx 3070 and it works great, but pain in the ass to switch to pc every time I want to play as all my other work is on mac. I don’t mind buying a mac copy to support this good company and mac gaming and not have to fire up the pc, if the performance is good on high setting on a mac studio m2 max
If you bought BG3 on steam, you now have a license for the macOS version. That’s the cool thing about Steam.
 
I Have a Xbox Series X, you can skip Starfield.
It will be improved. This is why I wait quite a while before buying the latest and greatest. I especially liked the "upgrade your equipment" pushback when interviewers suggested that it didn't run well.
 
Educate yourself by reading up on Unified Memory Architecture.
The cost to bump from 8gb to 16gb is outrageous and overpriced. My M1 8gb “pro” is already starting to show issues with memory. They shouldn’t price gouge customers for memory and 16gb should be the starting point at the cost of these Macs.

But Apple stans are Apple stans.
 
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Is it available on MacOS?
I don't think it is officially. There is a decent iPhone/iPad/Apple TV version. But the Steam version of the game isn't Mac compatible. You could also use an emulator and the SNES rom to play it, though there have been some quality of life improvements to the iOS version, like cloud saving, I think a superior translation, and some extras.
 
Why should apple configure its lowest end configuration Mac to be gaming machines. That is not the rule of thumb in PC so why should it be that way for Mac? Gaming PC are high end, high performance machines. Gaming machines are incredibly computers but they are far from lowest-cost entry-level offerings.

If You don’t like the lowest end Mac configuration then don’t buy them. If people stopped buying 8GB configuration, Apple would stop offering them.

I’m not going into the non-upgradable Apple memory argument except that limitation is known and shouldn’t be a surprise. Think before you buy. If you are unhappy, frustrated or angry about the situation then protest with your pocketbook.
Yeah but Dell’s cheapest laptop is $599 and has 8GB of RAM. It’s just not a fair comparison. And nowadays RAM is really cheap. The difference between 8GB and 16GB is about $15 and for the SOC commodities at the scale Apple is buying, it’s probably more like $5.
 
All my friends rave about BG3 but I just can't see myself getting into turn-based combat. I feel *maybe* I might change my mind if I actually sat down and played.
 
No, not at all. But some previous exposure to some sort of DnD is helpful
I had never played any sort of DnD (and had always avoided turn based combat because I couldn’t see how it would be enjoyable) before getting BG3 and spent the first 10 hours or so flailing around in the dark.

I persevered though because the game and storyline are so engaging and slowly things started to make sense, including the turn based combat.

I’m glad I did because it is absolutely my favourite game ever now and while I’m probably still making lots of rookie mistakes, I’m learning and improving all the time.

This really is a masterpiece game that will definitely reward you for the time you invest.
 
I'm also excited about gaming on the Mac, mostly so I can get rid of my PC and simplify my desk set-up, but also to prove all the nay-sayers who bet me that "gaming will never happen on Mac".
I have an M1-based MacBook Air, Ryzen 7-based ASUS ZenBook Pro, and a Steam Deck. There is no perfect gaming machine, but sometimes, you just have to go with what plays what you want. I would think that the Ryzen 7, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti would do everything easily, but it isn't always smooth.
 
I got Baldurs Gate 3 yesterday, from GoG. Installed it on my Mac Pro 7.1 with Monterey.
The game runs well, even at 5k. Even if the installer gave a warning.

But there are glitches in the Inventory window. As if there are shadowing issue of the character. Other than that I haven't noticed any issue. But when I lowered the resolution to 1440p the graphical issue disappeared.
With high and ultra settings

It is nice to be able to play a great game on a mac.
 

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I'm excited for gaming on the Mac. I have a desktop for gaming and the idea I wouldn't need to own 2 machines down the road would be rather...cost-effective.
It’s smart and maybe needed. They made the Airs so good with the M series chips that the use-case for Pros is greatly reduced. Almost any work is fine on an Air these days, but gaming is the natural “more specs better” with no upper limit use case that affects the general public way more than “professional video post production”. (AI needs CPU though too.. which is another angle where Pros could make a stand)
 
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What makes you think that having 16GB will increase the price?

It will for sure increase the price, even if it is just 20$.

It would also cut into Apple's overall profits for that product line as more people would just settle with the base model.
If Apple would compensate on the base model pricing it could easily be 2-300$ assuming a spec bump both in RAM and SSD.

In the end, Apple always had to low base specs and if you want more you either buy at their prices or you get yourself a nice Dell.
 
It’s smart and maybe needed. They made the Airs so good with the M series chips that the use-case for Pros is greatly reduced. Almost any work is fine on an Air these days, but gaming is the natural “more specs better” with no upper limit use case that affects the general public way more than “professional video post production”. (AI needs CPU though too.. which is another angle where Pros could make a stand)
This is a great point and it’s already being applied to my upcoming m3max studio purchase. I need CPU for work but will be maxing out the GPU even tho I don’t need that kind of graphics power for my workflow.
 
GOG games do not require you to be online, plus you can download the game and save it somewhere. (At least the download is available when the game is recently released). And it is DRM free.

Baldurs Gate 3 GoG.png


***
edit: the closest to owning your own copy of a digital only game, I believe
 
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I Have a Xbox Series X, you can skip Starfield.
I respect that opinion but I love Starfield. I don’t find it as good as Skyrim (although Skyrim improved with DLCs and mods so we should also expect Starfield to get better over time) but I think it’s much better than any of the Fallout games.

I’ve put in many hundreds of hours into Skyrim and similar hours into Oblivion (I missed Morrowind because I was in school at the time and on a limited budget so I had no “gaming” computer) but never liked the Fallout games.

I’m enjoying Starfield almost as much as BG3.
 
This is a great point and it’s already being applied to my upcoming m3max studio purchase. I need CPU for work but will be maxing out the GPU even tho I don’t need that kind of graphics power for my workflow.
Has the M3 Studio even been announced? When is its expected release?
 
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Some posts on Reddit say that it's still compiled as a universal app, so it does still run on Intel. The question, of course, is whether it changes to Arm-only at some point further down the line.

Edit: I've asked Larian and will update this post when I get a response. Larian's own site still lists Intel Macs as compatible so it's a bit confusing when Steam doesn't mention them at all.
If you read the exact wording on the steam store it doesn't say it requires a M1, the wording in the release notes say "The minimum and recommended specs for Mac users have also been updated: we recommend an M1 Pro processor and FSR enabled to run the game at high or ultra settings on a Retina display." however in the store page it does say the processor is M1. What is strange is on the windows side they list both intel and AMD so not like they don't support specs of multiple types of processors. And why the hell are the release notes redacted for "scary words" like icepick lobotomy, given I am now closer to 60 than 50...

I purchased a 12900K based water cooled RTX3090 PC last year mostly for doing linux AI dev work, but made it dual boot for win 11 gaming (which is pretty astonishing to see crazy frame rates at 4K with raytracing on, and on some of the big titles turning on DLSS gives like 120+FPS at ultra which is a guy who started gaming on an original Apple ][ (with the 16K add on pascal board and a video 80 column card which made zork so much easier to read) seeing the sun shining through water sparkling off stuff in the water is mind blowing while the sound is in 7.1 atmos (although it can't beat the fear that the guards in the original Wolfenstein playing in a dark room with the apple ]['s 1-bit audio screaming out "Achtung! Halten Sie!")
 
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