Major gaming news at WWDC: Metal and New games

[Homy]

Valve is dropping support for Catalina 10.15 and requires Big Sur 11 for Steam from Feb 15th:

"This change is required as core features in Steam rely on an embedded version of Google Chrome, which no longer functions on older versions of macOS. In addition, future versions of Steam will require macOS feature and security updates only present in macOS 11 and above. Apple ended security updates and technical support for macOS 10.15 in 2022. Computers running these operating systems, when connected to the internet, are susceptible to new malware and other exploits which will not be patched. That malware can cause your computer, Steam and games to perform poorly or crash. That malware can also be used to steal the credentials for your Steam account or other services."

Steam Support :: Steam macOS 10.15 Support

help.steampowered.com

 

[Homy]

The Whispered World: Special Edition for Mac is free on GOG.

The Whispered World: Special Edition

When the fate of a world hangs in the balance, an unusual hero arises! The visually impr

www.gog.com

 

[Homy]

Since they didn’t even do a proper port of BL3 or even Tiny Tina’s Wonderland I wonder if there will be a Mac port this time at all.

 

[Homy]

Cool! Crimson Desert is coming to Mac next year.

 

[Chancha]

You mean 4K with MetalFX should give similar frame rate as native 1080p? Then no! At 1080p I get around 70 fps while as you see above around 48 fps at 4K with Metal FX Quality

Also wouldn't this largely depend on the scaling factor of the given scenario? Some games let you choose this, like Stray. Some games like RE2 is locked at 1:2 I think. Some other games it is unknown until you try and look at the Metal HUD.

 

[diamond.g]

You mean 4K with MetalFX should give similar frame rate as native 1080p? Then no! At 1080p I get around 70 fps while as you see above around 48 fps at 4K with Metal FX Quality

MetalFX Quality should be 66% render target, so for 4K that should be something like 1440P. 50% (which is usually called Performance) should be 1080P.

Also wouldn't this largely depend on the scaling factor of the given scenario? Some games let you choose this, like Stray. Some games like RE2 is locked at 1:2 I think. Some other games it is unknown until you try and look at the Metal HUD.

Yeah, as long as you know the scaling factor you should be able to figure out what the base resolution is and set that manually to compare performance.

 

[diamond.g]

MetalFX Quality should be 66% render target, so for 4K that should be something like 1440P. 50% (which is usually called Performance) should be 1080P.

Yeah, as long as you know the scaling factor you should be able to figure out what the base resolution is and set that manually to compare performance.

Son of a... I forgot Capcom is doing quarter resolution for their upscaling when choosing MFX Quality. sigh. So @Homy is right the base resolution is 1080P and the upscaler is screwing up to not be able to get near 1080P performance upscaled.

 

[OptimusGrime]

Does anyone use the built in game recording feature? The one triggered by double pressing the share button (on PS5 controller). It seems a little fussy. Also is it possible to confirm you want to record without using keyboard or mouse? I can’t seem to confirm using a controller only.

 

[Homy]

"Duality Interactive, a growing independent Mac game publisher, today announced a partnership with JetDogs Studios, a renowned developer of casual games. Together they'll bring a selection of JetDogs' apps to Apple’s Mac App Store. This collaboration marks a significant step in expanding the availability of JetDogs' beloved titles to Mac users."

JetDogs Studios Joins the Pack! - Duality

Duality Interactive LLC, based in the United States, is a distributor of Apple Arcade and macOS games.

www.dualityinteractive.com

 

[damienDevZ]

Cool! Crimson Desert is coming to Mac next year.

View attachment 2461765

Excited for this. Definitely a day one purchase.

Were there any other games announced for Mac during the game awards or just this one?

 

[Homy]

MAXIMA: Keepers of the 2nd Law is coming to Mac.

MAXIMA: Keepers of the 2nd Law on Steam

Unleash devastating power in this surreal third-person shooter. Charge orbs of raw energy in your hands to obliterate enemies in explosive bursts of particles. Bring down floating monoliths threatening the universe, and battle through a visually stunning sci-fi hellscape with supernatural abilities.

store.steampowered.com

 

[Homy]

Excited for this. Definitely a day one purchase.

Were there any other games announced for Mac during the game awards or just this one?

Not that I know of.

 

[Homy]

Also wouldn't this largely depend on the scaling factor of the given scenario? Some games let you choose this, like Stray. Some games like RE2 is locked at 1:2 I think. Some other games it is unknown until you try and look at the Metal HUD.

Son of a... I forgot Capcom is doing quarter resolution for their upscaling when choosing MFX Quality. sigh. So @Homy is right the base resolution is 1080P and the upscaler is screwing up to not be able to get near 1080P performance upscaled.

I knew about 1080p to 4K from Apple's video. 3840 x 2160 is actually 4 times larger than 1920 x 1080 not 2, but when MetalFX is enabled the setting in Resident Evil says 50%.

It looks like RE 2 has more bugs. Has anyone else been experiencing these? Important to report!

"Mr X is bugged and will stand there stationary when he stops hunting and won't even prowl the station as you explore other areas. In fact when you return he will be in the exact same spot you left him in. This is not an isolated incident and happened in Leon's scenario as well."

"I also can't pass the greenhouse section on Claires side because the signal modulator isn't there."

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/1hd93fr/resident_evil_2_remake_mac_native_mr_x_is_bugged

 

[Chancha]

So the Metal HUD scaling factor is referring to one dimension (one side) not two dimensions (area)?
With RE2 it says "2.0x Direct" with MetalFX Quality on. It is going from 1080p to 2160p?

 

[galad]

Yes, it's 2 times the width and height. No one counts the number of pixels.

 

[Homy]

 

[Homy]

So the Metal HUD scaling factor is referring to one dimension (one side) not two dimensions (area)?
With RE2 it says "2.0x Direct" with MetalFX Quality on. It is going from 1080p to 2160p?

The scaling factor is for your display, not in-game resolution as I understand from Apple’s explanation. It depends on what scaling factor you have in your display settings in macOS. My own tests shows that it doesn’t change regardless of the in-game settings. I have a 4K monitor and chosen 1440p scaling in macOS. It’s the second scaled resolution of five available. Metal Performance HUD shows 2.0x scaling factor for every resolution under 4K in the system settings. Only with the native 4K display setting it shows 1.0x. Changing the in-game resolution or changing MetalFX has no effect on the display scaling factor. Since macOS uses HiDPI every resolution is upscaled by 2.0x if you use a scaled display resolution. My 2560x1440 is rendered to 5120x2880. So that’s what ”2.0x” means in the performance HUD. 3840x2160 on a 4K monitor doesn’t need upscaling so the HUD shows 1.0x.

Discover Metal Performance HUD - Tech Talks - Videos - Apple Developer

Get to know the new heads-up display panel built to help you analyze graphics performance in real time. Metal Performance HUD displays...

developer.apple.com

Monitoring your Metal app’s graphics performance | Apple Developer Documentation

Catch performance issues using the Metal Performance HUD while your app runs.

developer.apple.com

1.0x scaling factor in RE 4 with a display resolution of 3840x2160 in macOS, unaffected by the game settings.

2.0x scaling factor in RE 4 with a display resolution of 2560x1440 in macOS, unaffected by the game settings.

Yes, it's 2 times the width and height. No one counts the number of pixels.

Well, except for the GPU that only cares about the number of pixels. The more pixels it has to process the harder it has to work. So at 4K the GPU has to handle 4 times the pixel count of 1080p resolution. That ”2.0x” has nothing to do with the settings in the game apparently.

 

[galad]

Of course, but no one counts that way. For example Apple Retina UI resolution scaling is "2", it's not "4".

 

[Homy]

Of course, but no one counts that way. For example Apple Retina UI resolution scaling is "2", it's not "4".

That’s why the Metal Performance HUD shows ”2.0” for scaled display resolutions too but the question was whether that number has anything to do with the game settings and the answer is it doesn’t. I just wanted to point out that the image resolution is actually 4x larger. The term resolution is often equal to the pixel count. That’s why Apple talks about 12, 24 or 48 MP regarding iPhone camera and not about the image size in width and height. Even when talking about width and height we’re still talking about the number of pixels horizontally and vertically. I just reacted to you saying ”No one counts the number of pixels” when that’s all you do whether you count the total number or the width and height.

 

[diamond.g]

That’s why the Metal Performance HUD shows ”2.0” for scaled display resolutions too but the question was whether that number has anything to do with the game settings and the answer is it doesn’t. I just wanted to point out that the image resolution is actually 4x larger. The term resolution is often equal to the pixel count. That’s why Apple talks about 12, 24 or 48 MP regarding iPhone camera and not about the image size in width and height. Even when talking about width and height we’re still talking about the number of pixels horizontally and vertically. I just reacted to you saying ”No one counts the number of pixels” when that’s all you do whether you count the total number or the width and height.

Has Apple broken down what each item is on the HUD?

 

[Homy]

Has Apple broken down what each item is on the HUD?

See post 3,668.

 

[Pezimak]

Write in Terminal: /bin/launchctl setenv MTL_HUD_ENABLED 1 or 0 to turn off. Activate the Metal Perfromance HUD in games with Shift+F9 and move it to desired place with Shift+F7.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1694904500127998300

Got to test this out, hmm in RE2, at screens native res, all settings at max had to turn down that graphics slider to 130 and I got 30 to 40 FPS really useful tool thanks again. 👍

 

[Homy]

Got to test this out, hmm in RE2, at screens native res, all settings at max had to turn down that graphics slider to 130 and I got 30 to 40 FPS really useful tool thanks again. 👍

The only slider with percentage in RE 2 is "Image Quality" and that's basically Supersampling. It renders the image at higher resolution than the one you have chosen in the game. Don’t know your resolution but It should be left at 100%. 2560x1440 with 130% is like 3328x1872. The difference in performance is huge. I get almost half the frame rate, 74 vs 40 fps. The closest in-game resolution is 3360x1890 which gives similar frame rate (41). It’s better then to choose 3200x1800 which gives the same sharpness as native 4K with higher fps.

 

[Homy]

Vampire Survivors for Mac is free on Epic:

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/vampire-survivors-f699a1

 

[Homy]

ScourgeBringer for Mac is free on Fanatical if you subscribe to their newsletter.

ScourgeBringer | PC Mac Linux Steam Game | Fanatical

ScourgeBringer puts you in the shoes of the deadliest warrior...

www.fanatical.com