Major gaming news at WWDC: Metal and New games

[Homy]

Party Club for Mac is free on Steam.

Save 100% on Party Club on Steam

Seat customers, serve drinks, and manage chaos with up to 4 players! Keep the peace by considering customer types while seating them. Survive disasters, handle quirky customers, and design the perfect venue to keep the party going!

store.steampowered.com

 

[Homy]

The rendering support beyond 4k is interesting. As is the the rays per pixel slider they added (looks like ultra defaults to 3, but you can go higher).

The most interesting is the extra mission with Hideo Kojima.

 

[Plutonius]

Has anyone been playing the new Civilization VIII? I'd be curious to know how well it runs on reasonable Apple hardware. Can the graphics be set to high/ultra? I'm looking at getting an M4 Max 16/40 Studio and would like to play it

Isn't the latest iCiv VII ?

 

[M4pro]

Andrew Tsai did a video, but it seems like only native games benefit, most crossover games still seem to have issues utilizing all the GPU/CPU cores.

Yeah that’s unfortunate…

 

[M4pro]

Maybe this update is the reason Control has been delayed on Mac:

More than 5 years after launch, Control gets a surprise patch that lets everyone play the Hideo Kojima mission

Today's update also adds some previously preorder-exclusive cosmetics, official HDR support, and more.

www.pcgamer.com

Control Ultimate Edition - Control Ultimate Edition: March 2025 Update Notes - Steam News

All owners of Control Ultimate Edition will receive a free content update including 3 outfits, HDR, DLSS 4, a mission with voiceover by Hideo Kojima, and more improvements.

store.steampowered.com

Oooh, yeah maybe the agreement with Apple is to provide feature parity with the PC version.

 

[krell100]

Isn't the latest iCiv VII ?

Yep, my bad.

 

[Nugat Trailers]

‎RESIDENT EVIL 3

‎Jill Valentine is one of the last remaining people in Raccoon City to witness the atrocities Umbrella performed. To stop her, Umbrella unleashes their ultimate secret weapon; Nemesis! ------------------------------------------------------------ ■By purchasing, you will be granted a license to...

apps.apple.com

Resident Evil 3 remake just appears for Mac/iOS out of nowhere. Goddamn.
67% launch discount until 16/4.

 

[Homy]

‎RESIDENT EVIL 3

‎Jill Valentine is one of the last remaining people in Raccoon City to witness the atrocities Umbrella performed. To stop her, Umbrella unleashes their ultimate secret weapon; Nemesis! ------------------------------------------------------------ ■By purchasing, you will be granted a license to...

apps.apple.com

Resident Evil 3 remake just appears for Mac/iOS out of nowhere. Goddamn.
67% launch discount until 16/4.

Hahaha! Very unexpected since there’s been no word about it. Now the series is complete but it still requires network connection while they removed it for the other games??

 

[salamanderjuice]

Hahaha! Very unexpected since there’s been no word about it. Now the series is complete but it still requires network connection while they removed it for the other games??

You wouldn't want people pirating a brand new release would you??

 

[Chancha]

Just how low is Capcom's expectation, virtually no promotion, just drop it and be done.

I always wondered if these AppStore exclusive Apple Silicon ports must have been sponsored by Apple one way or the other, this one just looks exactly like it.

 

[diamond.g]

The most interesting is the extra mission with Hideo Kojima.

Fair, if I revisit this, I'd have to play on PC since I got it on the Epic store when it first came out

Yeah that’s unfortunate…

Maybe it is something with how the translation layer works? Seems like it should be fixable.

 

[Homy]

You wouldn't want people pirating a brand new release would you??

It doesn’t matter what I want. In this case it doesn’t really make much sense for several reasons. Piracy just like cheating is much less of a problem on Mac. We’re already paying for supposedly ”overpriced” computers and expensive ”old” game releases so obviously we don’t mind paying. Many also like to support Mac developers by buying the same game for Mac despite having it on other platforms.

The game is launching with 75% discount like the current Steam sale for $10 and not full price and all RE games go on sale every 2-3 months so even less reason for piracy. The games supposedly sell very badly too and are ”flops” according to tech media. RE 3 is also the ”weakest” game in the series with the lowest review scores and short like a DLC. The best game RE 4 with the highest price that has higher risk of being pirated doesn’t require network connection. None of the games required network connection at launch either before the policy change. RE 4 and Village were out for 9-22 months before Capcom changed policy. If there was any piracy the damage was already done by then. They removed the requirement for network connection only after four months for all the games. So yes, it’s strange the requirement is back.

 

[Homy]

Cyan releases The Age of Rime for Myst Mac tomorrow.

Press Release: New Age Brings Additional Intrigue To 2020 Myst Remake | Cyan

Spokane, United States - March 18, 2025 - Cyan Worlds, the visionary video game developer behind the iconic classics Myst and its beloved sequel Riven, announces the addition of a new Age to their acclaimed 2020 remake of Myst. Fans can look forward to exploring Rime when the new Age becomes...

cyan.com

 

[Homy]

AC Shadows on M4 Pro 20c. Looks pretty good despite low/medium settings and MetalFX Performance.

It's a demanding game. 54fps on M4 Max 40c, 2K Res, MetalFX Performance , Medium presets, Ray Tracing Low, Ray Traced GI(Diffuse Hideout Only)

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/1jf79kj/m4_max40c_gpu_assassins_creed_shadows_gaming_test

 

[Homy]

League of Legends is switching to Metal from OpenGL.

Patch 2025.S1.3 Notes

Time to feast on Patch 25.S1.3.

www.leagueoflegends.com

 

[galad]

Piracy just like cheating is much less of a problem on Mac.

[citation needed]

 

[diamond.g]

AC Shadows on M4 Pro 20c. Looks pretty good despite low/medium settings and MetalFX Performance.

It's a demanding game. 54fps on M4 Max 40c, 2K Res, MetalFX Performance , Medium presets, Ray Tracing Low, Ray Traced GI(Diffuse Hideout Only)

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/1jf79kj/m4_max40c_gpu_assassins_creed_shadows_gaming_test

Yeah that is wild. Does macOS version have a dynamic resolution option? It seemed like a separate setting on PC but I don't see it in any of the screen caps.

 

[Homy]

Yeah that is wild. Does macOS version have a dynamic resolution option? It seemed like a separate setting on PC but I don't see it in any of the screen caps.

Yes, you can see it on Reddit. You can choose custom MetalFX and choose Max/Min dynamic resolution.

 

[kiranmk2]

I imagine YouTube will be flooded with these type of videos in the next few weeks

Tracking some potential release dates:

Assassins Creed Shadows - March 20th

Looks like a very heavy game even with the minimum RT that can be selected
On an M3 Max MBP, 1440p with MetalFX quality (around 960p internal) looks to be under 30fps (high preset with medium RT) in the benchmark. Even dropped to 1080p with MetalFX quality (around 720p internal) it's only just getting over 30 fps in the benchmark and in gameplay (with regular drops under 30 fps with traversal). It seems that dropping to 1080p with MetalFX balanced (around 640p internal), medium preset and dropping RT to the hideout only will get you to the high 40 fps region (and the game looks noticably worse in terms of the GI quality)

On an M4 Mac Mini, even dropping to 1080p/MetalFX performance/low cannot hold 30 fps

On an M1 Max MBP, even dropping to 720/MetalFX performance (!)/low settings just about holds 30 fps

On an M3 iMac, 720p/MetalFX performance/low settings drops below 30 fps with traversal

On an M1 MBA...you can guess what happens...

 

[salamanderjuice]

It doesn’t matter what I want. In this case it doesn’t really make much sense for several reasons. Piracy just like cheating is much less of a problem on Mac. We’re already paying for supposedly ”overpriced” computers and expensive ”old” game releases so obviously we don’t mind paying. Many also like to support Mac developers by buying the same game for Mac despite having it on other platforms.

The game is launching with 75% discount like the current Steam sale for $10 and not full price and all RE games go on sale every 2-3 months so even less reason for piracy. The games supposedly sell very badly too and are ”flops” according to tech media. RE 3 is also the ”weakest” game in the series with the lowest review scores and short like a DLC. The best game RE 4 with the highest price that has higher risk of being pirated doesn’t require network connection. None of the games required network connection at launch either before the policy change. RE 4 and Village were out for 9-22 months before Capcom changed policy. If there was any piracy the damage was already done by then. They removed the requirement for network connection only after four months for all the games. So yes, it’s strange the requirement is back.

That's the joke. You missed it. It's not a new game lol, but it's probably Capcom policy to put it on every "new" release.

 

[M4pro]

AC Shadows on M4 Pro 20c. Looks pretty good despite low/medium settings and MetalFX Performance.

It's a demanding game. 54fps on M4 Max 40c, 2K Res, MetalFX Performance , Medium presets, Ray Tracing Low, Ray Traced GI(Diffuse Hideout Only)

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/1jf79kj/m4_max40c_gpu_assassins_creed_shadows_gaming_test

Yeah something’s def…not right. GPU not fully utilized and apparently no use of the neural engine.

remember, I turned on MetalFX to performance all the time. I just saw the testing online, even RTX3080 desktop and 4070 Super only get around 36fps~45fps with Ultra High and RT off with 2k.

One thing I noticed during my gameplay. My MacBook Pro 16 has set to High power mode but in the terminal, I can see the GPU is not fully being used. I'm hoping this is just some optimization issue with Ubisoft.

Another interesting finding: While using MetalFX, this game doesn't seem to use Apple Silicon's ANE(not much power draw in ANE power section), unlike other games I tested before(Death Stranding, Stray, RE8). I’m guessing they might have switched to some kind of different TSR strategy, or maybe Apple decided to scrap ANE-based upscaling in the latest version.

 

[Mac_fan75]

Seems like an unfinished release.. That is sad, negative publicity for the game and the Mac haters are loving it. This game should be playable at least like a PS5 Pro on a M3 Max and M2 Max & M1 Max like a normal PS5 with 60fps.

 

[diamond.g]

Yeah something’s def…not right. GPU not fully utilized and apparently no use of the neural engine.

remember, I turned on MetalFX to performance all the time. I just saw the testing online, even RTX3080 desktop and 4070 Super only get around 36fps~45fps with Ultra High and RT off with 2k.

One thing I noticed during my gameplay. My MacBook Pro 16 has set to High power mode but in the terminal, I can see the GPU is not fully being used. I'm hoping this is just some optimization issue with Ubisoft.

Another interesting finding: While using MetalFX, this game doesn't seem to use Apple Silicon's ANE(not much power draw in ANE power section), unlike other games I tested before(Death Stranding, Stray, RE8). I’m guessing they might have switched to some kind of different TSR strategy, or maybe Apple decided to scrap ANE-based upscaling in the latest version.

Yeah it is weird. Though PC seems to be getting better(?) performance than the mac equivalent. To be fair to macOS they didn't test in 1080p, they replaced that resolution with 3440x1440 which is becoming more popular.

What is crazy to me is that there is a RT preset that macOS doesn't seem to get (I have to watch Andrews video to see if he cycles through the RT settings but it appears macOS is missing RT Reflections).

Assassin's Creed Shadows im Benchmark-Test: Benchmarks (WQHD, UWQHD & UHD), Frametimes und VRAM

Assassin's Creed Shadows im Test: Benchmarks (WQHD, UWQHD & UHD), Frametimes und VRAM / Das Testsystem und die Benchmark-Szene

www.computerbase.de

results from link above. Wonder if the "game ready" driver drop this morning would improve things on PC. The game is supposed to be getting Steam Deck support, so maybe they can back port those changes to macOS or whatever changes they are going to make to get this working on iPad (that is still happening right?).

 

[MRMSFC]

I didn’t want to say anything on AC Shadows because of all the negative press around it, and Mac fans need anything we can get, but this is what I expected from Ubisoft.

Most AAA releases are basically released in beta across most companies, and Ubisoft is facing financial difficulties right now as well.

 

[diamond.g]

I didn’t want to say anything on AC Shadows because of all the negative press around it, and Mac fans need anything we can get, but this is what I expected from Ubisoft.

Most AAA releases are basically released in beta across most companies, and Ubisoft is facing financial difficulties right now as well.

I wonder if the micropolygons are the issue (they their own version of nanite). Especially if you turn down settings and it doesn't improve things much.