OS X Tomb Raider (2013) for OS X!

[madeirabhoy]

What's Steam x86? FYI x86 is an instruction set that Mac's, Linux Boxes, SteamBoxes and PC's use

If you mean will the title be SteamPlay then Yes that's the plan. But buying it once the Mac version is released will mean us Mac developers will get some revenue so if you primarily want the Mac version waiting until the Mac version is available on Steam would be really nice.

I understand however if you couldn't wait as the game is pretty awesome.

Edwin

edwin, what happens if you buy the game before the mac version is released but dont install it until the mac version is available?


twice its happened that ive bought a 'pc only' title because it was in a sale and i knew the mac version was coming out soon, and didnt install. i hoped/assumed that meant the money went to the mac developer.

the week before metro last light came out for mac (and had been said on inside mac games that it would) i bought it cheap but have only installed the mac version.

also deus ex, directors cut was cheap on steam as i'd previously bought the original version (sadly not steamplay) and img tells me a mac version is imminent so i havent installed it yet, waiting on steamplay hopefully.

but if this means that i get the mac version but the developers get nowt then i wont buy stuff before the mac version is confirmed.

 

[N19h7m4r3]

edwin, what happens if you buy the game before the mac version is released but dont install it until the mac version is available?


twice its happened that ive bought a 'pc only' title because it was in a sale and i knew the mac version was coming out soon, and didnt install. i hoped/assumed that meant the money went to the mac developer.

the week before metro last light came out for mac (and had been said on inside mac games that it would) i bought it cheap but have only installed the mac version.

also deus ex, directors cut was cheap on steam as i'd previously bought the original version (sadly not steamplay) and img tells me a mac version is imminent so i havent installed it yet, waiting on steamplay hopefully.

but if this means that i get the mac version but the developers get nowt then i wont buy stuff before the mac version is confirmed.

The Mac Devs don't get a penny if you buy the Windows version now, or before the Mac one is out.

How would they? You're not buying their product? If you really want to support them you should wait and buy once the Mac version is available.

 

[imacken]

The Mac Devs don't get a penny if you buy the Windows version now, or before the Mac one is out.

How would they? You're not buying their product? If you really want to support them you should wait and buy once the Mac version is available.

I don't think that is true. It depends on usage AFAIK.
Edwin can confirm, though.

 

[Cougarcat]

I don't think that is true. It depends on usage AFAIK.
Edwin can confirm, though.

Yeah, it looks at the first week's usage. So if you buy it but then wait til the Mac port is out to play it, it'll go to the porter.

 

[DrNeroCF]

What's Steam x86? FYI x86 is an instruction set that Mac's, Linux Boxes, SteamBoxes and PC's use

If you mean will the title be SteamPlay then Yes that's the plan. But buying it once the Mac version is released will mean us Mac developers will get some revenue so if you primarily want the Mac version waiting until the Mac version is available on Steam would be really nice.

I understand however if you couldn't wait as the game is pretty awesome.

Edwin

That's fantastic news! Sadly, I've already bought the game on Windows some time back, would be awesome if I could just install the OS X version to support you guys! Makes me wonder, actually, could AMD ever bring Mantle over to OS X to help bridge the performance gap, and maybe make porting games over easier?

Seeing that they won't even give us TressFX doesn't give me much hope, though

 

[Celtic Warrior]

That's on steam discount right now and 80 percent off. It will eventually come up to Mac, so if you want to get that game as a bargain, do not even hesitate to go to a steam.

 

[savvos]

I prefer to wait for the Mac version to come out so that Feral gets paid for doing all of the work to create the port. The less money Feral makes off of ports, the fewer ports they will do; and they will have less people to work on ports. This means fewer games and longer waits to get those games. With so many great games already available to play on OSX, it's pretty easy for me to wait for the Mac version, and even to wait for the next sale to pick it up cheap.

If you buy the PC version before the Mac version comes out when you intend to only play the game on OSX, it has the same financial impact on Feral as if you had pirated the OSX version (it does, of course, benefit the original developer though.)

 

[imacken]

If you buy the PC version before the Mac version comes out when you intend to only play the game on OSX, it has the same financial impact on Feral as if you had pirated the OSX version (it does, of course, benefit the original developer though.)

Not true. See above posts on this subject.

 

[edddeduck]

Not true. See above posts on this subject.

If you buy the PC within a few weeks of the Mac then the Mac users might get a percentage but in general if you buy it on the PC then the Mac comes out 5 weeks later then the Mac port gets no revenue.

Edwin

 

[imacken]

If you buy the PC within a few weeks of the Mac then the Mac users might get a percentage but in general if you buy it on the PC then the Mac comes out 5 weeks later then the Mac port gets no revenue.

Edwin

I am totally confused!
I thought previously you had said that it depends on the first week's usage. In previous threads, people were buying the PC version because it was cheap on Steam, then just waited for the Mac version to be released before starting to play the game.
On previous threads, that was accepted as being OK because if the game hadn't been played, the Windows 'first week' playing time was not recorded, and when the buyer started playing the game after the Mac version was released, then the payment would go to the Mac porters.
What exactly is the position regarding Steam?

 

[edddeduck]

On previous threads, that was accepted as being OK because if the game hadn't been played, the Windows 'first week' playing time was not recorded, and when the buyer started playing the game after the Mac version was released, then the payment would go to the Mac porters.
What exactly is the position regarding Steam?

It's in the details of the explanations. If you wait 3 weeks and then install and play on the Mac exclusively then the Mac get the revenue. If you buy the game wait more than a month then the revenue gets sent to the primary platform publisher by default. If this was not the case then nobody would ever get paid until a customer installed the game. Considering I have about 20 games I haven't installed yet from Steam sales that is a lot of unpaid publishers!

So you can buy before the Mac version comes out but it's always a risk if you really want to make sure the Mac companies get the revenue, that said it is a good deal so I would not blame you for taking it up if you want.

Edwin

 

[imacken]

It's in the details of the explanations. If you wait 3 weeks and then install and play on the Mac exclusively then the Mac get the revenue. If you buy the game wait more than a month then the revenue gets sent to the primary platform publisher by default. If this was not the case then nobody would ever get paid until a customer installed the game. Considering I have about 20 games I haven't installed yet from Steam sales that is a lot of unpaid publishers!

So you can buy before the Mac version comes out but it's always a risk if you really want to make sure the Mac companies get the revenue, that said it is a good deal so I would not blame you for taking it up if you want.

Edwin

Thanks for that Edwin.
Unfortunately, I bought the game on Steam long before you announced the Mac version, and played it on my Mac via Cider.
You are right, though, it is a superb game. Full of tension, excitement and great puzzles. I'm sure it will do well for you. I just wish you would announce that a Mac version is on the cards a bit sooner. Then, I would wait for it to be released.

 

[Cougarcat]

It's in the details of the explanations. If you wait 3 weeks and then install and play on the Mac exclusively then the Mac get the revenue. If you buy the game wait more than a month then the revenue gets sent to the primary platform publisher by default. If this was not the case then nobody would ever get paid until a customer installed the game. Considering I have about 20 games I haven't installed yet from Steam sales that is a lot of unpaid publishers!

So you can buy before the Mac version comes out but it's always a risk if you really want to make sure the Mac companies get the revenue, that said it is a good deal so I would not blame you for taking it up if you want.

Edwin

The fact that this is so confusing is a problem, IMO. It would be nice if Valve spelled this out officially somehow.

 

[Celtic Warrior]

Hold on guys, is this true ? If we buy a game on windows version then money goes to different platform ? I though they combine Windows and Mac version. If they separate Mac and PC revenue, it always be better to get Mac version, however it was irresistible to not pretend not seeing that bargain.

 

[imacken]

I would like to ask Edwin why the Mac versions lag so long behind. To me, it seems like the porting job doesn't start till after the PC version has been released. That, in turn, leads to varying time lapses in getting the Mac version released, as I guess it all depends on how easy/hard the port is.
I understand that the job would be made more difficult if you were porting during the actual development of the games with constant changes, etc., but surely PC versions of major games are basically ported (a lot of the time, at least) versions of the console versions, so they must be being developed in parallel, so why not Mac ports?
Same with contractual agreements? Could they be done in parallel?
Or, is it that with limited resources Mac porters wait till they see what reaction the game gets after release before committing to it?
Questions, questions.......

 

[edddeduck]

I would like to ask Edwin why the Mac versions lag so long behind.

The last game we released XCOM Enemy Within was same day for Mac, PC and Console.... Just saying

To me, it seems like the porting job doesn't start till after the PC version has been released. That, in turn, leads to varying time lapses in getting the Mac version released, as I guess it all depends on how easy/hard the port is.

You know what they say about assumptions I can't and won't go into contractual and internal development detail but below are a few things that any Mac game could potentially be effected by.

The Mac platform is separate to the PC and consoles in some fairly dramatic ways. This can mean a lot more work needs to be done for the Mac version. For example if middleware like a multiplayer or physics library is not available for the Mac (but is for consoles and PC) you have to write your own equivalent libraries from scratch while making sure none of this effects the gameplay and is invisible to the user experience. That's NOT easy to do, after all the original developer license the middleware for all their target platforms so they avoid having to spend months of development effort developing certain features!

You then also have things like DX11 functionality, it is not directly equivalent to Apple's OpenGL and even with the latest cards on Mavericks there are plenty of DX11 effects and performance features that are not available in OS X's implementation of OpenGL at this time. As games increasingly go to DX10/11 path only with no DX9 fallback you need to be even more creative to find optimal solutions if the game you are working on uses one of these for a critical feature.

Mavericks has been a big leap in terms of supported features in OpenGL for Mac machines but as with all new features you often need a few updates to iron out any bugs or performance drops.

We hear your comments (and the others) about porting times we're working on it. Mac ports are being more and more frequent and the delay is getting smaller and smaller to the point a few games are shipping the same day as the PC/Console. It's not perfect but the direction (I think at least) is positive.

I don't think we need to derail yet another thread into a "why are Mac ports so late" debate so I will leave the answer at that.

Edwin

 

[imacken]

The last game we released XCOM Enemy Within was same day for Mac, PC and Console.... Just saying

i still can't see how to buy Enemy Within on your site. How do I do it? I already have Enemy Unknown.

I don't think we need to derail yet another thread into a "why are Mac ports so late" debate so I will leave the answer at that.
Edwin

Thanks, as usual, for your quick and detailed response, Edwin.
Believe me, I wasn't trying to start any kind of debate, I was merely asking the question out of interest, and you provided the answer.
If I can stretch your patience once more, why is it that I was able to play the Steam-purchased Windows version of Tomb Raider all the way through via a standard Wine wrapper with only one little glitch @ 2560x1440 on my Mac? Was I just lucky?
Again, there is no agenda here, I am simply interested!

 

[edddeduck]

i still can't see how to buy Enemy Within on your site. How do I do it? I already have Enemy Unknown.

Some stores don't have it yet (for reasons I won't get into now) but it did ship cross platform on the same day as the PC on Steam.

Thanks, as usual, for your quick and detailed response, Edwin.
Believe me, I wasn't trying to start any kind of debate, I was merely asking the question out of interest, and you provided the answer.
If I can stretch your patience once more, why is it that I was able to play the Steam-purchased Windows version of Tomb Raider all the way through via a standard Wine wrapper with only one little glitch @ 2560x1440 on my Mac? Was I just lucky?
Again, there is no agenda here, I am simply interested!

To a degree yes, Wine is using the PC exe so many of the issues I mentioned above are not applicable (it is is also one of the reasons playing in Wine is a very grey area as the middleware licences are platform specific).

You also only have one (high end) card, 50% of Apple users are using Intel cards, plus other lower end cards we have to support everyone. Wine wrappers you can ignore glitches, broken cards and broken options as you are not selling a product. When people are paying for the title they expect it to always work.

 

[imacken]

Some stores don't have it yet (for reasons I won't get into now) but it did ship cross platform on the same day as the PC on Steam.

So, am I right in saying that I can't buy Enemy Within as I bought Enemy Unknown from the Feral UK site and not Steam?

To a degree yes, Wine is using the PC exe so many of the issues I mentioned above are not applicable (it is is also one of the reasons playing in Wine is a very grey area as the middleware licences are platform specific).

You also only have one (high end) card, 50% of Apple users are using Intel cards, plus other lower end cards we have to support everyone. Wine wrappers you can ignore glitches, broken cards and broken options as you are not selling a product. When people are paying for the title they expect it to always work.

Thanks again for the detailed response.
Let's not start on meeting the public's expectations!

 

[edddeduck]

So, am I right in saying that I can't buy Enemy Within as I bought Enemy Unknown from the Feral UK site and not Steam?

Steam - Available since launch
Other stores (including AppStore) - Coming soon

Thanks again for the detailed response.
Let's not start on meeting the public's expectations!

True, you can't please everyone unless the game is free, comes with a free Mac and shipped using a time machine last week.

Edwin

 

[imacken]

Steam - Available since launch
Other stores (including AppStore) - Coming soon

Edwin

Maybe I misunderstand, but I thought the Steam version requires Enemy Unknown to be installed as Within is classed as DLC, so surely if I have the version from the Feral store installed, it won't work.

 

[edddeduck]

Maybe I misunderstand, but I thought the Steam version requires Enemy Unknown to be installed as Within is classed as DLC, so surely if I have the version from the Feral store installed, it won't work.

Correct, if you own Steam you can buy the DLC now. If you own App Store or other versions it's coming soon.

If you own the Steam version you cannot buy the DLC in the AppStore or vice versa. You need to buy the DLC that matches your main game.

Edwin

 

[imacken]

Correct, if you own Steam you can buy the DLC now. If you own App Store or other versions it's coming soon.

If you own the Steam version you cannot buy the DLC in the AppStore or vice versa. You need to buy the DLC that matches your main game.

Edwin

Yep, that's what I thought, i.e. I can't buy Enemy Within, having bought Unknown from the Feral site.

 

[Apfeldirektsaft]

If I buy Tomb Raider now (because it is on sale), will you still get the money? You said if it is released a few weeks later and installed on a Mac, the Mac developers will get some money for it. It will be released as SteamPlay within the next few weeks, won't it?

 

[edddeduck]

If I buy Tomb Raider now (because it is on sale), will you still get the money? You said if it is released a few weeks later and installed on a Mac, the Mac developers will get some money for it. It will be released as SteamPlay within the next few weeks, won't it?

If you want to take advantage of the deal go for it. We will be shipping the Mac version as soon as the final improvements are complete.

Edwin