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Mac users have been left out in the cold once again by EA, DICE and Transgaming, with the 1.5 patch for Mac still in development weeks after the same patch has been released for PC. The 1.5 patch for PC was released nearly two months ago, bringing new content and performance tweaks. Mac users are unable to play on any server that has updated (about 99% of them).
Last year I wrote a review of BF2142 for Mac for Inside Mac Games. I commented on the poor performance on my first generation Intel iMac. Running BF2142 in Mac OS X was roughly half the performance you could expect running BF2142 in XP:
“I was looking forward to BF2142 for Mac, but sadly it isn’t the replacement for the Windows version I was hoping for. Performance on a variety of maps with all graphics settings to low, resolution left to the default 800×600, averaged 17-20FPS. FPS did jump occasionally into the early twenties, but never enough for a consistent and enjoyable game.
I was hoping performance problems were limited to my machine so I approached a variety of players on forums and via email to see how their machines performed. Feedback was mixed. Some players were experiencing graphical glitches and/or low FPS, some could play the game without any problems.
Generally the newer, or more powerful your system is, the better BF2142 will perform. Carefully balancing your system to play the game is highly advised. Up to 900MB of textures can be loaded into memory if texture settings are set to maximum, so try and be realistic when cranking up the settings.”
On my new Mac Pro (Quad Core 2.8GHZ, 6GB RAM, Nvidia 8800GT) I’m still getting half the performance compared to running the game in Vista. I get around 97FPS in Vista and around 45FPS in Leopard. I’m hopeful that the 1.5 patch and the new 3870 card from ATI will boost performance.
I asked Transgaming about performance issues and the delay in bringing patches for BF2142 for Mac. Here’s what the hive-mind had to say:
TMG: BF2142 had a rocky start when it was released for the Mac. There were reports of performance and graphical issues. What’s improved since release?
Transgaming: The quality of Mac drivers has improved and that’s had a wonderful impact on overall performance not just for BF2142 but many other games as well. BF2142 was also one of the earlier titles we worked on so there was a much greater emphasis on overall compatibility with Cider but now that we’ve made great inroads into that development we are better able to focus on optimization. Apple has also been demonstrating great cooperation in working with us to ensure the games are running the best they can.
TMG: Since the release of BF2142 for the Mac, there have been two updates released for BF2142 for PC. The updates for the Mac are always released weeks after the PC version, meaning that Mac users can’t play on servers that update. Is there any hope for simultaneous release on Mac and PC for future updates?
Transgaming: TransGaming works with EA to provide updates in parallel for PC and Mac, but occasionally the release dates of the updates is separated by a few weeks. We are continuing to work with our partner to streamline the releases and provide consumers of the Mac version the updates in a timely manner. It is important to note that the process of pushing out an update on the PC side alone is a significant undertaking and publishers must be focused on that first and foremost given market size and demand. While we are streamlining our processes and also better aligning our systems with all publishing partners, the core focus is first on the PC simply due to the market dynamics.
If games are supported only because of their market position, then gaming on the Mac will fail. The Mac has a smaller market share, EA and Transgaming must have known this. It seems pointless to release games for the Mac and not support them and then claim it’s simple numbers that prevent them being supported. You cannot release a product for a platform and expect people to buy it when it doesn’t function as expected. There’s a simple way to solve problems like this: don’t release the game.
If games continue to be Windows centric and not developed platform agnostically, it’s likely that gaming will fail on the Mac. At least the ones that are Ciderised and not properly supported. When Cider was announced, some claimed it was the end of gaming for the Mac. I’m starting to think they were right.
