The OP topic was "Do you SUPPORT a Mac OS X client"...

 

I have an iMac, I would definitely use a Mac client, I support it. "They're not going to do it" may be true or false, but it is not a reason for support or nonsupport.

 

There are companies that do this for a living. They take a PC game, configure a WINE bottle that supports it, make a few keybind tweaks and release the bundle. That's pretty much how World of Warcraft and City of Heroes have Mac clients. They don't divert developer time away from the games for the sake of the Mac - they have a separate team.

 

If they make it I will buy it and so will many others, I can't make it any plainer than that.

 

What he said. WINE versions have the added advantage of generally being portable to Linux, which as we all know, is better than either Windows or OS X.

 

You should really, really pay attention to the topic... and if nothing else, the yellow post right at the top of this page. This is NOT about Boot Camp, it's about Mac OS X.

 

Sure, I'm going to read every single post in the thread *rolls eyes*.

 

You should have taken the time to read my own post in detail. If you read through it, you'll see that I've written in some detail about how my major concern was that development time would be taken away from other areas to code for a native client, but that if the developers decide to go for it, then I'd be fully behind it.

 

So, rather than raging, you really should re-read in full what I wrote and realise that I'm actually ON YOUR SIDE.

 

I mentioned bootcamp because, without the prior knowledge that a Mac version is in the works -- and no, it's not realistic to keep up with every bit of Mac-related news when I'm neither a Mac user nor someone with all the time in the world to read hundreds of posts -- it was a sensible thing to mention.

 

May peace and patience find you well.

 

Kind regards

llesna

 

 

P.S. If devs have indeed decided to go with a native OSX client, then that means they have the resources to make one without hindering the development of the game. As such, the condition for my support is fully met

Edited May 3, 2012 by llesna

Sure, I'm going to read every single post in the thread *rolls eyes*.

 

I think you may have over looked what he was trying to say in the first place.

 

He was not referring to a post that someone else had made in the last 31 pages.

 

He was referring to the very first post on this thread. The topic. In it it says that this thread is not Bootcamp thread nor is it a Mac Vs. PC thread.

 

No need to rummage, simply go back to the first page. It's an honest mistake to make.

 

What may not be so honest of a mistake might be the views mentioned previous on how games use developers. Making a Mac client is not as costly and complex as most assume it is. Having worked in the game design industry and after being familiar with many veteran and freshman developers, the world works different than most think.

 

I think you'll find that with a little more research you might find not only the truth but the reason why some Mac users are so confused by Bioware's decision to ignore the Mac platform and it's users.

 

Those inside the industry know that a Mac client in SWTOR is not a decision based on cost, it is based on ignorance.

 

This thread is to show support of a client.

 

There are many other threads for Bootcamp and the like.

Yes, please.

No i dont. I think the time money and resources that would be required to make and keep a mac client running could be better used elseware. mac users can easily intstall dual operating systems if they want to run the game

No, you can bootcamp and retain 95% of your computer's performance. Or you can just be like a rational person, and not buy an Apple computer to game on.

 

<--- owner of 3 OS X/iOS devices.

 

this

 

with todays hardware, there is no excuse

 

also , i have seen firsthand just how much trouble is actually keeping a mac client up to date too, league of legends eventualy had to stop supporting a mac client because simply put, the cost and time it was taking them to keep the mac client updated was too long/too expensive and it was screwing over the rest of the pc users ( for some reason mac client bugged out much , and screwed pc users over because you have to play one man down everytime that kind of stuff happens )

 

honestly i dont feel that there is a significant amount of the playerbase playing on MAC to justify the cost and time it would take

Edited February 19, 2012 by LaVolpex

I love observational misinformation.

 

Those statistics are for all computers, everywhere. That includes every fortune 500 company who has Linux servers and tens of thousands of cheap desktop terminals running some flavor of Windows.

 

the home market, Apple has almost 17% of the market. iDevices luring people to the Mac camp has been a serious boost.

 

in the laptop market, they have almost 30% of the market.

 

Even if 10% of people with Macs could run SWTOR (which is a little low - it ran totally fine on an older iMac i have in the house, with a fairly minimal GPU), that'd still be 5 or 6 million Mac users as potential clients. If even 5% of those people played SWTOR on their macs, you're still looking at 200,000+ players. At 15 bucks a month, that's still a pretty substantial pile of money.

 

Yes, it will end up being a small fraction of their player base, but no EA shareholder is going to be upset that they are spending the time to add another few million to the pile every month.

 

The main issue, and the reason we wont see an OSX client, is because the version of the HERO engine they used for SWTOR wasn't cross-platform, and it has now been so heavily modified there's simply no way to drop in support for the newest HERO engine version (which IS cross platform) without an almost total re-write.

 

What is potentially likely is that during a major expansion pack, they will overhaul the client and drop in support for the new HERO engine - much like Blizzard did when they made the client 64 bit native - essentially a complete rewrite, or when they dropped in the new OpenGL engine - but it isnt something that will happen outside of major expac time, if ever.

 

Yeah, i support an OSX client, so i dont have to boot back and forth. It's kinda annoying. But ill still be playing.

 

the thing is, out of these potential 200k ( wich we both know where you pulled this number from ) you have to consider the people that are already playing it bootcamped...that is not a potential gain for the company as they are already recieving his money, they are not going to invest on redesigning the code just for the "convinience" of these players not having to bootcamp it

 

i seriously doubt we see a mac client anytime soon , if ever

Do you support a Mac OS X client for SWTOR?

 

This thread is for discussing support for an OS X client for Star Wars The Old Republic. Please keep comments related to that topic.

 

This is not a Bootcamp thread.

 

This is not a Mac Vs. PC thread.

 

Yes that's what he asked

(as the thread is becoming a Mac vs everyone)

 

and... Nope, game has no Mac support and no news as of this writing...

You call their support lines and ask something and say your Mac ... Boom ... No support

this

 

with todays hardware, there is no excuse

 

also , i have seen firsthand just how much trouble is actually keeping a mac client up to date too, league of legends eventualy had to stop supporting a mac client because simply put, the cost and time it was taking them to keep the mac client updated was too long/too expensive and it was screwing over the rest of the pc users ( for some reason mac client bugged out much , and screwed pc users over because you have to play one man down everytime that kind of stuff happens )

 

LOL. You've "seen" first hand... as a grubby gamer? You have no clue how about software development. I can't even believe I am wasting my time replying to you. You're clearly out of your league here.

 

Here's a thought: The big boys do it... Blizzard, Valve. So, it isn't impossible, isn't too expensive, and is incredibly lucrative for them.

 

Unless you're a developer who can't walk the walk... you're foolish to not produce games for the Mac, ESPECIALLY a mainstream MMO based on the mainstream Star Wars IP.

 

honestly i dont feel that there is a significant amount of the playerbase playing on MAC to justify the cost and time it would take

 

Because you have no clue how extremely large the Mac playerbase is... BioWare knows it, and is working towards addressing the Mac audience. So stay tuned, it's coming.

Not sure there is enough demand. Plus they would have to re-write the game engine in OpenGL which isn't likely to happen for a long time.

 

They have already stated its being worked on, the question is when's the release

To my knowledge only one MMO had a Mac client on release. To my knowledge, it is the only MMO that has gone over 10M subscribers.

 

I don't think this is entirely a coincidence.

 

 

MMOs are social games by nature. People tell their friends, those friends tell their friends, and so on. If only ONE person on that chain asks "is there a Mac client?" and the answer is no, then that chain gets broken. Hundreds, if not thousands of players that might've been dragged into the game don't.

Why is it about PC vs Mac instead of Company giving to Consumer?

 

Why do PC users feel so threatened my Mac users? I can barely find the information I need from all the PC users trying to defend there honor like they will always be superior no matter how hard Apple tries.

 

Here are the facts:

 

Yes more PC users game than Mac but look at why?

As the stats show Apple has really stepped up their game in the past few years

Key phrase "Past few years" Mac is new to the "High End" Gaming community so of course there are going to be fewer of them... for now

 

It is a thriving market with every new Mac Model offering better Graphics and CPU speeds.

Why? so you can play solitaire on a 27 inch HD LED screen? NO! For the gamer that will pay more for a nice, solid fast machine that will handle what you throw at it. And guess what? Mac does fit that description.

 

It is a growing market whether PC users like it or not..

why is the guy who bought a brand new loaded Alienware PC better than the guy who bought a brand new loaded Apple iMac? its about personal preference not stats

 

Before you ask.. I am a Mac and Former PC user

I don't tell people that Mac is better.. I only state that i prefer Mac for my own reasons

 

I am leaving this post because I support the development of a Mac client.

Not because I think Mac is "Superior" just think game developers shouldn't over look a big player and thriving market like Apple.

 

If Apple is addressing gamers now why shouldn't everyone else?

 

To all the Developers for Old Republic,

Keep up the good work guys. You have created a great new game

If it isnt profitable, i can see why there aint no mac support. There is strong rumours that new Modern Warfare wont have PC version anymore cause it aint worth it. Times are changing.

Mac have what a 5% market share in Operating systems?, and how much of that 5% market share are gamers? So lets say there are 2 million subs, and 5% of that is Mac gamers, that would be 100,000 players that use mac. So now the question is, how much money would it take to support a client for 100,000 people? But we know it would be less then 100,000 people in reality.

 

All I know it if it can be profitable then expect to see it, if they determine there isn't any profit in it, then it will never come.

Too much effort for too little profit. Those Mac users who are serious about gaming are already running Dual Boot configuration.

 

Mac users are not typical gamers. Macs are not bought for gaming (well if someone does buy Mac for games, he needs a brain scan). The HW is too costly and rarely designed for gaming needs (often with subpar or average at best GPU). Macs still need a second OS to support most games, but at least they are using x86 CPUs now...

 

On top of that, developing multiplatform projects for Mac OS X is a nightmare, for many many reasons that are not really important to end users, but very important for game developers, mainly programmers.

Mac have what a 5% market share in Operating systems?, and how much of that 5% market share are gamers? So lets say there are 2 million subs, and 5% of that is Mac gamers, that would be 100,000 players that use mac. So now the question is, how much money would it take to support a client for 100,000 people? But we know it would be less then 100,000 people in reality.

 

All I know it if it can be profitable then expect to see it, if they determine there isn't any profit in it, then it will never come.

 

You're way off on everything, of course. Market share in the US is closer to 15% now.

 

It's already on the way, so BioWare knows better than you, obviously.

Too much effort for too little profit. Those Mac users who are serious about gaming are already running Dual Boot configuration.

 

Mac users are not typical gamers. Macs are not bought for gaming (well if someone does buy Mac for games, he needs a brain scan). The HW is too costly and rarely designed for gaming needs (often with subpar or average at best GPU). Macs still need a second OS to support most games, but at least they are using x86 CPUs now...

 

On top of that, developing multiplatform projects for Mac OS X is a nightmare, for many many reasons that are not really important to end users, but very important for game developers, mainly programmers.

 

Mac version on the way... too late for the whiny elitist speculation.

 

Also, Blizzard did it.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Lethality

Mac version on the way... too late for the whiny elitist speculation.

 

Also, Blizzard did it.

 

 

The only one being elitist here is you. Your last 2 comments reek of elitism.

 

But like I said, if it is profitable for them they will do it, that is all.

with the comming changes to the mac os morfing into an IOS instead i doubt it.

I would be very eager and excited for a Mac OS X client for SWTOR! It's running fine on Boot Camp now, but I prefer to keep the Mac in its native mode so I can do my other work, etc, without rebooting.

 

What he said.

 

I'm as much a mac fanboy as the next nerd. The fact that i'd even consider installing bootcamp is incredible to most of my friends that know me but Star Wars trumps that obviously.

 

I've been running in bootcamp now on my powerbook since day 1 and have only had a few times where things got laggy when there was way too much action going on. For instance last night int he middle of Kaon.

 

Having a mac native client would definitely be a win. It just makes a lot more sense and is definitely better than rebooting in and out all the time. **** i'd run virtual PC if it would work.

 

And to all the haters that are saying it detracts from other development, you have no idea how the game industry works. This isn't Nimblebit where the company consists of 2 guys. It's Bioware. They have huge teams of people working on different things and i can guarantee you the guys who are working on mac dev are not the same guys working on fixing the game and improving it. So, your argument is invalid.

 

I'm also looking forward to updates on if any iOS companion tools are in progress. the WOW armory and the new Skyrim Maps app are just awesome. BW can easily expand on the SK app to include server status/forum reading at the least. Yes takes time, i get it.

 

So, show some love, quit yer ************ and can we all just get along?

except the republics, i keeeel you!

Any ETA about the SWTOR mac version ?

My SSD is bored to of being splitted for SWTOR only.

And I am bored of multiboot.

 

About playing on mac, I have switched several years ago to macbook pro machines for gaming, so that I only need 1 machine for both playing and working. All in all it saves me money, is better for earth, mac are also more stable than PCs, lighter, thiner, batteries are much better managed, and I don't know anymore BSOD. WoW is not the only MMO having a mac OS version, they are not numerous but there are some others (old ones generally). If using a mac to play is for someone just silly, so do they consider Blizzard as dumb peeps ? WoW has a mac version, Starcraft2 as well.

Any ETA about the SWTOR mac version ?

 

Hopefully soon, seriously, I think everyone should have a fair shot at the game.

 

My SSD is bored to of being splitted for SWTOR only.

 

HDDs don't have feelings. And a multi-boot partition doesn't hurt anything, but does take up more time.

 

And I am bored of multiboot.

 

Congratulations.

 

About playing on mac, I have switched several years ago to macbook pro machines for gaming, so that I only need 1 machine for both playing and working. All in all it saves me money(Apple saves you $ over a PC? WHAT?!?!), is better for earth(Depending on the build, ok.), mac are also more stable than PCs(Depending on the build and OS version), lighter(Depending on... oh you get the point), thiner, batteries are much better managed, and I don't know anymore BSOD. WoW is not the only MMO having a mac OS version, they are not numerous but there are some others (old ones generally). If using a mac to play is for someone just silly, so do they consider Blizzard as dumb peeps ? WoW has a mac version, Starcraft2 as well. (Blizzard is well known for catering to a wide and varied user base, and it's an extremely wise business move on their part, of course it's not dumb)

 

I agree there should be a Mac version in the pipes. But there is never going to be any chance I agree with some of your statements about Macs over PCs.

 

I mostly hate them because of how proprietary Apple likes to make everything, but I also can't stand the limited support by software and hardware companies the world wide. It has gotten much better the past few years, but you still pay through the nose. I can build 3 screaming gaming rigs (PC) for the cost of your one Apple rig made for your Work/Gaming purposes.

I agree there should be a Mac version in the pipes. But there is never going to be any chance I agree with some of your statements about Macs over PCs.

 

I mostly hate them because of how proprietary Apple likes to make everything, but I also can't stand the limited support by software and hardware companies the world wide. It has gotten much better the past few years, but you still pay through the nose. I can build 3 screaming gaming rigs (PC) for the cost of your one Apple rig made for your Work/Gaming purposes.

I probably wasn't clear enough, I need a mac for my work since I develop for iOS, in my case this is straight forward, mac is a better option, and my work buys the machine. If I weren't needing a mac to work I would have a PC laptop, well price is divided by 2 not 3 but as long as I don't pay for my machines I don't mind. But since I play on mac I have discovered many good reasons to use and play on a mac. Previously I was playing on an Alienware, its cost was important and its weight was twice louder than a mbp, batteries were running for 3 time lesser, design is horrible, BSOD were terrible, it was twice thicker. Or course Alienware are not the only ones, and if i were buying a PC gaming laptop now I would buy something else. About desktops I agree that PCs are a way more interesting than mac. Edited February 24, 2012 by Tyua

Any ETA about the SWTOR mac version ?

My SSD is bored to of being splitted for SWTOR only.

And I am bored of multiboot.

 

About playing on mac, I have switched several years ago to macbook pro machines for gaming, so that I only need 1 machine for both playing and working. All in all it saves me money, is better for earth, mac are also more stable than PCs, lighter, thiner, batteries are much better managed, and I don't know anymore BSOD. WoW is not the only MMO having a mac OS version, they are not numerous but there are some others (old ones generally). If using a mac to play is for someone just silly, so do they consider Blizzard as dumb peeps ? WoW has a mac version, Starcraft2 as well.

 

No there is no ETA. Before they even start work on that client will want the Windows version running better.

 

Honestly who cares what Blizzard does. Over 90% of MMOs are Native Windows only at launch. Then MAC native client is added it is long time after launch.

 

But they already noted they are looking at a MAC client in the future.

 

Some laugh at your other post. PC means Personal Computer it does not mean a system that runs Microsoft OS. MAC and Win7 systems are both PCs, as are lots of other OSes out there.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Romiz

This may be slightly off topic but I've managed to install SW:TOR on a Mac using Wineskin. Unfortunately the game does not yet start properly - I hear the sound of the videos, but can't see them and then the game hangs up when the server selection screen or, if I was logged in to a server automatically, the character selection screen should appear.

 

I'll continue try working on it.