Do you support a Mac OS X client in Star Wars the Old Republic?

[Deyjarl]

Waste of resources.

[Mindsplitter]

Untrue, Mac users are growing. Also Mac's are not bad for gaming as the hardware in them is usually fairly good for the video editting and 3d rendering software that is used on them.

 

Mac usage has not increased in over 15 years.

 

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10

 

It's the OS on devices like the iPhone and iPad that mislead you to thinking the OS has proliferated over it's basic 4% share of desktops.

 

The reason. Mac's are proprietary and expensive. While offering a very nice OS and a high quality product it is not affordable by the general populace. Bootcamp aside, it also doesn't offer much in the way of software. Basic business software and graphic art software (Adobe) can also be purchased for a PC, and you can get a lot more power out of a hex-core i7 then you can from a top end Mac, and you don't have to spend 10K on one either...

 

As for the OP. No way do I support Bioware making this game in OpenGL. They have enough trouble keeping things together as it is.

[Socialist]

I find it funny how people complain on Macs being overpriced.

 

 

Honestly, who notices a couple of hundreds more or less? I don't mind paying some few hundreds more in a thing that will, in most cases, irritate me less.

 

I mean, a Mac doesn't cost a *********** Learjet.

 

IMO I run on skyhigh settings on bootcamp anyway, wouldn't make a difference.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Socialist

[NasherUK]

I find it funny how people complain on Macs being overpriced.

 

 

Honestly, who notices a couple of hundreds more or less? I don't mind paying some few hundreds more in a thing that will, in most cases, irritate me less.

 

I mean, a Mac doesn't cost a *********** Learjet.

 

IMO I run on skyhigh settings on bootcamp anyway, wouldn't make a difference.

 

They are very overpriced considering you get mainly the same internals you find in a PC, with an apple logo stuck on them. With added problems such as poor heat management due to cheap cooling/cases (which you can't even fix yourself) :/

 

If you REALLY want the Mac OS you can just install it on a PC using a hack. It's called a "hackintosh"

Edited May 16, 2012 by NasherUK

[hodgoes]

Wine Bottler is what you want...

 

use it on my sister's mac.. works great with SWTOR

[syntxerr]

Funny how people compare Macs to PCs in terms of price.

 

Even more so funny if you look at high quality PCs and Workstations. Especially the Dell ones, which are similar to Mac Pros. You will notice they aren't cheaper at all. You will also come to realise that All-in-Ones, as well as Notebooks of similar material and build quality cost similar prices.

 

Of course all of the above doesn't apply, if you compare some $300 budget machine with cheap components, stylish plastic case, which loses colour over time or through touch, makes squeaky noises when touched or moved and with fans which make you think you're at some helicopter landing pad.

 

I'm playing SWTOR on a 27" iMac in Bootcamp @ 2560x1440 with full details and I barely hear anything.

 

Would I wish an OS X version? Yes, hell I do. I wish I wouldn't have to reboot into Windows, which I have only for this game. I wish I could run all my OS X apps side by side when gaming.

 

At the other hand side, how realistic is a native OS X version? Not very. Most likely it would be some half baked Cider port losing lots of performance. So yea, I don't need that and it probably would be a waste of resources considering the quality of the product.

Blizzard has been really great in the past when it comes to supporting Macs. All of their games run there natively.

[syntxerr]

Wine Bottler is what you want...

 

use it on my sister's mac.. works great with SWTOR

 

May I ask how well this runs performance wise, compared to running it in Windows?

 

Would be interesting...

[NasherUK]

May I ask how well this runs performance wise, compared to running it in Windows?

 

Would be interesting...

 

From using wine on Linux the performance is quite a bit lower than windows on most things. Also it can be quite buggy.

Edited May 16, 2012 by NasherUK

[XadennX]

Yes. my wife loves her mac and hates that she has to play on a xps.

[Nicolettexiv]

True and not true. My 27" iMac handles games quite well in BootCamp.

 

Same here

 

At Guild Summit the devs stated that the client would not be coming anytime soon. If at all. As I personally hate Windows, it's [lack of] functionality and the issues it presents -- I would love to run it on my Mac OS (I miss expose/spaces/simple, fluid alt tabbing and running programs side by side seamlessly - further, not having to constantly switch over just to play a game.. sigh) Bootcamp works for the time being. It just sucks having to adapt to two functionalities, the clunkiness of windows 7 (i.e., trying to replicate the appeal of Mac OS), hot keys, etc. and switching over several times per day.

 

Ah well. I wouldn't hold your breath on BW implementing this within the next year or two.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Nicolettexiv

[Nicolettexiv]

They are very overpriced considering you get mainly the same internals you find in a PC, with an apple logo stuck on them. With added problems such as poor heat management due to cheap cooling/cases (which you can't even fix yourself) :/

 

If you REALLY want the Mac OS you can just install it on a PC using a hack. It's called a "hackintosh"

 

Except for the fact that you don't need an antivirus program, you won't have to replace your computer within 1-2 years, it won't die (I had my macbook running as smoothly as the day I bought it for 6 years - and it still does - a new pc still has load times) and the OS functionality and design is just.. so much better. It's seamless, and smooth. I am in love with my 27" iMac. It's a little over a year old and still runs SWTOR flawlessly. I could never go back. And I was adamantly against Macs until I was forced to use one, because of my preconceived notions of it, remembering apple products of the past, and being the child of the Chief IT officer for a major corporation who worked closely with Microsoft... Now the whole family has been converted

 

It's not about the brand or the image, it's the intelligent design of it's products - in terms of functionality. Yeah they're gorgeous, but it's the software/OS design that makes my little heart sing.

[jgelling]

The issue is Apple has made a gazillion dollars on iOS products - the iPad, iPhone, iPods - and not really on their MacOS X line-up, which is doing fine and has gained some market share, but doesn't have anything like the market share they've gained for iOS (for those that don't realize iOS is a different operating system than MacOS X, although they do share some basic programming interfaces). Mac OS may be 3-4% and is heavily concentrated only in the U.S.

 

But even that market share is deceiving - exactly how many Mac OS X comps have the specs to run SWTOR, and how many Mac OS X users are big game users - the answer is not many to both. I don't think any MacBooks have the specs you'd need, and maybe only the latest iMacs have passable graphics - there was a long run there where Apple was using just integrated graphics on the iMacs. And Apple's top of the line desktops hadn't been updated in forever and cost insane amounts of money last I checked.

 

Really Blizzard is a big standout as one of the few gaming companies that actively support Mac OS. I wouldn't mind seeing it, but while I love my MacBook and iPad, neither will play SWTOR and the only realistic option to do so is to go out and buy a brand new iMac, which of course as an all-in-one is a difficult comp to upgrade.

Edited May 16, 2012 by jgelling

[NasherUK]

Except for the fact that you don't need an antivirus program....

 

Actually you do Read this: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/kaspersky-investigates-mac-security-after-spate-of-malware-attacks/76735

 

Anyway, wow most likely has a mac client because it originaly had a linux client (which was scrapped early on). It's a lot easier to port from linux to mac than from windows because they use similar APIs.

Edited May 16, 2012 by NasherUK

[DarthTHC]

I couldn't care less.

 

Actually, I'd rather see development resources allocated to feature improvements instead of support for a platform that's already supported via 3rd party tools and is a fraction of the overall MMO playerbase.

 

I would also bet that when BioWare believes they would be profitable in investing the development resources to directly support Mac, they'll do it. But they won't do it if they can't be confident in it.

Edited May 16, 2012 by DarthTHC

[Shadoweavez]

I boot camp it on an iMac, runs perfect all settings on high

[Taivo]

The most recent EA quarterly earnings announcement indicated that SWTOR lost over 400,000 subscriptions. EA essentially claimed these were casual gamers just passing through. I think that may be a little disingenuous. I posted a little while back in a thread here regarding the announcement of Elder Scrolls Online, and having just seen this post, I felt I'd add it here to this topic as it pertains to Mac and SWTOR:

 

 

"The Elder Scrolls Online announcement included one important feature that will almost certainly ensure my purchase of the game and, perhaps, a continued subscription (if it turns out to be at least as enjoyable as SWTOR).

 

ESO will have a Mac native client.

 

SWTOR lost my subscription dollars because of their lack of a Mac client.

 

After playing both Republic and Imperial side to 50th level, I had enjoyed the primary elements of what I wanted to get out of SWTOR, and have moved on. No lingering around like I did with WoW (because it was Mac native, and so seductively easy to log on, and still have access to everything else on the Mac side of my computer)

 

I installed Windows on my Mac just to play SWTOR.

 

But being able to bootcamp into Windows and play PC games opened up and made available all the PC games from the past that I had never had a chance to play. So many are so cheap now, with many of the MMOs often being free, it made no sense to continue to stick around in SWTOR paying a subscription fee waiting for new content, when I could play all sorts of other games. So I left., and have been playing other titles for the last couple of months.

 

I wish SWTOR had a native Mac client, I'd probably still be playing (and thus paying) simply because I'd have access to everything I have on the Mac side, but having to boot into Windows to play a game I might as well play everything I can get my hands on rather than sticking to just one game.

 

If Elder Scrolls Online does release for Mac in the end, I'll be there. And if it's at least as engaging as SWTOR or WoW, I'll be sticking around, and ESO will most likely collect a subscription fee from me. I won't mind paying them either, kind of a mutually beneficial situation. They get my money for supporting gaming on the Mac. I can play a game in Mac OS and have access to the Mac OS side of my computer.

 

I know I 'm not a unique snowflake here with regards to the Mac client issue. I game with three friends who are in the exact same situation as me. Right now we're eating through AoC and LOTRO together, next it'll be Diablo (which we can play Mac-side), then GW2, and one day hopefully off to ESO.

 

SWTOR is a great game, we had a blast playing it, and felt the cost of the game, and subscription fee for the time we were there were worth it. We'll miss it, but it won't hurt, we'll just be left thinking, "Too bad, so sad."

 

And who knows, if SWTOR goes Mac native, maybe we'll be back. But I think the train has left the station on that one. I'm just glad the door didn't hit me on the way out.

 

And besides, it looks like ESO has placed a light at the end of the tunnel. Mac gamers can rejoice!"

 

 

Sorry for the wall of text, I just hope EA/BioWare is aware of why they're losing some subscriptions.

 

Personally, I know of four.

 

That's $60/month less going toward continued development of SWTOR.

 

How many others, and at what cost?

[Socialist]

They are very overpriced considering you get mainly the same internals you find in a PC, with an apple logo stuck on them. With added problems such as poor heat management due to cheap cooling/cases (which you can't even fix yourself) :/

 

If you REALLY want the Mac OS you can just install it on a PC using a hack. It's called a "hackintosh"

 

I am a musician in my leisure time, so well, Macs rather fit my home studio.

[rjkishida]

LOL Bioware can't even get the Windows version to run right! You think they can make it for the Mac OS? Yeah RIGHT! Just get a DOS shell or whatever they are calling it now and enjoy the crashing.

[phoxoey]

I'm putting on my PC nerd Glasses hold on,... "Mac's are over price and a waste and, and, smells". Whatever nerd. "bootcamp"? Oh ok, lets talk over price crap, "Microsoft Windows". Yeah! lets run out and pick up a copy of that over price piece of garbage OS just so I can play a game. Come on EA, lets step this up a notch. You're asking the Mac users to pay for you're game, pay for a seat of Windows, pay for a subscription, and block a partition out to just to play SWTOR. Come on, REALLY! Not worth it. Wait, let me put these glasses back on. "If you were a real gamer, you'd have a PC". If PC nerds were as smart as they claim to be they know Windows and it's shared resource architecture is the biggest crap, "I wonder why all my application stop running when only one crashes?" Really people? You'll living in the dark my friends, wake up and stop sucking on what Microsoft is cooking. Hell, if you don't like iOS then get Linux for crying out loud and find out what the big boys are using. Aero glass,.. give me a break.

[Wolfeisberg]

I'm putting on my PC nerd Glasses hold on,... "Mac's are over price and a waste and, and, smells". Whatever nerd. "bootcamp"? Oh ok, lets talk over price crap, "Microsoft Windows". Yeah! lets run out and pick up a copy of that over price piece of garbage OS just so I can play a game. Come on EA, lets step this up a notch. You're asking the Mac users to pay for you're game, pay for a seat of Windows, pay for a subscription, and block a partition out to just to play SWTOR. Come on, REALLY! Not worth it. Wait, let me put these glasses back on. "If you were a real gamer, you'd have a PC". If PC nerds were as smart as they claim to be they know Windows and it's shared resource architecture is the biggest crap, "I wonder why all my application stop running when only one crashes?" Really people? You'll living in the dark my friends, wake up and stop sucking on what Microsoft is cooking. Hell, if you don't like iOS then get Linux for crying out loud and find out what the big boys are using. Aero glass,.. give me a break.

 

Hmm, I had applications crash, but every other application was still running. In fact his has been many years since I have had an application crash where I had to restart my computer.

 

Anyways, go ahead and pay $1000+ for the Mac OS that isn't supported by the vast majority of the gaming industry and the corporate application industry, I'm sure that extra $800+ is well worth what ever advantages Mac OS has over a $100-$200 Windows.

[Rafaman]

A Mac client? Sure. Why not. There are other priorities at the moment but after that I would love to have some of my Apple brethren enjoy the fun natively.

 

BTW, I would be very interested in seeing the impact of such a player base on the overall community.

[BrunoLogan]

A Mac client? Sure. Why not. There are other priorities at the moment but after that I would love to have some of my Apple brethren enjoy the fun natively.

 

BTW, I would be very interested in seeing the impact of such a player base on the overall community.

 

There's a lot of Star Wars fans on the Mac side of the fence too. I believe many would try the game and some, at least, would buy the game and subscribe it for a long time. Though I'm not playing the game on my Mac (I refuse to put Windows on it and the hardware is not up to date to play this game, I must assume) I would like to be able to play it on my next Mac.

[Onyx]

The issue is Apple has made a gazillion dollars on iOS products - the iPad, iPhone, iPods - and not really on their MacOS X line-up, which is doing fine and has gained some market share, but doesn't have anything like the market share they've gained for iOS (for those that don't realize iOS is a different operating system than MacOS X, although they do share some basic programming interfaces). Mac OS may be 3-4% and is heavily concentrated only in the U.S.

 

But even that market share is deceiving - exactly how many Mac OS X comps have the specs to run SWTOR, and how many Mac OS X users are big game users - the answer is not many to both. I don't think any MacBooks have the specs you'd need, and maybe only the latest iMacs have passable graphics - there was a long run there where Apple was using just integrated graphics on the iMacs. And Apple's top of the line desktops hadn't been updated in forever and cost insane amounts of money last I checked.

 

Really Blizzard is a big standout as one of the few gaming companies that actively support Mac OS. I wouldn't mind seeing it, but while I love my MacBook and iPad, neither will play SWTOR and the only realistic option to do so is to go out and buy a brand new iMac, which of course as an all-in-one is a difficult comp to upgrade.

 

Good grief, buying into hype much?

 

My first-gen MacBook Pro has the specs to run this game. That's from 2006. I can even run it with graphics on high if I want to but I do suffer some in performance. How many PCs of that generation are able to?

 

BTW, EA has pretty decent mac support and has for years. It's why I expect to see a Mac-native client for this game,

[OsunTris]

I do not get it, why Bioware ignoring the MAC Community and does not make SWTOR for MAC. A native client. SWTOR is 6 Months out it is time for it, so don't waste time Bioware.

 

A native client would be wonderful for that. I hate Windows7 via Bootcamp to only restart my iMac and play a couple of hours SWTOR. I just don't get it why the Gaming Industry does not want to support MAC.

 

Give it an example. Had an PC too and just payed 1000€ only for the PC to play wonderful games, without Display and Keyboard or Mouse or Software (Windows self) for 1000€ you got an beautiful iMac with the most powerful Equipment that hold for years. Thats the difference between MAC and PC and I just don't get it why the Industry does not support it.

 

Just 2 Cents

Jake

[WoodChipper]

I think if you really wanna play then you will upgrade by selling your mac and buying a PC and join the majority of the gaming community.