Re:Apple's game porting toolkit is fantastic. Cyberpunk 2077...
by musicale on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @03:31PM
(#36232229)
> Like how does all this Metal, compile-your-shaders, port-your-games stuff even get budgeted, when it's eventually dead on arrival?
I think Apple is testing the waters. They're a trillion-dollar company, and they want to see if they can expand Mac gaming beyond iOS ports.
The podcast seems to missing the point - it's not failed attempt to turn a Mac into a PS5 or a Windows game PC.
Rather, there are a large number of games which could run fine on this sort of technology (including much of my Steam game library that currently only runs on Windows) as well as existing macOS ports whose performance can be improved.
For example Final Fantasy XIV already runs on a Crossover/WINE type middleware layer, at lower frame rates than comparable Windows systems. This is likely to drastically improve the frame rate, improving the experience for FFXIV players on macOS. If Square Enix has a good experience with FFXIV on Mac, perhaps they will be more likely to consider more Mac ports of their games.
Moreover it's worth noting that Apple did claim that the M1 had comparable raw GPU performance to the PS5 (and Macs also use fast flash storage like the PS5.) That means that as the M-series evolves it may become more feasible to port PS5 games to Mac with decent performance. Solid ports of console games could greatly improve the Mac gaming landscape.
I think Apple is testing the waters. They're a trillion-dollar company, and they want to see if they can expand Mac gaming beyond iOS ports.
The podcast seems to missing the point - it's not failed attempt to turn a Mac into a PS5 or a Windows game PC.
Rather, there are a large number of games which could run fine on this sort of technology (including much of my Steam game library that currently only runs on Windows) as well as existing macOS ports whose performance can be improved.
For example Final Fantasy XIV already runs on a Crossover/WINE type middleware layer, at lower frame rates than comparable Windows systems. This is likely to drastically improve the frame rate, improving the experience for FFXIV players on macOS. If Square Enix has a good experience with FFXIV on Mac, perhaps they will be more likely to consider more Mac ports of their games.
Moreover it's worth noting that Apple did claim that the M1 had comparable raw GPU performance to the PS5 (and Macs also use fast flash storage like the PS5.) That means that as the M-series evolves it may become more feasible to port PS5 games to Mac with decent performance. Solid ports of console games could greatly improve the Mac gaming landscape.