Pretty much all indie games these days run on Mac, Windows, Linux, and even the Nintendo Switch, given that they are written using a framework like Unity that are cross-platform. Yes, the latest AAA first person shooter may not be available, but personally, I’m pretty much done with such games.
2 Likes
I recently bought a Canon Powershot G7 Mark III because I needed a tetherable high quality compact camera for work. I’ve been using it as a webcam with a DSLR-sized sensor for Zoom calls for a few days now and honestly I enjoy the much better picture. Yeah, the resolution might do me no favours but I figure it will arrive compressed by two different wi-fis and bad internet connections anyway.
In the meantime I like the much more cinematic look and the fact that the shallower depth of field can blur out my background optically rather than computationally. I even rigged myself an improvised bounce light to get some more flattering lighting on my face.
The only thing missing now is a proper microphone. I saw Craig Mod (the guy whose book on Japanese kissa and pizza toast was recently featured here) use a lapel mic in a livestream. That’s a genius low cost yet professional quality solution, really.
3 Likes
Kinda funny how Apple keeps alternating between CISC and RISC:
680x0
PowerPC
x86
arm
Wonder if the pendulum will swing back to CISC in a decade.
4 Likes
The anandtech article goes into some detail.
It’s certainly faster than my current machine by a fair margin. (2014 imac 5k). including the GPU. Shame that Doom Eternal, and Microsoft Flight Simulator can’t be tested.
2 Likes
I see you bought the McMagicStand, noice! I tried that machine out at the MS store. The drawing lag was atrocious and the gap between screen and pen tip was a show stopper. iPad Pro 12.9 here and I can’t wait for the next gen iPad Pro (day 1 buy).
2 Likes
I’m sure Adobe’s top people are busy finding some way of reducing the machines to a crawl and have their captives/users screaming at the endless updates and security alerts.
4 Likes
There’s such a wide spread of systems to choose from, though.
The really strong point of the M1 is single core performance. It’s not as strong as a threadripper, in multithreaded performance. It has a midrange GPU, and the neural engine probably won’t be as strong as an RTX card… Limited Memory, too.
Lots of opportunities for Adobe to disappoint.
It’s also available in a fanless laptop that costs a fraction of a threadripper CPU alone.
These are apple’s new base models, not the high end stuff, and they’re outperforming everything short of extremely niche workstation components. Without a fan. Without even getting hot to the touch.
I got a MacBook Air today and I’m totally blown away by how snappy it feels. The screen is on the instant you open it. It unlocks the instant you touch the fingerprint scanner. Click mail in the dock, it bounces once and opens, already loaded. I’ve yet to see a beachball of doom anywhere.
The only catch for me is that some developer software isn’t quite ready yet - I haven’t found a VM hypervisor that works yet, for example. That won’t be a problem for long, I think - seeing how fast this thing compiles code, a lot of developers are going to want to figure out ways to make this platform work.
Same here 5K iMac and PS5. iMac for the strategy stuff (Total War, CK III) and PS5 for all the shooty/jumpy games.
What’s your plan for the future? I fear the switch to ARM will kill off my Mac gaming. Only solution I see are game streaming services like GeForce Now/Stadia/Amazon as a way to get x86 games on a future ARM iMac.
2 Likes
Early results of the ARM macs with rosetta have been that applications actually run as well as they have on intel hardware, without translation. We’ll have to see what the plan is with GPU performance, but I don’t imagine Apple will release macs with less performance than they have now in that department - it would muddy the narrative of how much faster apple silicon macs are - so I’m guessing this is why they are saying the transition will take “years”.
1 Like
well, technically, 720 is HD. But I get what you are saying. I agree, its 'nuff for me too.
Crusader Kings III doesn’t need much graphical prowess. Not so sure about Total War. I mean they didn’t change the “field” that much and surely could downgrade if necessary.
Another question from me who looks into this thing the first time with maybe an intention of buying. Is the SSD you can choose all the available hd space you get? That is way too low for me. I mean the one TB option would be bearable, but then the price tag is no longer.
Yeah I don’t think we will have a problem as long as rosetta is supported. But that support will end sooner than later.
There are voices that ARM Macs actually makes the platform more attractive for developers because of compatibility to iOS and therefore a larger market. Thing is that I fear that the type of games available for Macs will change then to more mobile-like (simpler!?) games and away from the stuff I’m used to and like.
1 Like
I hope that’s not the case. I have a feeling the ARM transition is going to not be restricted to MacOS, though - the writing is on the wall for ARM Windows sooner than later, so that may help. As with most AAA titles on Mac, I think a lot of this will depend on Aspyr being ready, and of course the development houses being willing to pay them for the DirectX → Metal conversions on an ongoing basis anyway - that situation I think is more fragile to the mac gaming ecosystem than the Intel → ARM situation, IMHO.
3 Likes
Not simpler. More integrated into the real world economy with micro transactions and loot boxes. :Progress!
I find it ironic that you would make that statement given that Apple currently has the only game network I am aware of that does not allow for in-app purchases (Apple Arcade).
Please elaborate on what you’ve done with the Touch Bar & iTerm2!
iTterm has docs on that!
I have an (IBM!) ThinkPad T42 which I kept after it was bricked by rain a decade ago, and in the early stage of quarantine boredom I made a little project out of restoring it to life. It is weirdly delicious, mostly because of the keyboard and the nostalgia of having a display in the correct 4:3 proportions. But if I thought I could use it to, I dunno, ssh from my couch,* hoo boy that dream didn’t last long. It turns out, computers from ~2004 are excruciatingly slow, and the LCD contrast and viewing angle are garbage. Also: as great as the keyboard is, the spacebar feels off somehow. I might have reassembled it wrong.
* unlike post-G3 Apple notebooks, the T42 folds open 180° so you can use it while lounging
** I think the original Powerbook G4 also did that, but it was an overrated piece of trash
*** Whereas the 2000 Powerbook G3 “Pismo” is even more delicious than the ThinkPad. I have one of those I hope to resurrect some day, too
1 Like
