This is a crosspost from the EVE Forums, if you're looking for a review on the actual game itself, just google for it, this is more of a specific look at the client
Ive been an Apple fan ever since I got my Macbook Pro this summer, but Ive been tied into using Windows XP and Bootcamp to feed my EVE Online addiction. Bootcamp wasnt bad by any means, but I was more then ecstatic when CCP announced they would be releasing a Mac version on the 6th of November.
I was eager to download and install right away, but 404s with CCPs content servers meant I had to try several times before actually being able to download the entire client. Fortunately the install very simple, involving simply mounting and dragging the client to the application folder, in total the install took roughly three minutes, which was quite a nice difference compared to installing the client on windows.
On the initial run, the client opened up in full screen (no splash) and nigh instantly showed the login screen (usually takes 5-10 seconds on windows). The first problem I encountered as a lack of a way to switch to windowed mode from within the game, however you can follow the process below to make the change by editing a configuration file.
The second issue I encountered was the client changed my color configuration to make my screen look like something from Picassos Blue Period. Luckily, the fix was simply a matter of going to display properties, just opening the windows will reset it back to what I had previously, this can be quite annoying, so I hope that a fix is provided.
Actual ingame performance is lackluster to say the least; I got 25 FPS outside of the Amarr Emperor station, and 45 FPS inside the station. This is between 2.5 to 3 times lower then what I get running through Bootcamp on the same machine, so this immediately throws the game into the realm of being unplayable (I have the 2.2 GHz Macbook Pro with a 8600GT). Further more, one client takes up between 80-95% of available CPU, which gives me the feeling that the client is extremely unoptimized and could do a lot of work, but with CCPs track record for improving initial releases, Im hoping that eventually the client could be used for actual fighting.
Beyond having suboptimal frame rates, I havent encountered many problems with the client so far, the biggest ingame problem I found was the client freezing for a split second when clicking on player avatars, and some texture problems, but otherwise it looks fairly solid.
Interestingly enough, it works just fine with expose, and really, I just had to try, this will be undoubtedly be very useful for anybody who likes to run more then one client at once.
Ive been an Apple fan ever since I got my Macbook Pro this summer, but Ive been tied into using Windows XP and Bootcamp to feed my EVE Online addiction. Bootcamp wasnt bad by any means, but I was more then ecstatic when CCP announced they would be releasing a Mac version on the 6th of November.
I was eager to download and install right away, but 404s with CCPs content servers meant I had to try several times before actually being able to download the entire client. Fortunately the install very simple, involving simply mounting and dragging the client to the application folder, in total the install took roughly three minutes, which was quite a nice difference compared to installing the client on windows.
On the initial run, the client opened up in full screen (no splash) and nigh instantly showed the login screen (usually takes 5-10 seconds on windows). The first problem I encountered as a lack of a way to switch to windowed mode from within the game, however you can follow the process below to make the change by editing a configuration file.
The second issue I encountered was the client changed my color configuration to make my screen look like something from Picassos Blue Period. Luckily, the fix was simply a matter of going to display properties, just opening the windows will reset it back to what I had previously, this can be quite annoying, so I hope that a fix is provided.
Actual ingame performance is lackluster to say the least; I got 25 FPS outside of the Amarr Emperor station, and 45 FPS inside the station. This is between 2.5 to 3 times lower then what I get running through Bootcamp on the same machine, so this immediately throws the game into the realm of being unplayable (I have the 2.2 GHz Macbook Pro with a 8600GT). Further more, one client takes up between 80-95% of available CPU, which gives me the feeling that the client is extremely unoptimized and could do a lot of work, but with CCPs track record for improving initial releases, Im hoping that eventually the client could be used for actual fighting.
Beyond having suboptimal frame rates, I havent encountered many problems with the client so far, the biggest ingame problem I found was the client freezing for a split second when clicking on player avatars, and some texture problems, but otherwise it looks fairly solid.
Interestingly enough, it works just fine with expose, and really, I just had to try, this will be undoubtedly be very useful for anybody who likes to run more then one client at once.