OS X Guild Wars 2 terribly low framerates

[branana]

My machine:
- Mac Pro 4,1 with 5,1 firmware and i7 970 dropped in
- 12GB RAM
- eVGA GTX 680
- Mavericks

I am playing at near 1440p in a window, in the starting zone I get roughly 17 fps regardless if I have highest details or lowest details.

Does anyone have any insight on what is going on?

Here are some screenshots of my GPU utilization and fps using OpenGL Profiler Monitor

 

[ElderBrE]

Did you try repairing permissions?

 

[branana]

No, but by diffing some posted /Library/Applicature Support/Guild Wars 2/config files posted on the internet against mine, I was able to find 1 config parameter under the [d3dgl] section that by adding "sRGBInPixelShader" = "2" boosted my framerate greatly. Anywhere between 10-50 extra fps and made controls a lot less sluggish.

I'm trying to understand what "sRGBInPixelShader" does and whether any other parameters like that one will boost my FPS further now.

 

[luffytubby]

does it help to reduce the resolution?

 

[Washac]

Try playing in fullscreen, then lower the shadows and textures.

I have found that some games are more jittery/laggy etc when played in windowed mode for obvious reasons.

Mavericks may be giving you issues also, do not change anything in your OS until it has been out some time and proved. GW2 was brought to the Mac before Mavericks.

I still use 10.6 for 99% of my Mac gaming/usage, only bootup Lion if I really really have to.

 

[branana]

No, adjusting the resolution and texture/shadow details did nothing for framerate up or down.

This seems only related to OpenGL and Cider's translation.

 

[Washac]

I run Guild Wars 2 on this config with next to no issues.

Mac Pro 4.1 2.66 Ghz Quad-Core Intel Xeon 6 GB RAM Mountain Lion 10.8.3 XFX Radeon HD 6870

 

[macnjack]

I think you answered the question with "OpenGL and Cider's translation."

Issues, including performance, have been covered at the official gw2 forums and while your question won't necessarily be answered, these two threads are fairly decent:
What's so bad about the client

What we really need

Some basic info to keep in mind (which you prob know already) is that the port is 32-bit and doesn't support multithreading. One core and it's hyperthread is all you get.As such, the game becomes cpu limited real fast at 1440p.

The Cider port is injecting D3D and OpenGL through multiple layers with almost no optimization. ANet is a Windows Company through and through and supposedly has a tiny OpenGl team.

Anecdotally, my 2011 iMac with the i7 does okay with the 6970 2GB at 1440p on best performance / low. The hackintosh with a G2020, and gtx 650 1gb sitting on the desk next to it flounders at 1080p (slow single core combined with the Cider port). But boot in W8 and it becomes buttery smooth.

Knowing how my i7 runs fps wise on low, I concur with your thoughts about the gpu translation being the problem for your system. I'd set graphics to best performance and if the game is playable, let it be.

 

[Huntn]

You may not want to but you owe it to yourself to try this game on Windows/Bootcamp for a real boost in performance. My 2011 MBP plays it just fine.

 

[branana]

You may not want to but you owe it to yourself to try this game on Windows/Bootcamp for a real boost in performance. My 2011 MBP plays it just fine.

Yeah unfortunately I have experienced it running in Windows. That's why the Mac performance is so disappointing. I don't want to leave my OSX ecosystem of apps just for a game.

This sucks.

 

[Huntn]

Yeah unfortunately I have experienced it running in Windows. That's why the Mac performance is so disappointing. I don't want to leave my OSX ecosystem of apps just for a game.

This sucks.

I've gotten quite used to booting back and forth. Yes it does take a couple of minutes on the Mac side, the Window side pops right in. To be fair, I have a lot more going on, on the Mac side.

 

[macnjack]

I've gotten quite used to booting back and forth. Yes it does take a couple of minutes on the Mac side, the Window side pops right in. To be fair, I have a lot more going on, on the Mac side.

Not to circle jerk this thread, but what Huntn is saying is exactly correct and what I alluded to above...It might not be what Mac folks want to hear, but this is a windows game through and through. Realizing there isn't much hope for mac client is the first step to enjoying the game.

I don't switch into bootcamp on my iMac because it runs my iTunes library for the household, so I make do with the early 2000's MMO look. It's not that bad in my opinion. The T1 WvW zergs are semi manageable there is still gpu lag on low.

But switching to the hackintosh/W8 machine mentioned above the game is stunningly better looking and much smoother. If you're really vested in the game and the eye candy, I'd consider bootcamp. It only takes a minute.

 

[Dirtyharry50]

I wanted to buy and play this game but I will not settle for a 32 bit Cider port and I will not reboot my machine out of OS X to play this.

So, for me this means I'll find another game to play. Thankfully, I have many to choose from so while it would have been nice to see this too I'll just have to forget about it and move on.

When it comes to a game as demanding as this a Cider port isn't up to the task. They never should have offered this half-baked solution to Mac gamers to begin with. It is good to either do something right or not do it at all.

I am not anti-Cider nor anti-Wine certainly. It depends on the game whether these options are workable and result in playable, enjoyable experiences. In the case of GW2 however which is a demanding title, there is no way it ever should have gotten past initial testing before the magnitude of performance issues was recognized and the project scrapped.

 

[branana]

I wanted to buy and play this game but I will not settle for a 32 bit Cider port and I will not reboot my machine out of OS X to play this.

So, for me this means I'll find another game to play. Thankfully, I have many to choose from so while it would have been nice to see this too I'll just have to forget about it and move on.

When it comes to a game as demanding as this a Cider port isn't up to the task. They never should have offered this half-baked solution to Mac gamers to begin with. It is good to either do something right or not do it at all.

I am not anti-Cider nor anti-Wine certainly. It depends on the game whether these options are workable and result in playable, enjoyable experiences. In the case of GW2 however which is a demanding title, there is no way it ever should have gotten past initial testing before the magnitude of performance issues was recognized and the project scrapped.

I mirror your sentiment. Guess GW2 for me is not meant to be.

 

[luffytubby]

shame you feel that way. I think the game is an absolute blast to play. Having so much fun with it

 

[Huntn]

I wanted to buy and play this game but I will not settle for a 32 bit Cider port and I will not reboot my machine out of OS X to play this.

So, for me this means I'll find another game to play. Thankfully, I have many to choose from so while it would have been nice to see this too I'll just have to forget about it and move on.

When it comes to a game as demanding as this a Cider port isn't up to the task. They never should have offered this half-baked solution to Mac gamers to begin with. It is good to either do something right or not do it at all.

I am not anti-Cider nor anti-Wine certainly. It depends on the game whether these options are workable and result in playable, enjoyable experiences. In the case of GW2 however which is a demanding title, there is no way it ever should have gotten past initial testing before the magnitude of performance issues was recognized and the project scrapped.

I agree that if performance is going to be an issue with a platform why mess with the port. For myself the question becomes is there a Mac model that plays this GW2 well within MacOS?

In Bootcamp/Windows, my 2 year old MBP plays this game well, mid 30s frame rates, and while I respect the decision not to mess with Windows, I'll say that the process of installing Bootcamp and Windows is fairly straight forward, and then booting back and forth is not a big deal, nor onerously time consuming. I've been doing it for years now with no real issues. Although, if you've never done it before, I imagine it could be a scary notion, all that is involved.