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WoW Cataclsym Beta

S

smali

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 19, 2010
222
0
Hey guys,

I got lucky and have been invited to beta test Cataclysm!:D I thought you guys might be interested in WoW performance on Mac OS with all the new graphical changes etc.

Quick Summary so far:

Im playing on a Mid 2009 Macbook 2.13 c2d, 4g ram, 9400m. At the moment the graphics are set on "Good" (there are a LOT more options for tweaking graphics now). After playing around for awhile I managed to get a steady 40-50fps flying above new ogrimmar.

The graphics seem noticably improved for the Mac. One thing I always noticed was the ultra fuzzy edges when playing on OSx compared to windows. Characters look clean and sharp even on my low end laptop.

The new water effects arent enabled on the mac side yet so I gotta wait to test the impact on performance.

So far I am pretty pleased with how things are looking for Cata, those with newer Macs are gonna love all the new eye candy. Infact after looking at some of the new zones I may well invest in a new Imac:p

Please dont hesitate to ask any questions ;)
 
smali said:
The graphics seem noticably improved for the Mac. One thing I always noticed was the ultra fuzzy edges when playing on OSx compared to windows.
Click to expand...

Do you mean fuzzy edges when compared to Windows with the same exact graphics settings as in OSX?
 
Libertine Lush said:
Do you mean fuzzy edges when compared to Windows with the same exact graphics settings as in OSX?
Click to expand...

Yeah pretty much. I remem when I first loaded up WoW back when I got my macbook, the difference between the windows version (xp) and mac was noticable to me on similar settings.

There is a new effect called sun shafts which is probably why the game is looking nicer as well.

Ill try and get some screens sometime soon.
 
smali said:
Yeah pretty much. I remem when I first loaded up WoW back when I got my macbook, the difference between the windows version (xp) and mac was noticable to me on similar settings.
Click to expand...

That's surprising and disappointing. I assumed the Mac version looked identical, with the only difference being performance.

Anyone know if this is typical with Mac versions of games? Even native versions?
 
Libertine Lush said:
That's surprising and disappointing. I assumed the Mac version looked identical, with the only difference being performance.

Anyone know if this is typical with Mac versions of games? Even native versions?
Click to expand...

Often "appearance" and "performance" are interchangeable-- that is, you have to reduce the visual effects in order to get decent performance.
 
Libertine Lush said:
That's surprising and disappointing. I assumed the Mac version looked identical, with the only difference being performance.

Anyone know if this is typical with Mac versions of games? Even native versions?
Click to expand...

The Mac version will typically lag the Windows version for optimization. This is partly because there's a larger Windows user base (including for beta versions) and Apple has their own OpenGL version and custom graphics drivers that they must wait on the manufacturers to implement (Nvidia, ATI, Intel). For example, I remember the halo/glow effect in WoW was horribly unoptimized and unusable for a long time (years). Typically games are made to run on DirectX (Windows) and then that code is "ported" to support Mac on OpenGL. And we're also seeing a lot of early performance problems on the Mac side in Starcraft 2. While WoW performance on Mac still lags behind that of Windows today, I find it acceptable enough. I can run it on somewhat high settings at a comfortable 60 fps (actually more than that) on a 2008 iMac, and I think Cataclysm will be fine, it'll just take some time.
 
HiRez said:
The Mac version will typically lag the Windows version for optimization. For example, I remember the halo/glow effect in WoW was horribly unoptimized and unusable for a long time (years).
Click to expand...

I'm know well of the performance differences. Just didn't know there isn't visual parity at equal settings. So this halo effect and the OP's "fuzzy" (maybe AA?) are new to me. Though it sounds like from your wording the halo issue has been brought to par. And so perhaps the same gradual implementation will occur with the new water effects in Cata.
 
Libertine Lush said:
I'm know well of the performance differences. Just didn't know there isn't visual parity at equal settings. So this halo effect and the OP's "fuzzy" (maybe AA?) are new to me. Though it sounds like from your wording the halo issue has been brought to par. And so perhaps the same gradual implementation will occur with the new water effects in Cata.
Click to expand...


The way I read it was the old WoW had fuzziness but the latest Mac Cata looks sharp. Can you clarify ?
 
Is anyone playing WoW, normal or Cataclysm on a 2010 13 inch MBP?

I've had my mind set on a 15 inch one for a while now because I felt the 13 inch model wouldn't offer performance in WoW.

But now I'm having second thoughts. Can anyone advise if the 13 inch plays WoW at a suitable level? I don't even play with full shadows etc now on my current PC so not having those details on the Mac won't really bother me that much if I need to turn them down.
 
Collected said:
Is anyone playing WoW, normal or Cataclysm on a 2010 13 inch MBP?

I've had my mind set on a 15 inch one for a while now because I felt the 13 inch model wouldn't offer performance in WoW.

But now I'm having second thoughts. Can anyone advise if the 13 inch plays WoW at a suitable level? I don't even play with full shadows etc now on my current PC so not having those details on the Mac won't really bother me that much if I need to turn them down.
Click to expand...

Hi guys,

I been doing some more testing and it seems my initial excitement over the increased performance/appearance of Cata was short-lived. As soon as I started flying around in azeroth's new areas (with similar settings to what I have in WoW Lich King) I started noticing HUGE slow downs dropping to almost 10 fps!

Some of the new areas seem playable with everything on low with around 25fps. However the game looks so awful its comparable to Playstation One Graphics.

Its still early in Beta so things will improve however I think that being a 25man raider and wanting to actually enjoy the new world Blizzard have built I'm going to have to suck it up and build myself a gaming pc.

The game will still be playable for most mac users but expect to have at least the new range of imac to play with all the new eye candy and proper performance in 25man raids (im looking at you mr healer trying to tank-heal with 5 fps on lich king!!)

Edit: Just tried the beta out on my brother's i5 3.2ghz desktop with ati hd 5770 which he built for half the price of the lowest end imac..Ultra settings 8xAA all the eye candy you can imagine was clocking around 70-90 fps.Oh and the game looks gorgeous :D
 
Collected said:
But now I'm having second thoughts. Can anyone advise if the 13 inch plays WoW at a suitable level? I don't even play with full shadows etc now on my current PC so not having those details on the Mac won't really bother me that much if I need to turn them down.
Click to expand...

Well, "suitable level" is subjective. But I do play WoW on a 15" MacBook Pro, this is the slightly older model with the fairly crappy 9400M GPU only. And while the performance isn't anywhere near what it on my iMac, it's not bad. I play at full resolution (I think it's 1440x900) with medium-lowish graphic settings and it doesn't look bad. I also keep the frame rate capped at 25 fps to keep it from running hot. It can generally maintain 20-25 fps, occasionally it'll drop down in the 15-20 range with a lot of stuff on screen.

So short answer is it works well for me (I would call it "acceptable", but barely) but if you need 60 fps make sure you get a model with a dedicated GPU. The new 15"ers all have the Nvidia 330 GT, which should give you great frame rates in WoW, and even the 13"ers with the 320 GT should give you better performance than I have. I don't think you'll have a problem with any of the new models as WoW isn't that demanding. HOWEVER, I should point out that I have not played Cataclysm yet, that may place more demands on it. Starcraft 2 is another matter...
 
I remember I used to play WoW with everything on low and I think max resolution (1280x800 or something) on my old eMac, and only got 10-15 FPS. And I still found it perfectly playable :p
 
smali said:
Some of the new areas seem playable with everything on low with around 25fps. However the game looks so awful its comparable to Playstation One Graphics.
Click to expand...
thanks for starting this thread. i'm not a WoW player, but my brother is - and he wanted to buy my MacBook Pro (8600GT) to play cataclysm since his G5 won't be supported. looks like he might be better off with a new machine.
 
i play on the laptop in my signature. a few weeks ago I was running most settings on Ultra with a few things like shadows turned down a bit and I was getting 40+fps
 
Are questions asked to you just limited to technical, game performance type questions or can we ask general questions about the game?

I have just one question that I really want to know about the game.

But I'd hate to ask a question that would violate any rules for anyone allowed to play in beta.
 
Hehe yeah ask what you want, also beta info is now publicly available, its in Alpha your not meant to talk about new stuff.(insert fight club rules here).
 
smali said:
Hi guys,

I been doing some more testing and it seems my initial excitement over the increased performance/appearance of Cata was short-lived. As soon as I started flying around in azeroth's new areas (with similar settings to what I have in WoW Lich King) I started noticing HUGE slow downs dropping to almost 10 fps!

Some of the new areas seem playable with everything on low with around 25fps. However the game looks so awful its comparable to Playstation One Graphics.

Its still early in Beta so things will improve however I think that being a 25man raider and wanting to actually enjoy the new world Blizzard have built I'm going to have to suck it up and build myself a gaming pc.

The game will still be playable for most mac users but expect to have at least the new range of imac to play with all the new eye candy and proper performance in 25man raids (im looking at you mr healer trying to tank-heal with 5 fps on lich king!!)

Edit: Just tried the beta out on my brother's i5 3.2ghz desktop with ati hd 5770 which he built for half the price of the lowest end imac..Ultra settings 8xAA all the eye candy you can imagine was clocking around 70-90 fps.Oh and the game looks gorgeous :D
Click to expand...

Half the price including monitor of equvalent resolution? /doubt.
 
I'm pretty sure your frame-rate will be much better if you install Windows 7 and play WoW in Windows 7. If you game, it's still a much better idea to dual boot Windows than to play games in Mac OS.
 
smali said:
Hi guys,

I been doing some more testing and it seems my initial excitement over the increased performance/appearance of Cata was short-lived. As soon as I started flying around in azeroth's new areas (with similar settings to what I have in WoW Lich King) I started noticing HUGE slow downs dropping to almost 10 fps!

Some of the new areas seem playable with everything on low with around 25fps. However the game looks so awful its comparable to Playstation One Graphics.

Its still early in Beta so things will improve however I think that being a 25man raider and wanting to actually enjoy the new world Blizzard have built I'm going to have to suck it up and build myself a gaming pc.

The game will still be playable for most mac users but expect to have at least the new range of imac to play with all the new eye candy and proper performance in 25man raids (im looking at you mr healer trying to tank-heal with 5 fps on lich king!!)

Edit: Just tried the beta out on my brother's i5 3.2ghz desktop with ati hd 5770 which he built for half the price of the lowest end imac..Ultra settings 8xAA all the eye candy you can imagine was clocking around 70-90 fps.Oh and the game looks gorgeous :D
Click to expand...

Some people have said in SC2 threads that they downgraded to the earlier OSX version and it got a bit better. Not sure if it applies to this game or your computer.

As for "optimization before release", imho, I wouldn't count on any significant optimization as being a high priority...if that even is indeed the issue. If there is optimization efforts, they will be concentrated for the Windows version first anyway since that's not as tiny of a market for these intense graphics. And you never know, maybe this isn't even over and they will add MORE effects that will consume even more power. So if you're making a purchasing decision now, I would go bigger to be safe if you want to experience the full effects.
 
smali said:
Hey guys,

I got lucky and have been invited to beta test Cataclysm!:D I thought you guys might be interested in WoW performance on Mac OS with all the new graphical changes etc.

Quick Summary so far:

Im playing on a Mid 2009 Macbook 2.13 c2d, 4g ram, 9400m. At the moment the graphics are set on "Good" (there are a LOT more options for tweaking graphics now). After playing around for awhile I managed to get a steady 40-50fps flying above new ogrimmar.

The graphics seem noticably improved for the Mac. One thing I always noticed was the ultra fuzzy edges when playing on OSx compared to windows. Characters look clean and sharp even on my low end laptop.

The new water effects arent enabled on the mac side yet so I gotta wait to test the impact on performance.

So far I am pretty pleased with how things are looking for Cata, those with newer Macs are gonna love all the new eye candy. Infact after looking at some of the new zones I may well invest in a new Imac:p

Please dont hesitate to ask any questions ;)
Click to expand...

Do you mind posting some pictures here? I have yet to see what the graphics look like with an 9400m unless an upgrade is needed.
 
Also, from what I have gathered so far regarding this situation, I'm not sure the current top iMac will be good enough to run Cata Maxed seamlessly even under bootcamp. But it all boils down to personal preference really. But my educated guess is that you will need a MacPro...or a cheaper Windows gaming computer, of course with one of the newer single GPU 256-bit+ cards.
 
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