1) Providing only a 24-hour notice of closure is not cool
2) Support site is not letting me login to deal with my personal situation. Concerned this will get worse.
3) Concerned I will not be considered enough of a Mac User even though I have been using it since beta in Nov. 2013 and worked to help fix the client when DeltaRising broke it.
I don't migrate to PC, I use bootcamp. Its no more than just restarting your computer. And give it a few mins. And I'm playing.
Oh yeah, I forgot about Wine. Laughingtrendy even mentioned it, duh . I have no experience with it myself, but if that provides a free transition, great! I'm just curious how complicated/problematic it is, for the non-computer-geeks among us.
I hadn't tried yet, but its worth looking into. As Bootcamp cost $ to get. Then you have to set it up. Once I get my new IMac, I will look at Wine as well as an alternative. If not I will get Bootcamp, and have them set it up for me. Or get someone to help. I just emailed my IT go to person on this. To see what he says. He really knows his Mac stuff.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
3) Concerned I will not be considered enough of a Mac User even though I have been using it since beta in Nov. 2013 and worked to help fix the client when DeltaRising broke it.
I'd recommend that our support team is the appropriate way to discuss your account specifics during the Mac shutdown. That being said, if 2) is not resolved then please please let me know. You can still contact support by emailing them [customer.service@perfectworld.com] however please do it from your account's registered email address.
I am not sure what is sadder: that the game on mac is ending, the hurt that causes us mac user, or the time and effort the Dev team has put in to the Mac client has all been but a colossal waste of time and money.
For me, I have two points of view, and I seriously hope that someone from STO management reads this:
You can refund money, you can't refund time. Nor can you refund the effort and dedication of STO players. STO is a small game comparatively, and it's players play not for the gaming quality, but for the love of STO itself. STO has a niche, but dedicated player base, and cutting a portion of that is bad PR and bad business. It's also just cruel.
Secondly, with STO having a smaller player base, as business, it needs to make money. There are two ways to make money in business, cut costs or sell more. Rather than cutting costs, by taking out the Mac client (which will cost a lot, not only in refunds, but in future revenue), the team should look to increase sales via increasing the player base; and with another movie and a tv show on the way, plus the 50th anniversary, it is in fact the perfect time to market and advertise to attract new players. For example, slipping in an advert in the movie commercials, or during breaks in the forthcoming show. There is a Star Trek Academy event in New York celebrating the 50th. Is there going to be a STO section? Computers setup, people being able to test the game under the banner or Fly a Starship and fight the borg!, what better way to bring in reams of new players again.
STO, don't cut costs by cutting players, market more, sell more, earn more. Everyone wins.
That being said, if 2) is not resolved then please please let me know. You can still contact support by emailing them [customer.service@perfectworld.com] however please do it from your account's registered email address.
I have tried on two computers again and although I can get to the site and read the FAQ's, it gives me Redirect errors when I try to Login with credentials.
I would be awesome if a thread about Macs could exist without reviving a 30-year-old platform war.
I prefer to use Macs for my own reasons. They are good reasons for me; I've been at this for a very long time, long enough to remember when the war was between IBM and the Apple ][. Other people make different choices, and that's perfectly cool.
I choose to support games with official Mac clients because that's the only way I have to encourage Mac game developers. I want to encourage Mac game developers because native games give me a better experience, and even when their client isn't native, I don't want to have to reboot to switch from the game to the other stuff I do with the machine, and I don't want to dedicate disk space to an operating system I don't use.
So for me, this is about more than just being able to play one game, even if it is a good game and I appreciate the people who work on it. I don't expect others to make the same decision, or even to understand or care about the decision.
I agree with this. Yes I rather just log right on in. And not having to shut if off, restart for bootcamp, then wait for the Mac to simulate the program to get it going. Which usually takes a few minutes. To me it would be good if they try it again later on when time and $ is ready. This is what I liked about WoW. They made it work for all platforms and I just logged right on in.
Until then I'm looking at Wine vs Bootcamp, so when I get my new IMac I got an idea where to go from.
For STO, I think it was a bad business move to cancel out in 24 hour notice. They should give it a few days to allow others to see it. At least make it more known. Send out emails, put in on the news page of web site and game, Even as announcement on the game soon as you log in. 24 hours isn't good at all.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them." -Thomas Marrone
0
trailturtleMember, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58
2) Support site is not letting me login to deal with my personal situation. Concerned this will get worse.
Interesting -- not sure what's causing this, but it looks like it's only affecting your account (or at least, not all accounts -- mine were able to log in). I've got a guess what it is, but I'll take it to the actual engies and see if we can get it resolved. Thanks for bringing it up, and thanks Trendy for pinging me about it.
Here's some food-for-thought: Mac would be a great operating system overall if it wasn't for Steve Job's paranoia and forcing the platform on hardware that is proprietary and subpar. It's a shame that this has to be done, but with everything being so severely closed-source I can understand the move behind it.
That's completely and utter TRIBBLE. Blizzard has been doing an excellent job of simultaneous releases for the Mac and Windows Platforms since Diablo.They continue to do this with EVERY GAME THEY MAKE. And their games are equally functional on both platforms... even the user-created addons. There is absolutely no technical reason that Perfect World could not have done the same. As for the hardware being closed, the relative ease of creating Hackintoshes these days sets that statement on fire.
Fact of the matter is that when Perfect World bought Cryptic, they've been running it by bean counter logic ever since. The decline of the Mac client pretty much dates from the merger.
Here's some food-for-thought: Mac would be a great operating system overall if it wasn't for Steve Job's paranoia and forcing the platform on hardware that is proprietary and subpar. It's a shame that this has to be done, but with everything being so severely closed-source I can understand the move behind it.
Nope, Windows is Subpar due to easily hackers, worms, virus, and other bad stuff to ruin your day. This was the reason why I went to Mac. I don't need any protection, hadn't ran any since the early 2000s.
Don't forget that famous OS Windows came out with. So bad that the customers was "upgrading" to older software cause it was more reliable.
Clearly you've bought into the usual lies that arrogant Mac-Users believe. Only reason why Windows is targeted is because of how wide-spread it is from the get-go. Not until a couple years ago have hackers begun targeting OS-X and the iOS platforms, and their security track-record has been horrendous. How's that Apple-Koolaid tasting?
Next time do your homework before spouting-off nonsense.
Here's some food-for-thought: Mac would be a great operating system overall if it wasn't for Steve Job's paranoia and forcing the platform on hardware that is proprietary and subpar. It's a shame that this has to be done, but with everything being so severely closed-source I can understand the move behind it.
That's completely and utter TRIBBLE. Blizzard has been doing an excellent job of simultaneous releases for the Mac and Windows Platforms since Diablo.They continue to do this with EVERY GAME THEY MAKE. And their games are equally functional on both platforms... even the user-created addons. There is absolutely no technical reason that Perfect World could not have done the same.
Fact of the matter is that when Perfect World bought Cryptic, they've been running it by bean counter logic ever since. The decline of the Mac client pretty much dates from the merger.
Actually, Mac wasn't part of original release. And the good technical reason for them not able to work is the limitations of the game engine that was designed in the first place. It may have coding style in it that works in the Windows environment but not in OSX. The fact that they made it work at all with out having a purely dedicated OSX team was amazing in and of itself. And the fact that they are pulling the plug on it is just logical in that they figured out that they have reached a point that is over their technical heads. This is not a bad thing, just a good realization on their part of the resources that they have to dedicate towards all aspects of the game. I do hope that they take this time to look at maybe getting a specific Mac team together to revisit and possibly port this better. Unless they have determined that the engine is not technically possible to port to the OSX environment, in which case I would like to know that too.
I acknowledge that they gave it more than a college try at it, and applaud them for making the right call to save face. Keeping a poorly functioning client would be nothing more than bad PR for the game.
... Secondly, with STO having a smaller player base, as business, it needs to make money. There are two ways to make money in business, cut costs or sell more. Rather than cutting costs, by taking out the Mac client (which will cost a lot, not only in refunds, but in future revenue), the team should look to increase sales via increasing the player base; and with another movie and a tv show on the way, plus the 50th anniversary, it is in fact the perfect time to market and advertise to attract new players. For example, slipping in an advert in the movie commercials, or during breaks in the forthcoming show. There is a Star Trek Academy event in New York celebrating the 50th. Is there going to be a STO section? Computers setup, people being able to test the game under the banner or Fly a Starship and fight the borg!, what better way to bring in reams of new players again.
STO, don't cut costs by cutting players, market more, sell more, earn more. Everyone wins.
Keep in mind the desktop OS market share is currently around 6% OS X vs. 92% Windows. That means 15 Windows players for each Mac player. Each developer they pay to work on the Mac version instead of the Windows version returns 1 / 15th the value.
That's completely and utter TRIBBLE. Blizzard has been doing an excellent job of simultaneous releases for the Mac and Windows Platforms since Diablo.They continue to do this with EVERY GAME THEY MAKE.
Until Overwatch, which is being developed for Windows and consoles only.
There is a legitimate challenge here. Six years ago, it looked like Macs were on the verge of a gaming renaissance, and when Metal was announced and then brought into OS X, many of us hoped that would also help improve things. But Apple's design priorities have increasingly been to make things smaller, thinner, lighter, more power-efficient, etc. They still sell the Mini, but it's not received a real performance upgrade in four years. The iMac is a laptop with a huge screen — it's gorgeous and efficient and it has plenty of computing power for the vast majority of users, but most have mobile graphics performance, like the mini. The laptops of course are thin and beautiful and wonderful to work on, but again — graphics performance suffers as a result. That leaves the Pro, and how many people have those?
Apple's priorities produce terrific machines and a great user experience, both when you're using the computer and when you're carrying it around. But the cost of that is that we're not equipped with big, powerful graphics cards that require lots of cooling and can carry the load of modern games. Metal might make up for that to some degree, but it can only carry you so far, and it's a whole new API to support.
This decision likely loses me as a customer, because my priorities are what they are — but I can't say I don't understand the decision.
Excuse me, - quick question - "this platform is no longer supported," anything else on the support "chopping block?"
Official Doom Thread?
"Following these issues, we looked at our MacKDF support overall and determined that we cannot promise to deliver an experience on Macto KDF that meets our expectations of quality. After heavy consideration, we have decided to end support for the MacKDF version of Star Trek Online on February 5th. No other version of Star Trek Online is impacted."
Repeat for Science/Cannon users/Current Red-headed stepchild of the week.
Keep in mind the desktop OS market share is currently around 6% OS X vs. 92% Windows. That means 15 Windows players for each Mac player. Each developer they pay to work on the Mac version instead of the Windows version returns 1 / 15th the value.
Market share isn't terribly representative of desktop share, though. Last I knew, Windows users replaced their machines about 2.5x more frequently than Mac users, which increases the market share considerably, but not the number of users. (Of course, this also means that supporting Macs means supporting older hardware.) And of course traditionally, Mac users tend to be more willing to spend money, which matters quite a bit for the F2P model.
Which is not to say that Mac users aren't a small percentage of the user base. Still, Blizzard was able to build and maintain a true native Mac client for every game until Overwatch, and presumably would not have done so if it wasn't profitable.
0
trailturtleMember, Star Trek Online ModeratorPosts: 58
2) Support site is not letting me login to deal with my personal situation. Concerned this will get worse.
Interesting -- not sure what's causing this, but it looks like it's only affecting your account (or at least, not all accounts -- mine were able to log in). I've got a guess what it is, but I'll take it to the actual engies and see if we can get it resolved. Thanks for bringing it up, and thanks Trendy for pinging me about it.
Hmm. No luck right away, but I've filed a bug. Hopefully that pans out with something interesting, I know other people have had that issue in the past. In the meantime, yeah, the email is probably your best way to contact CS.
This is wonderful news! I'm Glad that cryptic will now be concentrating more directly on PC Development and STO2! I look forward to the great things you have planned for us! I would also like to humbly request that you add 3 more doff/admirality systems, 8 new reps with two types of marks each, and if possible, between 30 and 40 new "sets" of limited value since I love collecting. Don't worry, I'll buy more inventory space so I can make it fit! And If you can... release Tier 7 ships soon, I have some leftover cash from the holidays and feel going beyond Mk XIV is within my budget!
Here's some food-for-thought: Mac would be a great operating system overall if it wasn't for Steve Job's paranoia and forcing the platform on hardware that is proprietary and subpar. It's a shame that this has to be done, but with everything being so severely closed-source I can understand the move behind it.
That's completely and utter TRIBBLE. Blizzard has been doing an excellent job of simultaneous releases for the Mac and Windows Platforms since Diablo.They continue to do this with EVERY GAME THEY MAKE. And their games are equally functional on both platforms... even the user-created addons. There is absolutely no technical reason that Perfect World could not have done the same.
Fact of the matter is that when Perfect World bought Cryptic, they've been running it by bean counter logic ever since. The decline of the Mac client pretty much dates from the merger.
PWE acquired Cryptic from Atari in 2011. The Mac client was released in 2014. There was no Mac client to enter decline "from the merger". Heck, Cryptic has been under PWE for 5 of the 6 years STO has been around. (Released Feb. 2010. Sold March 2011.)
As to your comparison, Blizzard has stated there are no current plans to release Overwatch for Mac, although this is the first time in their history they won't be releasing for both Mac and Windows. (I'm hoping it's because they're waiting to finish the ports of WoW and Starcraft II to Metal, and then release a Metal-only Overwatch client for Mac, but if that's their plan they're playing it close to the chest and it's still not a simultaneous release. Also doesn't explain why Diablo III isn't planned to get the Metal treatment.)
Anyways, in the past Blizzard hasn't simultaneously released for Windows and Mac, they've simultaneously developed for Windows and Mac, allowing them to release at the same time. STO is based on Cryptic's engine which was initially designed - over a decade ago - targeting Windows. It took Riot two years to re-write merely-4-year-old code to allow them to build League for Mac and Windows, and that is a comparatively simpler client for connecting to an instanced match with 10 players vs. an MMO that is connecting up to 30 players per instance in maps loaded on-demand.
Short of a miracle, the only way STO could have a native/non-WINE Mac client is to become STO II, built on a new engine with cross-platform support in mind from the start of development.
For STO, I think it was a bad business move to cancel out in 24 hour notice. They should give it a few days to allow others to see it. At least make it more known. Send out emails, put in on the news page of web site and game, Even as announcement on the game soon as you log in. 24 hours isn't good at all.
They didn't give you 24 hours notice, Captain Hyperbole. The client will no longer be available to download because obviously they don't want any NEW users getting it and starting out on something that is being closed down. The post says that the Mac CLIENT will continue to work until sometime in the spring.
I really wish some people around here would learn to read (not only YOU specifically, farmallm). Every bloody game announcement seems to be accompanied by a bunch of knee-jerk posts from people who didn't comprehend the message in the first place, even though it was expressed in a plain and straightforward manner. And believe me, I get my 10-year-old to read the post to make sure it's clear before I say anything - if HE can understand it, then most others should be able to as well.
I have seen Trendy and the devs occasionally be a bit vague and need to add some clarification to messages later, but more often than not it's like this situation and it is so frustrating to see it.
Keep in mind the desktop OS market share is currently around 6% OS X vs. 92% Windows. That means 15 Windows players for each Mac player. Each developer they pay to work on the Mac version instead of the Windows version returns 1 / 15th the value.
Market share isn't terribly representative of desktop share, though. Last I knew, Windows users replaced their machines about 2.5x more frequently than Mac users, which increases the market share considerably, but not the number of users. (Of course, this also means that supporting Macs means supporting older hardware.) And of course traditionally, Mac users tend to be more willing to spend money, which matters quite a bit for the F2P model.
Which is not to say that Mac users aren't a small percentage of the user base. Still, Blizzard was able to build and maintain a true native Mac client for every game until Overwatch, and presumably would not have done so if it wasn't profitable.
The link I picked was stats for computers in use, not sales. For example, Windows XP still has an 11% market share on the web so almost double OS X.
The number for STO players might be higher or lower than 15 to 1, but as you agreed it's a huge difference.
Blizzard can afford to continuously update their MMO client, but their 1 /15th share of players is a much larger and more profitable number.
When a software is designed from the start to support different platforms, it is considerably easier to maintain that support, then when you never had it to begin with.
It genuinely surprised me that they ever made an official Mac Client. It's sad to see it go, but they probably didn't make that decision just for the sake of hurting players.
On the plus side - the time you spend enjoying STO was still time you enjoyed.
On the negative side - will you really get all the money you spend on STO back? Rollbacks/Refunds from October 2015 isn't bad, but if you've played longer, it's likely not the majority of expenditure...
Of course, this is a fate we all will face eventually - I would not be surprised to see STO go for more years, but it seems there is still going to come a time where it's done. And failing that, there might still come a time where you're personally done with it.
Star Trek Online Advancement: You start with lowbie gear, you end with Lobi gear.
Here's some food-for-thought: Mac would be a great operating system overall if it wasn't for Steve Job's paranoia and forcing the platform on hardware that is proprietary and subpar. It's a shame that this has to be done, but with everything being so severely closed-source I can understand the move behind it.
You can't get a much bigger franchise than the Batman series, and even they couldn't manage to make it work. It's not a simple matter, at all. Not impossible, certainly, but a very significant technological and developmental challenge.
I'm disappointed my daughter won't be able to easily join me in STO from her Mac, but I applaud the efforts of those Cryptic devs who busted their backsides trying and the management who had to make a tough call. Hopefully, the bottom line for the game itself will be more focus and developer time on the rest of the game. I would venture that this is regrettable news for the Mac STO community, but good news for the game.
Comments
1) Providing only a 24-hour notice of closure is not cool
2) Support site is not letting me login to deal with my personal situation. Concerned this will get worse.
3) Concerned I will not be considered enough of a Mac User even though I have been using it since beta in Nov. 2013 and worked to help fix the client when DeltaRising broke it.
I hadn't tried yet, but its worth looking into. As Bootcamp cost $ to get. Then you have to set it up. Once I get my new IMac, I will look at Wine as well as an alternative. If not I will get Bootcamp, and have them set it up for me. Or get someone to help. I just emailed my IT go to person on this. To see what he says. He really knows his Mac stuff.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
Is it still doing this? There was a brief intermittent blip where we were having general website issues, but that should have been ironed out now.
I'd recommend that our support team is the appropriate way to discuss your account specifics during the Mac shutdown. That being said, if 2) is not resolved then please please let me know. You can still contact support by emailing them [customer.service@perfectworld.com] however please do it from your account's registered email address.
For me, I have two points of view, and I seriously hope that someone from STO management reads this:
You can refund money, you can't refund time. Nor can you refund the effort and dedication of STO players. STO is a small game comparatively, and it's players play not for the gaming quality, but for the love of STO itself. STO has a niche, but dedicated player base, and cutting a portion of that is bad PR and bad business. It's also just cruel.
Secondly, with STO having a smaller player base, as business, it needs to make money. There are two ways to make money in business, cut costs or sell more. Rather than cutting costs, by taking out the Mac client (which will cost a lot, not only in refunds, but in future revenue), the team should look to increase sales via increasing the player base; and with another movie and a tv show on the way, plus the 50th anniversary, it is in fact the perfect time to market and advertise to attract new players. For example, slipping in an advert in the movie commercials, or during breaks in the forthcoming show. There is a Star Trek Academy event in New York celebrating the 50th. Is there going to be a STO section? Computers setup, people being able to test the game under the banner or Fly a Starship and fight the borg!, what better way to bring in reams of new players again.
STO, don't cut costs by cutting players, market more, sell more, earn more. Everyone wins.
I personally like the Big Mac. It is a tasty sandwich.
And my PC has a Mac address.
i.imgur.com/LGpIGVB.png
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I have tried on two computers again and although I can get to the site and read the FAQ's, it gives me Redirect errors when I try to Login with credentials.
Going to try the email.
I agree with this. Yes I rather just log right on in. And not having to shut if off, restart for bootcamp, then wait for the Mac to simulate the program to get it going. Which usually takes a few minutes. To me it would be good if they try it again later on when time and $ is ready. This is what I liked about WoW. They made it work for all platforms and I just logged right on in.
Until then I'm looking at Wine vs Bootcamp, so when I get my new IMac I got an idea where to go from.
For STO, I think it was a bad business move to cancel out in 24 hour notice. They should give it a few days to allow others to see it. At least make it more known. Send out emails, put in on the news page of web site and game, Even as announcement on the game soon as you log in. 24 hours isn't good at all.
USS Casinghead NCC 92047 launched 2350
Fleet Admiral Stowe - Dominion War Vet.
"Critics who say that the optimistic utopia Star Trek depicted is now outmoded forget the cultural context that gave birth to it: Star Trek was not a manifestation of optimism when optimism was easy. Star Trek declared a hope for a future that nobody stuck in the present could believe in. For all our struggles today, we haven’t outgrown the need for stories like Star Trek. We need tales of optimism, of heroes, of courage and goodness now as much as we’ve ever needed them."
-Thomas Marrone
Interesting -- not sure what's causing this, but it looks like it's only affecting your account (or at least, not all accounts -- mine were able to log in). I've got a guess what it is, but I'll take it to the actual engies and see if we can get it resolved. Thanks for bringing it up, and thanks Trendy for pinging me about it.
That's completely and utter TRIBBLE. Blizzard has been doing an excellent job of simultaneous releases for the Mac and Windows Platforms since Diablo. They continue to do this with EVERY GAME THEY MAKE. And their games are equally functional on both platforms... even the user-created addons. There is absolutely no technical reason that Perfect World could not have done the same. As for the hardware being closed, the relative ease of creating Hackintoshes these days sets that statement on fire.
Fact of the matter is that when Perfect World bought Cryptic, they've been running it by bean counter logic ever since. The decline of the Mac client pretty much dates from the merger.
Not at all... because there never was any support to begin with
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Twitter:
https://twitter.com/CaptainCidStorm
Clearly you've bought into the usual lies that arrogant Mac-Users believe. Only reason why Windows is targeted is because of how wide-spread it is from the get-go. Not until a couple years ago have hackers begun targeting OS-X and the iOS platforms, and their security track-record has been horrendous. How's that Apple-Koolaid tasting?
Next time do your homework before spouting-off nonsense.
Actually, Mac wasn't part of original release. And the good technical reason for them not able to work is the limitations of the game engine that was designed in the first place. It may have coding style in it that works in the Windows environment but not in OSX. The fact that they made it work at all with out having a purely dedicated OSX team was amazing in and of itself. And the fact that they are pulling the plug on it is just logical in that they figured out that they have reached a point that is over their technical heads. This is not a bad thing, just a good realization on their part of the resources that they have to dedicate towards all aspects of the game. I do hope that they take this time to look at maybe getting a specific Mac team together to revisit and possibly port this better. Unless they have determined that the engine is not technically possible to port to the OSX environment, in which case I would like to know that too.
I acknowledge that they gave it more than a college try at it, and applaud them for making the right call to save face. Keeping a poorly functioning client would be nothing more than bad PR for the game.
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RR-KDF: Fleet Admiral Zemo (Reman Tactical)::Fleet Admiral Xinatek (Reman Science)::Fleet Admiral Bel (Alien Engineer)
TOS-Fed: Fleet Admiral Katem (Andorian Tactical)::Lieutenant Commander Straad (Vulcan Engineer)
Dom-Fed: Dan'Tar (Jem'Hadar Science)
Dom-KDF: Kamtana'Solan (Jem'Hadar Science)
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Keep in mind the desktop OS market share is currently around 6% OS X vs. 92% Windows. That means 15 Windows players for each Mac player. Each developer they pay to work on the Mac version instead of the Windows version returns 1 / 15th the value.
Until Overwatch, which is being developed for Windows and consoles only.
There is a legitimate challenge here. Six years ago, it looked like Macs were on the verge of a gaming renaissance, and when Metal was announced and then brought into OS X, many of us hoped that would also help improve things. But Apple's design priorities have increasingly been to make things smaller, thinner, lighter, more power-efficient, etc. They still sell the Mini, but it's not received a real performance upgrade in four years. The iMac is a laptop with a huge screen — it's gorgeous and efficient and it has plenty of computing power for the vast majority of users, but most have mobile graphics performance, like the mini. The laptops of course are thin and beautiful and wonderful to work on, but again — graphics performance suffers as a result. That leaves the Pro, and how many people have those?
Apple's priorities produce terrific machines and a great user experience, both when you're using the computer and when you're carrying it around. But the cost of that is that we're not equipped with big, powerful graphics cards that require lots of cooling and can carry the load of modern games. Metal might make up for that to some degree, but it can only carry you so far, and it's a whole new API to support.
This decision likely loses me as a customer, because my priorities are what they are — but I can't say I don't understand the decision.
Official Doom Thread?
"Following these issues, we looked at our MacKDF support overall and determined that we cannot promise to deliver an experience on Macto KDF that meets our expectations of quality. After heavy consideration, we have decided to end support for the MacKDF version of Star Trek Online on February 5th. No other version of Star Trek Online is impacted."
Repeat for Science/Cannon users/Current Red-headed stepchild of the week.
Only thing with a 24 hour window is downloads of the client isn't it? Closure is "Spring of this year", a more precise date would be nice though.
Market share isn't terribly representative of desktop share, though. Last I knew, Windows users replaced their machines about 2.5x more frequently than Mac users, which increases the market share considerably, but not the number of users. (Of course, this also means that supporting Macs means supporting older hardware.) And of course traditionally, Mac users tend to be more willing to spend money, which matters quite a bit for the F2P model.
Which is not to say that Mac users aren't a small percentage of the user base. Still, Blizzard was able to build and maintain a true native Mac client for every game until Overwatch, and presumably would not have done so if it wasn't profitable.
Hmm. No luck right away, but I've filed a bug. Hopefully that pans out with something interesting, I know other people have had that issue in the past. In the meantime, yeah, the email is probably your best way to contact CS.
PWE acquired Cryptic from Atari in 2011. The Mac client was released in 2014. There was no Mac client to enter decline "from the merger". Heck, Cryptic has been under PWE for 5 of the 6 years STO has been around. (Released Feb. 2010. Sold March 2011.)
As to your comparison, Blizzard has stated there are no current plans to release Overwatch for Mac, although this is the first time in their history they won't be releasing for both Mac and Windows. (I'm hoping it's because they're waiting to finish the ports of WoW and Starcraft II to Metal, and then release a Metal-only Overwatch client for Mac, but if that's their plan they're playing it close to the chest and it's still not a simultaneous release. Also doesn't explain why Diablo III isn't planned to get the Metal treatment.)
Anyways, in the past Blizzard hasn't simultaneously released for Windows and Mac, they've simultaneously developed for Windows and Mac, allowing them to release at the same time. STO is based on Cryptic's engine which was initially designed - over a decade ago - targeting Windows. It took Riot two years to re-write merely-4-year-old code to allow them to build League for Mac and Windows, and that is a comparatively simpler client for connecting to an instanced match with 10 players vs. an MMO that is connecting up to 30 players per instance in maps loaded on-demand.
Short of a miracle, the only way STO could have a native/non-WINE Mac client is to become STO II, built on a new engine with cross-platform support in mind from the start of development.
They didn't give you 24 hours notice, Captain Hyperbole. The client will no longer be available to download because obviously they don't want any NEW users getting it and starting out on something that is being closed down. The post says that the Mac CLIENT will continue to work until sometime in the spring.
I really wish some people around here would learn to read (not only YOU specifically, farmallm). Every bloody game announcement seems to be accompanied by a bunch of knee-jerk posts from people who didn't comprehend the message in the first place, even though it was expressed in a plain and straightforward manner. And believe me, I get my 10-year-old to read the post to make sure it's clear before I say anything - if HE can understand it, then most others should be able to as well.
I have seen Trendy and the devs occasionally be a bit vague and need to add some clarification to messages later, but more often than not it's like this situation and it is so frustrating to see it.
The link I picked was stats for computers in use, not sales. For example, Windows XP still has an 11% market share on the web so almost double OS X.
The number for STO players might be higher or lower than 15 to 1, but as you agreed it's a huge difference.
Blizzard can afford to continuously update their MMO client, but their 1 /15th share of players is a much larger and more profitable number.
If I switch to a Boot Camp setup, and boot natively into Windows... will I be affected? Or will I need to change anything in my account?
It genuinely surprised me that they ever made an official Mac Client. It's sad to see it go, but they probably didn't make that decision just for the sake of hurting players.
On the plus side - the time you spend enjoying STO was still time you enjoyed.
On the negative side - will you really get all the money you spend on STO back? Rollbacks/Refunds from October 2015 isn't bad, but if you've played longer, it's likely not the majority of expenditure...
Of course, this is a fate we all will face eventually - I would not be surprised to see STO go for more years, but it seems there is still going to come a time where it's done. And failing that, there might still come a time where you're personally done with it.
Steve Jobs is dead and irrelevant.
A Mac running Boot Camp ias as much a Windows machine as a Dell.
http://www.cnet.com/news/batman-arkham-knight-canceled-for-maclinux/
You can't get a much bigger franchise than the Batman series, and even they couldn't manage to make it work. It's not a simple matter, at all. Not impossible, certainly, but a very significant technological and developmental challenge.
I'm disappointed my daughter won't be able to easily join me in STO from her Mac, but I applaud the efforts of those Cryptic devs who busted their backsides trying and the management who had to make a tough call. Hopefully, the bottom line for the game itself will be more focus and developer time on the rest of the game. I would venture that this is regrettable news for the Mac STO community, but good news for the game.
Roll on STO year seven.