Patch 1.0.1.332 : Mac version ?

[manu-fan]

Please Ryan. Throw us a bone here.

Cheers.

 

[AspyrRyan]

At the moment, I don't have any useful bones to throw. We're working on the patch for both versions of the game, but I don't have an estimated release date at this time.

 

[manu-fan]

Boy, it's taking its time.

Thanks for the update though.

Cheers.

 

[Lachlan]

At the moment, I don't have any useful bones to throw. We're working on the patch for both versions of the game, but I don't have an estimated release date at this time.

Thank you for this answer, must be patient...

 

[forty2j]

I'm sure they're having debates almost daily on whether to push out the patch faster, hold for the next patch, or hold to work on x-platform MP..

 

[Mavfin]

I'm sure they're having debates almost daily on whether to push out the patch faster, hold for the next patch, or hold to work on x-platform MP..

The fact that the publisher obviously doesn't give a damn about the Mac player base means I won't be buying the next Civ release for Mac. We're now what, 2 months behind again? I know Aspyr is working hard on it, so I'm not blaming them.

It's just complete BS. People keep saying there's no profit in Mac gaming, but certain companies release all their stuff in dual formats, and they're very profitable, so, that always sounds like a cop-out to me on the part of the publisher.

 

[RRtexasranger]

Yeah, I'm never gonna buy a Mac game ever again with the hopes of cross platform multiplayer, at least, not until every last patch is released. I bought a Mac version for somebody just so we can play multiplayer together. Here it is, nearly a full year later, and the game hasn't been touched because cross platform MP still isn't supported. I'm never making that mistake again...

 

[Hyper Nova]

Yeah, I'm never gonna buy a Mac game ever again with the hopes of cross platform multiplayer, at least, not until every last patch is released. I bought a Mac version for somebody just so we can play multiplayer together. Here it is, nearly a full year later, and the game hasn't been touched because cross platform MP still isn't supported. I'm never making that mistake again...

It seems to be one thing that Aspyr have problems with when porting games when others like Blizzard (who to be fair build the game with Mac/PC cross platform from day one) can with no real issues.

I remember the disappointment i had with CnC Generals (another aspyr port) not being cross platform and I couldn't play with my flatmate. It was nice when EA managed to do CnC3 and Red Alert 3 directly and therefore cross platform.

I assume its a porting issue. (Or maybe Aspyr's networking engineers suck IDK, No offence Ryan )

<<< Not a coder so I don't know. Maybe Ryan would enlighten me

 

[AspyrRyan]

People keep saying there's no profit in Mac gaming, but certain companies release all their stuff in dual formats, and they're very profitable

I wouldn't necessarily say those companies are profitable because of dual platform. Correlation does not equal causation. However, I'm sure the profits they make mean that the extra money into Mac development doesn't hurt them.

I'm not a professional coder, but here's what I know from my industry experience.

Cross platform, in general, is a tricky thing when both sides aren't being developed in-house. Often, it requires a few code changes on both sides, which isn't always an option if the original development team has moved on to other projects. Other times, a developer may use a third party middleware for networking, and that middleware may not be available on Mac.

As far as I recall, almost every title we've done has been cross platform since I started. Our developers are well versed in handling network issues. Unfortunately for all of us, Civilization V is a special case.

 

[Graven]

I wouldn't necessarily say those companies are profitable because of dual platform. Correlation does not equal causation. However, I'm sure the profits they make mean that the extra money into Mac development doesn't hurt them.

What Blizzard does is an investment. They've been doing it since 2006 (I think) -- a time when Macs had an even smaller market-share (they even back-tracked and made all their past games Mac-compatible). They saw the writing on the wall then with Mac market-share and jumped on it. Most gaming companies ignore Macs, meaning there's substantial market to try and corner and capitalize on.

Think of it this way: a gaming company looks and says, "only X% of the market is Macs, if we compare that to the cost of programming for them, we'd only break even." That logic is inherently flawed because it accounts for them assuming an equal percentage of all market-shares is going to buy their game. The PC side of the market has choices up to their ears; the Mac side does not. So what Blizzard did is grab hold of a market-share without any competition. Now, as Mac market-share grows, Blizzard has been in from the ground up, building customer loyalty.

Blizzard was my favorite company before I owned a Mac -- I don't think that's a coincidence. The truth is, in spite of their many flaws, they're still immeasurably better and more professional than everyone else out there.

I'm not pointing fingers at ASPYR, Firaxis, or anyone else -- I don't need to -- but if they're not ashamed of how they're treating the playerbase, they should be. Macs aren't going anywhere, and just how Blizzard is building good will, they're building bad will. It's not likely to be erased anytime soon.

P.S. Ryan, my above rant is obviously not attacking you specifically -- I really appreciate your updates. I just find the whole thing frustrating and I've all but moved on from Civ5 already due to the lag in bringing Hot Seat over. I suppose it's ironic, but I've actually been playing Diablo 2 again recently. It must just be one of those crazy coincidences again...

 

[Marginal]

What Blizzard does is an investment. They've been doing it since 2006 (I think)

I was playing wacraft 1 and 2 on a mac when I was a kid, so far longer! And now there's news of another civ5 patch and dlc incoming and we dont even have this one yet =/ maybe its time to get windows from somewhere and use bootcamp >_>

 

[Mavfin]

I was playing wacraft 1 and 2 on a mac when I was a kid, so far longer! And now there's news of another civ5 patch and dlc incoming and we dont even have this one yet =/ maybe its time to get windows from somewhere and use bootcamp >_>

Yeah, I was playing Warcraft 2 on a Mac in 1995, and got Starcraft in 1997, so yeah, Blizzard invested in Mac gaming years ago.

And Ryan, I do appreciate what Aspyr's doing. However, I don't appreciate that because of the publisher, we're one patch behind, coming up on being two patches behind, and the publisher obviously treats us like we're just an afterthought. I'll never buy another 2K game new from anyone. I should have learned from Civ 3. I'll buy any Civ 5 expansions the way I bought Civ 4: Cheap and all together, after it's all patched.

in the meantime, I've got Diablo 3 and Heart of the Swarm coming this year, it looks like, so Civ 5 may end up off my hard drive.

 

[Graven]

I was playing wacraft 1 and 2 on a mac when I was a kid, so far longer! And now there's news of another civ5 patch and dlc incoming and we dont even have this one yet =/ maybe its time to get windows from somewhere and use bootcamp >_>

Ah, alright. I think it's possible that prior to 2006, there was a delay in when Blizzard ported games over to Macs. Now, obviously, everything is streamlined together. I suppose it doesn't matter, haha -- my memory isn't my strongest feature.

 

[fmlizard2]

I kinda wish they would do this update in 2 patches - one for the basic rebalancing that most people want most. That should primarily boil down to changes in the XML since there was no net new functionality in the latest patch.

Then, release a later update that tackles all the multiplayer stuff that a minority of the user base (especially on Mac) cares about.

This is a classic example of the 80/20 rule I think...20% of the users and functionality is taking 80% of the time.

 

[autumnmist]

I kinda wish they would do this update in 2 patches - one for the basic rebalancing that most people want most. That should primarily boil down to changes in the XML since there was no net new functionality in the latest patch.

Then, release a later update that tackles all the multiplayer stuff that a minority of the user base (especially on Mac) cares about.

This is a classic example of the 80/20 rule I think...20% of the users and functionality is taking 80% of the time.

Definitely agree. It's a good thing Aspyr decided to make Civ5 SteamPlay or I'd be even more annoyed. At least now I can still play in Bootcamp/VMWare.

 

[manu-fan]

I kinda wish they would do this update in 2 patches - one for the basic rebalancing that most people want most. That should primarily boil down to changes in the XML since there was no net new functionality in the latest patch.

Then, release a later update that tackles all the multiplayer stuff that a minority of the user base (especially on Mac) cares about.

This is a classic example of the 80/20 rule I think...20% of the users and functionality is taking 80% of the time.

Right on. +1

Cheers.