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Square Enix Pulls, Apologizes For Mac Version of Final Fantasy XIV

Posted by Soulskill on from the release-it-when-it's-done-ish dept.

_xeno_ writes: Just over a week after Warner Bros. pulled the PC version of Batman: Arkham Knight due to bugs, Square Enix is now being forced to do the same thing with the Mac OS X version of Final Fantasy XIV (which was released at the same time as Batman: Arkham Knight). The rather long note explaining the decision apologizes for releasing the port before it was ready and blames OS X and OpenGL for the discrepancy between the game's performance on identical Mac hardware running Windows. It's unclear when (or even if) Square Enix will resume selling an OS X version — the note indicates that the development team is hopeful that "[w]ith the adoption of DirectX 11 for Mac, and the replacement of OpenGL with a new graphics API in Apple's next OS, the fundamental gap in current performance issues may soon be eliminated." (I'm not sure what "the adoption of DirectX 11 for Mac" refers to. OS X gaining DirectX 11 support is news to me — and, I suspect, Microsoft.) Given that the game supports the aging PS3 console, you'd think the developers would be able to find a way to get the same graphics as the PS3 version on more powerful Mac OS X hardware.

6 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. DirectX 11 for Mac by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wait what?????????

  2. Blaming their tools by Viol8 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Sounds to me like they Driect X coders who don't know how to code for OpenGL properly but instead of fessing up they decided its easier to blame their tools than themselves. Poor workmen etc...

    1. Re:Blaming their tools by Damarkus13 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They didn't even try. They slapped a compatibility layer (Cider) on their DX11 engine and now are acting shocked that the performance is terrible. Sounds to me like management looked at the cost of licensing Cider vs. the cost of actually writing an OpenGL engine. It's probably not the workmen's fault.

  3. Exactly what I was thinking by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Even though the GPU makers focus on D3D and not OGL the GL performance is usually quite close to D3D. So when people start blaming their woes on OpenGL I start assuming they don't know what they're on about.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  4. Re:Why release it? by Feral+Nerd · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The ones you glossed over just because it's Apple.

    He does cross platform development, why are you defaulting to accusing him of glossing over faults in OpenGL on OS X? For all we know he's a life long Linux user or a die hard Windows nerd. If you are trying to Troll us that is a pretty pathetic effort.

  5. race to the bottom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm noticing a trend here, all these high profile, multimillion dollar budget games that run on the latest h/w all have major bugs. And I mean major bugs that ruin the experience. With these sky rocketing project budgets is kinda odd.

    Could it be that big budget games are getting pressure by their iOS/Android counterparts (hence rushed and over hyped?) ? Sounds similar to youtube/shorts/webisodes vs scripted major network content.

    Or is it that with all the great tools and superstar coders mean nothing: rushing a major game to market (within 1 yr) has hit its limits, games take 12-16months for example. Otherwise expect some level of failure. No different from a Pixar movie that typically takes 4yrs, compared to a 35 day Transformers shoot..... time == quality.