CuppaManga

I agree that the new Launcher release has been underpromoted. I'll see if I can alert someone to that fact.

There appears to be a problem with the older Mac patch servers. The Launcher seems to patch much more reliably.

I *am* a DB admin (though not for Paragon or NC). Though every DB is different I'll offer my best guess why it was done this way.

The EU global server is being merged *into* the US one. In order to do so at maximum speed, to keep the maintenance window small, there has to be minimal failure conditions and solutions. In this case, records are copied over, and if one produces an error it's assumed that's because a field required to be unique (the global name or account name) is duplicated. Since this is an automated process and no human will be there to interpret every conflict, the incoming name is changed.

Checking the last login date of each of two conflicting accounts causes too many possible problems. What if they're the same? What if they're within a few hours or a few days? What if both accounts are inactive? All these checks eat away at the maintenace window and produce the possibility of failure.

The who logs in first method would require keeping the old EU database running somewhere, possibly forever, waiting for each EU player to log in to be copied over.

This is a known issue and is listed in my Mac guide.

The NCLauncher takes quite a while to complete its search - give it 15 minutes to a half hour, depending on how recent your Mac may be.

Darn, I was hoping the log would display a more detailed error, or at least an error number. It looks like they just put in generic text for any kind of failure condition.

Anyway, there's a known issue where patches can cause CoH to become unusable and unrepairable. If you do re-install CoH from the launcher, don't throw out the old City of Heroes application right away - put it somewhere out of the way, like the desktop, and check my guide (in the signature) for the section on Installation Shortcut. You might be able to at least copy the game files over (if not you can always toss it and do it the hard way).

I've been analyzing some...stuff that I would rather not tell people how to do, and I think this bug may be because the patching procedure for the Mac client is so complicated. Just looking at how it works, it's dizzying the number of things that could possibly go wrong. I'll be looking at it further to see if there's a less dizzying explanation for what's happening, and possibly how to avoid corruption.

Does it say "PatchManifest.xml" or "PatchListManifest.xml"? Also, are you using MacOS X 10.6.x or 10.5.x?

I have an idea: If you get the "PatchManifest.xml" error, try re-downloading ONLY the NCSoft Launcher, and replace the one you have. Then launch it, and tell it where City of Heroes is. Then QUIT the NCSoft Launcher, re-launch it, and then Repair City of Heroes.

Let me know if that works.

If it doesn't, right-click the NCLauncher application, select Show Package Contents, and open the launcherlog.txt file (not one with a number after it) and post its contents here.

Try this: Create a folder named NCSoft and put the Launcher and your City of Heroes and City of Heroes Test applications in there. Run the launcher and change the Properties of both so they point to the correct location. Then do a Repair on both.

That's how I have mine set up exactly (even down to /Games/NCSoft/) so it should work.

I just patched mine and didn't get any such error.

1) Do you get that error before or after the download?

2) Can you copy the last few lines from your Console Log here? (Applications > Utilities > Console)

You should send a help ticket too (help.ncsoft.com) so support can track the issue.

Troubleshooting

Q. My Mac client won't start up again after being started previously. The icon just bounces once and disappears.

A. If your Mac game client won't start after playing it previously, try the following steps:

1. Open your Applications folder, and then Utilities.
2. Launch Activity Monitor.
3. Look for a process called "wineserver" and click it once to select it.
4. Click "Force Quit".
5. Launch the CoH game client again.


Q. I just downloaded the Mac client and it won’t launch.

A. Try this:

- Make sure you're installing using an account with administrator access (do not use the Guest account)
- Open Safari and select Empty Cache from the Safari menu.
- Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal) and type or paste "dscacheutil -flushcache" (without the quotes of course) and press Return.
- Go to Users > (your name) > Library > Preferences and throw the City of Heroes Preferences in the trash.


Q. I'm using MacOS X Tiger (10.4.x). Can I play CoH anyway?

A. CoH will refuse to launch, as it's set to require at least 10.5.8. You can work around it, but I'm not going to cover how, because it probably will crash.


Q. Should I upgrade to Leopard or Snow Leopard?

A. Snow Leopard is your best bet for future support from both Paragon Studios and from Apple.


Q. If I have a problem and I'm asked for my Console Log, how do I get that?

A. Open Applications > Utilities > Console. You can copy and paste text from it.


Q. When will Depth of Field and other special effects be added?

A. Soon™.


Q. How do I ask questions or get help with my Mac or CoH Mac Edition?

A. The City of Heroes official Forums has a separate category for Mac users. You aren't required to post there as a Mac user, but it will give your post direct attention from fellow Mac users who can help.

City of Heroes Mac Edition Guide (version 5 - Issue 20)

There may be separate guides dealing with installing the Windows version of City Of Heroes on a Mac via Boot Camp (Dual Boot), Emulation (Parallels, VMWare), or Crossover Games. This guide deals specifically with the Native Mac Client and the NCSoft Launcher.

Before you begin, keep in mind that City of Heroes Mac Edition has the following requirements:

- Leopard (MacOS X 10.5.x) or Snow Leopard (MacOS X 10.6.x). Snow Leopard is recommended, along with the Graphics Driver update of August 17, 2010. Tiger (MacOS X 10.4.x) is not supported.
- An Intel-based Mac - PowerPC is not supported.
- While the Intel GMA 3100 generation and beyond is supported, a discrete video processor by ATI or nVidia is recommended for performance reasons. Older Intel GMA video processors may work at low settings, but they aren’t officially supported.



A Note About Ultra Mode Performance

Ultra Mode is fully supported on the Mac platform. However, there are some performance issues with certain features of the Ultra Mode settings. FSAA (Full-Screen Antialiasing) uses up a large amount of CPU and swap file space, so if you can live without it, you can dramatically increase your framerate. The same is true for Ambient Occlusion. Shadow Mode does fine all the way to its maximum setting, as does Environmental Reflections and Water Effects.



A Word About Geometry Buffers

It is recommended at this time that you turn of the Geometry Buffers feature, as that seems to cause an excess of Video RAM allocations, which creates lag in certain areas such as Supergroup Bases, Arachnos Maps, and the Rikti Warzone base.



The City of Heroes for Mac Client

There are now two ways to download and install City Of Heroes for Mac, thanks to the new NCSoft Launcher. Keep in mind that the first method is preferred, as the older patch servers which currently allow the standalone Mac client to work will be deprecated in the near future.



The NCSoft Launcher

Method 1: Download the NCSoft Launcher for Mac from http://www.cityofheroes.com/account/...of_heroes.html or from your Account Management page.

1. Once downloaded, double-click the DMG to mount it to the desktop. Drag the NCLauncher application to your Applications folder, or the location of your choice.

2. Double-click the NCLauncher application. It will attempt to search for any installed copies of City Of Heroes you might have on your Mac.

3. Once NCLauncher displays its information window (it has a black background) check and see which software you have installed, listed beneath the Installed heading.

4. If you have City of Heroes already installed, click the disclosure triangles next to each City of Heroes client listed to expand them. Double-click Properties and make sure the Install Location points to the correct place. If it doesn’t, click Browse and select the City Of Heroes application manually.

5. If you do not have City of Heroes installed already, click Install Game and wait for the game content to download.



The Standalone Mac Client

Download City of Heroes for Mac at http://www.cityofheroes.com/account/...of_heroes.html, or your Account Management page. That version is distributed in a Mac native DMG disk image. There are two separate clients: One for the regular City Of Heroes live servers, and one for the Training Room.

1. If you downloaded, once you've finished downloaded the DMG, double-click it to mount it to the desktop.

2. Double-click the installer application - City Of Heroes will be unpacked and placed in your Applications folder.

3. Double-click the City of Heroes application and allow it to update itself with the latest game data. This could take a while.

4. You're ready to play.


NOTE: Some ATI-based Macs have trouble with the latest downloadable City of Heroes for Mac client, version 1.0.4462. If you’re one of these people, download the Training Room client from the URL above and wait for it to patch. This older version has a few bugs, but it works.



A Word About Aliases

In order to access files within the City of Heroes for Mac application such as screenshots, demorecords, Architect files, costumes, etc, it is recommended to create an Alias of the files within the City Of Heroes application. This saves time, and prevents possible accidental damage to the application later on from moving important files by accident. To create an Alias of of the internal files:

1. Right-click the City of Heroes application and select "Show Package Contents".

2. Open the Contents, then Resources, then transgaming, then c_drive.

3. Open either "coh", or "Program Files" and then "City of Heroes". If neither of those are in "c_drive", run the updater or Launcher once but quit before the download completes.

4. Chose the Make Alias command from the Finder’s File menu.

5. Drag the Alias (the folder icon with the black arrow in the lower left corner) to convenient place, like your user folder.

Any time the steps 1 thru 3 are shown in this document, you can skip those and go directly to your newly created Alias!



Installation Shortcut

If you have another active install of City of Heroes, you can skip much of the update download by doing the following:

WARNING: Tampering with the files within the City of Heroes application may render it inoperable, requiring you to reinstall it from the DMG and re-download all the game files.

If you used the trick in the “A Word About Aliases” section above, you can skip steps 1 thru 3, and double-click your Alias instead.

1. Run the CoH application or Launcher once to allow the client to update itself if necessary. Once you see it "Fixing Files" you can quit and move on with the next step.

2. Right-click the City of Heroes application and select "Show Package Contents".

3. Open the Contents, then Resources, then transgaming, then c_drive, then either "coh", or "Program Files" and then "City of Heroes". If neither of those are in "c_drive", run the updater or Launcher once but quit before the download completes. From now on that folder will be referred to as the Client Folder.

4. Copy the contents of your Windows City of Heroes "piggs" folder into the Client Folder (credit: Ghost Vision). You may also copy your wdw.txt (saved windows) and the folders named like your accounts (saved preferences), and the Costumes, Missions, and Player Created Souvenier (those are your Mission Architect files). Do not copy the other files, as that has been known to cause a corrupted install.

5. Delete the coh.checksum file (credit: Ghost Vision).

6. File > Get Info on the Client Folder and make sure your user account is the owner, and has Read and Write permissions. Apply the permissions to enclosed folders even if they look okay. This step varies whether you're using Tiger or Leopard, so please check the Apple help if you're unsure of how to do it.

7. Double-Click City Of Heroes and let the updater verify files and patch. It will take very little time.



Screenshots and Demorecords on the Native Mac Client

Screenshots and Demorecords are both stored in an unusual place in the native Mac client. It will take some practice to reach them, but as long as you're careful you can do so safely.

First, however, you might want to give some attention to the different types of screenshots and demorecords available.

1. Basic in-game screenshot: Usually created by pressing Print Screen. If you're on a laptop, however, you'll have to remap that key since there is no Print Screen. In-game, go to Options and Keymapping. Down at the bottom is the Screen Shot option. Click where it says Print Screen, and hold down a replacement key combo. I picked Ctrl+~. This method will create a screenshot free of UI elements. The screenshot retrieval process is unusual, however - instructions are below.

2. MacOS screenshot: Pressing Cmd-Shift-3 captures the entire screen, UI display and all. It's the same as typing “/screenshotui 1” before doing the above, and will put the screenshot on the desktop. Cmd-Shift-4 (regional screenshot) is not available in-game.

3. Basic Demorecord: Typing “/demorecord filename” in-game will start recording a command set for creating a full-motion simulated game-based movie (“/demostop” stops the recording). It's proprietary to City of Heroes, and requires some typed commands to play it back. The retrieval process is described below, but playback will be covered in a separate document.

4. Third-party screen recording utility: You can either use one of these to record the game live, complete with UI elements, or to capture a played-back Demorecord to make a Quicktime movie. There is a wide variety of these available, so there are no specific instructions to make one work.



Retrieving Screenshots and Demorecords

WARNING: Tampering with the files within the City of Heroes application may render it inoperable, requiring you to reinstall it from the DMG.

If you used the trick in the “A Word About Aliases” section above, you can skip steps 1 thru 2, and double-click your Alias instead.

1. Right-click the City of Heroes application and select "Show Package Contents".

2. Open the Contents, then Resources, then transgaming, then c_drive, then either "coh" or "Program Files" and then "coh".

3. The screenshots are stored in the "screenshots" folder, the demorecords in "client_demos".



Playing Back Demorecords on a Mac

There are now two ways to play back Demorecord files. The Standalone Mac Client makes it a little more difficult, while the NCSoft Launcher now provides a method for playback to be done quite easily.

To play back Demorecord files, you will first need to learn the name of the file you wish to play back. This can be accomplished with the steps shown in the Retrieving Screenshots and Demorecords section above.

Using the NCSoft Launcher, double-click Properties. There’s an entry called Extra Command Line Parameters. To play back your demorecord files, you will enter one of the following in there:

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes > Contents > Resources > transgaming > Program Files > City of Heroes:

-demoplay c:/Program\ Files/City\ of\ Heroes/client_demos/*demofile*.cohdemo -disable2d

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes > Contents > Resources > transgaming > coh:

-demoplay c:/coh/client_demos/*demofile*.cohdemo -disable2d

That setting may be persistent, so make sure to remove it next time you wish to play City of Heroes regularly.

If you’re using the Standalone Mac Client instead, you will get a crash course in using the MacOS X command line:

1. Open Terminal located in Applications > Utilities.

2. Type or copy and paste (copy and paste is recommended) one of the two following commands:

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes.app > Contents > Resources > transgaming > Program Files > City of Heroes:

/Applications/City\ of\ Heroes.app/Contents/MacOS/cider -- cohupdater.exe -demoplay c:/Program\ Files/City\ of\ Heroes/client_demos/*demofile*.cohdemo -disable2d

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes.app > Contents > Resources > transgaming > coh:

/Applications/City\ of\ Heroes.app/Contents/MacOS/cider -- cohupdater.exe -demoplay c:/coh/client_demos/*demofile*.cohdemo -disable2d

NOTE: Make sure to replace *demofile* with the actual name of the Demorecord file you wish to play back.

You will see the Updater or Launcher open, and then City of Heroes on top of it. It will seem like it's loading for a while, and then your Demorecord should play back. If you see a screen with night time clouds, that means City of Heroes wasn't able to find the file you specified.

NOTE: If your City of Heroes application is located somewhere other than Applications, replace that part of the command line appropriately. Remember that spaces have to be “escaped” with a backslash and then a space, so they look like this: “\ “.

NOTE: The -disable2d command line option turns off heal/damage text and chat text. It was added because there's a bug currently where all log text (like "You are flying!") is spoken on-screen. If you choose to have text display, you will have to edit the Demorecord file. Do so carefully, and back up first!



Mission Architect And Costume Creator Files

WARNING: Tampering with the files within the City of Heroes application may render it inoperable, requiring you to reinstall it from the DMG.

Mission Architect stores several kinds of local files inside your City of Heroes application. There are Missions, Custom Critters, Custom Villain Groups, Player Created Souvenirs, and Costumes, which is also shared by the Icon/Facemaker costume creator in-game. THESE FILES ARE NOT DUPLICATED ON ALL YOUR CITY OF HEROES INSTALLATIONS! If you have non-published Architect assets, you have to back them up/copy them manually.

If you used the trick in the “A Word About Aliases” section above, you can skip steps 1 thru 3, and double-click your Alias instead.

1. Right-click the City of Heroes application and select "Show Package Contents".

2. Open the Contents, then Resources, then transgaming, then c_drive, then either "coh" or "Program Files" and then "coh".

3. Look for folders named Missions, Custom_Critter, CustomVillainGroup, PlayerCreatedSouvenirClues.txt, and costumes.

All of the files in those folders are fully compatible with both Windows and Mac clients, and can be transferred from one to the other. Additionally, you can design missions, custom critters, or costumes and email them to a friend!



Accessing the Training Room

If you’re using the NCSoft Launcher, installing the Training Room client is as easy as Installing it or using Properties and then Browse to point it to your existing Training Room client. The application must be named “City Of Heroes Training Room” for the Launcher to recognize it.

There is also a separate standalone game client for accessing the training room. The installation and use procedure is the same as the regular Mac client, above in the Standalone Mac Client Section, the only difference being the server it connects to, and the name of the application. Instructions on how to copy characters from the Live servers to the Training Room are at the City of Heroes official message board.

The Training Room client is also available at http://www.cityofheroes.com/account/...of_heroes.html.



The Beta Server Client For Mac

NOTE: This section may become deprecated when the NCSoft Launcher gains direct support for the Beta server. In that case, just follow the first paragraph in the instructions above.

Currently, there is no special Beta server client for Mac. You will need to download a separate copy of the City of Heroes for Mac client from http://www.cityofheroes.com/account/...of_heroes.html and then make some modifications.

NOTE: If you are using the NCSoft Launcher, you cannot make a copy of your in-use Live client - it’s been modified. You must download a new copy to make a Beta client.

WARNING: Tampering with the files within the City of Heroes application may render it inoperable, requiring you to reinstall it from the DMG.

1. If your existing Live client is in your Applications folder, move it to the Desktop temporarily to avoid having it overwritten by the newly downloaded client.

2. Install the newly downloaded client using the Standalone Mac Client instructions above.

3. Rename the newly installed client to “City Of Heroes Beta”. This naming convention is so that the NCSoft Launcher will support it in the future.

4. Right-click the City of Heroes application and select "Show Package Contents".

5. Open the Contents folder.

6. Open Info.plist in a text editor like Textedit.

7. Change the following text:

<key>CiderBuild</key>
<string>4462</string>
<key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key>
<string>10.5.7</string>
<key>NSMainNibFile</key>

To this:

<key>CiderBuild</key>
<string>4462</string>
<key>CiderGameOptions</key>
<string>-- cohupdater.exe -beta</string>
<key>LSMinimumSystemVersion</key>
<string>10.5.7</string>
<key>NSMainNibFile</key>

And also change this:

<key>PrefsFolderName</key>
<string>City of Heroes</string>

To This:

<key>PrefsFolderName</key>
<string>City of Heroes Beta</string>

8. Save the changes and exit TextEdit. You’re now ready for the Beta Server! Instructions on copying characters from the Live to the Beta server are on the forums.



Loading Bind Files

The City of Heroes Mac client has a "D" drive mapped to the location of your current Home folder on the Mac. Placing your bind file there will allow you to load it directly from inside the game:

1. Place a bind file, such as "binds.txt", in your Home folder.

2. In-game, type "/bindloadfile d:/binds.txt" and press Return.

3. Your binds are now available!



Unique Mac Features

1. Minimize: Pressing Cmd-Tab while in-game will minimize City of Heroes and allow you to access the Desktop. Be careful you don't press that key combo while in the middle of battle. Clicking the application in the Dock will restore it to full screen. This method of hiding CoH may cause some slowdown of the Mac because the game still thinks it's running full-screen though it's no longer visible. CAUTION: Since the game itself doesn't suspend, you still may be defeated, miss chat, or disconnect due to timeout while you can't see the game.

2. Windowed Mode: Pressing Cmd-Enter while in-game will switch City of Heroes to Windowed mode and back. This is a fairly convenient way to do it, since you can switch back and forth at will without restarting the game. You can run other applications and still keep an eye on in-game events and chat this way.

3. Self-Contained Operation: This means you can copy the City of Heroes application to any Intel-based Mac and it will work nearly the same as on your own gaming computer. CAUTION: If you use CoH on a shared computer, remove the "City of Heroes Preferences" from your Users > Library > Preferences folder when you're done. Also, if you’re using the NCSoft Launcher, you may have to manually tell it where you moved the application by double-clicking Properties and Browsing for it.

4. Multi-touch trackpad: If your Mac has a multi-touch trackpad, City of Heroes will obey the right click and directional scroll gestures.

5. Bluetooth, wireless, or USB mouse: If you have a Bluetooth, wireless, or USB mouse it will work about as it does in the operating system, except that CoH is limited to 3-button and scroll wheel support.

6. You can run multiple instances of City of Heroes by Duplicating the application (File > Duplicate) and calling the alternate one something like "City of Heroes (2)". You can then launch both applications at once. If you use this method, the second copy will not be usable with the NCSoft Launcher. The Launcher is not capable of launching multiple instances of City of Heroes on its own.

7. The Mac City of Heroes client is capable of running from a USB Flash (Thumb) Drive at least 8 GB in size. It will operate just as the game normally does in this state. The only caveat is if you're on a public computer you may want to delete the City of Heroes Preferences in your (User) > Library > Preferences folder.

8. Apple’s mouse/trackpad products (Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad) do not support clicking both right and left buttons at once, and don’t support holding the scroll button down. You may have to remap those features to use them in-game.



External/Secondary Monitors

For play on a secondary External Monitor or Television:

1. Start the game and switch to Windowed Mode (Cmd-Enter)
2. Plug in the External Monitor
3. Open System Preferences, select Displays and then Arrangement. Check "Mirror Displays".
4. Switch the game back to Full-screen (Cmd-Enter)

After playing, switch back to Windowed Mode (Cmd-Enter) and then unplug the External Monitor. Then switch back to Full-Screen (Cmd-Enter) and quit.

City of Heroes for Mac will support playing on an external monitor, or mirroring between two monitors, but due to video RAM usage restrictions, you cannot spread the game interface over two monitors or use the desktop on one monitor and the game on another.



Vidiotmaps/Herostats

Vidiotmaps can be installed in City of Heroes for Mac using one of the following two procedures:

The first procedure is to download the Mac installer for Vidiotmaps. However, this installer is not updated often, and it requires that City Of Heroes be in your Applications folder.

Another procedure involves extracting the files from the Windows installer and placing them manually in the appropriate location.

WARNING: Tampering with the files within the City of Heroes application may render it inoperable, requiring you to reinstall it from the DMG.

1. Download the Vidiotmaps installer that contains ONLY the maps.

2. Run the Vidiotmaps installer on a Windows computer, or in Crossover, Parallels, or VMWare. Extract the files somewhere highly visible like the Desktop.

3. Copy the "data" folder to the Mac Desktop.

4. Right-click the City of Heroes application and select "Show Package Contents".

5. Open the Contents, then Resources, then transgaming, then c_drive, then either "coh" or "Program Files" and then "City of Heroes". If there is no such folder, run the updater once to get it to create the folder.

6. Drag the "data" folder to the folder.

NOTE: There is also now a Mac installer at the Vidiotmaps web site. If you located your City of Heroes application anywhere but the Applications folder, however, you'll have to extract the "data" folder from the hierarchy of folders installed in Applications and move it.



Known Issues

1. Depth of Field and other advanced video features not yet available.

2. Native game Windowed-Mode may not work as expected (use Cmd-Enter noted above), and does not yet start automatically when you launch the game.

3. Increased lag/chop in certain zones. Make sure your World Detail is no higher than 100%, and Geometry Buffers is turned OFF.

4. If you change your screen resolution in-game, you need to restart your game client right away. If you change anything or click Apply your settings will revert without warning.

5. Periodic client crashes can occur due to a pesky memory leak. These can usually be alleviated or delayed by using the /reloadgfx chat command sparingly - approximately every third time you zone, or when you feel things getting too laggy. When you use that command, you'll experience a temporary freeze while the screen re-draws - that's normal.

6. Supergroup Base Editing icons are corrupted and hard to see.

7. Mission Architect mini-avatars do not animate.

8. The Updater version number is too long and collides with the time remaining.

9. High CPU use when FSAA or Ambient Occlusion are turned on.

10. Some ATI-based Macs have trouble with the latest (1.0.4462) Mac client. See the instructions in the installation section above if you’re affected.

11. Some Mac users report a large number of frequent “assertion failure” crashes. The issue has been reported and tracked, and is being worked on.



Common Questions

Q. Can I use my characters on Triumph, Freedom, Virtue, etc with the Mac client?
A. Yes. You can access the Live servers alongside PC clients without limitation.

Q. Is there also a European version of the Mac client?
A. Yes, it’s the one that ends with EU. However, this will be a moot point soon when the European servers merge with the U.S. ones.

Q. Do I need a new account or can I use my existing one?
A. If you have an existing account, you can use it with the Mac client.

Q. Can I use the Going Rogue expansion with a Mac?
A. Yes, Going Rogue is part of the same City of Heroes game, and will work on a Mac.

Q. Can I use Ultra Mode on a Mac?
A. With some performance considerations, Ultra Mode works fully on a Mac. See the beginning of this document for more on Ultra Mode performance.

Q. If I have an account I started with the PC client, can I use the Mac client?
A. Yes. The two clients behave the same, without regard to what type of account you created.

Q. Can I use the Mac client with a trial account?
A. Yes, even trial accounts can be used with the Mac client.

Q. How do I use the Valkyrie pack if I have a PC created account?
A. You will be given an Activation Code when you order the Mac Edition (or if you ordered a package, it will be inside the box). Use UPGRADE, rather than ADD, to add the code to your account.

Q. Can I use Herostats or Mid's on a Mac?
A. Herostats does not currently support the Mac client. Mid's can be run in Boot Camp, Parallels, VMWare, or any other emulated Windows environment. There is a web-based Suckerpunch's Herobuilder that works with Mac.

Q. How do I report bugs in the Mac client?
A. You should always start by sending a trouble ticket to help.ncsoft.com, so the issue can be tracked. You can also post them to the Mac Users forum. You can also use the in-game /bug command.

Q. What if I have a problem logging in, or another problem with my account?
A. Customer Support will be able to help you with either PC or Mac account problems.

Q. Can saved costumes/architect files be moved from Mac to PC and vice versa?
A. Yes, costumes are fully compatible with both clients, as are architect files.

Q. Why is Tiger no longer supported?
A. The CoH client uses Mac API's that are not completely supported by Tiger.

Q. Will my PowerPC Mac run City of Heroes for Mac?
A. No, PowerPC is not supported, and won't be in the future.

Q. How do I take a Screenshot on a Macbook, Macbook Pro, or new Apple keyboard with no Print Screen key?
A. You will have to bind the Screenshot feature in-game to another key. You can do so on the Keybinds section of the in-game options.

Q. Can I transfer my Training Room or Beta characters to the Live servers?
A. No. Due to the ability to tamper with the Training Room and Beta economies, you can't transfer those characters to Live servers.

Q. Do I need to periodically update my video drivers?
A. Unlike in Windows, video card vendors don't usually supply Mac compatible video drivers on their web sites. Most of the time, Apple supplies video driver updates as part of system updates, which are often as or more frequent than video card vendor updates.

Q. Can I buy a CD/DVD of the Mac client and avoid a lengthy download?
A. The Mac version is included on the DVD for City of Heroes: Architect Edition. Most of those game files are outdated by now, however, so the download will still be lengthy.



Troubleshooting

Q. My Mac client won't start up again after being started previously. The icon just bounces once and disappears.

A. If your Mac game client won't start after playing it previously, try the following steps:

1. Open your Applications folder, and then Utilities.
2. Launch Activity Monitor.
3. Look for a process called "wineserver" and click it once to select it.
4. Click "Force Quit".
5. Launch the CoH game client again.


Q. I just downloaded the Mac client and it won’t launch.

A. Try this:

- Make sure you're installing using an account with administrator access (do not use the Guest account)
- Open Safari and select Empty Cache from the Safari menu.
- Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities > Terminal) and type or paste "dscacheutil -flushcache" (without the quotes of course) and press Return.
- Go to Users > (your name) > Library > Preferences and throw the City of Heroes Preferences in the trash.


Q. The Patch Servers are down, I'm up to "Connecting 20…" with no relief. Can I get around it like Windows users can?

A. Yes, but only if you're patched up to date, otherwise you'll get an error when you log in.

1. Open Terminal located in Applications > Utilities.
2. Type one of the two following commands:

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes.app > Contents > Resources > transgaming > Program Files > City of Heroes:

/Applications/City\ of\ Heroes.app/Contents/MacOS/cider -- cityofheroes.exe -project oh

If your City of Heroes data files are located in City Of Heroes.app > Contents > Resources > transgaming > coh:

/Applications/City\ of\ Heroes.app/Contents/MacOS/cider -- cityofheroes.exe -project coh


Q. I’m getting corrupted graphics in-game, and it causes frequent crashes.

A. Some versions of City of Heroes for Mac are not patching to the correct version. Try the following if you suspect this problem:

1. Download the City of Heroes Test client and check to see if it has the same issue. The test client can be found at http://download.cityofheroes.com/Tes..._Server_US.dmg

2. Move the "City of Heroes.app" file from /Applications and "City of Heroes Preferences" from ~/Library/Preferences/ to the Trash.

3. Control-click on "City of Heroes Test.app" and choose "Duplicate". Rename the new copy to "City of Heroes.app"

4. Control-click on the new "City of Heroes.app" and choose "Show package contents".

5. Open Contents.

6. Modify the info.plist file that is located in the Contents folder and remove the following lines:
<key>CiderGameOptions</key>
<string>-- cohupdater.exe -test</string>

7. Locate the section that looks like this:

<key>PrefsFolderName</key>
<string>City of Heroes Training Room</string>

And change it to this:

<key>PrefsFolderName</key>
<string>City of Heroes</string>

7. Close and save the file. Then check for the issue again.

*make sure you check safe mode the first time you run it and change your graphics settings there or it will just give you the black screen. If you forget to, then just delete your preference file again and launch it again in safe mode.*


Q. I'm using MacOS X Tiger (10.4.x). Can I play CoH anyway?

A. CoH will refuse to launch, as it's set to require at least 10.5.8. You can work around it, but I'm not going to cover how, because it probably will crash.


Q. Should I upgrade to Leopard or Snow Leopard?

A. Snow Leopard is your best bet for future support from both Paragon Studios and from Apple.


Q. If I have a problem and I'm asked for my Console Log, how do I get that?

A. Open Applications > Utilities > Console. You can copy and paste text from it.


Q. When will Depth of Field and other special effects be added?

A. When they're added.


Q. How do I ask questions or get help with my Mac or CoH Mac Edition?

A. The City of Heroes official Forums has a separate category for Mac users. You aren't required to post there as a Mac user, but it will give your post direct attention from fellow Mac users who can help.

From my soon-to-be-posted new Mac Guide:

You can run multiple instances of City of Heroes by Duplicating the application (File > Duplicate) and calling the alternate one something like "City of Heroes (2)". You can then launch both applications at once. If you use this method, the second copy will not be usable with the NCSoft Launcher. The Launcher is not capable of launching multiple instances of City of Heroes on its own.

Use the Finder's Get Info command to determine which of the files is newer, and if the newer file has any irregularities (like a drastically smaller size).

Send a ticket to NCSoft Support (help.ncsoft.com). If they ask you for the Launcher's log, you can get that by right-clicking NCLauncher, selecting Show Package Contents, and all the logs are right there.

Try double-clicking Properties, and then Browse, and select the City Of Heroes Test application manually. If that doesn't work it gets more complicated.

The test server client must be named "City Of Heroes Test" to be accepted by the launcher.

That's not possible...yet. They're already aware of that issue.