Macbook Pro Issues and Macbook Pro Retina questions
By
CuppaManga,
Posted on: 2012-08-30 07:41 in Mac Users
First answer: You *may* be able to. The 1080p standard is not 100% compatible with all devices, including computers, cable boxes, DVD players, etc. Additionally, the cable you're using might be a factor as well. Experiment a bit, but keep in mind you may be unlucky to have mismatched devices.
Second question: The pauses are caused by a network issue, not graphics, with Cider. Also, try using "Recommended" if you want to step down the graphics a bit, because "Minimum" uses the software renderer, which does not take advantage of accelerated graphics.
Final question: I know it sounds counterintuitive, but try turning up the mouse sensitivity to maximum. For some reason this causes the mouse coordinates to reset less often. The PC version also has this coordinate reset issue! But it doesn't happen nearly as often. Also, if you're using a 3rd party control panel for your mouse, remove that or reduce its speed/special acceleration features because it will cause problems.
The Macbook Retina: It has a video processor that's pretty close to the current non-retina MBP, so it should perform about the same. You will have to scale the resolution though because I don't believe CoH will run reliably with a relatively weak video processor at maximum resolution. Yes, I said weak video processor - because Retina technology is so bleeding edge, there really is no video card that will drive it at maximum rez yet.
If you would like to test the MBP Retina before buying, and you have an Apple Store nearby, you can! Copy the City of Heroes app and NC Launcher app onto a USB stick (make sure it's large enough) and bring it to the store. You'll need about a half hour to copy it onto a MBP Retina, launch CoH, change the settings, etc.
Make sure you delete it afterward so no one logs into your account, and when you log in, DO NOT check the save login button. Also, MAKE SURE YOU ASK PERMISSION FIRST. Usually they won't mind, but if they think you're sneaking something onto their computers they'll toss you out.
Manga @ Triumph
"Meanwhile In The Halls Of Titan"...Titan Network Working To Save City Of Heroes
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CuppaManga, thanks a bunch for your response! I'll definitely try out the mouse sensitivity setting. I'm not using a 3rd party control panel for my mouse, so that shouldn't be an issue.
I have already tried Recommended mode. It has the same issue. That's what I was using before stepping down to Minimum, but I didn't know about the hardware acceleration, so I'll bump it back up to Recommended.
On a somewhat related note about running in 1920x1080, I don't actually want to run full screen, but it seems that, unlike the Windows version of the game, you cannot resize the game when running in windowed mode except to one of the settings in the fixed list - meaning you can't just click and drag the bottom right corner of the game window, or the right side of the window to change its size. Do you know if there's anyway to override the game so it does allow for that? Because frankly 1600x900 is way too small on a 1920x1080 screen - you lose a lot of real estate. But I would like to run it in windowed mode.
About the MBP Retina, I'm not sure that I want to spend that much time hijacking a machine at the Apple store, but that does give me an idea which I should have thought of before! I have a friend who has one and used to play CoH. Maybe I can convince him to install it and try it out for a little while.
Thanks again!
My Win 7 desktop machine died a few days ago and as a result I have been playing on my work Macbook Pro laptop. I have run into a few issues that affect my gameplay. I have also been considering getting my wife a Macbook Pro Retina which I consider the ultimate laptop, but these CoH issues have given me pause. We both play CoH regularly and if I can't find a way for her to have an enjoyable CoH experience on her new laptop it might as well be a $2k brick as far as she's concerned. Anyway, to the questions!
My work Macbook Pro is a "15 inch early 2011" with 16GB RAM and a 2Ghz i7 with an AMD Radeon HD 6490M 256 MB. Running Lion (10.7.4).
When I play CoH, I hook up the laptop to a 1080p monitor using an Apple branded mini display port to DVI adapter. The monitor looks great most of the time, but when I start the game it steps down to 1600x900 in full screen mode. When I try to raise it up to 1080p resolution, the game looks horrible - similar to old style CRT monitors when you're running at the wrong refresh rate. I normally play the game using this monitor with my Win 7 desktop machine at 1080p without issue.
First question: Should I be able to play the game at 1080p resolution?
Next question, while playing, especially when there's a lot of particle effects going on (teaming with a couple of water blasters for example), sometimes the game just freezes for up to 5 seconds. After it comes back, the gameplay continues normally, but this can happen once every couple minutes. I never experienced anything like this on my desktop. I don't remember having issues like this on Windows laptops either. Is this just a function of the Mac version of the game? Or a limitation of the MacBook Pro? I have the game dropped down to "Minimum" graphics level and this still happens.
Final question about my Macbook Pro... I play the game with an external keyboard (apple USB keyboard) and mouse (MS Intellimouse). This is the same keyboard and mouse I use with my Win 7 desktop machine. Frequently when I'm using my mouse to turn, the game will overcorrect and cause my character to jerk about 180 degrees. This can be quite disorienting often causing me to make a wrong turn or start running in the opposite direction of where I wanted to go. Do others get this jerky mouse movement experience on their Macbook Pro?
About the Macbook Retina. Has anyone played the game on the Macbook Retina? Is it a *perfect* gaming experience? Can you play at full resolution? Does it handle playing on an external display well (for playing CoH on an external monitor)? If the CoH Mac game client and not the laptop hardware is the problem for my above issues, would booting into Windows give me a better play experience on both a retina and on my Macbook Pro?
I apologize for the multitude of questions. Any helpful responses, similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!