shmoo

Update!

In version  2.12 I still get the visual disturbance (clown bubbles) on my Mac, noted here Known Issues on the Hinterland Support site when I don't use the `-force-glcore` launch option in Steam. 

However, the same article also notes another workaround; '-disable-postprocess'

This option *does* resolve my visual artifact issues *and* I'm able to run the game in Metal mode on my system. I'm now able to run TLD at maximum quality settings with very good frame rates on my Radeon Pro 580. 

I'd love to know more information on what exactly '-disable-postprocess' strips away from my experience. Perhaps from @Admin or another source. Please advise!

@Admin

Just a quick update to report that all symptoms persist with TLD v 2.10

21 hours ago, Admin said:

Thank you for reaching out. Can you please confirm your system specs for us? 

Sure can, though I'm not sure what specs you're looking for specifically. Please feel free to let me know if you're looking for something I haven't provided.

For unrelated reasons I went ahead and complete wiped my system this past week. I did a clean installation of macOS 13.3 on it. Once Steam was loaded and TLD installed, it no longer crashes after the opening line as reported by me back on March 21st.

However, it does still show "clown bubbles" while in Metal mode.

Steps to reproduce symptom

1. Install and run TLD in metal mode (No -force-glcore)

2. Intro statement, disclaimer, and main menu all appear as normal…

3. If Survival is selected, I get clown bubbles (variety A)…

4. If Wintermute is selected, I get clown bubbles (variety B)…

Note: If I run the game in `-force-glcore`, this does not happen, though I'm also not running in Metal then.  As noted in my earlier post in this thread, the Radeon Pro 580 in this iMac does support Metal (v2). 

On 2/15/2023 at 5:17 PM, shmoo said:

Please advise!

On 3/16/2023 at 8:22 PM, Admin said:

Hi, Survivors. We have been working toward a resolution on this issue, and we will have more information to share in the very near future. We appreciate your patience, and we look forward to sharing news soon. 

@Admin, sad to report that neither v2.07 or v2.08 have fixed this. In fact, I appear to be crashing directly to desktop after opening v2.08. I get a brief glimpse of the TLD opening screen, then immediately crash back out and back to Steam. This happens with or without 

-force-glcore

I've attempted to Verify the installation files, as well as fully remove and redownload TLD. I still crashes immediately after the opening scene (screenshot attached).

Please advise…

*EDIT- fixed version numbers

16 minutes ago, Stuffed Plush Chainsaw said:

Not entirely sure if the entire Metal 3 + AMD Graphics issue is entirely solvable by Hinterland / Unity. We've got an old iMac Pro (the 2017 thingy) at work, which has been acting up (especially with Blender) since Ventura came out. Now I got around to running a short test with TLD on it, and it's acting up much in the same way as described above (it runs fine with openGL however). Reminds me of the days when High Sierra broke Iris iGPU support for months on end for many, many games. Something definitely is up with the AMD / Metal implementation, and it's very possible that this is something only Tim Apple himself can fix. 😕 

I just want to be clear that I'm not asking Hinterland to fix this. I'd love it if they would, but what I'm asking for is an acknowledgement of the symptom and ultimately a determination on if it will be resolved or if the requirements for TLD post 2.0 can be clarified.  If it's never going to work on Metal 2/Intel or Metal 3/AMD, so be it. I'll be disappointed, but I can move on. It's my sincere hope a fix can be found, as I very much enjoy TLD and want to enjoy the DLC content as well. 

I'm seeing serious graphics corruption on macOS 13.2.1 on a iMac18,3. It seems reminiscent of the "clown bubbles" issues previously when attempting to run TLD w/o 

-force-glcore

Running it with the above resolves the issue, but of course puts the game into OpenGL instead of Metal. My iMac18,3 definitely supports Apple's Metal, at least through Metal 2. Is Metal 3 a requirement of TLD now?

Please advise!

Nearing the end of the month now and still hopeful we'll see a working expansion for macOS soon. Can we get an update from Hinterland, @Admin? 

With the influx in new development dollars and the expansion, is there any intent or desire by Hinterland to resolve the need for `-force-glcore` on INTEL Mac systems to avoid the "clown bubbles" phenomenon and get back to a "default works" configuration?

I have the same question. I reported this as a bug after the Hesitant Prospect update and so far only received a response indicating they are aware of the problem. 

I don't have any more standing than any other customer, though I backed this game in the original Kickstarter and have got well more value out of it that I have ever paid into it. However, if macOS is going to become unsupported or a tertiary platform, please let the community of users know earlier rather than later. 

love,

shmoo

To defeat the clown-bubbles, try adding 

-force-glcore

to the Set Launch Options of the game in Steam.

This seems to have been introduced recently (not your GPU). It started for me on Big Sur around the Hesitant Prospect update. 

Try adding 

-force-glcore

to the Set Launch Options of the game in Steam.

I have this issue too on macOS Big Sur. Seems to have started around the launch of Hesitant Prospect update (v.189).

I also have this same graphics corruption on macOS Big Sur;

$ sw_vers 
ProductName:    macOS
ProductVersion:    11.1
BuildVersion:    20C69

Hardware is a 2017 27" iMac;

Model Name:    iMac
  Model Identifier:    iMac18,3
  Processor Name:    Quad-Core Intel Core i7
  Processor Speed:    4.2 GHz
  Number of Processors:    1
  Total Number of Cores:    4
  L2 Cache (per Core):    256 KB
  L3 Cache:    8 MB
  Hyper-Threading Technology:    Enabled
  Memory:    64 GB

It has been occurring since at least the Hesitant Prospect update (v.189). 

Workaround of adding 

-force-glcore

to the Set Launch Options of the game in Steam appears to resolve the acute issue. Unclear what the underlying issue is or why it is not being addressed by Hinterlands. Bug reports submitted at the launch of 1.89.