Spiral Knights - MacBookPro Framerate Issues

MacBookPro Framerate Issues

5 replies [Last post]

Tue, 10/11/2011 - 08:05

Anominus

Rather than resurrecting an old thread, I'm starting a new one to see if a solution has been discovered.

I have found other threads concerning similar issues but no concrete solution:
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/21250
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/13199
http://forums.spiralknights.com/en/node/2188

Minimum requirements for Mac, per Three Rings:
OSX 10.4
Java 1.5
Display 1024x600
1.3 GHz processor
Graphics: 64MB Video Memory. GeForce 5 series, ATI 8500. Latest video driver.
1GB memory (1000MB)
300MB hard drive space

My current specs:
OSX 10.6.8
Java SE 6
Display 1650x1080
i5 2.4 GHz processor
Nvidia GeForce GT 330M 256MB
4GB memory
320GB hard drive space

Any zone with more than a handful of creatures or effects on screen creates great stuttering. Gun puppies, polyps, howlitzers, and gremlin demos are the greatest culprits. Even large areas of crystal blocks, especially respawning ones, can cause the game to appear frozen.

The issue is purely on the display end. My connection speed is proven adequate as the Windows box playing next to me runs very smoothly, though with different hardware (of course). I have kept my operating system, video driver, and java up to date.

As my current configuration is well above the required minimum, I find it strange that there are such dramatic issues.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Tue, 10/11/2011 - 09:49

Lufte

It's pretty hard to find the

It's pretty hard to find the cause of problems like this. Only suggestion I can make is tweaking your graphics options (I assume you have a Nvidia control panel or something) or trying different versions or the card's drivers.

Tue, 10/11/2011 - 10:50

Starlinvf

There isn't a lot that can be

There isn't a lot that can be done with Macs, and most things we've been able to try don't really help at all. However, upgrading to Lion (10.7) has been generally positive, though no one clearly understands why.....

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 06:28

Anominus

A bit better

After a bit more research and random testing...

I have alleviated some of the video lag, but not much. For those of you still struggling, try reducing the rendered window size and not using fullscreen mode. Also check that effects are not rendered, of course, and detail settings are low. Avoiding certain levels has also reduced my playtime stress.

Rather than drain CE on randomly gambling for accessories, I would gladly pay for a graphical update on macs.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 06:53

Dogrock

The poor performance on Mac

The poor performance on Mac using an Nvidia GT330M seems to be an unfortunated trend, especially since that device should be very usable for Spural Knights. This does seem to be a driver related issue as other MacBooks do not appear to have this problem. If Apple decides to ship a device with sub-par drivers there really isn't much an outside party can do.

Thu, 10/13/2011 - 07:01

Ja-Knight

The card

I'm on a PC here, it has the GT330M card and it runs smooth so its not the card.

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MacBookPro Framerate Issues