(Login Locutus27) Forum Owner from IP address 63.50.28.3
IMG has recently been in contact with OmniGroup's Tim Wood about the beta of Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.2 for OS X. Those able to run this Cocoa version of the game have noted all-around improvements over its OS 9 counterpart in frame rate, sound, and more.
Unfortunately it seems that some PCI Radeon owners may not be so lucky. Many have been unable to even launch the app successfully -- instead having it quit after a few seconds of resolution changing. OmniGroup confirms this is a problem not with the game, but with how OS X is interacting with the PCI Radeon. Here's Wood's response (and semi-solution):
It turns out that PCI Radeons don't work well at all with non-G4 machines and in some cases with G4 machines. Apparently Mac OS X will send garbage to the PCI Radeons on a non-Altivec machines.
You can try turning off compiled vertex arrays (you will take a performance hit, of course), but setting 'r_ext_compiled_vertex_array 0' in your config file.
After some quick testing, this solution will allow the application to launch, though game play averages FPS in the very low teens: not exactly optimal. OmniGroup assures us this driver issue is known by both ATI and Apple, and both companies are working to resolve it as we speak. Those with AGP Radeons and FAKK2 can look forward to instant gratification, however -- the Cocoa version of this game is extremely impressive, with no sound problems, a rock-solid frame rate and even scroll wheel support. Hopefully we will see a solution in an upcoming update to OS X, as it will likely affect other 3D apps for those with PCI Radeons. We'll keep you posted as any permanent solutions become available. The final version of this Cocoa port should arrive in the near future
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IMG News: OS X Heavy Metal F.A.K.K.2 Solutions, Problems
OmniGroup Web Site
Download F.A.K.K.2 Beta 2 for OS X
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