source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/264
source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/264
Various Mac related articles currently on the https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app;
source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5555
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5557
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5560
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5564
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5567
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5558
source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5559
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5566
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5554
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/579
con. Various Mac related articles currently on the https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app;
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/577
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5553
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5556
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1201
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2464
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source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5136
1. Download your chosen add-on.
2. Extract the file (by default Safari should auto decompress the download)
3. The default install path on a Mac is:
~/Documents/Elder Scrolls Online/live/AddOns
Note: ‘~’ is the mac placeholder for your username.
4. If no AddOns folder currently exists, then create a new Folder in the live folder and name it AddOns.
5. Open the AddOns folder and copy the add-on folder into it.
6. Your final path should look like:
~/Documents/Elder Scrolls Online/live/AddOns/
Graphics Settings - Mac:
Still researching this more and will add further details.
Before testing ensure that you have run http://www.onyxmac.com/perform-mac-maintenance-to-keep-your-mac-fast-with-5-easy-tasks.html on your Mac (also Disk Utility, Reboot etc.) and check that all air supply points are free of fluff etc. because, as with any more demanding game play, heat buildup over time can impact your performance and even cause issues in itself. This is especially important for MacBooks.
Currently I would recommend that Mac beta client testers start of with lower settings and gradually increase the default settings (Minimum - Ultra-High) to get a general balance of graphics quality & performance.
You can check frame rates in game by entering /fps in the chat window. This will display in the top right hand corner of the screen. Repeat to disable the FPS display.
If you are comfortable with tweaking graphics settings you can try toggling some of the other options OFF/ON one at a time and check again. Some require a screen reload which is should do automatically (there is a warning icon next to those that do this) Mousing over the Settings on the right will give a nice descriptive note of each one.
Even at Ultra-High Setting the View Distance is not maxed so you may push that up if you feel your Mac can handle it.
Just be aware that it is beta and work is currently ongoing to fix bugs in some graphics drivers (some already for inclusion in the next beta build). it is always advisable to only tweak settings upwards gradually; testing for a while between changes to get a feel of any performance difference and also avoid stressing your computer. This is especially important in older/ lower end models.
Generally on my top end specced iMac 27" I had no issues pushing everything to High settings at the native 2560 x 1440 resolution with a steady 50-60 fps outdoors questing and 45-55 fps in towns. I did not test PvP or grouped instances which will increase demand and will probably require adjusting settings down for achieve acceptable frame rates with a lot of players. Though most comments so far note how well ESO runs in even these situations.
It is hard to give definitive advice yet from only one beta testing weekend for Mac beta but there are a few settings that will impact performance more than others;
Shadow Quality - For Macs in particular this will really effect your performance. Look at reducing this setting down first when trying to improve performance. For older/lower end Macs consider switching it to Off or Low.
Ambient Occlusion - Similar to Shadow Quality though perhaps not so demanding. Like all the optional effects, try toggling ON/OFF and seeing how it goes. It can also be a matter of personal preference if you like some of the effects or not.
Water Reflection Quality - Demanding at high settings especially in areas with a lot of water. But note the description which notes lowering it can cause some distortion artefacts in the reflections.
Particle Density - Can be demanding also at higher settings.
View Distance - As with Particle Density. The higher the distance the more textures to load and the more load.
Vertical Sync - Basically only to be considered if you are getting 60+ FPS. If you are running with less than 60 FPS then Vsync should be switched OFF.
NOTE: These are just indicative for now and just a rough guide at this stage, except Shadow Quality which is very demanding on Macs.
Links:
http://elderscrollsotr.mymiddleearth.com/2014/02/09/the-graphics-of-eso-beta-eso-teso-skyrim-elder-scrolls-bethesda-zenimax-elder-scrolls-online-dragonborn-oblivion-morrowind-daggerfall-arena-eso-alliance-eso-alliance/ - There is a nice article over on The Elder Scrolls OTR which is well worth checking out, though information still to be confirmed by ZOS.
http://serato.com/video-sl/support/5613/how-to-adjust-graphics-performance-for-the-macbook-pro - Brief guide for Energy Saver settings when gaming (similar for all MacBooks) really want to have power adapter connected for this!
Just FYI, my system on this '08 MacBook Pro runs the game on bare-bones settings.
Model Identifier: MacBookPro5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.53 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 6 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x16
VRAM (Total): 512 MB
No problem. Happy to share the info.
I know that they are working on the graphics support including Intel Iris fix for the client at the moment so fingers crossed it's in for the next beta.
Thanks for posting the details. It;s good to get some idea of how ESO runs on different Macs even if they are pushing the 5 year window of support talked about.
For anyone interested to check out more mac beta Mac model feedback check out the http://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/1y1v9b/mac_players_megathread/?sort=new which contains a lot of similar user posts of various setups.
This should be stickied though since it pertains to technical support or faqs.
Thanks for the suggestion. I sent a request to the Mods and see if it is possible as I think it would be useful in the run up to launch for beta tests and generally.
Update to ESO Suport article relating to Mac Beta Key. Basically you can use either Beta invite to redeem in your Account and then download either PC or Mac clients;
source: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2464