**REPORTED** [Mac] Armor-related visual effects cause significant frame rate drops

nightintunisia

Terrarian
Steam or GOG
Steam
Single Player/Multiplayer
Single
Operating System
Mac Other
Terraria Version
1.4.1.1
Controls Used
Keyboard/Mouse
After 1.4.1, my game runs incredibly well on a 2019 MacBook Pro (13 inch model), and I get a constant 60FPS pretty much the whole time.

The only exception (that I've noticed so far) is: when I put on an armor with visual effects (Solar Flare Armor, for example) or when I use an item that has a "dash forward" effect (like the shield of Shield of Cthulhu or The Black Spot). These armors/items cause my frame rate to drop significantly to something like 45-50.

(Just to be clear: the Shield of Cthulhu only causes my frame rate to drop when I dash forward, so the problem seems to be the visual effect it triggers.)

Is this something that can be fixed, or does it have to do with how this specific MacBook Pro handles graphics? I remember playing 1.3.5 on a 2014 MacBook Pro and I didn't have any problems whatsoever with visual effects related to armors and/or other items...
 
@nightintunisia and @Pedrorc94 - Noted that Solar Flare and Hallowed armour sets are causing frame rate issues. Could you please try some other armour sets that have visual effects? The more armour sets that are confirmed to have issues / not have issues will be a big help to the developers tracking down the problem.
 
@nightintunisia and @Pedrorc94 - Noted that Solar Flare and Hallowed armour sets are causing frame rate issues. Could you please try some other armour sets that have visual effects? The more armour sets that are confirmed to have issues / not have issues will be a big help to the developers tracking down the problem.
Thank you for your reply! I'll conduct some tests here, but I'd say pretty much every set with a visual effect causes frame rate issues. In terms of game progression, I started having problems as soon as I crafted the Shadow armor set.

The dashing ability (Shield of Cthulhu, for example) causes the same problem: I'm running the game at 60FPS, and as soon as I dash forward, it instantly drops to something like 45FPS (and then back to normal as soon as the "trail" effect disappears).

Finally, the Celestial Starboard causes the same problem. As soon as I start flying and moving forward, my frame rate drops to 30FPS or something like that. If I wear a pair of wings as a vanity item, however, the problem completely disappears — which is why I think this is purely a graphical issue.
 
@nightintunisia and @Pedrorc94 - Noted that Solar Flare and Hallowed armour sets are causing frame rate issues. Could you please try some other armour sets that have visual effects? The more armour sets that are confirmed to have issues / not have issues will be a big help to the developers tracking down the problem.
What's interesting is that I tried running the game on an old iMac (2011, 21.5-inch model) and I had no problems with FPS drops related to armor sets or dashing forward. It's an old machine, so obviously frame rate isn't very good, but dashing forward doesn't cause any drops, and I can wear a Shadow armor set without the game getting super laggy. The problem only appears in my 2019 MacBook Pro, and I believe @Pedrorc94 runs the game on a 2017 Mac laptop, so perhaps this is related to newer machines.
 
I'm hoping that they still working on it because on the update that dropped today (1.4.1.2) I still have frame rate issues with those armors.
Thanks in advance! :D
 
I'm hoping that they still working on it because on the update that dropped today (1.4.1.2) I still have frame rate issues with those armors.
Thanks in advance! :D
Yeah, the problem is still there for me, too. :( I've tried wearing two different sets (solar flare and stardust armor) and my frame rate instantly dropped to like 25. Same thing happened when I used the celestial starboard.
 
Just wanted to point out that this issue is still present in 1.4.2. Playing the game on macOS 11.2.3, Big Sur.

(It's the only issue for me right now, and I really want it to go away, so whenever a new update drops I instantly check to see if it's still there! ;()

@Pedrorc94 Have you tried playing 1.4.2?
 
We haven't been able to find any causes for this sort of thing. Unfortunately, we have a limited group of Mac testers, and none of our programmers have access to Mac computers to try and analyze what is causing this, so it is very difficult to track down.

However, I will bring the issue back up for review and see if we can find any leads.
 
@nightintunisia I have indeed, and still the same frame rate issue :(. I know the issue is the effects with the armors, but I understand the development issue.
@Leinfors another question, are you working on a native version of Terraria for M1 Macs, or just gonna leave it for Intel Macs (and for M1 Macs to run with Rosseta 2)?

Thanks!
 
Ok so I’m also a Mac user (13” intel 2018 max user) and I have the same issue. Apparently there is a small fix where having the werewolf accessory make the visual effects go away which returns my fps to its former glory. I was thinking if there was a similar accessory that could fix this issue until it gets patched?


Edit: apparently putting masks in vanity slots fixes this issue even though it does not look pretty but you still get the armor buff
 
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Yes!! Except for me it is Master Ninja Gear what causes frame drops like that (M2). I thought that it was all particles, but the ones that were emitted by my pet, Cursed Sapling, flying around, seemed to have around no impact on the performance.
I only had one save from the Steam Cloud so I didn't test it a lot, but during boss fights (Moon Lord, Plantera), near my base and on the surface, the only thing that seemed to have caused frame drops was dashing with Master Ninja Gear.
 
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