The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Forum

I had the game running fairly well under Crossover Games 8.0.0 (Mac), but since installing 9, I can't get framerates above 10, and the whole thing became unplayable.
I was pretty bummed since this was my main use for CXG.

Any thoughts from the community?

I've added all the registry edits suggested in the forum, and like I said, it was running well...then wham.

Also, assuming I get that fixed, has anyone figured out how to get the Gamma control to work reliably when running in a "virtual desktop" fullscreen mode? I use this to get a pseudo-windowed version of the game, but the screen is usually too dark to see without resorting to full-time Night Eye.

Thanks,
Curt

Filed a ticket about it:

http://www.codeweavers.com/support/tickets/browse/?ticket_id=804491;layout=user_tickets;sort%5Bstatus%5D=ASC

On the Mac, CrossOver normally restricts when it will change the display gamma to full-screen mode. The assumption being that one doesn't want one program to change the gamma of the whole screen if other applications' windows and the desktop are visible.

That said, you can change this behavior. When CrossOver Games is not running, issue the following command in a Terminal window:

defaults write com.codeweavers.CrossOverGames AllowGamma always

To revert that, use the command:

defaults delete com.codeweavers.CrossOverGames AllowGamma

As for the other part, if CrossOver Games 9 has caused a performance regression, please do file a ticket (as Remco has). Also, you have access to earlier versions of CrossOver Games from the Archived Downloads tab of the My Downloads section of My Account. You can always run an 8.x version if that works better.

Thanks Ken.

Interestingly enough, I have had some decidedly odd behavior with regards to gamma. I run Oblivion in a "virtual desktop" mode from Crossover's perspective, because the game crashes in windowed mode (quite well known on this forum I think). So, I think Crossover should always allow me to change the gamma, even without the commands you suggest...and intermittently that has been true (I've never figured out what made the difference).

So, I did try them (everything below is with AllowGamma always), and was ultimately able to solve the Gamma dilemma (thanks again!), but with one odd result :

Initially I was running two monitors, and I moved the crossover virtual desktop from the external monitor to the built-in LCD display on my MBP. When I did that, I could change the gamma, and see the color change on the external monitor, but not on the LCD, and therefore, not in the game.

Then I disconnected the external monitor, without quitting Crossover, and tried launching the game again. No gamma adjustments possible.

Just to be thorough, I then quit Crossover, restarted it and relaunched the game. Then I could change the gamma.
To be extra thorough, I switched it back and forth a couple times, and got the same behavior.

So, in order to change the gamma in a "virtual full screen" mode under Crossover, it looks like you have to
A) Quit Crossover
B) Run the AllowGamma always command above
C) Run Crossover Games only on your Primary monitor (in a dual-monitor config).

Also, just as an aside, when running this way, the gamma for the screen changes back to normal when you shift focus to another app...so the only downside is that while actually playing, your monitor might be a little funky, but if you switch to another app, it looks normal.

Now I just need to solve the framerate dilemma...

"One more thing, sir..."

Is it possible (or advisable) to run 8.x and 9.x concurrently? Some apps run fine (maybe a tidge better) under 9, and only Oblivion exhibits this slowdown...so if I could run 8 for that and 9 for everything else, that'd be cool.

Thoughts?

Running a game in its full-screen mode in a virtual desktop window is not full-screen as far as the CrossOver application is concerned. It still knows it is windowed. Let me put it another way: if the menu bar and dock are not hidden, then CrossOver is not in its full-screen mode.

You are correct that CrossOver only adjusts the gamma of the primary display. This is a corollary of the fact that a) it usually only adjusts the gamma when in full-screen mode, and b) full-screen mode only operates on the primary display. I hadn't really thought of what would happen with AllowGamma set to "always" on a multiple-display system, but you've correctly analyzed it. This "always" mode is mostly an afterthought and not really an "official" feature.

You can have both 8.x and 9.x on your system, and you can alternate running one or the other, but you shouldn't run them concurrently (which is to say, simultaneously). Run one at a time.

Great. Is there any way to avoid the "bottle update" that happens every time you run a different version?

Not conveniently. You could juggle bottle folders. That is, you could manually swap in and out different folders at ~/Library/Application Support/CrossOver Games/Bottles.

Ok. I think I can live with that until 9.1 :)

Just as an FYI, I have tried 8.2 and 8.1.4 in the meantime. 8.2 has the same problem as 9.0. The only one with a playable framerate is 8.1.4. It's not like native or anything, but it's playable.

All three were using the same bottle, no change in game settings.

Thanks,
Curt

Speaking of 9.1, it's currently in beta testing. I have granted you access to the beta. You can access it from here. If you're willing, please give it a try. Report your results at the Beta Reporting link on that page, rather than here in the public forums. If you report the regression, include the above information about which versions worked well and which had the regression. Thanks.

Will do. Many thanks!
-Curt

I'll report more on the Beta Reporting, but thought I'd mention that 9.1 seems to be playable again. Rough estimates are that FPS is about 1/2 of native under windows on the same machine, (and probably comparable to 8.1.4...I need more testing) but it's playable again, so Thanks!

-Curt

Good to know. 😊