Delve into the world of graphics and game development. Discuss creating stunning visuals, optimizing game mechanics, and share resources for game developers.

All subtopics
Posts under Graphics & Games topic

Post

Replies

Boosts

Views

Activity

Skybox for iOS/swiftUI not working
I have tried every combination of suggestions to get a skybox to appear. Using swiftUI, realityKit and iOS. Non immersive environment. Does anyone have code that works to display a skybox. When i use a do/catch loop i get environmentResource not found. I have checked the syntax, ensured the folder is referencing the target, used the same name for the folder as the file, the file is a .hdr (i assume this is supported), i have moved the file folder to the top level - no change.
2
0
601
Dec ’25
Request: Allow Game Mode to be enabled locally for non-game App Store categories
Hi Apple team, Game Mode was introduced in iOS 18. To activate Game Mode, an app must include specific key-value pairs in its *.plist and be categorized as a "Game" on the App Store. My app (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/voidlink/id6747717070) works primarily as a self-hosted game streaming (PC->iPhone/iPad) client. Game Mode provides clear benefits in terms of latency and frame rate stability, but it can currently only be activated when running via Xcode or TestFlight. I am an individual iOS developer based in China, where an additional government license is required for apps to be listed under the "Game" category on the App Store. Obtaining such a license is very difficult for independent developers, so my app has been categorized under "Utilities" instead.(If move the app to game category, it will disappear from Chinese App Store immediately) Expectation / Suggestion: Please consider making Game Mode available as a local, user-controllable option on iOS18/26+, such as through a system “App Pool” where users can choose which apps to enable Game Mode for, regardless of App Store category. This would greatly benefit use cases like streaming clients, benchmarking tools, and remote play utilities, without requiring developers to reclassify their apps as “Games” on App Store.
3
1
766
Nov ’25
Resources for Retro style Games wanting 90 degree Window corners
I've been thinking of bringing some older games back to the modern Mac. Rewriting old titles in Swift but using the original data files that assume use of non-rounded corners Windows. Many of these games require all the Window space of a 90 degree cornered Window. Can anyone point me at some useful workarounds or Is Apple simply deaf to the needs of this type of product?
2
1
568
Dec ’25
[Bug] iPadOS 26: 4-Finger Fast Tap/Swipe Gesture Not Detected (Multitouch Issue)
Hi everyone I'm experiencing an issue with iPadOS 26 regarding multi-touch gesture detection. When performing a quick four-finger gesture (tap and swipe), the system often fails to recognize the input. This especially affects multi-touch gestures, such as rhythm games with difficult levels. Steps to Reproduce: Place four fingers on the screen. Perform a quick tap or a quick horizontal swipe (like the one used to switch apps). Observe whether the gesture is ignored or detected inconsistently. Expected Behavior: 4-finger multitouch gestures should be recognized regardless of gesture speed, just like previous iPadOS versions. Actual Behavior: Gestures fail to be detected when executed quickly—same gestures still work, and miss notes in rhythm games. You can check out my posts on Twitter/x and Facebook: [https://x.com/kokona_fwa/status/1978131164104728949?s=61] Facebook: [https://m.facebook.com/groups/idipad/permalink/24438964899058806/?]
1
1
1.1k
Oct ’25
Metal: Intersection results unstable when reusing Instance Acceleration Structures
Hi all, I'm encountering an issue with Metal raytracing on my M5 MacBook Pro regarding Instance Acceleration Structure (IAS). Intersection tests suddenly stop working after a certain point in the sampling loop. Situation I implemented an offline GPU path tracer that runs the same kernel multiple times per pixel (sampleCount) using metal::raytracing. Intersection tests are performed using an IAS. Since this is an offline path tracer, geometries inside the IAS never changes across samples (no transforms or updates). As sampleCount increases, there comes a point where the number of intersections drops to zero, and remains zero for all subsequent samples. Here's a code sketch: let sampleCount: UInt16 = 1024 for sampleIndex: UInt16 in 0..<sampleCount { // ... do { let commandBuffer = commandQueue.makeCommandBuffer() // Dispatch the intersection kernel. await commandBuffer.completed() } do { let commandBuffer = commandQueue.makeCommandBuffer() // Use the intersection test results from the previous command buffer. await commandBuffer.completed() } // ... } kernel void intersectAlongRay( const metal::uint32_t threadIndex [[thread_position_in_grid]], // ... const metal::raytracing::instance_acceleration_structure accelerationStructure [[buffer(2)]], // ... ) { // ... const auto result = intersector.intersect(ray, accelerationStructure); switch (result.type) { case metal::raytracing::intersection_type::triangle: { // Write intersection result to device buffers. break; } default: break; } Observations Encoding both the intersection kernel and the subsequent result usage in the same command buffer does not resolve the problem. Switching from IAS to Primitive Acceleration Structure (PAS) fixes the problem. Rebuilding the IAS for each sample also resolves the issue. Intersections produce inconsistent results even though the IAS and rays are identical — Image 1 shows a hit, while Image 2 shows a miss. Questions Am I misusing IAS in some way ? Could this be a Metal bug ? Any guidance or confirmation would be greatly appreciated.
1
1
344
Dec ’25
Game Center breaks RealityView world tracking
Has anyone come across the issue that setting GKLocalPlayer.local.authenticateHandler breaks a RealityView's world tracking on iOS / iPadOS 18 beta 5? I'm in the process of upgrading my app to make use of the much appreciated RealityView unification, using RealityView not only on visionOS but now also on iOS and iPadOS. In my RealityView, I enable world tracking on iOS like this: content.camera = .worldTracking However, device position and orientation were ignored (the camera remained static) and there was no camera pass-through. Then I discovered that the issue disappeared when I remove the line GKLocalPlayer.local.authenticateHandler = { viewController, error in // ... some more code ... } So I filed FB14731139 and hope that it will be resolved before the release of iOS / iPadOS 18.
5
1
992
Mar ’25
Moving from SceneKit - fog missing
I am rewriting an unfinished SceneKit project as RealityKit (NonAR). As far as I can see, RealityKit is missing basic fog functionality? Fog was simple & easy to implement in SCeneKit (fogStartDistance / fogEndDistance / fogDensityExponent / fogColor). Are there any plans to implement something like this in RealityKit? Are there any simple workarounds?
3
1
602
Aug ’25
RealityKit and USDZ: Winding Order Issue with Negatively Scaled Meshes
Hi all, I've encountered a potential issue with how the winding order of geometry is handled when their transformations involve negative scaling. I created a simple test asset, a single triangle, to demonstrate this. The triangle's vertices are defined in a counter-clockwise ("right-handed") winding order, and its transform has a negative scale on the X-axis. According to the OpenUSD specification, this negative determinant in the transformation matrix should effectively reverse the winding order of the geometry: However, any given gprim's local-to-world transformation can flip its effective orientation, when it contains an odd number of negative scales. This condition can be reliably detected using the (Jacobian) determinant of the local-to-world transform: if the determinant is less than zero, then the gprim's orientation has been flipped, and therefore one must apply the opposite handedness rule when computing its surface normals (or just flip the computed normals) for the purposes of hidden surface detection and lighting calculations. When I view the asset in tools like Blender or Preview on macOS, it behaves as expected. The triangle's effective orientation is flipped to CW. However, when the same asset is viewed in Reality Composer Pro or with QuickLook on iOS, its effective orientation remains CCW. In other words, the triangle faces the opposite direction. My questions for the community and Apple are: Is this behavior in RealityKit a known issue? If this is a known issue, is there official guidance for DCC tools on how to export USDZ assets to ensure they appear correctly in the Apple ecosystem? Any insights or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
5
0
999
Nov ’25
Help Request! How to Render Models with SubMeshes Using Metal 4?
Hi, I'm Beginner with Metal 4 and Model I/O 🥺. I can render simple models with just one mesh, but when I try to render models with SubMeshes, nothing shows up on screen. Can anyone help me figure out how to properly render models with multiple submeshes? I think I'm not iterating through them correctly or maybe missing some buffers setup. Here's what I have so far: https://www.icloud.com.cn/iclouddrive/0a6x_NLwlWy-herPocExZ8g3Q#LoadModel
1
0
288
Nov ’25
The delay issue of 4G TCP connection for iPhone 17 in China's mobile network
Reproduce Same SIM card with 4G, same testing location, connected to the same server, xcode debugging game applications, network/profile retrotransmitted, Avg round trip to view data iPhone17, Turn off 4G and turn on WiFi. All the above indicators are acceptable iPhone17, Turn on 4G, turn off WiFi, retry with retransmission and very high Avg round trip iPhone14-16, Turn on 4G and turn off WiFi. All the above indicators are acceptable App Unity3d project .netframe4.0 C# Socket Other Many developers in Chinese forums have provided feedback on this issue
2
0
789
Oct ’25
Value of type 'SCRecordingOutput' has no member 'delegate'
Hello, I am trying to capture screen recording ( output.mp4 ) using ScreenCaptureKit and also the mouse positions during the recording ( mouse.json ). The recording and the mouse positions ( tracked based on mouse movements events only ) needs to be perfectly synced in order to add effects in post editing. I started off by using the await stream?.startCapture() and after that starting my mouse tracking function :- try await captureEngine.startCapture(configuration: config, filter: filter, recordingOutput: recordingOutput) let captureStartTime = Date() mouseTracker?.startTracking(with: captureStartTime) But every time I tested, there is a clear inconsistency in sync between the recorded video and the recorded mouse positions. The only thing I want is to know when exactly does the recording "actually" started so that I can start the mouse capture at that same time, and thus I tried using the Delegates, but being able to set them up perfectly. import Foundation import AVFAudio import ScreenCaptureKit import OSLog import Combine class CaptureEngine: NSObject, @unchecked Sendable { private let logger = Logger() private(set) var stream: SCStream? private var streamOutput: CaptureEngineStreamOutput? private var recordingOutput: SCRecordingOutput? private let videoSampleBufferQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "com.francestudio.phia.VideoSampleBufferQueue") private let audioSampleBufferQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "com.francestudio.phia.AudioSampleBufferQueue") private let micSampleBufferQueue = DispatchQueue(label: "com.francestudio.phia.MicSampleBufferQueue") func startCapture(configuration: SCStreamConfiguration, filter: SCContentFilter, recordingOutput: SCRecordingOutput) async throws { // Create the stream output delegate. let streamOutput = CaptureEngineStreamOutput() self.streamOutput = streamOutput do { stream = SCStream(filter: filter, configuration: configuration, delegate: streamOutput) try stream?.addStreamOutput(streamOutput, type: .screen, sampleHandlerQueue: videoSampleBufferQueue) try stream?.addStreamOutput(streamOutput, type: .audio, sampleHandlerQueue: audioSampleBufferQueue) try stream?.addStreamOutput(streamOutput, type: .microphone, sampleHandlerQueue: micSampleBufferQueue) self.recordingOutput = recordingOutput recordingOutput.delegate = self try stream?.addRecordingOutput(recordingOutput) try await stream?.startCapture() } catch { logger.error("Failed to start capture: \(error.localizedDescription)") throw error } } func stopCapture() async throws { do { try await stream?.stopCapture() } catch { logger.error("Failed to stop capture: \(error.localizedDescription)") throw error } } func update(configuration: SCStreamConfiguration, filter: SCContentFilter) async { do { try await stream?.updateConfiguration(configuration) try await stream?.updateContentFilter(filter) } catch { logger.error("Failed to update the stream session: \(String(describing: error))") } } func stopRecordingOutputForStream(_ recordingOutput: SCRecordingOutput) throws { try self.stream?.removeRecordingOutput(recordingOutput) } } // MARK: - SCRecordingOutputDelegate extension CaptureEngine: SCRecordingOutputDelegate { func recordingOutputDidStartRecording(_ recordingOutput: SCRecordingOutput) { let startTime = Date() logger.info("Recording output did start recording \(startTime)") } func recordingOutputDidFinishRecording(_ recordingOutput: SCRecordingOutput) { logger.info("Recording output did finish recording") } func recordingOutput(_ recordingOutput: SCRecordingOutput, didFailWithError error: any Error) { logger.error("Recording output failed with error: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } private class CaptureEngineStreamOutput: NSObject, SCStreamOutput, SCStreamDelegate { private let logger = Logger() override init() { super.init() } func stream(_ stream: SCStream, didOutputSampleBuffer sampleBuffer: CMSampleBuffer, of outputType: SCStreamOutputType) { guard sampleBuffer.isValid else { return } switch outputType { case .screen: break case .audio: break case .microphone: break @unknown default: logger.error("Encountered unknown stream output type:") } } func stream(_ stream: SCStream, didStopWithError error: Error) { logger.error("Stream stopped with error: \(error.localizedDescription)") } } I am getting error Value of type 'SCRecordingOutput' has no member 'delegate' Even though I am targeting macOs 15+ ( macOs 26 actually ) and macOs only. What is the best way to achieving the desired result? Is there any other / better way to do it?
1
0
281
Oct ’25
How to use MetalPeformancePrimitives
I am trying to learn the new Metal Peformance Primitives APIs. I have added the MetalPeformancePrimitives framework and included the header in my shader code as per documentation #include <MetalPeformancePrimitives/MetalPeformancePrimitives.h> Unfortunately, Xcode complains that the header cannot be found. How do I include it properly? I am using Xcode 26 on Tahoe. The MetalPeformancePrimitives framework is present on my machine and I can inspect the headers in the filesystem.
3
1
781
Oct ’25
virtual game controller + SwiftUI warning
Hi, I've just moved my SpriteKit-based game from UIView to SwiftUI + SpriteView and I'm getting this mesage Adding 'GCControllerView' as a subview of UIHostingController.view is not supported and may result in a broken view hierarchy. Add your view above UIHostingController.view in a common superview or insert it into your SwiftUI content in a UIViewRepresentable instead. Here's how I'm doing this struct ContentView: View { @State var alreadyStarted = false let initialScene = GKScene(fileNamed: "StartScene")!.rootNode as! SKScene var body: some View { ZStack { SpriteView(scene: initialScene, transition: .crossFade(withDuration: 1), isPaused: false , preferredFramesPerSecond: 60) .edgesIgnoringSafeArea(.all) .onAppear { if !self.alreadyStarted { self.alreadyStarted.toggle() initialScene.scaleMode = .aspectFit } } VirtualControllerView() .onAppear { let virtualController = BTTSUtilities.shared.makeVirtualController() BTTSSharedData.shared.virtualGameController = virtualController BTTSSharedData.shared.virtualGameController?.connect() } .onDisappear { BTTSSharedData.shared.virtualGameController?.disconnect() } } } } struct VirtualControllerView: UIViewRepresentable { func makeUIView(context: Context) -> UIView { let result = PassthroughView() return result } func updateUIView(_ uiView: UIView, context: Context) { } } class PassthroughView: UIView { override func hitTest(_ point: CGPoint, with event: UIEvent?) -> UIView? { for subview in subviews.reversed() { let convertedPoint = convert(point, to: subview) if let hitView = subview.hitTest(convertedPoint, with: event) { return hitView } } return nil } }
1
0
474
Sep ’25
Looking for some clarification
Was wondering if anyone from Apple could provide some clarification, The gaming studio "Epic Games" Is wondering if they could distribute the award winning game "Fortnite" back on MacOS without any retaliations. I know Fortnite being back on MacOS would benefit thousands of MacOS Devs. Hoping to get a clarification so Epic could start on bringing Fortnite back.
0
1
731
Dec ’25
MTLBinaryArchive Size
I'm trying to use MTLBinaryArchive. I collected a BinaryArchive from one device and used metal-tt to translate it for all supported iPhone devices, ranging from iPhone 7 Plus to iPhone 16. However, this BinaryArchive is quite large, around 1.5GB uncompressed, and about 500MB compressed in the IPA. I'm wondering how to address the size issue. I watched the WWDC 2022 video, which mentioned that the operating system or app installation process would handle compatibility. Does this compatibility support different GPU chips? I tried installing an IPA with a BinaryArchive collected only from an iPhone 12 on an iPhone 13, but the BinaryArchive didn't take effect. I also saw that Apple supports App Thinning. However, it seems that resources in the Asset Catalog cannot be accessed via URL, and creating an MTLBinaryArchive requires a URL. Is it possible for MTLBinaryArchive to be distributed through App Thinning? The WWDC 2022 video also mentioned using the -Os optimization flag to reduce size. Can this give an estimate of how much compression it would achieve? Are there any methods to solve the BinaryArchive size issue without impacting performance?
0
1
111
Mar ’25
Race conditions when changing CAMetalLayer.drawableSize?
Is the pseudocode below thread-safe? Imagine that the Main thread sets the CAMetalLayer's drawableSize to a new size meanwhile the rendering thread is in the middle of rendering into an existing MTLDrawable which does still have the old size. Is the change of metalLayer.drawableSize thread-safe in the sense that I can present an old MTLDrawable which has a different resolution than the current value of metalLayer.drawableSize? I assume that setting the drawableSize property informs Metal that the next MTLDrawable offered by the CAMetalLayer should have the new size, right? Is it valid to assume that "metalLayer.drawableSize = newSize" and "metalLayer.nextDrawable()" are internally synchronized, so it cannot happen that metalLayer.nextDrawable() would produce e.g. a MTLDrawable with the old width but with the new height (or a completely invalid resolution due to potential race conditions)? func onWindowResized(newSize: CGSize) { // Called on the Main thread metalLayer.drawableSize = newSize } func onVsync(drawable: MTLDrawable) { // Called on a background rendering thread renderer.renderInto(drawable: drawable) }
1
1
515
Dec ’25
Game Center challenges and activities issues for released game
We have a released game in the App Store with Game Center Challenges. The challenges were working well in testing of the final version before the Game Center challenges went live. After release the activity that should take the player to the challenge in game results in this printout and we do not get informed by GKGameActivityListener of the activity happening in our code as we did before the Game Center challenges went live. “Invalid game activity definition. Failed to kick activity notification to GameKit. Error: Error Domain=GKErrorDomain Code=17 "(null)"” Also, Game Center reports that the are no challenges in GKChallengeDefinition.all even though there are ongoing challenges. The leaderboard results do get reported to Game Center though and show up as challenge entries in the Games app. At the moment we are trying to figure out if this is a problem on our end or a Game Center server issue.
4
1
667
Sep ’25