Factorio runs on Apple Silicon (factorio.com)

Article summary

Factorio, a popular game, now runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs as of version 1.1.71, resulting in improved performance and reduced energy consumption. The development process involved updating the macOS build process and ensuring multiplayer determinism between the x86_64 and arm64 versions. Benchmarks show a 19-25% performance improvement on Apple Silicon machines compared to Intel Macs. The native Apple Silicon support is expected to enhance the gaming experience for Mac players.

Main themes

• Apple Silicon performance
• Factorio game development
• macOS gaming
• emulation vs translation
• CPU architecture
• gaming performance benchmarks
• cost and value comparison

What commenters say

• The performance comparison between x86_64 and arm64 builds is not a direct measure of Apple Silicon's performance, but rather a comparison between native and emulated code.
• Rosetta 2 is not emulation, but rather a static binary translation that can often result in faster performance than running x86_64 code on Intel processors.
• The lack of 32-bit compatibility on Macs is a significant issue for gaming, with many games never receiving 64-bit updates.
• Some commenters argue that AMD chips offer better performance and heat/power efficiency compared to Intel processors.
• The Factorio benching scene is sophisticated, with many benchmarks and performance comparisons available.
• The M1 chip's performance is impressive, with some commenters noting that it outperforms other laptop processors in certain benchmarks.
• The high cost of Apple products is a significant drawback, with some commenters arguing that comparable performance can be found at a lower price point.
• The use of Metal instead of Vulkan on Macs can cause friction with game development and limit compatibility with certain games and platforms.