That's right, it's out. Download now from Software Update. Changes include:

- improved file sharing and directory services for mixed Mac and PC networks
- more robust printing to PostScript printers
- improved font management
- updated Mail and Address Book applications
- new ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers
- FileVault, FireWire 800, WebDAV and USB Printing improvements from Update 10.3.1
- previous standalone security updates

As you can see, the update includes new ATI and nVidia drivers. It may help boost performance for Vendetta and other games. Check it out.

Well there's good news and there's bad news. After updating OS X, the Finder and a few applications (including Safari) have been very responsive so far. However, Vendetta's graphics are STILL pixelated and grainy. FPS rates are about the same, diving drastically in some areas as before (when they shouldn't). I'm really beginning to get frustrated over this. I don't know what I can do about it anymore. I've tried sending bug reports via the online OS X feedback form. Other than that there's no other way I can contact Apple about it.

On the other hand it may be an issue with Vendetta's code and not the nVidia drivers. Maybe my graphics aren't stuck in 16-bit depth. Maybe they're simply not piping through OpenGL and instead are simply being slapped on directly under software rendering, thus becoming all pixelated. It's very apparent when you look at the suns while you have backgrounds turned off, for example. Especially the one in sector 10, which has been blatantly scaled up. To me it appears as a huge blob of pixels rather than a sun.

I'll try to get digital images of it soon to give the devs my perspective of the problem. Taking screen dumps doesn't work at all, since for some odd reason it smooths it out and makes all the graphics look perfect. It's like trying to take a picture of a vampire. It's really weird and it's PISSING ME OFF!!! I really want this to be fixed because it makes Vendetta look like crap on a system that runs it smoothly otherwise.

/me sighs.

Stay tuned...

Ok, maybe i should install 10.3 on the mac here.
If the screenshot is working fine, that means Vendetta is rendering fine but blitting it to the screen is messing up somehow. Sounds like it may be down-converting from 32bit to 16bit and doing a horrible dithering job.

Okay, I went through the trouble of uploading screenshots showing the nVidia bug.

http://mmiski.tripod.com/

Sorry for the ad banners and the crappy webpage layout, but there it is. The top half are actual screen dumps of Vendetta. The bottom half are screenshots taken from my PowerShot S330. Yes, the quality of my photos are horrible due to low resolution setting, poor lighting, and pointing the camera at an LCD screen... but you can definitely get an idea of what I'm seeing on the screen when I play.

As you can see there's dithering along the main menu, the HUD crosshairs, and the sun graphics. Any transparent sprites including engine flares, cargo glowing, volumetric lighting, and weapon flashes are displayed as blobby turds. All my graphics are set to 32-bit. Desktop screen resolution set to 32-bit depth. Backgrounds turned off. Textures at high quality. Gamma is maxed to emphasize dithering.

I hope this helps.

Heh, at first I thought you were just winging... That sucks dude! Why don't you run 10.2 until it get fixed? Do you run any apps the need 10.3?

The same thing happens in 10.2.7. It's not a Jaguar or Panther specific bug. It's either a bug with Vendetta, a bug with OpenGL, or a bug with nVidia. I can't contact nVidia because they do not handle tech support for their cards, so instead they redirect you to a bunch of links of all their vendors (be it OEM or third party). So much for that. As of now I've posted on the Apple discussion boards and submitted a feedback form for Panther regarding the bug. I've exhausted just about every possible solution I can in terms of reporting the bug as a joe schmoe consumer.

However, raybondo may be the key to solving this problem once and for all. I have heard that ADC members are given a BugTracker program with the SDK Apple hands out in their OS X CDs. Even if they have Jaguar only, it's still crucial. Apple gives software developers higher priority when it comes to bug report feedback. The public only gets a crappy online form to fill out that seldom gets read. So, if any of Vendetta's developers find out what the problem is or are completely stumped, please try to report this bug to Apple using BugTracker or any other official methods you may have.

Unfortunately Apple seems to only care when they hear from developers. Unless it's a widespread problem and the problem is reported consistently, they'll continue to ignore the few. Sad but true. So please... please contact them. Thank you.

Ok, I looked at those sectors with my gamma all the way up and yes it looked like your pics.
Setting gamma all the way up causes the 8bit limited precision to be extremely exaggerated. That's just the way it is. I bet it's even worse looking in 16bit res.
All I can say is to run with your gamma about 10 and not 20 and to not put the brightness of your monitor all the way up.
This is in Windows though and when I get the chance I will try it on the mac. Maybe the mac enhances this problem, I don't know. That would explain why you don't see the problem in the screenshots. Gamma is a videocard effect that is applied pretty much as the signal goes to the monitor. Try opening a screenshot in a drawing program that has color/gamma correction and set the gamma for the image all the way up and see if you are seeing the same artifacts.

With extremely high bacground detail, there are some problems of
display:
http://homepage.mac.com/tertior/Vendetta/PhotoAlbum13.html

to see the captures and make start slideshow. Since the last
update (10.2.3), but it is not important, because all is perfect: the
stars scintillate and it is very pretty. the details are perfect, and
the probléme of display disapparear , by charging 2 times the same sector
(S 4 to S1 to S4 for ex)
extremely high is a new parameter?
or I become increasingly insane ...
Banzaiiiiii..
PS: sorry tosh but my English
is not still perfect hehe :p

Your english is good enough for me to know what you are talking about.
Those strange things in the sky is a known problem but I don't know why it's happening yet. Some of the sectors are slower now than they were too.

edit: off topic, my bad.

I'm pointing my finger at the graphics card for this one.

Bug appears on my mom's g4 15" aluminum powerbook but not on my 900 mhz g3 ibook.

Can't do any testing on the ibook now, hello logic board problems!

on topic:
i d/led 10.3.2 and was unable to detect any noticeable fps increase in vendetta.
iCal works again, tho.