64-bit version for Mac?
 

Opening HL on Mac now gives a one-time warning linking to this announcement indicating that future versions of MacOS will not be compatible with 32-bit applications:

https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT208436

Are there plans to update Hero Lab for 64-bit?

Hopefully they have ported all the game systems to HLO before this cutoff date happens.

Oh boy, now you've opened a kettle of fish, thanks @Toblakai. <grin>


Dave

I guess they could run the 32bit Windows version in a VM on a Mac.

As a long time user whom has sunk hundreds and hundreds of dollars into the product, I would feel pretty betrayed if they didn't update their product. I've even managed to get a dozen or so friends and family members hooked on the product. Then again, myself (the GM) and the wife are the only ones using a Mac...

We still need some 'offline' products in this world. I know all the pro's and con's of taking everything online from both the consumer and the businesses perspective, but I despise the change in general across he board.

If the power goes out and people want to get together to play a Pen and Paper game because - no power? Sorry, can't all our character sheets are online.

If we want to continue playing a sweet campaign while camping, or in a rented cabin up in the woods away from cell service? Can't.

If there were a handful of cases where going online only DIDN'T make sense, it would be a Pen and Paper RPG.

And don't even get me started on the demonic "Everything on the planet needs to be individual subscriptions" horse-apples approach. *shakes a single finger at Adobe*

They'll continue to invest in product development if it makes them money. From everything RWD has posted about this, they fully intend to support HLC indefinitely. That said, I suspect that the focus is going to be on HLO with HLC support being primarily bug fixes and minor changes. I have no idea if releasing a 64-bit version of HLC is a major development effort or now. If it is, I suspect that doing so is a low priority.

I hear you. If we're doing a ten-hour road trip, it's nice being able to use HL for adventure planning, and one of my favourite gaming memories comes from a camping trip.

I have done a couple of 32bit to 64bit ports. I haven't done a Mac port before, just Linux and Windows. The biggest issue is the libraries. RW hasn't moved to 64bit even though it really needs it because they can't get 64bit version of one of the GUI libraries they use.

The most problematic part is finding code that expects 32bit ints and now has 64bits and still works except in some edge cases.

I suspect that the update will come in this form..

"We are no longer supporting Herolab for the Macintosh. We encourage you to migrate to Herolab Online for your future needs." There really isn't much incentive to develop for the Mac any more... especially for a Program where forward development is coming to an end. Herolab hasn't even migrated to 64 bit for Windows yet, and is not likely to do so.

They'll keep support running for Windows, but Windows has no sign that they're going kill 32 bit operations. But gaming on the Mac, Apple has pretty much succeeded in discouraging people to take that as consideration any more. Even Blizzard has stopped porting any games outside of Diablo, Hearthstone, and World of Warcraft.

Qualifier: I assume that They did succesfully port the Ipad software to 64bit, otherwise those of you with new Ipads would not be running itnow.

Basically to you Mac users,... it's time to set up Boot Camp if you want to do anything gaming wise on your machines. Although maybe the Ipad experience might contravene my thought on tis.

Didn't you folks port the Ipad software to 64 bit? There isn't that much difference between IOS and what MacOS is becoming.

64-bit version for Mac?
 

FYI, all: I emailed LWD support about a 64-bit Mac HL update and got the following response:

Long story short, we Mac folks should be okay :) .

The announcement from Apple should be part of the Keynote at WWDC 2018 on June 4

It'd be great to hear from LWD staff what the future plan is. I run Hero Lab on a Mac, as I'm sure many others do. Mojave is the last version of macOS that'll support 32-bit, which means they have until the release of whatever comes after Mojave to update the app (September 2019). I don't know how much they use OpenGL, but that's going to go away in the same timeframe.

HL wouldn't be using OpenGL since HL doesn't have any 3D graphics going on.

However a lot of games use it, so expect to see a lot less PC games also on Mac since developers won't be willing to pay the extra cost to re-write it for a niche graphics library.

Hero Lab Mac 64-bit plans
 

I just wanted to let everyone know our current plans for the Mac version. We absolutely plan on continuing support for the Mac, however porting to 64-bit may take a while. We have tested Hero Lab with the latest beta of OSX and while it does still give a warning that the app is "not optimized for your system", it does still run correctly. We realize that Apple is trying to drop support for 32-bit applications and want to update the app as soon as possible, however this is a non-trivial task and it may be a while yet before we actually release a 64-bit version.

The Apple roadmap is hard cut off fall 2020 with a chance to move forward to fall 2019 depending on discussion at WWDC 2019

Mojave release is approaching.
We need an OFFICIAL RESPONSE to this thread, thank you.
Lone Wolf Development, please tell us!!!!!!

You got one, two posts above yours:

Mac OS X 10.14 (Mojave) will still run 32-bit applications, so they have time.

Oh, woa, Parody, thank you so much. I should have read better.
Thank you again and sorry for the silly post.

Leo

More than likely, at that point, they'll have written off both the Macintosh and the IPad as platform to enforce a move to Herolab Online. The news has been bleak for MacOS as a gaming paltform with even Blizzard giving up on cross platform development for any new games.

Catalina 64 bit
 

With the upcoming move for Mac OS to Catalina, we now need a 64 bit version of the app. Do you have any updated information?

http://forums.wolflair.com/showthread.php?t=62792

See here. In beta

If you follow the 64-bit beta thread they shoul be ready to finalize and offer the full 64-bit version of HL Classic before the end of the month