Hi everyone, I’ve been developing a custom, end-to-end 3D rendering engine called Crescent from scratch using C++20 and Metal-cpp (targeting macOS and visionOS). My primary goal is to build a zero-bottleneck, GPU-driven pipeline that maximizes the potential of Apple Silicon’s Unified Memory and TBDR architecture. While the fundamental systems are stable, I am looking for architectural feedback from Metal framework engineers regarding specific synchronization and latency challenges. Current Core Implementations: GPU-Driven Instance Culling: High-performance occlusion culling using a Hierarchical Z-Buffer (HZB) approach via Compute Shaders. Clustered Forward Shading: Support for high-count dynamic lights through view-space clustering. Temporal Stability: Custom TAA with history rejection and Motion Blur resolve. Asset Infrastructure: Robust GUID-based scene serialization and a JSON-driven ECS hierarchy. The Architectural Challenge: I am currently seeing slight synchronization overhead when generating the HZB mip-chain. On Apple Silicon, I am evaluating the cost of encoder transitions versus cache-friendly barriers. && m_hzbInitPipeline && m_hzbDownsamplePipeline && !m_hzbMipViews.empty(); if (canBuildHzb) { MTL::ComputeCommandEncoder* hzbInit = commandBuffer->computeCommandEncoder(); hzbInit->setComputePipelineState(m_hzbInitPipeline); hzbInit->setTexture(m_depthTexture, 0); hzbInit->setTexture(m_hzbMipViews[0], 1); if (m_pointClampSampler) { hzbInit->setSamplerState(m_pointClampSampler, 0); } else if (m_linearClampSampler) { hzbInit->setSamplerState(m_linearClampSampler, 0); } const uint32_t hzbWidth = m_hzbMipViews[0]->width(); const uint32_t hzbHeight = m_hzbMipViews[0]->height(); const uint32_t threads = 8; MTL::Size tgSize = MTL::Size(threads, threads, 1); MTL::Size gridSize = MTL::Size((hzbWidth + threads - 1) / threads * threads, (hzbHeight + threads - 1) / threads * threads, 1); hzbInit->dispatchThreads(gridSize, tgSize); hzbInit->endEncoding(); for (size_t mip = 1; mip < m_hzbMipViews.size(); ++mip) { MTL::Texture* src = m_hzbMipViews[mip - 1]; MTL::Texture* dst = m_hzbMipViews[mip]; if (!src || !dst) { continue; } MTL::ComputeCommandEncoder* downEncoder = commandBuffer->computeCommandEncoder(); downEncoder->setComputePipelineState(m_hzbDownsamplePipeline); downEncoder->setTexture(src, 0); downEncoder->setTexture(dst, 1); const uint32_t mipWidth = dst->width(); const uint32_t mipHeight = dst->height(); MTL::Size downGrid = MTL::Size((mipWidth + threads - 1) / threads * threads, (mipHeight + threads - 1) / threads * threads, 1); downEncoder->dispatchThreads(downGrid, tgSize); downEncoder->endEncoding(); } if (m_instanceCullHzbPipeline) { dispatchInstanceCulling(m_instanceCullHzbPipeline, true); } } My Questions: Encoder Synchronization: Would you recommend moving this loop into a single ComputeCommandEncoder using MTLBarrier between dispatches to maintain L2 cache residency, or is the overhead of separate encoders negligible for depth-downsampling on TBDR? visionOS Bindless Latency: For stereo rendering on visionOS, what are the best practices for managing MTL4ArgumentTable updates at 90Hz+? I want to ensure that updating bindless resources for each eye doesn't introduce unnecessary CPU-to-GPU latency. Memory Management: Are there specific hints for Memoryless textures that could be applied to intermediate HZB levels to save bandwidth during this process? I’ve attached a screenshot of a scene rendered with the engine (PBR, SSR, and IBL).

As the title states, I’ve been trying to emulate some older Direct9 games, and rosetta can’t handle it because of that https://github.com/WineAndAqua/rosettax87 I’ve had to use this, but it really seems like something that I shouldn’t have to do I’ve tried Wineskin, wine, D9VK, MoltenVK, GPTk, and the only thing that’s close to working is using devel wine + d9vk with the xrosetta87 running like its a VPN, and then you play Without xrosetta87 it’s 0-0.5 FPS? with it, it’s like a buttery smooth 60+

hello apple through this message i want to draw you attention to some problems with gptk and rosetta some games like marvel spiderman 2 have broken animations and t pose issues and other like uncharted and the last of us have severe memory leak issues so its my request please fix it asap

Hello, I have noticed a performance drop on SpriteKit-based projects running on iOS 26.0 (23A341). Below is a SpriteKit scene used to test framerate on different devices: import SpriteKit import SwiftUI class BareboneScene: SKScene { override func didMove(to view: SKView) { size = view.bounds.size anchorPoint = CGPoint(x: 0.5, y: 0.5) backgroundColor = .darkGray let roundedSquare = SKShapeNode(rectOf: CGSize(width: 150, height: 75), cornerRadius: 12) roundedSquare.fillColor = .systemRed roundedSquare.strokeColor = .black roundedSquare.lineWidth = 3 addChild(roundedSquare) let action = SKAction.rotate(byAngle: .pi, duration: 1) roundedSquare.run(.repeatForever(action)) } } struct BareboneSceneView: View { var body: some View { SpriteView( scene: BareboneScene(), debugOptions: [.showsFPS] ) .ignoresSafeArea() } } #Preview { BareboneSceneView() } The scene is very simple, yet framerate drops to ~40 fps as shown by the Metal HUD. Tested on: iPhone 13, iOS 26.0: framerate drops to 40 fps. Sometimes it runs at near 60fps. But if the screen is touched repeatedly, the framerate drops to 40-50 fps again. iPhone 11 Pro, iOS 26.0: ~40fps. iPad 9th Gen, iOS 18.6.2: 60fps, no issues. See screenshots attached. These numbers were observed by me and members of our beloved SpriteKit Discord server. Thank you for your attention.

I want to create GIF file and then use UIImage to it.

I've had no issue calling image files in my .swift files, but they are causing crashes when used in my .SKS files. When I set a sprite texture to an image in the inspector/ editor bar, at runtime when that sprite is being called I get the error: "Cannot get value with size 16. The type encoded as {CGRect={CGPoint=dd}{CGSize=dd}} is expected to be 32 bytes." From my research it has something to do with Apple switching from 32 to 64 bite machines. From chatGPT “SpriteKit under the hood uses NSKeyedUnarchiver to load your .sks file. That unarchiver decodes each archived property by reading a fixed‑size blob of bytes and mapping it into a C struct. In your case it ran into a mismatch”. I am using a 64-bite machine to write my code and 64-bite simulators and physical devices, so there isn't a clear cause of the mismatch. My scenes play fine in Xcode 16's preview window and my code builds, it just crashes at runtime. When I don’t use image textured assets in the SKS file it works fine. It loads animated labels, and plain color squares. I’ve been able to work around this for static things like a sprite with a background texture by. in a normal non-game swift file, writing code like: if let scene = SKScene(fileNamed: "GameScene2") { let bg = SKSpriteNode(imageNamed: "YourBackgroundImage") bg.position = CGPoint(x: scene.frame.midX, y: scene.frame.midY) bg.zPosition = -1 scene.addChild(bg) } The issue now is I want to make a particle emitter and other non static sprites, but my understanding of their properities isn’t deep enough to create them without the editor. Also when I set SKTexture in a swift file that causes the same runtime crash with the 16/32 error. Could you help me figure out how to fix the bug so I can use the editor again? Otherwise could you help me figure out how to write a workaround like I do for background images? I have a feeling the answer is in writing my own NSKeyedUnarchiver but I don’t know how to make sure it’s called instead of the default one. I've already tried cleaning my code multiple times and deleting and reading sprite nodes. Thank you.

在正常游戏中，如果非常频繁的调用assetBundle.Unload接口，会导致游戏应用画面卡死，但是游戏的背景音乐仍然正常播放。这类问题仅发生在iphone16 和iphone17的手机上，低版本的手机没有任何问题，请问该如何解决这个问题？

What is the current [most recent] best practice to instancing Meshes in RealityKit? I see both MeshInstanceComponent and MeshInstanceCollection. My intent is to bind a transform to a Circle Agent (GameplayKit Agent), and feed that result to Instancing.

I'm updating our app to support metal 4, but the metal 4 types don't seem to get recognized when targeting simulator. Is it known if metal 4 will be supported in the near future, or am I setting up the app wrong?

I'm having a heck of a time getting this to work. I'm trying to add an event notification at the end of a timeline animation to trigger something in code but I'm not receiving the notification from RC Pro. I've watched that Compose Interactive 3D Content video quite a few times now and have tried many different ways. RC Pro has the correct ID names on the notifications. I'm not a programmer at all. Just a lowly 3D artist. Here is my code... import SwiftUI import RealityKit import RealityKitContent extension Notification.Name { static let button1Pressed = Notification.Name("button1pressed") static let button2Pressed = Notification.Name("button2pressed") static let button3Pressed = Notification.Name("button3pressed") } struct MainButtons: View { @State private var transitionToNextSceneForButton1 = false @State private var transitionToNextSceneForButton2 = false @State private var transitionToNextSceneForButton3 = false @Environment(AppModel.self) var appModel @Environment(\.dismissWindow) var dismissWindow // Notification publishers for each button private let button1PressedReceived = NotificationCenter.default.publisher(for: .button1Pressed) private let button2PressedReceived = NotificationCenter.default.publisher(for: .button2Pressed) private let button3PressedReceived = NotificationCenter.default.publisher(for: .button3Pressed) var body: some View { ZStack { RealityView { content in // Load your RC Pro scene that contains the 3D buttons. if let immersiveContentEntity = try? await Entity(named: "MainButtons", in: realityKitContentBundle) { content.add(immersiveContentEntity) } } // Optionally attach a gesture if you want to debug a generic tap: .gesture( TapGesture().targetedToAnyEntity().onEnded { value in print("3D Object tapped") _ = value.entity.applyTapForBehaviors() // Do not post a test notification here—rely on RC Pro timeline events. } ) } .onAppear { dismissWindow(id: "main") // Remove any test notification posting code. } // Listen for distinct button notifications. .onReceive(button1PressedReceived) { (output) in print("Button 1 pressed notification received") transitionToNextSceneForButton1 = true } .onReceive(button2PressedReceived.receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)) { _ in print("Button 2 pressed notification received") transitionToNextSceneForButton2 = true } .onReceive(button3PressedReceived.receive(on: DispatchQueue.main)) { _ in print("Button 3 pressed notification received") transitionToNextSceneForButton3 = true } // Present next scenes for each button as needed. For example, for button 1: .fullScreenCover(isPresented: $transitionToNextSceneForButton1) { FacilityTour() .environment(appModel) } // You can add additional fullScreenCover modifiers for button 2 and 3 transitions. } }

Hi, Since iOS 26 introduced the new Games app, I’ve noticed a problem when using a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller in wired USB-C mode, and also with third-party controllers that emulate it (like the GameSir X5 Lite). In the Games app interface, only the L/R buttons respond, but the D-Pad and analog sticks don’t work at all. Once inside actual games, the controller works fine — the issue only affects the Games app UI. What I’ve tested so far: Xbox / PlayStation controllers → work fine in both wired and Bluetooth, including inside the Games app. Switch Pro Controller (Bluetooth) → works fine, including in the Games app. Switch Pro Controller (wired) → same issue as the X5 Lite, D-Pad and sticks don’t work in the Games app. This makes it hard to use the new Games app launcher with these controllers, even though they work perfectly once a game is launched. My question: is this an iOS bug (Apple needs to add proper support for wired Switch Pro controllers in the Games app), or something that Nintendo / GameSir would need to address? Thanks in advance to anyone who can confirm this or provide more info.

Hello, **I'm Using ** Unity 6 LTS Unity Apple GameKit + Core plugins Turn-based matchmaking interface w/ 2 players max App Store Connect API for rule-based matchmaking I have already enabled game center in app store connect (I think) authenticated players and matched via friend request I am stuck Using queues to match players automatically I'm working on a rule-based matchmaking system which aims to place two players against each other into a GKTurnBasedMatch. I have a simple Unity Project that correctly authenticates a user and proceeds to send a matchmaking request. The matchmaking script utilizes the Unity plugins' GKTurnBasedMatchmakerViewController.Request(...) request function with a GKMatchRequest.Init() request configured with a QueueName equal to the App Store Connect API Queue I created. The queue I created is also linked to a ruleset with a very basic rule that checks if the properties contains a key called 'preference' that contains a string value for what side the player wants to play for this match. If during the matchmaking, the preferences between players are different, then the match is made and both players should join the match; each player gets to play the side they have chosen. I have my rule expression designed to just check if the preferences are not equal: requests[0].properties.faction_preference != requests[1].properties.faction_preference When I launch the game with two physical iPads and begin the matchmaking request, each player is immediately presented with two options: Invite a friend, or Start game The Problem: Inviting a friend works to get two players into a game, but queue seems to not matter, and clicking start game will just put the current player into its own match (no one joins). The Question: How do I get queue based matchmaking to work in Unity for a Turn-based match with only two players who are able to select the enemy side they want to play dictated by a rule that compares enemy play-side preferences? Resources I've used: Apple Unity GameKit Plugin: https://github.com/apple/unityplugins Matchmaking: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/gamekit/matchmaking-rules Multiplayer rulesets: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/gamekit/finding-players-using-matchmaking-rules

Hi everyone, I'm not an experienced developer. I'm interested in the low-latency related APIs in UIUpdateLink, but I failed to write even a minimal demo that works. UIUpdateInfo.isImmediatePresentationExpected is always false here. My understanding must be wrong. I've totally no idea so I'm asking for help here. I appreciate anyone who gives suggestions of any kind. Here's my (failed) demo about tracking touch inputs (of the 1st finger) and draw some shape at that place: import UIKit class ContentUIView: UIView { // MARK: - About UIUpdateLink and drawing required init?(coder: NSCoder) { super.init(coder: coder) initializeUpdateLink() } override init(frame: CGRect) { super.init(frame: frame) initializeUpdateLink() } private func initializeUpdateLink() { self.updateLink = UIUpdateLink(view: self) self.updateLink.addAction(to: .beforeCADisplayLinkDispatch, target: self, selector: #selector(update)) self.updateLink.wantsImmediatePresentation = true self.updateLink.isEnabled = true } @objc func update(updateLink: UIUpdateLink, updateInfo: UIUpdateInfo) { print(updateInfo.isImmediatePresentationExpected) // FIXME: Why always false? CATransaction.begin() defer { CATransaction.commit() } layer.setNeedsDisplay() layer.displayIfNeeded() } override func draw(_ rect: CGRect) { // FIXME: Any way to support opacity? guard let context = UIGraphicsGetCurrentContext() else { return } context.clear(rect) guard let lastTouch = self.lastTouch else { return } let location = lastTouch.location(in: self) let circleBounds = CGRect(x: location.x - 16, y: location.y - 16, width: 32, height: 32) context.setFillColor(.init(red: 1/2, green: 1/2, blue: 1/2, alpha: 1)) context.addLines(between: []) context.fillEllipse(in: circleBounds) } // MARK: - Touch input override func touchesBegan(_ touches: Set<UITouch>, with event: UIEvent?) { super.touchesBegan(touches, with: event) guard lastTouch == nil else { return } lastTouch = touches.first } override func touchesEnded(_ touches: Set<UITouch>, with event: UIEvent?) { super.touchesEnded(touches, with: event) guard let lastTouch, touches.contains(lastTouch) else { return } self.lastTouch = nil } override func touchesCancelled(_ touches: Set<UITouch>, with event: UIEvent?) { self.touchesEnded(touches, with: event) } private var lastTouch: UITouch? private var updateLink: UIUpdateLink! } #Preview { ContentUIView() } Anyway, I'm not meant to find alternative APIs and I'd be willing to know what it can't do.

I am using Apple's original Lightning Digital AV-adapter (Lightning-to-HDMI dongle) to connect my iPhone to an external display via a HDMI cable. I need to synchronize rendering with the external display's refresh rate, so I create a new CADisplayLink tied to the external display's UIScreen: UIScreen.screens[externalDisplayIdx].displayLink(withTarget:, selector:). The callback is being called regularly, but with increasing delay relative to the CADisplayLink.timestamp, so the next time the callback is called, I have less and less time to draw the next frame (see the snippet below). Assuming 60 FPS, the value of secondsTillDeadline starts at an arbitrary value in the range of approx -0.0001 to 0.0166667, and then it slowly decreases towards zero (and for a brief period it goes into small negative numbers). Once it reaches zero, it flips back to 0.0166667 and continues to decrease again. This cycle repeats indefinitely. Changing the external display's resolution (UIScreen's mode) or the CADisplayLink's preferredFrameRateRange to a lower FPS does not seem to have any effect on the temporal drifting (even the rate of change seem to be the same). When I create a new CADisplayLink for the iPhone's main screen, the value of secondsTillDeadline is stable, it does not drift and it is very close to 0.0166667, as expected. Is this drift caused by the external monitor or by Apple's Lightning-to-HDMI dongle ...or is the problem somewhere else? Can the drifting be stopped? func onDisplayLinkUpdate(displayLink: CADisplayLink) { // Gradually decreases from 0.01667 to -0.0001, then flips back to 0.01667 and continues to decrease let secondsTillDeadline = displayLink.targetTimestamp - CACurrentMediaTime() }

On an iPad running iPadOS 26 beta 4, when tapping the Game Center Access Point, the overlay doesn’t show the configured achievements, leaderboards or challenges. I should specify this is an in-development app and the achievements and leaderboards are in the “Not Live” state, however they show on other devices running iOS 18 in the Access Point UI. Anyone else having this issue? If so, how should I test achievements and leaderboards while iOS 26 beta is out? The UI looks like this on iPadOS 26:

I'm experiencing a specific issue where when using any of the MacOS 26 Tahoe betas with Low Power Mode enabled and using Vsync in fullscreen, my application framerate gets limited to a hard 30 fps. I have not experienced this on any older OS. For example Low Power Mode on 13.6 Ventura with Vsync fullscreen lets my application run at full 60 fps without issues. Is this a bug or a change in behavior of Low Power Mode on Tahoe? My application is 3D, runs at 60 fps and is sensitive to tearing, so I need Vsync and it is mostly utilized in fullscreen. And Low Power Mode is a default for many Macs, so default experience on Tahoe currently is a halved 30 fps. However there also seems to be inconsistencies of on which machines this happens, but older OSes are always fine.

Hey all — I’ve been building out my first set of Game Center Achievements for a game I’m working on, and I’ve run into something odd with the image quality. The specs say to upload icons at 512x512 or 1024x1024@2x. I’ve been uploading 1024x1024 PNGs (without explicitly naming them “@2x” since there’s only one upload slot), assuming that Game Center would just handle the scaling automatically — kind of like how a lot of things are getting more streamlined across platforms lately. But in testing, the icons are showing up a bit blurry, especially in the Game Center interface. It’s not horrible, but it’s definitely softer than I expected — more like low-res than Retina. All my test devices (outside the Simulator) are running iOS 26, so I’m also wondering if this might be a beta-related display bug? Has anyone else run into this? Curious if I’m missing a best practice here, or if I really do need to ensure I’m uploading it with the @2x suffix, or maybe something else entirely? Thanks!

So I'm testing a microapp that is contained in an IPFS folder. I use a web3 website that is used to view NFTs and their IPFS files. The app has gyro controls, which are enabled through a confirmation gesture. In iOS 18.5, when I press "Request Permission" button I get the popup to allow the app to acess movement and orientation. In iOS26, pressing the button does nothing. Keep in mind that this only happens through the website, that uses iframes. When I load the IPFS file from a direct link, the popup appears with no issue. I think this might be because iOS26 uses WebGPU or it might be a bug since iOS26 is still in beta.

What is Game Mode? Game Mode optimizes your gaming experience by giving your game the highest priority access to your CPU and GPU, lowering usage for background tasks. And it doubles the Bluetooth sampling rate, which reduces input latency and audio latency for wireless accessories like game controllers and AirPods. See Use Game Mode on Mac See Port advanced games to Apple platforms How can I enable Game Mode in my game? Add the Supports Game Mode property (GCSupportsGameMode) to your game’s Info.plist and set to true Correctly identify your game’s Application Category with LSApplicationCategoryType (also Info.plist) Note: Enabling Game Mode makes your game eligible but is not a guarantee; the OS decides if it is ok to enable Game Mode at runtime An app that enables Game Mode but isn’t a game will be rejected by App Review. How can I disable Game Mode? Set GCSupportsGameMode to false. Note: On Mac Game Mode is automatically disabled if the game isn’t running full screen.

Hello, Thank you for attending today’s Metal & game technologies group lab at WWDC25! We were delighted to answer many questions from developers and energized by the community engagement. We hope you enjoyed it and welcome your feedback. We invite you to carry on the conversation here, particularly if your question appeared in Slido and we were unable to answer it during the lab. If your question received feedback let us know if you need clarification. You may want to ask your question again in a different lab e.g. visionOS tomorrow. (We realize that this can be confusing when frameworks interoperate) We have a lot to learn from each other so let’s get to Q&A and make the best of WWDC25! 😃 Looking forward to your questions posted in new threads.