How to Help Devs Troubleshoot Blurry Text Issue on Macs?

[jslmsca]

I just purchased FHM11 now that it is discounted and the blurry text issue from last year is still in this game. Just to reiterate, many Mac users are experiencing this bug.

How can I help the devs narrow down this issue? Are there recommended settings? Are there some logging or diagnostic information I can provide?

Thanks.

[jslmsca]

@JeffR, trace file sent via email.

[jslmsca]

I buy my games from Steam but I've ruled out it being a Steam only issue. Someone had mentioned not having an issue with the FastSpring version but I purchased that one and am having the same blurriness.

[jslmsca]

I'm seeing the issue on both an iMac M1 and MacBook Air M2, both running the latest versions of Sequoia.

[jslmsca]

Suggestions from ChatGPT:

Poor Retina/HiDPI support in the game’s text rendering engine (possibly SDL, Qt, or a custom wrapper).

Improper usage of NSHighResolutionCapable or backingScaleFactor, causing it to scale UI elements with 1x rather than 2x resolution on Retina displays.

Text rendering via software blitting rather than native APIs (like CoreText or properly Retina-aware OpenGL/Metal).

Missing NSPrincipalClass or misconfiguration in the Info.plist in how the app declares its UI layer.

[IvySaunders]

Thanks, I’ll gather the info and reach out to support!

[Sebastian Palkowski]

Since Jeff is not much online, could you send the file to me as well?

Originally Posted by jslmsca

@JeffR, trace file sent via email.

[jslmsca]

@Sebastian, trace file attached.

[jslmsca]

Here's what ChatGPT suggests after examining the trace file:
===============================================

FHM 11 on Apple Silicon macOS – Blurry Text Diagnosis
After inspecting the trace log and visual output, the cause of blurry text appears to be that the app is not rendering at the correct device pixel ratio (DPR) on Retina (HiDPI) displays.

The trace shows:
DPR: 1

On a MacBook Air M2 and iMac M1, this should be:
DPR: 2

This suggests the Qt OpenGL context or main application window is not initialized with Retina support, despite Qt::AA_EnableHighDpiScaling being set. macOS is likely upscaling 1x-rendered UI elements, which explains the softness/blurriness.

Recommended Fixes:
Ensure the Info.plist inside the .app bundle includes:
<key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key>
<true/>

Use QGuiApplication::setAttribute(Qt::AA_UseHighDpiPix maps) before app creation.

Consider switching from Qt::AA_UseDesktopOpenGL to Qt::AA_UseSoftwareOpenGL or test with Qt::AA_UseOpenGLES on Metal-backed macOS.

Explicitly log QGuiApplication::devicePixelRatio() and QWindow::devicePixelRatio() to confirm the framework is recognizing Retina screens.

If running in a sandboxed environment (com.ootpdevelopments.fhm11macqlm), ensure proper entitlements for UI scaling and screen access are enabled.

[Sebastian Palkowski]

PM sent...

Originally Posted by jslmsca

Here's what ChatGPT suggests after examining the trace file:
===============================================

FHM 11 on Apple Silicon macOS – Blurry Text Diagnosis
After inspecting the trace log and visual output, the cause of blurry text appears to be that the app is not rendering at the correct device pixel ratio (DPR) on Retina (HiDPI) displays.

The trace shows:
DPR: 1

On a MacBook Air M2 and iMac M1, this should be:
DPR: 2

This suggests the Qt OpenGL context or main application window is not initialized with Retina support, despite Qt::AA_EnableHighDpiScaling being set. macOS is likely upscaling 1x-rendered UI elements, which explains the softness/blurriness.

Recommended Fixes:
Ensure the Info.plist inside the .app bundle includes:
<key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key>
<true/>

Use QGuiApplication::setAttribute(Qt::AA_UseHighDpiPix maps) before app creation.

Consider switching from Qt::AA_UseDesktopOpenGL to Qt::AA_UseSoftwareOpenGL or test with Qt::AA_UseOpenGLES on Metal-backed macOS.

Explicitly log QGuiApplication::devicePixelRatio() and QWindow::devicePixelRatio() to confirm the framework is recognizing Retina screens.

If running in a sandboxed environment (com.ootpdevelopments.fhm11macqlm), ensure proper entitlements for UI scaling and screen access are enabled.

[jslmsca]

I think I've replied twice via PM but I don't see it (yet) in my list of sent messages.

Just reply here in case my reply didn't get through.

[Sebastian Palkowski]

The fix seems to work on Retina Displays so we internally discuss how we want to handle this now.

[bockerboy]

Please find a fix for this fast. I've got 5 hours in FHM11 so far and all of that has come from <20 minutes sessions. Major eye strain.

[jslmsca]

@Sebastian, any news on an official update?

[bockerboy]

Originally Posted by jslmsca

@Sebastian, any news on an official update?

Don't hold your breath. Been waiting for years on this issue.

[jslmsca]

No, I tested a fix from Sebastian and it worked on my MacBook Air M2. Retina finally looked like Retina.

I'm just hoping they will release this update for Mac users because the blurriness is headache inducing.

[Sebastian Palkowski]

Please have a look here:

Public Steam Beta for Retina Display support