Affinity Publisher fails to load on Mac running on OCLP

[JGD]

Hi!

I know my configuration isn't exactly supported by Apple, but seeing how the non-Beta and even the latest Betas of APub worked just fine on my MacBookPro9,2 (Mid 2012) running macOS Ventura 13.3 under OCLP, I was led to think that that would still be the case at least until v3 of the suite came along, so here goes:

Affinity Publisher, plain and simply, doesn't work. It loads right up until the splash screen, and then crashes. In case you need some more logs than the crash log already uploaded, I'll be happy to provide them. Also, I will update to macOS 13.3.1 shortly, and check whether it works or not. I'm also aware that resetting its preferences might help, but if I could get away without resetting the entire thing, I'd much rather not do it.

Affinity Publisher 2 Beta-2023-04-14-023106.ips

[MikeTO]

Hi JGD, I think you're going to have to reset some settings by holding down Ctrl while starting the app. This has cropped up from time to time with v2 and resetting always solves the issue.

I wouldn't reset everything, I'd try resetting things one by one starting from the ones I don't care about to the ones I really would prefer to avoid changing. If you do go this route, it would be good to report to Serif which of the many reset options is the one that fixed it for you.

A good tip for the future is to backup as much as you can. I've saved my studio setup and my shortcuts since Affinity allows saving those.

Good luck!

[JGD]

On 4/14/2023 at 1:56 PM, MikeTO said:

Hi JGD, I think you're going to have to reset some settings by holding down Ctrl while starting the app. This has cropped up from time to time with v2 and resetting always solves the issue.

I wouldn't reset everything, I'd try resetting things one by one starting from the ones I don't care about to the ones I really would prefer to avoid changing. If you do go this route, it would be good to report to Serif which of the many reset options is the one that fixed it for you.

A good tip for the future is to backup as much as you can. I've saved my studio setup and my shortcuts since Affinity allows saving those.

Good luck!

Interestingly, the issue solved itself, so maybe it was indeed due to something wrong in my setup…

Something was seriously amiss with the macOS 13.3.1 + OCLP 0.6.3 combo, as it was causing all sorts of weird glitches (such as macOS services and QuickLook not being able to access audio files – my alert sound, Sonumi, was being cut short, for instance –, icons and images not being properly rendered, etc., all issues reminiscent of broken SATA cables but, at the end of the day, software-related – and I did check they were, by accessing this Mac's internal SSDs through Target Disk Mode without any issues, other than KP'ing both an Intel iMac and my M1 Mac Studio when using a Thunderbolt 2 cable instead of my trusty FireWire 800 one connected to a string of dongles, which means I've found yet another software/firmware issue squarely on Apple devs' side).

At first I reverted only the bootloader (not the post-install root patches) to OCLP 0.6.2's to some effect; most glitches were gone, but APub was still crashing on launch. But it seems the OCLP dev team got wind of these issues and released an updated build yesterday, 0.6.4, which fixed most issues, including APub's.

Only Camo Studio seems to be acting up still, and crashing on launch as well, but this Mac has an integrated iSight/FaceTime camera which works fine, so it's not a big deal.

[Gabe]

I believe we've been down this road before. We will not be investigating issues when running unsupported OS'. Sorry. 

[JGD]

9 hours ago, Gabe said:

I believe we've been down this road before. We will not be investigating issues when running unsupported OS'. Sorry. 

Fair enough. It's in no way comparable with Apple not supporting me booting my Mac or running my user account off of an external drive (especially the latter, something which their default install definitely allows even without reducing security settings).

I guess I was still pretty mad about AppleCare giving me the finger over that (my Mac Studio borked itself around the same time after installing a measly point update, macOS 13.3.0, and I had to eschew the second option, which I preferred, in favour of the first one, which after some growing pains and tweaking in Onyx, is finally working for me)… We're good.

But hey, APub does work now, so we should be extra good. It just goes to show just how resilient and compatible macOS still is, despite these weird new “holes” or “special needs” Apple keeps introducing in it regardless of ISA, because something something forced obsolescence greenwashing.

In any case, I believe I should still send you bug reports and logs from this Mac and a now also unsupported 2015 MacBook Pro (especially that one, considering just how much more recent it is). You can read them, or ignore them, but… as they say, it's free data! Also, there seems to be a precedent of you looking at those despite obviously not supporting it officially, so… you know, precedents and stuff. Kind of like, hum, your entire legal system works. 🙄 I'm not demanding anything unreasonable, and would never consider your product broken or you as being negligent, and leave any bad reviews or whatever, over any of Affinity's apps borking themselves due to something obviously OCLP/Metal/SSE-related (there's a not-so-recent version of Photoshop, for instance, that is no longer compatible with the 2009 MacBook due to the lack of SSE4.2 extensions on its Penryn processor, for instance, and there's nothing anyone can do in the way of patching – not even Adobe, lest you start referring me to your EULA, like your boss did on the thread I'm linking to below, because I don't hack apps other than sometimes pasting custom icons on their information panel – to make it work, so that machine is defo on its way out). As a rule of thumb, I tend not to waste your time with anything very obviously hack-related and… as they say, “no lowballers, I know what I've got”, and what I've got is a geriatric machine (😂), and never made a secret of that here in the forums (see “precedents” above).

It's just that I'm selling the 2017 5K iMac ASAP and, after that, if the mere fact that I'm using what you aptly call an “unsupported configuration” prevents me from asking you to at least look into bugs (if they're unfixable, or completely OCLP/Metal/SSE/whatchamacallit-related, yes, that is that and I don't expect you to bend over backwards to support my exotic configuration in particular, but it may be am obviously generic bug and I MAY be helping other users in reporting it), I guess I won't be able to help you much (with, say, stuff such as smaller glitches on an otherwise perfectly functioning computer – which my machine definitely wasn't the other day, and my bad, that one's on me because, as I said, I was completely on edge and mad beyond belief at Apple and anything Mac-related –, and it feels as if I'm being punished for being, you know, honest – or obvious Serif UI glitches – yes, these sorts of hacks do cause some general macOS UI glitches on occasion, but they are very easy to tell as such and are quickly fixed anyway –, especially considering the old MacBook's built-in display is non-Retina, and I no longer have any of those connected to a newer model such as my very much supported Mac Studio.

Now, is there some passive-aggressiveness in my tone? Yes, there is. At least I'm open about it, and on why it is so. 🤷‍♂️ We have a bit of a history here in the forums (not with you personally, I believe, but when I say “we”, I mean “some Serif devs and me”, and “me and Serif as a company”, including binding contracts signed and all), and to quote you, “we've been down this road before”, except over much more serious stuff, such as a very sensible, not at all outrageous idea of mine being called… what was the word? Ah, yes, “stupid”. Once again, a non-snarky, noncommittal, boilerplate response would suffice, methinks. Or maybe an even nicer “we may look into it, but it's not a priority because this is an unsupported configuration, and if we find it's due to that, there won't be much we can do about that” (and you could even be lying and wait for the problem to fix itself, which it might still if it hadn't already by the time you answered 😂). Or, since the problem fixed itself, the even easier and more neutral radio silence.

Do I, the communication design major (my qualifications specifically in communication and marketing stopped at the measly BFA level, mind you), seriously have to teach you corporate speak as well? I should start giving out company-wide workshops, sheesh! 🤦‍♂️

[Gabe]

There was no intention of calling anyone stupid. I was strictly speaking for this scenario (our apps not working on OCLP). We know our apps work on supported platforms, and was just saying we cannot help/look into why the app doesn't work. Sorry, I should have phrased that better.

13 hours ago, JGD said:

if the mere fact that I'm using what you aptly call an “unsupported configuration” prevents me from asking you to at least look into bugs (if they're unfixable, or completely OCLP/Metal/SSE/whatchamacallit-related, yes, that is that and I don't expect you to bend over backwards to support my exotic configuration in particular, but it may be am obviously generic bug and I MAY be helping other users in reporting it)

Absolutely. If you get it running, we have nothing against you using it, or anything against you reporting bugs.

[JGD]

On 4/19/2023 at 9:13 AM, Gabe said:

There was no intention of calling anyone stupid. I was strictly speaking for this scenario (our apps not working on OCLP). We know our apps work on supported platforms, and was just saying we cannot help/look into why the app doesn't work. Sorry, I should have phrased that better.

Absolutely. If you get it running, we have nothing against you using it, or anything against you reporting bugs.

Great! In related news, I managed to iron out the latest kinks on that machine (apparently you shouldn't be cheap when it comes to buying small-size, SuperDrive, to full-size, hard drive/SSD SATA III adapters, as they have a tendency to trigger all sorts of R/W errors – that wasn't the issue behind my woes with Affinity, but it made me seriously rethink my strategy, and is now fortunately fixed for good), and have it updated to all the latest versions of macOS and my apps, including Affinity v.2.1.0 GM. What's more, it even runs great on a 2009 Unibody MacBook, unlike the latest versions of CC.

There's a reason why I keep using those old Macs around and kind of expect Affinity to run on them, because I'm just spoiled; it boggles the mind that it actually runs so well on hardware of such vintage, but it is what it is. In any case, I know what I'm potentially getting myself into, and have budgeted for getting a new 13'' or maybe one of those upcoming 15'' MacBook Airs on a moment's notice, just in case. All in all, it's a win-win situation, as the longer I postpone that purchase, the better the machine I can get by then, and as I'm just writing a PhD thesis and not doing much design work these days, it's not like I really need a very powerful laptop at this point (and if I do, that's what the Mac Studio is here on my desk for). 🙃