Apple’s macOS Tahoe introduces native support for MetalFX Frame Interpolation, but when it comes to adopting the technology in older and newer titles, that’s still a dream that we haven’t woken up from. Fortunately, an independent developer has taken matters into his own hands through Adrenaline, his own frame generation tool for the Mac. However, to say that this is a polished release would be far from the truth, as the use of AMD’s FSR 1 makes the experience less than stellar.
For users who want to get right into testing, Redditor “General-Duty9073” has been kind enough to make Adrenaline free on the App Store until August 31. However, the developer should be open to a barrage of criticism because there’s plenty to discuss here, but let us talk about the benefits of his implementation. Firstly, the Mac app doesn’t need to bypass anti-cheat or rely on developer integration since it operates through Apple’s external screen capture, called ScreenCaptureKit.
It can also be used to run Windows games using CrossOver, but when you have dedicated apps like Lossless Frame Generation, there’s really not much need for anything else. Also, because the developer used RIFE (Real-Time Intermediate Flow Estimation), an open-source, AI-based deep learning model, the version was converted to Apple’s Core ML format when running Adrenaline.
When running Valheim on an M3 MacBook Air, the framerate switches between 30FPS and 60FPS, creating what one would assume is a fluid gameplay session. However, this is where the trouble begins to brew. Lots of commenters on Reddit have criticized the use of AMD’s FSR 1 implementation, as it creates a ton of visual artifacts and ghosting, not to mention degrading the image quality.
Valheim might appear to run smoothly, but frame generation technology needs a decent base FPS to deliver that fluid footage. In this case, 30FPS is way too low, meaning that the 60FPS output framerate will be accompanied by lots of input lag, diminishing the entire experience. You should also note that while porting RIFE to Core ML reduces GPU overhead, the ML-based optical flow requires a ton of compute performance.
When running the game with an upscaler paired with real-time screen capture and a Core ML model, the M3 MacBook Air will quickly run into thermal throttling issues, especially when it lacks a cooling fan. RIFE has been developed primarily for film and video, not games, where a user requires fast inputs and high FPS rather than a slower, cinematic pace.
As for why FSR 1 was used in place of other modern standards, despite its subpar image quality, the developer notes that higher-end temporal upscalers require motion vectors and depth data, which external screen capture cannot access. He also notes that Apple’s own MetalFX implementation is a better alternative.
Then again, the advantage for Apple Silicon users is that Adrenaline is free to use until August 31, but don’t believe you’ll have to pay a monthly subscription fee, because those who acquired it for free will keep it for free. Now, if we could just get noteworthy updates down the road, that’d be great.
News Source: Reddit
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