3 ms·

I don't get it, isn't it still possible for everyone to "sideload" Fortnite onto their Mac without it being signed? Why is Epic stopping development instead of

by abduhl 6y ago

I don't get it, isn't it still possible for everyone to "sideload" Fortnite onto their Mac without it being signed? Why is Epic stopping development instead of just offering the update?

cma 6y ago
Support costs and chargebacks due to people not being able to figure it out. Fortnite also gets constant updates and they can no longer automatically do it, each with binary changes would have to manually be applied (or is there a way for them to automatically prompt and apply themselves?).
- Zenbit_UX 6y ago
  There's for sure ways for an app to update itself outside of the Mac appstore, Firefox and Chrome do so weekly. I'm not sure what kind of complications are added to that by using unsigned binaries but the malware developers over at Zoom certainly manage.
  - cma 6y ago
    I think Fortnite came from the Epic Launcher, not Mac Store, and auto updated itself already too (this may have differed between battle royale and save the world?). Doing it unsigned is the question. Do users have to do something manual each update, beyond just a prompt?
pornel 6y ago
On macOS there are 3 tiers: AppStore, Developer Id, and "This is malware, move it to Trash". Apple has blocked the first two. The third one has a workaround, but it's intentionally designed to be semi-hidden and confusing to an average person. I expect HN crowd to think it's not a problem, but to me as a developer it's a support headache, and embarrassment to tell every user "yeah, no, we're not malware, please do these steps to bypass all these scary security warnings". All Macs have shitty GPUs, so Epic may even be happy they have a good excuse to drop Mac.
- thebean11 6y ago
  > All Macs have shitty GPUs, so Epic may even be happy they have a good excuse to drop Mac. Fortnite runs on the Nintendo Switch, I doubt supporting Mac GPUs was too difficult for them.
- darkwizard42 6y ago
  Eh, Fortnite runs on nearly all types of machines. It's designed to be playable on even potato level machines (that is part of its appeal and reach, see: League of Legends as well)
Wowfunhappy 6y ago
It is possible, I am equally confused! I’d posit that allowing an app through gatekeeper is easier than sideloading on Android!
_qulr 6y ago
It's possible, but it would be very difficult. I wrote a blog post about this: "Can't you just right click?" https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/unsigned.html https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/unsigned.html

by abduhl 6y ago

I don't get it, isn't it still possible for everyone to "sideload" Fortnite onto their Mac without it being signed? Why is Epic stopping development instead of just offering the update?

cma 6y ago

Support costs and chargebacks due to people not being able to figure it out. Fortnite also gets constant updates and they can no longer automatically do it, each with binary changes would have to manually be applied (or is there a way for them to automatically prompt and apply themselves?).

Zenbit_UX 6y ago
There's for sure ways for an app to update itself outside of the Mac appstore, Firefox and Chrome do so weekly. I'm not sure what kind of complications are added to that by using unsigned binaries but the malware developers over at Zoom certainly manage.
- cma 6y ago
  I think Fortnite came from the Epic Launcher, not Mac Store, and auto updated itself already too (this may have differed between battle royale and save the world?). Doing it unsigned is the question. Do users have to do something manual each update, beyond just a prompt?

pornel 6y ago

On macOS there are 3 tiers: AppStore, Developer Id, and "This is malware, move it to Trash". Apple has blocked the first two. The third one has a workaround, but it's intentionally designed to be semi-hidden and confusing to an average person. I expect HN crowd to think it's not a problem, but to me as a developer it's a support headache, and embarrassment to tell every user "yeah, no, we're not malware, please do these steps to bypass all these scary security warnings". All Macs have shitty GPUs, so Epic may even be happy they have a good excuse to drop Mac.

thebean11 6y ago
> All Macs have shitty GPUs, so Epic may even be happy they have a good excuse to drop Mac. Fortnite runs on the Nintendo Switch, I doubt supporting Mac GPUs was too difficult for them.
darkwizard42 6y ago
Eh, Fortnite runs on nearly all types of machines. It's designed to be playable on even potato level machines (that is part of its appeal and reach, see: League of Legends as well)

Wowfunhappy 6y ago

It is possible, I am equally confused! I’d posit that allowing an app through gatekeeper is easier than sideloading on Android!

_qulr 6y ago

It's possible, but it would be very difficult. I wrote a blog post about this: "Can't you just right click?" https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/unsigned.html https://lapcatsoftware.com/articles/unsigned.html