Major gaming news at WWDC: Metal and New games

[Realityck]

This is big.

Pretty much every Windows game now runs on Macs, including Elden Ring, Diablo IV, Cyberpunk and GTA. Looks like Max/Ultra is required for full performance however.

Thats related to this:

Using its XCode 15 Command Line Tools to play DirectX12 games like Diablo IV on Silicon based Macs (as opposed to Intel based ones) running the latest releases of the Sonoma and Ventura operating systems. A step-by-step guide by Senior C# Developer and former Microsoft Development Engineer Denis Gladkikh, aka Outcoldman, details how to set up Rosetta 2 and the Game Porting Toolkit needed to run Intel-based games that are primarily built for Windows systems on Apple Silicon instead. Although the amount of command line manipulation looks daunting, the guide is fairly straightforward and easy to follow, showing the game running on a very high end 16" M2 Max MacBook Pro 2023.

Its a method to allow easier game ports that arrived with the first Xcode 15 beta at WWDC 2023.

 

[ErikGrim]

Proton has Valve behind it and Crossover is the main contributor to Wine. Who would back such a compatibility layer on Mac?

Apple would. Their porting toolkit is based on Crossover 22.

 

[jeanlain]

This comparison shows a large performance penalty for the translation and the lack of optimisation.
It's far from Proton on Linux, which (I heard) make games perform close to the Windows versions.

It's not in Apple best infester to optimise the translation. They only have to ensure that DX games run.

 

[jeanlain]

Thanks to the compatibility layer in the Game Porting Toolkit, this comic is now officially outdated

I don't expect that person to install the porting kit on her Mac.

Let's be honest, only geeks will run games this way.

 

[diamond.g]

This comparison shows a large performance penalty for the translation and the lack of optimisation.
It's far from Proton on Linux, which (I heard) make games perform close to the Windows versions.

It's not in Apple best infester to optimise the translation. They only have to ensure that DX games run.

I wonder if the performance improvement is down to the native game running direct instead of having to go through the composite layer. I know translation takes performance, but folks have claimed that you can increase the resolution and still not do anything to the frame rate (in a positive or negative fashion).

 

[jeanlain]

I wonder if the performance improvement is down to the native game running direct instead of having to go through the composite layer.

No, desktop compositing hardly makes a difference.

 

[diamond.g]

No, desktop compositing hardly makes a difference.

So the translation is CPU bound. Do we think more cores would help, or would increasing the clock speed help (side stepping the make the game native is the solution argument).

 

[jeanlain]

So the translation is CPU bound.

I'm not sure we can conclude that. The translation generates Metal code that is less optimized than a "manual" port.

 

[diamond.g]

I'm not sure we can conclude that. The translation generates Metal code that is less optimized than a "manual" port.

If folks can increase the resolution, and the game stays running at near the same framerates how is that not CPU limited?

 

[Irishman]

I dunno man being able to have a massive library of AAA games playable on macOS through a compatibility layer sounds pretty thriving to me.

Me too. I don’t tend to care why or how people do the right thing, just that they do it.

I think maybe Apple surveyed the scene and decided that the only way to get this done was to do it themselves.

And given just how efficient it seems to work for those developers who are trying it out (even coders /gamers on Discord), of all the tools that Apple could have announced, I can’t imagine any others being more fit for task, especially if your task is to save Mac gaming.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I don't expect that person to install the porting kit on her Mac.

Let's be honest, only geeks will run games this way.

Not until someone makes a compatibility layer using this toolkit, free or not. It's only a matter of time. Many are calling for legendary Linux coder GloriousEggroll to make one after all the amazing work he did for Proton.

 

[jeanlain]

Not until someone makes a compatibility layer using this toolkit, free or not.

The licence of the Metal porting kit does not allow that.

 

[jeanlain]

If folks can increase the resolution, and the game stays running at near the same framerates how is that not CPU limited?

I don't know if it's the case. The image you commented does not show that.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

The licence of the Metal porting kit does not allow that.

The license only applies to the porting kit. The updates Apple made to Wine though are fair game since it's using a fork of CrossOver's compatibility layer, and since Wine itself is an open license.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Some articles about the porting toolkit

Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit could be a revolution for Mac gaming — here’s the proof

The future of Mac gaming is looking a lot brighter

www.tomsguide.com

Apple's Game Porting Toolkit aims to make Windows game porting easier

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

www.gamesindustry.biz

Apple’s new game porting tool can run Diablo 4 & more on M1/M2 Macs - Dexerto

At WWDC 2023, Apple announced a brand-new tool that could make games like Diablo 4 playable on its Apple Silicon devices, and you can try it out for yourself right now.

www.dexerto.com

Apple has a Proton-like Game Porting Toolkit for getting Windows games on Mac

Eager gamers already have Cyberpunk, Diablo IV running on Apple Silicon Macs.

arstechnica.com

Apple Introduces New Porting Toolkit to Try to Bring More PC Games to Mac - IGN

Apple's new developer toolkit aims to make it easier for developers to port Windows PC games onto Mac.

www.ign.com

Diablo 4 and Cyberpunk 2077 now run on a Mac with Apple's new game compatibility toolkit

Apple's new tools appear reminiscent of Valve's Proton compatibility layer for Linux and the Steam Deck.

www.pcgamer.com

 

[Numa_Numa_eh]

The license only applies to the porting kit. The updates Apple made to Wine though are fair game since it's using a fork of CrossOver's compatibility layer, and since Wine itself is an open license.

I don’t think they made any improvements to wine. Wine is used for non graphics stuff. All graphical work is their own.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I don’t think they made any improvements to wine. Wine is used for non graphics stuff. All graphical work is their own.

Linux guys have been probing the porting toolkit on Apple's Github and improvements were made to Wine as it now supports DirectX 12. Apple beat CodeWeavers to full DX12 compatibility.

 

[Numa_Numa_eh]

Linux guys have been probing the porting toolkit on Apple's Github and improvements were made to Wine as it now supports DirectX 12. Apple beat CodeWeavers to full DX12 compatibility.

The directx stuff has nothing to do with wine. It’s totally independent work. as for “Linux guys” most of them are spreading lies that the porting kit uses dxvk.

 

[Xiao_Xi]

Has anyone tried the Game Porting Toolkit in Ventura?

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/14307be/_/jn7str1

By the way, there is a thread on Reddit with games that work and games that don't work.

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/1446hj6

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Has anyone tried the Game Porting Toolkit in Ventura?

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/14307be/_/jn7str1

You can use it in Ventura? I thought the porting toolkit only worked with Sonoma

 

[diamond.g]

I don't know if it's the case. The image you commented does not show that.

https://www.reddit.com/r/macgaming/comments/1435ukq/_/jn89l8s

Hopefully this shows up right.

 

[Ethosik]

I just need Satisfactory, Ixion, Trails series moved over to Mac then I can drop my PC. Everything else I’m at the point of just using console now.

 

[Homy]

Apple would. Their porting toolkit is based on Crossover 22.

Yes, I know about Crossover but I'm talking about what users do with the porting toolkit, the product that will be created by fans upon that, not Apple's product. Users will be the only ones updating and maintaining that wrapper. It may work but can't beat native ports.

 

[Homy]

The licence of the Metal porting kit does not allow that.

It appears to allow it for personal use, like many other software, but not for commercial use.

 

[Numa_Numa_eh]

It appears to allow it for personal use, like many other software, but not for commercial use.

That seems to be the case. If you follow the engineers responsible for it on Twitter, they all say "this is to help porting, but if people enjoy it, cool!"