Steam Dropping Support for OS X 10.10 Yosemite and Earlier

[keysofanxiety]

It is 64-bit, however the client doesn't seem to update to the 64-bit version, you have to go to the Steam website and download it again.

Ah, that'll explain it then. Mine is still 32-bit even on the latest one. I'll download it again. Thanks!

 

[JosephAW]

This all reminds me of Apple throwing all our 32 bit games under the bus the other year. Let's share the love and bring this pain to desktop users.

 

[Princess Cake]

I'm still running Steam on 10.6.8 Snow Leopard myself ^.^ its an edited version that doesn't auto-update. I always get warned that support for my version will end in 2015 but it plays my existing games fine and can still download stuff.

 

[Foxglove9]

Ah, that'll explain it then. Mine is still 32-bit even on the latest one. I'll download it again. Thanks!

I redownloaded it and it's still showing 32-bit.

 

[bgalakazam]

Yeah no. I’ll keep my disk games. This online only model where you lose access to everything easily is not for me.

 

[retta283]

I'm still running Steam on 10.6.8 Snow Leopard myself ^.^ its an edited version that doesn't auto-update. I always get warned that support for my version will end in 2015 but it plays my existing games fine and can still download stuff.

Can you give a link to that, or is it just a pre-installed version patched? Snow Leopard is a great OS.

 

[Princess Cake]

Can you give a link to that, or is it just a pre-installed version patched? Snow Leopard is a great OS.

Here ya go, fellow Snow cat ^.^ Now, there are some things to keep in mind... it isn't very compatible with newer games so don't bother installing things like Civilization VI or Cities Skylines. Also I haven't attempted to make a purchase using it, I just downloaded my existing games.

https://www.filehosting.org/file/details/529695/7rHF2fk29LjB9b8H/Steam.app.zip

 

[MysteriousStain]

Typical Steam foul up if this is reported correctly. They could simply not auto update on machines running the older OS and allow people to play their games on a static version that won’t get updates

 

[retta283]

Here ya go, fellow Snow cat ^.^ Now, there are some things to keep in mind... it isn't very compatible with newer games so don't bother installing things like Civilization VI or Cities Skylines. Also I haven't attempted to make a purchase using it, I just downloaded my existing games.

https://www.filehosting.org/file/details/529695/7rHF2fk29LjB9b8H/Steam.app.zip

Thanks, running Snow Leopard on a 2008 iMac and a 2008 MacBook CE. I also have Sierra installed on them for anything modern I do thanks to dosdude1's patch.

 

[Bokito]

I’m pumped up for when they drop macOS for good next year, when 90% of my library doesn’t run because the hundreds of games I own are all 32-bit! Thanks for taking away my fun Apple, you know what’s best for me! I didn’t need Steam Link either!

Apple hates gaming on the Mac, so they couldn't be happier.

 

[Princess Cake]

Apple hates gaming on the Mac, so they couldn't be happier.

I don't see why you kids keep updating to the latest "and greatest" versions of OS X anyway... things get uglier and flatter every release and the system becomes more and more restrictive and hammered down.

In my opinion you should use the OS version that gives you the features you NEED and can't live without, not just upgrade for the hell of it. Apple used to be a company where you'd want the newest, shiniest bit of kit but now they're just a glorified fashion designer company.

 

[BigBoy2018]

This is the kind of reckoning we shouldn’t be terribly surprised by, but it is disappointing nonetheless. I’ve often asked the question: ‘What would happen to my Steam games if Valve were to suddenly go under?’. Steam games require Steam to be running in order to launch. ‘Offline mode’ is finicky and if I remember correctly, must first be set when you’re...online. This kind of defeats the purpose in many respects. In any case, there is a big question mark hanging over the status of our games if Valve were to shut down. This was rarely true of physical copies before they were locked down to online stores (the physical edition of Fallout 4 is hilariously a single DVD that essentially just provides a Steam code so you can download the game).

In any case, now we have a new and somewhat unexpected issue: ‘What happens if Steam won’t run on my previously supported hardware - hardware that still runs the games I intend to play on it?’. If I boot a Windows 95 machine and have the right hardware to play the Win95 version of ‘Tie Fighter’, it will run. As a collector of old Macs, I can expect a copy of ‘Prince of Persia’ to run as well on a Macintosh LC running System 7.1 today as it did when it was released in the early 1990s.

Steam - and other digital game stores like it (GOG being the only possible exception I’m aware of) turn this whole relationship with our digital past upside down. In 20 years, will I be able to play ‘Factorio’ on my vintage laptop if I happen to have purchased the Steam version? It looks highly doubtful, and that’s terribly sad for those of us who find comfort and joy in returning to old software OR for the larger number of us whose backlog is so long that they’ll be dead before they make even the slightest dent.

And ironically, its this kind of ‘you dont really own the game’ DRM thats encouraging many people to seek out pirated versions of games and other software. Its amazing how well some stuff works when you’ve applied a crack that eliminates the DRM.
All DRM does is punish people who (for the most part) would actually pay for the game.

 

[hlfway2anywhere]

I don't see why you kids keep updating to the latest "and greatest" versions of OS X anyway... things get uglier and flatter every release and the system becomes more and more restrictive and hammered down.

In my opinion you should use the OS version that gives you the features you NEED and can't live without, not just upgrade for the hell of it. Apple used to be a company where you'd want the newest, shiniest bit of kit but now they're just a glorified fashion designer company.

Seems like a lot of hyperbole in this post. Especially since Apple isn't the one restricting anything related to this post.

 

[Princess Cake]

Seems like a lot of hyperbole in this post. Especially since Apple isn't the one restricting anything related to this post.

Next version of Apple's Mac OS is 64-bit only which will SEVERELY CRIPPLE Steam and it's backlog of 32-bit games..... so yeah, I'd say it is a relevant post.

As for "hyperbole" well, I can make up words too, you... you...festizio!

 

[demodave]

Seems like a poor business model. Selling people the games then telling them that the games will no longer run even though they still have the older computer / OS.

Would people still be able to run the older games in offline mode ?

Would you expect an auto maker to maintain a business line of autmobiles for sale forever? Sooner or later, they gotta move on. If you choose to own a classic car, you’ve got to deal with classic car maintenance, and you may find you need a day-to-day driver to get to work. The privilege to be able to play games on a computer is just that, a privilege, not a right. No software company wil offer a warrantee that extends into perpetuity. Similarly, no software author os going to guarantee that your platform will last forever.

If you want to continue playing an old school game, you may need to maintain an old school gaming box.

 

[Plutonius]

If you want to continue playing an old school game, you may need to maintain an old school gaming box.

It's assumed that you have the old school gaming box.

The issue is Steam itself and the ability to run the legacy games on the old school gaming box. Steam games run through the Steam client and, if Steam no longer runs on the old school gaming box, that is problematic.

My comment was that Steam needs to make sure that people can continue to play their legacy games that they paid for on their old school gaming box.

 

[Bokito]

I don't see why you kids keep updating to the latest "and greatest" versions of OS X anyway... things get uglier and flatter every release and the system becomes more and more restrictive and hammered down.

In my opinion you should use the OS version that gives you the features you NEED and can't live without, not just upgrade for the hell of it. Apple used to be a company where you'd want the newest, shiniest bit of kit but now they're just a glorified fashion designer company.

I can't keep every OS X version for every App I want to keep. I already had to say goodbye to some great games and apps after Mountain Lion. The problem is that a portion of the apps I want to use require the the most recent versions while others require older versions.

I can't blame Apple for switching from Mac OS Classic to OS X back in the days and the Intel switch, but the current rate of pushing new technology is just too fast for a company that wants to get in the professional user game. They're dropping 32-bit support within 2 years from deprecation. OpenGL is deprecated since WWDC and will likely be dropped within the same timeframe. Apple introduced OpenCL with Snow Leopard and is about to remove that too. What is next? The complete removal of (Objective-)C and moving to Swift only? I agree they need to push new technology, but there is no real reason to just drop these features.

For 32-bit you can say that having both 32 and 64-bit libraries around takes resources, but as iOS didn't show improved performance or memory usage when it dropped 32-bit support I don't think macOS will either. They can simply stop adding new features to the 32-bit libraries and keep the old code for 32-bit machines.

 

[snipper]

Would you expect an auto maker to maintain a business line of autmobiles for sale forever? Sooner or later, they gotta move on. If you choose to own a classic car, you’ve got to deal with classic car maintenance, and you may find you need a day-to-day driver to get to work. The privilege to be able to play games on a computer is just that, a privilege, not a right. No software company wil offer a warrantee that extends into perpetuity. Similarly, no software author os going to guarantee that your platform will last forever.

If you want to continue playing an old school game, you may need to maintain an old school gaming box.

It's a poor comparison, as usual with computer / car comparisons. Old cars are often easier to maintain than recent ones. Maintenance parts for cars from 10, 20, 30, even 40 years ago are typically easy to get by for very reasonable prices. Not always the official / original make, but who cares. My father drove us around on the day we married in an old, 1971 Mercedes that just got new bumpers, lights etc. that were cheaper than similar parts are for my recent car.

I can still play the original version of Carmageddon on a Mac clone from 1997. I would be a pity if such a game were to become lost for ever because of an update of Steam.

 

[Janichsan]

Boxer and Wineskin make it easy to install and setup.

Both unfortunately have the problem that they are still 32 bit apps and apparently are no longer maintained: Wineskin got its last update about a year ago, Boxer even almost three years ago.

 

[Brien]

This is exactly what annoys me the most about this. I would be happy just forgetting about Steam altogether, but this exclusivity nonsense is what drives me away from PC gaming. If I can buy a physical copy of a game for a console instead, I will always choose this one over Steam-exclusive PC version.



Does this even work if the Steam client itself is no longer working/supported?

Sadly I think owning any type of media will be impossible soon.

 

[kwikdeth]

Seems like a lot of hyperbole in this post. Especially since Apple isn't the one restricting anything related to this post.

You can't assume that. This could be a result of Apple making it more difficult to compile for older versions of OSX in xcode etc. It could also be the result of the decision to end support for 32-bit in OSX. Steam may very well be 64-bit, but what about the games themselves? Steam could just be making the decision based off the size of that task.

 

[chinito77]

Apple and Steam just don't get along. The solution? Do as I do and get VMware to run Win 10 for those times you need it. I like to make games on my Mac and test them out in the Window's Steam version.

 

[cult hero]

Yeah I run most of my games within windows. Performance on macOS is a joke for a lot of games anyways.

I love my Mac. It’s my professional workstation. I have chosen the platform for work for a reason.

With that said Mac gaming has always been terrible. Even big name titles with first class support are still second class. If you’re serious about gaming, you aren’t using macOS. Apple doesn’t care about gaming not taking place on iOS, period.

I’m not going to make an argument one way or the other about it, but it’s been literally decades people. If you care about gaming the best “middle ground” is dual booting. You are not a demographic Apple cares about at all.

 

[crazy dave]

Both unfortunately have the problem that they are still 32 bit apps and apparently are no longer maintained: Wineskin got its last update about a year ago, Boxer even almost three years ago.

Aye ... unfortunately. However, there are professional teams that use those programs (e.g. GOG.com uses both Wineskin and Boxer - or at least they used to), so it's possible that one of those will push the requisite changes to a public repository (maybe just a compile change? If I ever get the time - ha! - I'll take a look).

Although I understand Wine itself may be difficult ... :/

https://www.winehq.org/wwn/364#Wine64 on Mac OS X

DOSBox *should* be fine (for the most part)

As for "hyperbole" well, I can make up words too, you... you...festizio!

not commenting on the content of the exchange other than to say that hyperbole is a real word ... and your comment did not seem to be self-knowing irony, so https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hyperbole

 

[R10k]

As I said on their forum... this isn’t a good move for Steam. Their entire userbase will now start second guessing purchases from them, having been reminded that Valve can pull support at any moment.

With new competition from the Epic and Discord stores, the timing is pretty bad.