Whisky

broken for several weeks now, I think). Eventually I just gave up; wasn't worth all the tinkering just to play a game. For non-GPU games (like indie 2D games), you can also try it in Parallels running Windows for ARM, which has its own built-in x86 emulation layer (that Microsoft provides, not Apple or Parallels). And old x86 Mac games can still be emulated by Rosetta, but my experience with that has been even worse than GPT. In my experience, native Apple Silicon games run acceptably on medium graphics -- for games like Stray that optimize for it. It's still not the same as a proper PC gaming experience. My experience playing virtualized Diablo 4 on Whisky and Crossover was that it was lagging all the time, failed to register clicks a lot, and was only really playable on lowest settings with AMD FSD turned on (so it was faking frames). Even for native games, there are sometimes issues with gamma curves and HDR if you use a regular PC monitor (like when Baldur's Gate 3 first came out on Mac, everything was super washed out on my external monitor). Mods sometimes won't work. The Steam Workshop ones tend to work the best; third-party file-based mods and mod managers are unlikely to work. The mouse acceleration curves are different for Windows and Mac, especially if you use a Windows mouse on Mac. This can matter a lot for shooters, less so for other games. I suppose you can get used to it, or use something like https://github.com/ther0n/UnnaturalScrollWheels to help get around it. In general it's just a crappy experience, and I'd say Macs are nowhere near ready for primetime gaming. The iPad provides a much better experience. Maybe things will get better if the Apple VR headset spurs a game rush, but I doubt it will. Apple just doesn't care about the desktop gaming segment. They have a bunch of iOS games and a few Apple Arcade games, but as far as I can see it's not something they show any real interest in improving. --------- In the meantime, I do all my Mac gaming on Geforce Now and it's been truly wonderful: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce-now/games/ You get a 4080 in the cloud for $20/mo, and no local heat or noise since the rendering happens remotely. It is a DRAMATICALLY better experience than gaming directly on my hardware, whether native or virtualized. Even for games that have an Apple Silicon native build, GFN provides a vastly superior experience (because the 4080 is incomparably more powerful, and isn't taxing your local hardware). I love my M2 Max for work, but IMO it's not really any better for gaming than a Windows laptop with integrated graphics would be (i.e., not good enough at all).

the upcoming cloud G-Sync, the game will likely run better on in the cloud than many desktop gaming PCs. The GeForce Now Ultimate tier comes with a RTX 4080 GPU, which is out of reach for many gamers due to its high price. This will also finally allow Mac gamers to play Diablo IV without Crossover (which has poor performance) or Whisky and GPT (which often breaks and stays broken for weeks at a time [3]). GFN has much more powerful GPUs than even a M3 Max. For Linux or Steam Deck gamers, D4 is already Proton Gold rated and Steam Deck verified [4], but GeForce Now should allow you to play it on much higher graphics, using less battery, and without using the fans. [1] https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/13/23915780/ubisoft-activis... [2] https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/CES-2024-geforce-now-activisio... [3] https://github.com/Whisky-App/Whisky/issues/682 [4] https://www.protondb.com/app/2344520

tible games) Whisky is free, and will work just as well for games it supports, but has compatibility with fewer games (no official list, so you just have to download it and try yourself): https://github.com/Whisky-App/Whisky For the mouse stuff, try a USB mouse if you're not already using one, combined with https://github.com/ther0n/UnnaturalScrollWheels to disable acceleration and fix the scroll wheel. That works really well for me to get a Windows-like mouse curve. TLDR skip the emulation and go for translation layers via Crossover, Whisky, and GPT. It'll be much faster. The mouse thing is separate and has nothing to do with the graphics layer. ------ Personally though, I'd just pay $20 a month for Geforce Now. It is much much faster than even the highest end Mac. I don't think WOW is on there, but for supported games, it's a phenomenal experience... sold my 3080 desktop and replaced it with GFN on my Macbook. It's fantastic. Supported games: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce-now/games/