Do you use Wine/Cider/similar to play Windows games?

[alexreich]

I was burned on integrated graphics in the past with my 2007 Mac mini; That's why I got the more expensive 2011 Mini (And even BTO'd an i7). Fun fact: the GMA 950 under OS X says it supports OpenGL 2.1, but it lacks shader support and does strange things when you try to run it with a shader program.

Do you have heat issues with your 2011 mini's dedicated graphics when gaming? My best friend's computer always burns up (not literally, it just gets very hot to the touch) when we play WoW or CoD. It's pretty funny. He'll get up into the 190F temps sometimes while my machine sits at 120-140F playing the same game. His machine also just runs hot, even without gaming taking place he'll have 140F temps.

 

[Madd the Sane]

I haven't noticed any heat issues when playing WoW or any other game.

 

[bkar89]

When i upped from 09 13" MBP to the rMBP and got discreet graphics along. I Stopped using bootcamp (don't want to partition the SSD) Now I just put all my games on a WD Thunderbolt Duo, and windows games on a Parallels 8 VM

Parallels 8 even does DX10 now, runs Skyrim on highest settings @ 1920x1200 (some reduced draw distance). Mass Effect 3 runs flawless too, once you get around the DRM.

Games I play on the VM

• Mass Effect 3 (Flawless)
• Mass Effect 2 (Shader Issues)
• Diablo 2 (Works flawless on Parallels 8, didn't work at all on Parallels 7)
• Skyrim (Flawless)
• FarCry 2 from GOG.com (Little laggy, but not enough to make me reduce
  settings from High/very high @ 1920x1200
• Crysis Warhead (Very playable, some shader issues, rare though)
  

I tested the Fusion 5 trial, but its not any good for games, at all. Parallels' 3D capabilities have gone to a level that removes whatever makes me want to make a bootcamp partition.

Parallels is good, but still... far from native.

If I ever get bootcamp off a thunderbolt drive without alot of hassle, this might change.

But i know there is a third option... Cider/Wine, which is better? Cider or Wine, or does that depend on the game code?

 

[doh123]

When i upped from 09 13" MBP to the rMBP and got discreet graphics along. I Stopped using bootcamp (don't want to partition the SSD) Now I just put all my games on a WD Thunderbolt Duo, and windows games on a Parallels 8 VM

Parallels 8 even does DX10 now, runs Skyrim on highest settings @ 1920x1200 (some reduced draw distance). Mass Effect 3 runs flawless too, once you get around the DRM.

Games I play on the VM

• Mass Effect 3 (Flawless)
• Mass Effect 2 (Shader Issues)
• Diablo 2 (Works flawless on Parallels 8, didn't work at all on Parallels 7)
• Skyrim (Flawless)
• FarCry 2 from GOG.com (Little laggy, but not enough to make me reduce
  settings from High/very high @ 1920x1200
• Crysis Warhead (Very playable, some shader issues, rare though)
  

I tested the Fusion 5 trial, but its not any good for games, at all. Parallels' 3D capabilities have gone to a level that removes whatever makes me want to make a bootcamp partition.

Parallels is good, but still... far from native.

If I ever get bootcamp off a thunderbolt drive without alot of hassle, this might change.

But i know there is a third option... Cider/Wine, which is better? Cider or Wine, or does that depend on the game code?

Cider often has better performance... but its not really open source or available to anyone. People that use it are basically taking games that used it and going inside and swapping out the files to try to make it run a different game.

Sometimes Wine has better performance, but often not. What it does have is compatibility. Your much more likely to get a game running. Also any game that requires being able to make a window will not run on Cider. Cider will only run games that can run all full screen all the time, that includes no log in windows or anything like that. Those would have to be coded natively... and with no access to Cider's source code makes it near impossible to port a game by hacking apart other Cider games if it ever needed windowing. This is not a problem with Wine.

I haven't gotten the Parallels 8 upgrade yet... maybe I can try the free trial... as it would be nice if it was better. I highly doubt it supports much DX10 though, because it uses Wine code to handle the Direct3D to OpenGL translation and Wine's DX10 support is severely limited still.

 

[bkar89]

I haven't gotten the Parallels 8 upgrade yet... maybe I can try the free trial... as it would be nice if it was better. I highly doubt it supports much DX10 though, because it uses Wine code to handle the Direct3D to OpenGL translation and Wine's DX10 support is severely limited still.

Yeah, I guess its pretty limited, says "experimental" next to it in the settings menu.

So Cider is basicly EAs version of "porting" a game to mac? I've diddled around inside the The Sims 3.app and i have seen files labled Cider... I guess that explains the performance hit vs PC version.... lazy sobs

 

[doh123]

Yeah, I guess its pretty limited, says "experimental" next to it in the settings menu.

So Cider is basicly EAs version of "porting" a game to mac? I've diddled around inside the The Sims 3.app and i have seen files labled Cider... I guess that explains the performance hit vs PC version.... lazy sobs

Cider is made by Transgaming. Its based off Cedega which they make for Linux... which used to be called WineX. It was a fork off Wine focusing on gaming, but they wanted to make a bunch of money off it and only give back what they wanted... so when Wine changed their license to LGPL, Transgaming pretty much stopped working on Wine (what little they actually did) and kept using a fork based off the many year old version that was under the old license. Over the years with so many changes to both WineX and Wine, they are very different in many ways, though they work by the same idea.

 

[RastaGamer]

Do you you launch BLR.exe for blacklight?

----------

Use steam (windows version ) for blacklight.
I have try and it s work.(wineskin)

 

[roadbloc]

Wrappers often require a lot of effort for disappointing results. For the best gaming experience, I use my gaming rig.

 

[Nightarchaon]

i used to game on my Mac,

but then i built a gaming PC because i was fed up of the shockingly poor performance.

Now i play games on 3x1080p screen in surround, have a 4th Accessory monitor that does 3D for movies and games when the need takes me, and oh, the important bit, i can UPGRADE the CPU and GPU for less than the cost of buying a new mac, and get about 90x the performance.

For WORK however, my imac is the box that never gets turned off, its low power draw, silent running and supierior OS make it the perfect machine to use for everything that isn't gaming.

 

[Washac]

I used to use Bootcamp but I found Windows in that enviroment a complete and utter pain in the backside. I have always used Wine and Cider wrappers from The Porting Team or Wrappers from Paul The Talls site anyway. Other than than the wrappers I have Crossover Installed which creates the wrapper for you.

I have Parallels installed on another bootable drive, I find running Windows under Parallels a better experience than Bootcamp, I dont keep getting pop ups asking me to update this and update that all the time.

 

[Ardmanz]

I'm glad this has been bumped.

I bought Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 through gog.com. When I try to install it it comes up with an error but says it has installed correctly but when I try to run the game it just force closes.

Has anyone successfully installed this version of RCT3 through wineskin?

 

[saturnotaku]

I have Parallels installed on another bootable drive, I find running Windows under Parallels a better experience than Bootcamp, I dont keep getting pop ups asking me to update this and update that all the time.

This doesn't make sense. Having Windows installed in a VM doesn't change how the operating system works on a fundamental level.

 

[Washac]

This doesn't make sense. Having Windows installed in a VM doesn't change how the operating system works on a fundamental level.

I hear what you say, but since using Windows under Parallels I do not get all those update this driver and update this and that messages like I did under Bootcamp. I think because Windows is running under Bootcamp the outside world on the net sees you as a PC therefore starts to throw those updates at you, running under Parallels the outside world still sees you as a Mac, I am more than likely wrong but it is how I perceive it to be.

Also the bottom two poll questions are wrong to some extent, they void the poll in my book.

I'm already using wrappers - I know how they work (You do not need to know how they work to use them, only if you are going to make your own)
I'm interested in using wrappers but don't know how it works ( Again only if you are going to make your own )

I have been using wrappers for ages and have no real idea how they work.

 

[Intelligent]

I'm glad this has been bumped.

I bought Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 through gog.com. When I try to install it it comes up with an error but says it has installed correctly but when I try to run the game it just force closes.

Has anyone successfully installed this version of RCT3 through wineskin?

There is a native roller coaster tycoon 3.

i used to game on my Mac,

but then i built a gaming PC because i was fed up of the shockingly poor performance.

Now i play games on 3x1080p screen in surround, have a 4th Accessory monitor that does 3D for movies and games when the need takes me, and oh, the important bit, i can UPGRADE the CPU and GPU for less than the cost of buying a new mac, and get about 90x the performance.

For WORK however, my imac is the box that never gets turned off, its low power draw, silent running and supierior OS make it the perfect machine to use for everything that isn't gaming.

I use wrappers but i would never buy a windows because i hate it, did you have windows before or are you new to it? (I have never had a non-apple computer).

 

[saturnotaku]

I hear what you say, but since using Windows under Parallels I do not get all those update this driver and update this and that messages like I did under Bootcamp. I think because Windows is running under Bootcamp the outside world on the net sees you as a PC therefore starts to throw those updates at you, running under Parallels the outside world still sees you as a Mac, I am more than likely wrong but it is how I perceive it to be.

The only "pop ups" I get from Windows are for critical operating system updates. You would be getting the exact same ones when running in a virtual machine. Any drivers that might come through Windows Update are strictly optional and easily ignored (which they should be).

So I honestly don't know where you're getting all this from, but based on your post history with all the troubles you've had, there has to be something else going on.

 

[Dirtyharry50]

It was interesting to read my own post from 2012 where I put myself in the lazy camp as far as learning to use Wineskin and using it, etc. versus just rebooting.

I've since changed my tune over time and come to dislike rebooting quite a bit. I don't see myself being willing to pay for another Windows license down the road either but the Windows 7 and XP ones I currently own will probably last quite a while. I can bootcamp to Win7 if I like and I can run XP in a Parallels VM. Later, I could ditch bootcamp and upgrade from XP to Win7 in Parallels I guess but eventually I would just as soon be Windows-free altogether. For me, there is more than enough to play between native releases and games that work well with Wineskin.

The things about Wineskin are:

1.) You cannot expect it to work with everything. It doesn't. However, it does work with many games giving you plenty of options to play in OS X even though it is a Windows game. The simplest way to determine this is just check the AppDB pages on WineHQ and do a little homework. If it is rated platinum, odds are you are in very good shape, the same is true usually for gold ratings. Anything less, I just figure forget it unless I can see clearly that an acceptable experience is possible with some work, etc. So this is the first big consideration: being real about what you can expect of this technology which is dependent on whatever the current state of Wine is.

2.) You have to invest some time to learn Wineskin ideally or at least learn how to populate a wrapper with a game install and possibly adjust settings for a game to run properly. Personally, I prefer to roll my own and honestly this stuff is not rocket science. Anyone can learn this in a weekend easily if they are willing to sit down and do some reading on the Wineskin site and use Google as needed, AppDB as needed, etc. It really just is not all that hard thanks to Wineskin making the use of Wine on a Mac much easier, particularly when you are dealing with apps known to run well such as platinum rated games. So yeah, there is a little learning curve but you can learn as you go once you learn enough to get started by looking things up, asking questions, etc. If you are the tinkering type, this stuff can be a lot of fun and very satisfying when you get your games running yourself. I think there is a lot of benefit to this including understanding more about things work to help you solve problems on your own should they arise. As for icons, Google is your friend: "game name icns" will usually get you a variety of beautiful icons from Deviant Art and other places to make your newly fashioned game app look pretty too. And Wineskin makes adding these simple.

Those really are the two big considerations for a Mac gamer wanting to expand their options with Wineskin to stay in OS X. Again, this is easier than you may think once you sit down and spend a little time with it. Wineskin is a wonderful, elegant tool for using Wine on a Mac and well worth learning to use. Just check AppDB first and stick to games known to work well and you should have a good experience with it as I have.

Lastly, all that said I do understand that tinkering like this is not for everyone although in that case certainly one might still want to benefit from the work of others at the PortingTeam site and Paul The Tall's work as well. There are tons of wrappers all good to go which require less learning to use. I like making my own but can appreciate not everyone wants to be bothered. And of course, if you just want turnkey and are willing to accept the tradeoffs associated with that there is always bootcamp or Parallels too. There is no right or wrong in these sorts of discussions, just personal preferences.

 

[Intelligent]

Im actually very skilled with wineskin and porting. But it does not always work and it sometimes requires hours of work.

 

[doh123]

I'm glad this has been bumped.

I bought Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 through gog.com. When I try to install it it comes up with an error but says it has installed correctly but when I try to run the game it just force closes.

Has anyone successfully installed this version of RCT3 through wineskin?

I know I got it working a few years ago... but I don't recall anything I had to do to get it working, but it should be possible. I do recall it wasn't at that time easy to get working, I had to do several things and hours of troubleshooting. Maybe it runs easier now.

 

[Ardmanz]

There is a native roller coaster tycoon 3.

I know there is but I don't want to pay for it again if I can avoid it.

I know I got it working a few years ago... but I don't recall anything I had to do to get it working, but it should be possible. I do recall it wasn't at that time easy to get working, I had to do several things and hours of troubleshooting. Maybe it runs easier now.

Oh right, I've scoured google and I can't seem to find anything that helps.

 

[saturnotaku]

Edit: Nevermind. Saw you bought it on GOG. I was going to suggest contacting Aspyr support as they did the port of RCT 3, but they're not going to be able to help you.

 

[imacken]

Yeh - I'm playing Legends of Grimrock that way.

Works perfectly fine

/T

Why don't you run the native Mac version of Grimrock?

 

[roadbloc]

I have Parallels installed on another bootable drive, I find running Windows under Parallels a better experience than Bootcamp, I dont keep getting pop ups asking me to update this and update that all the time.

You suffer with a poor gaming experience in a virtual machine all because you can't be arsed changing one setting???

 

[imacken]

You suffer with a poor gaming experience in a virtual machine all because you can't be arsed changing one setting???

Can I just ask, have you tried Parallels 9?

 

[roadbloc]

Can I just ask, have you tried Parallels 9?

Yes. And I would not recommend gaming in it unless were talking pre 2005 games. In fact, I wouldn't recommend gaming in any virtual machine if you want the best results.

 

[Washac]

You suffer with a poor gaming experience in a virtual machine all because you can't be arsed changing one setting???

Look I am no windows expert and was totaly unaware of that setting, also I am not suffering anything gaming under a virtual machine.

So you purchased Parallels 9 installed it then decided it was not for you. Is that correct ? because that is a whole load of cash to waste

I could not even get steam to install under windows 7 in Bootcamp, but it all works under Parallels 9.