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[100% Unofficial] How to play GW2 on Mac OS after the Mac client is gone - [Merged]


ASP.8093

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@Svata.8034 said:

@"ASP.8093" said:Still works for me. I assume they'll kill it when the next update comes.(Sorry I've been neglecting the thread a bit, I have plans to sit here and do my own Bootcamp install, just haven't had the time yet.)

How much space on internal HD will you use and can you put it on external drive?

I'm using my internal SSD:

aOFpUAg.png

I feel like 150 GB is a safe amount for GW2 + Windows + free store. Below that you probably risk running out of storage in dumb ways.

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@ASP.8093 said:

@ASP.8093 said:Still works for me. I assume they'll kill it when the next update comes.(Sorry I've been neglecting the thread a bit, I have plans to sit here and do my own Bootcamp install, just haven't had the time yet.)

How much space on internal HD will you use and can you put it on external drive?

I'm using my internal SSD:

I feel like 150 GB is a safe amount for GW2 + Windows + free store. Below that you probably risk running out of storage in dumb ways.

THANKSI am working with 250GB internal HD and about 10TB of Thunderbolt and USB 3 External HDs.

Risk running out of storage in dumb ways, yup that is problem unless I can find good documents using External Drives. Do you or anyone know how set up with external drives?

Regarding your internal SSD bootcamp, can you save boot camp or rather windows 10 files on external HD sectors?

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Asking for advice as owner of a 2018 Mac Mini Intel, 512 Gb, 8Gb RAM.Assuming that unfortunately I have not enough space left on the internal Hard Drive to mount both Windows and the game, I came to select the following configuration:Parallel Desktop; an internal SSD disk, 250Gb, NVMe M.2, inside a case with usb-c cable to get close to maximum transfer rate of 3.500Mb/s.I am no computer expert, so I want to ask if you think this configuration could allow me to play smoothly or not.And eventually if the 250Gb is enough or if I'd better get me a 500Gb disk.

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@Justin Time.7054 said:Asking for advice as owner of a 2018 Mac Mini Intel, 512 Gb, 8Gb RAM.Assuming that unfortunately I have not enough space left on the internal Hard Drive to mount both Windows and the game, I came to select the following configuration:Parallel Desktop; an internal SSD disk, 250Gb, NVMe M.2, inside a case with usb-c cable to get close to maximum transfer rate of 3.500Mb/s.I am no computer expert, so I want to ask if you think this configuration could allow me to play smoothly or not.And eventually if the 250Gb is enough or if I'd better get me a 500Gb disk.

Instead of Parallels and a whole copy of Windows. I suggest you try Crossover or playonmac first. Crossover have a trial period, enough for you to test the game before you commit. Not only that, it require significantly less storage, ( ~ 60GB for GW2, Crossover less then 1 GB).

The performance for Crossover should be better then Parallels. As for smooth gameplay.. its subjective, some people need constant 60fps, some only need 30fps.. some are ok with 10 fps.

Also, before you delete your GW2 MacOS client, copy out the GW2.dat file, you can reuse it in the GW2 Windows copy. That will save you some time.

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Parallels is kind of a worst case, imo.

Boot Camp is fast, takes a lot of space, and requires setting up a whole Windows environment.API compatibility layers (PlayOnMac, CrossOver, PortingKit, Wine, &c.) are slow, take up minimal extra space, and don't require fussing with Windows directly.Parallels is somewhere between "slow" and "not very fast," takes up a lot of space, and still requires setting up a whole Windows environments.

It's potentially nice for other reasons (high fidelity to how your programs are "supposed to work" with easy access from your Mac OS desktop) but I think it's seldom going to be ideal for games.

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I wrote the PlayOnMac description - this is a small update FWIW.

I had better luck with it when I updated WINE to version 6.0.

Because the latest version of PlayOnMac (4.4.2) won't run on my machine (macOS 10.14.6), I stuck with 4.4.1. Unfortunately this means that it can't download anything (such as the other WINE versions). To get around it, I went here, downloaded the most recent WINE (version 6.0 called PlayOnLinux-wine-6.0-upstream-darwin-amd64.tar), and decompressed it into /Users/[account name]/Library/PlayOnMac/wine/darwin-amd64/. (Aside: I don't know why the tar files are called PlayOnLinux-* - they actually contain macOS dylibs.)

WINE 6.0 then shows up as an option in PlayOnMac. Using this seems to help a bit, but performance is still not awesome.

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@Gumbolia.5381 said:(Aside: I don't know why the tar files are called PlayOnLinux-* - they actually contain macOS dylibs.)

As far as I know, they're sibling projects using the same code base, and PlayOnLinux is basically the development "frontrunner" while PlayOnMac usually takes their stuff and adapts it a bit for Mac OS.

@Gumbolia.5381 said:Using this seems to help a bit, but performance is still not awesome.

Great work, though!! Thanks so much for coming back to share.

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Thank you all for explanations and suggestions.I will go with Parallels, as it seems to me that with Bootcamp it would be both annoying and a big waste of time to have to restart the computer every time I want to play.Then I am not a proper gamer, GW2 is in fact the only one game I play, and I prefer a quick access and switch to Mac environment when I need it.Windows may also be useful for other use in the future.So basically I'm going to try the Parallels configuration, that is more simple between the two, to understand if the performance degradation will be acceptable to my way of playing, that is not a top one, and if not I will seriously consider the recommendations about a configuration with Bootcamp.

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@Kondor.2904 said:The 32-bit client is working for me, although it takes like 6 tries to launch the game as the launcher keeps crashing, as well as the mini-map is not loaded properly.

Agreed - the 32-bit client still runs well if you're on a version of Mac OS that will still launch 32-bit apps. It's a lifesaver on my 10-year-old Macbook Pro. Literally the only thing I miss (once it's running) is the mini-map.

If you're on a version that will not run 32-bit apps, you're probably also on a computer that can handle the overheads of one of the emulated solutions in this thread.

Later this year, I'm planning to buy one of the next generation of Apple Silicon Macbooks, so that will be time to fire up the ARM versions of Parallels and Windows... glad to hear from others on this thread that that apparently works pretty well! Also, I'm pleased to see that Geforce Now is supposed to launch in Australia some time this year... so that might become an option instead, depending on pricing and service quality.

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been monitoring this thread & just wanted to share my experience in case it helps others.

i'm on a mid 2012 MacBook pro and have been using the mac client on pretty low settings (autodetected) so that it runs smoothly in wvw & large events like teq (intel core i5, 16 gig ram, integrated graphics, ssd).

parallels

First I tried Parallels. it's very simple and has a guided walkthrough. easy install, got windows10 up and ran the game. I had to set graphics even lower (subsampled textures) to get a stable 10ish fps and even then there was some jerkiness/delays when in cities. large events like teq dropped me into the 1's-3's unless i was on a turret. tp was super super slow so i had to install a program called 'process tamer' so windows would prioritize processing power for the tp over the game client exe (coherenthost.exe i think it is), otherwise it was 9-13 seconds per action/click to complete.

parallels works, and really is a cool piece of software, but for older machines the performance will probably be worse than the mac client. and the fans start running even with just win10 up without gw2 running. i don't think it's worth the monthly cost (~80$ annually).

geforcenow

I wanted to try geforce now after seeing the 'endorsement' by arena.net and youtube videos of the graphics. looked like a totally different game. BUT, i didn't attempt it because technically this MacBook doesn't meet geforce now's minimum system requirements, and, most importantly, I've read comments about players getting temporarily banned. From what i gathered, the thought was that accounts were getting automated bans cause of suspicious ip/location changes, which makes sense since it's a remote streaming service.

I emailed support to ask them to clarify if this service was ok to use (and to also clarify that such a ban would not lead to account termination). simple, possibly paranoid, questions. first response i received was a vague reply about 3rd party mods with links to their top about those mods, nothing about streaming services. so i replied again, with links to the 'endorsements' (can be found in forums & in gw2 help), simply asking if it was safe to use. The reply i received basically said they appreciate my interest, they take these issues very seriously, they can't release any information, and if i have more questions to reach out.

Support has helped me in the past and I've gotten these vague non-answer answers before so I understand it's how they operate. Because I could not get a clear 'yes it's a safe service to use' I decided to hold off on this service. But from what i saw it was ~24$ for a 6month membership so ~4$/month sounds like a good deal to me, assuming input lag isn't bad, especially for older computers & since you can play other games you might own through it as well, from 'anywhere', with graphics settings your machine couldn't ever attain.

bootcamp

I wanted to try bootcamp first, but couldn't figure out how to partition my drive (kept getting 'not enough space' errors running bootcamp assistant but i had over 200gigs free) and didn't want to turn time machine off or risk losing any data. I also read somewhere else that this error can occur if you have an internal ssd so I reluctantly accepted that i'd have to emulate with a virtual machine.

then i found

and realized i had a spare ssd laying around. followed instructions and ran into a couple of snags that were resolved by restarting and trying again...well, now i run gw2 via win10 on an external ssd. graphics are set to medium-medium/high (i think shadows & reflections are lowered, textures are native), and i've got a consistent 20-50 fps. large events like teq are consistently above 14 and there is no frame delay or artifacting. there may be an extremely slight delay sometimes with initiating rotating the camera (holding r-click and moving mouse) or pressing spacebar whilst mounted but that could just be me being hypercritical & looking for flaws. no more being stuck underground for 5 seconds upon mounting, no more subsamples, no more complete blur of colors, tp is super fast...it's really an incredible difference, all from an external ssd on a machine without a dedicated graphics card.

since this mac is older, there are 2 issues I do have. 1 is the fans run a LOT more than they did with the mac client. 2 is specific to pre-2012 MacBooks, there are no audio drivers. I think i've found a permanent solution to this (haven't followed the steps yet), but plugging in a headset through usb does work so I think in theory a usb splitter/hub should resolve that issue. other than that, restarting so much is kinda annoying but not terrible since macs reopen all your programs/tabs & the booting process itself is pretty quick. So at around 45$, 256gig ssd (30$) + usb3-to-sata cable (14$), i'd say it's well worth it.

conclusion

  1. i'll stick with bootcamp for now since it's the most economical & the performance/graphics are leagues better than even the native mac client
  2. i wish someone at arena.net would give a definitive yes or no on if streaming services like geforcenow are 'safe'. i'd be fine with an automated ban if i was given assurances that if that was truly the only reason for the infraction i would be unblocked in a relatively short manner & the strike wouldn't count against me (or if i had a way to register my account as using a remote streaming service to avoid such an automated catch), but thats a topic for another thread.
  3. i will probably keep keep a copy of gw2 on my iOS drive just to log in for quick tp sniping sessions. not going to pay for parallels so either vmware fusion or i'll see if i can get wine/playonmac to work.
  4. if you have an old mac or can't get bootcamp to work/dont have the space, get you an external ssd & follow the video above.

PS - where can i get a copy of the 32-bit mac client?

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@"coil.3420" said:geforcenow

I wanted to try geforce now after seeing the 'endorsement' by arena.net and youtube videos of the graphics. looked like a totally different game. BUT, i didn't attempt it because technically this MacBook doesn't meet geforce now's minimum system requirements, and, most importantly, I've read comments about players getting temporarily banned. From what i gathered, the thought was that accounts were getting automated bans cause of suspicious ip/location changes, which makes sense since it's a remote streaming service.

I've had first-hand experience with this so let me comment.

If your account gets locked you write a support ticket explaining "I am using GeForce Now" and they'll unlock it within like a day. (Write an anonymous ticket if the system doesn't let you log in.) I've had this happen to me while playing on old hardware while my laptop was getting repaired. It's annoying but, imo, very unlikely to get your account lost forever.

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@"eberlitz.6845" said:So, after reading the ANet announcement recommending the usage of Geforce Now, I bought a membership but the game does not appear on the Geforce Now library. Any "How to" on how to install the game on Geforce Now?

It doesn't show up when you search for it in the Search bar?

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I played for about two hours with Parallels, with Windows and the game on portable ssd. It's fine to me, I perceived no speed difference comparing to playing on Mac. I'm not in this fps thing however I noticed they averagely were about 40. Autodetect graphic option gave me a mix between best performance and best appearence.There's a " big but" because after a shut down the mouse pointer disappeared. It's there, when moving the mouse randomly characters at login highlight, can't see the pointer, though. So I need to understand where is the problem and how to fix it. Sorry for my English language.

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@"Justin Time.7054" said:I played for about two hours with Parallels, with Windows and the game on portable ssd. It's fine to me, I perceived no speed difference comparing to playing on Mac. I'm not in this fps thing however I noticed they averagely were about 40. Autodetect graphic option gave me a mix between best performance and best appearence.There's a " big but" because after a shut down the mouse pointer disappeared. It's there, when moving the mouse randomly characters at login highlight, can't see the pointer, though. So I need to understand where is the problem and how to fix it. Sorry for my English language.

Is your mouse cursor disappearing inside Windows in Parallels, or on Mac OS after you close Parallels?

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@ASP.8093 said:

@"eberlitz.6845" said:So, after reading the ANet announcement recommending the usage of Geforce Now, I bought a membership but the game does not appear on the Geforce Now library. Any "How to" on how to install the game on Geforce Now?

It doesn't show up when you search for it in the Search bar?

Nope, it does not show when searching for it on GeforceNow.

I also tried Parallels but it's mostly unplayable even with the minimal graphics configuration of the game. FPS is 40 as long there isn't anyone moving too much, if I start walking FPS goes to 5. I tried some metas but it's a no goal. My mac is: MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019), 2,6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7, 16 GB 2667 MHz DDR4, AMD Radeon Pro 5300M 4 GB Intel UHD Graphics 630 1536 MB.

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@ASP.8093 said:

@"Justin Time.7054" said:There's a " big but" because after a shut down the mouse pointer disappeared. It's there, when moving the mouse randomly characters at login highlight, can't see the pointer, though. So I need to understand where is the problem and how to fix it. Sorry for my English language.

Is your mouse cursor disappearing inside Windows in Parallels, or on Mac OS after you close Parallels?

It was visible in both OS, it disappeared after the login window to GW2, in the characters choice window of the game.I don't know which was the origin of the issue, however after last Windows update of this morning (in Europe) the pointer is back.The problem has been solved by itself, so to say.Everything is working well now, but I have to say that I really dislike Windows fonts.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Hello,I have a question with "Porting Kit"I make following steps:

  1. See Porting Kit installation instructions and license info on on their website.
  2. Start Porting Kit. Go to Library. (Search for "Guild Wars 2" to see if there's an "out-of-the-box" installer you can use. If there is, you can probably skip this stuff.)Select "New Custom Port."
  3. Name your application "GW2", "Guild Wars 2," &c.

Now I have this window:https://ibb.co/mSPBnrH

I take "Wine" -> all closedI take "DOSBox" -> I have Port installation

When I came to the point "Wrapper Preparation" I have this window

https://ibb.co/kBq2rhq

...but - nothing after this. I wait 12 hours and nothing works (yesterday). Today the same problem. I dosen´t see:

  1. In Advanced Settings: select Engine: "WS11WineCX64Bit20.0.2" or later.

Have someone an idea?

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