{"id":39785,"date":"2023-06-16T14:36:23","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T18:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=39785"},"modified":"2023-06-19T10:09:43","modified_gmt":"2023-06-19T14:09:43","slug":"game-porting-toolkit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2023\/06\/16\/game-porting-toolkit\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Porting Toolkit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christina Warren<\/a>:<\/p>\n

But buried in the keynote was a macOS feature that Apple should<\/em> have called out with more fanfare: DirectX 12 support for macOS. As PC gamers already know, this software support means the floodgates are open for some real<\/em> games — not that casual Apple Arcade stuff<\/a> — on Mac. Maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of the end to the old joke that Macs can’t play AAA games.<\/p>

It turns out that Apple added DirectX 12 support via something it is calling the Game Porting Toolkit<\/a>, a tool Apple is offering to developers to see how their existing x86 DirectX 12 games work on Macs powered by Apple silicon. That toolkit largely takes place as a 20,000 line of code patch to Wine<\/a>, a compatibility layer<\/a> designed to bring support for Windows games to platforms such as Linux, BSD, and macOS.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

DirectX 12 support within the Game Porting Toolkit skips right over all of these translations. With zero need to modify any game code, games such as Grand Theft Auto V, Diablo IV<\/em>, Cyberpunk 2077<\/em><\/a>, and Hogwart’s Legacy<\/em><\/a> can now run on Apple silicon Macs almost <\/em>as if they’re native.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

You see, Apple did<\/em> talk about GPT<\/a> at WWDC.<\/p>\n\n

Dan Moren<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Gaming on the Mac has been a fraught experience for decades, and it’s certainly possible that this toolkit will follow in the footsteps of other failed appeals to the gaming market. But one significant difference is that all of this technology is here, now and already works. You can, as numerous YouTube videos prove, download and run a recent Windows title and have it play surprisingly well. Will this entice developers to the previously untapped Mac market? Unclear, of course, but you can’t say Apple hasn’t made it easy for them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Thomas Clement<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I really don’t think the game porting toolkit is going to be the big deal that some people make it to be. It’s great that it exists and will help to port games but game developers and studios still need to care and want to invest in the Mac platform. There’s still a relatively big cost involved, this is not “Apple has implemented the DirectX API in macOS, ship your Windows game as-is” as some seem to believe.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Colin Cornaby<\/a>:<\/p>\n

GPT titles can’t be redistributed through the DX12 translator. And they can’t be distributed to any stores. No converted game is output.<\/p>

[…]<\/p>

The next step after GPT is “Now do a real Metal port.” It’s a demo piece - that’s it. There’s no output, there’s no starting point.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Steve Troughton-Smith<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit should be built into macOS, Proton-style, and Apple should provide a completely streamlined ‘just check a checkbox’ wrapping tool\/SDK such that any Windows game developer can submit to the Mac App Store. If it’s good enough for iOS games, it should be good enough for Windows games.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Guy English<\/a>:<\/p>\n

If you’re chasing compatibility with another platform then you’re behind the play and you’ll never achieve comparable results. That’ll only serve to cement the Mac as a third rate platform. If a porting path is presented and, importantly, the games are met with market success, then the tide can start to shift.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Steve Troughton-Smith<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Mac is 40 years old 😅 Apple has burned every bridge with game developers it can. You can no longer buy a Mac you can put a graphics card into. Apple’s not on speaking terms with the top game engine company of the era. What tide is going to turn? I want to live in that world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

See also: Bring your game to Mac<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n