[Mac OS] How to Install Return of Reckoning V.2

[gyps]

Good morning everyone,

It’s been a while since my last post. Unfortunately, due to some personal issues, I couldn’t participate in this forum for some time, so the guide is currently a bit outdated.

Now, regarding what has changed since the last crossover update: honestly, not much. We are still limited to using WineD3D rendering. I’ve seen some discussions about D3DMetal, but just to clarify: that method only works for DirectX 12 and a few DirectX 11 titles. Even if you select D3DMetal and the game runs, it’s actually still using WineD3D, which is basically a DirectX-to-OpenGL-to-Metal translation.

On the bright side, I’ve noticed some new developments. I even managed to get the game running under Vulkan with a tweaked version of DXVK, though I still need to do more testing to confirm stability and performance.

Here's a screenshot https://ibb.co/39PNQG3K

DX-Vulkan should give us a bit more of optimization in the use of the resources of the computer (as it happens under linux)

@lootaxros I don't think you loose much performance tbh even if crossover has some special tricks here and there the performance is heavily limited by all the translating layers...I noticed a change when I jump from the basic M1 8gb to an M2 Max 32 gbs, but even then the sieges are difficult to be played.

@frozenover The apple sillicon launcher was just a "all included wrapper" but was giving some errors due to privacy concerns under macos so I was not able to manage that, perhaps some others can

Hi @gyps , any update on that DX-Vulkan stability and performance?

Its been a mess tbh, every wine update breaks it and its difficult to stick to it. Now latests Crossover ain't working as well for some reason I'm stick to Cx25 and can't update to Cx26.

Some users are playing successfully with Sikarugir install and seems to give good results, perhaps I should do a guide about it

[mng249]

Hey all just installed RoR through CrossOver - the installation was fine, DirectX came on fine, but when i click the Return of reckoning icon, the launcher does not appear. The application opens but is listed as "not responding" - has anyone encountered this issue/know what to do? Thanks!

UPDATE FYI : I downgraded crossover from 26.0 to 25.1 and it solved the issue! For anyone having a similar problem

[kunomaclis]

Mirroring my experience with this installation guide. Works with M1 Macbook Air 16gb. But I needed to specify the trial version of CrossOver 25.1.

CrossOver 26 isn't working.

@gyps. I'd be interested in a Sikarugir installation guide or once we finally get to a working version of Mac + DX-Vulkan stability boosts (I'm terrified at entering RVR tier 4 with fps <30).

We feel very close to not just a playable version but an optimized version of Warhammer Online for Mac. Just twiddling my thumbs for CrossOver 26 to work OR to leverage DX-Vulkan.

[maylofi]

Mac mini M4
Latest version of CrossOver 26.1

I downloaded the game and installed it via CrossOver using the launch settings from the first post. Then I downloaded rorlauncher.exe and replaced the original file in the C: drive folder.

However, after launching, the game just hangs in the dock/taskbar, and nothing else happens. I can't even get to the launcher. Restarting doesn't help.
upd
Switched to CrossOver 25.1 and I was finally able to launch the game launcher.

]

I still can't get the FPS counter to work anyway, it's broken in CrossOver for me and I really don't want to deal with Steam.

[gyps]

Mac mini M4
Latest version of CrossOver 26.1

I downloaded the game and installed it via CrossOver using the launch settings from the first post. Then I downloaded rorlauncher.exe and replaced the original file in the C: drive folder.

However, after launching, the game just hangs in the dock/taskbar, and nothing else happens. I can't even get to the launcher. Restarting doesn't help.
upd
Switched to CrossOver 25.1 and I was finally able to launch the game launcher.

]

I still can't get the FPS counter to work anyway, it's broken in CrossOver for me and I really don't want to deal with Steam.

At the moment cx 25 is the only way to play the game, I've reported it and submitteed a ticket to the Crossover team and hopefully they will release a fix at some point.

In the meanwhile I've created a d3d9.dll that helps a lot and been using it for a month already, all going well I will release it this week for you to use and check how it performs.

[gyps]

So guys here's the file i've written about on my last post:

https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0eaJ ... QwFPA#d3d9

The file itself its a d3d9.dll proxy that must be put in the same folder where the war.exe game is, then you need to click in the wine settings / configuration of your bottle, a new screen will pop up, select the libraries tabs and write d3d9.dll, then click add, a new line will be present in the below box that says now d3d9 (Native, Built in - in this order). (This is called a DLL Override)

The game will feel smother and smother over time, a new folder will be created inside of your RoR folder (war_shader_cache) that will contain all the shaders cached.

Technical explanation:

This optimized d3d9.dll preserves the original WineD3D → OpenGL rendering pipeline while adding a transparent optimization layer that intercepts OpenGL function pointers obtained through wglGetProcAddress. It introduces uniform value caching to prevent redundant glUniform* updates, tracks graphics state such as shader programs, buffers, and textures to avoid unnecessary state changes without modifying either WAR.exe or wined3d.dll. In essence, it behaves as a lightweight middleware layer that reduces CPU overhead by filtering redundant OpenGL calls before they reach the graphics driver, improving efficiency while maintaining full compatibility with the original rendering backend.

Explain it like I’m 5:

Imagine the game is talking to the graphics card by saying the same things over and over again, even when nothing has changed. My d3d9.dll acts like a smart helper standing in the middle. Before passing each message to the graphics card/CPU, it checks, “Didn’t we already say this?” If the answer is yes, it skips repeating it. This means the computer spends less time doing unnecessary work and more time actually drawing the game, making everything run more efficiently without changing how the game itself works.

Basically the War.exe calls d3d9, our D3d9 intercept that call and understand what is worth processing or not, then pass to d3d9.dll - wined3d- opengl32 - metal.

Remember that due to our translations layers all these calls that may be not significant in Windows are an incredible burden for Macos, unfortunately even with this method that improves a bit the burden of all the translations going on is massive for the system.

Let me know how it goes and I will include this on the main guide.