How to Play Max Payne, Max Payne 2 and Tron 2.0 on Mac (Without Windows)
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Installing Wineskin (Required)
- Download Wineskin
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Install Wineskin
- Install the Wine Engine
- Install the Wrapper
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Using Wineskin
- How to Create a New, Blank Wrapper
- How to Access the Wineskin Config App Again
- Changing the App Bundle Icon
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Installing Max Payne
- Install Max Payne
- Patching Max Payne to v1.05
- Principles of Installing a No-CD Patch
- Playing Max Payne
- Installing Max Payne 2
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Installing Tron 2.0
- Install Tron 2.0
- Install Visual C++ Runtime 6
- Install Unofficial Patch 1.042c
- Install the Killer App Mod
I’ve just discovered how to get these PC games running on a Mac without the need to run a Windows
virtual machine and I wanted to share the process with you for the benefit of Googlers alike looking for simple
solutions.
- Minimum Requirements
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- Intel CoreDuo 1.86 GHz+
(2006 Intel iMac / MacBookPro)
- Mac OS X Leopard 10.5+
- 1 GB RAM
- Integrated graphics (e.g. Intel GMA950)
- Recommended Requirements
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- Intel Core2Duo 2.0 GHz+ or Intel Xeon
- Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.3+
- 2 GB RAM
- Dedicated ATI / nVidia graphics
These are the real deal—completely self-contained single ‘.app’ bundles, just double-click to play.
Installing Wineskin (Required)
Wineskin is an app that creates self-contained Windows application bundles on a Mac using
Wine. To understand how it is possible to run
Windows/PC games on a Mac without Windows consider this: Your Mac has an Intel processor, and these games were
written for Intel processors, so what’s the difference between a Mac and a PC? It’s the libraries (DLL files)
that the game calls to to get things done (like DirectX).
Wine is not an emulator (no, really, that’s what the name “Wine” stands for). It does not emulate Windows like
a SNES emulator would emulate a console, instead Wine re-implements those specific parts of Windows that PC software
needs on your Mac. (e.g. DirectX gets translated into OpenGL)
Download Wineskin
- Download the Wineskin application from
wineskin.doh123.com
Click the green download button, and then the “Wineskin Winery” link.
The download comes in a zip, which you should open to unpack, giving you the Wineskin Winery app.
Install Wineskin
- Open Wineskin and you are presented with this interface:
Install the Wine Engine
An ‘engine’ is the code used to translate the Windows code into Mac code. There is more than one engine because
Wine comes in different versions and flavours that affect it’s compatibility with different bits of Windows
software. Wine comes in three main flavours:
- Vanilla Wine (deafult)
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The default, which is designed for broad compatibility with most Windows software but trades off
compatibility with some specific games to better suit more typical desktop applications, like Microsoft
Office.
- CrossOver (WineCX)
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CrossOver is a commercial Linux / Mac program that
takes Wine and adds a friendlier user interface as well as improving compatibility for specific popular
applications like Office.
- CrossOver Games (WineCXG)
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CrossOver also make CrossOver Games which is the same as regular CrossOver except focuses more on
compatibility with games.
For our games to work we need to use the CrossOver Games (WineCXG) engine. Don’t worry—even though CrossOver
Games is a paid, commercial product, that only applies to their user interface, the engine is open-source and can be
used for free elsewhere, such as here with Wineskin.
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Click on the drop-down, scroll to the bottom and select the latest version of WineCXG.
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Then click the “Download and Install” button.
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Just click “OK” here to begin the download.
Once downloaded, you’ll be returned to the main interface now showing the engine in place.
Install the Wrapper
The Wineskin Winery app you are running is a ‘factory’ for producing blank “.app” bundles into which you
install your Windows games. The engine forms the core that does the translation from PC code to Mac code, but think
of the “Wrapper” as a blank Windows virtual machine (even though it’s not), a clean-slate install of Windows
into which your game will be installed and then will become the simple icon you just double-click to play.
(As before, just click “OK” to begin the download.)
Wineskin Winery is now installed and ready to go. Open the Wineskin Winery app each time you want to install a new
Windows game. Instructions are provided for Max Payne, Max Payne
2 and Tron 2.0, but the first parts of these instructions will apply to any Windows
game.
Using Wineskin
How to Create a New, Blank Wrapper
This is a general overview of how to create a new Winekin app bundle in to which you will install your Windows game.
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Open Wineskin Winery.
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Click the “Create New Blank Wrapper” button.
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Enter the name of the game and click “OK”.
Wineskin Winery will now prepare a blank wrapper to host the game, this may take several minutes.
During this, this window will appear. This is the Wine engine being installed into the wrapper.
Once complete this message will appear.
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Click the “View Wrapper in Finder” button.
This is an empty Mac application with a psuedo-Windows environment inside for running PC games.
Now we just need to install the game into it.
By default Wineskin Winery puts these bundles in ~/Applications/Wineskin/
(the Applicatons folder in
your home folder, not the main Applications folder!). You can move the game apps anywhere you like, they are
independent and self-contained. If you would like to change the app’s icon to something better, refer to the
instructions here.
How to Access the Wineskin Config App Again
After a game is installed, if you open your app bundle the game will attempt to run (instead of showing the Wineskin
configuration app) and if you haven’t installed any necessary patches yet, will probably crash. You will need to
know how to get back to the Wineskin configuration app so that you may install additional software for the game as
how to do this is not immediately obvious.
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Right-click (or ctrl+click) on the app bundle and choose “Show Package Contents”
Another Finder window will appear:
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Open “Wineskin” to return to the Wineskin configuration app
Changing the App Bundle Icon
If you would like a swanky icon for your app instead of the deafult red Wineskin logo, follow these instructions.
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Locate an icon file. For example, I used one on the game CD
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Open the icon file, it should open in Preview.app by deafult
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Click on the “File” menu, then “Save As…”
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Change the format to “ICNS
” and then click “Save”
(This converts the Windows-format icon into a Mac-format icon file)
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Open the app bundle’s Wineskin config app
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Click on “Advanced”, you’ll be presented with this interface
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Click the “Browse” button next to the icon and choose the ICNS file you just created
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Click on “Done” in the previous interface, then “Quit” in the Wineskin configuration app
window.
The app bundle’s icon should now be changed :)
Installing Max Payne
Please ensure that you have first followed the instructions in the Installing Wineskin
section.
Yes, that’s a PC version of Max Payne running on a Mac. :)
Install Max Payne
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Create a new blank app bundle named “Max Payne” in Wineskin Winery using
these instructions
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Place your Max Payne CD in the drive, or otherwise have the install files from the disc to hand in
a folder somewhere
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Open the “Max Payne” app bundle you made in the previous step (don’t try run the Max Payne
installer from the disc). You are prompted by the Wineskin app:
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Click the “Install Windows Software button”, a file browser appears:
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Navigate to the “Install.exe” on the disc and click “Choose”.
After a moment, the Max Payne autorun will appear (as it would on a PC)
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Click on “Install Max Payne”. You might get this warning:
This is not a problem, it’s just a minor quirk with Wine
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Click “Yes” and then “OK” to continue, the game will still be able to play.
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Please proceed through setup as you normally would on a PC, no options need to be changed and
please ensure that you use the “Full Installation” option when asked rather than the Minimum
Installation.
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When you reach the end, untick the two checkboxes, neither of these are necessary
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Click on “Finish” and after a brief moment, this window should appear.
If the selected executable does not say “MaxPayne.exe”, please change it to do so.
This tells the Wineskin wraper which program to run when you double-click the app bundle. (In this
case, obviously, the game program)
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Click on “OK”, you should be returned to the Wineskin app.
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Click on Quit to exit the Wineskin app
Max Payne is now installed, but will not be playable until you have patched it to the latest version (if your disc
was an early one) and installed a No-CD crack so that you can play without the disc in the drive.
Patching Max Payne to v1.05
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Download the v1.05 patch (not the game demo) from one of the mirrors on this site:
3drealms.com
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Open the Wineskin configuration app for Max Payne (see instructions
here)
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Click the “Install Windows Software” button and choose the patch file you downloaded
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You’ll be guided through the patch installation, just click “Next” and wait for it to finish
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Click “OK” and after a short while you will be prompted to choose the executable again, this
should already be “MaxPayne.exe” so leave it as is and click “OK”
Principles of Installing a No-CD Patch
Due to the blocking of debuggers (anti-piracy), Max Payne will not run in Wine without a no-CD patch that removes
these limitations.
I can’t provide you a link to a no-CD patch because in some non-free countries where citizens don’t own the
software they pay for (like the USA for example) such things are considered illegal, but if you were to enter “Max
Payne” and “no CD” into a search engine, something might happen.
Generally no-CD patches will fall into two types. The first are patching programs that you run and they locate the
game files and modify them. To install these, just follow the same instructions as patching
Max Payne to v1.05.
The second type of patch is a replacement executable. These patches require you to copy and paste a new EXE
file replacing the old one. I’ll provide instructions on how to do that here as it is not obvious how to find the
right “Program Files” folder for the game on the Mac.
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Just like opening the app bundle to get to the Wineskin configuration
app, you need to right click (or ctrl+click) on the app bundle and choose
“Show Package Contents”.
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In the finder Window that opens, open “drive_c” to access the ‘hard disk’ of the Windows
environment inside the app bundle
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Drill through the folders “Program Files” → “Max Payne”
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Drag and drop your replacement executable from where ever you have it stored into the Finder
window and choose “Replace” when prompted.
Playing Max Payne
Finally, with all that done, Max Payne will be playable. Just double-click on the app bundle and you should be
greeted with the familiar launcher!
From here you should know what you’re doing. Choose your resolution and graphics settings and click “Play”!
Installing Max Payne 2
Coming Soon!
Guru Note: Installing Max Payne 2 is almost exactly the same as Max Payne 1, anybody should be able
to do this.
Installing Tron 2.0
Please ensure that you have first followed the instructions in the Installing Wineskin
section.
Install Tron 2.0
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Create a new blank wrapper using Wineskin Winery (instructions here)
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Place your Tron 2.0 CD1 or DVD into the drive
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Open the “Tron 2.0” app bundle and click on “Install Windows Software”
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Choose “Setup.exe” on the Tron disc
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Follow the installation as normal
Your serial number will be on the ‘Quick Reference Card’ in the disc case
If you have the CD version of the game (USA & UK) rather than the DVD version (Europe), you will be prompted to
insert the second disc:
However, you won’t be able to eject the CD!
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The solution to this is to hold the eject button down for a few seconds and you’ll get a prompt
to “Force Eject…” the disc. Click “Force Eject…”, and then “Force Eject” again on
the sheet, then “OK” after the disc has ejected
Note: I am not sure if the force eject feature is present in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. If you are not
able to eject the disc, cancel the installation and then copy each CD to separate folders on the computer and then
use the directory browser on the “Please insert Tron 2.0 disc 2” window to locate the second CD folder.
- Place the second CD in the drive, wait until it mounts in OS X, and then click the “OK” button on the
“Please insert Tron 2.0 disc 2” window
You don’t need to tick either of these boxes.
You also don’t need to change this option. This will not restart your Mac.
Install Visual C++ Runtime 6
At the time of writing this guide Tron 2.0 uses a part of the Microsoft Visual C++ 6 Runtime that is not yet
implemented in Wine. Therefore we need to install a copy of the Visual C++ 6 Runtime to get the game to run.
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Using the instructions on how How to Access the Wineskin Config App
Again, open the Wineskin configuration app:
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Click the “Advanced” button. You’ll be presented with this interface:
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Click on the Tools tab
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Click the “Winetricks” button in the “Utilities” column
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Click on the “Command to run” drop-down and select “vcrun6sp6” from the list, then click
the “Run” button. Wait a few moments whilst Wineskin installs the Visual C++ 6 Runtime into
the app bundle
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Once complete, click the “Done” button to close the window, then “Done” on the “Wineskin
Advanced” window, and then “Quit” on the Wineskin app
Install Unofficial Patch 1.042c
The Unofficial Patch 1.042c is the same as the official patch but fixes some additional bugs and removes the
requirement of having the CD in the drive to play (no-CD).
The unofficial patch is maintained by a team called the Living Dead System Operators (LDSO) on a
blog dedicated to Tron 2.0. An
extensive list is kept there
of all Tron 2.0 patches, mods and tools. It is this information that helped me form this guide, so I would like to
extend my thanks to the members of the LDSO.
Once complete the “Choose Executable” window will appear:
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The Tron CD installs “Tron.exe”, but the patch renames this to “TRON.exe”. Even though
this should make no difference, please click the drop down and change the selection to
“TRON.exe” before clicking “OK”
With that done, Tron 2.0 should be playable!—but we’re not out of the woods yet!
Install the Killer App Mod
Out of the box Tron 2.0 does not support widescreen resolutions (like 1440×900, 1920×1200), only 4:3 resolutions
like 1024×768. The Killer App Mod for Tron 2.0 adds support for these resolutions in (as well as the necessary
corrections to the cutscenes), but also fixes lots of outstanding bugs with the game as well as adding new content
in (especially around multiplayer). For more details see the Read Me file in the Killer App Mod download.
If you have problems during installation or after installing the Killer App Mod please refer to the
Killer App Mod Help And
Troubleshooting Guide.
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The Killer App Mod requires that you have run Tron 2.0 at least once. Open your “Tron 2.0” app
bundle, proceed to the title screen and then exit the game. You do not need to start a new single
player game yet
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Download the
Killer
App Mod and unzip
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Using the instructions on How to Access the Wineskin Config App
Again, open the Wineskin configuration app for the Tron 2.0 app bundle
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Click on “Install Windows Software” and choose the “ka_mod_v1x1_setup.exe” file from
within the Killer App Mod folder that was unzipped
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The installer will appear, click on the “Next” button
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This warning message will likely appear:
The Wine environment does not include Internet Explorer by default, which is sometimes used in
some applications to display web content or help documents (in this case, the licence texts are
HTML and require Internet Explorer). Wine normally uses Gecko (Firefox) as a replacement, but this
also might not be installed in all cases. This is not a problem here as it will not prevent us
from continuing
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Click “Cancel” to continue. This window appears:
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Click the “Next” button to continue. The blank space here is where a document would normally
be, but is not visible due to the previous error
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Choose the “I agree” option if not already selected and click the “Next” button
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Choose desired language and click the “Next” button
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Select your screen resolution and click the “Next” button.
The avaialble choices are:
- 4:3 (640×480, 800×600, 1024×768, 1280×960, 1600×1200)
- 5:4 (1280×1024)
- 16:9 (1280×720 aka 720p, 1360×768, 1920×1080 aka 1080p)
- 16:10 (1200×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600)
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Just click the “Next” button on the following couple of screens and wait for the installer to
copy files
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Once you get to this stage, pay attention and read on-screen instructions:
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Click “Next” to launch the separate patcher. Continue to click “Next” through this and
then “Exit” at the end
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STOP. You will be returned to the “Patching Stage” window. DO
NOT click the “Next” button. As instructed on screen, WAIT (about
two minutes)
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After about two minutes the window will automatically change to this one:
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Click “Next” and then “Finish”
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You will be prompted once more with the “Choose Executable” window, you do not need to change
anything here. Just click “OK”
Congratulations, you have successfully installed Tron 2.0 on a Mac!
If you would like to change the app bundle’s icon to something better, consult these
instructions.
Double click your app bundle to play!
Note: Do not click on the “Display” option, as that will reset the screen
resolution to 640×480.
This issue should be fixed in the 1.2 version of Killer App Mod at a later date.
Please send any feedback for this guide to
kroc@camendesign.com or leave a message in the
forum. Thanks goes to
speedofmac.com for pointing me in the direction of Wineskin,
the Wineskin and Wine developers for making this even possible, and
ldso.net /
tronfaq.blogspot.com for the hard work in supporting Tron
2.0, because Disney won’t.