Final Fantasy XIV Online Forum

FFXIV already exists for macOS. In fact, Codeweavers ported it. Essentially, FFXIV for Windows was packaged in a customized Crossover 18.5 bottle and released. …and it is good. Very good. (No, really. Buy it now.). Unfortunately, short of a hackintosh rig, there is no way for Linux users to run that at all.

The thing is, that almost three years later, it is still CX 18.5. …and still using WINE 4.0 and all that goes with it. With the availability of WINE 6.0 and improvements to DXVK and MoltenVK, there’s a lot that can be made better.

Depending on every possible combination of factors, using CX 21.1 and updating DXVK and MoltenVK can greatly improve performance. …with FPS significantly over 60. Unfortunately, the out of the box install of the FFXIV launcher into CX does not work very well. So, not only do Mac users lose out on possible improvements, but Linux users still cannot install it at all.

HOWEVER, thanks to the efforts of marzent, seathsky, and others on GitHub, a launcher/patcher has been created that works properly, and they offer an installer script that can update both DXVK and MoltenVK to more current versions. So, you get everything, and then some. (( Does anyone know if all that works under Linux as well? ))

So, how to get started?

Grab the Free Trial or buy the Starter Edition. (I say get the Mac versions. Let Square Enix know we’re out there and support their use of Codweavers for the port!). If you like what you see and want to improve everything about it, visit https://github.com/seathasky/FF14-MAC_ModSupport

p.s. Edited for clarity

Why? Because not all of us are running Crossover on MacOS.

Kevin D. Moore wrote:

Why? Because not all of us are running Crossover on MacOS.

I should have been a bit more clear when I said "So, not only do Mac users lose out on possible improvements, but Linux users still cannot install it at all." and "Does anyone know if [the FFXIV script] works under Linux as well?"

Either way, I will edit the post to avoid further confusion.

So, how did you get it to install under CX for Linux?

I am a Linux user and am currently playing the game very well using Crossover

Robert Segura wrote:

I am a Linux user and am currently playing the game very well using
Crossover

Beautiful! How did you configure the bottle?

I described my steps here:
Link to Post

I remember now. :)

Did you have any issues with Javascript?

Yes I have to hit enter with the password prompt on the launcher, if I click the button it will javascript error.

Got nothing better to do tonight (other than wait in a login queue of 5,000+ and risk yet ANOTHER 2002 error!)...

Gonna try the trial of FFXIV under Steam under CX 21.1. Hopefully all my macOS config files won't cover up anything vital.

Time to recreate what you did.

Disclaimer/note: using Marzent's fork, my DXVK is now v1.9.2. Linux version, I think can be found at https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases

I just installed Steam into CX 21.1 with the built-in Crosstie
Logged into Steam, and obtained the Free Trial (Steam credentials, not Windows/Mac/PS45).
Launched Free Trial, got stuck with the "browser" issue and restarted (Needed to create FFXIV_BOOT.cfg - Edit: "Browser 1")
Created new Square Enix account (needed for Steam access)
Javascript errors still present (expected)
After patching, the launcher offers "DirectX 9.0c" on the play button.
Hit Play with return key, got stuck with black screen and restarted (Needed to create FFXIV.CFG - edit: "CutsceneMovieOpening 1"
Got to Main Menu, Character Creation, and got all the way into Gridania. ...with significant graphic glitches.

So... first, thanks for the kick in the ass that prompted me to check it out. :)

Overall, it looks like there's some issues on the Mac side with DirectX (Launcher doesn't detect 11, in-game is glitchy) ...and on the Linux side (you toggling DXVK on and off to avoid crashing). That's really the extent of my ability to check things. I can't explain why the Mac client works, the open source Launcher for Mac works, but the Steam version is glitchy. Might be a setting somewhere I know nothing about, or something involving DirectX.

the default crosstie for some reason doesn't work with DX11 but the original (before xiv-on-mac.app) xivMac crosstie does work with DX11 with much, much improved performance (I was struggling to get a solid 40fps at medium on a M1 Pro macbook, vs the 80+ on maximum I can do with the "unofficial" one

the "official" Mac Launcher will no longer run on MacOS 12.3 due to the removal of Python 2.7. It bounces once and closes as well.
And on linux, Lutris with Glorious Eggrolls build of Proton is the gold standard for performance.