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How to play 3DXChat on macOS Big Sur


pinky2020

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3DXChat is designed to run on Windows, but if you have a Mac you don't need to feel left out. There are many ways to run Windows applications in Mac computers. All forms to run Windows apps in Macs can be classified in three different groups: Dual Boot, Wine and Virtual Machine.

DUAL BOOT -> BOOT CAMP

Boot Camp is a utility that comes with your Mac and lets you switch between macOS and Windows.

This solution create a separate partition on your computer to install Windows. This allows you to choose which system to start and they behave as two separate computers.

Advantages

You have a clean stand alone version of Windows and it works well.

Disadvantages

When you boot your computer in macOS you have no access to your Windows apps and when you start your computer with Windows you have no access to your Mac programs. If you have a Mac, it would be fair to assume you do so for a reason and when you are playing 3DXChat you want to have access to all your other programs.

Due to these disadvantages and because Boot Camp is very well documented I will won't cover this process in this tutorial. But if you think this is the best option for you this link can help: https://support.apple.com/boot-camp

 

WINE

Wine is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on your macOS.
On paper is makes sense and it would be a good option, but it makes for a frustrating experience to play 64bit games such as 3DXChat.

The whole process requires manual installation of Wine in your Mac and other libraries. This process was easier with 32bit apps. But since macOS Catalina (10.15) Apple removed the possibility to run 32bit legacy apps and included other limitations like the access to Windows graphic libraries that are required to play 3DXChat.

There are programs that offer Wine in a more user friendly packages such as PlayOnMac (free) and CrossOver (paid). This guide will not cover these options as they end up being very complex with many variations depending on your Mac configuration and all with unsatisfactory results.

Advantages

In theory you can run 3DXChat with your Mac apps.

Disadvantages

Very difficult to setup and to get it to work. If you can get it running it can have performance issues.

https://www.playonmac.com/en
https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover

 

VIRTUAL MACHINE (VM)

The most popular virtualisation options for Mac are Parallels (paid) and VirtualBox (free).

VirtualBox works well, but it requires more fine tuning and, in my tests, has serious performance issues when playing 3DXChat. No matter how many CPU cores you give the VM, it runs them all at 100% and the game becomes unplayable.

In this guide I will use Parallels 16.

Advantages

Works well and you can run 3DXChat alongside your Mac apps.
Relatively easy to install and setup.

Disadvantages

May require a good configuration Mac to run well.

 

INSTALLING PARALLELS

STEP 1 - DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL PARALLELS

Download Parallels 16 and open the image file (.dmg) to install Parallels.
https://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/trial/

 

STEP 2 - INSTALL WINDOWS 10

Parallels will help you download and install Windows 10 right after it is installed. Just follow the screen prompts.
 

 

STEP 3 - UPDATE WINDOWS

As you would in any computer make sure you run an update. In Windows, go to Start and search for update and click on Check for updates. Follow the easy prompts and make sure your Windows 10 is updated. This is important as it will install several libraries that the game will require to run.

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STEP 4 -CHANGE YOUR VM SETTINGS

To play 3DXChat you can leave all Parallels default settings with the exception of the Mouse that has to be set to Optimize for games. If you don't change this you won't be able to move your camera in the game.

With your VM turned off go to Configuration, select Hardware and Mouse & Keyboard.615356313_MouseKeyboard.thumb.png.40ac9ea3ebaab64a99d244f86c74927b.png

STEP 5 - INSTALL 3DXChat

Fire up your new Windows 10 VM and install 3DXChat normally. You can run the game in full screen and even in Coherence mode which makes your Windows apps work side by side with the masOS apps.

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FINAL NOTES

Parallels isn't free, but it offers a 14 day trial. In my countless tests it proved to be the best option available without performance issues and offering a good game play. You do not need a licence to run Windows 10.

I find Parallels to be easy to install and effective, but there might be other ways to play 3DXChat in an updated Mac computer in 2021. If you have any comments, suggestions or use another method, please share your experience with the community.

I have used other methods extensively in the past including PlayOnMac for years, but, in my humble opinion, I don't find it to be a viable option anymore.

This is based on my personal experience. I know I don't have all the answers and I'm in no way responsible for your actions. This is not advice, just what works for me. I'm only sharing this as it may help others.

And most important of all, stay safe and have fun.

 

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1 minute ago, Diana Prince said:

As far as I know 3DXC doesn't run on ARM processors. Does anybody know if the new Macs with ARM work with 3DXC?
I remember a user with a MS Surface X. 3DXC didn't run on it.

Good comment and my honest answer is I don't know.
I have tested the options above in only two different Macs. One is a MacBook Pro with Mojave (10.14) and the other is an iMac with Big Sur. Both have i7 Intel processors (different generations).

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On 3/16/2021 at 11:13 AM, Diana Prince said:

As far as I know 3DXC doesn't run on ARM processors. Does anybody know if the new Macs with ARM work with 3DXC?
I remember a user with a MS Surface X. 3DXC didn't run on it.

Those Arm processors are not for Tablet computer versions ?

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From what I understand this will only work on Intel Macs for now. When I first started playing 3DXChat in 2015, I used PlayOnMac, but I have since got a Windows PC. I did however check a couple of months back whether PlayOnMac still works, but I couldn't get it to work due to Big Sur dropping support for 32-bit applications. Maybe PlayOnMac has now fixed this issue, but I agree, Bootcamp or something like Parallels are probably the way to go.

I have one of the new M1 ARM Macs, I don't think Boot Camp or virtualisation software like Parallels currently work on the new ARM architecture, although Apple did discuss virtualisation on M1 at their annual developer conference, so I am sure it is coming soon. Even in the future, if you could run Windows ARM, then I am not sure whether 3DX could run on ARM, although Windows might be able to do some kind of emulation like macOS can emulate Intel apps on an M1 chip, but some things may not work and performance maybe worse. In general, these new M1 ARM chips beat Intel and AMD in performance and the battery life on laptops is incredible and the performance will only continue to improve. My M1 MacBook Air is just as fast, if not faster than my work 16" MacBook Pro which has an i9 and costs over double, luckily I didn't pay for it with my own money!

As 3DXChat is built on Unity, in theory it should be quite easy to make 3DXChat cross-platform and being able to use it on Android tablets and iPads, although I doubt a sex game would be accepted on the iOS App Store. I agree that while Windows still dominates in market share on the desktop, more people are getting Macs and moving over tablets as their main devices and in many cases an iPad or even a phone whether Android or iPhone out perform a lot of laptops. Honestly, I think Intel and AMD as CPU manufacturers are going to start going away over the next 10 years and we will see more and more ARM-based PC's. Intel and AMD improvements are so incrementally small each year, whereas ARM is currently in the process of leap-frogging them with no signs of slowing down.

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17 hours ago, Diana Prince said:

ARM proccessors are (or were) processors for mobile devices. They are so fast now that they are used in the MS Surface X or in the new Macs. But programs for Intel processors don't run on them. 

I can't speak for Windows, but on macOS, lots of Intel apps work just fine on the M1 Mac using Rosetta 2. Applications such as Discord, Spotify and Google Drive are all still Intel based and work great on the M1 Macs. A lot of apps like Chrome, Microsoft Office, Firefox etc have all already converted their apps to native ARM versions. Rosetta 2 basically does some recompilation when it first opens an app written for Intel and then on subsequent runs of the application it will pretty much feel like a running a native app, so it is not like an emulated environment where it feels slow.

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You are absolutely right, Mulan. My whole point was to warn people to think they can buy the newest M1 ARM Mac and expect to run 3DXC and every program using Bootcamp or a virtual machine.
As you say, some programs might use some tinkering with (Rosetta 2), some might not work at all.

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I agree to all comments here and I'm watching the Apple vs Intel advertising war with attention. They even brought back the "Hello, I'm a Mac" and "And I'm a PC" actors for their advertising. Just that this time they are in opposite sides.

In regards to 3DXChat and Parallels, it is still not possible to run it on M1 Macs, but this will be possible soon.
From the Parallels website:

Quote

"It is important to note that currently available versions of  Parallels® Desktop for Mac cannot run virtual machines on Mac with the M1 chip. The good news: a new version of Parallels Desktop for Mac that can run on Mac with the M1 chip is already in active development."

 

The full article that includes a link to the Beta Technical Preview can be found here: https://www.parallels.com/blogs/parallels-desktop-apple-silicon-mac/

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