Highball
Which renderer to use
Highball can run each game through three different Direct3D translation layers. This is what the database knows for this title — empty rows are open questions, not failures.
| Renderer | Verdict | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| DXVKDirect3D 9-11 over Vulkan | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| DXMTDirect3D 11 over Metal | Untested | no report yet — send one |
| D3DMetalApple's Game Porting Toolkit | Reported | 1 report |
No dated Highball run yet. When one lands it records the renderer, the engine build and the macOS version it was seen on — which is what stops a verdict quietly rotting. Send one.
Notes
Reported flawless on D3DMetal on the default engine, from Frontier's launcher into the game. The reporter says switching the environment to D3DMetal improved performance and loading times substantially over the mode they had before. Ultra settings at 1080p: 60 fps and more in space, 40 to 50 in a space station, on an M1 Pro. Odyssey is an expansion of Elite Dangerous (Steam 359320), so this page is the base game's too (the reporter, 2026-10-19).
Known issues
A HOTAS or other flight stick is not seen by the game
What helps add SDL_JOYSTICK_MFI=0 to the environment's variables (Environment settings, Advanced), reported by kurimanju-dev (highball-db#503, 2026-10-19), not tried here
Why not diagnosed here. SDL_JOYSTICK_MFI=0 turns off SDL's Game Controller framework driver, which points at that driver taking the device
Provenance
Reported by kurimanju-dev (highball-db#503, 2026-10-15), Apple M1 Pro, macOS 27.0.1, Highball 0.10.16, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r26, D3DMetal, recipes steam and vcrun2022, rated 5 of 5: flawless from the launcher into the game, Ultra at 1080p, 60 fps and more in space, 40 to 50 in a station. Not verified by the maintainer.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Elite Dangerous (Odyssey) work on Mac?
Elite Dangerous (Odyssey) has no native Mac build, but it is reported to run on Apple Silicon through Highball, a free open-source compatibility layer. This comes from community reports rather than a Highball test run, so treat it as a reasonable expectation rather than a guarantee.
Which renderer should I use for Elite Dangerous (Odyssey)?
D3DMetal. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records D3DMetal for Elite Dangerous (Odyssey). Highball uses it automatically when the game has a row; to set it by hand, open Settings, then Environments.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run Elite Dangerous (Odyssey) on Apple Silicon, working or not, a report takes a minute and fills in the empty rows above. Send a report, or read how the data is put together.