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 | Untested | no report yet — send one |
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
Plays, but the frame rate falls steeply once the shooting starts and particles fly, in every graphics mode the reporter tried, with menus at 60 fps and occasional hitches when scrolling the map. Playable since the game is turn based. The Mac version on Steam is 32-bit and does not run on current macOS, so the Windows version is the one to use.
Provenance
Reported by dennisstewart (highball#317, 2026-10-11), Apple M2, macOS 26.7.1, Highball 0.10.10, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r21, the Windows version through Steam, tried on DXMT, DXVK, Wine's own Direct3D and D3DMetal. Not verified by the maintainer.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Frozen Synapse work on Mac?
Frozen Synapse 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.
Contribute a result
This page is generated from an open database. If you have run Frozen Synapse 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.