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 | Reported | community reports |
| 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
Source engine, Direct3D 9. Boots and plays fine at the display's native resolution in the one report, completely playable over a near-hour session. Two things noted: it crashed once while creating a world for the first time and was fine after a restart, and motion feels a little jittery, not a true 120 Hz feel, even though the game itself runs well. Frame rate not measured.
Provenance
Reported by phmuni (highball-db#120, 2026-09-18): rated 4, playable with minor issues, on DXMT, Apple M5, macOS 27.0, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r3, Highball 0.9.23, 58 minutes played through Highball. Not run here.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Garry's Mod work on Mac?
Garry's Mod 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 Garry's Mod?
DXMT. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXMT for Garry's Mod. 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 Garry's Mod 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.