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
Plays in one report on an M1, the Epic copy, on the Wine 11 engine r30 with athei's x87sidecar on (HB_X87SIDECAR=1, which r30 and r31 carry) and DXVK mode: sound, speed and the coasters are right, 60 fps by the Metal HUD (highball-db#993). In D3DMetal or WineD3D mode a placed coaster is drawn as grey mush. Without the sidecar the sound runs slow and the game lags. On the Wine 10 engine it slows to a crawl before the legal screen. The Steam release also has a native Mac version.
Known issues
The sound runs slow and the game lags (M1, Wine 11 r28, D3DMetal and WineD3D)
What helps the Wine 11 engine r30 or r31 with HB_X87SIDECAR=1 in the environment's variables (highball-db#993, 2026-11-06, credit udance4ever)
Why most likely x87 maths, which Rosetta runs slowly
A placed rollercoaster is drawn as grey mush (M1, Wine 11, D3DMetal and WineD3D)
What helps DXVK mode on the Wine 11 engine r30 with HB_X87SIDECAR=1 draws it properly, 60 fps on an M1 (highball-db#993, 2026-11-08, screenshot, credit udance4ever)
Why not diagnosed. The game draws with Direct3D 9, which goes through Wine's WineD3D in D3DMetal and WineD3D mode alike, so it looked the same in both (inferred, highball-db#993)
Slows to a crawl before the legal screen on the Wine 10 engine (M1)
What helps the Wine 11 engine gets past it
Why not diagnosed
Provenance
Reported by udance4ever (highball-db#993, 2026-11-05), Apple M1, macOS 27.2, Highball 0.10.25, engine x64-crossover26.3-r28, D3DMetal, rated 3 of 5 after 9 minutes: the Epic copy. The sound runs slow, the animated rollercoaster isn't drawn, the game lags, and loading takes a minute or two. The same with WineD3D. On the Wine 10 engine it slows to a crawl before the legal screen. The environment had ROSETTA_X87_PATH set, which Highball 0.10.25 drops. Not verified by the maintainer. udance4ever again in a comment on highball-db#993 (2026-11-06), on a Wine 11 engine with athei's x87sidecar on (HB_X87SIDECAR=1, which only r30 and r31 carry): the sound is right and the game is snappy. A placed coaster is still drawn as grey mush. udance4ever again in a comment on highball-db#993 (2026-11-06T20:53Z), a log of a run with the grey coaster: the Wine 11 engine r30, D3DMetal mode, the sidecar attached, and nothing in it about drawing. udance4ever again on highball-db#993 (2026-11-07): DXVK mode is very slow, the copyright screen barely fades. The attached log of that run is from the Games environment on the default engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r29 without the sidecar, where the game crawls in every mode, so DXVK on r30 with the sidecar is still untested. udance4ever again on highball-db#993 (2026-11-08), the Wine 11 environment on r30 with HB_X87SIDECAR=1 and DXVK mode: at first it looked the same, but zoomed in the coaster is drawn properly and a train runs around it, 60 fps on an M1 by the Metal HUD (screenshot). The earlier slow DXVK run was in the Games environment on Wine 10.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition work on Mac?
RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition 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 RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition 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.