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
The free demo (the reporter called it the Prologue), reported perfect after a three-minute session on DXMT on an M3 with macOS 15.8, so the report covers launch and the opening; frame rate not recorded yet.
Provenance
Reported by mrkev (highball-db#167, 2026-09-21): rated 5, perfect, Apple M3, macOS 15.8, engine x64-sikarugir10.0_6-r5, Highball 0.9.33, 3 minutes played through Highball; the environment ran DXMT with msync and the steam recipe (from the report's settings field). Not run here.
Before installing anything, it is worth checking whether the game already ships a native Mac build.
Common questions
Does Tlatoani: Aztec Cities Demo work on Mac?
Tlatoani: Aztec Cities Demo 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 Tlatoani: Aztec Cities Demo?
DXMT. Highball can translate Direct3D through DXVK, DXMT or Apple's D3DMetal, and the right choice varies by game. The database records DXMT for Tlatoani: Aztec Cities Demo. 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 Tlatoani: Aztec Cities Demo 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.