RizeoftheFallen Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 (edited) I am going to get my MacBook Pro next week, and I have been trying to figure out the best way to play SWTOR on MAC. Here are the options I am aware of: Bootcamp Parallels CrossOver via Wine I know most of you will say Bootcamp is the best option. But I don't want to mess up my Mac as soon as I get it, just to play SWTOR. Plus I have to buy Windows, and get an external hard drive. So this option is out of the picture, although I know this is probably the best option, I don't want to go through Bootcamp every time I play SWTOR. Its just not worth it. Parallels on the other hand would be a good option, except the fact that its a virtual machine. So there would be significant performance loss. My Mac will have 16 GB of RAM, and an 2.9 GH i7 Processor. I don't know if this would make for better performance or not, considering I beefed it up so much. I could be wrong, but I heard that Parallels splits the RAM in half. So that would mean I would have 8 GB of RAM for Parallels. If I could run SWTOR on high settings and get a smooth frame rate in Parallels, I would choose this option. Although with all the software I would have to buy would be close to $200. Thats a little insane. This option is expensive, and I do not know if I will be able to run this at high setting with a good frame rate. Scouring around the internet, I found which shows how to play SWTOR via CrossOver via Wine. On a relatives computer I tried this, and got the launcher running. Everything was working great, until the install. I got an error, saying that the URL that was trying to download the game files was not approved. It said I had to be a developer or something like that, I tried to figure out how to fix it but never found an answer. Apparently you can transfer the files through a hard drive (which I do not have), and then it should play. But I would also have to buy CrossOver and a hard drive. This option would be great if I could fix this error. I also found this video with a link to a website for a .dmg install for SWTOR without any program to run it, which looks legit until you click the mirror download. Apparently to download it you have to complete a bunch of surveys, so obviously its some kind of scam. Weirdly enough though, all the comments on YouTube said it worked great. Yeah right. Are there any other options so I can play SWTOR on MAC? Or is there a way any of these options will work for me? Thanks a lot! RizeoftheFallen Edited March 20, 2014 by RizeoftheFallen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knockerz Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Why get a mac when you can buy a pc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrumPotte Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 I use bootcamp and installed windows 7. My imac runs windows very well - in fact it runs it better than my other laptops and desktops (have several - programmer by profession). When I researched this, using bootcamp and installing windows was the best option for playing games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnoblesse Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Why would you need an external hard drive? (You would need to buy Windows, though.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymonguk Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Well the trouble is you have come with an answer you want, and then asked people to fix all the problems associated with it. I doubt many people will have tried the Wine/crossover route because of all the pain associated to it. You will probably find all sorts of problems even if you get it running (I am thinking driver issues). Paralllels would work, but you will find performance choppy even with your machine spec, this is just how vm's work. Whenever you try and do interpretation and layering in vm's you get a degraded experience. Especially anything graphical you want to run. Bootcamp genuinely is the right option, it is less painful and cost is probably going to be around the same as parallels. That spec machine will run everything at high in BC, run in it anything else and you are going to be down to low. For those who are ignorant enough to say buy a PC, then I suggest you don't know much around PCs/Macs, other than probably some hatred you have of Apple. Please go and get me a machine of exactly the same spec as an apple machine (I mean exactly, including screen, case, exact components, a warranty where I can walk into a shop and they replace it there and then, etc) for a lower price and I will buy it. That ignores that many people want the advantages that the Mac environment gives some people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RizeoftheFallen Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Well the trouble is you have come with an answer you want, and then asked people to fix all the problems associated with it. I doubt many people will have tried the Wine/crossover route because of all the pain associated to it. You will probably find all sorts of problems even if you get it running (I am thinking driver issues). Paralllels would work, but you will find performance choppy even with your machine spec, this is just how vm's work. Whenever you try and do interpretation and layering in vm's you get a degraded experience. Especially anything graphical you want to run. Bootcamp genuinely is the right option, it is less painful and cost is probably going to be around the same as parallels. That spec machine will run everything at high in BC, run in it anything else and you are going to be down to low. For those who are ignorant enough to say buy a PC, then I suggest you don't know much around PCs/Macs, other than probably some hatred you have of Apple. Please go and get me a machine of exactly the same spec as an apple machine (I mean exactly, including screen, case, exact components, a warranty where I can walk into a shop and they replace it there and then, etc) for a lower price and I will buy it. That ignores that many people want the advantages that the Mac environment gives some people. Got my Mac today, runs great with all games so I'm hoping I'll get SWTOR to work with either CrossOver or Bootcamp. I am very aware of the differences between Macs and PCs, and personally I prefer Macs over PCs. Although I bought my Mac with gaming in mind, the main reason I got it is for music recording and publishing. So once I get SWTOR running it will be great. Thank you for the helpful reply! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RizeoftheFallen Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 I use bootcamp and installed windows 7. My imac runs windows very well - in fact it runs it better than my other laptops and desktops (have several - programmer by profession). When I researched this, using bootcamp and installing windows was the best option for playing games. Bootcamp does seem to be the best option. If I was to use Bootcamp, would it alter the performance of my Mac compared to how it is now? And also I heard you should get a external hard drive, but I have a laptop and don't want to spend extra money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RizeoftheFallen Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Why get a mac when you can buy a pc? Why get a PC when you can get a Mac? The reason I got my Mac isn't for gaming, I got it for music production. I am aware of how much better PCs are for gaming, and I think PCs are great, I own one. To all you hardcore gamers out there, it's okay if people get Macs for gaming. It's just preference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymonguk Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 Honestly nowadays with the intel machines there is no reason why the hardware is any better/worse than any other PC, most modern macbooks have separate graphics chips. In fact I would argue that Apples kit is better than most, this is because they hand pick components that match and test them. As to bootcamp I have had no problem with it, the only issue you get is that you are sharing the hard disk, I am not sure why they would recommend using a separate HDD any more, other than that there should be no degradation in performance, the only issues you do get are with Windows as an OS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannsider Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I don't know why anyone would want a mac over a PC and I sure don't know why anyone would actually choose to play an MMO on any sort of laptop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymonguk Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I don't know why anyone would want a mac over a PC and I sure don't know why anyone would actually choose to play an MMO on any sort of laptop Pound for pound the hardware is v good, and the ability to simply get your whole laptop replaced without question if there is a problem, cannot be underestimated. You try getting Samsung/Lenovo/et al, to replace your laptop if there appears to be a problem (think of for example a dodgy screen), you will have to send off at your own cost your laptop and probably be without it for 6 weeks ( I know what happened to my Vaio when I had a problem). Plus from a software perspective many pieces of software you find on the Mac just outperform the same stuff on the PC (I have software costing $30 tha anything remotely similar on the PC is $200+). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuglebunny Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) Ok im a PC tech and Im going to give you a detailed walkthrough of the best way to play SWTOR on a MAC or any apple device. First go out and buy a computer that isnt garbage like...a PC. Then place the PC on top of the MAC. Plug it in, install SWTOR and play ON your MAC using your PC. MACs have many uses but playing video game isnt one of them. I suggest one of their other many uses. Like: Doorstop, paperweight, object d'art, weapon, example of a "bad purchase". Muahahaha!!! Edited March 21, 2014 by Smuglebunny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mounds Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 a mac is just as good a gaming machine as a pc i alsowill be getting a mac next year do to some publishing i want to do but the hardware it has is very much even with pcs i suggest you look at the higher end macs teven the newest one that looks like a tube. check the specs and then try to hontestly tell me its crap alot of games now run on macs as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bannsider Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 First go out and buy a computer that isnt garbage like...a PC. Then place the PC on top of the MAC. Plug it in, install SWTOR and play ON your MAC using your PC. Muahahaha!!! I lol'd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smuglebunny Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 a mac is just as good a gaming machine as a pc i alsowill be getting a mac next year do to some publishing i want to do but the hardware it has is very much even with pcs i suggest you look at the higher end macs teven the newest one that looks like a tube. check the specs and then try to hontestly tell me its crap alot of games now run on macs as well Im a PC TECHNICIAN. I open both macs and PCs all day. Macs are vastly inferior (as gaming machines) and cost considerably more. That is why I would not buy one. For publishing, video editing, some CAD and graphics development they can be useful. My post was supposed to be joke-ish. I recently replaced a superdrive in a 13" macbook pro. The replacement part cost 90$ this is a dvd drive basically. Your money is your own but im not a fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninjonxb Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I used to game on a Macbook pro and I got awesome performance out if it. I used Boot Camp so I could boot into windows and have the full power of my machine. But if you have parallels or vmware fusion you can later boot into your boot camp partition virtually for times that you may just want to do crafting or the gtn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joesixxpack Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 (edited) Yes there is a way but I can't recall the entire process. Here's what I remember: > Throw out the patchouli > Open the windows/turn on the fans > Roast meat over the flames of your Kerouac collection ??? PROFIT Edited March 21, 2014 by Joesixxpack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SammyGStatus Posted March 21, 2014 Share Posted March 21, 2014 I had an issue running Parallels on my MBP where the mouse wasn't zomming in / out properly and the camera rotation wasn't working right (seemed to follow a weird screw pattern where the center of the screw would be the origin of your character's view, then it would circle out, gradually getting wider like the when you shoot a deer). Just a forewarning Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkprophecies Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Hi guys not too sure if you guys know but i have a tutorial on this running on youtube for about a year now. this is the link on how to play without using parallels or bootcamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkprophecies Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 oh wait! the post opener already linked it on the first post >< Thanks for the sharing for me! I was unable to post on this forum as i had only just recently subscribed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godsmackforce Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 I don't know why anyone would want a mac over a PC and I sure don't know why anyone would actually choose to play an MMO on any sort of laptop Mac is superior to pc for industry graphics/video rendering purposes....but thats about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghisallo Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Im a PC TECHNICIAN. I open both macs and PCs all day. Macs are vastly inferior (as gaming machines) and cost considerably more. .. This has been and always will be my issue with Apple. Dollar for dollar a PC will be better (if you know what you are looking for.) Like many items Apple charges a premium for the pizzazz factior of the label. Example I have 2 Hugo Boss suits that cost WAY MORE than the one I bought from Jos A Banks. Are those suits better? NOPE... but the "label" lets them charge a premium. This is not to say the Jos A Banks suit is better btw... it's only to say Hugo Boss charged a lot more for the same "spec." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FerkWork Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 (edited) I play on a MacBook and do fine. Never have any issues. I bought it as they suit my purpose well outside of gaming. I'm also a filthy clicker and use a regular mouse. Your move PCMASTERRACE. Also, sweet mother of god necro. Edited April 13, 2015 by FerkWork Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandalle Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 For those still looking to play SWTOR on OS X (Mac), there's an up-to-date guide posted at for using PlayOnMac/WINE on OS X. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gericke Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 I have run SWTOR on a Mac via Bootcamp and also via Parallels. Whilst Parallels is more convenient the performance is significantly impaired by the virtualisation and also there were some graphics issues caused by foliage in the KOTFE regions (though this may have been fixed by updates to Parallels, Mac OS and the game client in general). You might be able to get the game to function via a wine wrapper but it will probably break with each patch and you will have to work to get it running again. Also wine suppers from the same performance issues as Parallels. Bootcamp is the least convenient option but also its the best one for performance. No need for an external drive unless you are seriously short on disk space. I ran games for two years via Bootcamp but I really grew tired of the need to reboot to switch from gaming to "serious" computer mode and ended up coughing up for an MSI gaming laptop which was probably the best thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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