Tutorial RPGM Ways To Run RPGM Games On Mac

Otta54

Newbie
May 1, 2021
38
8
There is a possibility for non MV RPGM. There is a .
For RPGM MV there is also a possibility, but I don't know how to.

But the best way is to use a VMWare / Parallel /virtualBox virtualization.
I've installed a virtualized and very light Windows 7 (with VMWare), without internet connection, and it's really perfect. I play all the games this way (RPGM, Ren'Py, Unity...) and it helps not to be the mess in the Mac (mid-2012 MacBook Pro).
i know you posted this forever ago but is there a tutorial on how to set up virtualbox like that. or have you found a better way to do this?
 

Bip

Active Member
Donor
May 4, 2017
737
2,133
i know you posted this forever ago but is there a tutorial on how to set up virtualbox like that. or have you found a better way to do this?
I would say, there's no better way :D Actually, it depends on your computer and the OS you use.

With new OSes that refuse 32-bit apps and M1 chips that prevent the virtualization of a "classic" Windows or the use of BootCamp, it becomes quite complicated.
And when I saw that my next computer should have an AMD graphics card, an M1 chip, a notch on the screen and that it would be even more difficult than before to install unapproved apps, I took a PC... Yep, I know, I'm not a gamer :ROFLMAO:

So, back to your question.
virtualization or bootcamp, if you have an Intel CPU. I don't have a tutorial to recommend, but there must be plenty on youtube. Once you have chosen which engine to use (VMWare/Parallel/...), you just need an iso image of Windows.
XP is really too old, I found that Windows 7 x64 works well, without being too heavy.


As effective alternatives, for RPGM MV I found that RPG Maker MV v1.62 Linux Mac and Windows works pretty well. The explanations are more complicated than the work to be done :ROFLMAO: But if you need to unpack and/or decrypt the game, I think you'll have to go through Windows to do it...

For Renpy, the best an easier way is How To Create A 'Mac' Version Of Any Ren'Py Game. One of the advantages is that you can run (almost) all the old 32-bit games (Renpy 7.3.5 and earlier) in 64-bit (Renpy 7.4.0 and later).

But all this was valid 2 years ago, on a Macbook Pro superdrive under Mojave (10.14). Now it's a mystery, especially with these M1 chips.
 

Otta54

Newbie
May 1, 2021
38
8
I would say, there's no better way :D Actually, it depends on your computer and the OS you use.

With new OSes that refuse 32-bit apps and M1 chips that prevent the virtualization of a "classic" Windows or the use of BootCamp, it becomes quite complicated.
And when I saw that my next computer should have an AMD graphics card, an M1 chip, a notch on the screen and that it would be even more difficult than before to install unapproved apps, I took a PC... Yep, I know, I'm not a gamer :ROFLMAO:

So, back to your question.
virtualization or bootcamp, if you have an Intel CPU. I don't have a tutorial to recommend, but there must be plenty on youtube. Once you have chosen which engine to use (VMWare/Parallel/...), you just need an iso image of Windows.
XP is really too old, I found that Windows 7 x64 works well, without being too heavy.


As effective alternatives, for RPGM MV I found that RPG Maker MV v1.62 Linux Mac and Windows works pretty well. The explanations are more complicated than the work to be done :ROFLMAO: But if you need to unpack and/or decrypt the game, I think you'll have to go through Windows to do it...

For Renpy, the best an easier way is How To Create A 'Mac' Version Of Any Ren'Py Game. One of the advantages is that you can run (almost) all the old 32-bit games (Renpy 7.3.5 and earlier) in 64-bit (Renpy 7.4.0 and later).

But all this was valid 2 years ago, on a Macbook Pro superdrive under Mojave (10.14). Now it's a mystery, especially with these M1 chips.
thank you!
 

bestfriends

Member
Nov 21, 2016
130
217
hi, i just can't make rpgm games run when the package.json file is outside of the www folder, could anyone help me?
 

PBS666

Engaged Member
Feb 19, 2019
3,204
3,028
thanks for the reply, this one for example

View attachment 2432339
the folder looks like this, the package.json file isn't in the www folder, and including it in it before putting it in the nwjs app doesn't work
This is easy to fix. After copying the package.json file to the www folder, open it with Textedit and change the next two lines:
"main": "www/index.html" should become "main": "index.html" and
"icon": "www/icon/icon.png" should become "icon": "icon/icon.png"
In other words, remove both instances of www/ in the json file and save. Nwjs will now look in the right places when reading the package.json file.
(All credit for this fix should to Garnet X for his post here: https://f95zone.to/threads/ways-to-run-rpgm-games-on-mac.6056/post-402335)
 
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bestfriends

Member
Nov 21, 2016
130
217
This is easy to fix. After copying the package.json file to the www folder, open it with Textedit and change the next two lines:
"main": "www/index.html" should become "main": "index.html" and
"icon": "www/icon/icon.png" should become "icon": "icon/icon.png"
In other words, remove both instances of www/ in the json file and save. Nwjs will now look in the right places when reading the package.json file.
(All credit for this fix should to Garnet X for his post here: https://f95zone.to/threads/ways-to-run-rpgm-games-on-mac.6056/post-402335)
you're a lifesaver, thanks
 
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PBS666

Engaged Member
Feb 19, 2019
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what is the "game base" that you mention? I'm guessing it's not the game.exe because the show package contents option isn't there when I right click.
The game base is the nwjs app you downloaded in the first step.
 

PBS666

Engaged Member
Feb 19, 2019
3,204
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It doesn’t run, it just says that it is damaged and should be moved to trash.
Two common problems that may arise on Mac are these:
  • the app is quarantined by Gatekeeper because its from an unknown developer;
  • the executable inside the app might have lost its execute permission during unzipping
To check quarantine, start Terminal and type "xattr " without the quotes at the prompt and drag the problematic app into the Terminal window. Terminal will fill out the path for you. Mind there is a space between the command and said path. Hit enter. If you see com.apple.quarantine in the results, the app is quarantined.
To remove the quarantine, type "xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine " and drag the app again into the window. Again, mind the space. Hit enter. Quarantine should now be removed.

To check the second case, you need to look into the contents of the app: right click on the NWJS app, pick Show package contents. Navigate to /Contents/MacOS/. Inside that folder you'll see a file called nwjs. That file should be a Unix executable. If it's anything else, it has lost its execute permission.
To fix this, start Terminal and type "chmod a+x " without the quotes at the prompt and drag the file inside the Terminal window. Terminal will fill out the path for you. Again mind there is a space between the command and the path. Hit enter. The file should now be executable.

As a general precaution, make a duplicate of the app first before changing its attributes or permissions.
 
Last edited:

PBS666

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Feb 19, 2019
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turns out it was quarantined and I was able to get rid of the error. However when I open it, despite it working, it just shows a grey screen that says Nw.Js and not the game.
If you see that grey screen, you're on the right track. It means the nwjs app is working. Now you can put in the game files from the PC version. Continue with step 2 of the tutorial made by Garnet X
 

PBS666

Engaged Member
Feb 19, 2019
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ok I reinstalled nwjs to try again and now it just says it quit unexpectedly instantly as soon as I try to open it.
We're running a bit in circles here. At the moment I'm not at my mac, but if you can give me the following information I'll have a closer look at it later on the day.

Which game are you trying to run ?
Which version of nwjs did you download, and from where ?
What version of MacOS are you on ?
What Mac model (Intel or Apple silicon processor?) ?
 

PBS666

Engaged Member
Feb 19, 2019
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I was trying to play scars of summer on macos ventura 13.5. I downloaded nwjs 0.80.0 mac osx 64 bit from nwjs.io. I have an apple silicon processor. I think that running it on an earlier version of nwjs works but for some reason 0.80 doesn’t
edit: just tried 0.79.0 too and it doesn’t work but 0.51.1 does so…
That's might be the case. Did you check which version the game was made with ?
to find the exact version of the game engine, if you want to port it in linux or mac without upgrading, open with a text editor the file "rpgcore.js" inside "www\js\" and search for the string "Utils.RPGMAKER_VERSION =" .
 

PBS666

Engaged Member
Feb 19, 2019
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yeah that said 1.6.1.
Then I would advice to download that version and try with that. It works with Montery, so probably with Ventura too.
1.6.1 correspondents with v.029
After unzipping, best check for quarantine again before putting in the app.nw folder.
 

PBS666

Engaged Member
Feb 19, 2019
3,204
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yeah that said 1.6.1.
Then I would advice to download that version and try with that. It works with Montery, so probably with Ventura too.
1.6.1 correspondents with v.029
After unzipping, best check for quarantine again before putting in the app.nw folder.
I tested it with nwjs v.0.29 and it works under Montery. Crashed a few times at start up first, but I'm not surprised by that when it comes to RPGM games. Save often once you got it running.