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https://github.com/mnapoli/aoe2-de-macos

How to run Age of Empires 2 DE on macOS
https://github.com/mnapoli/aoe2-de-macos

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How to run Age of Empires 2 DE on macOS

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# Running Age of Empires 2 DE on macOS



There are too many outdated instructions online. This place is meant to contain the most up-to-date instructions for running Age of Empires 2 DE on macOS (with multiplayer support).



## With Crossover



You need MacOS Big Sur 11.1 or greater.



- Install [Crossover](https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover) (requires a paid license but there's a free trial)

- Create a new Windows 10 bottle in Crossover

- Install Steam

- Open steam and install AOE2:DE

- In the bottle, install "DXVK (Builtin)"

- In the bottle, install "DirectX for modern games"

- In the bottle settings, enable DXVK

- In the bottle settings, optionally enable "High resolution" to enable Retina display resolution

- Download the patched [`ucrtbase.dll` here](https://community.pcgamingwiki.com/files/file/2081-ucrtbasedll-extracted-from-microsoft-visual-c-2015-redistributable-update-3-rc/)

- In the Crossover bottle, click "Open C: drive" and navigate to `C:/Windows/System32`

- Put the `ucrtbase.dll` file you downloaded in that folder (overwrite the existing file)

- Open the Wine configuration panel: in "Libraries" add `concrt140.dll` and `ucrtbase`. They should show up as `native, builtin` in the list.

- In Steam, optionally set AOE2:DE launch parameters to `SKIPINTRO`



Feel free to send pull requests to update this guide.



## Without Crossover



Someone on reddit wrote a guide on how to play aoe 2 de on mac os without needing crossover. https://www.reddit.com/r/aoe2/comments/150t2v1/aoe_2_de_fix_on_mac_using_wineskin_winery/



Copy pasted here just in case



Here's a quick guide on how to get it running (should work on Intel and Apple silicon Macs):



- Start by installing Homebrew (https://brew.sh/) by opening terminal and typing the following:



`/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"`



Install Wineskin Winery (https://github.com/Gcenx/WineskinServer) by typing the following in terminal:



`brew install --cask --no-quarantine gcenx/wine/wineskin`



- Open the Wineskin Winery app that should appear with the rest of your apps in your Applications folder.



- Make sure you have the latest wrapper (currently 2.9.1.9 or higher) and install the latest engine (currently WS11WineCX64Bit22.1.1-8 or higher).

 

- Click on the “Create New Blank Wrapper” button at the bottom. I named my wrapper “Steam” since it’ll be used for all my steam games. Wineskin Winery will create a new wrapper that will appear in “/Macintosh HD/Users/[YOUR USER NAME]/Applications/Wineskin/” folder (not the same Applications folder that has all your applications).

 

- If Wineskin Winery freezes and becomes unresponsive, just give it some time. If it doesn’t fix itself in 5 minutes, then just kill it by holding the cmd+option+esc keys to get the force quit menu and kill the unresponsive process. Usually, the wrapper will be created successfully, so go ahead and use it directly.

     

- Open Finder and navigate to “/Macintosh HD/Users/[YOUR USER NAME]/Applications/Wineskin/”.

     

- Right-click on the new Steam wrapper and click on “Show Package Contents”.

     

- Click on the Wineskin app in there. This will be how you control the wrapper's settings.

    

- You can click on “Install Software” if you have a .exe file, but in the case of Steam, it’s better to install it through Winetricks as explained in the next steps.

     

- Click on “Winetricks”.

-It might take some time to load, so be patient :)

     

- Search for Steam and install it with vcrun2019 or vcrun2022. It may take some time, so be patient.

-Wait until it’s done installing and it should work afterwards! Just close the winetricks page and launch the wrapper directly like you’d do with any other app.