Do You Recommend FG to Mac Users?

[TheMookNet]

Howdy Folks,

I've been a Windows guy since 3.1 I think, so I have to admit that most things Mac simply don't register in my brain. Lately, though, I'm slowly trying to put together groups of players for some one-shots, and I'm getting some pushback from Mac users that FG on Mac is just too big a bear to tame.

I have zero experience with this, so curious what the community thinks. It could absolutely just be a misperception (we GURPS players are used to lingering misperceptions), and if so it's one I'd like to clear up for them, but if it's an actual issue I should start taking OS into consideration for player invites.

So, do you recommend Fantasy Grounds to Mac users? Does it work well, or just "good enough"? (I'm assuming 'it doesn't really work isn't an option, since Mac users seem to post frequently).

Thanks!

[Callum]

One of my players uses a Mac, and has been playing successfully with me for almost ten years. There's a bit of extra set-up required, but after that it works very well. There's a very helpful community here that can help out with any issues, too. Have you looked at the stickied thread on running FG on a Mac?

[damned]

Installation is (or can be) more complex.
I dont think there are any other issues.
There can be interface workarounds if you dont have a 2 or 3 button mouse...?

[Trenloe]

A few years ago it was a lot more complex. Now there are Steam and FG website provided installation packages to make it straightforward to setup. The Steam DLC limitations are no longer there either. So, there's really no bear to tame - unless the bear's really cute and keeps marmalade sandwiches under his hat... ;)

[dmbrown]

I am a Mac guy and it runs great considering it is through wine. It appears to run better then some windows machines i’ve Had it on. I ran a game over the summer on a 10 year old Mac laptop and it ran great. TheMookNet all your players need to do is grab the Mac download from here: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/FGMacInstallation.php and they should be all set.

[LordEntrails]

Using the new Mac installer I installed it on my wife's Mac Air with no problems (and I can barely navigate a Mac) and connected as a player no problem. My brother runs as a player on my games using his Mac with no problems too.

I think (from reading things on the forums here) some of the utilities like the HeroLabs converter may be difficult to use and I believe the DOE Sound extension has trouble being used on a Mac, but it seems to me that for most Mac users' it's little different than running on Windows.

[TheMookNet]

Thanks for all the replies, folks. It sounds like they are operating under old perceptions that no longer match the reality. I've pointed to the Mac-specific threads here on getting set up, the rest is up to them having open minds and giving it a chance. :)

[dulux-oz]

...I believe the DOE Sound extension has trouble being used on a Mac...

Just for the record, its not the DOE: Sound itself that is the issue, its the fact that Syrinscape's "3rd Part Integration" (which the DOE: Sound relies upon) does not yet work properly on a Mac.

But closer to the OPs question, one of my Players runs on a MAc and she is NOT a tech guru. Set up was easy and it works very well.

Cheers

[AlphaDecay]

I've hosted and connected using a number of Macs (iMac, Macbook Pro, Macbook Air) and FG works fine in all cases. Install is as simple as windows (download file, run it, update) and once it is running it is essentially identical. Only issue I've seen recently is waking from sleep (sometimes the window won't be visible and needs a restart).

[gbink]

Can someone explain the workarounds for 2/3 mice and FG on a Mac? Or link me to where it was discussed?

[AlphaDecay]

Can someone explain the workarounds for 2/3 mice and FG on a Mac? Or link me to where it was discussed?

Can you be more specific? I've used the trackpad, magicpad, magic mouse, and a logitech mouse on a Mac. I have right click turned on in Settings so I don't have to hit Control to get the right click menu. All have worked with FG. Maybe there is some issue I'm not aware of.

[Myrdin Potter]

I think the question is, what do you do if you do not have a mouse and need to access the right-click menus ...

I have two players using Macs in one of my games and it seems to work OK.

[ll00ll00ll00ll]

In the Mac System Preferences, go to Trackpad, then set it up for the "secondary click" to do the "2 finger tap" which is the same as a right click. Then you just use 2 fingers on the trackpad to click, which brings up the righ-click menus.

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[ddavison]

Save yourself some major headaches though and pick up a 3-button USB mouse with a mousewheel. You'll thank me for it.

[Nemesismmx]

I'm running FG on the Mac most of the time. However, recently I switched to Virtual Machine to run FG on the mac instead of a Wine. Reason being are 3 things:
1) Rendering of the Fonts is not great on Retina screens, and dynamic Interface scaling form 50-200% does not work well enough causing my eyes to tire really fast. When run through VM interface is clean and I have no issues.
2) FG does not work well with gestures either on Magic Mouse or Trackpad, expecting mouse wheel input on several places, and there is no option for using different key/button/gesture.
3) CTRL does not translates to CMD modifier key, so it breaks my muscle memory all the times because I am forced to use CTRL+C, or CTRL+B instead of CMD+C, or CMD+B. Virtual Machine resolve most of the issues here also.

[TheMookNet]

Doh, never even considered a VM, that might help the hardcore holdouts. Thanks for all the replies and info, folks. Very useful thread for us!

[ll00ll00ll00ll]

Save yourself some major headaches though and pick up a 3-button USB mouse with a mousewheel. You'll thank me for it.

^^^^ this is probably your best route for sure. I've messed around with some mac apps that add some additional "functionality" to the trackpad, with limited results. (MagicPrefs (https://magicprefs.com)) and (MiddleClick (https://rouge41.com/labs/)). Honestly though, if you're able to wrap your brains around setting these up properly, then you don't really need to ask how to use the right click functionality on a trackpad;)

The main reason I use the wine implementation is that it seems to use less resources (no data to back this up, just seems lighter weight), plus I got used to the Trackpad while I was developing the themes I've made, since I work in Illustrator on my mac it made saving the resource files easier if I didn't involve the Parallels VM in the workflow. Admittedly, the trackpad basically kills some FG functionality, but I have trained myself to get around it. I think there are definitely some good reasons to use a VM, but again, if you are at the skill level to set one of them up, and keep them running properly, you're already at the skill level that knows how to use right-click on a trackpad. I guess it's all what you're looking for, I personally hate troubleshooting, and eliminating variables is always step one, and a VM is a huge variable (is my router malfunctioning, are my VM's network settings messing up, is the communication from my mac to my VM the problem, is it something going on with Fantasy Grounds?). I use Parallels all day long every day for work, and I can say that it isn't a "set it and forget it" situation... you will have issues.

The relatively new mac installer that Fantasy Grounds offers greatly simplifies everything, it used to be a whole ordeal getting it installed, now it's pretty seamless. The only thing to be aware of is that if you want to run a second instance, you will have to install FG twice, just use a slightly different name for one of them, and don't sign in with your license, use it in demo mode. Also, you will have to note your Internal IP from your Mac network settings, as they do not post to the Wine implementation (you'll need that to connect your second instance locally) Good luck!