Mac Support: Difference between revisions

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This page provides information about the first official Flashpoint release for MacOS! For information about older releases, see the [[/Beta 2022-06-22|Beta 2022-06-22]] subpage.
This page provides information about the latest official Flashpoint release for macOS. For information about older releases, see the [[/Beta 2022-06-22|Beta 2022-06-22]] subpage.


Please join our Discord and provide your feedback in the <code>flashpoint-help</code> forum channel: http://discord.gg/S9uJ794
If you have any issues running Flashpoint, please join our Discord and post your issues in a new thread on the <code>help</code> forum channel: http://discord.gg/S9uJ794
 
Since the current Mac version of Flashpoint is outdated, you may want to [[#Running Windows on your Mac|try running the Windows version on your Mac]] instead.


== Compatibility ==
== Compatibility ==
Flashpoint is compatible with MacOS Mojave (10.14) and later. If you have an earlier MacOS version, you will need to use the older [[/Beta 2022-06-22|Beta 2022-06-22]] version of Flashpoint. See the table below for detailed information, or [[#Installing Flashpoint|skip to the next section]] to begin installing Flashpoint.
There are 2 variants of Flashpoint for macOS: a regular and legacy one. The regular variant is compatible with macOS Catalina and newer, while the legacy one is made for High Sierra and Mojave. If you have an earlier macOS version, you will need to use the older [[/Beta 2022-06-22|Beta 2022-06-22]] version of Flashpoint. See the table below for detailed information, or [[#Installing Flashpoint|skip to the next section]] to begin installing Flashpoint.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
!colspan="2"|Supported macOS versions
!colspan="2"|Supported macOS versions
|-
|-
!High Sierra (10.13) & older
!<abbr title="10.12">Sierra</abbr> & older
!style="background-color:#fdb3ab;"|Not supported; use [[/Beta 2022-06-22|Beta 2022-06-22]] instead
!style="background-color:#fdb3ab;"|Unsupported
|-
!<abbr title="10.13">High Sierra</abbr>
!rowspan="2" style="background-color:#fef8c6;"|[[#Legacy Support|Legacy support]]
|-
!<abbr title="10.14">Mojave</abbr>
|-
|-
!Mojave (10.14)
!<abbr title="10.15">Catalina</abbr>
!style="background-color:#fef8c6;"|Supported; requires an app like [https://theunarchiver.com/ The Unarchiver]
!rowspan="5" style="background-color:#d4f4b4;"|Full support
|-
|-
!Catalina (10.15)
!<abbr title="11">Big Sur</abbr>
!style="background-color:#d4f4b4;"|Supported
|-
|-
!Big Sur (11)
!<abbr title="12">Monterey</abbr>
!style="background-color:#d4f4b4;"|Supported
|-
|-
!Monterey (12)
!<abbr title="13">Ventura</abbr>
!style="background-color:#d4f4b4;"|Supported
|-
|-
!Ventura (13)
!<abbr title="14">Sonoma</abbr>
!style="background-color:#fef8c6;"|Supported; [[#Blank Waterfox on MacOS Ventura|requires a Waterfox update]]
|}
|}


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</li>
</li>
<li>
<li>
Scroll down and double-click the Utilities folder to open it. Then open the Terminal app. <br>
Scroll down and double-click the Utilities folder to open it. Then open the Terminal app.<br>
[[File:TerminalInUtilitiesFolder.png|700px]]
[[File:MacUtilitiesFolder.png]]
[[File:MacTerminal.png]]
</li>
</li>
<li>
<li>
Copy the following command, then paste it into the Terminal and press Return: <br>
Copy the following command, then paste it into the Terminal and press Return:<br>
<pre>/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FlashpointProject/homebrew-flashpoint/main/DownloadFlashpoint.sh)"</pre>
<pre>curl -fo ~/Downloads/fp13_mac.tar.xz https://download.unstable.life/upload/fp13_mac.tar.xz</pre>
[[File:PasteCommand.png]]
[[File:MacFP13Download.png]]<br>
'''Note''': Third-party firewalls such as LuLu may block the download with a "Couldn't connect to server" or "Could not resolve hostname" error. If you have any third-party firewalls installed, turn them off before running the download.
</li>
</li>
<li>
<li>
Flashpoint may need to install some additional dependencies. If so, you will need to enter your password to authorize the Terminal to perform the installation. Your password will '''not''' be shared with Flashpoint. <br>
When the download completes, the file, "fp13_mac.tar.xz", will be in your Downloads. Control-click the downloaded XZ file, then choose Open With > Archive Utility.<br>
The terminal will not show anything while you are entering your password - this is normal. Simply type in your password and press Return, just as you usually would. <br>
[[File:MacArchiveUtility.png]]<br>
[[File:EnterPassword.png]]
'''Note''': You must use the Archive Utility instead of any third-party tools you may have installed, as some of them may set a quarantine flag that will prevent Flashpoint from working properly.
</li>
</li>
<li>
<li>
Once any dependencies have finished installing, Flashpoint will begin downloading. Wait for the download to complete. The terminal will indicate the download progress as shown below. <br>
When the file finishes expanding, you will see a new folder called "Flashpoint 13 for macOS". Open the folder, then open the Flashpoint application.<br>
[[File:TerminalDownloadingFlashpoint_v2.png]]
[[File:MacFlashpointApp.png]]
</li>
</li>
<li>
<li>
When the download completes, your new Flashpoint folder will open. Control-click the downloaded 7Z file, then choose Open With > Archive Utility.
After Flashpoint opens, you may optionally keep the application in the Dock by control-clicking the Flashpoint icon in the Dock, then choosing Options > Keep in Dock.<br>
* '''Note''': This will not work if you are on MacOS Mojave (10.14). Instead, you will need to install [https://theunarchiver.com/ The Unarchiver] and use it to open the 7Z file. Then once Flashpoint is installed, you will probably need to follow the [[#JavaScript Error on First Launch|troubleshooting instructions]] below. (This is because the Unarchiver causes Flashpoint to be "quarantined.")
[[File:MacKeepInDock.png]]
</li>
<li>
When the file finishes expanding, you will see a new folder called "Flashpoint 11 Infinity". Open the folder, then open '''Flashpoint.app'''. <br>
[[File:FlashpointFolder.png]]
</li>
<li>
After Flashpoint opens, Control-click the Flashpoint icon in the Dock, then choose Options > Keep in Dock. <br>
[[File:KeepInDock.png]]
</li>
</li>
</ol>
</ol>
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== Troubleshooting ==
== Troubleshooting ==
=== JavaScript Error on First Launch ===
[[File:JavaScriptError.png|thumb|An example of the JavaScript error popup.]]
When launching Flashpoint for the first time, you may encounter a JavaScript error stating the following:
Uncaught Exception: Error: Preferences must be set before you can open a window.
If the launcher does not start upon pressing OK, then Flashpoint doesn't have the necessary permissions to run properly. The easiest way to fix this would be to move the Flashpoint folder '''(not just the application)''' to your Applications folder and relaunch Flashpoint. If the error persists, but the launcher starts after pressing OK, the error can be safely ignored. Otherwise, follow the instructions below:
# Open the Terminal app.
# Type or paste in <code>xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine</code>, then press Space.
# Click & drag the Flashpoint folder from your Finder to the terminal. The path of the folder should appear in your terminal window after doing so.
# Press Return to run the command. When it's done, try opening Flashpoint again.
[[File:UnquarantineFlashpoint.png]]
=== White Screen in Corner ===
[[File:WhiteScreenCorner.jpeg|thumb|An example of the white screen error.]]
'''Note: The following information only applies if there are two or more windows on top of each other. If there is only one, you may be experiencing a different error.'''
Some games and animations may fail to load, even if everything else is working normally. This is because the offending material has spaces in their launch commands, which macOS interprets as multiple different files instead of one. To fix this, the offending material must be patched manually:
# Open the Config tab on the top left corner of your launcher, and turn on "Enable Editing".
# If not already, go back to either the Games or Animations tab and select the entry that has this problem.
# Click the pencil icon on the top right of the right sidebar to begin editing the entry, then scroll until you see "Launch Command".
# Replace every space in the launch command with <code>%20</code>, then save the entry by clicking the check mark on the top right.
If done correctly, the entry should now be fixed and should correctly play the associated content when relaunching.
=== Blank Waterfox on MacOS Ventura ===
When launching some games on MacOS Ventura, you might get a see-through window like this:
[[File:SeeThruWaterfox.png|1000px]]
To fix this problem, you will need to update Flashpoint's copy of Waterfox Classic. Follow these instructions:
# Open your Flashpoint Infinity folder, then open the FPSoftware folder within it.
# [https://classic.waterfox.net/ Download the latest Waterfox Classic version from here].
# Open the downloaded file if it doesn't open automatically.
# Drag the Waterfox Classic app from the DMG window into the FPSoftware folder as shown below. Replace the original file when prompted.
[[File:ReplaceWaterfox.png|1000px]]
=== Blank Flash games in Waterfox ===
After you have updated Waterfox Classic on MacOS Ventura, the browser window will appear normally, but Flash games themselves may still show up blank. For example, Poptropica looks like this when the problem occurs:
[[File:BlankFlashInWaterfox.png|700px]]
This happens because MacOS Ventura recently removed the <code>Internet Plug-Ins</code> folder that Waterfox uses. You will need to recreate the folder by following these steps:
# Open Finder and press Command-Shift-G to open the "Go to folder" dialog.
# Copy and paste <code>~/Library/</code> into the path box and press Return.
# Press Command-Shift-N to create a new folder. Copy and paste this name for the folder: <code>Internet Plug-Ins</code>
#* Be sure to get the name exactly right; capitalization matters!
#* If the folder already exists, that means you are having a different (unrelated) issue. Read through the rest of this guide, and if nothing helps, ask for help in the Discord server.
Once you have recreated the folder, try launching the game again. If all went well, the game will work this time!
=== Installing Wine ===
[[File:WineNotFound.png|thumb|The error message displayed when Wine is not installed and is required to run a game.]]
If you see an error message about Wine when trying to run a game, that means you need to install Wine. Copy the following command, then paste it into the Terminal and press Return: <br>
<pre>/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FlashpointProject/homebrew-flashpoint/main/InstallDependencies.sh)"</pre>
After Wine is installed, the game should run without further issues.
=== Flash EOL Screen ===
=== Flash EOL Screen ===
If you see the Flash Player EOL information screen (shown below) when you try to play a game, that means that Waterfox Classic is loading your installed Flash Player plugin instead of the plugin that is bundled with Flashpoint. To fix the problem, [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html uninstall Flash Player from your Mac] and restart Flashpoint. Games should work in Waterfox Classic now.
If you see the Flash Player EOL information screen (shown below) when you try to play a game, that means that Waterfox Classic is loading your installed Flash Player plugin instead of the plugin that is bundled with Flashpoint. To fix the problem, [https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html uninstall Flash Player from your Mac] and restart Flashpoint. Games should work in Waterfox Classic now.
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[[File:FlashTimebomb.png|200px]]
[[File:FlashTimebomb.png|200px]]


=== Fixing Dependencies Error ===
== Legacy Support ==
If you see a "Failed to install Flashpoint dependencies" error when trying to download Flashpoint, that likely means that something is wrong with your Homebrew installation. Run the following command in your terminal:
For those still running macOS High Sierra or Mojave, there is a legacy variant of Flashpoint that can be installed instead of the regular one. To install it, follow all of the instructions listed in the [[#Installing Flashpoint|installation section]] until step 3, then replace the terminal command you are meant to run with the following:
brew doctor
<pre>curl -fko ~/Downloads/fp13_mac_legacy.tar.xz https://download.unstable.life/upload/fp13_mac_legacy.tar.xz</pre>
This will download the legacy variant of Flashpoint to your Downloads folder. Once it's finished downloading, you may follow the rest of the installation steps.


Next, read through the output and run any commands that it tells you to run.
The only major difference between this variant and the regular one is the version of Wine bundled in. The regular variant uses a version of Wine built for macOS Catalina and newer that runs with only 64-bit libraries, while the legacy variant uses an older version that includes both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries. This is because macOS Catalina dropped support for running 32-bit programs, which many of the platforms that can be ran on Flashpoint are, such as Flash, Shockwave and other web-based plugins.
 
Finally, [[#Installing Flashpoint|try installing Flashpoint again]].


== Using Flashpoint ==
== Using Flashpoint ==
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== Changelog ==
== Changelog ==
2024-06-27: Brought back the ability to open Flashpoint with the application, and reduced the download's file size.
2024-06-25: Fixed an issue preventing Waterfox from launching.
2024-06-22: Flashpoint 13 for macOS is now available!


2022-08-25: Bundled dependencies with Flashpoint to make Homebrew unnecessary in many cases. Updated install scripts appropriately.
2022-08-25: Bundled dependencies with Flashpoint to make Homebrew unnecessary in many cases. Updated install scripts appropriately.
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== Technologies ==
== Technologies ==
Currently, only Flashpoint Infinity is available for Mac. We plan to also create a Flashpoint Ultimate package for MacOS in the future. To do this, we will need to set up Apache for use on MacOS, including all of its required modules.
Currently, only Flashpoint Infinity is available for macOS. We plan to also create a Flashpoint Ultimate package for macOS in the future. To do this, we will need to set up Apache for use on macOS, including all of its required modules.


Thanks to the work of volunteer [https://github.com/LindirQuenya/ LindirQuenya (Ardil)], we now have an equivalent to FlashpointProxy for Mac, aptly named [https://github.com/FlashpointProject/FlashpointProxyMac FlashpointProxyMac]. This allows us to use the native standalone projectors for most Flash games and eliminates nearly all of the Flash-related bugs that plagued previous Flashpoint Mac builds.
Thanks to the work of volunteer [https://github.com/LindirQuenya/ LindirQuenya (Ardil)], we now have an equivalent to FlashpointProxy for Mac, aptly named [https://github.com/FlashpointProject/FlashpointProxyMac FlashpointProxyMac]. This allows us to use the native standalone projectors for most Flash games and eliminates nearly all of the Flash-related bugs that plagued previous Flashpoint Mac builds.


Flashpoint for Mac now includes [https://github.com/Gcenx/wine-on-mac Wine-crossover] as a dependency. This is a version of [https://www.winehq.org/ Wine] specially designed to run on MacOS. Thanks to Wine-crossover, Flashpoint for Mac now supports '''21 web technologies''' ([[Platforms]]):
Flashpoint for macOS supports several web technologies ([[Platforms]]), including:
* Flash: Supported natively with standalone projectors. Older 32-bit-only Flash versions are supported through Wine.
* Flash: Supported natively with standalone projectors.
** Flash in the browser is supported natively with [https://classic.waterfox.net/ Waterfox Classic].
** Flash in the browser is supported natively with [https://classic.waterfox.net/ Waterfox Classic].
* HTML5: Supported natively with Waterfox Classic and Chromium.
* HTML5: Supported natively with Waterfox Classic and Chromium.
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* Shockwave: Fully supported with Wine, including Shockwave in the browser.
* Shockwave: Fully supported with Wine, including Shockwave in the browser.
* ShiVa3D: Supported with Wine and the help of custom shell scripts.
* ShiVa3D: Supported with Wine and the help of custom shell scripts.
* 3DVIA, Authorware, GoBit, PopCap, Silverlight, Vitalize, Tcl, DeepV, LiveMath, AnimaFlex, Visual WebMap, o2c-Player, Squeak, WebAnimator, iPix: All supported in Flashpoint Navigator with Wine!
* 3DVIA, Authorware, GoBit, PopCap, Vitalize, Tcl, DeepV, LiveMath, AnimaFlex, Visual WebMap, Squeak, WebAnimator, iPix: All supported in Flashpoint Navigator with Wine!


An attempt was made to support Unity Web Player, but it is not working right now. See [[#Known Issues|Known Issues]].
An attempt was made to support Unity Web Player, but it is not working right now. See [[#Known Issues|Known Issues]].
Most of the remaining unsupported technologies rely on Flashpoint Secure Player, which is only compatible with Windows right now. We hope to port some of Flashpoint Secure Player's functionality to a launcher extension to enable support for more platforms; see the [[Help Wanted List]] for more information. Another possibility may be to port Flashpoint Secure Player itself to MacOS and Linux, using the cross-platform features of .NET/C#. Regardless, Flashpoint Secure Player's support for ActiveX controls relies on Windows-only features and cannot be ported to other platforms.


== Known Issues ==
== Known Issues ==
* [https://github.com/FlashpointProject/launcher/issues/333#issuecomment-1218457380 Launching HTML5 games that use Flashpoint Launcher's Browser Mode fails and shows an error popup].
* [https://github.com/FlashpointProject/launcher/issues/333#issuecomment-1218457380 Launching HTML5 games that use Flashpoint Launcher's Browser Mode fails and shows an error popup].
* For unknown reasons, if a game fails to launch, the launcher may claim that an update is available and force a restart, as shown below. No update will actually occur. <br> [[File:LauncherRestart.png]]
* Unity Web Player games will get stuck on the loading screen. Audio will play but the graphics will not initialize. We are currently trying to diagnose the cause of this problem.  
* Unity Web Player games will get stuck on the loading screen. Audio will play but the graphics will not initialize. We are currently trying to diagnose the cause of this problem.  
* Clicking a link inside a Flash game that launches your default web browser may also crash the browser. This is because the Flash projector is launched with an environment variable telling it to load FlashpointProxyMac, and it passes the variable to its child processes. But the variable value is a relative path to the FlashpointProxyMac library, and the relative path will not resolve correctly for applications in other locations, such as your default web browser. Thus the browser will fail to load the library and will crash.
* Clicking a link inside a Flash game that launches your default web browser may also crash the browser. This is because the Flash projector is launched with an environment variable telling it to load FlashpointProxyMac, and it passes the variable to its child processes. But the variable value is a relative path to the FlashpointProxyMac library, and the relative path will not resolve correctly for applications in other locations, such as your default web browser. Thus the browser will fail to load the library and will crash.
** This only happens if the browser is not already open because when launching a new instance of an existing process, it inherits the environment of the existing process.
** This only happens if the browser is not already open because when launching a new instance of an existing process, it inherits the environment of the existing process.
** We considered avoiding the problem by referring to the FlashpointProxyMac library with an absolute path, but this would force the launched browser to use Flashpoint's proxy, which is not ideal either.
** We considered avoiding the problem by referring to the FlashpointProxyMac library with an absolute path, but this would force the launched browser to use Flashpoint's proxy, which is not ideal either.
** It seems like older Flash projector versions do not have this issue, so we are considering using the Adobe Flash Player 29 projector by default on MacOS if no better solution is found.
** It seems like older Flash projector versions do not have this issue, so we are considering using the Adobe Flash Player 29 projector by default on macOS if no better solution is found.
* Flash games that use Waterfox Classic may not work in mainland China due to Adobe's geolocation restrictions, which we have not patched out of the MacOS browser plugin yet. A workaround would be to use Wine to play the games instead. To switch to Wine, click the Config tab of the launcher, scroll down and click the "Native Platforms" dropdown, and uncheck Flash.
* Flash games that use Waterfox Classic may not work in mainland China due to Adobe's geolocation restrictions, which we have not patched out of the macOS browser plugin yet. A workaround would be to use Wine to play the games instead. To switch to Wine, click the Config tab of the launcher, scroll down and click the "Native Platforms" dropdown, and uncheck Flash.
* HTML5 games may perform poorly in Waterfox Classic on Apple Silicon Macs because Waterfox Classic is an Intel binary. In the future, we plan to run HTML5 games using a different browser such as Chromium. Or we may switch from Waterfox Classic to our own build of Flashpoint Navigator for MacOS, if we are able to get that working. Either way, we may need a launcher extension to choose which browser to launch based on a game's Platform, because both Flash and HTML5 games use Basilisk on Windows.
* HTML5 games may perform poorly in Waterfox Classic on Apple Silicon Macs because Waterfox Classic is an Intel binary. In the future, we plan to run HTML5 games using a different browser such as Chromium. Or we may switch from Waterfox Classic to our own build of Flashpoint Navigator for macOS, if we are able to get that working. Either way, we may need a launcher extension to choose which browser to launch based on a game's Platform, because both Flash and HTML5 games use Basilisk on Windows.
* [https://github.com/FlashpointProject/launcher/issues/378 The Flashpoint Path box on the Config tab is highlighted in red even though it is valid]. This may be confusing but does not impact Flashpoint's functionality.


== Running Windows on your Mac ==
== Running Windows on your Mac ==

Latest revision as of 07:47, 27 June 2024

This page provides information about the latest official Flashpoint release for macOS. For information about older releases, see the Beta 2022-06-22 subpage.

If you have any issues running Flashpoint, please join our Discord and post your issues in a new thread on the help forum channel: http://discord.gg/S9uJ794

Compatibility

There are 2 variants of Flashpoint for macOS: a regular and legacy one. The regular variant is compatible with macOS Catalina and newer, while the legacy one is made for High Sierra and Mojave. If you have an earlier macOS version, you will need to use the older Beta 2022-06-22 version of Flashpoint. See the table below for detailed information, or skip to the next section to begin installing Flashpoint.

Supported macOS versions
Sierra & older Unsupported
High Sierra Legacy support
Mojave
Catalina Full support
Big Sur
Monterey
Ventura
Sonoma

Installing Flashpoint

  1. Open Finder, then click the Applications tab.
  2. Scroll down and double-click the Utilities folder to open it. Then open the Terminal app.
    MacUtilitiesFolder.png MacTerminal.png
  3. Copy the following command, then paste it into the Terminal and press Return:
    curl -fo ~/Downloads/fp13_mac.tar.xz https://download.unstable.life/upload/fp13_mac.tar.xz

    MacFP13Download.png
    Note: Third-party firewalls such as LuLu may block the download with a "Couldn't connect to server" or "Could not resolve hostname" error. If you have any third-party firewalls installed, turn them off before running the download.

  4. When the download completes, the file, "fp13_mac.tar.xz", will be in your Downloads. Control-click the downloaded XZ file, then choose Open With > Archive Utility.
    MacArchiveUtility.png
    Note: You must use the Archive Utility instead of any third-party tools you may have installed, as some of them may set a quarantine flag that will prevent Flashpoint from working properly.
  5. When the file finishes expanding, you will see a new folder called "Flashpoint 13 for macOS". Open the folder, then open the Flashpoint application.
    MacFlashpointApp.png
  6. After Flashpoint opens, you may optionally keep the application in the Dock by control-clicking the Flashpoint icon in the Dock, then choosing Options > Keep in Dock.
    MacKeepInDock.png

Flashpoint is now installed!

Troubleshooting

Flash EOL Screen

If you see the Flash Player EOL information screen (shown below) when you try to play a game, that means that Waterfox Classic is loading your installed Flash Player plugin instead of the plugin that is bundled with Flashpoint. To fix the problem, uninstall Flash Player from your Mac and restart Flashpoint. Games should work in Waterfox Classic now.

FlashTimebomb.png

Legacy Support

For those still running macOS High Sierra or Mojave, there is a legacy variant of Flashpoint that can be installed instead of the regular one. To install it, follow all of the instructions listed in the installation section until step 3, then replace the terminal command you are meant to run with the following: 

curl -fko ~/Downloads/fp13_mac_legacy.tar.xz https://download.unstable.life/upload/fp13_mac_legacy.tar.xz

This will download the legacy variant of Flashpoint to your Downloads folder. Once it's finished downloading, you may follow the rest of the installation steps.

The only major difference between this variant and the regular one is the version of Wine bundled in. The regular variant uses a version of Wine built for macOS Catalina and newer that runs with only 64-bit libraries, while the legacy variant uses an older version that includes both 32-bit and 64-bit libraries. This is because macOS Catalina dropped support for running 32-bit programs, which many of the platforms that can be ran on Flashpoint are, such as Flash, Shockwave and other web-based plugins.

Using Flashpoint

See the Flashpoint Manual.

Changelog

2024-06-27: Brought back the ability to open Flashpoint with the application, and reduced the download's file size.

2024-06-25: Fixed an issue preventing Waterfox from launching.

2024-06-22: Flashpoint 13 for macOS is now available!

2022-08-25: Bundled dependencies with Flashpoint to make Homebrew unnecessary in many cases. Updated install scripts appropriately.

2022-08-17: Flashpoint 11 Infinity for Mac is now available!

Technologies

Currently, only Flashpoint Infinity is available for macOS. We plan to also create a Flashpoint Ultimate package for macOS in the future. To do this, we will need to set up Apache for use on macOS, including all of its required modules.

Thanks to the work of volunteer LindirQuenya (Ardil), we now have an equivalent to FlashpointProxy for Mac, aptly named FlashpointProxyMac. This allows us to use the native standalone projectors for most Flash games and eliminates nearly all of the Flash-related bugs that plagued previous Flashpoint Mac builds.

Flashpoint for macOS supports several web technologies (Platforms), including:

  • Flash: Supported natively with standalone projectors.
  • HTML5: Supported natively with Waterfox Classic and Chromium.
  • Java Applets: Supported natively with the Java Development Kit.
    • Java in the browser is not supported yet.
  • Shockwave: Fully supported with Wine, including Shockwave in the browser.
  • ShiVa3D: Supported with Wine and the help of custom shell scripts.
  • 3DVIA, Authorware, GoBit, PopCap, Vitalize, Tcl, DeepV, LiveMath, AnimaFlex, Visual WebMap, Squeak, WebAnimator, iPix: All supported in Flashpoint Navigator with Wine!

An attempt was made to support Unity Web Player, but it is not working right now. See Known Issues.

Known Issues

  • Launching HTML5 games that use Flashpoint Launcher's Browser Mode fails and shows an error popup.
  • Unity Web Player games will get stuck on the loading screen. Audio will play but the graphics will not initialize. We are currently trying to diagnose the cause of this problem.
  • Clicking a link inside a Flash game that launches your default web browser may also crash the browser. This is because the Flash projector is launched with an environment variable telling it to load FlashpointProxyMac, and it passes the variable to its child processes. But the variable value is a relative path to the FlashpointProxyMac library, and the relative path will not resolve correctly for applications in other locations, such as your default web browser. Thus the browser will fail to load the library and will crash.
    • This only happens if the browser is not already open because when launching a new instance of an existing process, it inherits the environment of the existing process.
    • We considered avoiding the problem by referring to the FlashpointProxyMac library with an absolute path, but this would force the launched browser to use Flashpoint's proxy, which is not ideal either.
    • It seems like older Flash projector versions do not have this issue, so we are considering using the Adobe Flash Player 29 projector by default on macOS if no better solution is found.
  • Flash games that use Waterfox Classic may not work in mainland China due to Adobe's geolocation restrictions, which we have not patched out of the macOS browser plugin yet. A workaround would be to use Wine to play the games instead. To switch to Wine, click the Config tab of the launcher, scroll down and click the "Native Platforms" dropdown, and uncheck Flash.
  • HTML5 games may perform poorly in Waterfox Classic on Apple Silicon Macs because Waterfox Classic is an Intel binary. In the future, we plan to run HTML5 games using a different browser such as Chromium. Or we may switch from Waterfox Classic to our own build of Flashpoint Navigator for macOS, if we are able to get that working. Either way, we may need a launcher extension to choose which browser to launch based on a game's Platform, because both Flash and HTML5 games use Basilisk on Windows.

Running Windows on your Mac

For a better experience, you may want to use the latest version of Flashpoint for Windows instead of the current Mac beta. There are two main options for doing so:

If you have enough disk space, Boot Camp is the most reliable option.

Once you have Windows up and running, follow these steps to install Flashpoint:

  1. Download Flashpoint if you haven't yet.
  2. Within your Windows environment, run the Flashpoint installer. You don't need to change any options, though you can if you want to.
    FlashpointInstaller.png
  3. When you're ready, click the "Install Flashpoint" button.
  4. After Flashpoint is done installing, double-click the new Flashpoint shortcut on your Windows desktop to start playing!
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