raaahbin.7405

This now appears to be resolved, and the 32-bit client launches again... for the next few weeks, anyway!

If the OP is in a similar situation to me, they may have a Mac for which Boot Camp doesn't work (it may once have worked, but my recent attempts to install Windows 7 - the last theoretically supported system on this model - have comprehensively failed, as I gather they have done for others from what I've found online). Wine-based compatibility layers (PlayOnMac, Crossover) allow me to install the 64-bit Windows client, but it is effectively unplayable (I can move around solo [getting a small single-digit number of frames per second], but if I try something like a world boss it completely stops working - as in, "force-quit the whole Wine system" stops). Virtualisation (Parallels) can't cope with the processing overhead either. The 32-bit version, buggy as it might have been, at least allowed me to continue playing after they abandoned the Mac 64-bit client. But appears to have gone too now. GFN sounds like the only practical solution remaining - it just doesn't exist in my part of the world yet (supposedly coming later this year... but then, so is my next computer). It's a pity that ANet decided updating the Mac client to new tech wasn't worth their efforts (especially since they're now killing the 32-bit Windows client under the pretext of updating the 64-bit client to new tech). The videos online of people playing the native WoW client on M1-based Macs are absolutely incredible for a consumer laptop - a solid 60fps at max graphics settings. If I could only find a way to play the GW2 game using the WoW client... 😆

The irony in all of this is that one of GW2's excellent points of demarcation against other MMORPGs - a single purchase model rather than a monthly subscription - has effectively vanished. Once they've killed all the clients they used to support (except the Win64 client), a whole bunch of people will now be stuck paying Nvidia a monthly subscription fee to continue to access the game that we thought we had purchased.

A month early would be a lot (which is why I suspect it's accidental rather than intentional). But yes - I can confirm a fresh 32-bit install has exactly the same looping failure, while a 64-bit install launches fine.

That's a definitive answer to the wrong question (although personally I'm glad you drew my attention to it! More bad news for the Old Hardware crew). The OP asked if Nvidia Geforce Now would continue to be an officially supported/authorised way to access the game. Given they're now dropping support for everything except an up-to-date 64-bit Windows box, I wouldn't risk pre-purchasing EoD. Wait until it's released, see how things go, make sure things still work after 31 August on whatever your particular platform is. I don't see any reason why they'd actively *stop* letting users access the game through GFN - from ANet's point of view, GFN is just a whole bunch of up-to-date Windows game clients running on good hardware, so as long as they continue to support the game at all, GFN should remain supported. That is, if you happen to live in a part of the world where GFN is available. As for the rest of us... guess I'll be taking a break from GW2 until GFN launches in Australia.

So this could throw a large spanner in the works for many of the remaining options to play on Mac: As I read it, every solution that depends on running a 32-bit client (including the last one which works for me) will end on 31 August.

The same is happening to me. I'm running the 32 bit client (can't run the 64 bit on this system). It appears to be downloading a new Gw2.tmp, replacing the existing Gw2.exe, which then launches and immediately downloads a new Gw2.tmp, replaces the (just downloaded) Gw2.exe, and repeat ad infinitum. Cannot launch the game. I'm glad it's not just me!

No - I've got a copy of the old-old Mac 32-bit client, which hasn't been available for download for years, but still runs if you are running an old enough version of MacOS to support 32-bit apps (anything before Catalina). As I understand it, it still works because it's just a wrapper for the Windows 32-bit client, so as long as they keep updating the Windows 32-bit client it is indirectly "supported". If you have a newer Mac, I would recommend the PlayOnMac/Crossover approach, as the performance will be better, and obviously if your Mac is running Catalina or newer that is your only option. However, if you have a really old Mac like mine, the 32-bit client is your best bet. PM me if you want info on how to download it.

Thanks - when I eventually get an M1 mac I'll try that out. For now I'm using the 32-bit client on an old macbook, so "mount not appearing" is my default experience. 😑

Have you also tried Crossover on the M1? I thought Crossover only worked on Intel, but the home page says it works on Apple Silicon as well. Curious to know which performs better on the platform that has to emulate everything no matter what.

I watched this and it made me sad about what could have been... so I thought I'd share the sadness:

If you contact me directly, I could connect you to a source for the 32-bit installer. Will avoid doing anything which might conflict with forum rules, but Google and my username should suffice.

Agreed - the 32-bit client still runs well if you're on a version of Mac OS that will still launch 32-bit apps. It's a lifesaver on my 10-year-old Macbook Pro. Literally the only thing I miss (once it's running) is the mini-map. If you're on a version that will not run 32-bit apps, you're probably also on a computer that can handle the overheads of one of the emulated solutions in this thread. Later this year, I'm planning to buy one of the next generation of Apple Silicon Macbooks, so that will be time to fire up the ARM versions of Parallels and Windows... glad to hear from others on this thread that that apparently works pretty well! Also, I'm pleased to see that Geforce Now is supposed to launch in Australia some time this year... so that might become an option instead, depending on pricing and service quality.

It's definitely every time the map is loaded (e.g. entering or leaving an instance set in Lion's Arch), but I can't remember whether waypointing within the map had the same delay. What's interesting is that the wine-wrapped 32-bit windows version also suffers the same long load time (and it's almost exactly the same amount of time)... but the one wrapped by ANet as a Mac client performs noticeably better once it loads.

Nope! That's why I'm hoping it will survive (given that it's apparently the Windows client in a wrapper). The long load time for maps (especially Lion's Arch) isn't wonderful, and not having the mini-map is a pain... but it's the closest thing to playable remaining.