SS2 on Mac OSX: It (Still) Won't Run [2020]

[Ink Runner]

Hello!

I just purchased System Shock 2 to play on my old-butt 2012 MacBook Pro – Here are the specs[i.imgur.com] – not expecting the nasty surprise of being unable to even open the game.

I'm making this post to summarize the last three hours I spent unsuccessfully troubleshooting so that:
1. Others who could potentially end up in the same boat may be warned, and
2. So that hopefully I can get some helpful feedback that will resolve this issue, once-and-for-all.

From what I can tell after having scoured related threads, this problem is kind of slippery & different for everyone, and there's a bunch of information out there dating all the way back to 2015. Here's my humble contribution: a record of my progress and ultimate failure (complete with reference images!).

• No matter how many times I uninstalled / reinstalled the game, verifying the game's files always yielded the same result: 1588 Files Failed To Validate"[i.imgur.com]
  
• When I Opened the game's contents [i.imgur.com] to access the Wineskin Application,[i.imgur.com] I found that my options in the "Screen Options" menu looked nothing like those shown in other threads.
  
• To fix this, I eventually found that I could go to the Advanced Options, where I could Update & Refresh my Wrapper.[i.imgur.com]
  
• This gave me all the features in the "Screen Options" menu that I was looking for, but when I ran a test of the game from within Wineskin, I just got A whole bunch of errors.[i.imgur.com]
  
• I figured that THESE were my best bet, settings-wise,[i.imgur.com] based on my laptop's specs
  
• However, the game still just wouldn't open even a little bit. . . Until I TURNED MY COMPUTER OFF AND THEN BACK ON – seriously, I am not joking.
  
• Now the game opens. Technically. The application runs, my screen goes black, my cursor turns into the 'X' crosshair cursor, but that's it. It just stays stuck on the black screen until I 'Command + Q' out of the application.

That's where I am now: the game opens, but it doesn't run – it's just a black screen with only my cursor. Should I keep tinkering with the resolution / color bit depth settings in Wineskin? Should I try rolling back to an earlier version of Wineskin? A later one? Should I give up and get a refund?

Any fixes, suggestions, or thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[TheOrangeBox]

Originally posted by Daniel NDS:

Hello.

I've put the old "2.44" build up on Steam again for people having problems. It's exactly the same as the new build except its running the old 2.6.0 version of Wineskin.

The 2.6.0 Wineskin version may not function on Mac OS X 10.11+

To rollback, right-click on Shock 2 in Steam and click Properties, in the Betas tab, choose "2.44_mac_2.6.0" from the dropdown list. That will then roll your copy of System Shock 2 back to before the Wineskin 2.6.2 update.

I hope this works for you.

Thanks,
Daniel