64 bit support on the Mac

[JKtheDovahkiin]

Hello Folks. I have a question and I refer it to steam service providers. I checked in my system info on my Mac that Steam is not a 64 bit app, and I also heard the next generation of macOS which will replace High Sierra will no longer support non-64 bit apps. Can something be done about this?

[Yew Nough]

Escrito originalmente por robspeed.rocks:

Escrito originalmente por cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Games that are 32-bit can run just fine on a 64-bit OS. This has nothing to do with that.

:qr:

That's actually not entirely true. Running 32-bit apps on a 64-bit OS requires the inclusion of 32-bit libraries. Apple is planning to remove those libraries from macOS in the future. So those games will indeed stop working.

When considering that Apple only made 32-bit Intel Macs for one year, it's rather absurd that so much new software wasn't 64-bit from the start.

If that's true, than not updating to a said MacOS seems like the only logical solution, unless there is another OS hack that addresses this.
(I'm on the 32-bit EFI MacPro 1,1 currently running 2,1/64-bit/El Capitan, anything is possible with these machines)

[Razorfish]

Escrito originalmente por jmtanzillo:

Unless you really have to upgrade to the new OS, I would always recommend staying with one that works for everything. That is why I have stayed with Sierra, 10.12.6, and it was out a year before I transitioned from Yosemite (I never used El Capitan). Plus I do not intend to go to install High Sierra on my mid-2012 Mac Pro.

Well you will have to........ becasue:

1. drivers are not updated for Nvidia etc.
2. A lot of software is now for 10.13.6
3. if you want SSD PCIe
4. and you will need 10.14 if you want SSD pcie bootup. (or at least rom >140+10.13.6)

[MRyan69]

So with macOS Catalina announced yesterday at WWDC. the end of Mac 32-bit support is nigh.

What is Valve/Steam doing to prepare for this inevitability? Any official word at this point?

Thanks!

[meffles]

At the very least, it would be helpful if there were some tool to find out which games in our library (whether installed or not) are 32-bit vs 64-bit.

[robspeed.rocks]

Escrito originalmente por meffles:

At the very least, it would be helpful if there were some tool to find out which games in our library (whether installed or not) are 32-bit vs 64-bit.

Not in Steam, but Apple Menu > About this Mac > "System Report" button > Software > Applications

It'll take a minute to collect the data, but it'll list every installed app including whether or not it's 64-bit.

[Jonathan McEvoy]

https://jackofallcontrollers.com/2019/06/04/steam-has-finally-died-on-macos/

[robspeed.rocks]

As noted earlier in the thread, it's only the executable at /Applications/Steam.app which is still 32-bit. Valve gave Steam a somewhat obnoxious design where most of it isn't actually inside the app package. The executables which actually do the important stuff are all 64-bit, it's just that little wrapper which isn't. Why they've waited to update it is anyone's guess.

[MRyan69]

Jonathan, the Jack Of All Controllers article is gone. What did it say?

[green_knight]

The good news is that the current Steam client works under 10.15b. The bad news is that, over a year after the move to 64-bit software was announced, there is absolutely utterly NO indicator in my library whether a given game will run or not. (If you have installed it on an older Mac, you can check. If you haven't installed it, tough).

This is the reason why I haven't bought any games in the last year, and why I will not buy any games in the foreseeable future. Unless a game will actually run on my computer (this is a development machine, but come autumn I'll install 10.15 it on my main computer), I have no use for it.

I can, at least, play 12 Labours of Hercules VII (but cannot start it from the Steam client: it fails with an unknown error).

[Janichsan]

Escrito originalmente por MRyan69:

Jonathan, the Jack Of All Controllers article is gone. What did it say?

Nonsense. It did say nonsense.

The (actual) Steam client has been 64-bit for months already and the launcher is since early June. You only have to redownload the Steam.dmg and manually replace the old version with the new one, as the launcher does not get updated automatically.

[danilko]

Apple has maintained the stance that they will eliminate 32bit support for at least 18 months. And while developers need time to make the switch, they waited until it broke before lifting a finger. Rather than be proactive and ready for 64bit, they coasted. Now it's time to move on to someone else's app or app store, where the games and apps work.

Officially there is 3.5 months to pull the rabbit out of the hat. tick tick tick.

[wza360]

if macOS Catalina Beta1 is available, it is expected that developers are already testing new version of steam to make sure it is supported when Catalina goes live.

It is sad that no info is available. I would be happy to suggest some of my time to help beta test new Steam version and report some bugs, but there is not even proper way to contact Steam Mac support - just some documentation and text available.

(sorry for duplicating my post in few threads - found this one only last in my search)

[myxal]

Escrito originalmente por wza360:

It is sad that no info is available. I would be happy to suggest some of my time to help beta test new Steam version and report some bugs, but there is not even proper way to contact Steam Mac support - just some documentation and text available.

Wait, isn't there a group for Steam Beta where discussions serve as bug report threads?

https://steamcommunity.com/groups/SteamClientBeta/discussions/0/

[aiusepsi]

Escrito originalmente por wza360:

if macOS Catalina Beta1 is available, it is expected that developers are already testing new version of steam to make sure it is supported when Catalina goes live.

Steam works fine on Catalina. I played the new Dota Underlords on Catalina last night.

Lots of games are busted — I suspect many are broken because Catalina locks down permissions more tightly, it’s not just 32-bit games that are broken — but Steam itself works fine.

[Janichsan]

Escrito originalmente por aiusepsi:

Lots of games are busted — I suspect many are broken because Catalina locks down permissions more tightly, it’s not just 32-bit games that are broken — but Steam itself works fine.

Unless these games install their own kernel extensions (which is the only area where Catalina has higher security standards than Mojave), I seriously doubt that's the reason.