🌐 Website: general-online-zh.web.app
Native Apple Silicon macOS port of C&C Generals Zero Hour / Generals Online with a direct Metal renderer.
This is not Wine, not DXVK, not MoltenVK, and not an emulator-based wrapper — it's a full native recompilation of the game engine targeting ARM64 macOS with a custom DirectX 8 → Metal translation layer.
| Area | Status |
|---|---|
| Native Apple Silicon (ARM64) build | ✅ Working |
| Direct Metal rendering backend | ✅ Working |
| Singleplayer (Skirmish & Campaign) | ✅ Working |
| Online multiplayer (macOS ↔ macOS) | ✅ Working |
| Online multiplayer (macOS ↔ Windows) | 🔄 In Progress |
| Native macOS audio (AVAudioEngine) | ✅ Working |
| macOS Launcher (SwiftUI) | ✅ Working |
| Replay compatibility (macOS ↔ macOS) | ✅ Working |
| Replay compatibility (from Windows) | 🔄 Requires deterministic math |
Note: Cross-platform multiplayer (macOS ↔ Windows) requires deterministic math parity between ARM64 and x87 FPU pipelines. This is actively being worked on. See docs/DETERMINISTIC_MATH.md for details.
| 🎬 Installation Guide | YouTube — How to install C&C Generals on macOS |
| 🎮 Native Metal Demo | YouTube — Native macOS Metal gameplay |
| 🔥 Stress Test (8 Brutal AIs) | YouTube — 8 bot stress test, ~40 FPS stable |
This project is a separate effort with different goals:
| This Port | GeneralsX | |
|---|---|---|
| Target platform | macOS Apple Silicon (native) | Linux, macOS, Windows (cross-platform) |
| Rendering | Custom DX8 → Metal bridge | DXVK (DX8 → Vulkan → MoltenVK on macOS) |
| Windowing | Native macOS (Cocoa) | SDL3 |
| Audio | AVAudioEngine (native macOS) | OpenAL |
| App Size & Overhead | ~12 MB (Native APIs, no wrappers) | ~78 MB (Bundled DXVK, MoltenVK, SDL3) |
| Online | Generals Online (new multiplayer) | No online multiplayer |
| Simulation | Targeting deterministic cross-platform sync | Standard simulation |
| Codebase | Fork of Generals Online (GOD Team) | Fork of TheSuperHackers |
Both projects share the same goal of keeping C&C Generals alive on modern platforms, but differ fundamentally in their architectural philosophy:
- This Port focuses on a pure, first-class native macOS experience. By writing directly to Metal, Cocoa, and AVAudioEngine, it completely eliminates translation overhead, resulting in an extremely lightweight application (~12 MB) tailored specifically for Apple Silicon.
- GeneralsX targets broad cross-platform compatibility. It leverages mature, heavy-duty translation layers like DXVK to achieve highly accurate graphics out-of-the-box across operating systems, though this introduces heavier binaries and platform-specific translation edge-cases (such as MoltenVK shadow bugs on macOS).
- Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3/M4)
- macOS 14+ (Sonoma or later)
- Xcode Command Line Tools (
xcode-select --install) - Original C&C Generals Zero Hour game files (Steam)
sh build_run_mac.sh # Build and launch
sh build_run_mac.sh --clean # Clean rebuildFor detailed setup, prerequisites, and technical documentation see:
- Setup Guide — Full installation walkthrough
- macOS Port Documentation — Architecture overview
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| Platform/MacOS/docs/README.md | macOS port architecture overview |
| Platform/MacOS/docs/SETUP.md | Build setup and prerequisites |
| Platform/MacOS/docs/RENDERING.md | DX8 → Metal rendering pipeline |
| Platform/MacOS/docs/FILE_SYSTEM.md | File system and resource resolution |
| Platform/MacOS/docs/DEVELOPMENT.md | Development guidelines |
| Platform/MacOS/docs/BUILD_SYSTEM.md | CMake build system details |
| Platform/MacOS/docs/IMPLEMENTATION_STATUS.md | Detailed implementation status |
| docs/MACOS_INSTALL.md | Player-facing installation guide |
| docs/DETERMINISTIC_MATH.md | Cross-platform math synchronization |
| docs/FAQ.md | Frequently asked questions |
This port is being contributed back to the upstream projects:
- GameClient — GeneralsOnlineDevelopmentTeam/GameClient #457
- GeneralsGameCode — TheSuperHackers/GeneralsGameCode #2602
This fork is based on the Generals Online Development Team codebase. The original community project by TheSuperHackers serves as the foundation for all Generals source code efforts.
Contributions are welcome! If you're interested in helping with the macOS port — especially in areas like deterministic math, Metal rendering, or audio — join the discussion in the related PRs above or open an issue.
Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting a pull request.
EA has not endorsed and does not support this product. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0 License. See LICENSE.md for details.