Windows Steam games on a Mac with WINE?

I love my MacBook (2008, aluminum, Intel processor with the low-end nVidia chipset). I don't like running Windows. I don't want a Windows Bootcamp partition, because I found I never used it. (I really only used it for Oblivion, and even then stopped eventually because I enjoyed it more on the XBox, and hated the reboot-into-Windows process.)

I'm using WINE to run Fallout and Fallout 2, with great success. I also have the Steam client, which I've used to get Portal and a second copy of Civ IV (+ addons, mostly so I didn't need the DVD with me).

What I want to know is, can I buy a Windows game from the Steam client for the Mac, and then run it via WINE? If so, do I need to take any special precautions? (For instance, my current winecfg emulates a 640x480 desktop to enable Fallout and Fallout 2.)

Solution 1:

Unfortunately, I don't believe Steam for OS X will let you even download a Windows app you buy through Steam. I suppose you could drag and drop the game files, and then restore the game from the copied files, but I'm not sure whether that works between platforms.

And because Steam usually tries to launch all Steam games itself (at least on Windows), I don't think it would be possible to force a game to run under Wine unless Steam itself consents. You may be able to run non-DRMed games directly by double-clicking the executable, but I am unsure about this.

Solution 2:

I would recommend installing PC Steam on your Mac. Using Wine, it allows you to download PC versions of your games and run them regularly through Wine. I've attempted this for Torchlight II, but YMMV depending on the game.

First, install winetricks and Steam dependencies:

1. Save http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks as a file named winetricks, in ~/wine/bin or wherever wine is saved.
2. Navigate to the directory you saved it in in Terminal and type "chmod +x winetricks".
3. In that same Terminal window, type "winetricks tahoma" and let it run, and afterwards "winetricks flash". Flash might try install twice; let it install both times.

Then install Steam.

1. Download the Steam installation MSI for Windows.
2. Navigate to your Downloads folder in Terminal and type "wine start SteamInstall.msi". If an "installation ended prematurely" error pops up, ignore it, it should be fine.

And finally, run Steam.

1. Navigate to the folder where Steam.exe is located in Terminal (probably ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Steam) and type "wine Steam.exe" into Terminal.
2. Wait for Steam to update, and log in as you would normally.

To run games, download them via PC Steam. Dependencies should install to the Wine folders.

Alternatively, you can use Winebottler. It's essentially the same process, but packaged. I haven't used it myself, so I'm afraid I can't elaborate on details, but it appears to be viable.