Is it possible to play Hydroneer on Mac?
Hydroneer is a base-building sandbox game developed and published by Foulball Hangover. The main focus of the game is automation and mining. Hydroneer’s voxel-based terrain destruction system allows you to dig out massive underground networks in any shape you can imagine. Construct hydraulic machinery to extract valuable resources such as gold, then transport them aboveground for convenience. Extracting resources is profitable enough on its own, but you can do much more. Take all these raw materials you’ve extracted and turn them into actual trade goods such as jewelry. Streamline that inefficient setup you’ve made at the start of the game and expand it to process more stuff at a time. Dig deeper to find rarer, more valuable resources. Should you want to take a break from mining and refining resources, the game also offers several things to do on the side. You can go fishing, or construct automatic fish-catching machinery. Farming is another side activity that was introduced in a recent update, which can also be automated. Hydroneer is currently available only on Windows; there are no plans to port the game to OS X or any game consoles. Nonetheless, it is possible to play Hydroneer on Mac using unofficial software. The guide below provides several options.
Play Hydroneer on Mac with Parallels
Hydroneer requires lots of PC resources, but if you have a powerful Mac computer (iMac, iMac Pro, or Mac Pro) Parallels Desktop can be a solution. This is an application that allows for Windows virtualization on Mac with the full support of DirectX and GPUs. In simpler terms, what this means is that it allows you to install Windows 10 on Mac with just a couple of clicks and switch between MacOS and Windows instantly. So you will be able to run Windows, install Steam, and enjoy the Hydroneer game on Mac just like on a regular PC.
Please note that not all games are supported by Parallels. Several conditions must be met for the game to be playable. Your Mac must exceed minimum system requirements for the game; meeting them is not enough. Generally speaking, you will need an iMac Pro or a Mac Pro to run demanding games. Some MacBook Pro and iMac models are also suitable; they must have an Intel processor, a discrete graphics card and at least 16 GB of RAM. If your Mac has an Apple Silicon chip (such as M1, M2, M3), you may experience issues playing modern games. Games that require DirectX 12 are currently not supported by Parallels. AppsOnMac recommends using Parallels’ free trial feature to determine whether you can run the game or not if you’re uncertain.
Play Hydroneer on Mac with cloud gaming services
If you have an old Mac or it cannot satisfy the Hydroneer game system requirements, there is an easy solution. Cloud gaming services will be happy to provide you with sufficient computing power – though not for free, of course. All you need is a browser or a small client program and a good internet connection starting from 15 MBit/s. There are several great platforms that provide these services, among the best are Boosteroid, Xbox Cloud Gaming, and Nvidia GeForce Now. As Boosteroid has Hydroneer in its game library, it is an excellent choice for those seeking to try the game out.
Play Hydroneer on Mac with BootCamp
Note: Mac computers with new Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3 Pro, or M1, M2, M3 Max) currently do not support BootCamp. In this case, please, use the options above to run Hydroneer on Mac
This method is simple but time-consuming. If your Mac meets all the system requirements above, you can play Hydroneer on Mac by installing Windows. You need to set up a dual boot of Windows and Mac via BootCamp. This is an application that allows users to choose the system to work in on startup, however, you won’t be able to switch between systems like in Parallels. You will need to reboot your machine every time you want to switch from Mac to Windows and vice versa. Remember that Mac is just a computer, in the end. And while newer Macs have their own special Apple Silicon chips that cannot run Windows, older Macs are very much similar to computers that run Windows, they have Intel processors, compatible RAM, disks, and other components. So you can install Windows on an older Mac by allocating no less than 64 GB of disk space (to be able to run Windows and a couple of games) and following these steps:
For OS X El Capitan 10.11 and older
For MacOS versions prior to OS X El Capitan 10.11 you will need to create a bootable Windows USB.
- Download this Windows ISO file.
- Open Boot Camp Assistant (Go to Applications > Utilities).
- Define the Windows partition size and choose the Windows ISO file you’ve downloaded.
- Format the Windows partition and go through all Windows installation steps.
- When Windows boots for the first time follow on-screen instructions to install Boot Camp and Windows support software (drivers)