AoE IV does not start properly with VMware Fusion

Hi,

I have an iMac running Sonoma 14.6.1 with i7, 40GB RAM and AMD Radeon Pro 5500 XT 8GB graphic.
I have installed VMware Fusion Pro 13.6.1, configured it to use 16GB of RAM, using 8 cores, activated 3D graphics with support of DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.3.
I have installed VMware Tools.

When I start AoE IV, I get a message that no hardware rendering tool was found. I should check if the machine fulfils the requirements of AoE, check if DirectX is installed correctly and should install the newest drivers.

I tried several times but I cannot find the issue.
Does anyone have an idea?

1 Like

Hello,

it may crash because AOE 4 requires DirectX 12, though VWware fusion suports only DirectX 11. Another goody software program for OS virtualization - PARALELLS DESKTOP - doesn´t support Dir. X 12 neither, at the time.

The option I suggest you to give a try on an intel CPU based iMac (the way I play AOE 4 on 2013, intel CPU iMac), is a Windows OS installation with Apple BOOT CAMP tool, which works like this:

first you run boot camp utilty, which will guide you through steps: to create a custom sized, HDD partition for Windows, download drivers on a flash drive, and finally install Windows you have on a CD or image file.
After successful installation, you opt to just hold Alt key immediately after starting your iMac, to choose between booting MacOS or another OS eg WINDOWS.

Below I provide you a link for Apple boot camp support website:

In my humble opinion, just think twice about your Windows partition size, as it is impossible to expand without problems in MacOS.