Windows games on Apple Silicon, and a round of security fixes

Version 11.6.0 brings Ascendara's Windows library to Apple Silicon Macs. Highball is now built in, picks the right settings for each game on its own, and tells you how well a game runs on a Mac before you download it. This release also fixes security issues we found in how Ascend accounts store data, and we want to explain them plainly: what was wrong, what changed, and what it means for you.

Windows games on Apple Silicon, with Highball

Running a Windows game on a Mac used to mean setting up a compatibility layer yourself, outside Ascendara. Highball now ships inside Ascendara on Apple Silicon Macs. There is nothing to install: the first time you play a Windows game, Ascendara downloads the compatibility files it needs and shows you the progress, then launches the game.

Every game is different, so Ascendara uses Highball's open compatibility database to pick the recommended graphics translator and launch options for each game. You can still choose for yourself. The new Compatibility section in Settings lets you pick between DXMT, D3DMetal, DXVK, VKD3D and WineD3D for all games or for one game, and choose between one shared Windows environment or a separate one for each game. Apple's D3DMetal is available once you have reviewed its license.

Windows games on a Mac work like the rest of your library. You can stop them, back up their saves and use trainers, just as you would on Windows.

• Highball is built in and sets itself up the first time you play
• Recommended settings for each game from Highball's compatibility database
• Choose a graphics translator for every game or just one
• A shared Windows environment, or a separate one for each game
• Stop games, back up saves and use trainers on a Mac

Know how a game runs before you download it

On a Mac, Ascendara now shows how well a game runs everywhere you might decide to get it: on game cards in search, on the download page and on the game page. Game and download pages also list known issues and their fixes. If a game can't run on a Mac at all, Ascendara warns you before you download it, so you don't spend an hour on a download that will never start.

Security fixes for Ascend accounts

While reviewing how Ascend stores account data, we found three issues and fixed all of them in this release and on Ascendara's servers. You don't need to do anything, but you deserve to know what happened.

The first issue was private details on public profiles. Your Ascend profile is visible to other signed-in users, because it powers profiles, people search and the leaderboard. That profile also held your account email and your device ID, which meant another signed-in user could read them. Your email is no longer stored there at all; it stays with your sign-in account, and when Ascendara needs it the server looks it up. Your device ID has moved to a private part of your account that only you can read. Existing accounts were cleaned up automatically on the server.

The second was that the app wrote its own stats. Your level, XP and playtime were written to your profile by the app on your computer. That meant someone could change their own numbers, or give themselves badges, and climb the leaderboard without playing. Now only Ascendara's servers can write stats, badges and subscription details, and the app can only change your profile basics, such as your name, picture and bio. We also recalculated every account's stats from scratch, and games you have never played no longer earn XP. If your level looks a little different after updating, that is why.

The third was playtime. It came from each game's local file, which anyone can open and change. Ascendara's servers now time your play sessions themselves: while a game is running, the app stays in touch with the server, and only real time spent playing counts toward your stats. If the app crashes or loses its connection, the time you played before that still counts.

• Your email and device ID are no longer readable by other users
• Only Ascendara's servers can set levels, XP, playtime and badges
• Every account's stats were recalculated, and unplayed games no longer earn XP
• Playtime is timed by the server instead of read from your computer

If something is public, it should be because you chose to share it. If something is on the leaderboard, it should be because you played.

Also in this release

Companion now shows the games running on your desktop and can stop them for you, and games you launch from Companion appear in your recent games. Game updates are safer: Ascendara copies the installed game before updating, so if you cancel an update, your game is restored as it was. On Mac and Linux, first-time setup skips the Python step and shows whether your computer is ready for Windows games. Dropdowns, menus and popovers have a refreshed look, and the info chips on the game page have been redesigned. In Ascend, the button in the navigation bar now opens the upcoming update, and notifications have moved into the menu.

Fixes

• Games can be launched in developer mode again
• Recent games on the home page show their artwork again
• A game can no longer be started twice while its compatibility files are still being prepared
• The verified game tooltip on the download page shows the right description

Graphics translators

5

Security fixes

3