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Difference between revisions of "Grand Theft Auto IV"

From AppleGamingWiki, the wiki about gaming on M1 Apple silicon Macs
(Add info for M4 Pro and settings guide)
 
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|ios-ipados app      = na
 
|ios-ipados app      = na
 
|ios-ipados app notes =  
 
|ios-ipados app notes =  
|crossover            = perfect
+
|crossover            = playable
|crossover notes      = Avg FPS : 35 according to the benchmark.<ref>{{Refdevice|user=Sam|date=04-October-2021|device=MacBook Air M1 8GB RAM|os=MacOS 11.6|method=CrossOver 21.0|version=|store=|resolution=1650x1050|settings=|framerate=35 FPS|controller=|url=|title=|comment=No frame drops, Works smoothly}}</ref>
+
|crossover notes      = Avg FPS: 35 according to the benchmark.<ref>{{Refdevice|user=Sam|date=04-October-2021|device=MacBook Air M1 8GB RAM|os=MacOS 11.6|method=CrossOver 21.0|version=|store=|resolution=1650x1050|settings=|framerate=35 FPS|controller=|url=|title=|comment=No frame drops, Works smoothly}}</ref>
|wine                = unknown
+
Similar to M1 performance even on M4 Pro. The only settings impacting performance are draw distance and car density. Tested on RGL version with FusionFix.<ref>{{Refdevice|user=Yt04ka|date=11-Feb-2026|device=MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB RAM|os=MacOS 26.2|method=CrossOver 25.1|version=|store=RGL|resolution=3024x1890|settings=|framerate=20-40 FPS|controller=DualSense|url=|title=|comment=There are reports of game running >60 fps with Crossover, but there also also reports of it running poorly, which I can confirm. It seems game runs about the same on any Mac. You can get around 30 fps if you keep 1-100 sliders near about 5. Every other settings, except of volumetric fog, doesn’t seem to have any noticeable impact on FPS. Consider using parallels, as in crossover game may stuck in infinite load if you cmd+tab to another app}}</ref>
|wine notes          =  
+
|wine                = perfect
 +
|wine notes          = Averages at 40-50 FPS on M2 Air. Certainly playable.<ref>{{Refdevice|user=Brdtst|date=2025-01-20|device=MacBook Air M2 2022 16 GB RAM|os=macOS 15.2|resolution=1280x800|settings=Low|framerate=~50 FPS|method=Wineskin|comment= A crack must be applied, since Rockstar Games Launcher crashes otherwise.|}}</ref>
 
|parallels            = perfect
 
|parallels            = perfect
|parallels notes      = Approximately 30-40 FPS on M1.<ref>{{Refdevice|user=Andytizer|date=2020-12-19|device=MacBook Air M1 2020|os=macOS 11.2 Beta Beta|method=Windows 10 ARM Pro Insider Preview Build on Parallels 16|version=|resolution=1920x1080|settings=Default|framerate=Approximately 30 FPS|controller=|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta9W6RawfCs|title=Grand Theft Auto IV - M1 Apple Silicon Parallels 16 Windows 10 ARM - MacBook Air 2020|comment=}}</ref>
+
|parallels notes      = Approximately 30-40 FPS on M1.<ref>{{Refdevice|user=Andytizer|date=2020-12-19|device=MacBook Air M1 2020|os=macOS 11.2 Beta Beta|method=Windows 10 ARM Pro Insider Preview Build on Parallels 16|version=|resolution=1920x1080|settings=Default|framerate=Approximately 30 FPS|controller=|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta9W6RawfCs|title=Grand Theft Auto IV - M1 Apple Silicon Parallels 16 Windows 10 ARM - MacBook Air 2020|comment=}}</ref>
 +
Depending on draw distance and scene complexity, 30-70 FPS are possible, 40 avg. Consider 30 fps limit via FusionFix for consistency. 60 FPS are possible if set draw distance and traffic to their lows <ref>{{Refdevice|user=Yt04ka|date=2026-02-11|device=MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB|os=macOS 26.2 |method=Windows 11 24H2 ARM on Parallels 26 |version=RGL| resolution=3024x1890|settings=|framerate=30-70 FPS, 40 avg|controller=DualSense|comment=see settings section}}</ref>  
 
|windows 10 arm      = na
 
|windows 10 arm      = na
 
|windows 10 arm notes =  
 
|windows 10 arm notes =  
Line 56: Line 58:
 
==Gameplay videos==
 
==Gameplay videos==
 
{{#widget:YouTube|id=ta9W6RawfCs}}
 
{{#widget:YouTube|id=ta9W6RawfCs}}
 +
 +
==Settings==
 +
Most of options listed are available only with [https://fusionfix.io/iv FusionFix], without which game just shouldn't be played nowadays. You may also install [https://github.com/Tomasak/GTA-Downgraders/releases/iv-latest Radio Restoration Mod] if you want to.
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Graphical settings for M4 Pro for (mostly) stable 30 FPS with Parallels
 +
|-
 +
! Setting name !! Level !! Comment
 +
|-
 +
| Video Mode || *Display native* || On Crossover, game may launch in resolution including notch zone, but will be stretched. Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact, at least on M4 Pro
 +
|-
 +
| Texture Quality || High ||
 +
|-
 +
| Reflection Resolution || High || Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact
 +
|-
 +
| Water Quality || Medium || Closest to consoles in look
 +
|-
 +
| Shadow Quality || High ||
 +
|-
 +
| Night Shadows || Medium || There reports that anything higher may be bugged
 +
|-
 +
| View Distance || 66/100 || Heavily affects performance, especially on Crossover. If keep it around 5/100, 60 FPS are possible on Parallels and mostly stable 30 on Crossover. Generally should be kept in the range 21-70, above 70 will take too much fps for no visual gain.
 +
|-
 +
| Detail Distance || 35/100 || Safe range is 10-70
 +
|-
 +
| Vehicle Density || 100? || While it will work with 100, traffic jams will be tiresome. Adjust to your tastes.
 +
|-
 +
| VSync || Off || Use limiter below
 +
|-
 +
| FPS Limiter || 30 || Not exactly necessary, but 30 will get you mostly consistent experience, definitely better than it was on consoles.
 +
|-
 +
| Anti-aliasing || SMAA? || I'm not sure if this works as I see the same aliasing across none, FXAA and SMAA. It looks fine in retina resolutions anyway.
 +
|-
 +
| Volumetric Fog || On || One of the most visually noticeable settings, had significant performance impact on Crossover but not on Parallels for some reason.
 +
|-
 +
| Sun shafts || On || Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact
 +
|-
 +
| Extended sunlight reach || On || Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact
 +
|-
 +
| Tone mapping || On || Original PC version had washed out colors compared to consoles, this setting brings colors to console look. No reason to keep this off imo.
 +
|-
 +
| Shadow filter || Soft || CHSS requires Shadow Quality to be Very High, between Hard and Soft I like the latter.
 +
|-
 +
| Graphics API || DirectX 9 || Do NOT set this to Vulkan. On Crossover this will make game crash on launch, not tested on Parallels but isn't expected to give any benefit.
 +
|-
 +
| Display/Distant Lights || Project2DFX || Can't recommend this enough, this makes nights look so much better
 +
|-
 +
| Everything else in Display section || As you like, really || These options shouldn't affect performance, choose what looks best to you
 +
|}
  
 
{{References}}
 
{{References}}

Latest revision as of 19:31, 11 February 2026

Grand Theft Auto IV
Grand Theft Auto IV cover
Developers
Rockstar North
Windows Rockstar Toronto
Publishers
Rockstar Games
Russia 1C-SoftClub
Engines
RAGE
Release dates
December 2, 2008
Reception
Metacritic 90
IGDB 88
Taxonomy
Series Grand Theft Auto
Resources
PCGamingWiki
Apple Silicon Games
Codeweavers
WineHQ
Grand Theft Auto IV on HowLongToBeat
Grand Theft Auto IV on IGDB
Grand Theft Auto IV guide on StrategyWiki
Grand Theft Auto IV on MobyGames
Grand Theft Auto IV on Wikipedia

macOS Compatibility

Compatibility layer Rating Notes
CrossOver Playable Avg FPS: 35 according to the benchmark.[1] Similar to M1 performance even on M4 Pro. The only settings impacting performance are draw distance and car density. Tested on RGL version with FusionFix.[2]
Wine Perfect Averages at 40-50 FPS on M2 Air. Certainly playable.[3]
Virtualization
Parallels Perfect Approximately 30-40 FPS on M1.[4] Depending on draw distance and scene complexity, 30-70 FPS are possible, 40 avg. Consider 30 fps limit via FusionFix for consistency. 60 FPS are possible if set draw distance and traffic to their lows [5]

Availability

See PCGamingWiki for Windows and/or Linux availability.

Gameplay videos

Settings

Most of options listed are available only with FusionFix, without which game just shouldn't be played nowadays. You may also install Radio Restoration Mod if you want to.

Graphical settings for M4 Pro for (mostly) stable 30 FPS with Parallels
Setting name Level Comment
Video Mode *Display native* On Crossover, game may launch in resolution including notch zone, but will be stretched. Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact, at least on M4 Pro
Texture Quality High
Reflection Resolution High Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact
Water Quality Medium Closest to consoles in look
Shadow Quality High
Night Shadows Medium There reports that anything higher may be bugged
View Distance 66/100 Heavily affects performance, especially on Crossover. If keep it around 5/100, 60 FPS are possible on Parallels and mostly stable 30 on Crossover. Generally should be kept in the range 21-70, above 70 will take too much fps for no visual gain.
Detail Distance 35/100 Safe range is 10-70
Vehicle Density 100? While it will work with 100, traffic jams will be tiresome. Adjust to your tastes.
VSync Off Use limiter below
FPS Limiter 30 Not exactly necessary, but 30 will get you mostly consistent experience, definitely better than it was on consoles.
Anti-aliasing SMAA? I'm not sure if this works as I see the same aliasing across none, FXAA and SMAA. It looks fine in retina resolutions anyway.
Volumetric Fog On One of the most visually noticeable settings, had significant performance impact on Crossover but not on Parallels for some reason.
Sun shafts On Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact
Extended sunlight reach On Doesn't seem to have noticeable performance impact
Tone mapping On Original PC version had washed out colors compared to consoles, this setting brings colors to console look. No reason to keep this off imo.
Shadow filter Soft CHSS requires Shadow Quality to be Very High, between Hard and Soft I like the latter.
Graphics API DirectX 9 Do NOT set this to Vulkan. On Crossover this will make game crash on launch, not tested on Parallels but isn't expected to give any benefit.
Display/Distant Lights Project2DFX Can't recommend this enough, this makes nights look so much better
Everything else in Display section As you like, really These options shouldn't affect performance, choose what looks best to you

References

  1. Verified by User:Sam on 04-October-2021
    Device: MacBook Air M1 8GB RAM
    OS: MacOS 11.6
    Method: CrossOver 21.0
    Resolution: 1650x1050
    Framerate: 35 FPS
    Comment: No frame drops, Works smoothly
  2. Verified by User:Yt04ka on 11-Feb-2026
    Device: MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB RAM
    OS: MacOS 26.2
    Method: CrossOver 25.1
    Store: RGL
    Resolution: 3024x1890
    Framerate: 20-40 FPS
    Controller: DualSense
    Comment: There are reports of game running >60 fps with Crossover, but there also also reports of it running poorly, which I can confirm. It seems game runs about the same on any Mac. You can get around 30 fps if you keep 1-100 sliders near about 5. Every other settings, except of volumetric fog, doesn’t seem to have any noticeable impact on FPS. Consider using parallels, as in crossover game may stuck in infinite load if you cmd+tab to another app
  3. Verified by User:Brdtst on 2025-01-20
    Device: MacBook Air M2 2022 16 GB RAM
    OS: macOS 15.2
    Method: Wineskin
    Resolution: 1280x800
    Settings: Low
    Framerate: ~50 FPS
    Comment: A crack must be applied, since Rockstar Games Launcher crashes otherwise.
  4. Verified by User:Andytizer on 2020-12-19
    Device: MacBook Air M1 2020
    OS: macOS 11.2 Beta Beta
    Method: Windows 10 ARM Pro Insider Preview Build on Parallels 16
    Resolution: 1920x1080
    Settings: Default
    Framerate: Approximately 30 FPS
    Link: Grand Theft Auto IV - M1 Apple Silicon Parallels 16 Windows 10 ARM - MacBook Air 2020
  5. Verified by User:Yt04ka on 2026-02-11
    Device: MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB
    OS: macOS 26.2
    Method: Windows 11 24H2 ARM on Parallels 26
    Game version: RGL
    Resolution: 3024x1890
    Framerate: 30-70 FPS, 40 avg
    Controller: DualSense
    Comment: see settings section