Assetto Corsa on a Mac: setup, launch and force feedback

Updated 29 September 2026 · Uncork version 0.16.2

Assetto Corsa starts on a Mac, but does not work out of the box: the launcher needs .NET, the game needs DirectX libraries and fonts, and the Steam overlay crashes the process. Uncork installs all of that itself, and the Play button opens a race screen. We measured frame rates once, and tested Logitech G923 force feedback on a real wheel. What we have not tested is listed below.

What the game needs and what Uncork does

We took the path anyone takes installing this game without Windows, and wrote every step into the code. The “Prepare Assetto Corsa” button on the game's card does what used to be done by hand:

Installs .NET Framework 4.8. The game's launcher is written for .NET 4.0. Without it, it closes three seconds after starting.
Installs the DirectX libraries and the shader compiler (d3dx11_43, d3dcompiler_43, d3dcompiler_47). The built-in stub for D3DX11SaveTextureToMemory crashes the game with an access violation, so the real libraries are needed: DirectX from Microsoft, and the version 47 shader compiler as a Microsoft build taken from Mozilla's repository.
Puts in fonts without which Custom Shaders Patch crashes, and rewrites the name inside each font file to match the file name, the way Windows expects. If the name inside a file does not match the file name, Steam stops signing in: we found that out the hard way.
Turns off the Steam overlay for the game. It loads into the game's process and crashes on a delayed library load.
Installs Content Manager, so you can pick cars and tracks the usual way.

Steps that are already done are skipped. Steam and games must be closed during preparation, because the Windows version in the bottle changes.

The race screen

Once prepared, Play opens a race screen: a car with skin previews, time of day, weather, air and road temperature, and a Spotify track on the car's display. There is one track: Shutoko Revival Project with traffic, installed through Content Manager. Uncork writes the race settings itself and starts the game directly, without the launcher.

If loading a track stalls and the game's logs stay silent for thirty seconds, Uncork closes the game and starts it again; if the second start fails too, it shows an error. This happened with mods on our Mac, and a retry usually goes through.

What frame rate

One measurement, and we call it that.

Scene	Graphics layer	Frames per second
1512×982 window, high settings without Extra FX, Custom Shaders Patch 0.3, Pure, rain, Shutoko Revival Project traffic	DXMT	about 34

MacBook Pro 14″ with an M3 Pro and 18 GB, 27 September 2026, by the Metal HUD. No repeats, not measured with Extra FX (anti-aliasing, reflections, volumetric light) on, and other tracks and cars were not measured, so this is an order of magnitude, not a promise. The first launch with rain is much slower because the game prepares its effects: ours ran at about three frames per second. After nine hours of running, the process held 13 GB of 18 on our machine; how much it holds in a normal one- or two-hour session we have not measured. Close heavy apps before playing.

With Custom Shaders Patch version 0.3 under D3DMetal we saw pink squares on edges and highlights, so Uncork runs Assetto Corsa on DXMT. Patch version 0.2.11 drew cleanly under D3DMetal. We turn “Even frames” off for this game: it got in the way while a map loaded.

Logitech wheel force feedback

In Assetto Corsa and BeamNG.drive a Logitech G923 wheel is visible but gets no force feedback without our library. Since version 0.16.1 Uncork ships its own build of the SDL library with force feedback for the G923 and G29 (it is based on the Logitech wheel driver in SDL 3.4, written by the community).

G923, PlayStation and PC version (USB 046d:c266). Tested live in Assetto Corsa: the game's log identifies the device as “Logitech G923”, there are no force-feedback initialisation errors, and force feedback works. The Xbox version of the G923 has not been tested.
G29. Supported in code, not tested on real hardware.
Other wheels (G920, Thrustmaster, Fanatec) have not been tested.

For force feedback to work, the game window must be in front while it loads: otherwise the game does not get exclusive access to the wheel and logs a CreateEffect failed error. The new library takes effect after a full restart of Steam. It is safest to connect the wheel before Steam starts; we have not tested whether Steam picks up a wheel plugged in while it is running.

How to start

Buy Assetto Corsa on Steam and install the game in Uncork through your bottle.
Open the game's card and press “Prepare Assetto Corsa”. Steam and games must be closed.
Press Play and pick a car, time and weather.
For a wheel, connect it before Steam starts and keep the game window in front while it loads.

Custom Shaders Patch, Pure and traffic mods are installed separately, through Content Manager: Uncork does not distribute them.