# OpenPopTB-MacOS: static recompilation of Populous: The Beginning for Apple Silicon

> OpenPopTB-MacOS statically recompiles Populous: The Beginning and Undiscovered Worlds from a user's Windows executables into native Apple Silicon applications. A Python recompiler translates discovered x86 functions to C, while a C runtime provides guest memory and Win32 and DirectX behavior through SDL3. The author reports single-player playability and instruction-level and function-level differential checks.

- Type: Case study
- Targets: Game
- Category: Independent reconstruction cases
- Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
- Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
- Added to the catalog: 2026-11-08
- Original resource: <https://github.com/iagodemacedo/OpenPopTB-MacOS>
- Primary source: <https://github.com/iagodemacedo/OpenPopTB-MacOS/blob/1b1c58ef33e0e45b502ec8f09301617e1098d51f/README.md>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/openpoptb-macos-case/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/resources/openpoptb-macos-case/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/resources/openpoptb-macos-case/index.md)

## Requirements & limits

- **Prerequisites:** A user's copy of the game, including its executables, libraries and data, is required.
- **Prerequisites:** The download requires Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or later; source builds support macOS 12 or later and require Apple Command Line Tools, CMake, Ninja, SDL3, Python and innoextract.
- **Testing evidence:** The tested game version is the GOG 1.01 release; other versions may work but are untested.
- **Limits:** Multiplayer is in progress.
- **License:** MIT license applies to the repository's original code.

## Primary sources

1. <https://github.com/iagodemacedo/OpenPopTB-MacOS/blob/1b1c58ef33e0e45b502ec8f09301617e1098d51f/README.md>
2. <https://github.com/iagodemacedo/OpenPopTB-MacOS/blob/1b1c58ef33e0e45b502ec8f09301617e1098d51f/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md>

## More in Games

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- [Pac-Man Championship Edition: a native PC static recompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/pac-man-championship-edition-pc-recomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [PacManRecomp: a native recompilation of NES Pac-Man](https://awesomerea.org/resources/pacmanrecomp-case/index.md) · Case study
- [Parasite Eve: PlayStation static recompilation](https://awesomerea.org/resources/parasite-eve-recomp/index.md) · Case study

## About this entry

The description was reviewed against primary sources.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.