How to run Noctis IV: CE on Silicon Mac

Noctis IV: CE is still a DOS program. That is good news: an Apple Silicon Mac cannot run its executable directly, but DOSBox-X can emulate the machine it expects. DOSBox-X provides an ARM build for modern Macs, so Rosetta is not required.

1. Install DOSBox-X

If you use Homebrew:

brew install dosbox-x

You can also download the ARM macOS build from the DOSBox-X website. The Homebrew formula page is a useful place to check the current package and supported macOS versions.

2. Download Noctis

For the Community Edition used throughout this blog, download Noctis IV: CE R11.6a. R11.6a is the latest proper, non-special NICE release. Unzip it somewhere permanent; ~/Games/Noctis is a convenient example.

If you want Ghignola's original Noctis IV instead, the Noctis page at DOS Games Archive has both the DOS release and the original C++ source. The R11.6a download is a playable Community Edition binary, not a source release.

3. Mount the folder and launch it

Open DOSBox-X and enter the following, changing the macOS path to wherever you unzipped the game:

mount c "/Users/your-name/Games/Noctis"
c:
cd modules
noctis

The cd modules matters: NOCTIS.EXE expects the package's DATA directory to be one level above it.

If the game is slow, set the emulated CPU core to dynamic and its cycles to max. You can enter these commands before launching:

core dynamic
cycles max

Those settings can also be saved in DOSBox-X's configuration tool. Because the mounted C drive is an ordinary Mac folder, Noctis's saves—including DATA/CURRENT.BIN—remain there between sessions.

One last trap: the package also contains a Windows executable. On a Silicon Mac, launch MODULES/NOCTIS.EXE through DOSBox-X as shown above.