Help & FAQ

WOLF ASCENT is available for Macs with Apple silicon. A Windows version is in development.

It is a large 3D game. We recommend an M3 Pro or M4 Pro class Mac or better with 24 GB of memory; an M1 Pro or M2 Pro class Mac with 16 GB should manage on the Low preset. Intel Macs are not supported yet. The full, preliminary list is on the download page.

You only need an internet connection to download the game. It plays entirely offline.

The exact download size is shown on the download page. The installed game takes about 15 GB.

Keep about 25 GB free while installing, because the disk image and the installed game both need space until you delete the download. Install to an SSD for sensible loading times.

• Open the downloaded disk image.
• Drag WOLF ASCENT into your Applications folder, then eject the disk image.
• Launch the game from Applications, not from the disk image or your Downloads folder.

The first launch takes around 15–20 seconds before the menu appears.

It shouldn't happen. Release builds on this site are signed with our Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so they open without a warning.

If macOS refuses to open it, the file may be damaged or may not have come from us. Delete it and download a fresh copy from this site. If a SHA-256 checksum is listed on the download page, you can compare it with shasum -a 256 in Terminal. If the warning persists, contact support rather than overriding macOS security.

A Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) version is in development. It will appear on the download page when it is tested and ready; leave your email there if you'd like to hear when.

Controller support is in testing. The Xbox Wireless Controller over Bluetooth is recognised, and on-screen prompts switch to controller buttons as soon as you use it. Other controllers haven't been tested yet.

A few actions are keyboard-only for now, including the final sortie's two radio actions, launching all drones at once, and volume. Keyboard and mouse cover every action.

macOS may ask for this when the game reads a game controller. The wording is broad because the permission covers input devices in general; the game uses it only for controller input.

To use a controller, open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Input Monitoring and switch on WOLF ASCENT, then reopen the game if macOS asks. If you skip this, keyboard and mouse still work. The in-game Controller Setup page shows whether your controller is detected.

Yes. Controls follow key positions rather than letters, so on AZERTY and other layouts use the keys in the same physical places as W, A, S, D, Q and E on a US keyboard. On-screen prompts currently show the US letters, and remapping isn't available yet.

From the briefing, pause or debrief screen, press G (RB on a controller) or choose GRAPHICS at the top right.

Pick a preset (Low, Medium, High or Ultra) or adjust resolution, render scale, shadow quality and distance, vegetation distance and density, effect detail and the frame limit. Choose Apply, then confirm within 15 seconds; otherwise the previous settings come back on their own.

• Try the High, Medium or Low preset. Low renders at 65% scale with shorter shadow and vegetation distances.
• On Retina and other high-resolution displays, choose 1600 × 900 or 1920 × 1080, or set Render Scale to 80%.
• Keep the frame limit at 60; higher limits add heat without steadier play.
• Close other heavy apps, and plug in a laptop.

Ghost Signal, Sandstorm and Night Courier are the most demanding missions. Brief pauses while a new area loads are a known issue we're working on. If problems continue, send us your log file (see below), your Mac model and the mission name.

Wait 15 seconds without pressing anything: unconfirmed changes revert automatically.

If a saved setting still causes trouble, quit the game and reset just the graphics settings from Terminal. Your mission progress is kept.

The game starts full screen at your display's resolution. To start it in a window instead, run this in Terminal:

The window can be resized.

Progress saves automatically each time you complete a sortie, and the next one unlocks. If you quit in the middle of a sortie, that attempt is lost, but everything you've completed stays unlocked.

Graphics settings are saved when you confirm them. Volume and mute reset each time you launch. Saves stay on your computer; there are no online accounts or cloud saves.

Progress and settings are stored in ~/Library/Preferences/com.projectthunder.wolfascent.plist. To back them up, quit the game and copy that file.

To erase all progress and settings, quit the game and run:

In Finder choose Go › Go to Folder and enter ~/Library/Logs/ProjectThunder/WOLF ASCENT/. Send Player.log (this session) and Player-prev.log (the previous one).

If the game crashed, also look in ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/ for a file starting with “WOLF ASCENT”. Tell us your Mac model, macOS version, graphics preset and mission.

Logs can include your computer's name and folder paths, so check them before posting anywhere public.

By design, WOLF ASCENT pauses flight when its window loses focus, so you don't crash while you're away. Click back into the game and press Esc (Menu on a controller) to resume.

Press M to mute or unmute, and the minus and equals keys to lower or raise the volume in 10% steps. These are keyboard-only for now and reset to 70% each time you launch.

Quit the game and drag WOLF ASCENT from Applications to the Trash. To remove saves and settings too, run the command below, then delete the folder ~/Library/Logs/ProjectThunder/WOLF ASCENT/.