How to run Richard Burns Rally on Mac with force feedback (CrossOver + Torqer)

Bytorqer

Richard Burns Rally is a 2004 rally simulator that many still consider the most realistic rally physics on any platform. It’s demanding, technical, and completely unforgiving… which makes the feel of the wheel through a stage corner one of the most satisfying things in sim racing. With CrossOver and Torqer, you can now run RBR on your Mac with full force feedback.

This guide covers everything from a clean Mac to driving a stage with FFB. Tested on M-series MacBooks.

What you’ll need

  • A Mac with Apple Silicon (M-series) running macOS 13 or later
  • A Torqer-supported wheel: G29, G923 PS, G27, G25, or DFGT
  • CrossOver — paid app, 14-day free trial available
  • Torqer (v6.3+)— free download, includes a 5-day full-feature trial
  • Richard Burns Rally on Steam

Step 1 – Prepare your Mac

1a. Uninstall Logitech G Hub (if installed)

G Hub conflicts with Torqer’s direct hardware access. If it’s on your Mac, remove it before continuing.

Open G Hub and use its built-in uninstall option, or drag the app from /Applications to the Trash and remove its launch agent:

sudo rm /Library/LaunchAgents/com.logi.ghub.engine.plist

Leave your wheel plugged in — Torqer handles it directly without any Logitech software.

1b. Install CrossOver

  1. Download CrossOver from codeweavers.com. The 14-day free trial needs no credit card.
  2. Drag it to /Applications and launch it.

Important: Do not rename the CrossOver app. Its internal code signature is tied to its default filename — renaming it breaks Wine and causes launch failures.

1c. Create a Steam bottle

  1. In CrossOver, click New Bottle
  2. Name it Steam or Richard Burns Rally
  3. Leave the type as Windows 10 64-bit
  4. Click Create

Once created, open the bottle’s settings (right-click → Settings) and enable:

  • D3DMetal — translates DirectX to Apple Metal. Improves performance on Apple Silicon.
  • MSync — reduces CPU overhead from Wine’s synchronisation layer.

1d. Install Steam and Richard Burns Rally

  1. In CrossOver, select your bottle and click Install Software
  2. Search for Steam and install it
  3. Log into your Steam account inside CrossOver
  4. Find Richard Burns Rally in your library and install it

Launch the game once to confirm it starts, then close it before continuing.

Step 2 – Performance notes for RBR on Mac

RBR is a 2004 game, so the GPU requirements are low – it will run on any Apple Silicon Mac. Two things are worth knowing before you start driving:

Loading times are slower than on Windows. This is normal. Wine’s translation layer adds overhead to disk I/O and asset loading for older games. The stages themselves run fine once loaded – only the loading screens between menus and stages take longer than you’d expect.

Menu responsiveness is slightly sluggish. Again, normal for CrossOver with this game. Once you’re on-stage, the game feels sharp and responsive.

Tip: Enable macOS Game Mode before launching. It reserves CPU and GPU headroom from other apps, which reduces stutters during a stage. Guide: How to enable Game Mode on Mac for CrossOver and Wine games

Step 3 – Install Torqer and set up FFB

3a. Download and install Torqer

Download Torqer, open the DMG, and drag Torqer to your Applications folder.

Launch Torqer. On first launch it starts a 5-day trial with all features unlocked (no account needed).

3b. Connect your wheel

Plug in your wheel via USB if it isn’t already. Torqer detects it automatically and shows a green “Connected” status at the top of the window.

3c. Install TorqerDI into your CrossOver bottle

  1. In Torqer, click Install Torqer in the sidebar
  2. Torqer scans your CrossOver bottles — select your RBR bottle
  3. Click Install

Torqer installs a DirectInput proxy DLL into the bottle. This is what intercepts the game’s FFB calls and routes them to your wheel.

3d. Select Richard Burns Rally in Torqer

In Torqer’s sidebar, click Richard Burns Rally. FFB starts automatically when the game launches, nothing else to configure.

Step 4 – Configure FFB inside RBR

In-game FFB settings

Launch RBR through CrossOver. In the main menu, go to Options → Controls.

Look for the Force Feedback section. With Torqer installed and running, the Force Feedback option should be available (not greyed out). Enable it and set:

  • Force Feedback Strength: 50–80% as a starting point
  • Test from the same screen to verify the wheel produces force

Note: The in-game FFB test button may not produce obvious wheel movement: this is normal. RBR sends its main FFB forces only during an active stage, not in the menus. Run a short stage to feel the full effect.

On the stage

RBR’s FFB is delivered as a continuous ConstantForce effect that carries road surface information, kerb strikes, tyre slip, and understeer/oversteer. When driving:

  • You should feel road texture through gravel and tarmac
  • Kerb hits produce sharp spikes
  • Understeer reduces force (wheel goes light)
  • Oversteer kicks the wheel in the direction of the slide

If the wheel feels weak, increase Force Feedback Strength in the RBR options and try Native FFB Intensity in Torqer’s Richard Burns Rally page.

FFB modes in Torqer

Richard Burns Rally currently uses Native FFB – Torqer faithfully delivers the exact force signals RBR sends to the wheel. This is the same path all other games use until a telemetry-based advanced mode is added.

RBR doesn’t expose physics telemetry by default (no built-in UDP stream). Advanced FFB effects (Car Weight, Road Rumble, Collisions) are not yet available for RBR but may be added in a future update if a reliable telemetry source is established.

Troubleshooting

Force Feedback is greyed out in RBR’s controls menu

This means RBR didn’t detect an FFB-capable wheel. Make sure:

  1. Torqer is running and your wheel shows as connected (green indicator)
  2. TorqerDI is installed in the correct bottle (check Install Torqer → bottle shows “Installed”)
  3. RBR was launched after Torqer was already running

If it’s still greyed out after reinstalling, quit RBR completely, confirm Torqer shows the wheel connected, then relaunch RBR.

The wheel turns but there’s no force

Confirm you enabled Force Feedback in RBR’s controls menu and set the strength above 0. Also check that Native FFB Intensity in Torqer is not set to 0. The FFB test in the menus may feel weak — run a short stage to experience the full force.

Torqer shows the wheel as disconnected

Unplug and replug the wheel. Make sure G Hub is not running. If any Logitech software was installed, remove it first.

Crashes or game won’t launch

Confirm D3DMetal and MSync are enabled in your CrossOver bottle settings (right-click bottle → Settings). If RBR launched once and now fails, try deleting the in-game configuration folder inside the bottle’s Windows user folder and let the game regenerate it on next launch.

Loading times are very long

This is normal for RBR under CrossOver. The game itself was not optimised for modern storage or translation layers. Expect stage loading to take 2–4× longer than on a native Windows install. Once a stage is loaded, it runs normally.


If you run into something not covered here, you can contact us.

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