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Desktop requirements and set-up

This library covers games played on a desktop or laptop computer, which means a client download, a machine that has to cope with it, and an account that has to be protected. This page covers the practical side of that: how to judge whether a machine is suitable, what differs between Windows, macOS and Linux, and what to do before and after an install.

Judging a machine without a benchmark

Collection RPGs are, in graphics terms, undemanding compared with open-world titles: encounters are staged in small arenas with a fixed camera. What they do demand is patience with menus. A profile screen, an equipment screen and an encounter each load separately, and on a slow storage device that adds up across a session in a way that a frame rate counter never shows.

Three practical questions cover most of it. Does the machine have a solid-state drive, or a mechanical one? Solid-state storage is the single change that most affects how a game in this category feels, because the game spends much of its time loading discrete screens. Is the operating system a version the developer still lists? Old but powerful machines are more often blocked by an unsupported operating system version than by their hardware. And is there free storage headroom beyond the install size? A voiced client grows with updates, and an installation that fits exactly at install time will not fit in six months.

What differs between the three desktop platforms

Windows

The platform developers target first, and usually the one with the longest-supported client. If a title states desktop support without qualification, Windows is almost always what is meant. Watch for an installer that adds a launcher which starts with the machine; whether you want that is a preference, but it should be a decision rather than a default.

macOS

Support is real but tends to lag, particularly across processor architecture transitions. The question to answer before installing is whether the client is offered as a native build for your machine's processor or runs through a translation layer, since the latter affects performance and is not always stated on the download page.

Linux

Support is stated less often than it exists. A client may run through a compatibility layer without being officially supported, which is a different proposition: it usually works, it is not covered by the developer's support, and a client update can break it. Where a publisher does state Linux support — as the offer covered in title profiles does — that statement is the one to rely on.

Installing without creating a problem for yourself

1. Start from the publisher's own domain. Type or bookmark the address rather than arriving through a search advertisement or a third-party download portal. Repackaged installers are the ordinary route by which unwanted software arrives, and the Australian Cyber Security Centre's guidance on software from untrusted sources at cyber.gov.au is worth a read before your first download of anything.
2. Check the machine is yours to install on. A work or study laptop is usually subject to an acceptable-use policy, and game clients are a common category of blocked software. Installing around a managed policy is an employment problem, not a technical one.
3. Use a unique password and enable any additional verification the publisher offers. Game accounts accumulate value and are traded, which makes them a target. This is covered properly on account safety.
4. Decide about launcher autostart during installation. It is easier to decline at install time than to unpick later.
5. Note where the client stores its files. Useful six months later, when disk space is short or the game is being removed.

Shared machines and younger players

A family computer raises questions a personal one does not: separate operating system accounts keep game accounts and saved payment details apart, and payment details stored in a browser profile are available to anyone using that profile. Where the player is a child or a teenager, the classification and consumer questions in spending and classification should be settled first, and the eSafety Commissioner at esafety.gov.au is the Australian body dealing with online safety and in-game harassment.

Removing a client properly

Uninstalling through the operating system's own removal process usually leaves configuration and cache files behind. That is harmless in itself, but if the reason for removing a game is that you have decided to stop playing, leftover launchers that start with the machine defeat the purpose. Check the operating system's startup items after uninstalling, and note that deleting a client does not close the account — account deletion is a separate request to the publisher, governed by its own terms.

Common questions

Can I play on a work or university laptop?

Technically often yes, and in policy terms usually no. Managed machines are typically covered by an acceptable-use policy that restricts installed software, and administrative rights are commonly withheld for exactly this reason. Check the policy rather than the technical possibility; the consequences of ignoring it fall outside anything a game's requirements page discusses.

Do I need a dedicated graphics card?

Everworks does not publish hardware requirements for any title, so the accurate answer is that the developer's requirements page decides it. As general guidance about the category: games built around staged encounters with a fixed camera are lighter on graphics hardware than open-world titles, and integrated graphics are more often adequate here than elsewhere. Confirm against the specific title before relying on that.

How much disk space should I allow?

More than the stated install size. Fully-voiced clients are large, and update cycles add content rather than replace it, so the figure on a requirements page is a starting point rather than a ceiling. The practical approach is to keep headroom on the drive instead of installing to a disk that is already close to full.

Is downloading a game client safe?

A client obtained from the publisher's own site is an ordinary piece of software and is treated as such by your operating system's protections. The risk in practice attaches to where a download came from rather than to game clients as a category: repackaged installers from mirror sites, modified clients promising advantages, and links arriving through unsolicited messages. Australian guidance on recognising these is published by the Australian Cyber Security Centre at cyber.gov.au.

Will a game run on Linux if the publisher does not mention it?

Sometimes, through a compatibility layer, and without any support commitment from the developer. That is a workable arrangement for a hobbyist and a poor one for anyone who wants a client that keeps working through updates without attention. Where Linux support is stated by the publisher, it is recorded in the profile grid; where it is not stated, this library records it as not stated rather than guessing.