PlayCover Setup
Run the iPad version of Age of Origins on your Mac and connect it to OriginsBot
What you need
- A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) running macOS 14 or later. PlayCover can’t run iPad games on Intel Macs.
- PlayCover 4.0 or later: free, open-source software that runs iPad apps on the Mac. The Setup Assistant downloads a compatible version for you.
- Age of Origins 1.3.841 or later (the iPad version). Older versions can’t log in.
- OriginsBot, installed in your Applications folder.
Open the Setup Assistant
The first time you open OriginsBot it asks how to connect to the game: choose PlayCover (Recommended) and the PlayCover Setup Assistant opens. It takes about two minutes and checks each requirement in turn, fixing what it can.
To open it again later: Help › PlayCover Setup Assistant…, or Settings › PlayCover Input › Open Setup Assistant…
Step by step
System Check
Confirms the Mac has Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or later. If this step fails, PlayCover can’t run on this Mac.
PlayCover
Installs PlayCover 4.0 or later. Click the download button in the assistant; it always picks a compatible version.
PlayCover hasn’t been through Apple’s notarization yet, so the first time you open it macOS shows a warning. To open it:
- Click Done on the warning (not Move to Trash).
- Click Open Privacy & Security in the assistant and scroll to the bottom.
- Next to “PlayCover was blocked”, click Open Anyway and enter your password.
- Open PlayCover again and click Open. macOS only asks once.
Can’t find PlayCover afterwards? Use the assistant’s Open PlayCover button; the PlayCover step also shows which folder it’s installed in.
Game Library
Adds Age of Origins to PlayCover. PlayCover can download it from its IPA Library, or you can drag an Age of Origins .ipa file onto PlayCover’s window. You need version 1.3.841 or newer; the assistant tells you if yours is too old and where to get a current one.
More than one account? Each copy of the game is a separate app with its own login, so add one copy per account with Add another copy. Then click Restart PlayCover so the new copies appear in PlayCover’s library.
Open each copy once from PlayCover before continuing.
Screen Recording
OriginsBot sees the game through screenshots, so it needs the Screen Recording permission. When macOS asks, allow it (or turn on OriginsBot in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording), then reopen OriginsBot.
Never click Deny on this prompt: it turns the permission off.
Input Bridge
OriginsBot taps and swipes through a small bridge plugin that PlayCover loads into each game. The assistant lists every copy of Age of Origins with its plugin status: click Install (or Update) for each one.
Then start the games and click Verify Running Games. A copy that was already running needs to be quit and reopened to load the plugin.
All Set
The summary shows System, PlayCover, Game, Screen Recording and Bridge as ready. You can finish now and re-run the assistant any time.
After setup
- Open each copy of the game and log in to its account. Leave it on the city view.
- Each copy appears on the OriginsBot dashboard as its own card. See Game instances.
- Add tasks with Add Action on a card, then press Play. See Creating tasks.
After a game update
When Age of Origins updates in PlayCover, the update replaces the bridge plugin. Run the Setup Assistant again and reinstall the plugin for each copy.
Window size
OriginsBot works at any window size, but keeping every copy the same size makes them easier to watch side by side. In PlayCover’s settings for each copy, use the same iPad device model and Custom Scaler, then drag a window’s corner to resize it; macOS remembers the size.