diff --git a/.github/workflows/macos-ci.yml b/.github/workflows/macos-ci.yml
index f4c4df8a1..024f45168 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/macos-ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/macos-ci.yml
@@ -21,49 +21,28 @@ jobs:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         os:
-          #- macos-11
-          - macos-12
+          # x86-64
+          - macos-13
+          # M1 processor
+          #- macos-14
         compiler:
           - clang
           - gcc
-        homebrew-gl:
-          - true
-          # - false
-        homebrew-al:
-          - true
-          - false
 
     steps:
+      # specific setup for Python on Mac to ensure Python Version align
+      - name: Python Setup on Mac
+        uses: actions/setup-python@0b93645e9fea7318ecaed2b359559ac225c90a2b # v5.3.0
+        with:
+          python-version: 3.12.8
 
       # The following dependencies are already present within macos-* images:
-      # - clang (llvm)
-      # - cmake
-      # - expat
-      # - gcc
-      # - git
-      # - jpeg
-      # - libpng
-      # - libvorbis
-      # - python
-      - name: Install dependencies using homebrew
-        run: brew install boost-python3 gtk+3 gtkglext sdl
-
-      # The following Apple-provided libraries are deprecated:
-      # * OpenGL as of macOS 10.14
-      # * GLUT as of macOS 10.9
-      - name: Optionally install homebrewed OpenGL and GLUT
-        if: ${{ matrix.homebrew-gl }}
-        run: |
-          brew install mesa mesa-glu freeglut
-          ln -s /usr/local/include/GL /usr/local/include/OpenGL
-          ln -s /usr/local/include/GL /usr/local/include/GLUT
-        # ln -s /usr/local/lib/libGL.dylib /usr/local/lib/libOpenGL.dylib
-        # find /usr/local/lib/ -iname '*gl*.dylib'
-
-      # The Apple-provided OpenAL is deprecated as of macOS 10.15
-      - name: Optionally install homebrewed OpenAL
-        if: ${{ matrix.homebrew-al }}
-        run: brew install openal-soft
+      # MacOS has a Developers Tools package from Apple that gets installed which
+      # provides some minimal functionality:
+      #   XCode (which uses CLang/LLVM)
+      #   git
+      - name: Install the latest version of Bash so we can rely on it
+        run: brew install bash
 
       - name: Check out repository
         uses: actions/checkout@b4ffde65f46336ab88eb53be808477a3936bae11 #v4.1.1
@@ -76,6 +55,11 @@ jobs:
         if: github.event.pull_request
         run: git checkout HEAD^2
 
+      - name: Bootstrap MacOS
+        run: script/bootstrap-mac.sh
+
+      # Note: it might be good to use a step to detect where OpenAL-Soft is
+      # installed and set it to a GHA variable that can be consumed below
       - name: Build it
         env:
           MY_OS_NAME: macos
diff --git a/engine/CMakeLists.txt b/engine/CMakeLists.txt
index 910df8b76..5ce7277d7 100644
--- a/engine/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/engine/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ CONFIGURE_FILE(src/version.h.in ${Vega_Strike_BINARY_DIR}/setup/src/include/vers
 
 MESSAGE("== Vega Strike Version: ${VEGASTRIKE_VERSION_LONG_STR}")
 
-SET(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 11)
+SET(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 14)
 SET(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED TRUE)
 SET(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS ON)
 SET(CMAKE_C_STANDARD 11)
@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@ SET(CMAKE_MSVC_RUNTIME_LIBRARY "MultiThreaded$<$<CONFIG:Debug>:Debug>DLL")
 SET(CMAKE_INSTALL_UCRT_LIBRARIES TRUE)
 INCLUDE(InstallRequiredSystemLibraries)
 
+IF (XCODE)
+    SET(CMAKE_FIND_FRAMEWORK "LAST")
+ENDIF (XCODE)
+
 IF (UNIX)
     INCLUDE_DIRECTORIES(
         ${Vega_Strike_SOURCE_DIR}/src
diff --git a/script/bootstrap-mac.sh b/script/bootstrap-mac.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..1ede0107b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/script/bootstrap-mac.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+set -e
+
+DETECT_MAC_OS_VERSION=$(sw_vers -productVersion | cut -f 1,2 -d '.')
+echo "Detected Mac OS X Version: ${DETECT_MAC_OS_VERSION}"
+
+MAC_OS_NAME="UNKOWN"
+case "${DETECT_MAC_OS_VERSION}" in
+    "10.13")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="High_Sierra"
+        echo "Unsupported Mac Version"
+        exit 2
+        ;;
+    "10.14")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="Mojave"
+        echo "Unsupported Mac Version"
+        exit 2
+        ;;
+    "10.15")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="Catalina"
+        echo "Unsupported Mac Version"
+        exit 2
+        ;;
+    "11.*")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="Big_Sur"
+        echo "Unsupported Mac Version"
+        exit 2
+        ;;
+    "12.*")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="Monterey"
+        echo "Unsupported Mac Version"
+        exit 2
+        ;;
+    "13.0"|"13.1"|"13.2"|"13.3"|"13.4"|"13.5"|"13.6"|"13.7")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="Ventura"
+        ;;
+    "14.0"|"14.1"|"14.2"|"14.3"|"14.4"|"14.5"|"14.6"|"14.7")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="Sonoma"
+        ;;
+    "15.0"|"15.1"|"15.2"|"15.3"|"15.4"|"15.5"|"15.6"|"15.7")
+        MAC_OS_NAME="Sequoia"
+        ;;
+    *)
+        echo "Unknown Mac Release: ${DETECT_MAC_OS_VERSION}"
+        exit 1
+        ;;
+esac
+
+echo "Detected Mac OS X ${DETECT_MAC_OS_VERSION} - ${MAC_OS_NAME}"
+# While we may be able to assume some other dependencies there does seem to be
+# some changes between versions of MacOS on which are provided by default; so
+# aside from the two above we should just go ahead an install everything ourselves.
+
+# Install the stuff we know needs to get installed all the time
+brew install \
+    gcc \
+    cmake \
+    python3 \
+    boost-python3 \
+    jpeg \
+    libpng \
+    gtk+3 \
+    gtkglext \
+    sdl2
+
+# The following Apple-provided libraries are deprecated:
+# * OpenGL as of macOS 10.14
+# * GLUT as of macOS 10.9
+brew install mesa mesa-glu freeglut
+ln -s $(brew --prefix)/include/GL $(brew --prefix)/include/OpenGL
+ln -s $(brew --prefix)/include/GL $(brew --prefix)/include/GLUT
+# ln -s $(brew --prefix)/lib/libGL.dylib $(brew --prefix)/lib/libOpenGL.dylib
+# find $(brew --prefix)/lib/ -iname '*gl*.dylib'
+
+# MacOS 13+ needs Vorbis support
+brew install vorbis-tools
+
+# The Apple-provided OpenAL is deprecated as of macOS 10.15
+brew install openal-soft freealut
diff --git a/script/cibuild b/script/cibuild
index c4e2ffc28..07c2a6078 100755
--- a/script/cibuild
+++ b/script/cibuild
@@ -56,6 +56,41 @@ then
     docker rm $DOCKER_CONTAINER_NAME
 elif [ "$MY_OS_NAME" == "macos" ]
 then
+    # setup the environment for Homebrew
+    BUILD_WITH_PYTHON_VERSION="3.12"
+
+    HOMEBREW_PREFIX="$(brew --prefix)"
+    HOMEBREW_BIN="${HOMEBREW_PREFIX}/bin"
+    HOMEBREW_PYTHON_BIN="$(brew --prefix python)/libexec/bin"
+
+    # NOTE: we do not support builds on MacOS ARM right now as there are some linker errors.
+    #   Any help in making those work would be appreciated.
+
+    echo "Build With Python Version: ${BUILD_WITH_PYTHON_VERSION}"
+    echo "          Homebrew Prefix: ${HOMEBREW_PREFIX}"
+    echo "             Homebrew Bin: ${HOMEBREW_BIN}"
+    echo "      Homebrew Python Bin: ${HOMEBREW_PYTHON_BIN}"
+
+    # Homebrew tooling needs to come first in the path search
+    export PATH=${HOMEBREW_BIN}:${HOMEBREW_PYTHON_BIN}:${PATH}
+
+    HOMEBREW_PYTHON_VERSION=$(${HOMEBREW_BIN}/python${BUILD_WITH_PYTHON_VERSION} -c "import sys; print(f'{sys.version_info.major}.{sys.version_info.minor}')")
+    echo "  Detected Python Version: ${HOMEBREW_PYTHON_VERSION}"
+
+    # Ensure it uses the correct Python version
+    # Do not set PYTHONHOME or PYTHONPATH; otherwise some odd errors will come up as
+    # it's not necessary
+    export HOMEBREW_PYTHON3_CFLAGS="$(${HOMEBREW_BIN}/python${BUILD_WITH_PYTHON_VERSION}-config --cflags)"
+    export HOMEBREW_PYTHON3_LDFLAGS="$(${HOMEBREW_BIN}/python${BUILD_WITH_PYTHON_VERSION}-config --ldflags)"
+    echo "   Homebrew Python CFlags: ${HOMEBREW_PYTHON3_CLFLAGS}"
+    echo "  Homebrew Python LDFlags: ${HOMEBREW_PYTHON3_LDFLAGS}"
+
+    # Homebrew needs certain flags set so its installation parts are found
+    export CFLAGS="-I${HOMEBREW_PREFIX}/include ${HOMEBREW_PYTHON3_CFLAGS} ${CFLAGS}"
+    export LDFLAGS="-L${HOMEBREW_PREFIX}/lib ${HOMEBREW_PYTHON3_LDFLAGS} ${LDFLAGS}"
+    echo "                   CFlags: ${CFLAGS}"
+    echo "                  LDFlags: ${LDFLAGS}"
+
     script/build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo $@
     # On macOS, the following is done by the calling CI workflow
     # ctest -V