Back in June of 2021 I posted this thread...
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...ifficulty-HIGH
...which detailed how to install the latest stable version of open-source WINE so that SSG's "Mac Download" version of LOTRO can use the 64-bit client instead of being stuck on the 32-bit client (and also prevent the opening of web browser windows or tabs with nags about installing Windows components that a typical Mac user of SSG's "Mac Download" version of LOTRO doesn't have the ability to install). A number of people have followed that procedure successfully.
This past week I had the opportunity to try to trim down that procedure a bit. Using remote access, I helped a friend set up an old Mac running MacOS Mojave 10.14 so that it could run LOTRO better. Her Mac is old enough that it can't have MacOS Monterey 12 installed, she has some old 32-bit Mac-native applications she still likes to use, and so she wants to stick with Mojave for now. Crossover was an option but my friend opted to not try it. So this was a good opportunity to develop a simpler procedure based on the procedure I developed last year.
Before beginning this procedure, please keep the following things in mind:
1- This will work only for Macs running MacOS Mojave 10.14. The reason this will not work for Macs using any version of MacOS more recent than Mojave such as Catalina, Big Sur, or Monterey is because there is no 32-bit application support in post-Mojave versions of MacOS and both LOTRO and WINE itself have 32-bit components. (Remember that SSG's "Mac Download" version of LOTRO is the Windows version of LOTRO packaged with a very old version of WINE, it is not a native Macintosh application.) Codeweavers Crossover gets around this with a proprietary version of WINE which includes a 32-bit to 64-bit conversion layer which means LOTRO will run in versions of MacOS more recent than Mojave with Crossover but not with open-source WINE. And there is currently a known bug in WINE which prevents WINE 6.17 or later from running properly in versions of MacOS earlier than Mojave. So MOJAVE ONLY, no other version of MacOS will work! No 10.13 High Sierra, no 10.6 Snow Leopard: 10.14 MOJAVE ONLY!!
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edit 2023-01-25: There are now versions of open-source WINE which will run LOTRO in versions of MacOS older than 10.14 Mojave and other versions of open-source WINE which will run LOTRO in versions of MacOS more recent than 10.14 Mojave. See the addenda to Step D1 below.
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2- The "Mac Download" version of LOTRO (the Windows version of LOTRO packaged with an old version of open-source WINE) will work on Macs running MacOS Mojave, but will be limited to the 32-bit client. The 64-bit client requires Windows components which are not included in the old version of WINE which SSG installs as part of the "Mac Download" version of the game. The game is playable with the 32-bit client but you will experience issues in the more recently developed areas of the game (which make heavier use of advanced graphics than the older areas of the game) and in areas where there are many players running around at the same time. This is mainly because the 32-bit client is extremely limited in its ability to address RAM. If you stick with the old version of WINE included with SSG's "Mac Download" you will also get browser window/tab nags about installing updated versions of Microsoft C++. The best way to do that is to install the most recent stable-release version of WINE which is what the procedure below is all about, once you complete the procedure below you will be able to use LOTRO's 64-bit client and will not see those nags anymore.
3- I am aware that there are versions of open-source WINE which also include the 32/64-bit conversion layer and other components which can get LOTRO running in post-Mojave versions of MacOS. Doing so requires using versions of WINE which are very buggy, that is why they are not included in the current "stable" release version. I will not provide procedures which involve beta versions of WINE. If you choose to do so on your own, you will run into technical issues which I will not help you with; sorry. If you want to run LOTRO on a Mac in a post-Mojave version of MacOS, please use Codeweavers Crossover. Crossover is much easier to use than open-source WINE and it works great, I use it nearly every day.
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edit 2023-01-26: I have tested public builds of free, open-source WINE which will work on versions of MacOS both pre-Mojave and post-mojave and am confident that they both work for running LOTRO and are safe for LOTRO players to use. See Step D1 and its addenda below.
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4- The procedure below is simpler than the one I developed last year but still makes use of the Terminal. You must be very careful when entering commands into the Terminal, the smallest typo or other error will prevent the command from running or will cause the command to do something other than what is intended. Copy-paste or very carefully type the commands into the Terminal. In addition, note that after you enter some commands and press the RETURN key the command will be executing but you will see no progress bar or other visual confirmation, you just have to be patient and wait for the command-line prompt to appear to let you know that the execution of the command is complete and it's time for the next step. Be patient! Don't start smacking the RETURN key repeatedly or otherwise try to get some response when it looks like nothing is happening. Something is happening! You just can't see it and sometimes it takes a few minutes to complete.
So let's get started!
A- Installing SSG's "Mac Download" version of the game. (If you have LOTRO installed on your Mac already or can simply copy it over from some other Mac or Windows computer you do not need to reinstall it.)
–I will not include a detailed procedure for doing this. Create an account if you haven't yet, use this page:
https://signup.lotro.com/lotro.php
Then Download the "Mac Download" from here...
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/download
...then install it then run the game. Enter your account credentials, choose a server, create a character, enter the game world, be sure everything works. Only then continue to Part B.
–If you have trouble getting the game to run, and your Mac is running MacOS Mojave, the fix is probably pretty easy but beyond the scope of this thread. Please request assistance by creating a new thread of your own and I will assist you there.
–Note that the 32-bit LOTRO client is being deprecated at the end of calendar year 2022. It is expected that the 32-bit client will no longer be able to connect to the game servers at some point "soon" after 01 Jan 2023. You will still be able to install the game using this method but will not be able to log in to a game world with a character to test that everything is working before proceeding with the next set of steps.
B- Preparing your Mac for the installation of the latest stable version of open-source WINE.
1- If your Mac is capable of running 10.14 Mojave but you are running some older version of MacOS, you ought to upgrade to 10.14 Mojave before proceeding. Versions of MacOS older than Mojave have significant security holes that are never going to be patched, Apple has declared all such versions of MacOS "obsolete" and they are no longer receiving any updates or support. For security reasons alone, even if you don't care about new features, you ought to run the latest version of MacOS your Mac can "officially" handle. The only exception is if you have Mac-native 32-bit applications in which case you must be running Mojave or earlier to use them because post-Mojave versions of MacOS do not include 32-bit application support. Remember that you can have more than one boot volume, so you can run a modern and supported version of MacOS most of the time and reboot to Mojave when you want to use one of your 32-bit applications. I have 32-bit applications and a Mojave boot volume but I spend 99% of my time in whatever is the latest version of MacOS.
3- Use System Preferences->Software Update to update your installation of MacOS to the latest point update. For example, 10.14 Mojave is currently 10.14.6 and there are a number of security and Safari and other updates which will be installed even beyond the point release version number – so run an update even if you think you have the latest version just to be sure.
4- Be sure you are logged in to your Mac with a Mac user account which has administrator privileges. You MUST have a password for your user account, if you run your Mac user account without a password not only will this procedure not work but you are running risks during general use of your computer that you should not be running. Go to System Preferences->Users & Groups to check, make whatever changes are needed.
5- Be sure that LOTRO is not running. Be sure that no other applications which use WINE are running. If you have Crossover installed on your Mac, be sure it isn't running, either.
C- Installing Homebrew, which will allow you to then install the latest stable version of WINE. This is the meat of the procedure. Read it carefully in its entirety and only then follow it step-by-step. Ask questions before you begin, don't get started and hope you can figure something out as you go along.
1- Launch the Terminal application. You will find it here:
/Applications/Utilities/Terminal
The Terminal is a command-line tool which gives you access to powerful functions you can't perform with System Preferences or the Finder. It is not a rainbows-and-puppies Mac application with a nice click-and-drag GUI, it's just a text-based command line. Please be careful when pasting anything into or typing anything into the Terminal. Be aware that you must hit the RETURN key on your keyboard after entering a command into the Terminal.
2- Resize the Terminal window so it's nice and big. This will allow you to see a lot of text at once.
3- After you enter some commands into the Terminal it might ask you to enter your password. If asked, you must provide your password. You will not see your password as you type it, you will not even get asterisks (********), so carefully enter your password when it is requested and remember to hit the RETURN key afterward. I will not repeat this below, just be aware of it as you proceed through these instructions.
4- We are now going to install a helper tool called Homebrew. Homebrew will allow us to install WINE. To install Homebrew, copy-paste the following line from between the CODE tags or VERY CAREFULLY type the following into the Terminal:
Stuff will happen, some of it will happen with the text equivalent of progress bars but some will happen with no way of knowing that something is happening – so if there is a long pause or you think things have frozen, HAVE PATIENCE.Code:/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"
5- During the Homebrew installation process, you will be asked if you want to install the Xcode command-line tools. Say YES and allow that installation to proceed.
6- Eventually you will see the command-line prompt which means that Terminal is waiting for you to enter another command. When you see the prompt, copy-paste the following line from between the CODE tags or VERY CAREFULLY type the following into the Terminal:
This will check your installation of Homebrew.Code:brew doctor
7- Eventually, you'll see a bunch of text output. You will be told that there is a more recent version of the Xcode command-line tools available and that you should install it. You do not need to install it! The version installed in Step C5 will work just fine for the purposes of getting the latest stable version of WINE onto your Mac.
8- If the "brew doctor" command told you about a problem, you need to fix it. This should not happen, if it does, try to fix the problem or come to this thread and provide as much detail as you can then I will do my best to help you. This should not happen, but if you did something wrong leading up to this step or something went wrong in Step C5, it's not impossible. Proceed to the following steps only if the "brew doctor" command doesn't warn you about a problem (other than the need for updated Xcode command-line tools which you do not actually need).
D- Using Homebrew to install WINE.
1- Copy-paste the following line from between the CODE tags or VERY CAREFULLY type the following into the Terminal:
Once again, HAVE PATIENCE as this will take a little time and some things proceed without any visible progress. Wait until you see the command-line prompt.Code:brew install --cask --no-quarantine wine-stable
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edit 2023-01-25:
–If you are attempting this with MacOS 10.13 High Sierra or earlier, use...
–If you are attempting this with MacOS 10.14 Mojave, you do have the option to use...Code:brew install --cask --no-quarantine gcenx/wine/wine-stable-legacy
...instead but there should be no practical difference. The wine-stable release should be updated more dependably and should be (as the name implies) more stable, while wine-stable-legacy fixes a bug which only affects versions of MacOS from 10.13 High Sierra and below (hence no practical difference for Mojave).Code:brew install --cask --no-quarantine gcenx/wine/wine-stable-legacy
–If you are attempting this with MacOS 10.15 Catalina or higher, use...
----- ----- ----- ----- -----Code:brew install --cask --no-quarantine gcenx/wine/wine-crossover
2- Once you see the command-line prompt, copy-paste the following line from between the CODE tags or VERY CAREFULLY type the following into the Terminal:
This will check both Homebrew and the new installation of WINE. The report should again tell you about needing to update the Xcode command-line tools (you do not need to do this) but otherwise should say that everything is good or provide no additional information other than the unnecessary note about the command-line tools.Code:brew doctor
3- Once you see the command-line prompt, copy-paste the following line from between the CODE tags or VERY CAREFULLY type the following into the Terminal:
This will update Homebrew and WINE. There should be nothing to update since we just installed the most updated versions. But it's good to check just in case.Code:brew update
4- Repeat Step D2 (the "brew doctor" command) just to be sure everything is still good to go.
5- The installation of the latest wine-stable is complete. You should now quit out of the Terminal application.
E- Setting up LOTRO so that it will use the new, more modern version of WINE we just installed instead of the old version of WINE SSG included with the "Mac Download".
1- Using the Finder, navigate your way to this folder:
~/Library/Application Support/com.standingstonegames.lotro/common/wineprefix/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/StandingStoneGames/The Lord of the Rings Online
Please note that the StandingStoneGames/The Lord of the Rings Online folder might be in a different location if you installed LOTRO on your Mac via Crossover or by copying from some other source. It doesn't matter where it is located, but you do have to find it.
2- In that folder, look for this file:
LotroLauncher.exe
3- Drag the LotroLauncher.exe file down to your Dock. Please note that this is a file, it is not a Mac-native application. It therefore must be dragged to the right side of your Dock which is where files are placed; only applications can be placed on the left side of your Dock.
4- Be sure that the file LotroLauncher.exe is still in the folder where you found it. Don't move it to another location accidentally! In Step E3 we dragged it to the Dock only to create an icon for it in the Dock, we did not want to move the actual file to a new location!
5- You will now be able to click once on the LotroLauncher.exe icon in your Dock in order to launch LOTRO using the modern version of WINE which we installed in Part D.
6- You will still be able to use the "lotroclient" application to use LOTRO with the old version of WINE which SSG included with the "Mac Download" if you want to (at least until 31 Dec 2022 after which it is expected that SSG will "soon" no longer allow the 32-bit client to connect to the game servers). There is no good reason to do that anymore, however, since the latest stable version of WINE will run the game much better than the old version of WINE which will be used if you run the game using the "lotroclient" application. In addition, after performing Step F1 below, to use the "lotroclient" application and the old version of WINE you will need to change the UserPreferences.ini file so that GameClientType=1 before attempting to run the game using the "lotroclient" application because otherwise doing so will fail; remember that the old version of WINE which "lotroclient" will use cannot run the 64-bit client and so it will fail after you click on PLAY in the LOTRO launcher application if you don't set it to use the 32-bit client first.
F- Setting up and testing the 64-bit LOTRO client.
1- Open the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/User Preferences.ini file and change the following line...
...to this:Code:GameClientType=1
Then SAVE the file and QUIT out of TextEdit.Code:GameClientType=3
2- Attempt to launch the game by using the LotroLauncher.exe icon in your Dock. Once you get to the character creation/selection screen, you can go into the in-game OPTIONS panel and turn your graphics settings up if you want to. The 64-bit executable can address far more RAM than the 32-bit executable which will allow you to play with fewer glitches and probably no crashes at all, even in player-dense or graphically-busy areas, even with your graphics turned up as high as your Mac can manage.
3- If you are running wine-stable or wine-stable-legacy in MacOS 10.14 Mojave or earlier you will be limited to DirectX 9. This isn't much of a "limit" – the game looks and plays great in DirectX 9.
4- If you are running wine-crossover in MacOS 10.15 Catalina or later you can use either DirectX 9 or DirectX 11 (I do not recommend DirectX 10 although it will function). If you choose to use DirectX 11 you might need to set ANTIALIASING to DISABLED because wine-crossover uses vulkan rather than DXVK and some Mac hardware running LOTRO with vulkan is not compatible with Antialiasing in DirectX 11. If you get a "blank red screen" your hardware is not compatible. If that happens, edit your UserPreferences.ini file so that you are using DirectX 9 with Antialiasing, or DirectX 11 with Antialiasing disabled.
Either this:
Or this:Code:GraphicsCore=D3D9 Antialiasing=2x
I have not yet determined a user-friendly way of enabling DXVK. Once I do so that will be the better choice over vulkan because DXVK works just as well as vulkan (mostly...) but is more fully compatible with a larger variety of Mac graphics hardware.Code:GraphicsCorre=D3D11 Antialiasing=disabled
G- OPTIONAL: Making a nicer icon for the LotroLauncher.exe icon in your Dock.
Installing WINE put a new application in your /Applications folder: Wine-Stable. Its icon looks like a flute glass filled with red wine tilted a bit to the side. Any Windows executable – that is, any file on your Mac which would be an application if it were installed on an actual Windows box – will also show that icon. Maybe you like that icon. If so, great! Leave it be. Otherwise follow the procedure here in Part G:
1- Using the Finder, navigate your way to your Applications folder:
/Applications
2- Inside /Applications, you will find your lotroclient application. (Maybe you have it somewhere else, it depends on what you did with it when you installed SSG's "Mac Download" version of LOTRO.) Click once on the lotroclient application to select it, choose FILE->GET INFO in the Finder, and then click once on the small icon image in the upper-left of the Get Info window. Then choose EDIT->COPY. This will copy that icon image to your Clipboard. Note that you can use any icon you want, find a cool one on the web somewhere if you'd like to use something else. Just copy it into your clipboard then proceed with the rest of Part G.
3- Using the Finder, navigate your way to this folder:
~/Library/Application Support/com.standingstonegames.lotro/common/wineprefix/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/StandingStoneGames/The Lord of the Rings Online
...or wherever your StandingStoneGames/The Lord of the Rings Online folder is if it is somewhere else.
4- In that folder, you will find your LotroLauncher.exe file. Click once on the Finder icon for LotroLauncher.exe, choose FILE->GET INFO in the Finder, and then click once on the small icon image in the upper-left of the Get Info window. Then choose EDIT->PASTE. This will paste the icon image from your Clipboard into that file which will force that file to use the image you pasted into the Get Info window instead of the icon of its default application.
5- The icon for LotroLauncher.exe in your Dock will change to match the one you pasted into the LotroLauncher.exe file's Get Info window.
That's it! I know it looks like a lot but it's actually pretty quick and much easier to do than to read about. Read everything first! If you have questions, ask them before beginning! If you run into trouble, make your report with as much detail as possible. I'll be happy to help!
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addendum 2022-06-01
I installed Mojave, Homebrew, WINE, and LOTRO on a 2014 Mac Mini today after fully wiping its drive. The procedure in the first message of this thread is still "good" – the 64-bit client worked perfectly. Couple of minor notes:
1- LOTRO now uses only one .ini file, UserPreferences.ini. There is no longer a UserPreferences64.ini. Therefore, there is no need to perform Step F2 of the instructions. You still need to set GameClientType=3 in the UserPreferences.ini file in order to run the 64-bit client. Also, note that you will still be limited to DirectX 9 so be sure that you set GraphicsCore=D3D9 or the game client will fail to run (this should already be set to DirectX 9 unless you are porting your UserPreferences.ini file from a Windows box or a Mac/Crossover install that was using DirectX 10 or DirectX 11).
2- I had to log out of the Mac user account then log back in before the Mac "knew" that the LotroClient.exe file would be launched by the "Wine Stable" application. I don't recall this being the case in previous installations but it's not unusual for a log out/log in or restart to be needed for the proper associations between files and their default application links to be recognized by the Finder.
3- The first time I attempted to launch the game, MacOS blocked it because it insisted that I first had to give "Wine Stable" permission to run using SYSTEM PREFERENCES->SECURITY & PRIVACY. This is as expected, just grant any permissions you are asked to grant with respect to "Wine Stable" or WINE or LOTRO or your microphone, etc.
4- The first time I ran the LOTRO launcher application, it installed a bunch of Microsoft C++ stuff – you know, the stuff you get nagged about with browser windows/tabs but can't actually install if running SSG's "Mac Download" version of the game. No browser windows or tabs, just a quick installation of those components and the game then proceeded to patch itself and then present me with the usual opportunity to enter my credentials and then select a server. (Also, no warnings about missing DLLs or other broken Windows nonsense thanks to the updated components in WINE 7 compared to the outdated and missing components in WINE 4 which is what SSG includes with their "Mac Download" version of the game.) This is as I remember it from past installs, I don't recall it being this fast before, though.
I have personally tested LOTRO with WINE only in Mojave and Ventura. If you carefully follow Step D1 above, you should be able to get LOTRO to work with WINE in any version of MacOS from 10.13 High Sierra (possibly older versions, even) through to the latest release. Read all of Step D1 including its edits and addenda before performing it so that you install the correct version of WINE for the version of MacOS you are using!
The good news: Don't worry too much about the recent announcement about the 32-bit client being deprecated at the end of this calendar year (it barely works in the "Mac Download" version of the game now anyway) or SSG pulling all official support for running LOTRO in MacOS in August (they haven't really offered official support for over 2 years anyway). You will still be able to play LOTRO on your Mac using either the procedure described in the first message of this thread to install the latest version of open-source WINE, or by using Crossover which is a commercial product which is essentially the "pro" version of WINE and is both more powerful and easier to use.
The time to get LOTRO going with a modern installation of open-source WINE is now, not later: If you're playing LOTRO using the "Mac Download" in Mojave or earlier, don't wait until it's almost too late. Follow the procedure in the first message of this thread and get yourself onto the 64-bit client now. The sooner the better, don't wait until December when you might find yourself in a rush to get it done before the first day of the new year because if you do need some extra help your problem might take a few days to resolve and you won't want to miss the Yule Festival!
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Thread: How to install WINE for better LOTRO performance on your Mojave Mac. Revised, simpler procedure.
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Jan 02 2022, 01:50 PM #1
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How to install WINE for better LOTRO performance on your Mojave Mac. Revised, simpler procedure.
Last edited by Tralfazz; Jan 26 2023 at 01:49 PM. Reason: many changes and updates
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Jan 05 2022, 02:04 AM #2
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I forgot to mention that running WINE 6 instead of WINE 4 will also prevent the “misssing dll” issue that many people have reported recently in this thread…
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...r-patch-30-0-3
…and others.
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Feb 17 2022, 02:55 AM #3
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Just to say: this is working for me, thank you. I have a Mojave volume for LoTRO and a Monterey volume for everything else.
The only thing I had to fix after following all the above instructions to the letter was to run "repair" from the launcher options because nothing happened after login at first. But after repairing, the launcher brought the game back in fullscreen mode and it was just a matter of customising the game options from within. My graphics are back on ultra-high with no problems for the first time since installing LoTRO on the Mojave, and the "missing .dll" error messages are gone for now. Thanks, Tralfazz.
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Mar 02 2022, 11:46 PM #4
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Latest wine-stable is now WINE 7.0
Just a note that the latest wine-stable is now WINE 7.0. This evening (2022-03-02) I ran an update on my installation of WINE (using the "brew update" command in the Terminal) and was informed that there was a newer version of wine-stable available. So I ran the upgrade command ("brew upgrade") and watched as my installation of WINE 6.0.2 was upgraded to WINE 7.0. LOTRO seems to run the same under WINE 7 as it did under WINE 6. So I'm not sure this is a critical upgrade for anyone using open-source WINE but it certainly doesn't cause any problems, either.
If you haven't yet installed WINE using the procedure outlined in this thread above, when you do so you will get WINE 7 as part of the installation process instead of WINE 6 because WINE 7 is the current wine-stable. If you have WINE 6 installed you can upgrade easily using "brew update" followed by "brew upgrade" in the Terminal but it is not critical that you do so, at least not at this time with the current technical requirements of the game. But it won't hurt to do so and the process requires only two simple Terminal commands and a few minutes of your time.Last edited by Tralfazz; Mar 03 2022 at 12:01 AM. Reason: NOW not NO
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Mar 28 2022, 08:57 PM #5
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spent the time to try your Wine install solution / no luck
Hello Tralfazz:
Originally Posted by Tralfazz
First let me thank you for your effort to give us Mac users a solution to what appears to be a universal mac problem.
I took the time and went through your whole "terminal" Homebrew and Wine install...successfully!
At the end of your solution where I'm supposed to go to the Library/Application support/ etc...and drag the lotrolauncher.exe file to the dock...I had no such directory or file.
My launcher file is lotroclient. I even tried uninstalling the lotro app and reinstalling ...still i did not have that launcher.exe file. I am running on Macbook Pro with MacOS Mojave 10.14.6. Thanks
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Mar 28 2022, 09:52 PM #6
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I assure you that you do have a LotroLauncher.exe file in that location, it's what you have been using all along to play the game, it's the LOTRO launcher application. (It's a Mac file but within WINE it is treated as a Windows application.) It's there, you just weren't able to find it. Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
My first guess is that you can't find your ~/Library folder. That's because the ~/Library folder is hidden by default in MacOS 10.14 Mojave. There are several ways to just "get at it" temporarily or to permanently un-hide it. I suggest permanently un-hiding it. The method I suggest is to use the following Terminal command:
After running that Terminal command, you need to log out of your Mac user account and then log back in. Or just restart your Mac if you don't know how to log out and back in.Code:chflags nohidden ~/Library/
You can read this article for all the different methods if this interests you:
https://osxdaily.com/2016/12/12/show...-macos-sierra/
After you un-hide the ~/Library folder of your Mac user account, you should be able to find ~/Library/Application Support/com.standingstonegames.lotro/common/wineprefix/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/StandingStoneGames/The Lord of the Rings Online/LotroLauncher.exe and drag the LotroLauncher.exe file to the right side of your Dock as instructed in the procedure in the first message of this this thread.
Just to be clear, the file path ~/Library means TheNameOfYourMac/TheNameOfYourHardDriveOrSSD/YourMacUserAccountName/Library. The tilde, ~, is shorthand for all the stuff that comes before /Library. ~/Library does not refer to the Library folder located at TheNameOfYourMac/TheNameOfYourHardDriveOrSSD/Library, that is the system Library folder not your Mac user account library folder. We are only making changes to and looking inside your Mac user account library folder.
Note that the "lotroclient" application is just a little Mac app stub which runs a Python script which then runs LOTRO within the old WINE bottle installed by the "Mac Download" installer. You can still use it if you want to, but if you do it will run LOTRO in the old version of WINE in that WINE bottle, not the new version of WINE which you just installed following the procedure in the first message of this thread. To run LOTRO using the new version of WINE which you installed following the procedure in the first message of this thread, you need to run LotroLauncher.exe directly, bypassing the "lotroclient" stub and its Python script.
If un-hiding your ~/Library folder didn't do the trick for you, reply with some more detail and we'll figure it out together. You already did the hard part!Last edited by Tralfazz; Mar 29 2022 at 12:06 AM. Reason: LotroLauncher.exe, not LotroClient.exe
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Mar 29 2022, 10:43 AM #7
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Originally Posted by Tralfazz
Thank you ...Ill give all that a go today and let you know how I did.
B
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Mar 29 2022, 01:25 PM #8
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i did find the hidden library file and the lotrolauncher.exe file was there. I also edited the user preferences.ini file. Now i have two ini files..."user preferences.ini and "userpreferences64.ini". Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
I also did the repair as Trevlandir did.
When i launch the game a folder window pops up asking for the lotro executable file...the lotrolauncher64.exe is listed so i click on that file and an error message pops up that says "failed to launch client." The error message has a lot of text "gameclientpath", etc. ~/lotroclient64.exe. And the game window seems stuck on "initializing"...
I really appreciate your help. Any ideas?
Thanks
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Mar 29 2022, 02:51 PM #9
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Maybe i missed a step somewhere? Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
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Mar 29 2022, 03:10 PM #10
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I see a lot of entries mentioning the Crossover solution. Should I try installing Crossover and if so ...any tips? Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
Thanks so much...
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Mar 29 2022, 03:21 PM #11
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Mainly for the sake of other people who might read this in the future, Bristlehawk's message which I quoted above contains some critical typos. Now, typos don't matter when you're sending a text to your buds and they don't matter much in game forums, either. However, typos matter a lot for computer code, which is the only reason I am pointing this out. Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
For example: The correct file name for the 32-bit preference file is UserPreferences.ini, not "user preferences.ini" – the game doesn't know to look for the latter, erroneous file and will ignore it completely. In addition, it has to be UserPreferences.ini, not "userpreferences.ini" – spelling and capitalization are important! Same thing for the 64-bit preference file which is UserPreferences64.ini, not "userpreferences64.ini" or any other variation.
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Bristlehawk:
1- I have no idea if those are just typos in your forum message or if the actual file names on your Mac are erroneous, too. So that would be the first thing for you to check.
2- You are not attempting to launch the correct file. Do not attempt to launch lotroclient64.exe. The file you need to launch is LotroLauncher.exe. Find that file in this folder:
~/Library/Application Support/com.standingstonegames.lotro/common/wineprefix/drive_c/Program Files (x86)/StandingStoneGames/The Lord of the Rings Online
Then drag the file to the right side of your Dock. You can then click on LotroLauncher.exe in your Dock in order to run the LOTRO launcher application using the version of WINE you installed with Homebrew in the Terminal. From there, you can enter your LOTRO account name and password, choose your server, and hit PLAY.
After you hit PLAY the LOTRO client application will run. If you followed the instructions in the first message of this thread, the 64-bit client should run. If you mucked things up a bit by not using the exact file names and the exact changes to the contents of your .ini files (spelling and capitalization count for the contents of those files, too), either the 32-bit client will run instead or the game client will fail to launch at all. If you get that dialogue asking you to choose an executable, you misspelled something or left something out. Don't try to choose some random file that looks right within that dialogue, quit out of everything (restart your Mac if you can't figure out how to completely quit out of all the LOTRO and WINE processes), then try to find your mistakes and correct them.
Don't give up! As I said before, you did the hard part already. Be absolutely sure that you get spelling and capitalization correct with all file names and the lines you change or add within the files, don't make a mistake or allow auto-correct to screw things up.
If you want to buy Crossover, that is certainly the easier and better method plus you will be able to run a post-Mojave version of MacOS if you want to and still play LOTRO. That's an entirely different subject, though: Installing and using Crossover is covered in other threads. Plus, you have WINE 7 installed on your Mac, doing that was the hard part and it's done. You just need to be more careful with your spelling and capitalization and things should proceed smoothly. Try what I suggested above because you're already very, very close to success and unless you want to run a post-Mojave version of MacOS you don't need Crossover. Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
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Mar 29 2022, 04:21 PM #12
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to clarify...i checked my two ini files and they are correctly spelled as well as have the correct Caps. Also I am launching the correct file...LotroLauncher.exe Originally Posted by Tralfazz
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Mar 29 2022, 04:23 PM #13
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I also checked the changes to the ini files and they are correct GameClientType=3 Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
I will keep checking for errors...
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Mar 29 2022, 05:05 PM #14
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Let's back up a bit and do things one step at a time. The issue is with your .ini files, everything else seems to be OK. Do this: Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
1- Delete your UserPreferences64.ini file.
2- Open your UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
3- Look for the following lines, change them to match as needed:
GameClientType=1
ScreenMode=Windowed
GraphicsCore=D3D9
WindowedResolution=800x600
4- Save the UserPreferences.ini file then quit out of TextEdit.
5- Attempt to launch the game using the lotroclient application. Everything should work normally, the 32-bit client will start up in Windowed mode using the old version of WINE in the bottle installed for you by SSG using their "Mac Download" installer.
5a- If the client launches and you are able to enter a game world, go on to Step 6.
5b- If the client fails to launch and you are unable to enter a game world, STOP HERE and report back with as information as you can and we'll track down the problem.
6- After confirming that you can log in and enter a game world, quit out of the game. Please leave it in Windowed mode.
7- Open your UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
8- Look for the following line, change it to match:
GameClientType=3
9- Save the UserPreferences.ini file then quit out of TextEdit.
10- Using the Finder, DUPLICATE (i.e. make a copy of) UserPreferences.ini.
11- Using the Finder, rename the copy of UserPreferences.ini to UserPreferences64.ini.
12- Attempt to launch the game using the LotroLauncher.exe icon on the right side of your Dock. The 64-bit client will start up in Windowed mode using the new version of WINE which you installed using Homebrew.
12a- If the client launches and you are able to enter a game world, you are DONE! Make whatever changes you like using the in-game OPTIONS panel (such as changing to Full Screen Windowed mode). Report back here with your success then go have fun.
12b- If the client fails to launch or you are unable to enter a game world, report back with as much detail as you can and we'll track down the problem.
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Mar 29 2022, 06:02 PM #15
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ok...deleted the UserPreferences64.ini file...edited the UserPreferences.ini as you instructed...then launched the game with lotroclient application. Originally Posted by Tralfazz
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Mar 29 2022, 06:04 PM #16
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Unfortunately there is a game update and i am downloading game files...waiting...More to follow... Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
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Mar 29 2022, 06:47 PM #17
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ok...downloaded update and files completed... Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
game trying to load...received these errors...
DLL files missing...
and
Game error 201...cant open the data files
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Mar 29 2022, 06:49 PM #18
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STOPPED at 5b Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
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Mar 29 2022, 07:07 PM #19
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When launching the lotroclient application "installing DirectX9" flashes... Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
The missing dll file is d3d10.dll
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Mar 29 2022, 07:42 PM #20
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That's a known issue with the LOTRO client running in old versions of WINE. It's one of the reasons we want to use the current wine-stable release. Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
Go back to the instructions in Message #14 and proceed with Step 7.
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Mar 29 2022, 09:00 PM #21
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OK... Originally Posted by Tralfazz
still trying...
thanks
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Mar 29 2022, 09:46 PM #22
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I followed your detailed instructions to the tee. Changed the UserPreferences.ini file GameClientType=3...then saved file...made a DUPLICATE file and renamed it UserPreferences64.ini saved it Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
I then launched the game with LotroLauncher.exe and still got the window popping up that said "Where is the Game Client Executable"? The pop up is a standard window with files and folders.
At that point i didn't know what to do.
I appreciate your patience through all of this. In my opinion SSG should be solving all these Mac issues and spending the time and effort to build a Mac game operating system so that we wouldn't have to install this "Wine" system to simulate Windows. Then you wouldn't have to be helping folks like me try and solve which should be their problem! Then you could spend more of your valuable time playing the game.
Regards,
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Mar 29 2022, 10:01 PM #23
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I noticed that both my ini files were on the iCloud drive. Could this be causing the problem? Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
ICloudDrive\Documents\TheLordo ftheRingsOnline\UserPreference s.ini and UserPreferences64.ini
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Mar 29 2022, 10:12 PM #24
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Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
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Mar 29 2022, 11:55 PM #25
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Find out: Turn off iCloud Drive then try to launch the game by running LotoLauncher.exe. You should be able to exclude your ~/Documents folder from iCloud Drive so you don’t have to disable it completely. Originally Posted by Bristlehawk
The appearance of that dialogue requesting the location of the client executable is usually a result of attempting to launch the 64-bit client within a WINE environment which can run only 32-bit applications. It should not be happening because you installed a version of WINE which can run 64-bit applications. Even the old version of WINE included with SSG’s “Mac Download” version of the game can run 64-bit applications, it just doesn’t have certain components required by LOTRO’s 64-bit client executable. So either something in your LOTRO install got bollixed or there is something not quite right with your .ini files; most likely the LOTRO game files.
Run the following 3 Terminal commands:
brew doctor
brew update
brew upgrade
The try launching the game again.
This will repair anything the LOTRO launcher might have done to damage your WINE 7 files.
However, the problem is more likely related to the game’s files in ~/Library/Application Support/com.standingstonegames.lotro so if nothing here works for you our next step, which I will detail for you tomorrow if necessary, will be to fully delete the com.standingstonegames.lotro folder inside your ~/Library/Application Support folder followed by a reinstall of the game using the Windows installer rather than the “Mac Download” installer/the lotroclient application. This is not hard to do but because it will involve a full download of the entire 30-40gb it will be a bit time-consuming. So try the couple of quick things I suggested here then report back, I’ll provide the deletion and reinstallation instructions after that if necessary.
edit: One more thing, if you use a virus scanner please turn it off. Many virus scanners mistakenly flag WINE components as malware which ends up damaging the WINE installation.Last edited by Tralfazz; Mar 30 2022 at 12:04 AM.
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