Lord of the Rings Online Forum

I am running Mojave on a Mac Pro (classic) 5,1 - 12 core 3.46Ghz Intel Xeon, 128GB RAM, Radeon RX 580 8GB GPU

I installed Crossover, then installed LOTRO in a Win10 Bottle. At first I tried to get it to work in 64bit mode. I can log in but then it just gives me a blank black screen. I changed the game setting to 32bit and tried again, this time it gets me through log in, but right before the game fully launches it asks me if I want to use DX10. It doesn't matter whether I say 'Yes' or 'No', both options result in the game not launching at all. It just seems to disappear and close itself down on its own without any further messages.

Can someone please advice me on what I can do to resolve this? I would prefer to run in 64bit and use as high of DX version as possible.

This is what it looks like when I try to launch in 64bit

This the message I get when I launch in 32bit and it just asks me about DX and regardless of the answer, just quits.

Hi, Arminya!

First, be sure your bottle is a Windows 10 64-bit bottle. If it is a Windows 10 bottle (without the 64-bit qualifier) then you won't be able to run the 64-bit executable and will not be able to use DirectX 11. If your bottle is not Windows 10 64-bit, you should delete the bottle and start over with a new one that is Windows 10 64-bit.

Second, use Crossover to install "DirectX for Modern Games" into your bottle. Then be sure you have your bottle settings exactly like this:

Third, the problem you are having is most likely related to screen mode and resolution settings. The game is extremely finicky about resolution and when first installed it does not have .ini files to read from so it defaults to Full Screen Mode. This causes problems with Macs and usually results in an apparent failure to launch the game client after hitting PLAY on the LOTRO launcher application or a black screen after hitting PLAY on the LOTRO launcher application. The way to work around this is to set your monitor to an extremely tiny resolution before hitting the PLAY button, or to create your own UserPreferences.ini and UserPreferences64.ini files with settings that will work properly. If you do the former, once you successfully get into the game client you can use the in-game options to set the screen mode to Full Screen Windowed instead of Full Screen and then use System Preferences to return to your usual screen resolution. If you do the latter, see below.

It is actually better to create .ini files before beginning your installation. You need to create a folder called The Lord of the Rings Online inside your ~/Documents folder. You then need to create inside that folder two files using TextEdit in PLAIN TEXT – not RTF – format with the names UserPreferences.ini and UserPreferences64.ini. In UserPreferences.ini, create the lines...

GameClientType=3
GraphicsCore=D3D9
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed

In UserPreferences64.ini, create the lines...

GraphicsCore=D3D9
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed

Spelling and capitalization count!
So you will have the following two files in the following location:
~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini
~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences64.ini

When you are asked about downloading the high-rez files, say YES.
When you are asked about DirectX 10 (or 11), say NO.

Once you get things working, you can change the line...
GraphicsCore=D3D9
...to...
GraphicsCore=D3D11
...to test DirectX 11. DirectX 9 works very well, it has a few minor graphics issues which you might not even notice. DirectX 10 is a hot mess, do not use it! Under DirectX 10, some trees in some zones will flash between their normal appearance and bright white, many water spray effects don't work properly, and rivers such as the one in Evendim can look like they are completely dry empty beds or the shoreline is in the wrong place. DirectX 11 has no glitches I've noticed, allows more eye candy, but requires the 64-bit executable and does not work well on every combination of MacOS and graphics card, especially Intel integrated graphics.

So stick to DirectX 9, test DirectX 11 later and use it if it works for you, otherwise go back to DirectX 9.

If you aren't comfortable making your own .ini files, here's a pair you can just drop into the The Lord of the Rings Online folder:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fszh5f352o8eohe/2560x1440.zip?dl=0
You still have to create the folder ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online yourself, though.

I hope these tips get things going for you. Report back here with your results. If you are unsuccessful, there are other things we can try.

Thank you for the detailed reply, I will give your advice a try. I'm not afraid of making .ini files and such. Before trying Crossover, I was using SSG's WINE client for Macs. I was actually wondering if I could simply move my download of the SSG Mac WINE client files to the Win10 bottle. This way all my preferences and such will be there and the download wouldn't take so long to do again.

If you were successfully using SSG's "Mac"/WINE client, then you already have good .ini files in the right place. All you should need to do is edit them so that the lines I described in my previous message are present exactly as written. All your keybinds and UI layouts and plugins and whatnot are also inside ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online and they can be used by either the "Mac"/WINE client or the full Windows client installed into Crossover. Just don't run both at the same time!

However, you will not be able to just copy the install of the game from ~/Library/Application Support/com.standingstonegames.lotro. You don't have to delete it but you will need to install the full Windows version into a Crossover bottle. But those are just the game's files and executables, all your data and preferences are stored in ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online so you won't lose any of that stuff by moving from the "Mac"/WINE client to the full Windows client installed into Crossover.

Be sure you use the Windows installer from...
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/download
...rather than the Crossover "crosstie" for the best installation experience.

Very well, will do.

You bring up a very important point for me. I run multiple instances of the game at times. I presume Crossover will let me do this if I can't run my SSG Wine client version at the same time as Crossover.

Yes, you can run multiple instances of the game client using Crossover.

Crossover still runs the game in WINE. Think of it like the "pro" version of WINE which gives you extra capabilities (such as the ability to run 32-bit Windows software in post-Mojave versions of MacOS which don't have 32-bit support) and an easy UI for managing your WINE bottles. So anything you could do using the "Mac"/WINE client of the game, you can do with the Windows client of the game in Crossover – only usually better.

I am following the guide you posted above and ran into a problem after installing "DirectX for Moden Games" into my Lotrolive.exe bottle. I used Crossover to do it as recommended. However, now when I look at the bottle, the icons for launching LOTRO and the Uninstall LOTRO icons are now missing. Screenshot below.

EDIT:
Also for reference, I did what you said with regard to the settings as well.

Installing DirectX for Modern Games did not delete LOTRO or remove any of the LOTRO-related icons from the PROGRAMS or FAVORITES list in the Crossover window.

I see only one bottle. Is that the bottle you were trying to run from earlier or a new one? Is it a Windows 10 or Windows 10 64-bit bottle? Check its settings: Are they as shown in the screenshot above?

Take a look at ~/Library/Application Support/Crossover/Bottles. What is inside that folder?

My best guess is that you deleted your previous bottle, created a new one, and therefore have to reinstall LOTRO into it. If that is the case, be sure it is a Windows 10 64-bit bottle – if not, delete that bottle and start over by creating a new bottle that is Windows 10 64-bit. THEN install DirectX for Modern Games into the bottle. THEN check your bottle settings. THEN install LOTRO into that bottle using the downloaded lotrolive.exe installer. If my guess is wrong, answer the questions above in this message and we'll move on from there.

edit: I just saw YOUR edits and I am pretty more sure now that my guess is correct. That means you're ready to install LOTRO into that bottle using the lotrolive.exe installer.

To clarify:
I deleted the first install because it was not Win10 64, and reinstalled in Win10 64 as you recommended in your first post.
--then I did a full install of LOTRO again in a new Win10 64 bottle,
--then I installed DirectX for Modern Games into that same bottle,
--then I noticed the LOTRO icons gone.
I only have the one bottle and that's Lotrolive.exe. I checked to see if all the files were still there for the LOTRO install and they are. I should not need to reinstall again if the files are still there, unless of course I managed to break it somehow with the install of DirectX.

That wasn't the sequence I described (new bottle, install DX, install LOTRO) but doing it the way you did (new bottle, install LOTRO, install DX) shouldn't have resulted in your LOTRO icons being deleted. It should have had no effect on those things at all. Is it possible you are remembering those icons from your previous bottle and they never were displayed in your current bottle? If you are remembering correctly, that is very odd and I have never seen that happen nor had anyone else report that behavior to me.

Regardless of the answer to that question, there is an easy workaround:
1- Double-click on RUN COMMAND.
2- In the dialogue that appears, in the USE BOTTLE section, be sure your LOTRO bottle is selected.
3- Also in that dialogue, to the right of the COMMAND entry field, click on BROWSE. Navigate to LotroLauncher.exe and choose that.
edit: It is VERY IMPORTANT that you choose the LotroLauncher.exe which is part of the Crossover install, not from your older "Mac"/WINE install.
4- Still in that dialogue, click on SAVE COMMAND AS A LAUNCHER.
5- Still in that dialogue, click CANCEL.
You will now have an icon in your Crossover PROGRAMS list called LOTROLAUNCHER. You can double-click on that to run the game.

And sorry to be a pest, but I asked a question last time which you didn't answer:

Take a look at ~/Library/Application Support/Crossover/Bottles. What
is inside that folder?

A screenshot would be fine or you can just type the list of files and folders if that's easier.

Pardon the delayed response. I presume because I'm new to this forum I'm limited in how many posts I can make. I got this message, shown below, when trying to respond to you yesterday. You could reach me on Discord since this forum is making it difficult and I didn't see a way to reach out to you privately here.

Here is a screenshot of ~/Library/Application Support/Crossover/Bottles as per your request

My last attempt:
--I checked my .ini files, made sure both were
GraphicsCore=D3D9
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed

--then tried logging in again, both in 64bit and 32bit,

--Clicked NO on using DX10 when the message box came up in both instances,

I now get a black screen on both 64bit and 32bit

I'm sorry the forum here is restricting your posts. Thanks for your patience and I want you to know you are not the only person who has experienced this problem. We will get it working, but it might take a few back-and-forths with me to get there.

If you're not limited on the LOTRO forums, you can reach me there. I provide Mac technical support in the Mac Technical Support forum there under the name TRALFAZZ. The most active thread is:
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?684532-Success-with-Crossover-20-and-MacOS-Big-Sur-11-0-1&p=8072642

Or you can create your own thread in the forum:
https://www.lotro.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?710-Mac-Technical-Support
...and reference our previous discussions here with a link.

Back to your issue. I need to know a few more things:
1- When you say, "I now get a black screen on both 64bit and 32bit" do you mean that the LOTRO launcher application runs normally, you can enter your LOTRO account name and password, choose your server, and you get a black screen after you hit the PLAY button? Or do you get a black screen as soon as you double-click the LOTROLAUNCHER icon in your Crossover window – the LOTRO launcher application never appears?
2- What is the resolution of your monitor? What I really need to know is the resolution you are using. Go to System Preferences->Displays and then click the SCALED button while holding the OPTION key on your keyboard. The highlighted resolution is the resolution you are using.
3- I'd like to see the full contents of your .ini files. You can .zip them up and post them to me here or you can copy-paste the contents, whichever is easier for you. I suggest that you redact your LOTRO account name from your UserPreferences.ini file.

I suspect that the reason you are experiencing the black screen issue after hitting PLAY (if that is when you are getting the black screen) is because Crossover and LOTRO do not have permission to access your ~/Documents folder. The game is therefore running on its internal defaults, not reading the .ini files at all, and this is causing the game to launch in Full Screen mode which almost always results in this problem due to a mismatch between the game's output and your monitor's resolution. When in Full Screen mode you can't see the dialogues that appear asking for permission to access your ~/Documents folder (and usually another asking for permission to access your microphone) so the game just freezes waiting for you to click through dialogues you can neither see nor interact with.

The way around that is to set your monitor to a very, very small resolution. After launching Crossover but before running LOTRO, go to System Preferences->Displays, hold down the OPTION key on your keyboard while clicking the SCALED button, and choose 800x600. If you don't see an option for 800x600, choose the smallest resolution available. Then double-click on the LOTROLAUNCHER icon in your Crossover window to launch the game. If you successfully reach the character selection/creation screen, immediately go to OPTIONS and choose FULL SCREEN WINDOWED, click the ACCEPT button, then quit out of LOTRO. At that point you can reset your monitor to its default (or your preferred) resolution and the game should launch normally from that point forward.

I'm looking forward to reading the answers to my questions, seeing the contents of your .ini files, and hopefully hearing that you found success with the resolution-switching trick I recommend trying above.

John M. Hammer wrote:

I'm sorry the forum here is restricting your posts. Thanks for your
patience and I want you to know you are not the only person who has
experienced this problem. We will get it working, but it might take
a few back-and-forths with me to get there.

If you're not limited on the LOTRO forums, you can reach me there. I
provide Mac technical support in the Mac Technical Support forum
there under the name TRALFAZZ. The most active thread is:
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?684532-Success-with-Crossover-20-and-MacOS-Big-Sur-11-0-1&p=8072642

I was recently directed there by a kinmate who also plays on Mac. I saw your post. As we have previously discussed, I did in fact do the installs in reverse. I made LOTRO bottle with install, then 'Direct X for modern games' which caused a small problem we already fixed (see above). I'm beginning to wonder if I just need to delete the bottle again and do it in the order you suggested to see if there is any change. I just hate having to do the download again if I don't have to.

John M. Hammer wrote:

1- When you say, "I now get a black screen on both 64bit and 32bit"
do you mean that the LOTRO launcher application runs normally, you
can enter your LOTRO account name and password, choose your server,
and you get a black screen after you hit the PLAY button? Or do you
get a black screen as soon as you double-click the LOTROLAUNCHER
icon in your Crossover window – the LOTRO launcher application
never appears?

I get all the way to Login screen, input login and pw, select server, the game tries to launch at this point and my screen goes black.

John M. Hammer wrote:

2- What is the resolution of your monitor? What I really need to
know is the resolution you are using. Go to System
Preferences->Displays and then click the SCALED button while holding
the OPTION key on your keyboard. The highlighted resolution is the
resolution you are using.

I have used both your suggestion and another users. I did go to System Preferences->Displays at first and changed to lowest I could get there. On the advice of another user who has successfully gotten Crossover to work with Lotro, I changed my monitor to 800x600 using App store Easyres. In both instances, I'm still getting a black screen after login screen.

John M. Hammer wrote:

3- I'd like to see the full contents of your .ini files. You can
.zip them up and post them to me here or you can copy-paste the
contents, whichever is easier for you. I suggest that you redact
your LOTRO account name from your UserPreferences.ini file.

It will take me a moment to get the .ini files to you. I have about 50 accounts and alllllll those login names are listed in there, standby for files. heehee (I do a lot of RP with NPCs and own 2 housing zones which requires an account for each house)

John M. Hammer wrote:

I suspect that the reason you are experiencing the black screen
issue after hitting PLAY (if that is when you are getting the black
screen) is because Crossover and LOTRO do not have permission to
access your ~/Documents folder. The game is therefore running on its
internal defaults, not reading the .ini files at all, and this is
causing the game to launch in Full Screen mode which almost always
results in this problem due to a mismatch between the game's output
and your monitor's resolution. When in Full Screen mode you can't
see the dialogues that appear asking for permission to access your
~/Documents folder (and usually another asking for permission to
access your microphone) so the game just freezes waiting for you to
click through dialogues you can neither see nor interact with.

The way around that is to set your monitor to a very, very small
resolution. After launching Crossover but before running LOTRO, go
to System Preferences->Displays, hold down the OPTION key on your
keyboard while clicking the SCALED button, and choose 800x600. If
you don't see an option for 800x600, choose the smallest resolution
available. Then double-click on the LOTROLAUNCHER icon in your
Crossover window to launch the game. If you successfully reach the
character selection/creation screen, immediately go to OPTIONS and
choose FULL SCREEN WINDOWED, click the ACCEPT button, the quit out
of LOTRO. At that point you can reset your monitor to its default
(or your preferred) resolution and the game should launch normally
from that point forward.

I have done this, and just did it again to double check myself. I'm still getting black screen before character select screen, so I can't change any options there yet. As a test of the permissions, I removed the edited .ini files I'd placed in the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online directory, and launched the game again, a new .ini file was created there, so it appears that Crossover has permission to read/write in that directory. However I have seen no request boxes from LOTRO to access ~/Documents or microphone.

EDIT:
Changed response to your first question due to me accidently copying and pasting the wrong reply there.

EDIT2:
To avoid running into posting limit, I'm adding link to my .ini file here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11rI9ybayBGWgkpUjTJG0pK-LYcoueVaW/view?usp=sharing

I can't see your .ini files yet because I had to request permission to download them. I'll review them later once I'm able.

The test you performed to determine if the game has permission for your ~/Documents folder was very useful and saved us a posting exchange. Great!

I just hate having to do the download again if I don't have to.

The black screen thing could be due to:
1- Resolution matching issues.
2- Something we haven't yet discovered with your bottle.
3- Something we haven't yet discovered with your LOTRO installation.
My best guess is still (1). It could be (3). But if it's not (1) then it's much more likely to be (2) than (3).

You can create a new Windows 10 64-bit bottle, install DirectX for Modern Games into that bottle, check the bottle settings, and then create a "launcher" using the method I described in Message #10 of this thread using the RUN COMMAND. This will run LOTRO using the Windows components of the new bottle, ignoring what is in the old bottle other than the application you are running. The upside to this is that you can try new bottles without having to redownload the game. The downside to this is that if the problem is a result of (3), you will not have any chance of resolving it by making new bottles. I think this is worth the time invested because if the issue is a result of (2) you will save a lot of time and even if it turns out to be (3), any time you do spend creating new bottles and running the existing installation of LOTRO will help us to come to the conclusion that your bottle is not at issue and we do, in fact, need to focus on the LOTRO installation.

If you have not already done so, make a backup of your existing ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder. We know the contents of that folder, especially the .ini files, were working for you when you were using the "Mac"/WINE client so we don't want to muck those up too badly.

Let's try something. This is PART I.
1- Create a new Windows 10 64-bit bottle. Name it in a way so that you can easily distinguish it from your existing bottle or bottles.
2- Install DirectX for Modern Games into your new bottle:
2a- Click once on the name of the new bottle in the left-hand column of the main Crossover window.
2b- Click on the button near the bottom of the main Crossover window INSTALL A WINDOWS APPLICATION.
2c- Type DIRECTX FOR MODERN GAMES in the entry field of the new window that appears. I won't go further into the details of this installation, just follow the dialogues to complete the process.
3- Check your new bottle's settings so that they match the screenshot I provided way, way up there in Message #2 of this thread.
4- Create a "launcher" for LotroLauncher.exe by following the instructions I provided earlier in Message #10 of this thread.
5- Move your existing ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder to the Desktop or some other safe place. (Be sure you have it backed up somewhere as well.) We want no The Lord of the Rings Online folder in the ~/Documents folder for this procedure.
6- Set your monitor to your usual preference, do not set 800x600 or anything other than what you would normally use while playing the game or otherwise using your Mac.
7- Double-click on the LOTROLAUNCHER icon in your main Crossover window. The LOTRO launcher application should run.
8- If you are asked about DirectX 10 or DirectX 11, say NO. If you are asked about high-rez files, say YES.
9- Enter your credentials, select your server, etc. and finally press PLAY.
10a- If you can reach the character selection/creation screen, immediately go to OPTIONS and set the screen mode to FULL SCREEN WINDOWED, click ACCEPT, and then quit out of the game using the QUIT button. Go to PART II.
10b- If you get black screen and it persists for more than 60 seconds... BOO! But don't despair, we're not done yet. Go to PART III.

This is PART II:
1- Go into your newly-created ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder and open the newly-created UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit. Copy-paste the contents into your next reply to me. Redact your account name.
2- There should be no UserPreferences64.ini file. If there is, report that and copy-paste its contents also. But there shouldn't be one.
3- Don't do anything else with the game yet! I know you want to, but it will be better to take the final steps after your successful first run in Crossover one at a time.

This is PART III:
1- Go into your newly-created ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder and open the newly-created UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit. If there is no The Lord of the Rings Online folder in your ~/Documents folder, report that. Or if there is no UserPreferences.ini file within the The Lord of the Rings Online folder, report that. Otherwise, continue with Step 2.
2- There should be no UserPreferences64.ini file. If there is, report that and DELETE IT. Then go on to Step 3.
3- In UserPreferences.ini, create and/or edit the following lines to match:
GameClientType=1
GraphicsCore=D3D9
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed
4- Save the file, quit out of TextEdit.
5- Double-click the LOTROLAUNCHER icon in your main Crossover window and attempt to get into the game again.
6a- If successful this time, go to PART I/Step 10a and then on to PART II.
6b- If unsuccessful this time, report that and copy-paste the contents of the UserPreferences.ini file in your reply to me.

If you get to PART III/Step 6b (i.e. double failure) and you'd like to try something while you wait for me to reply to your next report, I suggest you try the .ini files I made available to you back in Message #2 of this thread. Just move the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder to some safe place, create a new The Lord of the Rings Online folder inside your ~/Documents folder, then drop my .ini files into the The Lord of the Rings Online folder. And then try to run the game.

I was able to review your UserPreferences.ini file. (Only that one, I did not see a UserPreferences64.ini file.) There is nothing in there that would prevent the game client from launching. There was one small error in the line...
D3DVersionPromptedForAtStartup=0
...where the number 0 should be the number 10. But that would have no effect on the client executable successfully running.

(I'll note that you left one of your account names in there. I have deleted it from my copy but you might want to delete it from the one linked in your message above.)

Was this UserPreferences.ini file the one you were using with the "Mac"/WINE client? Or the one you were trying to use recently with the full Windows client installed into Crossover? Or one that was created or modified at some other point?

Once you run the procedures I outline in Message #14 of this thread, send me that (or those) .ini files.

I agree that it shouldn't do that, but have seen several times where installing "DirectX for Modern Games" removes all the launcher items for the bottle. So in this case the order does matter.

Thanks for the help with the .ini edits! Makes Crossover useful again
Would be nice if those .ini edits could be included in the Crossover software installer (as well as adding "DirectX for Modern Games" and removing the .NET 2.0 installer that errors out).

Hey, I'm not a LOTRO player but I play DDO made by the same company on occasion. You might need to download something like EZRez from the Mac app store, (its free) and use it to change your resolution to either 800x600 or 640x480 I forget which one while the first play move plays otherwise DDO black screens and crashes. Also when trying the 64bit bottle make sure you select the DXVK backend in the bottle settings. Other than those things I've been able to run DDO on an M1 with no problems and the games have similar enough engines that you should be able to do the same.

Just went through and installed LOTRO on my old MP 3,1 to test and help sort things out for you. I'm running Big Sur on it, but that shouldn't make much of a difference for you.

I installed LOTRO from the automatic crosstie installer. However, and this is essential I changed from the default Windows 7 bottle to a Windows 7 64 bit bottle.

From there you need to go to the bottles settings and enable the DXVK backend.
Start the launcher and let it download all it's files including high resolution data files from there you need to quit and edit that ini that was talked about.

[Launcher]
AllowMultipleInstances=true
FirstRun=false
UseHighResolutionGameData=true
WindowGeometry=@ByteArray(\x1\xd9\xd0\xcb\0\x1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\x19\0\0\x2\xcf\0\0\x2\x41\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\x19\0\0\x2\xcf\0\0\x2\x41\0\0\0\0\0\0)
PreCache=true
SelectLastPlayedWorld=false
GameClientType=3
LastLocale=en

The important part is GameClientType=3. This enables the 64 bit beta version of the game. From there launch the game and it'll ask you if you want to use DX11. Say yes. Login, play, enjoy.

Jeremiah, I'm glad that worked for you. However, I strongly suggest creating a Windows 10 64-bit bottle, installing "DirectX for Modern Games" into that bottle, and then running the standard LOTRO Windows installer downloaded from the LOTRO web page here...
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/download
...rather than using the current Crosstie.

I'll also note that adding/editing the line...
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed
...can avoid a lot of problems for some Mac users with UHD/retina displays because that screen mode, among other things, forces the game to adopt whatever resolution is set in System Preferences->Displays.

It can be a good idea to start with the 32-bit client and move to the 64-bit client later: The 32-bit client reads all its settings from UserPreferences.ini, if the 64-bit client is used the client itself will read its settings from UserPreferences64.ini but the launcher application will still read its settings from UserPreferences.ini. Therefore, using the 32-bit client (GameClientType=1) can simplify troubleshooting should any be needed early on.

It's also a good idea to begin with DirectX 9 and to try DirectX 11 later. DirectX 9 always works but the video subsystems on some Macs don't play well with DirectX 11 although if it does work for you it is generally the best option. In addition, Crossover 21 includes a Vulkan backend for wined3d which takes over when the "DXVK Backend for D3D11" is not checked, this works to enable DirectX 11 for some Macs although others do require the "DXVK Backend for D3D11" to be checked – experimentation is needed to determination which works or works best for that specific Mac/graphics subsystem.

Finally, the WindowGeometry= line is not necessary, it is read only by the launcher application and the default is fine, it is extremely rare for the launcher application – which is a 32-bit application and relatively simple compared to the client application – to be the cause of any problems.

I cover all this in a lot of detail at the LOTRO forums, here:
https://www.lotro.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?710-Mac-Technical-Support

John M. Hammer wrote:

Jeremiah, I'm glad that worked for you. However, I strongly suggest
creating a Windows 10 64-bit bottle, installing "DirectX for Modern
Games" into that bottle, and then running the standard LOTRO Windows
installer downloaded from the LOTRO web page here...
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/download
...rather than using the current Crosstie.

I'll also note that adding/editing the line...
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed
...can avoid a lot of problems for some Mac users with UHD/retina
displays because that screen mode, among other things, forces the
game to adopt whatever resolution is set in System
Preferences->Displays.

It can be a good idea to start with the 32-bit client and move to
the 64-bit client later: The 32-bit client reads all its settings
from UserPreferences.ini, if the 64-bit client is used the client
itself will read its settings from UserPreferences64.ini but the
launcher application will still read its settings from
UserPreferences.ini. Therefore, using the 32-bit client
(GameClientType=1) can simplify troubleshooting should any be needed
early on.

It's also a good idea to begin with DirectX 9 and to try DirectX 11
later. DirectX 9 always works but the video subsystems on some Macs
don't play well with DirectX 11 although if it does work for you it
is generally the best option. In addition, Crossover 21 includes a
Vulkan backend for wined3d which takes over when the "DXVK Backend
for D3D11" is not checked, this works to enable DirectX 11 for some
Macs although others do require the "DXVK Backend for D3D11" to be
checked – experimentation is needed to determination which works
or works best for that specific Mac/graphics subsystem.

Finally, the WindowGeometry= line is not necessary, it is read only
by the launcher application and the default is fine, it is extremely
rare for the launcher application – which is a 32-bit application
and relatively simple compared to the client application – to be
the cause of any problems.

I cover all this in a lot of detail at the LOTRO forums, here:
https://www.lotro.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?710-Mac-Technical-Support

The Geometry section is probably not needed as you said, I just did a copy and paste of the first section trying to help. The reason I went for DXVK checked right away was experience with DDO, I knew that the difference for me between dx9 and dx11 via the DXVK setting even in 21, is about about 50 fps, so I just went for the same settings.

Out of curiosity why do you recommend W10, my experience with wine on both Macs and linux systems has been to keep the bottle settings to the lowest version of windows that you can get the app to run with. If there is a reason not to do so I'd love to hear more about it.

The reason I went for DXVK checked right away was experience with
DDO, I knew that the difference for me between dx9 and dx11 via the
DXVK setting even in 21, is about about 50 fps, so I just went for
the same settings.

I understand, but be aware that is how it worked out for your Mac and its video subsystem. Other people get the exact opposite result. See here:
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?688748-Blank-screenshots-recently&p=8089043#post8089043
Most do better with the DXVK Backend for D3D11 checked but experimentation is needed in each case.

Out of curiosity why do you recommend W10, my experience with wine
on both Macs and linux systems has been to keep the bottle settings
to the lowest version of windows that you can get the app to run
with. If there is a reason not to do so I'd love to hear more about
it.

Windows 7 is currently listed as LOTRO's "minimum system requirements". Windows 10 is currently listed as LOTRO's "recommended system requirements". Windows 7 is no longer supported by Microsoft, if SSG decides that the game needs to start using some new framework, it will work in a Windows 10 bottle but will stop working in a Windows 7 bottle. Until very recently, LOTRO worked with and supported Windows XP – it is possible the game still works under XP but there is no more support from SSG and SSG has stated on the forums that as the game continues to evolve there will be no more testing done under nor attempts to maintain compatibility with XP (or Vista). One of these days, Windows 7 is likely to be dropped – not this year, probably not next year, but when it does a user will have to create a new bottle. Creating a new bottle and running an existing application from a different bottle or reinstalling is probably not a big deal for you or me; but for most people who just want to play a game and not fuss with anything other than a double-click and entering their password, it's something to be avoided if possible.

It's mainly about future proofing but Windows 10 is also "better" in a number of ways. Windows 7 can provide compatibility with some applications impossible to run in a Windows 10 bottle, but unless you've tried a specific application – most likely something quite old – in a Windows 10 bottle and it won't work, you're really better off with a Windows 10 bottle.

But if you know of specific advantages to running LOTRO under Windows 7, please share them. I try to provide the best information to Mac users trying to get LOTRO working with Crossover and am always ready to learn something new!

John M. Hammer wrote:

But if you know of specific advantages to running LOTRO under
Windows 7, please share them. I try to provide the best information
to Mac users trying to get LOTRO working with Crossover and am
always ready to learn something new!

Honestly, my reason is that probably 20ish years ago someone told me that with wine to use the lowest bottle possible and I've been doing so ever since. So, I could be going off of very dated information.

Hi folks,

Just a quick note on bottle type: it's not necessary to reinstall an application if you want to change your bottle type. Instead, you can go to Wine Configuration for the relevant bottle and change the Windows version there. However, if you want to change from a 32-bit to a 64-bit bottle, that will require reinstalling in a new bottle: that cannot be changed after the fact.

Best,
Meredith

Just wanted to say a) HUGE thanks to the responders here. I was at a loss with the M1 transition and this made it easy. B) While most probably can intuit this, I can confirm that this solution works at least up to Monterey 12.4

Also: don't be a hero, just download the pre-made .ini files, they work like a charm.

Nic Carney wrote:

Just wanted to say a) HUGE thanks to the responders here. I was at a loss with the M1 transition and this made it easy. B) While most probably can intuit this, I can confirm that this solution works at least up to Monterey 12.4

Also: don't be a hero, just download the pre-made .ini files, they work like a charm.

Hi, Nic! I'm glad LOTRO is working for you under Crossover and that you found this thread helpful.

Note that when I created those .ini files, the game referenced both UserPreferences.ini (for the LOTRO Launcher application and the 32-bit client) and UserPreferences64.ini (for the 64-bit client). Earlier this year (in 2022), the game was changed so that all three applications reference only UserPreferences.ini – UserPreferences64.ini has been deprecated, i.e. the game ignores it if it is present.

ive got a problem, im playing on the new imacbook air, i installed crossover for the game lord of the rings, after installing everything (windows7 64bit bottle), the launcher starts and i put in my login and nothing happens after clicking on play, would be cool if someone can help me

Lukas wrote:

ive got a problem, im playing on the new imacbook air, i installed crossover for the game lord of the rings, after installing everything (windows7 64bit bottle), the launcher starts and i put in my login and nothing happens after clicking on play, would be cool if someone can help me

Lukas, a lot of people are reporting this exact issue: Crossover 22.0 and a new bottle and a fresh install of LOTRO result in being unable to launch the client application. The only solution we've found so far is to use Crossover 21.2 instead. It isn't happening to everyone, but it is happening to most people (I experienced a more minor issue which I was able to correct by creating a new bottle using Crossover 22.0, but that solution is not working for those people reporting your issue).

See the three icons near the very top right of this page? The middle one is the international symbol for "person". Click on that and choose DOWNLOADS. When you get to the Downloads page, choose ARCHIVED DOWNLOADS. You can then download Crossover 21.2.0.

Please note that you should use a Windows 10 64-bit bottle. You can change the version of Windows using the Wine Configuration control panel.

Also, it would have been better to start your own thread than to reply to one from a year and a half ago about a different issue.

If you need additional assistance, please specify your exact Mac model, amount of RAM you have, the exact version of MacOS you are using, and the exact version of Crossover you are using.

Good luck! I hope that rolling back to Crossover 21.2 resolves your problem as it has for the others who reported the same issue.

Hello John M. Hammer, thx for your answer, here is Lukas again, i looked for the achieve download, there is nothing in it, i only used crossover 22 maybe thats why, not finding a link for crossover 21.2.0, im using btw mac book air (2020), with 1,1 GHz Dual Core Intel Core i3 and 8GB Ram, update of macos is the newest (monterey 12.5.1)

Lukas wrote:

Hello John M. Hammer, thx for your answer, here is Lukas again, i looked for the achieve download, there is nothing in it, i only used crossover 22 maybe thats why, not finding a link for crossover 21.2.0, im using btw mac book air (2020), with 1,1 GHz Dual Core Intel Core i3 and 8GB Ram, update of macos is the newest (monterey 12.5.1)

I can’t give you a direct link. Try again, rolling back to Crossover 21.2 should fix you right up.

i tried it out, not working, same problem

Lukas wrote:

i tried it out, not working, same problem

Have you read the rest of this thread? Try the UserPreferences.ini file I created for the OP:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fszh5f352o8eohe/2560x1440.zip?dl=0

did not work to copy your data in it

now it says Programmmistake, in the programm lotrobrowserhelper64.exe are many heavey mistakes -> says that i should go on codeweavers for help

Lukas wrote:

now it says Programmmistake, in the programm lotrobrowserhelper64.exe are many heavey mistakes -> says that i should go on codeweavers for help

If you are using Crossover 21.2 as I suggested, you should not be experiencing that specific error with lotrobrowserhelper64.exe. It occurs only with Crossover 22.0.

I experienced that exact issue when I upgraded from Crossover 21.2 to Crossover 22.0. I resolved it by creating a new bottle using Crossover 22.0. Read this thread on the LOTRO forums to see how I repaired my issue:
https://forums.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?695891-Crossover-22-0-has-been-released-Should-you-upgrade-to-it

You can also read other threads in the Mac Technical Support forum of the official LOTRO forums, I have a lot of step-by-step guides for getting Crossover to run in LOTRO and WINE there.

Yes, you should submit a help request with Codeweavers. I don't think I can help you. I asked you to read through the earlier parts of this thread but you don't seem to have done so. If you had, you would have reported back with some detail about what happened when you tried each of the things I suggested to the OP. There is no point in me just writing the same thing all over again, so please get official support.
https://www.codeweavers.com/contact-us#support

Hi John,

For some reason I can't post anything on the official LOTRO forums but I'm making a desperate attempt to contact you on here. I'm having a very similar problem to the ones discussed here with my Mac. I've tried for over a week to fix it and I'm at my wits end. It should NOT be this difficult to simply play a game I used to love.

Please, PLEASE, help me. I"m not very technical but am trying my best, this is all just beyond me so please help me. I'd be forever indebted.

Please make sure that antialiasing is switched off in the Lotro configuration.ini file in your documents folder. On my mac if antialiasing is set to 2x or 4x then all i get is a black screen even though the game is running.

Paul Vallance wrote:

Please make sure that antialiasing is switched off in the Lotro configuration.ini file in your documents folder. On my mac if antialiasing is set to 2x or 4x then all i get is a black screen even though the game is running.

Using the vulkan backend, which is the default, Antialiasing and DirectX 11 are not compatible. You can either disable Antialiasing in LOTRO’s OPTIONS->GRAPHICS settings panel (or make the change directly to the UserPreferences.ini file as you suggested); or you can use DirectX 9.

The best choice is to use DirectX 11 AND Antialiasing but to do so with LOTRO you MUST enable DXVK in your bottle settings.

I recommend enabling DXVK in your bottle settings so that both DirectX 11 and Antialiasing can be used. Even just 2x Antialiasing makes a huge difference in visual quality.