LOTRO under Linux and Mac OS/X

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Revision as of 01:09, 11 April 2012 by Mirkfire (Talk | contribs)

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Original content created by various community members: Forum Discussion

DISCLAIMER: This is not for the faint of heart. All of this information is on an as-is basis, no guarantees are made about anything whatsoever and most importantly: IF YOU TRY THIS, YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN! TURBINE DOES NOT, WILL NOT, HAS NEVER AND (probably) WILL NEVER PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR IT! There. If your toaster explodes as a result of this, it's your own fault. The instructions below worked for many people but also failed for a few.

Support is available for the CodeWeavers CrossOver Games (CXG) installation (Mac or Linux) however, CXG is a commercial product.

REQUIREMENTS

Linux:

A PC with at least the minimum system specs for the game.
Wine or CrossOver Games.

Mac:

A computer with at least the minimum specs for the game.
Wine or CrossOver Games.
(If using Wine method) Your DNS servers must NOT be setup to redirect from false URLs to a search page. To see if this applies to you, go to your URL bar and type "cheese". If the page you get is a search page with your network provider logo at the top (like Optimum or Verizon), then you have a problem. The solution is in the appropriate section.

LINUX

Caveats

There's a few things you need to look out for:

You'll need to install the Mozilla engine in Wine to get Help/Lorebook and Turbine Store links to work. If your client crashes or shows a black page when accessing the store, you're missing the Mozilla web browsing engine in Wine
If you run Linux and you run Beryl/Compiz (or some other 3D Desktop Effects software), disable them before launching LOTRO. The game will run normally, although with somewhat degraded performance. However, many hotkey functions and mouse gestures used in the game will also activate 3D Desktop effects, and could cause the game to crash.
If you get odd texture tiling on the ground, disable Anisotropic texture filtering in the LotRO Advanced Graphics settings.

Getting the Installer

A client can be downloaded from this link.

Note that it is strongly recommended that you use the standard Turbine Client download (Pando Media Booster, PMB) when installing under WINE 1.3.9 or later. Using Wine versions LOWER than 1.3.9 is NOT recommended.

Installing Wine and prerequisite libraries

Install Wine (follow the instructions on their webpage if you run into problems).

Many distros have versions of Wine older than 1.3.9 in their repositories. Using the version from WINEhq will always give better results. Ubuntu users can add the Wine repository for easy installation.

It used to be the case that you had to set the Windows version to Windows 2000 in the Wine config utility, but that's not needed anymore. Neither do you need to mess with registry settings, the amount of video memory gets detected automatically by Wine.

If you wish you can install the MS DirectX9 libraries, though again, this is not needed. You'll want to install Winetricks for that and use it to install DX9. From the command line, run this:

wget http://www.kegel.com/wine/winetricks
chmod +x winetricks 
./winetricks d3dx9_36

You'll want the VC++ runtime libraries as well, easily installed via Winetricks:

./winetricks vcrun2008

(note: you will need cabextract installed for this to work correctly. If you don't have cabextract, the installations may seem to finish correctly. You may be able to simply install it with 'sudo apt-get install cabextract' or 'sudo yum install cabextract'.)

NOTE: WINE does NOT support DirectX 10. WINE only supports DirectX 9!

Installing LOTRO

Install LOTRO. DO NOT USE THE MOM DVD FOR THIS! Install a downloaded version. Patching from the MOM [Mines of Moria] DVD will take as long, if not longer than downloading the current installer and patching it. Also, it is no longer possible to "patch-up" from the SOA [Shadows of Angmar] DVD.
Download and install PyLOTRO by following the instructions from the PyLOTRO download page.
Configure the PyLOTRO launcher. The settings should be adjusted to fit your system:

Application      Wine
WINEDEBUG        fixme-all
WINEPREFIX       /home/your-username/.wine
Game Directory   /home/your-username/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online
Hi-Res Graphics  Enabled (or Disabled if you downloaded standard res LOTRO)

Command line launcher:

If you would prefer a command line launcher, get it here. Beware, it's not supported and more or less requires a bit of geekery to get it going. (This is really old and outdated.)

Running LOTRO

The first time you run LOTRO it will fail, because it's missing its config files. During the crash it will create them however. From then on it will work fine. If you use the GUI launcher please remember to patch when needed (Tools->Patch->Apply, close when done).

Troubleshooting

Q: LOTRO does not start!

On first run, it will crash because it's missing its config file, that's normal.
Make sure you set the path to the LOTRO directory correctly in the GUI launcher. If you use the command line launcher, make sure you copied it into the LOTRO directory.
If it still does not start after that, make sure that you have the proper graphics drivers installed in Linux (i.e. the proprietary nVidia and ATI drivers are needed) and that OpenGL works properly. From the terminal console, enter "glxinfo" and make sure that the glx vendor string does say nvidia or ati.

Q: The graphics are all messed up!

Most often this is caused by either an ancient version of Wine (use version 1.3.9 or higher, the latest version is highly recommended) or bad graphics drivers. You will need to have the proprietary nvidia or ati drivers installed, the open-source drivers will not give you satisfactory results.
On top of that, LOTRO is pretty graphically demanding. If all else fails, set the graphics options to LOW and then slowly start cranking them up and see where it pukes.
If you see odd texture tiles on the ground, disable Anisotropic Filtering in the LotRO settings.
If you use Compiz/Beryl/KDE Desktop Effects, turn them off.

Q: LOTRO crashes when I try to file a bug or go to the help menu!

You'll need to install the Mozilla rendering engine. Open a terminal and enter "wine iexplore http://winehq.com". You'll be prompted to let Wine install the Mozilla engine.

Q: I get the following error: unimplemented function d3dx9_36.dll.D3DXGetShaderConstantTable

You may need to get the .dll from a real Windows installation. You can find the file in c:\Windows\system32\ Copy that file to your wine installation's drive_c\windows\system32 folder. Or install it with winetricks: "winetricks d3dx9_36" should do it.

Q: I get the following error: WARNING: Cannot find Mozilla directory containing libgtkembedmoz.so. Some Addins may not be able to function. Please set MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME to your Mozilla directory.

This library module used to come with Firefox 2.x, but doesn't come with Firefox 3.x in many distros. You can probably get it by installing libxul-dev in Ubuntu or a similar xulrunner-related package in other distros.

Q: LotRO crashes for me with some obscure sound system error

if you have PulseAudio, disable Shared Memory, typically by editing /etc/pulse/daemon.pa and setting enable-shm = no (default is "yes").

MAC OS X

Last edit: 9th of February 2012 by MirkFire
Edit Notes: On the discussion page, somone mentioned that the steps were confusing. I believe that I fixed that.''<span style="font-style: italic;" />

GENERAL NOTES: These methods will only work with Intel Macs. A PowerPC processor will not work. Also, Mac OS X 10.5 or higher is highly reccommended. The quality of your Mac will also have a profound effect on LOTRO's performance.

NOTES REGARDING CXG: The information here is not frequently updated and is usually out of date in regard to the latest version of Crossover Games. Always check this page (CXG) or this page (WineHQ) for the most up-to-date information.

NOTES REGARDING WINE: Check this page regarding the most up-to-date information.

NOTES REGARDING CLIENT: The only support is located in this thread. It DOES use Wine, the files and such are just already compiled.

Links to required files

1a. (CXG Method ONLY) Get the trial (7 days) of CrossOver Games.
1b. (WINE Method ONLY) Go here to install Wine.

1c. (Client Method ONLY) Go here and download the 15GB client.

2a. (For CXG Method ONLY): The CrossTie file can be found here (Click "Install via CrossTie" with CrossOver Games installed when the guide states to).

2b. (For WINE Method ONLY) install PyLotRO for Windows.

As of 9 February 2012 There is no longer a "European client."

Installation Methods

Universal Notes

Gray Loading Screen Fix: With the Update of 29 November 2010, Turbine added 10 "Teleport screens" to its "update" download. If these files are NOT present, they will appear as a "loading screen" with an ornate top and bottom, and the progress bar, but with a grey center with a white cross-hatch. By default, PyLotRO cannot find these files. Installation instructions are here (Scroll down to Phase 2).

Tip: You can use your own photo as a loading screen:
1. Make sure it has a resolution of 1024 × 576 and is in jpeg format.
2. Drag it to to: <Hard Disk>Library/Application Support/Crossover Games/Bottles/<LOTRO>/drive_c/Program Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/raw/en/logo.
3. Rename it based on where you want it to show up:

lotro_ad_pregame.jpg - When the game starts.
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_<01 through 10>.jpg - After clicking "Enter Middle Earth". It rotatess between 10 (01 through 10)

What PyLotRO is: PyLotRO is an alternative launcher for LOTRO and DDO, since the original one doesn't work with Wine. Originally, it was called LotROLinux and LotROMac. When both became a technical headache, the producers made a Windows launcher instead, but one that was tailored to work with Wine. This way PyLotRO would work with any machine that ran Wine.

CXG Method

Install CrossOver Games Demo first (file 1a), then install the CrossTie (file 2b above).
CrossOver Games should give you a completed install window. Click install.
Wait while Pando Media Booster downloads the software. Agree to all the license agreements.
When it's done, DO NOT LAUNCH LOTRO NORMALLY. Launch PyLotRO instead.
In PyLotRO, go to Tools --> Options. Click the "..." by "Game Directory". Navigate like this: <home folder>/Applications/Crossover Games/Turbine/Lord of the Rings Online/Lord of the Rings Online.app . Apply. Click Save.
In PyLotRO, go to Tools --> Settings Wizard. Choose Lord of the Rings Online as Game, then click "Find Games". click on the available one.
Finally, go to Tools -->Patch. In the window that pops up click "Start". It should give you "Connecting to patch.lotro.com:80" or something like that, then start to spew out a lot of text and dots.
Wait for about an hour. When its done it will display ***Finished***. Now you can log in normally using PyLotRO.

Note on Patching: From the Tools pulldown in PyLotRO, select "Patch" click "Start". You should see a message like: "Connecting to patch.lotro.com:80." Depending upon Turbine, you may find no patching take place, or extensive patching. Patching typically will take 30-60 minutes, depending, again on Turbine.

Explanation of Process: Using a file called a CrossTie, it is possible to install LOTRO in "one step". The CrossTie installer creates a Windows XP bottle to house LOTRO and install various support software (including PyLotRO; the joke it that CXG is based on Wine, and you make bottles...). Pando Media Booster (PMB) downloads Turbine's LOTRO client. The PMB download is a "torrent style" downloader; even with that fact it takes 3-6 hours to download the client. Once the PMB download completes, installation will continue by launching the Turbine Installer. This instalation phase can vary a lot in time depending on your CPU and disk speed. At the completion of the installation the Turbine Installer might try to launch the Turbine LOTRO Launcher. The Turbine LOTRO Launcher will fail -- usually with a crash. So we launch and configure PyLotRO instead.

Price: $40: Versus the $100 to $400 for Windows, this is an improvement.

The Golden Rule: Thou shalt start LOTRO using only PyLotRO.

Tip: For easy access to LOTRO, drag PyLotRO to the dock. To start LOTRO, just click on PyLotRO.

Wine Method

The coming steps are taken from LOTRO's WineHQ page. Visit it for more information.

The actual steps are coming soon!

Old instructions:

Installation under WINE: Once you have installed WINE, visit Wine HQ: http://appdb.winehq.org/appview.php?iAppId=4891 select the latest version and follow the instructions there for the appropriate "Wine Tricks." It is strongly recommended that you use the Pando Media Booster (PMB) downloader fromt the LOTRO download page http://www.lotro.com/support/download-lotro, rather than ANY previously existant (or recommended) downloads. (See also the Turbine FAQ for additional information: http://support.turbine.com/ics/support/default.asp

Download the Turbine Downloader (PMB) and download the client. (Again, this is about a 6 hour process on a 6med DSL line or cable modem.)

Next, install PyLotRO into the bottle you just created. (LOTRO and PyLotRO must be in the same bottle) This utility replaces the Turbine Launcher wich does not work under WINE, and serves the same purpose.

Follow the instructions CONFIGURE PyLotRO and PATCHING instructions above.

The Golden Rule: Thou shalt start LOTRO using only PyLotRO.

Unofficial Client Method (Coming Soon)

(Another) DISCLAIMER: Turbine will still not support, and probably still never will support, anything that has to do with running LOTRO on Mac or Linux. This is an unofficial client, and is not created by Turbine, so if your computer explodes as a result of this then it is not Turbine's problem. It has worked for people before, and can work for more.

History: Somone had the brilliant idea to take everything that made LOTRO work - the all important WINE and PyLotRO - and package the needed files in an emulated environment to create an application that a Mac could run normally, and that under the hood would still work just as well as a normal WINE installation of LOTRO.

1: Download file 1c. This will take some time because it is 15GB large.

2: Open the disk image. This will also take some time.

3: A window should appear somewhere. Find it, and drag "The Lord of the Rings Online" to the "Applications" folder they show you.

4: Wait while the (now) 18GB file copies.

5: Eject the disk image, and drag the new client to the dock.

6: Start it. When it is done starting, it will already have configured itself. Go to Tools --> Patch and click "Start".

7: Wait for a bit while it patches. When it is done you can log into the game normally!

Important Notes: Thou shalt launch LOTRO as you would on Windows - from the dock.

Clarifications:

Notes and Clarifications

CrossOver Games (CXG) is a commercial product based on the open-source WINE project. It is developed by CodeWeavers, not to be confused with Codemasters, the (prior to June 2011) international publisher for LOTRO. A time-limited demo version is avaialble. Note that: CrossOver Games (CXG) is a separate download from CrossOver Mac and CrossOver Pro.

As of March 2011, CXG (and Wine 1.3.9) support the Pando Media Booster (PMB) used by Turbine to download their game client. For further information and support, visit the LOTRO FORUM www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/ on CodeWeaver's website.

As of 1 June 2011, there is only ONE Turbine client download. Turbine assumed operation of the European and International servers from Codemasters.

The first issue plaguing Linux and Mac users is that the Turbine Launcher for LOTRO relies on Microsoft .net, which does not work with WINE (and by extension CrossOver or Cider). PyLotro was developed to be a launcher and patcher that works properly in this environment.

LOTROLinux and LOTROMac have been discontinued and replaced by PyLotRO. PyLotRO is written in Python and no longer relies on mono. Also no longer required is the fakenet11.reg hack.

Due to technical headaches, the Mac version of the PyLotRO has been scrapped. Mac users should install the Windows version of PyLotRO in to the LOTRO bottle instead. (This is done automatically by the CrossTie installer for CXG.)

It is also possible to run LOTRO using either Apple's Boot Camp or a virtual OS support, such as VMware or Parallels. Each of these options requires you possess a full Windows license and distribution in addition to the LOTRO distribution. Each has its own particular quirks and requirements. The PANDO Media Booster "should" work in BootCamp, as with it you are no longer running OSX, but rather Windows itself, however I have no experience with it. The same may be true with VMware or Parallels. Again, I have no experience with them and do not know.

Useful Links

***Would someone check if (some of) these acually are useful? For example the guide states that the EU installer was not applicable anymore, and yet here it is.*** - MirkFire