Mac/Crossover Issues (Abby Nicole: Continued....)

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May 25 2021, 05:32 PM
proudlyginger

Mac/Crossover Issues (Abby Nicole: Continued....)

@JohnMHammer, again, thank you SO MUCH for your help. I would've lost hope by now had I been trying to do this alone!

Alright, so yes, I messed with the ini file, oops. Also, I only had an ini folder and not a 64 folder. What I had originally was:

[Launcher]
LastLocale=en
FirstRun=false
AllowMultipleInstances=true
UseHighResolutionGameData=true
WindowGeometry=@ByteArray(\x1\ xd9\xd0\xcb\0\x1\0\0\0\0\x1N\0 \0\0\\\0\0\x4\x1d\0\0\x2\x84\0 \0\x1N\0\0\0\\\0\0\x4\x1d\0\0\ x2\x84\0\0\0\0\0\0)
PreCache=true
SelectLastPlayedWorld=false
GameClientType=1

[User_1]
UserName=*************
WorldName_1=Evernight
LastPlayed_1=2021-05-25T09:46:44
UserFileName_1=en-LOTRO_Eula-html
UserAckTime_1=2019-04-10T17:56:38
UserFileName_2=en-LOTRO_TOS-html
UserAckTime_2=2019-04-10T17:56:38

AND THEN, what I did to it was:

[Launcher]
LastLocale=en
FirstRun=false
AllowMultipleInstances=true
UseHighResolutionGameData=true
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed
PreCache=true
SelectLastPlayedWorld=false
GameClientType=3
GraphicsCore=D3D9
WindowGeometry=@ByteArray(\x1\ xd9\xd0\xcb\0\x1\0\0\0\0\x1h\0 \0\0\xae\0\0\x4\x37\0\0\x2\xd6 \0\0\x1h\0\0\0\xae\0\0\x4\x37\ 0\0\x2\xd6\0\0\0\0\0\0)

[User_1]
UserName=********
WorldName_1=Evernight
LastPlayed_1=2021-05-25T15:09:21
UserFileName_1=en-LOTRO_Eula-html
UserAckTime_1=2019-04-10T17:56:38
UserFileName_2=en-LOTRO_TOS-html
UserAckTime_2=2019-04-10T17:56:38

------

So, I didn't have a Graphics or Screen Mode so I added those (but also see you said to make sure Client is 1 and not any other number). I'm gonna try that now and get back to you!
May 25 2021, 05:36 PM
proudlyginger

Quote:

Originally Posted by proudlyginger

@JohnMHammer, again, thank you SO MUCH for your help. I would've lost hope by now had I been trying to do this alone!

Alright, so yes, I messed with the ini file, oops. Also, I only had an ini folder and not a 64 folder. What I had originally was:

[Launcher]
LastLocale=en
FirstRun=false
AllowMultipleInstances=true
UseHighResolutionGameData=true
WindowGeometry=@ByteArray(\x1\ xd9\xd0\xcb\0\x1\0\0\0\0\x1N\0 \0\0\\\0\0\x4\x1d\0\0\x2\x84\0 \0\x1N\0\0\0\\\0\0\x4\x1d\0\0\ x2\x84\0\0\0\0\0\0)
PreCache=true
SelectLastPlayedWorld=false
GameClientType=1

[User_1]
UserName=*************
WorldName_1=Evernight
LastPlayed_1=2021-05-25T09:46:44
UserFileName_1=en-LOTRO_Eula-html
UserAckTime_1=2019-04-10T17:56:38
UserFileName_2=en-LOTRO_TOS-html
UserAckTime_2=2019-04-10T17:56:38

AND THEN, what I did to it was:

[Launcher]
LastLocale=en
FirstRun=false
AllowMultipleInstances=true
UseHighResolutionGameData=true
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed
PreCache=true
SelectLastPlayedWorld=false
GameClientType=3
GraphicsCore=D3D9
WindowGeometry=@ByteArray(\x1\ xd9\xd0\xcb\0\x1\0\0\0\0\x1h\0 \0\0\xae\0\0\x4\x37\0\0\x2\xd6 \0\0\x1h\0\0\0\xae\0\0\x4\x37\ 0\0\x2\xd6\0\0\0\0\0\0)

[User_1]
UserName=********
WorldName_1=Evernight
LastPlayed_1=2021-05-25T15:09:21
UserFileName_1=en-LOTRO_Eula-html
UserAckTime_1=2019-04-10T17:56:38
UserFileName_2=en-LOTRO_TOS-html
UserAckTime_2=2019-04-10T17:56:38

------

So, I didn't have a Graphics or Screen Mode so I added those (but also see you said to make sure Client is 1 and not any other number). I'm gonna try that now and get back to you!

RIP. Didn't work, and no black screen this time (just does nothing when I press play). Here's what my code says now:

[Launcher]
LastLocale=en
FirstRun=false
AllowMultipleInstances=true
UseHighResolutionGameData=true
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed
PreCache=true
SelectLastPlayedWorld=false
GameClientType=1
GraphicsCore=D3D9
WindowGeometry=@ByteArray(\x1\ xd9\xd0\xcb\0\x1\0\0\0\0\x1h\0 \0\0\xae\0\0\x4\x37\0\0\x2\xd6 \0\0\x1h\0\0\0\xae\0\0\x4\x37\ 0\0\x2\xd6\0\0\0\0\0\0)

[User_1]
UserName=********
WorldName_1=Evernight
LastPlayed_1=2021-05-25T16:34:01
UserFileName_1=en-LOTRO_Eula-html
UserAckTime_1=2019-04-10T17:56:38
UserFileName_2=en-LOTRO_TOS-html
UserAckTime_2=2019-04-10T17:56:38
May 25 2021, 07:27 PM
Tralfazz

----------
For anyone else following along, this is a continuation of a thread in the Codeweavers forum. proudlyginger is a new user there and new users have posting restrictions which were preventing her from communicating with me in a way conducive to effecting a repair on her Crossover/LOTRO installation. You can find that starter thread here:
https://www.codeweavers.com/compatib...ine?msg=239793
----------

Don't give up. I know it's frustrating, it should just work but there are incompatibilities with LOTRO default display modes and Mac "retina" display settings among some other issues partly due to LOTRO being 14-year-old tech based on an even older game engine, and multiple things that can go wrong during installation. More recent versions of MacOS have extra security which complicates things, too.

On the upside, all of the issues can be worked around. We'll get it! Maybe even soon, but if not soon then eventually...

Let's begin by checking your Crossover bottle.

First, check that it's a Windows 10 64-bit bottle:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...%20No.JPG?dl=0
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...20Yes.JPG?dl=0

Next, check your bottle's "settings" – they should look exactly like this, those three checkmarks and no others:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...tings.JPG?dl=0

If the above is all correct, and you're able to get to the LOTRO launcher application where you choose a server and enter your login credentials, and then get a failure to launch the client (which can look like nothing happens at all, or a black screen, or some sort of "crash"); the problem is being caused by either display/resolution issues or (much less likely) permission issues.

Let's try this:
1- Be sure the game is not running. It's OK for Crossover to be running, but LOTRO must not be running.
2- If you use an external monitor with your MacBook Pro, disconnect it.
3- Look inside the folder ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online and look for a UserPreferences64.ini file. If there is one, delete it.
4- Open your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
5- Select all, delete all. You now have a blank TextEdit document staring at you.
6a- Below this list of instructions, embedded between some CODE tags, I have pasted the entire contents of a UserPreferences.ini file (minus UI and VOICE elements). This UserPreferences.ini file was created just for you – well, just for your machine, anyway.
6b- Select the entire contents in the CODE frame, copy everything. Then paste it into your currently blank UserPreferences.ini file.
6c- Double-check that you pasted the entire contents into your file, with nothing missing and nothing added. Scroll down in the code frame of this message to be sure.
7- Save your UserPreferences.ini file then quit out of TextEdit.
8a- Go to System Preferences->Displays.
8b- Click on the SCALED radio button while holding down the OPTION key on your keyboard.
8c- Choose 1680x1050 as your resolution.
8d- Quit out of System Preferences.
9- Go to Crossover and attempt to launch the game.
10a- If you are asked about high-resolution graphics, say YES.
10b- If you are asked about DirectX 10 or DirectX 11, say NO.
10c- If you are asked to grant permission for anything, grant that permission/those permissions. You might be asked to grant permission for LOTRO to access your ~/Documents folder. Or you might be asked to grant permission for LOTRO to access your microphone. You must grant these permissions if asked! If you do not know how to do this, come back here and I will step you through it.

Here is the full contents of the UserPreferences.ini file which I created for you. There are lines included here that aren't strictly necessary but will make future troubleshooting or modifications easier for me to help you with. As explained above, you will replace the existing contents of your UserPreferences.ini file with this:

Code:

[Launcher] LastLocale=en FirstRun=false AllowMultipleInstances=true PreCache=true SelectLastPlayedWorld=false GameClientType=1 LoadOnStartup=false AskBeforeDownload=false ThrottleDownload=false ThrottleDownloadRate=4 AutoRetrieveUpdates=false AutoRetrieveUpdatesInterval=1 KeepLauncherOpen=false UseHighResolutionGameData=true [Camera] AlignToSlope=False ResetYawWhenPlayerMoves=False [Display] AllowDesktopCompositing=True AllowFakeFullScreen=True AllowWindowResizing=True Antialiasing=2x ConfineFullScreenMouseCursor=True FixedOutputScaling=Default ForceFakeFullScreen=False FullScreen=False RefreshRate=Auto Resolution=1680x1050 ScreenMode=Windowed SyncToRefresh=False TripleBuffering=False WindowedResolution=800x600 [Graphics] AvatarTextureCompositing=True AvatarUpdateVisible=True PVMPPerformanceOverride=True [Input] InvertMouseLookYAxis=False JoystickDeadZone=0.25 MouseLookSensitivity=0.10 MouseLookSmoothingAmount=0.00 PitchKeySpeed=60.00 RollKeySpeed=60.00 TurnKeySpeed=150.00 XInputDetection=False [International] UseIME=False [Misc] PlayedIntroMovie=True TooltipDelay=0.10 TooltipEnable=True [Net] BindInterface= ComputeUniquePort=True ConnectionSpeed=0.00 UserSpecifiedPort=0 [Render] AllowGammaChanges=True AlphaToCoverage=False AmbientLightBoost=0.00 AmbientOcclusion=False AnisotropicQuality=4 AspectRatio=Auto AtmosphericsDetail=High BlobShadows=True BloomIntensity=1.00 BlurFilterQuality=High Brightness=1.00 Contrast=1.00 D3DVersionPromptedForAtStartup=10 DisplayAdapter=0 DistantImposters=True DynamicParticles=All EnablePortraits=True EnvironmentStencilShadows=True FarLandscapeNormalMaps=True FrillDensity=0.50 FrillDistance=High Gamma=1.00 GlowMapping=True GraphicsCore=D3D9 HavePromptedForD3D10AtStartup=False InteractiveWater=Low LandscapeDrawDistance=High LandscapeLightingQuality=High LandscapeShoreEffects=Low LandscapeStaticObjectShadows=High MaterialDetail=High MaxHardwareClass=0 MeasuredFillRate=0.10 MemoryUsage=1.00 MeshCombining=False ModelDetail=High MultiPassLighting=True ObjectDrawDistance=High OverbrightBloomFilter=True PlayerCrowdQuality=1.00 PrecipitationEffects=True ShadowMapQuality=1 SpecularLighting=True StaticEnvironmentalObjects=True StencilShadows=High SurfaceReflections=High TextureDetail=High TextureFiltering=Sharp VideoPostEffects=True VolumetricLight=True [Sound] AmbientVolume=0.75 CombatVolume=1.00 DefaultVolume=1.00 EAXEnabled=False FocusBehavior=Mute Sound MasterVolume=1.00 MaxPlayingSounds=64 MusicDisabled=False MusicVolume=0.50 PersistentSound=False PlayerMusicVolume=1.00 QuantizedPlayerMusicVolume=1.00 SFXVolume=1.00 SoundDisabled=False SoundFeatures=OpenAL Soft on Built-in Output SoundProvider=OpenAL UIVolume=1.00 VOVolume=1.00 [Troubleshooting] EngineSpeed=VeryHigh MaximumFrameRate=30

----------
edit: If you would prefer to download a UserPreferences.ini file to just drop into your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder to replace the existing UserPreferences.ini file, here you go. Its contents are exactly identical to what I provided between the CODE tags above, this is just an alternative way to get it onto your Mac:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/al7w6pytkl...x1050.zip?dl=0
In fact, if you experience a run failure after trying the copy-paste method, please download this file and use it to replace your existing UserPreferences.ini file, then try to run the game again.
----------

Please report back with your results.

If successful, we will set things up so that you can use the screen resolution you prefer and can reattach your external monitor if you use one. We will also get you on the far-superior 64-bit client and test out DirectX 11. But let's take things one step at a time, that way I can give you explicit instructions for each step which will avoid opportunities to introduce errors which might create additional problems.

If not successful, don't give up! There are other things we can try. This really ought to work, though.
May 25 2021, 08:04 PM
proudlyginger

you are A GENIUS

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tralfazz

----------
For anyone else following along, this is a continuation of a thread in the Codeweavers forum. proudlyginger is a new user there and new users have posting restrictions which were preventing her from communicating with me in a way conducive to effecting a repair on her Crossover/LOTRO installation. You can find that starter thread here:
https://www.codeweavers.com/compatib...ine?msg=239793
----------

Don't give up. I know it's frustrating, it should just work but there are incompatibilities with LOTRO default display modes and Mac "retina" display settings among some other issues partly due to LOTRO being 14-year-old tech based on an even older game engine, and multiple things that can go wrong during installation. More recent versions of MacOS have extra security which complicates things, too.

On the upside, all of the issues can be worked around. We'll get it! Maybe even soon, but if not soon then eventually...

Let's begin by checking your Crossover bottle.

First, check that it's a Windows 10 64-bit bottle:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...%20No.JPG?dl=0
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...20Yes.JPG?dl=0

Next, check your bottle's "settings" – they should look exactly like this, those three checkmarks and no others:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...tings.JPG?dl=0

If the above is all correct, and you're able to get to the LOTRO launcher application where you choose a server and enter your login credentials, and then get a failure to launch the client (which can look like nothing happens at all, or a black screen, or some sort of "crash"); the problem is being caused by either display/resolution issues or (much less likely) permission issues.

Let's try this:
1- Be sure the game is not running. It's OK for Crossover to be running, but LOTRO must not be running.
2- If you use an external monitor with your MacBook Pro, disconnect it.
3- Look inside the folder ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online and look for a UserPreferences64.ini file. If there is one, delete it.
4- Open your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
5- Select all, delete all. You now have a blank TextEdit document staring at you.
6a- Below this list of instructions, embedded between some CODE tags, I have pasted the entire contents of a UserPreferences.ini file (minus UI and VOICE elements). This UserPreferences.ini file was created just for you – well, just for your machine, anyway.
6b- Select the entire contents in the CODE frame, copy everything. Then paste it into your currently blank UserPreferences.ini file.
6c- Double-check that you pasted the entire contents into your file, with nothing missing and nothing added. Scroll down in the code frame of this message to be sure.
7- Save your UserPreferences.ini file then quit out of TextEdit.
8a- Go to System Preferences->Displays.
8b- Click on the SCALED radio button while holding down the OPTION key on your keyboard.
8c- Choose 1680x1050 as your resolution.
8d- Quit out of System Preferences.
9- Go to Crossover and attempt to launch the game.
10a- If you are asked about high-resolution graphics, say YES.
10b- If you are asked about DirectX 10 or DirectX 11, say NO.
10c- If you are asked to grant permission for anything, grant that permission/those permissions. You might be asked to grant permission for LOTRO to access your ~/Documents folder. Or you might be asked to grant permission for LOTRO to access your microphone. You must grant these permissions if asked! If you do not know how to do this, come back here and I will step you through it.

Here is the full contents of the UserPreferences.ini file which I created for you. There are lines included here that aren't strictly necessary but will make future troubleshooting or modifications easier for me to help you with. As explained above, you will replace the existing contents of your UserPreferences.ini file with this:

Code:

[Launcher] LastLocale=en FirstRun=false AllowMultipleInstances=true PreCache=true SelectLastPlayedWorld=false GameClientType=1 LoadOnStartup=false AskBeforeDownload=false ThrottleDownload=false ThrottleDownloadRate=4 AutoRetrieveUpdates=false AutoRetrieveUpdatesInterval=1 KeepLauncherOpen=false UseHighResolutionGameData=true [Camera] AlignToSlope=False ResetYawWhenPlayerMoves=False [Display] AllowDesktopCompositing=True AllowFakeFullScreen=True AllowWindowResizing=True Antialiasing=2x ConfineFullScreenMouseCursor=True FixedOutputScaling=Default ForceFakeFullScreen=False FullScreen=False RefreshRate=Auto Resolution=1680x1050 ScreenMode=Windowed SyncToRefresh=False TripleBuffering=False WindowedResolution=800x600 [Graphics] AvatarTextureCompositing=True AvatarUpdateVisible=True PVMPPerformanceOverride=True [Input] InvertMouseLookYAxis=False JoystickDeadZone=0.25 MouseLookSensitivity=0.10 MouseLookSmoothingAmount=0.00 PitchKeySpeed=60.00 RollKeySpeed=60.00 TurnKeySpeed=150.00 XInputDetection=False [International] UseIME=False [Misc] PlayedIntroMovie=True TooltipDelay=0.10 TooltipEnable=True [Net] BindInterface= ComputeUniquePort=True ConnectionSpeed=0.00 UserSpecifiedPort=0 [Render] AllowGammaChanges=True AlphaToCoverage=False AmbientLightBoost=0.00 AmbientOcclusion=False AnisotropicQuality=4 AspectRatio=Auto AtmosphericsDetail=High BlobShadows=True BloomIntensity=1.00 BlurFilterQuality=High Brightness=1.00 Contrast=1.00 D3DVersionPromptedForAtStartup=10 DisplayAdapter=0 DistantImposters=True DynamicParticles=All EnablePortraits=True EnvironmentStencilShadows=True FarLandscapeNormalMaps=True FrillDensity=0.50 FrillDistance=High Gamma=1.00 GlowMapping=True GraphicsCore=D3D9 HavePromptedForD3D10AtStartup=False InteractiveWater=Low LandscapeDrawDistance=High LandscapeLightingQuality=High LandscapeShoreEffects=Low LandscapeStaticObjectShadows=High MaterialDetail=High MaxHardwareClass=0 MeasuredFillRate=0.10 MemoryUsage=1.00 MeshCombining=False ModelDetail=High MultiPassLighting=True ObjectDrawDistance=High OverbrightBloomFilter=True PlayerCrowdQuality=1.00 PrecipitationEffects=True ShadowMapQuality=1 SpecularLighting=True StaticEnvironmentalObjects=True StencilShadows=High SurfaceReflections=High TextureDetail=High TextureFiltering=Sharp VideoPostEffects=True VolumetricLight=True [Sound] AmbientVolume=0.75 CombatVolume=1.00 DefaultVolume=1.00 EAXEnabled=False FocusBehavior=Mute Sound MasterVolume=1.00 MaxPlayingSounds=64 MusicDisabled=False MusicVolume=0.50 PersistentSound=False PlayerMusicVolume=1.00 QuantizedPlayerMusicVolume=1.00 SFXVolume=1.00 SoundDisabled=False SoundFeatures=OpenAL Soft on Built-in Output SoundProvider=OpenAL UIVolume=1.00 VOVolume=1.00 [Troubleshooting] EngineSpeed=VeryHigh MaximumFrameRate=30

----------
edit: If you would prefer to download a UserPreferences.ini file to just drop into your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder to replace the existing UserPreferences.ini file, here you go. Its contents are exactly identical to what I provided between the CODE tags above, this is just an alternative way to get it onto your Mac:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/al7w6pytkl...x1050.zip?dl=0
In fact, if you experience a run failure after trying the copy-paste method, please download this file and use it to replace your existing UserPreferences.ini file, then try to run the game again.
----------

Please report back with your results.

If successful, we will set things up so that you can use the screen resolution you prefer and can reattach your external monitor if you use one. We will also get you on the far-superior 64-bit client and test out DirectX 11. But let's take things one step at a time, that way I can give you explicit instructions for each step which will avoid opportunities to introduce errors which might create additional problems.

If not successful, don't give up! There are other things we can try. This really ought to work, though.

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY, it's working! Wowee, I am so grateful (been playing this game for about 8 years now, and it never gets old). I really do appreciate you taking the time to help me through these steps :-) As for next steps with DirectX 11 and 64 bit, I'm all ears!
May 25 2021, 08:44 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by proudlyginger

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY, it's working! Wowee, I am so grateful (been playing this game for about 8 years now, and it never gets old). I really do appreciate you taking the time to help me through these steps :-) As for next steps with DirectX 11 and 64 bit, I'm all ears!

I am so glad to hear that! Sometimes people make little mistakes or there's something I forgot to ask about or didn't ask in a way that produces a useful answer and in those cases a full-replacement .ini file tailored for that person's Mac gets the job done. It's close to the nuclear option, though, because you really shouldn't download and use a file from some Internet rando like me if you can avoid it.

Before doing anything below, be sure no part of LOTRO is running. It's OK if Crossover is running, but LOTRO cannot be running when making these changes.

A- Let's get you set up with your normal screen resolution.
1- Go to System Preferences->Displays and click on DEFAULT FOR DISPLAY. Or if you use some other resolution, set it the way you like it. Then quit out of System Preferences.
2- Open the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
3- Look for the line...
Resolution=1680x1050
...and change the value from 1680x1050 to whatever resolution you usually use on your Mac. I don't know what that is, if I did I would tell you! If you don't know, go to System Preferences->Displays and click on the SCALED radio button while holding the OPTION key – the resolution highlighted is the resolution you are currently using.
4-Look for the line...
ScreenMode=Windowed
...and change the value from Windowed to FullScreenWindowed.
5- Save the file, quit out of TextEdit, launch the game using Crossover.
6a- If successful, move on to B below.
6b- If unsuccessful, report back here with as much detail as possible and we will get it working with some additional steps.

B- Let's prep a functional UserPreferences64.ini file and get you on the far superior 64-bit client.
1- Open your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini file and change the line...
GameClientType=1
...to GameClientType=3.
2- Save your change and then quit out of TextEdit.
3- Make a copy of your UserPreferences.ini file using the Finder. (You can do this with an option-drag or the Duplicate command.)
4- Change the name of the copy you just made to UserPreferences64.ini.
5- Be sure your new UserPreferences64.ini file is located in the same folder as your UserPreferences.ini file, the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder.
6- Launch the game using Crossover.
7a- If successful, move on to C below.
7b- If unsuccessful, report back here with as much detail as possible and we will get it working with some additional steps.

C- Let's test DirectX 11. DirectX 9 is fine, but DirectX 11 is better. However, some graphics cards and many integrated graphics systems have issues with DirectX 11. If it works, it's better to use it. If it doesn't work, you can go back to DirectX 9 easily.
1- Open your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences64.ini file and change the line...
GraphicsCore=D3D9
...to GraphicsCore=D3D11.
2- Save your change and then quit out of TextEdit.
3- Launch the game using Crossover.
4a- If the game launches and you can play, play with DirectX 11 enabled until/unless you run into a problem. If you run into a problem, you should go back to DirectX 9. If you don't run into a problem, DirectX 11 is the better choice so keep using it. You can go back to DirectX 9 by using the in-game OPTIONS panel if needed.
4b- If the game fails to launch or you immediately have problems, you need to go back to DirectX 9. You can go back to DirectX 9 without even being able to get to the in-game options panel by using TextEdit to change the line in UserPreferences64.ini back to GraphicsCore=D3D9 (while the game is not running, of course).

Please report back with your results of all this. You should not run into any problems with A or B but they're both important for the game to run well and for your general happiness with using your Mac. C might not work but that's OK and is covered in the Part C instructions.

And once you get through A, B, and C you can use the in-game OPTIONS panel and other in-game tools to set things up as you like.

I strongly recommend that you not delete (and in fact that you keep a backup copy of) your The Lord of the Rings Online folder (the one inside your ~/Documents folder) even if you delete the game (i.e. delete the Crossover bottle) again as you did once before. That folder will allow you to get running again if you decide to delete and then reinstall the game again for some reason, or if you ever want to play on another computer - even a Windows computer. That folder contains not only known-good settings that will allow the game to run without issues but your keybinds, your layouts, plugins, plugin data, and a lot more besides.

Thanks for having the patience to stick with this until you achieved success. Have fun with LOTRO!
May 26 2021, 09:56 AM
proudlyginger

WOOHOO! (Almost) everything worked! So I got DX11 up and running, but into about 5 minutes of gameplay, my screen started doing this thing like it had taken mushrooms lol. Bright distorting light, and such! I'm assuming that's one of the potential problems of DX11 aforementioned. I'll switch back to DX9, and I'm sure everything will be smooth sailing. One more question: Do you have any tricks for fixing some lag issues? Mine are as simple as when my character is walking, the game will skip with lag. This could be due to the fact of the game getting old, which I can totally handle, but if you did have any tricks - I'd love to hear em!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tralfazz

I am so glad to hear that! Sometimes people make little mistakes or there's something I forgot to ask about or didn't ask in a way that produces a useful answer and in those cases a full-replacement .ini file tailored for that person's Mac gets the job done. It's close to the nuclear option, though, because you really shouldn't download and use a file from some Internet rando like me if you can avoid it.

Before doing anything below, be sure no part of LOTRO is running. It's OK if Crossover is running, but LOTRO cannot be running when making these changes.

A- Let's get you set up with your normal screen resolution.
1- Go to System Preferences->Displays and click on DEFAULT FOR DISPLAY. Or if you use some other resolution, set it the way you like it. Then quit out of System Preferences.
2- Open the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
3- Look for the line...
Resolution=1680x1050
...and change the value from 1680x1050 to whatever resolution you usually use on your Mac. I don't know what that is, if I did I would tell you! If you don't know, go to System Preferences->Displays and click on the SCALED radio button while holding the OPTION key – the resolution highlighted is the resolution you are currently using.
4-Look for the line...
ScreenMode=Windowed
...and change the value from Windowed to FullScreenWindowed.
5- Save the file, quit out of TextEdit, launch the game using Crossover.
6a- If successful, move on to B below.
6b- If unsuccessful, report back here with as much detail as possible and we will get it working with some additional steps.

B- Let's prep a functional UserPreferences64.ini file and get you on the far superior 64-bit client.
1- Open your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini file and change the line...
GameClientType=1
...to GameClientType=3.
2- Save your change and then quit out of TextEdit.
3- Make a copy of your UserPreferences.ini file using the Finder. (You can do this with an option-drag or the Duplicate command.)
4- Change the name of the copy you just made to UserPreferences64.ini.
5- Be sure your new UserPreferences64.ini file is located in the same folder as your UserPreferences.ini file, the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder.
6- Launch the game using Crossover.
7a- If successful, move on to C below.
7b- If unsuccessful, report back here with as much detail as possible and we will get it working with some additional steps.

C- Let's test DirectX 11. DirectX 9 is fine, but DirectX 11 is better. However, some graphics cards and many integrated graphics systems have issues with DirectX 11. If it works, it's better to use it. If it doesn't work, you can go back to DirectX 9 easily.
1- Open your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences64.ini file and change the line...
GraphicsCore=D3D9
...to GraphicsCore=D3D11.
2- Save your change and then quit out of TextEdit.
3- Launch the game using Crossover.
4a- If the game launches and you can play, play with DirectX 11 enabled until/unless you run into a problem. If you run into a problem, you should go back to DirectX 9. If you don't run into a problem, DirectX 11 is the better choice so keep using it. You can go back to DirectX 9 by using the in-game OPTIONS panel if needed.
4b- If the game fails to launch or you immediately have problems, you need to go back to DirectX 9. You can go back to DirectX 9 without even being able to get to the in-game options panel by using TextEdit to change the line in UserPreferences64.ini back to GraphicsCore=D3D9 (while the game is not running, of course).

Please report back with your results of all this. You should not run into any problems with A or B but they're both important for the game to run well and for your general happiness with using your Mac. C might not work but that's OK and is covered in the Part C instructions.

And once you get through A, B, and C you can use the in-game OPTIONS panel and other in-game tools to set things up as you like.

I strongly recommend that you not delete (and in fact that you keep a backup copy of) your The Lord of the Rings Online folder (the one inside your ~/Documents folder) even if you delete the game (i.e. delete the Crossover bottle) again as you did once before. That folder will allow you to get running again if you decide to delete and then reinstall the game again for some reason, or if you ever want to play on another computer - even a Windows computer. That folder contains not only known-good settings that will allow the game to run without issues but your keybinds, your layouts, plugins, plugin data, and a lot more besides.

Thanks for having the patience to stick with this until you achieved success. Have fun with LOTRO!
May 26 2021, 10:39 AM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by proudlyginger

WOOHOO! (Almost) everything worked! So I got DX11 up and running, but into about 5 minutes of gameplay, my screen started doing this thing like it had taken mushrooms lol. Bright distorting light, and such! I'm assuming that's one of the potential problems of DX11 aforementioned. I'll switch back to DX9, and I'm sure everything will be smooth sailing.

You could try to stick with DirectX 11 and adjust a bunch of other graphics settings. While not completely random it's very hard to say just what might work for you. It will be time-consuming: If you have the time and enjoy little technical challenges, go for it as long as you are willing to accept defeat at the end if necessary. If you would rather just play the game, stick with DirectX 9. DirectX 9 works very well, there are a few minor glitches (mostly related to drawing target circles at a distance and some lighting effects such as those associated with a Lore Master's tar patches) but most people don't notice them at all. In fact, if you were using SSG's "Mac"/WINE client in the past, you were using DirectX 9 because that's the only version of DirectX which will work under SSG's current "Mac"/WINE client. Some raiders have issue with DirectX 9 because of the target circle thing, other complaints are extremely minor and very rare – DirectX 9 is fine so if you use it and it's not bugging you in some way, don't think about it any more. Just don't use DirectX 10, although if you want to have a laugh go to Evendim and explore the river bank with DirectX 10 enabled – there are lots of other areas where DirectX 10 is a hot mess, it's just terrible in some zones (yet weirdly just fine in others).

----------
edit:
I'll also note that the psychedelic effects you experienced could be due to your Mac overheating. You could try disabling your processor's Turbo Boost using TurboBoostSwitcher, a free utility:
http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com
I use this a lot, I find that Turbo Boost heats things up without really impacting my work (and play) very much. It's a useful CPU feature for well-cooled machines or for short bursty tasks but it's not good for continuing tasks (such as playing a game) or poorly-cooled machines (such as your MacBook Pro). When I play LOTRO with my Mac Mini (late-2012 i7 2.6GHz) I use TurboBoostSwitcher to disable the turbo boost, in fact I leave it disabled almost all the time on that Mac. My iMac doesn't have turbo boost and that's one of the reasons I chose this specific model when I bought it.

I'll also note, and I will hope this is not the case, that the psychedelic effects you experienced could be due to your Mac's graphics card getting ready to die. There's nothing I can do to help you with that and I sincerely hope that is not the case. It is most likely NOT the case, I just wanted to point out that it is a possibility. Since there's nothing you can do about it, try to not worry about it, either.
----------

Quote:

Originally Posted by proudlyginger

One more question: Do you have any tricks for fixing some lag issues? Mine are as simple as when my character is walking, the game will skip with lag. This could be due to the fact of the game getting old, which I can totally handle, but if you did have any tricks - I'd love to hear em!

This can be caused by a lot of things: Server load (which has nothing to do with you). Graphics settings turned up too high (the .ini file I gave you has almost all graphics settings at or close to max for your Mac so you might want to adjust that down some using the in-game OPTIONS panel). If you're running any other applications at the same time they might be stealing CPU cycles and certainly some of your RAM which could otherwise be used by LOTRO so quit out of anything else you don't need to have running at the same time. Virus-checking software is notorious for demanding CPU time, disable that if you have any – your Mac isn't going to be hurt by a virus scan every now and then but it just doesn't need some always-on virus-checker. If you have one of those MacCleaner/MacBetter/Mac-whatever applications that claim to make your Mac safer/faster/better I suggest you delete it, they are all unnecessary and are all worthless garbage and often glitch things up for other demanding applications.

Finally, check your network, a reset sometimes helps: Shut down your Mac, shut down your router, shut down your cable modem or whatever. Wait two full minutes. Then, starting from the furthest "upstream" device (for most people that's their cable modem), turn things on ONE AT A TIME. Let each device boot up completely (wait two full minutes if you can't tell if something has fully booted or not), then go on to the next device (for most people that means cable modem first, then router, then computer). This will refresh your DNS caches and establish a fresh connection to your ISP, it often solves a lot of problems and isn't a bad thing to do prophylacticly once a month or so.

If anything else comes up, I'll do my best to help. Use this thread unless it's not Mac-related.
May 26 2021, 01:28 PM
proudlyginger

Thank you so much!!! So, I went back with 9, and it works perfectly (very little lag, and no weird psychedelic effect). I downloaded the app to disable turbo boost as well, so looking forward to trying that out :-) I appreciate all the advice, and MOSTLY, I appreciate you sticking with me to figure this out! So excited to get back to playing, and it's all thanks to you! You're awesome

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tralfazz

You could try to stick with DirectX 11 and adjust a bunch of other graphics settings. While not completely random it's very hard to say just what might work for you. It will be time-consuming: If you have the time and enjoy little technical challenges, go for it as long as you are willing to accept defeat at the end if necessary. If you would rather just play the game, stick with DirectX 9. DirectX 9 works very well, there are a few minor glitches (mostly related to drawing target circles at a distance and some lighting effects such as those associated with a Lore Master's tar patches) but most people don't notice them at all. In fact, if you were using SSG's "Mac"/WINE client in the past, you were using DirectX 9 because that's the only version of DirectX which will work under SSG's current "Mac"/WINE client. Some raiders have issue with DirectX 9 because of the target circle thing, other complaints are extremely minor and very rare – DirectX 9 is fine so if you use it and it's not bugging you in some way, don't think about it any more. Just don't use DirectX 10, although if you want to have a laugh go to Evendim and explore the river bank with DirectX 10 enabled – there are lots of other areas where DirectX 10 is a hot mess, it's just terrible in some zones (yet weirdly just fine in others).

----------
edit:
I'll also note that the psychedelic effects you experienced could be due to your Mac overheating. You could try disabling your processor's Turbo Boost using TurboBoostSwitcher, a free utility:
http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com
I use this a lot, I find that Turbo Boost heats things up without really impacting my work (and play) very much. It's a useful CPU feature for well-cooled machines or for short bursty tasks but it's not good for continuing tasks (such as playing a game) or poorly-cooled machines (such as your MacBook Pro). When I play LOTRO with my Mac Mini (late-2012 i7 2.6GHz) I use TurboBoostSwitcher to disable the turbo boost, in fact I leave it disabled almost all the time on that Mac. My iMac doesn't have turbo boost and that's one of the reasons I chose this specific model when I bought it.

I'll also note, and I will hope this is not the case, that the psychedelic effects you experienced could be due to your Mac's graphics card getting ready to die. There's nothing I can do to help you with that and I sincerely hope that is not the case. It is most likely NOT the case, I just wanted to point out that it is a possibility. Since there's nothing you can do about it, try to not worry about it, either.
----------

This can be caused by a lot of things: Server load (which has nothing to do with you). Graphics settings turned up too high (the .ini file I gave you has almost all graphics settings at or close to max for your Mac so you might want to adjust that down some using the in-game OPTIONS panel). If you're running any other applications at the same time they might be stealing CPU cycles and certainly some of your RAM which could otherwise be used by LOTRO so quit out of anything else you don't need to have running at the same time. Virus-checking software is notorious for demanding CPU time, disable that if you have any – your Mac isn't going to be hurt by a virus scan every now and then but it just doesn't need some always-on virus-checker. If you have one of those MacCleaner/MacBetter/Mac-whatever applications that claim to make your Mac safer/faster/better I suggest you delete it, they are all unnecessary and are all worthless garbage and often glitch things up for other demanding applications.

Finally, check your network, a reset sometimes helps: Shut down your Mac, shut down your router, shut down your cable modem or whatever. Wait two full minutes. Then, starting from the furthest "upstream" device (for most people that's their cable modem), turn things on ONE AT A TIME. Let each device boot up completely (wait two full minutes if you can't tell if something has fully booted or not), then go on to the next device (for most people that means cable modem first, then router, then computer). This will refresh your DNS caches and establish a fresh connection to your ISP, it often solves a lot of problems and isn't a bad thing to do prophylacticly once a month or so.

If anything else comes up, I'll do my best to help. Use this thread unless it's not Mac-related.
Apr 23 2022, 11:59 AM
Lasagabaster

Thanks a lot for putting this up.

But I can't make the first part work.

The game just crashes after applying what you said here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tralfazz

----------
For anyone else following along, this is a continuation of a thread in the Codeweavers forum. proudlyginger is a new user there and new users have posting restrictions which were preventing her from communicating with me in a way conducive to effecting a repair on her Crossover/LOTRO installation. You can find that starter thread here:
https://www.codeweavers.com/compatib...ine?msg=239793
----------

Don't give up. I know it's frustrating, it should just work but there are incompatibilities with LOTRO default display modes and Mac "retina" display settings among some other issues partly due to LOTRO being 14-year-old tech based on an even older game engine, and multiple things that can go wrong during installation. More recent versions of MacOS have extra security which complicates things, too.

On the upside, all of the issues can be worked around. We'll get it! Maybe even soon, but if not soon then eventually...

Let's begin by checking your Crossover bottle.

First, check that it's a Windows 10 64-bit bottle:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...%20No.JPG?dl=0
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...20Yes.JPG?dl=0

Next, check your bottle's "settings" – they should look exactly like this, those three checkmarks and no others:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/...tings.JPG?dl=0

If the above is all correct, and you're able to get to the LOTRO launcher application where you choose a server and enter your login credentials, and then get a failure to launch the client (which can look like nothing happens at all, or a black screen, or some sort of "crash"); the problem is being caused by either display/resolution issues or (much less likely) permission issues.

Let's try this:
1- Be sure the game is not running. It's OK for Crossover to be running, but LOTRO must not be running.
2- If you use an external monitor with your MacBook Pro, disconnect it.
3- Look inside the folder ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online and look for a UserPreferences64.ini file. If there is one, delete it.
4- Open your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
5- Select all, delete all. You now have a blank TextEdit document staring at you.
6a- Below this list of instructions, embedded between some CODE tags, I have pasted the entire contents of a UserPreferences.ini file (minus UI and VOICE elements). This UserPreferences.ini file was created just for you – well, just for your machine, anyway.
6b- Select the entire contents in the CODE frame, copy everything. Then paste it into your currently blank UserPreferences.ini file.
6c- Double-check that you pasted the entire contents into your file, with nothing missing and nothing added. Scroll down in the code frame of this message to be sure.
7- Save your UserPreferences.ini file then quit out of TextEdit.
8a- Go to System Preferences->Displays.
8b- Click on the SCALED radio button while holding down the OPTION key on your keyboard.
8c- Choose 1680x1050 as your resolution.
8d- Quit out of System Preferences.
9- Go to Crossover and attempt to launch the game.
10a- If you are asked about high-resolution graphics, say YES.
10b- If you are asked about DirectX 10 or DirectX 11, say NO.
10c- If you are asked to grant permission for anything, grant that permission/those permissions. You might be asked to grant permission for LOTRO to access your ~/Documents folder. Or you might be asked to grant permission for LOTRO to access your microphone. You must grant these permissions if asked! If you do not know how to do this, come back here and I will step you through it.

Here is the full contents of the UserPreferences.ini file which I created for you. There are lines included here that aren't strictly necessary but will make future troubleshooting or modifications easier for me to help you with. As explained above, you will replace the existing contents of your UserPreferences.ini file with this:

Code:

[Launcher] LastLocale=en FirstRun=false AllowMultipleInstances=true PreCache=true SelectLastPlayedWorld=false GameClientType=1 LoadOnStartup=false AskBeforeDownload=false ThrottleDownload=false ThrottleDownloadRate=4 AutoRetrieveUpdates=false AutoRetrieveUpdatesInterval=1 KeepLauncherOpen=false UseHighResolutionGameData=true [Camera] AlignToSlope=False ResetYawWhenPlayerMoves=False [Display] AllowDesktopCompositing=True AllowFakeFullScreen=True AllowWindowResizing=True Antialiasing=2x ConfineFullScreenMouseCursor=True FixedOutputScaling=Default ForceFakeFullScreen=False FullScreen=False RefreshRate=Auto Resolution=1680x1050 ScreenMode=Windowed SyncToRefresh=False TripleBuffering=False WindowedResolution=800x600 [Graphics] AvatarTextureCompositing=True AvatarUpdateVisible=True PVMPPerformanceOverride=True [Input] InvertMouseLookYAxis=False JoystickDeadZone=0.25 MouseLookSensitivity=0.10 MouseLookSmoothingAmount=0.00 PitchKeySpeed=60.00 RollKeySpeed=60.00 TurnKeySpeed=150.00 XInputDetection=False [International] UseIME=False [Misc] PlayedIntroMovie=True TooltipDelay=0.10 TooltipEnable=True [Net] BindInterface= ComputeUniquePort=True ConnectionSpeed=0.00 UserSpecifiedPort=0 [Render] AllowGammaChanges=True AlphaToCoverage=False AmbientLightBoost=0.00 AmbientOcclusion=False AnisotropicQuality=4 AspectRatio=Auto AtmosphericsDetail=High BlobShadows=True BloomIntensity=1.00 BlurFilterQuality=High Brightness=1.00 Contrast=1.00 D3DVersionPromptedForAtStartup=10 DisplayAdapter=0 DistantImposters=True DynamicParticles=All EnablePortraits=True EnvironmentStencilShadows=True FarLandscapeNormalMaps=True FrillDensity=0.50 FrillDistance=High Gamma=1.00 GlowMapping=True GraphicsCore=D3D9 HavePromptedForD3D10AtStartup=False InteractiveWater=Low LandscapeDrawDistance=High LandscapeLightingQuality=High LandscapeShoreEffects=Low LandscapeStaticObjectShadows=High MaterialDetail=High MaxHardwareClass=0 MeasuredFillRate=0.10 MemoryUsage=1.00 MeshCombining=False ModelDetail=High MultiPassLighting=True ObjectDrawDistance=High OverbrightBloomFilter=True PlayerCrowdQuality=1.00 PrecipitationEffects=True ShadowMapQuality=1 SpecularLighting=True StaticEnvironmentalObjects=True StencilShadows=High SurfaceReflections=High TextureDetail=High TextureFiltering=Sharp VideoPostEffects=True VolumetricLight=True [Sound] AmbientVolume=0.75 CombatVolume=1.00 DefaultVolume=1.00 EAXEnabled=False FocusBehavior=Mute Sound MasterVolume=1.00 MaxPlayingSounds=64 MusicDisabled=False MusicVolume=0.50 PersistentSound=False PlayerMusicVolume=1.00 QuantizedPlayerMusicVolume=1.00 SFXVolume=1.00 SoundDisabled=False SoundFeatures=OpenAL Soft on Built-in Output SoundProvider=OpenAL UIVolume=1.00 VOVolume=1.00 [Troubleshooting] EngineSpeed=VeryHigh MaximumFrameRate=30

----------
edit: If you would prefer to download a UserPreferences.ini file to just drop into your ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder to replace the existing UserPreferences.ini file, here you go. Its contents are exactly identical to what I provided between the CODE tags above, this is just an alternative way to get it onto your Mac:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/al7w6pytkl...x1050.zip?dl=0
In fact, if you experience a run failure after trying the copy-paste method, please download this file and use it to replace your existing UserPreferences.ini file, then try to run the game again.
----------

Please report back with your results.

If successful, we will set things up so that you can use the screen resolution you prefer and can reattach your external monitor if you use one. We will also get you on the far-superior 64-bit client and test out DirectX 11. But let's take things one step at a time, that way I can give you explicit instructions for each step which will avoid opportunities to introduce errors which might create additional problems.

If not successful, don't give up! There are other things we can try. This really ought to work, though.
Apr 23 2022, 02:13 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasagabaster

I can't make the first part work.

The game just crashes after applying what you said here.

Hi there, Lasagabaster! Just like the title you get when doing the Bingo Boffin quests, I am HAPPY TO HELP. I need some information first:
1- What is your exact model of Mac? For example, I have a 2019 21.5" iMac.
2- Which CPU does your Mac use? For example, I have a 3.6GHz Intel Core i3.
3- How much RAM does your Mac have? For example, I have 32gb of RAM.
4- What video card or video subsystem does your Mac have? For example, I have a Radeon Pro 555x.
5- If your Mac has a discrete video card, how much VRAM does it have? For example, I have 2gb of VRAM.
6- What version of MacOS are you using? For example, I am using MacOS 12.3.1 Monterey.
7- What version of Crossover are you using? For example, I am using Version 21.2 (21.2.0.33926).
8- Have you ever played LOTRO before, on any computer? If so, was it a Mac?
9- Do you use any virus-scanning or malware-checking or Mac Super Duper Cleaner Faster Better-type of software? If so, I will tell you right now that it is probably getting in your way and should be disabled at least until you get LOTRO running. I can provide instructions later for enabling such software in such a way that it will not interfere with Crossover, but for now it's best to disable it.
10- If you've played LOTRO before on any computer (PC or Mac), do you have a copy of the ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online folder from your earlier installation? If so, where is it – i.e. is it on the Mac on which you are currently trying to get the game to run on, or on some other computer or boot volume?
11- At what point does the game crash? Please be as specific as possible. For example, does it crash when you attempt to run the LOTRO launcher application? Or perhaps the LOTRO launcher application runs normally but after you enter your credentials, select a server, and click PLAY the game client fails to launch? Or perhaps the game client launches but you see it crash at some point after launch. Be as detailed as possible in your reply.
May 10 2022, 05:13 PM
angryhands

Crossover suddenly not working; anyone else?

Hello -- I've been playing LOTRO on my M1 MacBook Air for a while now, even as recently as a few days ago. But just now, when I clicked on "Play"
after giving my login info, I got the black screen I have heard so much about. Is this the result of a recent update? Is it happening to anyone else? In any case, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Thoronlin
May 10 2022, 05:31 PM
angryhands

Quote:

Originally Posted by angryhands

Hello -- I've been playing LOTRO on my M1 MacBook Air for a while now, even as recently as a few days ago. But just now, when I clicked on "Play"
after giving my login info, I got the black screen I have heard so much about. Is this the result of a recent update? Is it happening to anyone else? In any case, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance,

Thoronlin

Never mind - I "solved" it by disconnecting my external monitor(s), successfully launching LOTRO on the native screen, then adding the monitors, quitting LOTRO, and re-launching.
Aug 15 2022, 07:30 PM
coffeedog

for those of us who have trouble following directions >.>

So, uh, what if a person were to install Crossover and go thru the first steps described above, but missed this part:

"Next, check your bottle's "settings" – they should look exactly like this, those three checkmarks and no others:"

I didn't see where those settings were until the LOTRO install was well underway. When I finally did see them, only the first was checked. So I changed the other two while it was updating files. And *then* I read the part about making sure those three things were checked *before* attempting the install. Oooops.

Anyway, I let it keep going, and when the DirectX 11 message popped up I said No, then clicked Yes for the LOTRO 64-bit question. And lo, the game started, and I was able to log in. It's a bit jerky and laggy - not unplayable, but then I'm not in an intense area at the moment. Is there a relatively painless way to fix my mistake, or should I just be grateful it's working at all?
Aug 15 2022, 08:24 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeedog

So, uh, what if a person were to install Crossover and go thru the first steps described above, but missed this part:

"Next, check your bottle's "settings" – they should look exactly like this, those three checkmarks and no others:"

I didn't see where those settings were until the LOTRO install was well underway. When I finally did see them, only the first was checked. So I changed the other two while it was updating files. And *then* I read the part about making sure those three things were checked *before* attempting the install. Oooops.

Anyway, I let it keep going, and when the DirectX 11 message popped up I said No, then clicked Yes for the LOTRO 64-bit question. And lo, the game started, and I was able to log in. It's a bit jerky and laggy - not unplayable, but then I'm not in an intense area at the moment. Is there a relatively painless way to fix my mistake, or should I just be grateful it's working at all?

Hi, coffeedog! What you did was OK. It's best to do things one at a time and in the specified order, but you didn't launch the LOTRO client with those bottle settings checked incorrectly. Those settings have no special effect on the LOTRO Launcher application or the installer application. They were set correctly before you entered your credentials and clicked the PLAY button in the LOTRO Launcher application to launch the LOTRO client, and that's what counts in this case.

Since you can get into the game, do so. Then go to OPTIONS->GRAPHICS->QUALITY->GRAPHICS HARDWARE LEVEL and choose DIRECTX11 from the dropdown menu. Then go to OPTIONS->GRAPHICS->DISPLAY->SCREEN MODE and choose FULL SCREEN (WINDOWED) from the dropdown menu. That might resolve your "jerky and laggy"-ness.

If not, please reply with details about your Mac. You can get the information you need from "About This Mac" or a system report. Or you can just tell me the model number or tell me something like, "M2 MacBook Air 2022, 8GPU cores, 8gb RAM, 256gb SSD, MacOS Monterey 12.5." Also, please copy the entire contents of the file ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPrferences.ini into your reply along with the information about your Mac. (Please redact your LOTRO account name from the paste of the file contents to protect your privacy.) If going to DirectX 11 and Full Screen Windowed mode doesn't improve things for you, knowing both the details of your hardware and the version of MacOS you are running and the contents of your UserPreferences.ini file should give me enough information to suggest settings changes that will do the trick.
Aug 16 2022, 09:17 PM
coffeedog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tralfazz

Hi, coffeedog! What you did was OK. It's best to do things one at a time and in the specified order, but you didn't launch the LOTRO client with those bottle settings checked incorrectly. Those settings have no special effect on the LOTRO Launcher application or the installer application. They were set correctly before you entered your credentials and clicked the PLAY button in the LOTRO Launcher application to launch the LOTRO client, and that's what counts in this case.

Since you can get into the game, do so. Then go to OPTIONS->GRAPHICS->QUALITY->GRAPHICS HARDWARE LEVEL and choose DIRECTX11 from the dropdown menu. Then go to OPTIONS->GRAPHICS->DISPLAY->SCREEN MODE and choose FULL SCREEN (WINDOWED) from the dropdown menu. That might resolve your "jerky and laggy"-ness.

If not, please reply with details about your Mac. You can get the information you need from "About This Mac" or a system report. Or you can just tell me the model number or tell me something like, "M2 MacBook Air 2022, 8GPU cores, 8gb RAM, 256gb SSD, MacOS Monterey 12.5." Also, please copy the entire contents of the file ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPrferences.ini into your reply along with the information about your Mac. (Please redact your LOTRO account name from the paste of the file contents to protect your privacy.) If going to DirectX 11 and Full Screen Windowed mode doesn't improve things for you, knowing both the details of your hardware and the version of MacOS you are running and the contents of your UserPreferences.ini file should give me enough information to suggest settings changes that will do the trick.

Ok! I changed the first setting to DirectX11 (it was DirectX9). I was already in full screen windowed mode. It seemed better at first, but then I started seeing problems with rendering. Like so: (Sorry, I'm having trouble getting my screenshot to show up. If the link doesn't work, it's basically showing a large triangular area blacked out, with gray vertical streaks.)

https://imgur.com/a/E0GAxQR
https://imgur.com/a/E0GAxQR

It eventually got better until I finished the instance I was in, then started up again after I left it.

My setup:

Mac mini (Late 2014)
2.6 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
Intel Iris 1536 MB graphics
Mojave 10.14.6
Crossover 21.2

My UserPreferences.ini file:

Code:

[General] AllowMultipleInstances=true FirstRun=false UseHighResolutionGameData=true raw-en-logo-lotro_ad_pregame-jpg=2019-05-09T14:04:18Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_01-jpg=2019-05-06T17:41:03Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_02-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:58Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_03-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:53Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_04-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:49Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_05-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:43Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_06-jpg=2019-05-06T17:41:44Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_07-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:34Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_08-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:27Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_09-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:20Z raw-en-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_10-jpg=2019-05-06T17:40:14Z raw-de-logo-lotro_ad_pregame_de-jpg=2019-05-09T14:02:47Z raw-de-logo-lotro_generic_teleport_screen_01-jpg=2019-05-06T17:37:53Z 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Aug 16 2022, 11:27 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeedog

Ok! I changed the first setting to DirectX11 (it was DirectX9). I was already in full screen windowed mode. It seemed better at first, but then I started seeing problems with rendering. Like so: (Sorry, I'm having trouble getting my screenshot to show up. If the link doesn't work, it's basically showing a large triangular area blacked out, with gray vertical streaks.)

https://imgur.com/a/E0GAxQR
https://imgur.com/a/E0GAxQR

It eventually got better until I finished the instance I was in, then started up again after I left it.

My setup:

Mac mini (Late 2014)
2.6 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
Intel Iris 1536 MB graphics
Mojave 10.14.6
Crossover 21.2

My UserPreferences.ini file:

Given the age of your Mac, it's limited RAM, and the Intel integrated graphics subsystem which often has issues with DirectX 11 and consumes 1.5gb of your 8gb of RAM; it's going to be better for you to stick with DirectX 9. You can make the change in-game using the OPTIONS panel. However, we're going to make some changes to your UserPreferences.ini file which should improve the performance quite a bit and I'll include the change to DirectX 9 there as well so you don't have to use the OPTIONS panel.

Open UserPreferences.ini with Text Edit and make the following changes:

GraphicsCore=D3D9
(Explained above.)

MemoryUsage=0.00
(This sets aside a certain portion of your RAM for texture caching, allowing some things to load faster such as when you teleport into a new zone or move closer to a large group of players. You have very limited RAM given the demands of the 64-bit LOTRO client so we want to leave as much of that as possible for the game to use for other functions. When the game can't address enough RAM, it can cause the types of issues you illustrated with your screenshot or result in crashes.)

VideoPostEffects=False
(This is one of the most demanding graphics options. Admittedly, it is also the setting that makes one of the biggest differences in visual quality, especially for bodies of water. However, your CPU and graphics subsystem – combined with your limited RAM – are being overburdened by the demands of post-processing. Disabling this is the best candidate we have for improving your experience in the game.)

MaximumFrameRate=30
(LOTRO is not a "twitch" game and you will not get a lot of benefit from frame rates over 30. In most areas of the game, with a 1080p (1920x1080) resolution and modest graphics settings, your Mac might just about be able to deliver 30fps. Capping at 30fps will lessen the demands on your system, prevent overheating, and make the overall experience appear more "smooth" to your eye because the frame rate won't bounce around quite as much.)

Once you've made those four changes, SAVE the file then QUIT out of TextEdit. Then run the game and perform some play tests. It is my hope that sticking with DirectX 9 and disabling post-processing will resolve both the visual glitches you noted and the unsatisfactory performance you reported in your OP. Setting the texture cache to zero and capping your frame rate will also help and will prevent some common overheating and out-of-memory problems.

Note that, again due to your limited RAM, you will be best off quitting out of any other applications which you don't absolutely need before launching LOTRO.

Good luck! I'm looking forward to your next report.
Aug 17 2022, 09:46 PM
coffeedog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tralfazz

Given the age of your Mac, it's limited RAM, and the Intel integrated graphics subsystem which often has issues with DirectX 11 and consumes 1.5gb of your 8gb of RAM; it's going to be better for you to stick with DirectX 9. You can make the change in-game using the OPTIONS panel. However, we're going to make some changes to your UserPreferences.ini file which should improve the performance quite a bit and I'll include the change to DirectX 9 there as well so you don't have to use the OPTIONS panel.

Open UserPreferences.ini with Text Edit and make the following changes:

GraphicsCore=D3D9
(Explained above.)

MemoryUsage=0.00
(This sets aside a certain portion of your RAM for texture caching, allowing some things to load faster such as when you teleport into a new zone or move closer to a large group of players. You have very limited RAM given the demands of the 64-bit LOTRO client so we want to leave as much of that as possible for the game to use for other functions. When the game can't address enough RAM, it can cause the types of issues you illustrated with your screenshot or result in crashes.)

VideoPostEffects=False
(This is one of the most demanding graphics options. Admittedly, it is also the setting that makes one of the biggest differences in visual quality, especially for bodies of water. However, your CPU and graphics subsystem – combined with your limited RAM – are being overburdened by the demands of post-processing. Disabling this is the best candidate we have for improving your experience in the game.)

MaximumFrameRate=30
(LOTRO is not a "twitch" game and you will not get a lot of benefit from frame rates over 30. In most areas of the game, with a 1080p (1920x1080) resolution and modest graphics settings, your Mac might just about be able to deliver 30fps. Capping at 30fps will lessen the demands on your system, prevent overheating, and make the overall experience appear more "smooth" to your eye because the frame rate won't bounce around quite as much.)

Once you've made those four changes, SAVE the file then QUIT out of TextEdit. Then run the game and perform some play tests. It is my hope that sticking with DirectX 9 and disabling post-processing will resolve both the visual glitches you noted and the unsatisfactory performance you reported in your OP. Setting the texture cache to zero and capping your frame rate will also help and will prevent some common overheating and out-of-memory problems.

Note that, again due to your limited RAM, you will be best off quitting out of any other applications which you don't absolutely need before launching LOTRO.

Good luck! I'm looking forward to your next report.

Ok, it's running much more smoothly now. Noticed a few jitters at first, but that may be because I was looking for them. Normal questing in non-busy areas is fine, so I hopped over to the Party Tree to see how it handled the festival. Seemed ok after the usual wait to load everybody, but I didn't try any quests, just ran around for a minute. Last test was Rivendell, since I saw a lot of the issue from my screenshot there, especially after stepping out of Elrond's house. That goes fine now, but it started overheating while standing on the bridge at Rivendell checking out the water effects - which definitely aren't as pretty as before, but I'll take it over not being able to see the mobs I'm fighting! I haven't seen the overheating happen on this Mac before, though - only on my 2013 MacBook Pro, which got so hot so fast that I finally quit playing on it.

Do you have any suggestions for how to prevent overheating if I have to, say, hang out in a waterfall-heavy area for awhile? I'm guessing there's a setting or two that I could temporarily change in Options for such a scenario? (I don't normally do epic battles or raids, but now I'm wondering if the same could happen there.)

And yes, I am kicking myself for not getting more RAM when I had the chance. Oh well.

Thanks for the very helpful suggestions and explanations!
Aug 17 2022, 11:06 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeedog

Ok, it's running much more smoothly now. Noticed a few jitters at first, but that may be because I was looking for them. Normal questing in non-busy areas is fine, so I hopped over to the Party Tree to see how it handled the festival. Seemed ok after the usual wait to load everybody, but I didn't try any quests, just ran around for a minute. Last test was Rivendell, since I saw a lot of the issue from my screenshot there, especially after stepping out of Elrond's house. That goes fine now, but it started overheating while standing on the bridge at Rivendell checking out the water effects - which definitely aren't as pretty as before, but I'll take it over not being able to see the mobs I'm fighting! I haven't seen the overheating happen on this Mac before, though - only on my 2013 MacBook Pro, which got so hot so fast that I finally quit playing on it.

Do you have any suggestions for how to prevent overheating if I have to, say, hang out in a waterfall-heavy area for awhile? I'm guessing there's a setting or two that I could temporarily change in Options for such a scenario? (I don't normally do epic battles or raids, but now I'm wondering if the same could happen there.)

And yes, I am kicking myself for not getting more RAM when I had the chance. Oh well.

8gb was a very decent amount of RAM in 2014. No need to kick yourself. No matter how old your 2014 Mac Mini is, remember that it is 8 model years old. Now, this isn't the 1990s so 8 years doesn't mean your computer went from being state-of-the-art to a paperweight over 8 years, but it's a dual-core processor with Intel integrated graphics and – relative to the amount of RAM the 64-bit LOTRO client needs to run really well – a bit light in the memory department. A new Apple SOC Mac can get away with only 8gb of RAM because of the advanced memory and virtual-memory management techniques of the SOC system, but an Intel-based computer needs more room to stretch its legs. Again, though, no need to kick yourself about any of the choices you made, it's a fine computer, just a little long in the tooth is all. I have a 2012 Mac Mini (albeit a quad-core model with 16gb of RAM) and I can play LOTRO on it just fine – but not nearly as well as I can on my 2019 iMac which not only has 32gb of RAM but has a discrete video card which has 2gb of VRAM instead of just integrated graphics. Not that my iMac is a "gaming computer" or particularly powerful by any means, even relative to other Macs of the same model year; but it is 7 model years newer than my Mini.

Anyway...

The best way to control overheating on any Mac with an Intel processor which has Turbo Boost is to disable the Turbo Boost. Turbo Boost is basically designed-in overclocking of the processor and it is very useful for getting extra performance out of a CPU for short, bursty tasks. But graphically-intense games (and no matter how old it is, LOTRO is a graphically-intense game) tend to max out the CPU which means the Turbo Boost kicks in and stays on for as long as you are playing. This is why PCs which are designed for gamers tend to be big boxes with big fans, and when they're laptops they still tend to have big (for laptops) fans which spin very fast and are very noisy.

You will probably find that disabling the Turbo Boost of your Mac's CPU will not have any appreciable effect on LOTRO game performance but will definitely result in it running cooler.

The easiest way to disable Turbo Boost is to use the utility TurboBoostSwitcher:
http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com
There is both a free and a not-free version. The free version will probably do everything you need. I use the free version with my 2012 Mac Mini. I only turn off Turbo Boost when I'm playing a game but I have sometimes forgotten to turn it back on again and for the things I do with that Mac I really don't notice a difference other than the temperature never getting high enough for the Mac to decide it needs to use a higher fan speed. My 2019 iMac has a CPU which doesn't have Turbo Boost at all and in fact that's the reason I chose that specific iMac model.

If you still have that MacBook Pro, you might find that TurboBoostSwitcher will do even more for you on that machine because its thermal management is much poorer than your Mini's. Disabling the Turbo Boost will also improve battery life – a lot. And you can always turn it back on if you feel that disabling Turbo Boost is affecting performance in a noticeable way, but I bet you won't notice any difference at all better than 99% of the time.

There are only two more things you can do to improve LOTRO performance on your Mini:
1- Adjust your graphics settings. You need to come up with a balance of visual quality which appeals to you and frame rate which is playable. Going to a lower resolution so that your computer has to handle fewer active pixels can make a huge difference but of course your UI can get crowded and the images can get kind of blocky if you use a particularly low resolution.
2- If your Mac has a HDD inside and you boot from and run your application from that, you will find that using an external SSD as your boot drive and running all your applications from that SSD will dramatically speed things up. Even a 5gbps USB 3.0 external SSD will be much better than any HDD no matter what interface is used. External SSDs with simple USB 3.0 or USB 3.2 (i.e. USB 3.1 gen2) interfaces aren't terribly expensive and getting one might be worth the investment since even after you upgrade to a new computer eventually, that external SSD will still have value as an external volume for sneaker-netting or backups or any number of other useful things.

I think you should try TurboBoostSwitcher. And if you are booting from and running your applications from a HDD then you will experience a huge improvement by moving to an SSD, even a pretty cheap USB 3.0 external SSD – if you are currently running from a HDD, and you have the financial resources for it, an SSD will certainly improve your experience with your Mac Mini, not just with LOTRO but with everything you do with it. On the other hand, playing with graphics settings can be time-consuming, you probably want to play more than you want to spend hours testing different settings in the OPTIONS panel, so don't kill too much of your time doing that.

I hope you have a great time in Middle-earth!
Aug 18 2022, 08:45 PM
coffeedog

I will definitely check out Turbo Boost Switcher! I already have a free temp/fan speed monitor (smcFanControl), but being able to actually do something about the problem (other than not playing LOTRO) definitely sounds like a step up. Heck, maybe I'll even start using the MacBook again for some things - it got to where it could only go about an hour running LOTRO before overheating and/or running out of battery.

I'll also start keeping an eye out for an SSD, which I've been wanting for a long time but couldn't quite justify the cost. We only got the Mini because I just couldn't stomach the idea of going back to Windows, but we also needed to go cheap (as much as that's possible with a Mac!). Maybe I'll be able to snag one from a Black Friday sale. If not, I can live with the current setup quite well if I don't have to worry about overheating.

--Ok, I'm installing TBS and got this:

"System Extension Warning

"One or more system extensions that you have approved will be incompatible with a future version of macOS. Please contact "Legacy Developer: Rugarclap" for support."

Any misgivings, or is that a minor hiccup? Anyway, I'm off to check out some Middle Earth waterfalls with Turbo Boost disabled! I may eventually get around to messing with graphics settings... or I may not. But thanks for the suggestion, and for explaining things so clearly! You've gotten me back on the road and given me a road map, and maps are always useful.
Aug 18 2022, 09:12 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeedog

--Ok, I'm installing TBS and got this:

"System Extension Warning

"One or more system extensions that you have approved will be incompatible with a future version of macOS. Please contact "Legacy Developer: Rugarclap" for support."

Any misgivings, or is that a minor hiccup?

TurboBoostSwitcher works in Monterey and even in the current Ventura beta. (Friends don't let friends use beta OSes!) I am running it in Mojave, just like you. That is just MacOS warning you that the method the application is using to do its low-level system business is something that Apple is going to remove in some future version of MacOS. And in fact, they did! System kexts (don't worry about what that is if you don't know) get loaded differently now, but the TurboBoostSwitcher application is smart enough to detect your OS version and set up the kext the right way for that OS. So it's something you can ignore. If you upgrade your current Mac from Mojave to something more recent you will have to reinstall TurboBoostSwitcher; that's all, nothing to worry about otherwise.

I'm glad you're able to enjoy LOTRO again!
Aug 18 2022, 09:57 PM
coffeedog

I did just come across the word "kexts" in the Turbo Boost Switcher help file and am relieved I don't need to know how to use it in a sentence, lol. But this is interesting: Running both TBS and smcFanControl at the Bridge of Rivendell, I'm getting wildly different temp readings. TBS jumped up to 203 degrees F, whereas smcFC was at 165 F. I just learned how to get a temp reading directly from Terminal, and it agrees with TBS. The fan speed measurements agree between apps, but the 203 is making me nervous. (It did settle down to around 199 as the fan sped up, but isn't that still pretty high?) What's more, I can't tell much difference between having Turbo Boost enabled or disabled. Enabled, it only got up to around 201 F... but still. Or are those numbers ok as long as I don't sit there all day?

On my old MacBook, I never liked to see it get above 172 F (using smcFanControl)... but then, if it got that hot, it was uncomfortable to use for very long, even with a lap pad/stand. So maybe my use of the word "overheating" is a bit inaccurate.

ETA: And maybe my Rivendell Bridge test isn't a great one - just got up to 205 F doing normal landscape slayer stuff.
Aug 19 2022, 05:17 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeedog

Running both TBS and smcFanControl at the Bridge of Rivendell, I'm getting wildly different temp readings. TBS jumped up to 203 degrees F, whereas smcFC was at 165 F. I just learned how to get a temp reading directly from Terminal, and it agrees with TBS. The fan speed measurements agree between apps, but the 203 is making me nervous. (It did settle down to around 199 as the fan sped up, but isn't that still pretty high?) What's more, I can't tell much difference between having Turbo Boost enabled or disabled. Enabled, it only got up to around 201 F... but still. Or are those numbers ok as long as I don't sit there all day?

On my old MacBook, I never liked to see it get above 172 F (using smcFanControl)... but then, if it got that hot, it was uncomfortable to use for very long, even with a lap pad/stand. So maybe my use of the word "overheating" is a bit inaccurate.

ETA: And maybe my Rivendell Bridge test isn't a great one - just got up to 205 F doing normal landscape slayer stuff.

Your Mac Mini shouldn't be getting that hot with the LOTRO graphics settings you're using. 200°F is really hot. Anything over 190°F is really not good and ideally you shouldn't be over 190°F for very long because the thermal paste (the goop between the CPU and its heatsink, and other components and any heatsink they might have) will degrade if kept at higher temperatures for long periods of time. The CPU should be downclocking itself ("throttling") when the temps get much over 190°F in order to prevent damage to itself and other system components. It shouldn't be able to get to those kinds of temps with the Turbo Boost disabled!

If you can open up your Mac enough to expose the fan and the motherboard, you might find dust blocking air flow or covering the components. Gently remove the dust with compressed air, or a very soft brush while holding a vacuum cleaner head nearby to suck up the filth. Try to not inhale anything you dislodge from the computer.

If you had been running the 32-bit client under WINE before installing LOTRO into Crossover and were not getting this much overheating, you might want to see what happens when you run the 32-bit client in Crossover. To do so, edit your UserPreferences.ini file so that GameClientType=1. Note that this is just for experimental purposes, you will not be able to use the 32-bit client after the end of this calendar year and the performance is usually inferior to the 64-bit client. But the results of this test might help us determine something we can do to control the overheating you're experiencing. When done testing, return that line to GameClientType=3 to restore the 64-bit client.

Consider disabling (and even deleting) smcFanControl. Let your Mac decide what it should do with its fans and use TurboBoostSwitcher to monitor your temps.

You might want to change Brightness, Contrast, and Gamma to 1.00. (You can do so by editing the UserPreferences.ini file or more easily by using the OPTIONS panel while in game.) Anything other than 1.00 requires the CPU to do more work. Try adjusting the Ambient Light setting to your preference instead, don't adjust those other three unless you feel you really need to do so in order to play.

Try setting ObjectDrawDistance=Medium and BlobShadows=False.

And while I know it seems counter-intuitive, changing Texture Filtering from Bilinear to Anisotropic is often more efficient. So after trying the above, if you still have overheating, try setting TextureFiltering=Anisotropic. If you notice unplayably low frame rates or other issues with Anisotropic filtering, try Trilinear.

There are certainly other settings which can be bumped down but anything else is going to have a larger effect on your ability to enjoy the game environment. So give the things above a try, hopefully one or more of them will help. I hope so!
Aug 21 2022, 07:38 PM
coffeedog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tralfazz

Your Mac Mini shouldn't be getting that hot with the LOTRO graphics settings you're using. 200°F is really hot. Anything over 190°F is really not good and ideally you shouldn't be over 190°F for very long because the thermal paste (the goop between the CPU and its heatsink, and other components and any heatsink they might have) will degrade if kept at higher temperatures for long periods of time. The CPU should be downclocking itself ("throttling") when the temps get much over 190°F in order to prevent damage to itself and other system components. It shouldn't be able to get to those kinds of temps with the Turbo Boost disabled!

If you can open up your Mac enough to expose the fan and the motherboard, you might find dust blocking air flow or covering the components. Gently remove the dust with compressed air, or a very soft brush while holding a vacuum cleaner head nearby to suck up the filth. Try to not inhale anything you dislodge from the computer.

Shoot, I was kinda hoping you'd tell me I was just being paranoid. But yeah, I was perplexed that the numbers I was seeing didn't seem to change whether I had TurboBoost disabled or not. Maybe relying on smcFanControl this long (especially on the MacBook) was a mistake, because I never really saw those numbers go above 173 F. So, if I *was* having this kind of overheating on 32-bit, smcFanControl wasn't really telling me. (But now it's even less of a mystery why the MacBook has gotten sooo slow and some of the keys have stopped working...)

You'll be shocked to hear that I have neither the mental bandwidth nor the intestinal fortitude to try to figure out how to open the Mini at this time. :o I never could get up the nerve to try it with the MacBook, which is I'm sure an unholy mess because of pets and such. But the Mini lives next door, where there are no pets and little dust, so I'm hoping I can skate on that for a while longer.

Interestingly, I haven't seen those crazy temps since I last posted. Maybe it was the time of day I was on (server load), or maybe TurboBoost wasn't actually disabled when it said it was? I was toggling it off & on quite a bit that day, looking for changes, and sometimes it didn't switch over immediately IIRC. I noticed that TurboBoost Switcher is set at a minimum refresh rate of 4s by default. It doesn't feel right to say it "just had to get used to the idea" but... maybe something like that?

I'm going to play some more and see if the temps start spiking again, with TurboBoost disabled. If they do, I'll try changing settings as you described. Will report back!

ETA: Sigh, nope, it's still happening. I got complacent when I didn't see it hit 200 F the past couple of days, but it's hovering in the 190s now and hit 205 F at one point. I just switched to 32-bit but it looks the same so far. Switching Brightness and Contrast to 1.00 (they were pretty close already) and Gamma was already there.

ETA2: Still running in 32-bit, have made all the setting changes and it's still about the same. I've got a browser window open with 2 tabs (this page and lotro-wiki.com), nothing else. In short: :/
Aug 22 2022, 12:12 PM
Tralfazz

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffeedog

I'm going to play some more and see if the temps start spiking again, with TurboBoost disabled. If they do, I'll try changing settings as you described. Will report back!

ETA: Sigh, nope, it's still happening. I got complacent when I didn't see it hit 200 F the past couple of days, but it's hovering in the 190s now and hit 205 F at one point. I just switched to 32-bit but it looks the same so far. Switching Brightness and Contrast to 1.00 (they were pretty close already) and Gamma was already there.

ETA2: Still running in 32-bit, have made all the setting changes and it's still about the same. I've got a browser window open with 2 tabs (this page and lotro-wiki.com), nothing else. In short: :/

Go back to the 64-bit client.

Have you tried setting ObjectDrawDistance=Medium and BlobShadows=False?

I've never noticed TurboBoostSwitcher fail to make the switch when manually set to do so. You can run this command in the Terminal:

Code:

top -F -n0 -s3 | grep "CPU usage"

Do it first while you're just running your web browser and Crossover, then launch LOTRO (enter a game world with a character) and look at the Terminal window. You should certainly see the metrics jump up once the game is running but CPU usage should not go over 100% with TurboBoostSwitcher set to disable the Turbo Boost of your CPU. Don't run that Terminal process for very long, it is very resource-intensive itself – just get your metrics for no-LOTRO with and without Turbo Boost disabled, then with-LOTRO with and without Turbo Boost disabled, then close the Terminal window to quit the "top" process.

edit: Just FYI, here's a dump of my top process going from running about 10 applications including Crossover, then launching LOTRO, entering a game world, then logging out and quitting LOTRO. This is from a 2019 3.6GHz quad-core Intel iMac whose CPU has no Turbo Boost capability.

Code:

Last login: Mon Aug 22 12:07:31 on ttys000 JohnMHammer@JMHs-iMac ~ % top -F -n0 -s3 | grep "CPU usage" CPU usage: 4.47% user, 22.38% sys, 73.13% idle CPU usage: 2.5% user, 3.4% sys, 94.89% idle CPU usage: 0.73% user, 2.38% sys, 96.87% idle CPU usage: 4.44% user, 3.4% sys, 92.51% idle CPU usage: 6.60% user, 4.37% sys, 89.2% idle CPU usage: 24.61% user, 18.94% sys, 56.43% idle CPU usage: 16.36% user, 9.12% sys, 74.50% idle CPU usage: 15.77% user, 5.75% sys, 78.47% idle CPU usage: 16.95% user, 3.62% sys, 79.42% idle CPU usage: 0.82% user, 1.32% sys, 97.85% idle CPU usage: 0.90% user, 1.56% sys, 97.53% idle CPU usage: 1.6% user, 1.81% sys, 97.11% idle CPU usage: 2.55% user, 3.70% sys, 93.74% idle CPU usage: 1.31% user, 1.64% sys, 97.3% idle CPU usage: 9.62% user, 4.19% sys, 86.18% idle CPU usage: 5.34% user, 2.38% sys, 92.26% idle CPU usage: 3.4% user, 2.55% sys, 94.39% idle CPU usage: 2.38% user, 2.30% sys, 95.30% idle CPU usage: 2.38% user, 2.38% sys, 95.22% idle CPU usage: 1.48% user, 1.80% sys, 96.71% idle CPU usage: 2.30% user, 2.13% sys, 95.55% idle CPU usage: 2.46% user, 2.38% sys, 95.14% idle CPU usage: 5.43% user, 5.93% sys, 88.63% idle CPU usage: 43.99% user, 8.55% sys, 47.45% idle CPU usage: 47.4% user, 21.51% sys, 31.44% idle CPU usage: 7.46% user, 5.41% sys, 87.12% idle CPU usage: 10.4% user, 7.65% sys, 82.30% idle CPU usage: 4.61% user, 7.41% sys, 87.97% idle CPU usage: 5.9% user, 7.39% sys, 87.51% idle CPU usage: 4.53% user, 7.74% sys, 87.72% idle CPU usage: 12.24% user, 12.24% sys, 75.51% idle CPU usage: 7.88% user, 7.80% sys, 84.30% idle CPU usage: 11.53% user, 10.21% sys, 78.25% idle CPU usage: 67.2% user, 12.30% sys, 20.67% idle CPU usage: 38.68% user, 8.55% sys, 52.75% idle CPU usage: 16.85% user, 9.78% sys, 73.35% idle CPU usage: 6.23% user, 7.22% sys, 86.53% idle CPU usage: 10.86% user, 8.47% sys, 80.65% idle CPU usage: 24.97% user, 10.27% sys, 64.74% idle CPU usage: 21.58% user, 9.71% sys, 68.69% idle CPU usage: 9.20% user, 7.39% sys, 83.40% idle CPU usage: 4.43% user, 7.64% sys, 87.92% idle CPU usage: 9.79% user, 8.55% sys, 81.64% idle CPU usage: 23.99% user, 7.97% sys, 68.3% idle CPU usage: 26.66% user, 7.98% sys, 65.34% idle CPU usage: 38.89% user, 9.29% sys, 51.80% idle CPU usage: 26.33% user, 9.30% sys, 64.36% idle CPU usage: 16.44% user, 8.79% sys, 74.75% idle CPU usage: 31.2% user, 6.58% sys, 62.38% idle CPU usage: 30.27% user, 8.44% sys, 61.27% idle CPU usage: 26.27% user, 8.64% sys, 65.7% idle CPU usage: 21.16% user, 8.81% sys, 70.1% idle CPU usage: 17.96% user, 7.95% sys, 74.7% idle CPU usage: 24.38% user, 9.44% sys, 66.17% idle CPU usage: 20.82% user, 7.57% sys, 71.60% idle CPU usage: 16.80% user, 6.75% sys, 76.44% idle CPU usage: 16.91% user, 6.73% sys, 76.35% idle CPU usage: 22.28% user, 7.40% sys, 70.31% idle CPU usage: 22.28% user, 8.63% sys, 69.7% idle CPU usage: 8.79% user, 7.64% sys, 83.56% idle CPU usage: 8.4% user, 7.38% sys, 84.56% idle CPU usage: 10.93% user, 9.4% sys, 80.1% idle CPU usage: 14.50% user, 8.57% sys, 76.91% idle CPU usage: 5.43% user, 3.62% sys, 90.94% idle CPU usage: 6.33% user, 3.45% sys, 90.20% idle

You might also want to set TurboBoostSwitcher to sample its data only once every 10 seconds, that should be plenty good enough and will reduce its demands on your system resources a bit. You can set it to something more frequent like once every 1 second when you're actively testing something but for general use a 10-second sample interval is more than good enough especially since you won't pay any attention to that information at all once you're satisfied with your Mac's performance with LOTRO and other things.
Aug 22 2022, 12:50 PM
Tralfazz

Were you using this Mac to play LOTRO using SSG's "Mac" client? (I put "Mac" in quotation marks here because it isn't really a Mac-native client, it's just the Windows version of the game packaged with a very old version of WINE. It's not significantly different than the version of LOTRO you're running in Crossover except Crossover is the very best version of WINE you can run instead of the open-source version from several years ago – but the LOTRO program itself and all its components are exactly the same.)

If so, do you still have SSG's "Mac" client installed on this Mac?

If so, try running that version of the game. Before you do so, you must set your UserPreferences.ini file so that the 32-bit client will be launched because SSG's "Mac" client cannot run the 64-bit client. To do so, change this one line in your UserPreferences.ini file:
GameClientType=1

If you do still have SSG's "Mac" client on that machine I'll be very curious to learn if you experience the same overheating issues. You should experience pretty much the same performance as using the 32-bit client in Crossover, the only difference should be some warnings from the LOTRO Launcher application about missing stuff that you can't easily do anything about because the WINE bottle packaged with that version of the game just doesn't have that stuff; but the game should run.

If you can try this, when done remember to set GameClientType=3 in your UserPreferences.ini file to go back to the 64-bit client for use with Crossover.

Obviously I don't know what your financial resources might be and what you are comfortable investing in hardware just for the sake of playing a game. However, I will point out that you can get an M1 Mac Mini from the Apple Refurbished store (i.e. cheaper than new but literally as good as new) for as little as $589:
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/F...f6f80db7706dbc
Yes, it has only 8gb of RAM but there are plenty of people running LOTRO on M1 Macs with only 8gb of RAM and none are experiencing issues, Apple SOC Macs use their integrated RAM differently than Intel Macs. Yes, it has only 256gb of internal SSD storage but all you need is room for the OS, Crossover, and LOTRO (and whatever couple of other things you want to use on it) so as long as you don't need to keep your movie library or lifetime of photos on that machine's internal drive, it will be fine for your purposes. And of course, you could run both machines side-by-side and just plug in your keyboard and monitor and whatnot to the machine you want to use at that moment, allowing you to keep using the 2014 Mini for whatever non-LOTRO tasks it is performing for you. And naturally you can store as much non-OS data as you want using external drives.

(Note that newer is better and more is better and better is better, if you can afford a model with 16gb RAM and a larger SSD, go for it.)

I think you can play LOTRO on your current Mac. I don't think it will ever be an optimal, or thermally cool, experience. You might not have known it at the time you made your purchase, perhaps this is the first time you are hearing it, but the 2014 Mac Mini was a stinker. Sure, it was – and still is – fine for "general computing tasks" such as web browsing, office applications, very light photo editing, managing a music library, watching YouTube or iTunes movies, and all sorts of other things. But in nearly every respect it was a step down from the 2012 Mac Mini, which could be configured with a quad-core CPU and has user-servicable RAM instead of soldered RAM and other things which continue to make it a better choice than a 2014 Mac Mini even today in 2022. Sorry, I don't like ragging on somebody's hardware because sometimes it's all they can afford and there's nothing wrong with that and sometimes they have an emotional attachment to the machine or their decision to purchase that specific machine. But you have one of the few Mac models made in the last 11 years which are just terrible for playing something like LOTRO due to their design limitations, and the amount of RAM and the spinning-platter hard drive installed in yours allow that machine to function at its worst. So until and unless you move to some other hardware (and I totally understand if you either can't or just don't want to), use TurboBoostSwitcher to keep your Turbo Boost disabled and try to not worry about the temps if you aren't relying on your 2014 Mini for any critical tasks – just enjoy the game.

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