Wine stuck at "initializing" screen, blank black screen

[Edhelrita]

So I haven't played in a year, but now the Wine client isn't working. I click to enter the Brandywine server, the login screen says "initializing," and then the Wine window is just black.

What should I do?

[Tralfazz]

So I haven't played in a year, but now the Wine client isn't working. I click to enter the Brandywine server, the login screen says "initializing," and then the Wine window is just black.

What should I do?

Hi, Philomena! This is covered in detail in this thread:
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...-March-17-2021

Short version: The patch released on 2021-03-17 broke the 64-bit executable for users of the “Mac”/WINE client. There are two workarounds. The easiest is to use the 32-bit executable. You can force the use of the 32-bit executable by editing your UserPreferences.ini file so that the line GameClientType=1 instead of GameClientType=3. The downside to this workaround is that the 32-bit executable tends to have poorer performance and a higher predilection of crashing than the 64-bit client, particularly in areas which are “busy” graphically or due to large numbers of players in the vicinity. The second workaround is to use Crossover (basically the “pro” version of WINE), install LOTRO into Crossover, and continue to use the 64-bit executable.

Unless you have some other issue which is very specific to you and your Mac, please continue in the thread I linked above rather than here.

[Edhelrita]

I did that and it says GameClientType = 1. I have only ever played on the 32 bit version.

[Tralfazz]

I did that and it says GameClientType = 1. I have only ever played on the 32 bit version.

Check for the following two lines in UserPreferences.ini:
GraphicsCore=D3D9
ScreenMode=FullScreenWindowed
If needed, edit the two lines in your file so that they match.

If this doesn’t work, don’t give up! There are other things to try. We’ll tackle them one at a time, checking first those things most likely to be the cause of your issue and working our way down – if necessary – to the less likely causes.

If we need to continue, it will be very helpful to know the exact model of your Mac, the exact version of MacOS you are using, and the amount of RAM you have installed.

[Edhelrita]

So mine said “windowed” only - I added the FullScreen and the game launches! Weird.

[Tralfazz]

So mine said “windowed” only - I added the FullScreen and the game launches! Weird.

The game is very finicky about resolution settings and is especially inept when dealing with the “retina” resolutions of modern Macs. Going to FullScreenWindowed mode tricks the game into using whatever resolution your monitor happens to be running at the time the game is launched.

You can go back to Windowed mode if you want to: Edit your UserPreferences.ini file and change ScreenMode=Windowed, Resolution=X, and WindowedResolution=Y; X has to be set to the actual resolution of your monitor and Y has to be any value smaller than X. For example, if your monitor is set to a resolution of 2048x1152, you need to set Resolution=2048x1152 and then set WindowedResolution=1280x720 (or anything you like as long as it’s smaller than 2048x1152).

However, FullScreenWindowed mode is a generally better way to play. Unless you need to run in Windowed mode for some specific reason (which I’d love to learn about), stick to FullScreenWindowed mode. FullScreen mode can cause problems if the game loses focus while in that mode so I suggest avoiding FullScreen mode unless, again, there is a specific reason it must be used.

Anyway, I’m glad the ScreenMode change did the trick. Welcome back to LOTRO!