Accepted switch to 64-bit, but then my game vanished...

[Anaxapart]

Loading LotRO this afternoon after the latest patch, the loading screen offered me the option of switching to 64-bit option, and suggested I click on a box accepting the change. Whereupon the game vanished entirely from my screen. Further attempts at launching took me as far as entering my password and clicking on "PLAY" with no better results. I am aware of Tralfazz's posts on the dying days of Wine, but have been too lazy or scared to make the jump and decided to struggle on as long as possible. Now, however, it seems that I no longer have the option? Is there anyway I can reverse that stupid decision to trust in SSG and click acceptance of the 64-bit option, and simply get back to nice, safe 32-bit - at least for a while longer?

[Tralfazz]

Loading LotRO this afternoon after the latest patch, the loading screen offered me the option of switching to 64-bit option, and suggested I click on a box accepting the change. Whereupon the game vanished entirely from my screen. Further attempts at launching took me as far as entering my password and clicking on "PLAY" with no better results. I am aware of Tralfazz's posts on the dying days of Wine, but have been too lazy or scared to make the jump and decided to struggle on as long as possible. Now, however, it seems that I no longer have the option? Is there anyway I can reverse that stupid decision to trust in SSG and click acceptance of the 64-bit option, and simply get back to nice, safe 32-bit - at least for a while longer?

Hi, Anaxapart! I'm sorry you ran into this issue.

You are running the "Mac Download" version of LOTRO which installs WINE 4 for you. Unfortunately, in March of 2021, SSG released a patch for the game which changed the 64-bit client application to require Windows components which are not in WINE 4. However, they did not update the version of WINE which the "Mac Download" installs for you. So beginning in March of 2021, it became impossible to run the 64-bit client using the "Mac Download" version of LOTRO.

Your quickest fix right now is to go back to using the 32-bit client application. There is a checkbox in the LOTRO launcher application to do this, however on any computer running the LOTRO launcher application in WINE the checkboxes appear empty whether the option associated with them is enabled or not. So on a Mac, the best way to select your client version is to edit the UserPreferences.ini file directly:
1- Be sure the game is not running, neither the LOTRO launcher application nor the LOTRO client. If you're not sure, restart your Mac before proceeding with Step 2.
2- Using the Finder, navigate to ~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/UserPreferences.ini.
3- Open the UserPreferences.ini file with TextEdit.
4- Look for the line...
GameClientType=X
...where X is an integer 1, 2, or 3. Change the value of X to 1.
5- Save the file then quit out of TextEdit.

1 is the normal 32-bit client. 2 is a version of the 32-bit client designed for compatibility with very old versions of Windows. 3 is the 64-bit client.

That should fix you right up! Come back here if you have additional issues and I'll do my best to help.

Note that at some point before 01 Jan 2023 you will need to either install the latest wine-stable (currently v7) or use Crossover (which is basically the "pro" version of WINE) if you want to continue to play LOTRO on your Mac. There are advantages and disadvantages to both which I don't go into detail about here.

If you want to use the 64-bit client now, which will give you a better playing experience than the 32-bit client, you can get the latest wine-stable by following the instructions here:
https://forums.lotro.com/forums/show...pler-procedure

[Anaxapart]

Thank you for your very swift response, Tralfazz.

I opened the UserPreferences.ini file, found that GameClientType was set to 3, and changed it to 1.
Unfortunately, what now happens is that after entering passwotrd, I get the following error message:

Failed to launch client / Failed to read authentication response [err: unexpected end of line][line:1][col: 1]

I'm certain I didn't touch/change anything else in the file...

[Tralfazz]

Thank you for your very swift response, Tralfazz.

I opened the UserPreferences.ini file, found that GameClientType was set to 3, and changed it to 1.
Unfortunately, what now happens is that after entering passwotrd, I get the following error message:

Failed to launch client / Failed to read authentication response [err: unexpected end of line][line:1][col: 1]

I'm certain I didn't touch/change anything else in the file...

The servers are down for an emergency fix. Apparently, all Rune-keeper LI satchels were deleted! They are fixing this and the servers are down.

You should be fine as soon as the servers come back up.

[Anaxapart]

Ah, I did hear some disbelieving wails earlier this afternoon about missing RK bags...
Once again then, many thanks!

[BlueXiphoid]

For me it made a world of difference switching to Windowed fullscreen mode. Before that the game wouldn't load or stay stuck on a black screen, now it runs like it always would.