Just upgraded to Catalina...

[Edhelrita]

When I was using Mojave, I'd play the game with Wine. Now, I don't think Wine works with Catalina.

What's the easiest way to set up the game running Catalina?

[Tralfazz]

When I was using Mojave, I'd play the game with Wine. Now, I don't think Wine works with Catalina.

What's the easiest way to set up the game running Catalina?

Hi, Edhelrita! The version of WINE included with SSG's "Mac" version of the game cannot run the 64-bit client and cannot run the game at all in any version of MacOS more recent than MacOS 10.14 Mojave. (I put "Mac" in quotation marks there because it's still the Windows version of the game but packaged with a very old version of WINE.)

I run LOTRO nearly every day on my 2019 Mac running MacOS 13 Ventura using Crossover. Crossover is a version of WINE made by a company called Codeweavers. Unlike open-source WINE, it is not free. Unlike the public distributions of open-source WINE, it will run LOTRO in post-Mojave versions of MacOS.

You have two options:
1- Create a new APFS volume, install MacOS 10.14 Mojave onto that, and then follow the instructions in this thread to install a modern version of open-source WINE:
https://forums.lotro.com/forums/show...pler-procedure
You will have to reboot to your Mojave boot volume in order to play LOTRO. You will be able to use the 64-bit client, not just the 32-bit client which is a limitation of the version of WINE included with SSG's "Mac" version of the game.
2- Go to the Codeweavers website and download the trial version of Crossover:
https://www.codeweavers.com/crossover/download
Then follow the instructions summarized in this thread to install LOTRO into Crossover:
https://forums.lotro.com/forums/show...nder-Crossover
The free trial is good for two weeks. After that, you will need to purchase a license to continue using Crossover. You will not need to reboot to play LOTRO and you will be able to use the 64-bit client and, if you want to, DirectX 11.

If you have any trouble, come back to this thread. I'll be happy to help!

[Edhelrita]

Oh I see. How much is Crossover? Are there any ways to play for free?

[Tralfazz]

Oh I see. How much is Crossover? Are there any ways to play for free?

Crossover has a two-week free trial and then you need to buy a subscription in order to keep using it. Any version of Crossover that is released before or during your subscription is yours to use forever, even after your subscription ends. See here for pricing:
https://www.codeweavers.com/store
Discounts/sales are frequently available.

Option 1 as described in my message above makes use of free, open-source WINE and is your best option for playing on a Mac without Crossover.

[Edhelrita]

So basically I'd have to partition the hard drive and run Mojave with Wine?

[Tralfazz]

So basically I'd have to partition the hard drive and run Mojave with Wine?

As I explained above, you can create a new APFS volume (that is not partitioning). Or yes, you can partition your drive. If you drive is already formatted as APFS, you should just create a new APFS volume, it is 100% safe to do so and nondestructive. Partitioning a drive with data on it, especially the drive on which your current boot volume resides, really isn't a good idea – it can be done in most cases but there are some risks involved.

Especially if your drive is an SSD, it should be formatted using APFS. Even if it's a "Fusion Drive" it should be formatted as APFS. If it's a spinning-platter hard drive it might be formatted as APFS already but might still be HFS+. You can check by launching /Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility. Reformatting, partitioning, creating APFS volumes, and other Mac-cy technical things is a bit beyond the scope of this forum and you can find good instructions for doing so elsewhere, but if you have trouble I will be happy to help.

If you have an external drive, especially a nice SSD, that could also be used as a boot volume.

And then, yes, whatever you end up doing to create a new volume, you would then need to install Mojave onto that and then install WINE into that boot volume using the instructions I provide in the link above. And yes, as I explained above, you would need to reboot into the Mojave volume in order to play LOTRO.

[Edhelrita]

It's an SSD formatted as APFS. I also have an old Bootcamp partition because I needed to run Windows before.

[Tralfazz]

It's an SSD formatted as APFS. I also have an old Bootcamp partition because I needed to run Windows before.

If you're going to have to reboot, and you don't mind running Windows, setting up Windows on your current Bootcamp partition is another option. When booted into Bootcamp/Windows, your Mac is – for nearly all purposes – a PC. It's not what I would do, but it is a perfectly reasonable option relative to having to reboot to Mojave as long as you're OK with running Windows.

[Edhelrita]

Ok, thanks!

How big of a Mojave volume will I need? Is there a reason why you’d choose the Mojave volume over a Bootcamp partition?

[Tralfazz]

How big of a Mojave volume will I need?

Mojave requires 10gb (less, actually, but you need some space for updates and cache files) and LOTRO requires 34gb. So 50gb to be safe if you're trying to make it as small as possible.

However, if you are going to create a new APFS volume, you don't have to worry about that. APFS volumes dynamically resize. They can be set to be no smaller than some arbitrary minimum value and no larger than some arbitrary maximum value; but it's best to just let them float to whatever size they need. Once created that way, you never have to worry about them again unless your entire APFS-formatted drive runs out of space.

Is there a reason why you’d choose the Mojave volume over a Bootcamp partition?

Well, just to be clear: I would choose Crossover running on whatever version of MacOS I prefer. Which at the moment is MacOS 13.0.1 Ventura. It works great and does not require rebooting. And LOTRO can use DirectX 11 with Crossover.

If my choice were between rebooting to MacOS 10.14.6 Mojave or Windows 10 just to run LOTRO, I'd choose Mojave. I prefer to not have to deal with Windows. I don't think there is anything wrong with Windows and I think it is a perfectly reasonable OS for most people. I prefer to stay within MacOS because I am more familiar with it, and even an older version like Mojave is both more secure and less of a hassle to deal with (in terms of drivers and OS updates and system settings and so on). One advantage to a Boot Camp/Windows boot volume relative to a Mojave boot volume, purely for the purpose of running LOTRO, is that you should be able to use DirectX 11 with Boot Camp/Windows whereas with Mojave and open-source WINE you will be limited to DirectX 9. It's not a very big difference but DirectX 11 does allow for more eye candy.

My main workstation, a 2019 iMac, has both Ventura and Mojave boot volumes. I use the Mojave boot volume for a very few old Mac applications which are only available in 32-bit and to help other people to install and troubleshoot LOTRO in open-source WINE. I also have a 2012 Mac Mini running Mojave exclusively.

One other option to consider: Go back to using Mojave full time. Maybe there's a good reason that you upgraded to Catalina but if not, there might be good reasons to roll back to Mojave. Catalina is a fine OS but, like all post-Mojave versions of MacOS, it does not have support for 32-bit applications. And both some WINE components and the LOTRO Launcher application are 32-bit. This is why LOTRO will not run in open-source WINE in any post-Mojave version of MacOS. You will still need to follow the instructions here...
https://forums.lotro.com/forums/show...pler-procedure
...in order to install a modern version of open-source WINE because the old version of WINE which SSG packages with their "Mac Download" version of the game can't run the 64-bit client and the 32-bit client is being deprecated on 01 Jan 2023. But then you won't have to bother rebooting your Mac just to play a game.