PyLotRO: Launcher for LOTRO and DDO

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LOTRO on Linux and Mac OSX.

Launcher for: Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood     OR    Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberon Unlimited

Crossover Games. CodeWeavers PyLotRO CodeWeavers
This page updated 02 September 2011
LOTRO: English (EN) Teleport Screens updated 14 June 2011
LOTRO: French (FR) Teleport Screens updated 14 June 2011
LOTRO: German (DE) Teleport Screens updated 14 June 2011
DDO: English (EN) Teleport Screens updated 14 June 2011
DDO: French (FR) Teleport Screens updated 14 June 2011
DDO: German (DE) Teleport Screens updated 14 June 2011
PyLotRO updated 2 June 2011

With the release of CrossOver Games 10.1 (on 16 March, 2011) the Turbine installer (utilizing the Pando Media Booster - PMB.exe) now works!

Note: Turbine uses the PANDO Media Booster (PBM) (http://pandonetworks.com/) file serving system as the mechanism used by the "client installer" available for download from the Turbine site.

PBM is a "torrent" style system. Once your download has completed, PBM.exe will "seed" others from your system.

Turbine support discusses PANDO here: http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?290438-Pando-Media-Booster-FAQ-and-info-Updated-9-17-2010
and here:
http://support.turbine.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=24001&task=knowledge&questionID=2797

The now decommitted, Turbine Download Manager (TDM), does NOT work with CrossOver Games (any version).

Consequently, the "installer" (Standard Resolution or High Resolution) one can download from Turbine's download web pages: LOTRO: http://www.lotro.com/support/download-lotro or DDO: http://www.ddo.com/ddosupport/download-ddo now work on the Mac.

Note also: As of 1 June 2011, when Turbine took over European Support from Codemasters, (see Sapience posting) there is only ONE Turbine client for both North American and European Servers. Support for French and German languages is accomplished by setting a language variable.

CodeWeavers (CrossOver Games - CXG) support pages:

LOTRO: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=2869

LOTRO tips and tricks: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=2869;tips=1

DDO: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=4048

DDO tips and tricks: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=4048;tips=1

PyLotRO: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=6292

PyLotRO tips and tricks: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=6292;tips=1

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LOTRO Herald and DDO Herald from Odd Duck Computing

Step-by-step Instructions for installing LOTRO and DDO on the Mac under OSX and CrossOver Games

Phase 1: Install LOTRO or DDO

With the release of CrossOver Games (CXG) 10.1 on 16 March 2011, it is now possible to install LOTRO completely by using the CrossTie install technique.
This will automatically install the hi-res client.

The CrossTie installer is found on the CXG LOTRO home page: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=2869 click the orange button "Install via CrossTie".

This will download the CrossTie installer file to your system and attempt to invoke CrossOver Games to run it.
Safari apparently has no problems doing this.
However, Firefox, does not know what program to invoke to run "com-codeweavers-crossover-crosstie".
Simply choose CrossOver Games.app from the Applications provided and click "ok."
This will install both PyLotRO and the other "required software." (as of 20 March 2011).

What happens?

CrossTie creates the Bottle and then downloads and installs various required packages.
After the Turbine installer invokes the Pando Media Booster (PMB.exe), PMB begins to download the high-resolution client.
At the completion of the download (about 6-9 hours for the 10 Gb file) the Turbine Installer itself will be invoked.
When the Installation finishes, it will attempt to invoke the Turbine Client Launcher.
The Turbine Launcher loads up. This will fail and (should) pop-up an error window.
Cancel that window.
In the CXG installer window, the "Downloading Lord of the Rings Online" should be the only item running.
All of the other entries should show "finished."
To the right of the "barber pole" and the word "running" is an "X".
Click that "X" to abort the Turbine Launcher and to allow the CXG installer to highlight the "Done" button.
Click the "Done" button.
Quit CrossOver Games.
Re-Launch CrossOver Games from the Applications directory /Applications/CrossOver Games.app.
in the "Programs" pulldown, select PyLotRO.

Once PyLotRO launches, use the "tools" pulldown, "Settings WIzard."
Select "Lord of the Rings Online," click "Find Games." Select the "C:\Program Files\Turbine\The lord of the Rings Online" entry; click "apply."
In the "tools" pulldown, select "patch;" click "start."
You should see something like:
Connecting to patch.lotro.com:80


Checking files...
At which point, depending on the size of the patch and your line speed, go get some cofee, etc.
When "patch" displays: "*** Finished ***" ; click exit.
Select your server, enter your Account and password and click login....

And you are off to Middle Earth.

Phase 2: Add the "Teleport screens"

Teleport Screens updated 23 May 2011
With the Update of 29 November 2010, Turbine added 10 "Teleport screens" to its "update" download. They do not download as part of the installation process. The Turbine Launcher downloads them.

Symptom: If these files are NOT present, they will appear as a "loading screen" (always following character selection and "Enter Middle Earth") with an ornate top and bottom, and the progress bar, but with a grey center with a white cross-hatch.

Installing these files will result in a "rotating" selection being displayed in that grey-cross-hatched area.

Note: PyLotRO does NOT update these files when patching. Simply put, Turbine does not provide these as "patches," consequently PyLotRO cannot find them. So if you want the "new" add/splash screen, you have to download and install it separately.

English language files
English Screens updated 02 September 2011
lotro_ad_pregame.jpg

lotro_generic_teleport_screen_01.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_02.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_03.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_04.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_05.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_06.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_07.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_08.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_09.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_10.jpg

Historical splash screens:
lotro_ad_pregame-1.jpg (5 November 2010)
lotro_ad_pregame-2.jpg (30 November 2010)
lotro_ad_pregame-3.jpg (19 December 2010)
lotro_ad_pregame-4.jpg (26 January 2011)
lotro_ad_pregame-5.jpg (22 March 2011)
lotro_ad_pregame-6.jpg (14 April 2011)
lotro_ad_pregame-7.jpg (21 April 2011)
lotro_ad_pregame-8.jpg (27 April 2011)

<your ID>Library/Application Support/Crossover Games/Bottles/<Your-Bottle>/drive_c/Program Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/raw/en/logo
NOTE: The French (FR) and German (DE) "splash" and "teleport" screens go in their own "language specific" directories. (Note that this is a long filename and may split into multiple lines in your browser):

German (DE)

<your ID>Library/Application Support/Crossover Games/Bottles/<Your-Bottle>/drive_c/Program Files/The Lord of the Rings Online/raw/DE/logo

French (FR)

<your ID>Library/Application Support/Crossover Games/Bottles/<Your-Bottle>/drive_c/Program Files/The Lord of the Rings Online/raw/FR/logo
German (DE) language files
German (DE) Screens updated 02 September 2011
lotro_ad_pregame.jpg

lotro_generic_teleport_screen_01.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_02.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_03.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_04.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_05.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_06.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_07.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_08.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_09.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_10.jpg

French (FR) language files
French (FR) Screens updated 02 September 2011
lotro_ad_pregame.jpg

lotro_generic_teleport_screen_01.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_02.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_03.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_04.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_05.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_06.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_07.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_08.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_09.jpg
lotro_generic_teleport_screen_10.jpg

The files here are for DDO - Dungeons and Dragons Online
English language files
English Screens updated 02 September 2011
lotro_ad_pregame.jpg

ddo_module_splash.jpg (This is the "latest" (02 September 2011) splash screen.)
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_1.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_2.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_3.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_4.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_5.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_6.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_7.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_8.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_9.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_10.jpg

Historical splash screens:
ddo_module_splash-1.jpg (5 November 2010)
ddo_module_splash-2.jpg (30 November 2010)
ddo_module_splash-3.jpg (19 December 2011)
ddo_module_splash-4.jpg (26 January2011)
ddo_module_splash-5.jpg (22 March 2011)
ddo_module_splash-6.jpg (14 April 2011)

Note: Should you need the opening Warforged movie it can be downloade here: ddo_intro_cinematic.bik (104,552,040 bytes).

It goes in the "raw/en" direcotry along with the "logo" sub-directory.

German (DE) language files for DDO
German (DE) Screens updated 02 September 2011
lotro_ad_pregame.jpg

ddo_generic_teleport_screen_01.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_02.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_03.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_04.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_05.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_06.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_07.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_08.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_09.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_10.jpg

French (FR) language files for DDO
French (FR) Screens updated 02 September 2011
ddo_ad_pregame.jpg

ddo_generic_teleport_screen_01.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_02.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_03.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_04.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_05.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_06.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_07.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_08.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_09.jpg
ddo_generic_teleport_screen_10.jpg

Phase 3: go to the tips and trick section

The most common items which need fixing are found in the "Mac Tweeks, from the Forums" "tip", from the LOTRO Tips & Tricks: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/?app_id=2869;tips=1 These tips apply to both LOTRO and DDO.

Note Especially:

With the release of CXG 10.1, (WINE 1.3.9) all "historic" problems are fixed. This applies to installations on both Snow Leopard (10.6.x) and Lion (10.7.x)

The three "tips" noted above may or may not make a difference in your situation.
The action of turning OFF the Virtex Shader, being the most often necessary to alleviate the "black screen at startup" issue.
The remaining two "tips" may or may not help with performance issues.
The Video Memory Size issue is supposedly now fixed in WINE.
OpenGL "should" make a difference.

As they say in California ... Your milage may vary. :)

Those problems which remain are virtually all "Graphics Related."

Graphics issues have replaced Modem and Printer problems as the primary source of issues with today's computers and software.

Simply put... there are SO MANY different combinations of Graphics Hardware and related software that the "lowest common denominator" issue is still very real. One thing to remember about Apple - with any Laptop or "All-in-one" (iMac) there is NO GRAPHICS CARD! Apple "buys" chips in bulk from nVidia or ATI and installs them on their own designed motherboard's "graphics section." Apple then "buys" the driver software from the vendor and modifies it to go with OSX.

Consequently, the solution to these problems is simple, but annoying -- LOWER YOUR GRAPHICS SETTINGS!

The impact of various graphics settings differers from hardware configuration to hardware configuration and from OSX release (patch level) to release. The settings which work on one iMac model under OSX 10.7 may or may not work on another iMac also running 10.7, simply because the "hardware rev" levels of the iMacs are different and, in fact, may employ DIFFERENT graphics chip-sets! Apple routinely "revs" hardware WITHOUT changing consumer model information. These changes are typically "invisible" to the end user... EXCEPT that Apple does not consider "gamers" to be end-users ... especially not folks playing games like LOTRO which are written for Windows computers, and are running on the Mac by way of a non-Apple interface - i.e. CXG and WINE. Apple's standard answer to such folks (i.e. "us") is run Bootcamp! (ugh).

Phase 4: Add Lua Plugins

Information about using Lua Plugins with LOTRO can be found here.

DDO and LOTRO music released by Turbine

A number of people have looked for the soundtracks for both LOTRO and DDO which Turbine released as part of the beta testing for the now defunct Turbine Download Manager (TDM).

Here they are:

DDO Music.zip (46,518,689 bytes) 21 mp3 tracks
LOTRO-Soundtrasck.zip (313,236,110 bytes) 64 mp3 tracks.

LOTRO and DDO File locations in OSX Terminal:

~/Library/Application Support/Crossover Games/Bottles/

~/Library/Preferences/com.codeweavers.CrossOverGames.plist

~/Documents/The Lord of the Rings Online/

~/Documents/Dungeons and Dragons online/

File location from Finder:

<your ID>Library/Application Support/Crossover Games/Bottles/<Your-Bottle>

PyLotRO

PyLotRO can be downloaded rom this page and installed in the CrossOver Games bottle containing LOTRO or DDO. PyLotRO is a replacement launcher for the Turbine games: Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online for use in Crossover Games.

These two games work fine with Crossover Games but the Turbine provided launcher does not.

PyLotRO allows Mac OSX and Linux users to patch and launch these games using Crossover Games.

Download the most recent PyLotRO installer here: pylotro-setup.exe (version 0.1.15a)
A working copy of patchclient2.dll can be download here: patchclient2.dll
PylotRO was previously known as LOTROLINUX. Its home page: http://www.lotrolinux.com/

Old Timers Guild (OTG)
LOTRO - Gladden
Valamar - Dwarf Hunter (65)

DDO - Ghallanda
Valamar Centuran - Human Cleric (9)

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        Revision:  14 June 2011
Last modified:  21 January 2012