Thread: HOWTO: get LOTRO to run under OS/X or Linux

Originally Posted by xandervincent

Alright, I'll read the entire guides sometime soon. I know how to do some stuff with the terminal. Just not run scripts.

I just need to know how to do this part.

"To launch the client on Linux you need to download this script and this support script (rename it to urlencode.sh). Extra details about the script can be found on the script developers site.

These scripts must be placed in directory containing the file lotroclient.exe

To run the script type either bash ./scriptname or ./scriptname if the scripts permissions allow for execute (where scriptname is the name of the downloaded script)."

I saved both scripts, and put the files in the /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/ folder where all of lotro's files are (including the launcher).

I just don't get bash./scriptname. I typed bash ./lotrolauncher.script into the terminal and it doesn't do anything. I'm so close I don't want to have to read an entire book just to get these last two steps working. =(

For it to work you have to be in the LOTRO directory, so you would CD until you get there, and then type bash ./lotrolauncher.script.
Any time you want to run something under linux like that you have to be in the folder unless you created a link to it (linux equivalent of a shortcut but more of a PITA).

Originally Posted by xandervincent

Alright, I'll read the entire guides sometime soon. I know how to do some stuff with the terminal. Just not run scripts.

I just need to know how to do this part.

"To launch the client on Linux you need to download this script and this support script (rename it to urlencode.sh). Extra details about the script can be found on the script developers site.

These scripts must be placed in directory containing the file lotroclient.exe

To run the script type either bash ./scriptname or ./scriptname if the scripts permissions allow for execute (where scriptname is the name of the downloaded script)."

I saved both scripts, and put the files in the /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/ folder where all of lotro's files are (including the launcher).

I just don't get bash./scriptname. I typed bash ./lotrolauncher.script into the terminal and it doesn't do anything. I'm so close I don't want to have to read an entire book just to get these last two steps working. =(

As an alternative do this (make sure you are in the folder with the script):

Code:

chmod +x ./lotrolauncher.script
./lotrolauncher

Cuts out the bash call

I apologize for all these questions.

So you mean I open the folder up and then open the terminal and type in "chmod +x ./lotrolauncher.script" exactly. Or when you say have the folder open do you mean type /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/ into the terminal first.

Just making sure I understand this properly.

I'll save both the scripts, put them into /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/ which is where the lotrolauncher is, and then open up my terminal and type chmod +x ./scriptname. Correct? =)

I'm on my Palm T/X right now in the car, which is why I didn't just go ahead and try it. Thought I'd just make sure I understood that properly before I got home and tried it.

Originally Posted by xandervincent

I apologize for all these questions.

So you mean I open the folder up and then open the terminal and type in "chmod +x ./lotrolauncher.script" exactly. Or when you say have the folder open do you mean type /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/ into the terminal first.

Just making sure I understand this properly.

I'll save both the scripts, put them into /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/ which is where the lotrolauncher is, and then open up my terminal and type chmod +x ./scriptname. Correct? =)

I'm on my Palm T/X right now in the car, which is why I didn't just go ahead and try it. Thought I'd just make sure I understood that properly before I got home and tried it.

Open a terminal and type cd /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/

Then you can type either bash ./lotrolauncher.script or chmod +x lotrolauncher.sript.

The terminal needs to be looking at the folder with the files you want to modify or run.
You could also type bash /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/lotrolauncher.script if you wanted.
At the moment I can't remember how but you can make a shortcut to the launcher and have it run in the shell so you don't have to keep changing directories in the terminal before running the script, it would work just like a shortcut under windows. But like I said they are a bit of a PITA to get working sometimes.

After trying to download lotrolauncher.script, it turns out the website that hosted it is gone...

"Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at bmx-chemnitz.de"

So, now I have lotrolauncher.sh but not the .script one.

C rap.

Originally Posted by xandervincent

After trying to download lotrolauncher.script, it turns out the website that hosted it is gone...

"Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at bmx-chemnitz.de"

So, now I have lotrolauncher.sh but not the .script one.

C rap.

Probably just down for maintenance. I think that the sh and the script are the same file, with .sh you'll have to bash it, I don't think you can just run it. I might be spewing nonsense though, I haven't tried running lotro under ubuntu for a while because I lost my secondary drive and my seagate doesn't like being partitioned.

Originally Posted by xandervincent

After trying to download lotrolauncher.script, it turns out the website that hosted it is gone...

"Firefox can't establish a connection to the server at bmx-chemnitz.de"

So, now I have lotrolauncher.sh but not the .script one.

C rap.

Just checked the thread on the Ubuntu forums - the web site operators host is changing service providers, so the DNS is out of whack for connecting. It should be fine later today.

Originally Posted by Xanius

Probably just down for maintenance. I think that the sh and the script are the same file, with .sh you'll have to bash it, I don't think you can just run it. I might be spewing nonsense though, I haven't tried running lotro under ubuntu for a while because I lost my secondary drive and my seagate doesn't like being partitioned.

The .sh script is for the urlencode protocol, you need both scripts.

The alternative, of course, is to use the MONO GUI that is also linked to on the Wine AppDB page.

So if I use the mono GUI I won't need both scripts? Hmm.

Maybe I should try that, although I have no idea how to install it because I don't know what a mono compiler is. Dang I hate being new to stuff. lol

I was hoping to get LotRO running on Linux before the servers were back up today.

Please satisfy my curiosity. After reading through the thread and the "how do I do this" and all the hassle to install under Linux I have to question why Linux is better? It seems to me a lot of hassel to play a game when a Windows install runs it flawlessly for the majority of people. Don't get me wrong, I am not a computer neophyte having cut my teeth with MS-DOS years ago but having to run scripts and enter lines such as cd /home/xander/.wine/drive_c/Program_Files/Turbine/The Lord of the Rings Online/
seems regressive to me.

Not wanting to start a why is this better or that sux war, just puzzled. By the time I would have that up and running I would not be in any state to enjoy the game!

Theftwind - For some people the best computer game in the world is playing with and tweaking the computer itself.

Thanks for the reply Chui. I gave up playing with the computer long ago, getting too old for that now. I just would rather play the game. I was just curious.

I understand. I find that I poke into computer innards and tweak performance a lot less than I did 10 years ago. Part of it is the current computers are just so fast and drive space is not a premium, one doesn't see the % improvement that was possible on a 1.2 GB HDD with only 64 MB RAM.

For me it's about not being tied to windows. Given the fact that Microsoft is becoming more and more invasive, I'm probably not using windows after support for XP ends. Plus getting LOTRO running under linux isn't as hard as it looks...if you know what you're doing editing scripts. Linux, itself, really isn't all that hard either. You just need to know a bunch of stuff upfront about how your OS works. (Unlike windows or OSX.)

Or, just buy a pc with windoze and never have problems running any software.

Originally Posted by hypersloth

Or, just buy a pc with windoze and never have problems running any software.

Haven't you heard of Vista? lol

Please guys, leave the PC/Linux/Mac arguments out of this instructional/helpful thread.

Originally Posted by Tinal

For me it's about not being tied to windows. Given the fact that Microsoft is becoming more and more invasive, I'm probably not using windows after support for XP ends. Plus getting LOTRO running under linux isn't as hard as it looks...if you know what you're doing editing scripts. Linux, itself, really isn't all that hard either. You just need to know a bunch of stuff upfront about how your OS works. (Unlike windows or OSX.)

Yep - the main problem with Linux is driver support; ATI Linux drivers aren't very mature, and LotRO runs a tad wonky with 'em.

Originally Posted by xandervincent

Haven't you heard of Vista? lol

Please guys, leave the PC/Linux/Mac arguments out of this instructional/helpful thread.

^^^^^ What he said

Sooo.

Any idea how to get the GUI working or how to compile it?

The read-me says:

"To use
======

Compile the LotROLinux executable using

./configure
make

You may get error messages concerning a
few packages, following is a list of the
package mentioned and the package to
install via synaptic (hopefully non-Ubuntu
users can find the required package in their
package manager)

gtkhtml-sharp-2.0 = libgnome2-0-cil
mcs = mono-mcs or mono-develop"

Where do I put ./configure make? I tried the terminal, and that just didn't do anything.
Anyone have any experience with the LotRO Linux GUI?

Originally Posted by xandervincent

Sooo.

Any idea how to get the GUI working or how to compile it?

The read-me says:

"To use
======

Compile the LotROLinux executable using

./configure
make

You may get error messages concerning a
few packages, following is a list of the
package mentioned and the package to
install via synaptic (hopefully non-Ubuntu
users can find the required package in their
package manager)

gtkhtml-sharp-2.0 = libgnome2-0-cil
mcs = mono-mcs or mono-develop"

Where do I put ./configure make? I tried the terminal, and that just didn't do anything.
Anyone have any experience with the LotRO Linux GUI?

You do the ./configure from the terminal in the same directory as the source;

for example, the source is in ~/monosource/:

Code:

you@yourpc ~: cd ~/monosource
you@yourpc ~/monosource: ./configure
you@yourpc ~/monosource: ./make

Edit: just downloaded and tried - the code I posted above is how to do it; Once it finishes, there will be a file called LotROLinux.run in the source folder, copy this to the LOTRO executable location; then from that folder (lotro folder, not the source) type ./LotROLinux.run

a GUI should pop up and, as long as the proper files are in place, show the options for launching the game.

Btw, using the Mono based GUI has one big advantage: You'll see the launcher notes - the command line launcher does not show them.

Yep - the main problem with Linux is driver support; ATI Linux drivers aren't very mature, and LotRO runs a tad wonky with 'em.

Yeah that would make things weird. i'm using nvidia's drivers. I realize I've probably made RMS cry, but if I'm staring at a computer screen for hours on end, I need things looking nice.

Originally Posted by Tinal

Yeah that would make things weird. i'm using nvidia's drivers. I realize I've probably made RMS cry, but if I'm staring at a computer screen for hours on end, I need things looking nice.

Hehe - I need to get back onboard with nVidia; I used to be a big nVidia customer but they lost me over in the Win ME days, switched to ATI and since then have had pretty good experience.. but drivers tend to 'lag' behind in release.

Originally Posted by carlosjuero

Hehe - I need to get back onboard with nVidia; I used to be a big nVidia customer but they lost me over in the Win ME days, switched to ATI and since then have had pretty good experience.. but drivers tend to 'lag' behind in release.

They'll continue to lag for a little while yet. With the, somewhat, recent buyout by AMD they are going to be getting better with drivers and working with the OSS community. But, last I heard they were still going through merging pains.

Perfect.

I got both the scripts and am doing it that way till I fully figure out how to install that GUI.

Got LotRO running full screen, full graphics, everything. Almost perfect, just one last question.

While in Ubuntu/Linux, while running something fullscreen like lotro, how do I minimize it to see my desktop? On windows I just ctrl + alt + delete. Anyone? =)

I haven't gotten windowed mode to reliably work, so I just alt-tab when I need something else.

Alt-Tab works in full screen LotRO on Linux?

I just went to test it, but you know... servers are down, lol.

ALT-TAB should work, but I've never tried it - I run it windowed. How? Tell Wine to confine apps to a Virtual Desktop. I kinda have to... I'm running multiple screens and my card doesn't cut it performance-wise.

Originally Posted by xandervincent

Alt-Tab works in full screen LotRO on Linux?

I just went to test it, but you know... servers are down, lol.

Not sure if it works with lotro running in full screen but I believe the start/windows key + D will also drop you to desktop in Ubuntu. It's been a little while but gnome and kde are the top two contenders for making Linux more user friendly and windows like to make life easier on converts.

Hello! I have managed to get LOTRO up and running on my MBP using CrossOver, however when in game there are missing ground textures. Anyone seen this before? Any ideas how to get the ground back again? Its pretty unplayable w/o it.

I've got no experience with CrossOver, but this in particular sounds like an incorrect setting for video memory (too low). The best advice I can give is to scour the net to see if you can set the amout of video memory somewhere in CrossOver.

I can adjust the video memory by updating the Wine registry. Currently I have it set at 256 (mb), which is what my card supports ...

I just tried setting it very high (512) and relaunched ... same problem.

UPDATE: Also, I should note that not all of the ground textures are missing ... Just the majority of them (there are some grassy areas that render correctly ...

If in doubt, I'd blame it on dodgy DirectX support on MBP... I know it's experimental, although it did work fine with the patched Wine install I used on the Mac in the office.

My guess is that it is due to the older version of Wine that is included with CrossOver. Hopefully the next version of the product will include a revision of Wine that has these issues resolved.

Thank you for trying!

If only this worked on a PowerPC Mac I could load it up in my office.

I originally had high hopes for the PS3, they claimed you could load linux and I thought sweet I can try to harness the power for running games.

Alas Sony is a bunch of jerks and used the hypervisor to block access to the hardware.

Bumping an old thread...

steelsnake, you're my hero for the month. I'm gradually moving to all Linux (Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy), as it's on my two HTPC (PVR) systems and my server at home, but still not on my gaming rig (mostly due to NVIDIA drives for Linux no supporting SLI in the past). I'm running XP still on that PC.

With your post, you gave me a reason to switch in the near future. It's a shame so many gamers don't understand what all the trouble is about, because they don't understand the importance of using free, open source software. Oh well, their loss as they suffer with Vista, DRM, and all of the license restrictions that will only get worse with Microsoft.

Thanks again for spending the time to write this. I'll have to test it on Ubuntu and Wine to see if it works with the new Book 12 coming out soon. I'll post my results here.

It still works (still using it to log on and play during lunch break), but there's still the caveat of patching.

The only way to patch currently is to have LOTRO installed on a windows partition (either dual-boot, different PC or any of the virtualization tools like VMWare).

There is an alternative, but so far it's pretty secretive, I'm not aware of anyone offering a public linux patch server. Our little group of friends voted against opening ours to the public (fear of Turbine banning accounts of people involved), so... :/

I'd be willing to set up a separate public patch server though I'd rather like someone help me with distributing the load somehow (maybe with torrent?).

How it (currently) works (for us) is pretty simple:
- One person has to have a Win and Linux install
- Share LOTRO dir on Win and mount it in Linux
- Run xdelta (binary diff) over all changed files (can easily use rsync for finding all that changed)
- Name the files according to source path/filename (i.e. raw+en+logo+lotro_ad_pregame.j pg), put all the patches that happened at one day into one sequentially numbered .tar.bz2 and put that somewhere accessible (we use a PW protected web server)
- Clients have a .patchcount file with the last applied patch in it
- On launch the script tries to fetch (wget) file patchcount+1 and apply it, and increases patchcount until wget returns an error, at which point you're (hopefully) all patched up

Disadvantage: If you have a lot of users, you need a patch server with some bandwidth to spare. We only have 1MBit uplink speed available - sufficient for us, but with big book patches still slow. I'd think it'd be faster if Bittorrent was used, but no one willing to develop it with me.

Actually if you check www.lotrolinux.com you can see that patching "works" under Linux now. We just call some functions from the dll. Not guaranteed to work, and only works if you have at least book11 of the patch dll file, but it has worked a few times for me already.

Heh, guess I should visit that page more often Good to know, thanks. I think that'll mean I can finally take my patch server offline, thank Goddess.