Everything is the same in Crossover v21.0 compared to Crossover v20.0.4, with one positive exception: In Crossover 20.0.4, if playing in Full Screen mode and then switching to another desktop space or otherwise minimizing the LOTRO client application to the Dock, the game could not be recovered and had to be force-quit. I tested various screen modes and resolutions and graphics settings to be sure everything still worked as expected. I especially recommend that users of Apple SOC Macs (that is, "Apple Silicon" Macs such as those with M1 chips) try this.
And if you can play in DirectX 11 rather than DirectX 9, you should – DirectX 9 is fine but does have a few glitches and can't display certain eye candy effects. Different Macs have different video cards (or integrated video systems) and different built-in drivers, so my result might be different than your result. –.if you have been successfully running LOTRO in Crossover but either couldn't get it to run in DirectX 11 at all or had to switch back to using DirectX 9 because DirectX 11 wasn't working well for you, I suggest you try this yourself. –It didn't work for my Macs so I toggled my bottle's DXVK BACKEND FOR D3D11 back to checked-on. The key takeaways from testing Vulkan wined3d: So this did not work for either of my Macs in either Mojave or Big Sur. The game was running, I could hear all the sound effects, I could even use key commands and use ESCAPE followed by RETURN to quit out of the client. The game client ran after I hit PLAY in the LOTRO launcher application but all I got was a red screen in both Full Screen Windowed and Full Screen. I tested this by setting LOTRO to run DirectX 11 (which I always use when I play) and then disabling DXVK to try the new Vulkan backend for wined3d. This feature is on by default on macOS for 64-bit Direct3D 10/11 games if DXVK is not enabled." "One of the more exciting features of Wine 6.0 is the Vulkan backend for wined3d.
To quote the upgrade announcement from Codeweavers:
–If you currently have a license for Crossover 20.0.4 but are not eligible for a free upgrade to Crossover 21.0, there is – at the moment I am writing this – no compelling reason to pay for an upgrade because the very slight performance enhancements to LOTRO (see below) aren't worth the cost. So I recommend you upgrade at your earliest convenience. –If you have a license which offers a free upgrade from Crossover 20.0.4 to Crossover 21.0, and LOTRO is your only concern, there is no reason to wait to upgrade because LOTRO works just as well in 21.0 as it did in 20.0.4 (actually, slightly better, see below). The key takeaways from my initial testing: I have performed some testing with Crossover 21.0 and LOTRO under both MacOS 11.5.1 Big Sur and MacOS Mojave 10.14.6 on two different Intel Macs (a 2019 iMac and a 2012 Mac Mini).
The developers are working with Apple to improve software support in the future operating system, and hopefully CrossOver will support Monterey when the final version of the OS becomes available this fall.Today (), Codeweavers released v21.0 of Crossover for Mac.
Be careful though: this version 21 of CrossOver is not compatible with the macOS Monterey beta. The interface of CrossOver finally offers a dark mode that respects the preference of macOS.
Still in the area of video games, it is now possible to use DualSense (PS5) and Xbox Series S / X controllers in Bluetooth on macOS Big Sur 11.3. The developers of CodeWeavers explain that their tests are largely positive even if some titles are still recalcitrant (the list of compatible Windows software is here). In other words, the performance of games should benefit. Wine 6.0 notably includes support for the Vulkan infrastructure for WineD3D, which allows you to take advantage of Direct3D 10/11 functions. Version 21.0.0 is now available, with support for the Wine 6.0 gateway which improves support for Windows apps. No need for virtualization software or the hassle of installing Boot Camp to run Windows software on Mac: CrossOver has long allowed you to use Windows applications without having Microsoft’s OS on your computer.