This is a collection of old concept and splash art images which I turned into 'generic' loading screens, replacing the existing ones. (*Generic loading screens are those you see when you first log in a character or when you exit a Session Play, like the "Get Crafty!" and "Join the LOTRO Community!" loading screens.)

I edited some of the images which were too small or too big using GIMP to fit better as loading screens. However, because of the game's loading screen banners, some of the top and bottom parts of the concept/splash art images will still not be visible.

*Disclaimer: Of course, I do not own any of the images. These were official concept and splash art from the LOTRO team from many years ago.

*Credit: A big thank you to the LOTRO artists and to this fan collection of LOTRO concept and splash art images. - http://darrellbircsak.com/2022/01/28/concept-art-for-lotro/

To install:

1. Extract the 'LOTRO - Official Concept Art as Loading Screens' ZIP file.

2. Open the folder of the extracted files and cut/copy the contents. (You should see images with the name prefix 'lotro_generic_teleport_screen_' plus the number, starting from '01'.)

*You will see more than 10 images in this folder, but only the first 10 ('01' to '10') will ever get used and appear in-game. Feel free to switch around the names if you want to use the other images in the compilation. This is also how you can use almost any image as a custom loading screen.

3. Go to your generic loading screens folder in the drive where you installed the game (e.g. OS (C: > Program Files (x86) > StandingStoneGames > The Lord of the Rings Online > raw > en > logo / C:\Program Files (x86)\StandingStoneGames\The Lord of the Rings Online\raw\en\logo).

4. Paste the contents and replace the existing images in this folder. Make sure to put them in the folder for your selected language for the game. ('de' for German, 'en' for English, 'fr' for French.)

5. Testing: Opening the game launcher should not replace the new images. You can test this by leaving the loading screens folder open as you run the game launcher. You do not have to log in or launch the game as the launcher is the one that handles the download of the loading screens. If you see that the launcher replaced your new loading screens with the old images, proceed to [6]. If not, skip to [7].

6. Go back one level from the 'logo' generic loading screens folder. Right-click the folder and go to Properties, then uncheck and re-check Read-only to apply the Read-only attribute to all files in the folder. Press OK or Apply. You may need to uncheck the Read-only attribute first and apply then re-check it and apply again. The game launcher should no longer replace the images now.

7. Launch the game and enjoy the new loading screens.

To uninstall:
*Delete the generic loading screens folder or the image files within. ('de' for German, 'en' for English, 'fr' for French.) The LOTRO game launcher automatically replaces the missing folder and files with the default generic loading screens. (As a precaution, feel free to make a backup.)

Note:
*It is likely that the launcher will no longer be able to automatically update and replace the lotro_ad_pregame.jpg image when a new major update comes, once this plugin is installed, especially if you changed the Read-only attributes of the folder or the files. As a workaround, if you want to update the pregame image, delete the lotro_ad_pregame.jpg image or the entire folder and then run the launcher which will redownload the missing folder/files, and then reinstall the custom loading screens, replacing the default generic loading screens once again.

Update(s):

v1.0 - Some of the custom loading screens used by default are replaced. Added more alternate loading screens, including the ones replaced, in the download - which you can use by renaming the files.


*If you have any questions or encounter any issues, let me know.

*Apologies if the plugin keeps on getting 'updated'. I've been editing the description for corrections and to add important information. 😅

*I plan to make another set using Ralph Damiani's amazing LOTRO fan art as loading screens in the future. Let me know if there is interest.

*If by any chance, you would like to support me, here's my link, which is connected to my Paypal account - https://streamelements.com/caeruleanity/tip