I double click "Mule.exe". I log in. I start a New Game (training). One of a few things will happen:

I see loading on a black background, then it freezes as soon as I click anything (even other windows!). It never finishes loading.

I see what I presume is the game starting screen, but the same thing happens.

I have to use task manager to get rid of the window. It informs me that Java(TM) Platform SE Binary has crashed.

I found a bunch of threads with similar problems, but always some slight differences. I also found a thread where someone seemed to have the exact same problem, but they said it was fixed in a patch. Any help here?