Problem Client

[Arion]

Ok. A strange one. I have been running a bi-weekly Pendragon just using the foundation ruleset, and it has been going very well. The two regular players (both running vista) have no issues connecting to my host (running xp).

The other player has some issues. Each week. He was able to connect, as long as he didn't choose a character. That would log him off the server.
Not a major problem, as he could still roll dice etc.

However, this weekend i am running a Rolemaster using the RMC ruleset. He can connect, and downloads the ruleset. The first time we tried it he chose a character but we had a 2-3min lag on dice rolls and chat.
We then tried reconnecting.
Now, when he selects a character, it either hangs (10min+ until we get fed up) or disconnects him. I have tried with a new campaign, and it downloaded the ruleset again, before hanging on character select. He could however return to the loader. When he tried connecting again, it downloaded the ruleset again!

We have tried IP/Alias logon, different rulesets, different days etc. It should not be bandwidth as a speedtest on his line shows 13.1mb. His is a new PC with out of the box Win7, and FG was not installed as administrator. Both are updated to the same version. He has also turned off screensavers and power saving.

Any ideas? I am running out of them, but he really wants to join in the game...

[Leonal]

It may or may not work, but have him select/create an empty character before choosing his real character. It seemed to work for a player of mine when he had problems with disconnects.

Also trying the test version (2.7.5 as of now) might not be a bad idea.

[Arion]

Thanks for that. We had another hour test last night, and selecting when selecting a new character, nothing happens. He is still connected, but no character icon appears in either his or my screen.

If i use the test version, will i be able to roll back if there is a problem?

[Griogre]

Yes, but for safety you should make a backup of your campaign files. You can find the TestModTool in the download section of the site.

[Arion]

Just a quick update.

Test version works fine for me and one of the "no problem" players. Doesn't work for the problem one. He can connect, but as soon as he chooses a character (new or existing), it locks up. He can see text typed in by me, but cannot roll dice or type himself.

This also applies with another ruleset.

Just about to try foundation ruleset.

Maybe it is to do with the way his PC handles characters in FG?

[Zeus]

Just a suggestion but it could be the ruleset is not transferring properly upon his connection and his local copy is therefore missing files or has corrupted files. Ask your player to check the log file to see if any errors are being reported.

As a quick test, create a 4E campaign and have him connect to that. 4E is distributed as a .pak file which means your player will have a copy locally as part of his/hers FGII install. The result of this means no need for the ruleset to be transferred upon connection.

If it works and the player is able to connect and create/select a character, then it points to a transfer problem with the other rulesets. If thats the case you may need to check the quality of his/hers internet connection.

[Arion]

Just a suggestion but it could be the ruleset is not transferring properly upon his connection and his local copy is therefore missing files or has corrupted files. Ask your player to check the log file to see if any errors are being reported.

As a quick test, create a 4E campaign and have him connect to that. 4E is distributed as a .pak file which means your player will have a copy locally as part of his/hers FGII install. The result of this means no need for the ruleset to be transferred upon connection.

If it works and the player is able to connect and create/select a character, then it points to a transfer problem with the other rulesets. If thats the case you may need to check the quality of his/hers internet connection.

Ooh. You might be on to something there. I will test the 4e tomorrow. Where is the error log stored for FG? Is it in the app data folder?

[Zeus]

It is located in the FG2 app data directory, and is reset every time you start FG.

[Arion]

I might have found the problem....

When we tried to add another new player in, we had all sorts of trouble connecting him, although we did manage to connect for 2-3min

I then tried plugging my router into the PC with an ethernet cable, rather than wireless, and it went pear-shaped very quickly.

Now, every time i try to set up port forwarding on the router, or indeed use any application that uses PF, the router resets. The IPS is sending me a new router, as this one appears to be faulty, specifically as regards PF.
Might explain things? Only time will tell!