Unable to see PC, post to chat and exit game

[fantasymbo]

Hi, I have many issues once I join a game

My DM is using an Ultimate version of FG 3.3.7
I connect using a free version (3.3.7 on windows 10 on a, less than a year old, gaming PC)

We're running a Starfinder campain
When I join the game, I make sure to load the proper Modules

Sometimes(rarely) when I connect I can see all the PC characters, other times I see only one or two out of four
If I close the PC window and re-open it, I don't see any characters anymore
All other players in our game see all the PC characters

I tried to exit the game "cleanly" by right-click exit-game
But when I try to log back in, it says my user is already in use
I have to use a different log-in or my DM has to kick my previous user out

I've cleared the cache and re-tried multiple times
I uninstalled FG multiple times
Deleted all folders and cache
I've even deleted the registry keys

I've tried to join the game using either "FG on Steam" or "FG the windows app"
Same problems...

Oddly, sometimes I can log into the game and actually see my character
I can select it and make a few rolls and play with it
But even then, at some point it stops taking my input, even the chat windows doesn't work anymore
I've watched to see if I got a "logged out" message maybe, I remember seeing those, but that's not it
I still receive stuff when the DM posts new maps, etc.

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks :)

[Zacchaeus]

When you join a game you will only be able to select from characters that you 'own' or are not 'owned' by someone else. For example if there are 4 characters in a game and three players join and select a character; if you are the last to join then you will only see one. If someone takes a character and then drops it, it will still be owned by that player and the DM will need to clear ownership before you will be able to see it. Similarly if you logged in last time as 'Bob' and then the next time logged in as 'Bob2' then you will not see your character because you are logging in as a different person as far as FG is concerned.

Your other issues sound to me like either you have a patchy network connection or your antivirus software is interfering or you have some flood protection or parental control settings on your router which is limiting your connection.

[fantasymbo]

Thanks, I do know about the visibility of characters and ownership
That's unfortunately not it, the DM made sure my character was visible and not owned by anyone else
He kicked my previous user out and freed the PC
Still I couldn't see it

But you raise a good point about the anti-virus
The network shouldn't be an issue but I'll check it out

Thanks! :)

[Zacchaeus]

When you rejoin a game there could be some delay whilst your and your DMs computer sync up again, so there could be a few moments before characters appear. Usually all you would need to do is close the selection window and then open the window again from the PCs button.

[LordEntrails]

Other than what Mr Z said, make sure when you exit you give it a minute or two before rejoining, and then give FG some time to establish the connection and update everthing before assuming you can't see the PC's etc. Depending upon the network of both yours and his, it can take a minute or so.

[fantasymbo]

Thanks,

I did wait and try again later to open the PC window, no effect
I also waited before rejoining, sometimes hours later, same problem...

I've checked the anti-virus and every setting is allowed
I can even run the test button to see if I can host a game and pass it no problem...

As for the network, I have had the same problem at two different locations using different networks (same internet provider though)

I don't want to go back to Roll20... ;)

[Zacchaeus]

If the ISP was different at the two locations that would narrow it down to your machine. But with the same ISP that suggests possibly the same router? Have you looked at the router settings for flood protection, or the level of protection the router is set to or whether there are parental controls set. Any or all of these could be an issue.

As for AV, I include in that things like Maleware or Spyware as well. Finally if you use Windows Defender I have seen many cases where deleting the existing rule and creating a new one solves issues.

[fantasymbo]

Removed Windows Defender rule and recreated it, no effect
I've checked the router but no Parenting rule has been set on it, no flood protection either

The odd thing is that if I log in often enough, Bob1, Bob2, Bob3, eventually I see my PC and I can play for a bit
We joke around that I have to be Bob14 for things to start to work, so somehow, sometimes, something works...

[LordEntrails]

Stop changing your username. Delete your player cache, pick one name and stick with it. That's not the issue and is only complicating things (because among other things the GM will keep having to clean the PC's each time you change names)

[Zacchaeus]

Remember as well that when you log into a game there will be a delay whilst information gets downloaded. During that period it may seem like FG is non responsive. It might be worthwhile you just logging into your DM on your own and just letting things download for a while to see if that helps the situation any.

[fantasymbo]

I will try again to logon and wait

As for clearing the cache, it had no effect. The user remained active on the server. It was only when the gm kicked my old user out that I was able to reuse it

Thanks

[fantasymbo]

I have tried to delete the cache
Unfortunately the user remains active on the server
The dm has to keep kicking my user out
The only way I have managed to play (a few minutes) was logging in until one user would work

I am trying once again with one user and will wait many minutes to see if it works

Thanks :)

[fantasymbo]

Is there a way to run FG in debug mode?
Get log files and all that?

[damned]

please try and log into my server:

insane hook puny idol

and see if you can select a character

wait a couple of minutes, disconnect and reconnect.

[fantasymbo]

I just attempted to connect, saw no characters, was unable to chat as well
Second attempt, was not able to reconnect, network error
Cleared the cache, tried again, no effect, still "check your network" error

Thank you

[LordEntrails]

I just attempted to connect, saw no characters, was unable to chat as well
Second attempt, was not able to reconnect, network error

Thank you
Can you post screen shots of what you see? Especially the chat window? And how long are you waiting after connecting?

[fantasymbo]

It's going from bad to worse
Get error when deleting cache
26023

Get network error, unable to reconnect
26026

I waited about a minute once logged in, the first time
Closed the welcome window
PC window was empty
Chat did not output what I typed

It's late where I am
I've been at this all day...

I thank you for your efforts

[damned]

The issue is at your end.
It may be permissions on the Fantasy Grounds data folder - you can try doing something like:
Go into FG Settings and change the data path to a folder path you definitely 100% have permissions to access (and append \fantasy grounds or \fgdata or similar)
And then rerun the updater

Can you also open two separate cmd prompts.

In the first run: ping 8.8.8.8 -n 1000
and in the second substitute 8.8.8.8 with your router ip address.

let them finish
what % of lost packets do you get on each?

[fantasymbo]

Hi,
0% loss in both cases

I went back to basics, uninstalled FG, deleted folders, deleted registry key
downloaded fginstaller again (FREE version), ran it (somehow it still knew I had installed FG on my D: drive!?!, are there other registry keys hidden somewhere?)
I checked that my networks were Private (my slower 2.4 GHz was set to public...)
I set the port forwarding

I am now able to run a demo campain and the "Connection test" is successful (takes a fraction of a second)

BUT, I am no longer able to connect at all to my usual server
I also tried "Damned" server again today (maybe it's off though)

I am going backwards... (sigh)

[Zacchaeus]

Was your usual server actually active when you tried to connect?

[LordEntrails]

Damned probably doesn't have his server up and running at the moment :) Jump on the Discord channel and see if someone is available to test :)

[fantasymbo]

Hi, yes of course it was active. For a long time I was always able to connect to it. It is only after a few minutes that I would lose functionalities, like being unable to make an ability check, type something on the chat, etc. I would however be able to see maps posted by the GM, I would see PC characters being moved on the maps, etc. But I would not be able to do anything else. It's like I was halfway into the game. My only solution was to exit "properly" (but it wouldn't exit me properly) and log back in using a new user. Sometimes after 5 or 6 tries, I would see the PCs again and if my GM freed my original PC I could start to use it for a few minutes, until it all stopped again. In the end I resorted to rolling a real dice on my desk and tell the GM the result or have him roll dices for me...

But now it's even worse, I am no longer able to connect to my GM's regular game...

I ran a complete virus scan, nothing
I added just about every executable in the fantasy grounds folder to my "Trusted applications"
Then I shut down my anti-virus for a minute
I shut down Windows Firewall Defender as well
Ran Fantasy Grounds as Admin
Changed my data folder from D: to C:
Erased the cache on my User more than once (at least I don't get an error about that anymore)
I also switched my internet connection from my house plan to my cell data plan (no change)

Network error...

I am now worse off than before... :cry:

Thank you for the Discord offer, but I have a headache now
I'm gonna take a break from this whole thing ;)

[damned]

Please send me a PM if you would like me to look at this with you via a remote screen share.

[fantasymbo]

Wow, thank you very much mister Damned
I cannot today, but I will be sure do so

[fantasymbo]

Update: I was able to make FG work on an older laptop. My gaming PC still won't allow me to see PC sheets, roll a dice, use the chat, etc. I am starting to think that maybe FG is not compatible with my graphics card, my anti-virus or whatever. It's not a network issue as both computers use the same. Anyway, I want to thank everyone for their help. I was just about to completely give up on FG forever and go back to Roll20... But I'll give it another chance on my old laptop :-)

In my last attempt I scanned windows registry
I scanned for the keyword "Fantasy" and deleted everything I saw
I deleted every folder and downloader/ran the installer again
At least this time it didn't "remember" old file locations, etc.

But no effect, same problems as always...

[Trenloe]

Can you provide screenshots showing the issues?

[fantasymbo]

Can you provide screenshots showing the issues?

Hi, screenshots won't show you anything aside that I can't see PC Characters in the PC window
It would require a video...

All I can tell you is that I am able to join the game set by my DM on an Utlimater Server, I use a Demo Free version (as do 2 others of my friends without problems)
I am able to see images shared by the DM, I can see chat conversations, etc.
But I cannot chat myself, select a PC, roll a dice and I cannot exit the game "cleanly", my DM has to kick me out everytime
Sometimes, I can edit some things like PC Ship details

I was able to play sporadically by logging in multiple times, I would quit and my DM would kick me out
Then after 6 to 12+ loggins I would be able to play 100% for a few minutes, then everything would freeze again...
It's really maddening

[Trenloe]

Hi, screenshots won't show you anything aside that I can't see PC Characters in the PC window
It would require a video...
I think I video would be best, because I'm really confused as to what is actually happening.

[LordEntrails]

Only two WAGs I can suggest;
1) after logging in did you wait a long time to make sure everything from the DM had downloaded?
2) Did you claim a PC from the PC window? You DM may have to "clean" your existing PC first.
Oh, and a 3rd idea;
3) With most video drivers you can set specifics for an application, did you make Sure FG is set to use your built in video card and that the settings on the card for FG are set to turn off all the fancy stuff?

[fantasymbo]

Only two WAGs I can suggest;
1) after logging in did you wait a long time to make sure everything from the DM had downloaded?
2) Did you claim a PC from the PC window? You DM may have to "clean" your existing PC first.
Oh, and a 3rd idea;
3) With most video drivers you can set specifics for an application, did you make Sure FG is set to use your built in video card and that the settings on the card for FG are set to turn off all the fancy stuff?

1) Yes I waited for 3-4 minutes. I waited for much longer than I did with my old laptop. With my old laptop everything appeared immediately. With my new laptop, no PC was visible in the PC window even after 3-4 minutes.
2) Not sure what you mean, but with my old laptop, I'm able to claim a PC, release it, claim another and also switch active PC. With my new laptop, I can't even see and select one PC
3) I will try to set FG to use my built-in card and not the G-Force. But at this point this is only guess work...

FG has already caused me to waste dozens and dozens of hours to install and debug, I believe that it uses an old programming structure and that it's poorly suited to recent machines...
I'm not going to work on this much more, I will use my old laptop and call it a day...

Thanks anyway :-)

[Moon Wizard]

Perhaps there is an gaming overlay (Steam, Windows, etc.) that is interfering with FG on the desktop machine?

JPG

[Beanboi]

Forgive me for necroing this thread.

I am a GM with the ultimate subscription. One of my players and close friends is having this exact same issue as OP. We tried all the solutions offered in this thread. At this point, the issue is a constant immersion killer and taxing everyone.

I have been digging around but I have not seen a solution posted to this problem. Does one exist?

FYI, the player is running FG on a high-end gaming laptop and has flawless connection and 0 packet loss when playing other online games with me.

[Trenloe]

Welcome to the FG forums!


Forgive me for necroing this thread.

I am a GM with the ultimate subscription. One of my players and close friends is having this exact same issue as OP. We tried all the solutions offered in this thread. At this point, the issue is a constant immersion killer and taxing everyone.

I have been digging around but I have not seen a solution posted to this problem. Does one exist?

FYI, the player is running FG on a high-end gaming laptop and has flawless connection and 0 packet loss when playing other online games with me.
We really didn't get to the bottom of what exactly was happening. My last request to the previous poster with this issue was to try to provide a video showing the problem.

[Beanboi]

I will see if we can get a video recording of the issue. He also has a desktop, so maybe I will ask him to swap systems. I also asked him to update his graphics driver (just in case). Thanks!

[karilan]

Has anyone managed to resolve this? I have a player with same issues and we cannot find a solution.

[fantasymbo]

Hi, I'm the original asker on this thread. I basically gave up. I've been using FG on my old laptop all this time.

I'm sorry, I've never provided a video. Again, it wouldn't show anything. It would show that I log in, play around for 3-4 minutes, then almost everything stops working.

My driver has been updated numerous times since via de GE Force Experience app, no change

We will soon try the new version of FG though, crossing fingers...

Thanks

[karilan]

Hey there, nice to hear from you.

I'm not sure if our issue was any different than yours, but we are both on the same network and it was really strange that we could not connect properly. My husband managed to solve the problem:

prior to this he always connected to the same external address/alias as the other players, but today it just ceased working out of the blue, He could load in after a long delay but the screens were all blank, no modules to load, no text in the chat box etc. We solved it by noticing that we couldn't ping each others PCs in our home network, turning on file and printer sharing fixed that, and then allowed him to use the internal IP address for my PC to connect to and it worked without issue. The strangest part is we're quite sure we had tried using the internal address when we first set up the program but it always refused the connection. We still don't know why the situation changed but maybe this will help others in a similar odd position.