Library Activation

[Enthropy]

Greetings Fellows,
I had a bunch of new players joining me today. Some of them couldnt load my bought modules, while the others could. this made character creation relatively difficult.
is there any issue known or a way for me to fix my assets. i already googled to no avail.
thank you in advance.

on another note, one of the players keeps getting disconected, he disabled firewall, antivirus and whatnot. our latin is at an end.

[LordEntrails]

So this is unusual, and I would normally suspect player error in not knowing how to load modules. Since FG shouldn't (can't?) distinguish one player from the other.

I assume that these are modules that you own and are sharing? Players can not load modules from other players. What ruleset are you using? What modules are your players trying to load? Are you using any extensions? Are players getting errors? What are they? What exact steps are the players trying? Do you have screen shots? Have you checked on your activation window that the modules are marked for loading?

Both you and the players can Compile Logs and attach them here if none of the above helps.

[Enthropy]

Yes, i bought all the books. its 5e, the main books that werent able to load were the ones i bought, Players Handbook. Tashas, Xanathars, Mordekainens (Naturally all Player Versions)
i watched their stream, and basically they pressed the load button but it wouldnt "unfold the book". it is allowed by me the DM, otherwise they wouldnt even see it anyway right?
we only have one extension, its theogeeks improved critical for 5e ruleset.
They are not getting any errors, no window is popping up or anything.

[Enthropy]

The screenshot shows the problem.

[Enthropy]

Here are some logs. thank you in advance!
First one is mine
second one is from one of the players who cant load the book

[LordEntrails]

Ok, so they click the load button and they wait and it doesn't load for them after multiple minutes?

So this is usually caused by one of two things;
1) Bandwidth. Some players may have limited bandwidth or too many players may be trying to load resources from you at the same time and your bandwidth isn't sufficient. Have them connect and load when they are the only player.
2) Security setting/software. Since this is only happening to some players, it is most likely on their end. Either on their computer or on their network firewall/router. Usually the setting is called something like Flood Protection, Parental Controls of DDoS Protection. More info here: Network Troubleshooting - Fantasy Grounds Customer Portal - Fantasy Grounds (https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/1981349889/Network+Troubleshooting#Step-2---Check-Security-Software)

[LordEntrails]

I'm not an expert at looking at the logs, but from the player log looks like network instability to me. Like Flood Protection is disconnecting them after downloading so much data or they are having other network issues.

From your log, it looks like the following players were having the worst time of it? Estellese, HPGr33n, Mousamune

It might be your network as well, as it looks like everyone was trying to download everything all at once.

Best thing to do when starting a new campaign is to have different players connect and download one at a time the couple of days prior to session zero to prevent this flood of data requests on your network. Or to get players to just load the bare essential at first and then over time download the rest. Having 5 or 6 players all trying to request 4 or 5 books from you at the same time is going to cause a huge hit on your network. Remember, most ISP give you an upload speed about 10% of your download speed.

[Enthropy]

Yes, allthough HPGr33n only had the problem of disconecting which hadnt happened for a while now.
Mousa and Este cannot load the books still. had them connect individually.

my side is sending the book data on their request, according to the logs. but they're not getting it after minutes. we done alot of firewall and port forwarding stuff, nothing seems to work.

[LordEntrails]

I don't have more advice to add. Hopefully someone else will have more ideas to help out. You can also try submitting a support ticket and see if they have advice.

[Zacchaeus]

I think I'd try scaling back the amount of stuff that you are sharing all in one go. For example you don't need to share the SRD (both versions) and Basic Rules, since you are also sharing the PHB. I notice also a couple of AI generated images that are .png files. Those are the worst kinds of files to be sharing because they tend to be rather large. Try sticking to .jpg or .webp files.

What I'd do is start a new campaign and unshare everything except the PHB and see if your players can join with just that module shared. If that works ok then share another book like Xanathar's and see what happens then.

From the logs I agree with LE above something is stopping the download, possibly anti virus or more likely something on the router (probably the players) like flood protection or QOS settings,

Here's a link to a couple of trouble shooting articles which might be of assistance. https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/1981349889/Network+Troubleshooting and https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/1303052290/Whitelisting+or+Creating+Exceptions+for+Antivirus+ Applications

[Estellese]

Update and some extra details that may help. I am one of the players affected.

We made a new, mostly blank session, and I was able to join and load everything no problem. Then I rejoined the main session (Just us two) and can no longer load the same things I had loaded in the other session.

Additionally, some items other than the books are not loading. I can see all but one character icon, and I can not see some things (Like the map and one of the enemy icons). It seems those files just aren't downloading on my end. But after a host reboot I could now see the map. It seems each host reboot is loading just a little bit more. Rebooting my own client will not load anything new.


Other noteworthy information: I am in the same house/network as one of the players (Immortalwriter)who can load everything, books and all content. They are not having this issue despite being on the same network (We are even in the same room, both on a wired connection to the same router which is between us.) but only one of us is affected.

I have also tried joining after completely disabling firewall and antivirus. But this did not change anything.

Thanks for the help ^.^

[Trenloe]

Update and some extra details that may help. I am one of the players affected.

We made a new, mostly blank session, and I was able to join and load everything no problem. Then I rejoined the main session (Just us two) and can no longer load the same things I had loaded in the other session.

Additionally, some items other than the books are not loading. I can see all but one character icon, and I can not see some things (Like the map and one of the enemy icons). It seems those files just aren't downloading on my end. But after a host reboot I could now see the map. It seems each host reboot is loading just a little bit more. Rebooting my own client will not load anything new.


Other noteworthy information: I am in the same house/network as one of the players (Immortalwriter)who can load everything, books and all content. They are not having this issue despite being on the same network (We are even in the same room, both on a wired connection to the same router which is between us.) but only one of us is affected.

I have also tried joining after completely disabling firewall and antivirus. But this did not change anything.

Thanks for the help ^.^
Welcome to the FG forums!

If only you are connected to the main campaign - that is, the other person in your house isn't connected, do you have the same problem?

[Estellese]

Welcome to the FG forums!

If only you are connected to the main campaign - that is, the other person in your house isn't connected, do you have the same problem?

Yes, one of my first thoughts was to have us both disconnect, and I reconnected without them. It did not resolve the issue. And we did some testing with only me and the host connected, and it still would not go through on the main hosted session. (Only on a newly hosted, mostly blank one session)

[LordEntrails]

You may try deleting your player cache for the campaign that is not loading, then connect as the only player and download one book at a time. Developer Guide - Files Overview - Fantasy Grounds Customer Portal - Fantasy Grounds (https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/996644323/Developer+Guide+-+Files+Overview#Data-Folder) & All About Campaigns - Your Questions Answered - Fantasy Grounds Customer Portal - Fantasy Grounds (https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/2045181969/All+About+Campaigns+-+Your+Questions+Answered)

Also, I assume your computer meets minimum hardware requirements? System Requirements - Fantasy Grounds Customer Portal - Fantasy Grounds (https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/1136984087/System+Requirements)

[Laerun]

Yes, one of my first thoughts was to have us both disconnect, and I reconnected without them. It did not resolve the issue. And we did some testing with only me and the host connected, and it still would not go through on the main hosted session. (Only on a newly hosted, mostly blank one session)

Network changes sometimes requires a PC reboot. Did you reboot your PC after disabling your firewall and antivirus software prior to retrying? Are you connecting with ethernet or via wifi? Are you signed in as a "guest"access?. Are both computers connected wirelessly? How old or new is your computer, are you using a PC?

[Enthropy]

Once again fresh server, nothing loaded but the characters. i sweeped all the big sized images that couldve caused issues. the logs legit show, that the book data is transmitted and she seems to be recieving them, however ingame it still shows the books as unloaded. my internet has been stable, ive been playing campaigns with people from the US for years now, there wasnt any issue in the bandwith, my last thought, fresh install.
i wouldnt want that.
We thought previously that making a new server would help, since on that very new server she had the opportunity to load the books. then i added the characters and she cannot anymore? doesnt make sense really.

Edit; we made ANOTHER server, and AGAIN she could load all the books. so apparently the addition of my maps, made on inkarnate, or the characters which have been done by normal book data make it impossible to share data with her afterwards.

[Trenloe]

The console.log file is from the GM side and, as you mention, that shows the requests being received from the player and sending the files. We need to see the Player console.log files from the same time - to see what they're receiving to determine if it's an FG issue or a network issue.

[Enthropy]

We could not replicate the issue. once it arrives, for example with the other player who had the same, we shall get player logs.

[Trenloe]

This is pointing to throttling or DoS/flood protection on either network - probably the player side. As the FG server is sending data to the player, this is different than the player downloading a file from the Internet and local Internet routers can have flood/DoS protection if the amount of data being received reaches a certain threshold. As your test campaign will be sending less data than your in-game campaign, that is working. But when the player connects to the in-game campaign there is more data being downloaded and so the threshold for blocking communication could be getting reached.

The player needs to access their router and possibly their local secutiry software, and check for flood or DoS (Denial of Service) protection.

[Estellese]

DoS/Flood prevention is a feature I have never enabled, never really saw a need. But as requested I checked the router settings, and it is disabled already.

But notably, I also share a connection with one of the players who the books and files are working fine for. We are both in this and both on a wired connection to the same router. Also same antivirus. A router issue should be effecting us both, shouldn't it? Since we are on the same router?

And it is more than just the main campaign and the test campaign. We have opened a few test campaigns while trying to narrow down exacly what was causing them to not work. Some of the tests partially work, some of them do not work at all. It was quite odd in testing. So odd that we did a completetly blank test campaign with nothing in it, and the books would not load (we gave it time). So we made another completely blank test, and this time they worked fine and loaded. They were both just blank test campaigns, we aren't sure why one worked and not the other. At the moment it is fully functioning, for me and the other player I live with, but we don't know how or why. We weren't able to figure out the cause, one of the iterations just worked. (And we need to test it with the rest of the group when they are on.)

[LordEntrails]

DoS/Flood prevention is a feature I have never enabled, never really saw a need. But as requested I checked the router settings, and it is disabled already.

But notably, I also share a connection with one of the players who the books and files are working fine for. We are both in this and both on a wired connection to the same router. Also same antivirus. A router issue should be effecting us both, shouldn't it? Since we are on the same router?

And it is more than just the main campaign and the test campaign. We have opened a few test campaigns while trying to narrow down exacly what was causing them to not work. Some of the tests partially work, some of them do not work at all. It was quite odd in testing. So odd that we did a completetly blank test campaign with nothing in it, and the books would not load (we gave it time). So we made another completely blank test, and this time they worked fine and loaded. They were both just blank test campaigns, we aren't sure why one worked and not the other. At the moment it is fully functioning, for me and the other player I live with, but we don't know how or why. We weren't able to figure out the cause, one of the iterations just worked. (And we need to test it with the rest of the group when they are on.)
I assume your computer meets minimum hardware requirements? System Requirements - Fantasy Grounds Customer Portal - Fantasy Grounds (https://fantasygroundsunity.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/FGCP/pages/1136984087/System+Requirements)

[Trenloe]

A couple of years ago someone reported a similar issue when on the same network as the GM - with their network traffic going out to the Internet and then back into the router and the router was treating that as suspicious and blocking it.

Unfortunately I can't remember the details. As a test, the player could try using a cellphone hotspot for their Internet connection, or a VPN.

[Estellese]

-LordEntrails

Yes, I believe so. I don't really understand what any of the stuff about the processor requirements means, so that is the only part I am not sure about.

From the about section of PC
Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.9 GB usable)
Graphics Card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (12 GB)
Windows 10
And about 2TB of free storage.

And I dunno why processor is blank on the about page, so I grabbed this from control panel
Processor 11th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-11400F @ 2.60GHz



-Trenloe

I don't think either of our PCs has wifi. But I'll see if I can dig up an old laptop or something and try. I had a similar thought at first so the last few tests were just me and the GM. But maybe just pulling out the laptop anyways will fix it.

*Edit: I finished my sentence in my head and not in the post.

Thanks for the continued support everyone ^.^

[Nylanfs]

Use DXDIAG to get your full system specs.

[Estellese]

Sure, although DXDIAG gives me the same issue as the about page, it isn't displaying all of the information. Never really looked at these things before, so unsure if it was always like that.

65355

[LordEntrails]

Your computer specs are fine. I'm at a loss as to what to suggest next.

[Trenloe]

I don't think either of our PCs has wifi.
Try a VPN connection for the player computer with the issue.

[Laerun]

Sure, although DXDIAG gives me the same issue as the about page, it isn't displaying all of the information. Never really looked at these things before, so unsure if it was always like that.

65355

Are you using Xfinity or Comcast? They enabled Advanced protection on my account without any warning or notice, especially if one leases router equipment. Anyhow, we had to go to our online account with Xfinity and turn this feature off manually through their web portal.

[Enthropy]

Ok, bit of an update.

We found out that in the network log, it now shows the following errors, not sure if its related to our problems, but this seems to be the only thing out of place.
(NetworkUnreachable - 10051)
(AddressNotAvailable - 10049)

[Enthropy]

both players have this issue, i got the logs from one of them, and verbal confirmation from the other.
theres IP information in the network logs tho so im not sure if i should post them here?

[Moon Wizard]

Those aren't necessarily relevant.
The network library that we use attempts to find the shortest route from your machine to the GM machine provided by the lobby server, and some of the attempted routes won't be valid.

You can also try deleting the cache for the campaign on the player machine to fully reset the data/files; just to rule out any cache issues.

Otherwise, the issue is that something is blocking the file from arriving; whether it's an Internet provider block, or a setting on either GM or player machine or router.
That's part of the reason a VPN was suggested by others above to rule out settings at Internet provider or router level.

Regards,
JPG

[Estellese]

I did attempt a VPN while trying a few different things today, and it did not change anything, unfortunately. Also tried to connect a laptop instead of my PC. Tried a complete uninstall (Deleted all files) and reinstall. I was going to attempt connecting via hotspot but the connection was so slow I couldn't even connect to steam, so that one will have to be postponed until another session. Also tried launching steam in admin, launching the game in admin, and I do have xfinity so I checked their app but didn't see anything about advanced protection (I don't have their equipment). Also completely deleted the steam version and downloaded the non-steam version to try that.

It seems things only load for a very short time immediately after the host reloads. Player reloading doesn't reset it, only host reloading does. And it seems to only load for a very brief time. (It is also inconsistent)

[Laerun]

I did attempt a VPN while trying a few different things today, and it did not change anything, unfortunately. Also tried to connect a laptop instead of my PC. Tried a complete uninstall (Deleted all files) and reinstall. I was going to attempt connecting via hotspot but the connection was so slow I couldn't even connect to steam, so that one will have to be postponed until another session. Also tried launching steam in admin, launching the game in admin, and I do have xfinity so I checked their app but didn't see anything about advanced protection (I don't have their equipment). Also completely deleted the steam version and downloaded the non-steam version to try that.

It seems things only load for a very short time immediately after the host reloads. Player reloading doesn't reset it, only host reloading does. And it seems to only load for a very brief time. (It is also inconsistent)

Advanced protection is a setting in your account portal for Xfinity that can be turned off on your end via the Xfinity website where you manage your account.

https://share.google/R0jt064gx35ljXSh5

[Moon Wizard]

Based on your information, it definitely sounds like some sort of DDoS, speed throttling, quality-of-service, or similar blocking/throttling that is going on. (i.e. works fine initially, then stops abruptly)

My guess would be that it is on the GM side of the network equation, and most likely would be a router or Internet provider modem/account setting. Make sure to check the interface on your Internet provider modem too. Basically, anything between the literal cable coming into the house and how it gets to your computer. (In my house, it is fiber -> Internet provider modem -> my personal router -> computer.)

Regards,
JPG

[Enthropy]

from a few things i've read it cant be port forwarding right? a few people were saying its not required for FG. about a month ago i got a new router and it naturally reset the port forwarding stuff that i set up

[Zacchaeus]

from a few things i've read it cant be port forwarding right? a few people were saying its not required for FG. about a month ago i got a new router and it naturally reset the port forwarding stuff that i set up

As long as you are using the Cloud then you don't need port forwarding.