Recent Issues with FG2

[docplutonium]

Hey All.

I have been playing with my group for about 8 months, and until about 4 weeks ago, Fantasy Grounds was running flawlessly. Sure, once in a while someone lost connection, but they were able to jump right back on.

So that is why recently the problems with FG2 have been so vexing! I believe (but am not 100% positive) that they all started to happen about the time that I upgraded to the latest Patch of FG2.

Since that time, my players have been unable to see any maps I have been posting. One will see it, but the other 5 will not. Or all can see a 1.5 Mb Map, but then not the 60K maps, It's driving me frigging bonkers and we've had to scrap the last 3 sessions because of it.

I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on! I have done the following in an attempt to resolve the situation...

1) Re-install FG
2) Disable the QOS service from my Network Adapters
3) Try smaller maps, different Maps, doesn't matter...

Now, we also were using Moon's FG 1.3 Patch upgrade. It's just a god send. Everyone LOVES FG2 in the group, but Moon's 1.3 rule-set patch is just icing on the cake. So, removing that, and just playing with the default FG2 rule set and viola! My players can see the maps again.

But, with that being said, I noticed that FG2 takes about 130 Mb of memory when it loads with just the plain default rule set. FG2 Takes about 470 Mb of memory when I use Moon's 1.3 Rule-set patch. So maybe the issue is that my computer is running out of memory ???? I mean, I have 2 GB on board so that doesn't seem to be an issue, but I am trying to understand why the loss of map sharing.

I guess I would like to go back to my FG2 environment with Moon's 1.3 upgrade. But if it is a memory issue, why now all of a sudden ? Is there a theoretical limit of the amount of memory FG2 can use ?

I am looking for some help, any help. Can anyone suggest any reason why map sharing took a nose dive? Am I the only one? One the last two sessions, the accompanying lag with connection was so bad that people were getting dice roll results sometimes 1-2 minutes after they rolled. This just doesn't make sense. I know it's not my machine, I have a dual core, raid disks, dual Nvidia card machine. It's still top of the line, and there has been no difference in any of the other applications I run, including MMO Games.

So, with all that being said...can anyone lend me any assistance to help my gamers and I get back in the saddle ? We will try anything. We love to play so much, and it just breaks our hearts not to be able to lately.

Thanks All, appreciate any help anyone can give.
Doc

[Griogre]

I believe MoonWizard mentioned some things in the ruleset were iffy. Are you saving and loading lots of combat tracker setups?
https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=59410&postcount=11

[docplutonium]

Hey Hey!

Well we still were having no luck with FG2. So we experimented some more, and we were able to observe the following behaviours...

1) Up to three people can connect and they get the maps in a reasonable amount of time. (3-5 minutes)

2) If more then three people connect then the time to share the map expands exponentially.

3) Only one person connecting gets the map almost immediately.

4) No amount of minimum players could still get some maps, just would not load (one map in particular was 500K... but bigger maps would load in time)

5) It's not my upload speed, tested it and my current pipe is 1 Mb down, 888 Kbs up.

6) It's not the other players, they all have minimum 1 Mb Down, 700K Kbs Up

7) So we started to REALLY suspect the latest patch...

8) SO we all uninstalled FG2, (after we archived the rule set modules) and then installed the bare bones 2.0.1 version we all bought at GenCon Last Year. WE DID NOT UPDATE

9) Copied our modules back to the proper directory

10) BOOM! Everything worked again! Everyone could get the maps, and fast too! < 20 Seconds. Everything is fast, speedy and responsive.

SO that is how we are going to play. It's a real freaking shame that I could not get ANY technical support for the product from the product's own home page. Your deafening silence is a true slap in the face if you ask me. (OK...I feel better now...sorry about that but that is just how I feel right now)

But just so you know, there is something horribly wrong with the latest patch. If we could have rolled back one level that would have been awesome, but there is no option for that. Is there any chance of you guys posting the previous patch ? Say in an archive some where so when this type of thing happens we have a recourse ?

OK! So you have word from a user. There is something crooked going on with the latest patch. You might want to look at it when you get a chance.

Thanks All. Sorry if I sounded a bit squeaky on this post, but we had a long and hard road trying to figure out just what was going on, and any help would have been appreciated. But with that said, it's still an awesome product. And the fact that we all enjoy using it so much (but we couldn't) should be seen as a testament of just how good the product actually is.

So, see you guys next patch. Hopefully it will fix whatever is causing this problem.

Thanks
Doc

[Sorontar]

Did you drop this to [email protected] by the way?

[docplutonium]

ummm...no...

I didn't even know there was that recourse...

Don't they read their own forums ?

Should I still do this ??

Thanks for the feedback!
Doc

[Ged]

We read the forums and take notes on bugs and undesired behaviour, feature requests etc. All feedback is very much appreciated. We'll check what could have gone wrong with the latest patch. Thanks for the detailed description.

[Sorontar]

As Ged has just highlighted yes they do :)

I would always post direct to any support function of a product rather than a forum though because if there are a lot of issues then your issue could find it's way off the front page and be missed OR it is missed due to human weaknesses.

I think a lot of issues are posted to the forums because there are some great problem solvers in the community and it's rare the devs have to get involved with mundane problems.

Glad you are playing again and hope the issue is sorted properly soon.

[joshuha]

Also, while the new patch could definitely have something to do with this many of us regular share large maps (mine are 1 meg+ sometimes) and I think if it was a widespread issue we would be seeing more posts on the issue.

That means its some combination of factors besides just solely the patch. What those are I have no idea but I also have been using various rulesets and don't have any map sharing issues and thats with 6 players.

[joshuha]

Double post

[docplutonium]

Well, the first thing I did do when the problem arose was check the technical support forums, and I did see other posts with the exact same problem I had, but like my post, got absolutely no response either. So that basically forced my hand to keep looking.

There was a post I replied to earlier today telling the user to do what I had done. If that user does that and is OK afterwords, then we know we have an issue and we can compare setups and drivers to see what they have in common.

I guess we will have to see what happens. But I agree...if EVERYONE was having the issue then these support boards would have been lit up like a Christmas tree. As such, there ARE posts, but probably not enough to arouse suspicion.

Let's hope the other user reports back his findings.

Thanks Everyone
Doc

[arcath]

I am having the same problem. but i don't have the option of reinstalling from CD and then not updating.

I have to use the install from the website.

If someone tries to send me a map, it just gives me a constant "loading" screen.

never had this problem before today.

[docplutonium]

I am having the same problem. but i don't have the option of reinstalling from CD and then not updating.

I have to use the install from the website.

That's fine as long as the current download off of the web site is not the current patched version. We seemed to have these problems when the latest patch went in. If the latest download off the web site is not the latest patched version (Which I believe it is not) then you should be able to re-produce the results I documented and be good to go.

Let me know how it works out
Doc

[arcath]

it doesnt work out.

[docplutonium]

It is with some embarrassment that I am now reporting what the core issue was with my users not getting any documents...

Seems at the same time FG2 released their new patch, my ISP Rogers (Canada) instituted IP Priortization. What this means is all HTTP 80 traffic gets first priority, HTTP 25 traffic second tier priority and all other application running across the Internet NOT on Port 80 or 25, Like Bittorent And FG, get the bottom of the barrel of whatever bandwidth is left.

Combine that that we are playing during the evening 7-11 (prime time) and it tends to be not alot of bandwidth left.

When we tested it the last time with the unpatched version we had done so in the middle of the day when traffic was low enough to make the share very fast. But it had nothing to do with the current patch, it had everything to do with what time of day we were running. I apologize for suggesting there was something wrong with the patch. But at the time, I had NO IDEA my ISP would ever do this.

We have changed our plans and can still play, basically, once everyone logs on the game, I share the maps and then everyone takes a 10 minute afk. 10 minutes afk is very short. 10 minutes staring at a loading screen is VERY long!!! So we've gotten around it. But it IS still less then ideal, I can assure you of that. Especially when you want to show just a quick picture and not you are FORCED to wait because you forgot to pre-load it earlier.

Is there ANY way we can move FG to port 80 ?? I guess it would be the best solution. Other than buying up the ISP and having the people who thought Priortization was a good idea murdered in their sleep.

If anyone has any idea for moving FG2's ports, I would love to hear it.

Thanks Everyone. And sorry again for all the confusion
Doc

[unerwünscht]

I think what you are looking for is: fantasyground -p<portnumber>

[Foen]

You might also want to talk to Astinus (I think), because he plays over dial-up and uses a number of tricks to eliminate or speed up the data transfer.

Foen

[docplutonium]

I think what you are looking for is: fantasyground -p<portnumber>

Sorry, are you saying that this command is already included in FG ? Or that I wish there was such a command...

So if It were included I would create a shortcut that said:

"fantasyground -p80" or "fantasyground -p 80"

Does this command exist ? Let me know!
Doc

[docplutonium]

Hey Hey All...

OK, just thought I would give you all a quick update since my last post...

1) The suggestion I was given to move FG to port 80 with the -p80 in the shortcut did not work. I could start FG, but nobody could connect to me after they made the same changes also to their shortcuts. If I have done this wrong, I would appreciate someone setting me straight on how to do this properly.

2) I read that one idea in the FAQ about how to share HUGE maps with a limited bandwidth about compiling the module with maps on the client side but not indexed that way the players would still have the maps locally but could not view them until I shared them from my end. And that works awesome EXCEPT....

EXCEPT.... The map loads to the default view for the players and if you want to show them the bottom of the map (say where they are starting for example) the players view will not switch to it no mater how many times the GM tells the application to share the map at the new view, they can drag the map to see it, but it always snaps back up to the top of the map as soon as they let go of the mouse. So that's not going to work for us either.

Does anyone have any help or comments about the above two situations ? Otherwise it will continue to be slow going for us for the next foreseeable future.

Thanks All
Doc

[Sorontar]

There is a way to fix the new viewpoint (left click drag scroller, right click fix scroll point, left click free up scroller )but it is apparently a bug that you can do it

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showpost.php?p=43803&postcount=1

Apparently if the players have drawn pointers it is buggy because of the reposition from the DMs view BUT if that is where you are playing it should be okay.

[sethstejskal]

Did you ever get this issue resolved? Our group has been experiencing this big time! I am one of the players that consistently is stuck on the loading screen for the entire gaming session. I've even tried disabling my firewall with no luck. Any ideas?:confused:

[Oberoten]

Check QoS Scheduling, or rather make sure it is UN-checked.

[docplutonium]

QoS IS unchecked for my computer, It did not help.

As for the fix, not so much a fix as work around...

Stick with the original FG we got from GenCon 2007. DO NOT UPDATE.

Works like a charm with only 5-10 minutes of waiting on cold shares (maps shared without pre-loading first)

I had a chance to speak with Goblin King at this year's GenCon. It was VERY nice to meet you and he was a very nice guy. And I reviewed everything that had been going on. I mentioned in the latest patched version of FG, when things start to go pear shaped, the Combat Tracker starts to populate with 2 extra blank entries for no reason at all. At least that's something he can look at.

I know it's frustrating, but we've found a workaround by using an older version of FG and pre-loading everything before the session starts. If we have to cold-share, then patience (and maybe a smoke break) is the only remedy.

I hope the next patch fixes whatever snapped. I had previously mentioned my ISP prioritizing my port traffic, and I called them to ask how much was available during one of my sessions, (just take a peek I said) and they came back with I had over 90% of my T1 currently available for non port 80 traffic. So, although that MIGHT have had something to do with it, I am starting to think it really had no effect overall.

Still Playing! But not as smoothly as I would Like
Doc

[Oberoten]

Is it unchecked on both computers?

[docplutonium]

Is it unchecked on both computers?

Now THAT I don't know, and I will try it next Tuesday when we all play again.

Thanks for the Tip!
Doc

[Oberoten]

I know this gave us no end of grief with one player who had it set with images transfering exceedingly slow et all.

[docplutonium]

OK!

Worked with all my players last night and got them all to turn off QoS and it DID make the response ALOT better. This week coming up, we are upgrading to the latest version of FG2 again and seeing if it was the magic fix we've been looking for for these last four months.

I will keep you all updated!
Doc

[docplutonium]

OK,

Just got off my weekly session with FG. FG Fully Updated and QoS turned off, and we all agree that it was a marked improvement over any other time then when all this started.

Maps shared smoothly and there was minimal lag, everyone was very happy.

Except....

(isn't there always an "except")

My players got Disconnected ALOT. Our lone Vista user (everyone else is on xp) dropped 4 times, and at one time EVERYONE dropped except for one person. It got pretty brutal near the end...

So, we all can share maps now and are very happy. But does anyone have any advice on the player dropping issue ?

It's pretty annoying
Doc

[Griogre]

See if it continues to be a problem. Sorry there isn't really a magic bullet on that. Are you using transparent tokens? Sometimes placing a token with transparency will cause someone to crash out, though not usually more than one. It's a pretty consistance crash that is reproduceable when it happens. The fix is just to load the token in an art program and re-save it out.

[docplutonium]

OK, Last night met with my group using FG v2.2 and QoS Off...

Ran like a charm, maps fast, no lag and no drops at all. Not a one. 6 players logged in

It was the best FG Session we've had in 6 months.

Will keep you posted a couple more times before I decide if the issue is fixed or not (and we just got lucky last night)

Thanks All
Doc

[Oberoten]

Glad to hear it.
Hope it keeps up for you.

- Obe

[docplutonium]

Well last night we all met again, and large maps all loaded without too much of an issue. The only time we crashed was when I shared an image from a module that they all had. (it was a map of past adventures) and BOOM! everyone crash out except for 1 guy and myself. It was brutal.

But everyone hopped back on and everything was good again.

I would say after the performance over the last few weeks, our connection and sharing issues are behind us and we can close this.

EXCEPT!!!!!

If I get the same bad performance again, I reserve the right to re-open this thread.

Thanks everyone
Doc

[docplutonium]

Well, now it is time to inform the devs that there are still issues with the latest 2.2 FG. Seriously, my guys are crashing out of FG 2, 3, 4 ... 5 times over a three hour period. And it's not just one person, or the same person, it's totally random and group drops are now VERY common.

My guys are upset and totally had it with FG and demanding we move to something else. It just always seems to be something going on with it, there always seems to be an issue.

We will finish our adventure (probably over at the end of October) but if there is no patch for the disconnect issues, then we are going to be forced to move to something else. What else ? We dunno. But I think it very telling that they would rather not play than plan with FG any more.

Devs', you have a problem with your software. Picture sharing is still sporadic (but not as bad as it used to be) but if we can't get these totally random disconnects under control then that's 7 people who will be leaving (yea, I know not alot by any stretch of the imagination) but 7 none the less who, when they brag about playing D&D across the net will always begin their story with "We used to play with FG, but..."

Throw us a bone. FG2 is unstable and making D&D nights a non issue.

Please look as this as soon as possible,

Thanks.
Doc

[Griogre]

Out of curiosity did you just distrubte a new ruleset, one of the JPG ones? If so then you might see if distribing the cache file for you campaign - after you connect to yourself with a second instance - makes the problems go away.

[docplutonium]

We are using jpg's 1.2 mod. But it's not new, we've been using the same one for months now. They do not update when they connect because they already have the same version. The the program checks for updates, but nothing gets passed.

Thanks
Doc

[joshuha]

The only thing I can suggest is ask the devs to provide you a special debug version or something if they have that available. I have 2 separate groups, one with 6 players and the other with 5 and since FG 2 we haven't had any drops in forever (and one of those campaigns is going on over a year).

Putting on my IT hat I would be running things like perfmon, filemon, etc. during the drops to ferret out whats going on but as a customer you shouldn't have to do that. Does anyone else in your group have a full license that could test hosting for a week to see if you can reproduce?

[Goblin-King]

docplutonium, I'm sorry to hear you're still having problems. I'd like you to confirm that you are indeed getting disconnects and not crashes. When the clients disconnect, do they get the disconnect message, or do they get a program failure message?

FG is not very sensitive to network lag or bandwidth. What I mean by this is that it is a lot closer to an instant messaging application than a first person shooter in its requirements. The network layer in the engine has been designed with this in mind, and there really is not much there that might fail in a way that would cause a disconnect from the application side. I've been trying to find possible issues, after we spoke at Gen Con and again yesterday. We're using TCP, which means that practically all disconnects only happen if the program crashes or the operating system does something to terminate the connection (which is beyond application control). For this same reason, it is very hard to do any error detection from the application.

It is highly likely that your problems lie somewhere beyond which FG has any control over. It could be a driver issue, caused by a large amount of burst data being sent down the line, but I get the impression that you've had a look at this already. It could be something at your ISP, related to how they allocate bandwidth at certain ports or connections. I've heard of ISPs who periodically disconnect all incoming (i.e. server) connections to get rid of people running file distribution services on their home computers.

I can think of two things to try. First, try acting as a client at a game someone else is hosting, or try to host your game from a completely different location and network connection, if possible. Second, try running something else that you host on your computer, with others connecting over a TCP/IP connection, and see if you can do that for a while without problems. Voice chats typically use UDP, and aren't good examples of this. One example would be you setting up an FTP server, and one of your friends trying to download a large file to see if they can do that without being disconnected.

[docplutonium]

docplutonium, I'm sorry to hear you're still having problems. I'd like you to confirm that you are indeed getting disconnects and not crashes. When the clients disconnect, do they get the disconnect message, or do they get a program failure message?

FG is not very sensitive to network lag or bandwidth. What I mean by this is that it is a lot closer to an instant messaging application than a first person shooter in its requirements. The network layer in the engine has been designed with this in mind, and there really is not much there that might fail in a way that would cause a disconnect from the application side. I've been trying to find possible issues, after we spoke at Gen Con and again yesterday. We're using TCP, which means that practically all disconnects only happen if the program crashes or the operating system does something to terminate the connection (which is beyond application control). For this same reason, it is very hard to do any error detection from the application.

It is highly likely that your problems lie somewhere beyond which FG has any control over. It could be a driver issue, caused by a large amount of burst data being sent down the line, but I get the impression that you've had a look at this already. It could be something at your ISP, related to how they allocate bandwidth at certain ports or connections. I've heard of ISPs who periodically disconnect all incoming (i.e. server) connections to get rid of people running file distribution services on their home computers.

I can think of two things to try. First, try acting as a client at a game someone else is hosting, or try to host your game from a completely different location and network connection, if possible. Second, try running something else that you host on your computer, with others connecting over a TCP/IP connection, and see if you can do that for a while without problems. Voice chats typically use UDP, and aren't good examples of this. One example would be you setting up an FTP server, and one of your friends trying to download a large file to see if they can do that without being disconnected.

Hey! Thanks for the advice and taking time out of what I know must be a very busy day to reply.

We are planning a special 1 off FG after the current adventure is over that another person is going to host in another city. We will see what comes of that and I will post the results when it happens.

And I did enjoy talking to you at the GenCon, but I do not believe I spoke to you yesterday...unless I did it in my sleep or something, you must have me confused with someone else on that one.

Thinking Back to what my players were telling me, I do not believe it was FG crashing... (that is to say you get the program quitting and a message from the OS that the application has crashed) but more of a "oops! you're out...no explanation given or offered...YOU'RE OUTTA HERE!"

So, looking at it, I think it MUST be network, but the problem is, it's so hard to tell since the program gives zero indication about just what is going on. We played last night....

No disconnects. Not a one. We got quite a bit of lag near the end, but overall it was a good session. So while this would tend to point to network rather then application, it's just to frustrating to try chase down...

I think a couple of things might help if you guys ever get around to it, maybe put it on your "todo" list...

1) BG offers the ability to hosts maps from a web site. This would be awesome since it take no bandwidth from me and I have a web site to host large files. It would be super sweet to share images and maps by providing a URL to my site and then have the clients automatically load it from there instead of me. And it would SURE clear up alot of bandwidth...

2) Maybe when an image or Map is shared (or pre-loaded) we can get a little progress bar (with download speed if possible) just so we can tell the players... "Hang tight, you are at 80% maybe another minute" instead of have them all stare at a "loading" screen

3) If the MMO's are using UDP instead of TCP\IP, can FG go that way ? I know one is less secure than the other, but what kind of data are we actually talking about here ?? My Axe swings for 1d8+3 damage ?

4) Maybe a meter the host can check of how much available bandwidth is available to the host for sharing data with the clients

5) Maybe a connection strength meter for the clients to let them know when they are in danger of disconnecting.

Basically, I am asking for more information from FG to help the DM's and players determine if they are having connection issues, just where they might be coming from.

I don't know, I am just throwing this out there. I love your product. It's just the best. Just frustrating at times.

Thanks for all the concern and the reply. You keep up the good work
Doc

[Griogre]

On 3) you really don't want to use UDP. UDP doesn't guarantee a packet is received it just spams out a stream of data without seeing if it ever arrives. This makes a lot of sense for a lot of online games because losing a few packets in a stream really doesn't matter that much. Especially since usually the server sending out the data is where the game is really being run.

But if your server is listening for an instruction to roll a dice for the client and display the result then loosing the request from the client to server because the Internet is flaky is pretty bad.

[Tarostar]

It could be something at your ISP, related to how they allocate bandwidth at certain ports or connections. I've heard of ISPs who periodically disconnect all incoming (i.e. server) connections to get rid of people running file distribution services on their home computers.

A suggestion to help with disconnect problems in the clients. If a client disconnects then why not just throw up a dialog that tells the user and then continously tries to reconnect until the user cancels (alternatively have a retry or cancel button, where the retry button can be tried repeatedly until the user gives up and cancels).

Also a progress bar like docplutonium suggests seems a very good idea and an indicator on to the host when each player sees an image. This could be done in the chat, so that a message pops up for the GM only each time a user has received the whole image, like "Bob has finished download of Temple.jpg". (alternatively the names of players still downloading an image could be shown either on the image as a text overlay or in a separate "download status window").

FGII is a great product and I love it. Haven't had any disconnects so far, but it can be a bit annoying at times trying to guess when everyone has received a map or picture. If there already is a way to know then I'd love to know about it. :)

[Tarostar]

A suggestion to help with disconnect problems in the clients. If a client disconnects then why not just throw up a dialog that tells the user and then continously tries to reconnect until the user cancels (alternatively have a retry or cancel button, where the retry button can be tried repeatedly until the user gives up and cancels).

PS! The host would have to keep the player as if still in the game, but just show him as offline (maybe it already does this?). Ideally with an option for the GM to "kick" that player.

[zabulus]

... and an indicator on to the host when each player sees an image.

Isn't this already done by showing the player icons in the lower left corner of an image when you share it? I have to admit I don't know whether this indicates that you have shared it to those players or whether they have actually received it, but maybe it could be changed to indicate the latter if it is not already so

[Tarostar]

Isn't this already done by showing the player icons in the lower left corner of an image when you share it? I have to admit I don't know whether this indicates that you have shared it to those players or whether they have actually received it, but maybe it could be changed to indicate the latter if it is not already so

I'm not sure, but in either case it would be useful to know which players have and haven't received it. Ideally with a progress bar at both ends.

[Foen]

I think the icon appears when the transfer is complete, so it should do what Tarostar wants.

Foen

[docplutonium]

I don't' think so...

I believe the icon appears when the transfer starts.

Many's a time when I shared a document, had the player icons show up at the bottom and then nobody could see anything for 5 minutes or so.

No, the TRUE indication that the graphic has been pre-loaded is the spiderweb icon on the top right corner. If that's there, then the image has been pre-loaded. if it is not, then you image has not yet finished loading to everyone yet.

And the problem with the spiderweb is that it only works on the first pre-load command, after that it stays there, so if you get a player dc'ing and then jumping back on, and you pre-load everything, the spiderweb icon is already there from the previous pre-load and will stay there.

See ? Always an issue.

My players and I have been playing d20pro for the last few weeks because of all the issues we have been having with FG. It's a great system, and in someways better than FG. But, also, in alot of ways inferior to FG also. Alas, these things are always give and take. Don't get me wrong... d20pro is a great program...but it ain't no FG.

We will be trying FG again this Tuesday to see if anything has improved. Despite all things, given the choice, my players would ALWAYS prefer to play on a properly working FG system. So that's a feather in your cap gentlemen, but our players also want FG to work. Which it hasn't for a good long while also.

So we will try again this Tuesday. Last time we played FG was on the 2.3 fiasco. Hopefully 2.3.3 will be a silver bullet to our problems.

Let's keep our fingers crossed.

Will keep you updated
Doc

[Foen]

My mistake Doc ... I assumed the icon appeared when the download stopped (because there were always one or two folks who were lagging the others when it came to their icons).

Happy to stand corrected.

Foen

[Chidgey]

The last patch made it so that items with a holder tag are downloaded to a player when they connect. Unfortunately for large campaigns this means the players has to wait for numerous maps and other images to download that may have been shared at some point in the past.

This needs to be changed so images aren't automatically downloaded if they have previously been shared.

[Oberoten]

Actually, this is preferable. If the GM no longer wishes to share things, just delete/move them from the campaign folder.

[Bidmaron]

Why is it preferable? Why can't the system check to see if the item has been updated and use the cache if it hasn't? That is:
For all shared items:
1) If it has been updated since the player's local cached version, transfer it.
2) If not, utilize the player's local cached version.

[Foen]

I think that is exactly what happens. However, the previous version didn't do that, so existing campaigns have a sudden rush when first used with the new version, I think.

Foen

[Griogre]

Foen I don't think so. I think Chidgey is correct. It seems to me the holder items are being re-downloaded *every* session. I am in a long running Shackled City campaign where the DM likes using large high colored maps. We had a lot of lag during the first session after updating to 2.3.3. From what I had read I assumed this would be a one time thing. However, on Sunday for the second time since the update to 2.3.3 the server was laggy at the start of the game with the same problems as the first week - PC character and monster tokens did not appearing on the maps for various players, chat and dice rolling lag, ect for about 15 minutes after the initial log into the server.

It seemed very clear there was some sort of massive data transfer going on in the second session after the update and as it finished the players could see the PC tokens and monster tokens again. The DM often puts the server up early in that game and the first player to log into the server could see the various tokens on the map and had no real lag problems. I was the second person to log in and I saw the tokens and pointers on the map before the third and fourth people to log in. After I initially logged in early the server was so lagged I could not even scroll the inventory on my character sheet.

The campaign cache on this campaign is hundreds of megs - I think it is clear that something is bogging down the server horribly at the start of each session so far and right now my guess it is a massive transfer of data we probably already have cached.

[Foen]

Ahh, that sounds like bad karma ;)

I think we need some dev input on this thread.

Foen

[Jarethspellfire]

Foen I don't think so. I think Chidgey is correct. It seems to me the holder items are being re-downloaded *every* session. I am in a long running Shackled City campaign where the DM likes using large high colored maps. We had a lot of lag during the first session after updating to 2.3.3. From what I had read I assumed this would be a one time thing. However, on Sunday for the second time since the update to 2.3.3 the server was laggy at the start of the game with the same problems as the first week - PC character and monster tokens did not appearing on the maps for various players, chat and dice rolling lag, ect for about 15 minutes after the initial log into the server.

It seemed very clear there was some sort of massive data transfer going on in the second session after the update and as it finished the players could see the PC tokens and monster tokens again. The DM often puts the server up early in that game and the first player to log into the server could see the various tokens on the map and had no real lag problems. I was the second person to log in and I saw the tokens and pointers on the map before the third and fourth people to log in. After I initially logged in early the server was so lagged I could not even scroll the inventory on my character sheet.

The campaign cache on this campaign is hundreds of megs - I think it is clear that something is bogging down the server horribly at the start of each session so far and right now my guess it is a massive transfer of data we probably already have cached.


We are having precisely thesame problems every single session.

[Moon Wizard]

J,

Some information on your particular campaign would be useful to see what is happening. This is information I need from the machine which is hosting.

* Which ruleset are you using?
* How many / how big are the files in the campaigns/<campaign>/images folder?
* How many / how big are the file in the tokens/shared folder?

Another thing that you can try is the /flushdb command on the hosting machine, which will remove all shared info which should reduce the download time, and you can reshare what you really want to be shared for the current session. People that have noticed initial session lag in long standing campaigns have used this successfully.

Regards,
JPG