Error Messages

[Alyais]

Hey Ffolks!

I'm hoping some of you can help with this. I've basically documented this seemingly perfectly and received multiple screen shots/etc.

So over the past 20 sessions my players have had errors in fantasy grounds. We all have legitimate copies and a few of us have full licenses. I am DMing. I have the correct ports forwarded. I am running a webserver, ventrilo server, and fantasy grounds on the same internet connection (with the first two being on a separate machine). All of us but one are running windows XP and I am using the D20_JPG ruleset. The 3.5 modified one from moon wizard. (Excellent!)

I have copied all the player's portraits to my own portrait folder which made their logins go quicker but the problem persists.

I also have another issue which is minor but may or may not be related; when a player drops from the server and I share a map with him when he returns he can't see the revealed areas of the map unless I re-reveal it (ie; everyone else can see but him). I obviously know how to fix this but thought it may be related.

I also have screen shots for your viewing pleasure which are from several players and perspectives. You can see the error within the screen shots themselves. I will greatly appreciate any and ALL help given and will cooperate!!!

EDIT: Other issues which may be related!
1. One of my players is forced to redownload the ruleset every time.
2. Until I moved all their portraits to my machine they all logged in very slowly. Now it is lightening fast!
3. Sometimes PC's can't see my images (maps) OR NPC tokens I've made!

[Alyais]

A thread, which didn't seem to fix our issues, but does in fact hold a similar issue is located here (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9674).

[Griogre]

I can't see your images because they aren't approved. It's good to know about the portraits, though I do find it strange.

I didn't say so on that other thread, because I don't have any proof - but it is my belief the whole lag in the error code is a symptom of a massive data transfer problem on load with the d20_JPG ruleset for a long running campaign. I experienced this in a long running Shackled City campaign (almost 2 years). It was typical for it to take 15 to 20 minutes after connection before tokens would appear on the map and there was massive lag during this time.

I'm not sure you can blame the d20_JPG ruleset for this it just may be a legacy of running an ongoing through several versions of FG2.

Some possible solutions/work arounds you could try:

1) For your guy who has to download the ruleset every time. Make sure he doesn't have a PAK version of the ruleset that is a different version from the DM's version. IE make sure the player wasn't experimenting with Josh's post on how to make a PAK ruleset. If he does tell him to use the uninstaller for the PAK ruleset in Program Files. If that is the problem after that he uninstalls he will get one more transfer of the ruleset and be good. If for some reason he needs the PAK ruleset then he needs to uninstall his current one, and make a new version with the same ruleset version the DM is using and re-install.

2) Your massive transfer on load may be because a lot of old and large campaign objects list the players as holders. Particularly large maps. If you use a single campaign where you keep *everything* or even if you use adventure modules but have a few huge campaign maps in which the players are holders of these maps - the maps are transferred even though you don't open them. Thus if you have a game you ran up to 15th level in one campaign all the 1st-14th level maps you have used are being transferred when the players connect to the server every time. Ownership doesn't work that way anymore but several versions of FG2 ago they changed the way things work and that causes some weirdness in old campaigns.

One workaround that has had reported success with this problem is to free all the characters and have the players login with *different* login IDs from the past. These new ids aren't the holders of all that old data (its more than maps) so it isn't transferred. They will have to redo their hotkeys but if this saves you from the on connection data transfer - it will be worth it.

Let us know if either of these work.

[richvalle]

We have had the problem where someone gets disconnected and can't see the unmasked areas of the map when they get back in.

I've not messed around with this too much other then try to unmask the areas needed. Though since I use big maps this can be painful. It MIGHT be that closing the map and re-sharing it works.

Most times the map seems to come in on its own a long time after they have been in. Like 10-15 min after. Weird.

rv

[Alyais]

I can't see your images because they aren't approved. It's good to know about the portraits, though I do find it strange.

I didn't say so on that other thread, because I don't have any proof - but it is my belief the whole lag in the error code is a symptom of a massive data transfer problem on load with the d20_JPG ruleset for a long running campaign. I experienced this in a long running Shackled City campaign (almost 2 years). It was typical for it to take 15 to 20 minutes after connection before tokens would appear on the map and there was massive lag during this time.

I'm not sure you can blame the d20_JPG ruleset for this it just may be a legacy of running an ongoing through several versions of FG2.

Some possible solutions/work arounds you could try:

1) For your guy who has to download the ruleset every time. Make sure he doesn't have a PAK version of the ruleset that is a different version from the DM's version. IE make sure the player wasn't experimenting with Josh's post on how to make a PAK ruleset. If he does tell him to use the uninstaller for the PAK ruleset in Program Files. If that is the problem after that he uninstalls he will get one more transfer of the ruleset and be good. If for some reason he needs the PAK ruleset then he needs to uninstall his current one, and make a new version with the same ruleset version the DM is using and re-install.

2) Your massive transfer on load may be because a lot of old and large campaign objects list the players as holders. Particularly large maps. If you use a single campaign where you keep *everything* or even if you use adventure modules but have a few huge campaign maps in which the players are holders of these maps - the maps are transferred even though you don't open them. Thus if you have a game you ran up to 15th level in one campaign all the 1st-14th level maps you have used are being transferred when the players connect to the server every time. Ownership doesn't work that way anymore but several versions of FG2 ago they changed the way things work and that causes some weirdness in old campaigns.

One workaround that has had reported success with this problem is to free all the characters and have the players login with *different* login IDs from the past. These new ids aren't the holders of all that old data (its more than maps) so it isn't transferred. They will have to redo their hotkeys but if this saves you from the on connection data transfer - it will be worth it.

Let us know if either of these work.

1. Not sure how do you this myself player-side. Any recommended tutorials for this? Wasn't there an FG wiki once upon a time that you were hosting Griogre?

2. Hm, so should I get rid of some of my old stuff then? I can try to do that. I also have around 100+ tokens in my tokens folder as I made tokens from every picture of the monsters in the handbooks.

I will try this this coming monday session and report back. Thanks for your assistance thus far!


We have had the problem where someone gets disconnected and can't see the unmasked areas of the map when they get back in.

I've not messed around with this too much other then try to unmask the areas needed. Though since I use big maps this can be painful. It MIGHT be that closing the map and re-sharing it works.

Most times the map seems to come in on its own a long time after they have been in. Like 10-15 min after. Weird.

rv

This is exactly the case, Richvalle.

[Griogre]

1. Not sure how do you this myself player-side. Any recommended tutorials for this? Wasn't there an FG wiki once upon a time that you were hosting Griogre?
Obi hosts the wiki. On this one if the player was good enough to install the thing by hand he *should* be able to clear it out. If he used someone else's installer then he should use the uninstaller the installer created. Either way the odds are if you ask him about the PAK he should be able to solve it. I'm not being coy here - to clear out a PAK ruleset you need to muck around in FG's registry entries and that's not something someone should do unless they know what they are doing.


2. Hm, so should I get rid of some of my old stuff then? I can try to do that. I also have around 100+ tokens in my tokens folder as I made tokens from every picture of the monsters in the handbooks.
My advice would be to take the gradual approach on this one. I would have the players login with different ID's before I deleted anything. That's easy to try and you should know real quick if it helps.

If that doesn't work then I think I would start a new campaign, start FG so it creates the new folder in data apps, exit FG and then copy the old campaign files over the ones in the new campaign and then start the new campaign and delete all the old stuff you don't need. That way you still have all your old stuff if you ever need it.

[Griogre]

Also on 1) I got a bit distracted in my first post. There is another reason he might be having to download the ruleset all the time - though it is just a variant on what I wrote. If the player is in two different games that uses different versions of the d20_JPG but the ruleset name is the same for both DM's then when he connects to each DM's game the ruleset he has fails the CRC check and is re-downloaded from each DM. Thus, if his games alternate he will always have to download.