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Cannot 'Return to AoC'!
mukin
Member UncommonPosts: 80
Sooo...I got the Funcom email that said my AoC account had been reactivated through the end of May. I figured I'd take a break from the regular stuff to see how AoC had matured, maybe even resubscribe. I was quite excited. So I downloaded, installed on a relatively new machine (never had AoC on it before, at least), and started patching.
After a few hours I logged in, created a brand new Necromancer and...poof, got about 3 steps forward and recieved a message that said 'Cannot connect to Character Server'. Waited a few minutes and tried an old character (from my early days), got the same message. Tried 3 days in a row, different times of day, same message.
I vaguely remembered this issue from years ago, especially right around the big launch. It was supposedly due to 'server demand'. At this point in AoC's life, I doubt that's the case.
I've tried repatching, verifying/patching, twiddling router ports for proper 'forwarding', and even a few prayers to the gods of Hyboria. No luck. I REALLY wanna try AoC out again and my time is running short.
I'm trying, I really am. To make matters worse, I do not have AoC forum access (trial account, remember). This is about the only place I can think of for advice. Any tips would be appreciated.
Comments
So, after literally DAYS of trying oh-so-stupid-this-shouldn't-be-necessary kinds of things, I swapped out my network card. The good news: The 'Lost Connection to Network Server' issue seems to have gone away. The bad news: I get wicked latency problems.
Every few minutes, my latency meter goes from 40ms to 4900ms, effectively freezing the game. Sometimes it comes back quick, sometimes it takes a game restart.
With the new Free-to-Play announcement, I'd REALLLLY like to get into the game. But this is kind of silly. I can play just about any online game with issues...except this one. Any Latency tips from the AoC veterans?
Sounds like an ISP prob or firewall issue.
Agreed.
I've ruled out the ISP. My proof: I installed on a second computer, this one a laptop sitting right next to the 'problem' computer that shares the same wireless router. It works just fine on computer #2. So it's got to be the computer itself. I have a few theories:
1. Windows XP (the 'problem' computer) vs Windows 7 (the working computer). This brings up DX9 vs DX10, for example.
2. The network cards. The 'problem' computer is a big ole PC sitting on the floor. The working computer is a laptop sitting on the desk. Maybe there's enuf signal difference between the two to make one work and the other not work.
3. The router: there are 50+ 'port forwarding' settings in my wireless router, many of which are bound to specific machine/IP addresses. And some of them I simply cannot figure out. Unfortunately, I can't just remove them all, as they might be important for other applications. So maybe my 'problem' computer is stuck with old/troublesome settings and that the working computer simply doesn't encounter.
At this point I am tempted to install Windows 7 on the 'problem' computer and see how THAT goes. Sadly, the end of the month is fast approaching and so too will my free trial time. I may just have to wait until F2P starts whenever that is...
Tried running your network as a DMZ?
Try turning off the firewall.
Try upgrading the network card drivers.
Try an online scan for viruses and run ad aware.
Check the logs to see if you get weird error messages.
And if you have a network cable instead or wireless, try another cable.
This should probably help, if not it is time to reinstall windows, or upgrade it to W7.
A good checklist. Thanks!