Topic: Dynaverse co-op mission problems

[SSCF_LeRoy]

I've tried reinstalling the game and then downloading and installing a new copy of the 2.5.5.2 patch. Didn't work I can play on GSA, but can't keep allied players in co-op D2 missions Here's the sequence of events: It begins with me drafting an allied player or an allied player drafting me. The counter counts down for a few seconds, then the mission loads. Everthing seems normal. I'm in mission and my ally's in mission. We both have enough time to go to red alert and say "Hi" to eachother via text before I get the "player left" message and my ally explodes. Same thing with the other guy. I haven't been able to play one single solitary co-op D2 mission on any server after SS2 for some reason  

[Pestalence]

Leroy.. here is a set of instructions.. you can try them all, or one at a time.. you may not like it, but it will cover just about everything with exception of a system reinstall...

First, go to Add/Remove Programs .. Delete SFC Op

Delete SFC OP game folder

Run Scan Disk

Run Defrag

Remove your ISP software using same method as removing OP

Scan disk and defrag again

reinstall your ISP software and get back online

Go to your ISP web site and check your DNS and Secondary DNS address (Dial up connection settings)

to check these find your Internet Explorer Icon, right click and select properties, click on the connections tab (if you don't see connections tab, then open Internet Explorer, go to your menu bar and click on Tools, then click on Internet Options,then click on Connections tab)

select your ISP in the white window then click on settings, then at the bottom near your name, click on Properties, then click on networking Tab, then click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the dropdown menu, then click properties.. you will see at the bottom of the box "Use the following DNS Server Addresses" .. depending on your ISP, it may or may not be checked, but most usually are and have DNS numbers listed...

double check your DNS and Secondary DNS addresses as compared to what your ISP states it sould be.. make sure that they match...

once they match, click OK, and OK all the way back to the Internet Explorer Connections tab box...

click settings again, and make sure "Automatically Detect Settings" is checked...

click OK all the way out,.. restart your system, then reconnect to the net.


If you have Ad-Aware 6, run it now, remove everything that it finds (make sure you use the update feature before running it, and all the settings are enabled for deep scanning and archive scanning is enabled)

If you have a Registry Cleaner, use it now to remove any invalid entries that may be in yor system registry.

Double check your system device drivers.. also check you mother board drivers (yes those get updates too.. if using Intel CPU, go to Intel.com.. AMD  do the smae.. AMD web site) and also check your modem driver and system Bios for Flash Bios Updates...

Once you have done all this, reinstall SFC OP, Patch with 2552, and try game online... GSA..

If you still get Firewall Error of being dropped in game, then contact your ISP and see which ports that they may be blocking.. post them back here and many will tell you if they are needed for GSA online play...

Hopefully this will get you back online and in games soon...

Again, it is a pain in the Arse, but it is the best way to make your system clean and up to date and to make sure your settings are correct..
 

[SSCF_LeRoy]

Quote:
select your ISP in the white window then click on settings, then at the bottom near your name, click on Properties, then click on networking Tab, then click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the dropdown menu, then click properties.. you will see at the bottom of the box "Use the following DNS Server Addresses" .. depending on your ISP, it may or may not be checked, but most usually are and have DNS numbers listed...

My ISP, CompuServe, requires me to run its own software (it's similar to AOL), thus nothing in the above quote is an option, but I will call them see what they are blocking.
 

[SSCF_LeRoy]

Here's the current situation:

I've done a complete reformat and reinstall of everything. I wiped the harddrive clean, repartitioned it, reformatted it, reinstalled my OS and all of the software that I use regularly, installed all WinXP updates, updated all of my drivers, and whent to PC Pitstop for a checkup.

According to PC Pitstop, my computer is in tip-top condition... except for one thing: my dowload speed is 24 kbps and my upload speed is 57 kbps Not only is my upload speed twice as fast as my download speed, but it also exceeds the maximum rated bandwidth for a dialup connection! Either PC Pitstop is wrong or there's somethin' really screwy with my dialup internet connection  

[SSCF_LeRoy]

False alarm on my upload speed; it's what it should be, but my download speed is stiil just 24 kbps.  

[SSCF_LeRoy]

I have now used several different means to test my internet connection, and they all say that my connection stinks Any ideas about why my download speed is so slow and if there's any way to speed it up?  

[Bonk]

If you are on dialup (you using an acoustic coupler? ) then make sure that there is no open capacitance on the phone lines in your house... i.e: clear the dust from the modem jack, unplug cheap phones, ensure jacks are good, don't use couplers extensions or splitters, follow the wiring right back to the box... if you still have bad download speeds (high error rates) then ask the phone company to check outside the house and at the pole...

What speed is your modem connecting at?

Of course the ideal soution is to get cable if it is available in your area... I can always tell when someone is on dialup as the mission starts... it slows everything down and adds lag to the battle... I always fear getting drafted or drafting dial-up users on a serious server... as the lag can produce dreadful results (cant really play when ships jump by range 10 at a time).. then there's the lost time of all the disconnected missions... I know that theoretically dial-up should work for SFC, but the fact is dial-up just doesn't cut it for most multiplayer gaming. (unless direct modem to modem )

Sorry to bring the bad news but perhaps examining the phone lines in your house carefully will help.

Edit: Whatever you do DO NOT install "download accelerators" they are bad news.... oh I see your ISP uses custom software... god knows what they have done to your OS with it. If your operating system needs third party software to connect to an ISP, then that ISP is simply unaceptable, you no longer know what your system is doing. If an ISP cannot allow you to connect from any OS as-is then move along. You should be able to connect to your ISP from unadulterated Windows, Linux, freeBSD, QNX, OS2, Xenix... the OS should not matter and no additional software should be necessary. Ask your ISP for a full file manifest (install record) of their software and exactly what it is doing and what third party libraries it is using... I'm quite sure they won't tell you... this classifies as malware in my opinion.

[SSCF_LeRoy]

Unfortunately, no broadband of any sort is available in this area. A change of dialup ISP's is also unlikely because this household's master AOL account hosts AOL internet accounts for other households. If we changed ISP's here then everybody else in the immediate family would be without an ISP. I'm beginning to think that I'll just have to get used to not playing on the D2 or GSA anymore  

EDIT: I still wanna know why my upload speed is so much faster than my download speed.

[Bonk]

Quote:
Unfortunately, no broadband of any sort is available in this area. A change of dialup ISP's is also unlikely because this household's master AOL account hosts AOL internet accounts for other households. If we changed ISP's here then everybody else in the immediate family would be without an ISP. I'm beginning to think that I'll just have to get used to not playing on the D2 or GSA anymore  

EDIT: I still wanna know why my upload speed is so much faster than my download speed.

No cable, bummer.

By the sounds of that, you are sharing one dial-up connection between many users? That would explain your download speed being lower. What sort of router is in use? Perhaps the download has been capped to its clients to facilitate sharing?

Oh, or you mean that your household is paying for the accounts of others... In which case just change, and change theirs too... Or are only paying for one account but allowing others to use it? Perhaps AOL has caught on to the regular dial-ins from different locations and capped your downloads to compensate?

Its still a good plan to check your wiring and remove cheap phones from the circuit.  

P.S. its not your download speed that really counts here but your latency (ping times).

[SSCF_LeRoy]

Quote:
Oh, or you mean that your household is paying for the accounts of others

That's exactly how it is arranged. No internet connection sharing involved. Right now we have a two-for-one deal on ISP's. For the cost of one subscription we get to have both AOL and CompuServe (Both work the same way. AOL just has alot more bells and whistles). We here sign onto the internet with CompuServe while everybody else uses AOL. One problem that we encountered is that more than one AOL account on the same bill can't run at the same time. In order to avoid conflicts, accounts are spread between CompuServe and AOL. Would this sort of conflict occur with other ISP's? (e.g. If we moved to another ISP and my grandmother tried to logon to the internet while I was online under the same subscription, would she be prevented from connecting like she would be under AOL?)    

[Bonk]

Most ISPs will only allow connection from one location at a a time per user as far as I know... (otherwise everyone in town could use my cable account and my ISP would make no money...)

Maybe if you switch to AOL and share the Compuserve account among your family members? Fluf seems to do alright on AOL...  

Why not test from one of your family members PC connected to AOL? if you still have trouble there then you might just be too remote to get good error rates and latency times... I can't stress checking your wiring quality enough....  

[mbday]

Quote:

Quote:
Oh, or you mean that your household is paying for the accounts of others

That's exactly how it is arranged. No internet connection sharing involved. Right now we have a two-for-one deal on ISP's. For the cost of one subscription we get to have both AOL and CompuServe (Both work the same way. AOL just has alot more bells and whistles). We here sign onto the internet with CompuServe while everybody else uses AOL. One problem that we encountered is that more than one AOL account on the same bill can't run at the same time. In order to avoid conflicts, accounts are spread between CompuServe and AOL. Would this sort of conflict occur with other ISP's? (e.g. If we moved to another ISP and my grandmother tried to logon to the internet while I was online under the same subscription, would she be prevented from connecting like she would be under AOL?)      

LeRoy,

  Call you phone company and tell them that you have noise and stacie on your line. ALso tell them that your phone some times drops calls. Have then check you line out to see were the problems is. This is the only way to have them fix the problem with out having to get a second line. Belive me when I say this becuase I have been working for phone companys for over 8 years now and this is the only way to get any thing done with them. Also if you still have problems after they said that they have fixed it call them again and again keep calling till they fix the problem. The Phone company thinking is from the start of you calling is that the problems is your and never there till you keep calling them. Also call AOL and have them take a look at thing one there end as well. THere is many thing they can tell as well.

[SSCF_LeRoy]

There may just be a chance that we can change dialup ISP's after all Does anybody have any suggestions for a dialup ISP? An overhaul of our phone lines may also be in order.

[RazalYllib]

Dont know if this might help. from the Readme


Windows XP or Win2K plus MSN Messenger: Open your programs folder, open
Administraive Tools, open Services. Look for the service Universal Plug and Play,
and double click on it. Then select "Disable".

also, ensure that ICS (internet connection sharing) is disabled as well.

Might also wander over to:

 www.blackviper.com
and follow his "xp supertweak" advice, It might help.
 

[SSCF_LeRoy]

Quote:
Dont know if this might help. from the Readme


Windows XP or Win2K plus MSN Messenger: Open your programs folder, open
Administraive Tools, open Services. Look for the service Universal Plug and Play,
and double click on it. Then select "Disable".

also, ensure that ICS (internet connection sharing) is disabled as well.

Might also wander over to:

 www.blackviper.com
and follow his "xp supertweak" advice, It might help.

Have already done all of that and have just download and installed an application called "SwiftNet 3000". I'm using it to tweak my internet connection and I think that it's actually working I've got my download up to 41kbps and my ping down to 221 ms    

[SSCF_LeRoy]

That 41kbps reading was a fluke Since then I haven't been able to get my throughput above 39kbps More often it's around 35 kbps Plus CompuServe has a really bad habit of kickin' me off the internet for no apparent reason more often than what is acceptable And CompuServe's tech support is a bunch o' crock Their call center is over in India so I hardly understand a thing that they say and their technical advice counts for nill I'd really like some opinions on some alternate dialup ISP's.  

[Pestalence]

www.surfbest.net .. best one I have ever used.. and only $12.50 a month.. 1/2 cost of AO Hell or Comp U Suck....

I've never been bumped from their service.. and I can remain connected for days (as long as I make sure i click the alwasy remain connected after i connect the first time after install... you only need to do this once) doing Dl's without being interrupted or dropped or bumped..



 

[SSCF_LeRoy]

Quote:
AO Hell or Comp U Suck....

 

Thanks. I'll look into it