Returning player - Old characters unplayable

[Sarduscious]

<p>Hello!</p><p>Before I explain my issue first I'll just note that I've gone through the forums and knowledge base, but haven't found an answer for the specific problem I've been having. I did attempt to email customer service, but my browser (FF) is convinced that the link from the support site has an invalid certificate for some reason.</p><p>Ok, on to the details!</p><p>- I am a returning player, and reinstalled EQ2 on a newer system from the Shadow Oddyssey retail discs.</p><p>- My operating system is Vista 64. I'll go ahead and note here that I've gone though all of the suggested steps re: UAC / setting permissions / compatibility mode etc. I can launch the patcher and download updates with zero issues (thanks for the tips on that end everyone)</p><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>The Issue</strong></span>:</p><p>When logging in with any of my older characters, they will only remain in the world for long enough for my Ping to reach 3,000 and then they crash back to character select. Some of these are fairly old characters (3+ years) and some a bit newer (created last summer).</p><p>From what I can tell, the character simply isn't loading properly, as attempting to interact with the game world or character specific UI elements will speed up the crash. Also, NPCs will either not fully load, or will be stationary and can not be interacted with.</p><p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Steps Taken to Resolve (unsuccessfully)</span></strong>:</p><p>- I've tested my router and contacted my ISP. This is <strong>not</strong> a connection issue on my end. I can explain that a bit further via PM if more detail is needed. <img src="/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>- I AM able to create a new character and play them normally. This includes full access to all game mechanics, no issues with zoning etc.</p><p>- I've created 5 new characters, in different starting areas, and one of them on a separate server even. With each of them I am able to play normally.</p><p>- If I log one of the new characters out, and then back in on an OLD character, the old character will Ping out to character select within 20 to 30 seconds.</p><p>- If I log in with the OLD character first, and immediately try to log in a NEW character after the Ping crash, the NEW character will display the same crash issue until I exit the game completely for a longer period.</p><p>_____________________</p><p>From what I can tell, this is something linked directly to data for my old characters. I don't believe this is OS related, or else I would be unable to create and play new characters with no issues. The same applies to connection issues as, again, were that the case then new characters would exhibit the exact same Ping crashing.</p><p>Otherwise, I'm at a loss! ANY help with this issue would be greatly appreciated, as I'd hate to lose all of the characters that I've had in the game for years (and have the lion's share of my /claimed 1 time only rewards!) etc.</p><p>Thanks!</p>

[Lothlo]

<p>I had some issues with my characters being bounced out of the game. Are their any error messages when this happens?</p><p>Are you using any old files from your previous installations? Character files or anything like that, specifically the INI files? They maybe corrupted.</p><p>It's a shot in the dark, but try deleting these files from your EQ2 Folder</p><p>Cache Folder</p><p>eq2_recent.ini</p><p>eq2_default.ini</p><p>Everquest2.exe</p><p>eq2.ini</p><p>There was a post somewhere from one of the tech guys outlining these files to delete, but for the life of me, I can't find it again. Just remember that after you delete and the patcher downloads new ones, to change the file properties for Vista compatibility.</p>

[Sarduscious]

<p>Thanks for the response.</p><p>Oddly enough, I don't recieve any kind of error message at all. What struck me to hit f11 and check my ping etc. was that some of the times my character's health/mana bar + hotbars will be greyed out for about 20ish seconds before I'd finally have my character "enter" their current zone (complete with on-screen zone name announcement etc). This doesn't happen every time, but the escalating ping does happen 98% of the time. The other 2%, my character will crash if I attempt to zone at all.</p><p>This is a fresh install of the game on a newish system. I'd played on an older system previously - I own physical copies of the core game + all expansions, but on this new system I simply installed everything via the Shadow Odyssey discs.</p><p>I did one reinstall to see if that would fix the problem, but the crashing has persisted on the old characters. I'd note here that I didn't go in and manually delete any files left over from the uninstall before reinstalling, so it's possible that certain files (like the character files) remained.</p><p>I'll go ahead and try deleting the files you suggested - corrupt files could very well be the root of the problem. I'll pop back in here a bit later in the day and let you know how it goes!</p><p>Thanks again!</p>

[Vonotar]

<p>If you know anybody else who plays EQ2 in your area, you could try logging in on their computer/isp.  If you get the same issue again you can pretty much rule out all of your equipment and your isp.</p>

[TSR-DanielH]

<p>While this sounds like a connection issue, the files mentioned above are a possibility as well.  Generally when someone is experiencing a problem with specific characters, then it is one of 3 things:</p><p>1. A corrupt UI/settings file for that character</p><p>2. A blocked port on the router that is used for that character</p><p>3. An account bug of some sort</p><p>Number 1 is possible, but usually that will crash you to desktop and not character select.  It's worth trying though.  For number 2 I see you mentioned that it isn't the router and you have run tests.  What tests did you run?  Usually I would advise bypassing the router so that your computer is plugged directly into the modem.  It's the only way to know for sure.</p><p>If neither of those things work then we're left with number 3.  If you don't get any results from #1 or 2 then PM me with your station name so I can check a few things.  Character/account bugs like that are extremely rare, though.</p>

[Sarduscious]

<p>Here's an update now that I've had a chance to attempt logging in and playing:</p><p>First, I deleted the files suggested above:</p><p><span ><p>Cache Folder</p><p>eq2_recent.ini</p><p>eq2_default.ini</p><p>Everquest2.exe</p><p>eq2.ini</p><p>When running the patcher again, there was a short update, and I was able to log in to character select normally (which has never been a part of the issue described above)</p><p>First, I tried logging in on one of the affected characters and had the same issue with the Health Bar and Hotbar being grayed out, taking about 30 seconds to load which lead up to a crash back to character select. As before, when I attempted playing a newly (in the past week) character immediately after this, it had the same crash occur.</p><p>I failed to mention previously that the Loading... screen tends to hang at "Loading UI settings" for 20 to 30 seconds with the progress bar remaining empty. When I was able to log in on new characters, this did not occur.</p><p>1. At any rate, I likely ruled out #1. unless there are other files I should check for.</p><p>2. My apologies on incorrectly using the word "router" on #2, as I have been plugged directly into a modem the entire time. As far as testing it, I cycled the power, tried different ports, different cables and have had the issue persist. I did a basic ping test which checked out OK as well. My ISP reported no issues with my connection that they were able to detect.</p><p>3. I'll send a PM with some further details!</p><p>Thanks again for everyone's help!</p></span></p>

[TSR-DanielH]

<p>Sarduscious,</p><p>I sent you a PM with some additional information.  Assuming it's ok with you, I'd like to make sure it's not an account issue by testing it on our computers.</p><p>If it isn't an account issue then I would still lean towards a problem with the modem/router.  I notice you said that you have multiple ports on the modem, but does it allow multiple computers to connect at the same time?  If so, it has a built in router that could be causing the problem.  Applying a DMZ to your IP address could tell you whether or not it is a port issue, but port forwarding may be necessary.</p><p>The following site has great information about router configuration:<a href="http://www.portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/routerindex.htm" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.portforward.com/english/...routerindex.htm</a>Simply select the router you are using, then select the 'skip this advertisement' button in the upper right, and finally select Everquest 2 on the following page.  You will then be presented with a walkthrough on how to forward the correct ports.  Please respond if you need any further assistance.</p>