Where is the stickie telling people how to get to the test server? [Archive]

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Cloudrat

09-16-2011, 06:27 PM

I am still seeing people say they can't get to the test server with their launchers... Where is a stickie with instruction on how to access the test server for the non geeek? We can't test and increase the test population without some way to get people able to get here and to test copy.<img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

Eveningsong

09-16-2011, 10:10 PM

Cloudrat

09-17-2011, 02:03 PM

<cite>Eveningsong wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Cloudrat wrote:</cite><blockquote>I am still seeing people say they can't get to the test server with their launchers... Where is a stickie with instruction on how to access the test server for the non geeek? We can't test and increase the test population without some way to get people able to get here and to test copy.<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></blockquote>Its here <a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=441186," target="_blank">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...opic_id=441186,</a> but its very much out of date and I don't actually think people notice the FAQ forum. A stickie here with a link to an updated version would be very helpful.</blockquote>The topic does not exist when I click on the link lol

BigDaddy28

09-17-2011, 02:19 PM

That is one of the main reasons I do not get on test...It will never load for me.

Eveningsong

09-17-2011, 06:33 PM

Bah, sorry the forum often adds a comma into their HTML code and it borks the link. Works now, but as its so out of date (unless you happen to have the original launcher) its not really all that useful unfortunately.

Uwkete-of-Crushbone

09-17-2011, 11:08 PM

Er? I haven't had any issues at all getting to the Test server (maybe I DO have the old launcher; not sure); it's easy enough to click the li'l button on the upper left that says Test Server on the launch window (after you've logged in, but before you hit that final PLAY button). And yeah, you do have to log in again, but you'd have to do so anyway if you were also on Splitpaw server, for example (I am, I am! A big shout-out "hullo" to my buds across the Pond!). Of course, I've been on Test successfully for so long, relatively, that I may not be remembering how tough it might've been originally...they do say that memory-- ... ::shrug::At any rate, usually the toughest thing about it that I do remember was having to sit through all the updates and whatnot that had come down the pike before I got to Test, but as I say, I may have an old launcher or am misremembering. At any rate, I'm hardly a geek myself, and it didn't take me that long to figure out. If I can, anyone can! <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" />In summary:1. Go to EQ2. Log in as usual.2. Get to the last screen before getting into game; after dealing with any updates, the big greyed-out button goes to red and says "PLAY" (if it says "UPDATING" in bright white letters on red, you're in trouble and will be booted out. At least with my launcher version).3. Once the button says PLAY, before you push it, look up above it, way near the top on the left hand side. There should be a small, rectangular button labeled Test Server. Click on that.4. You'll be redirected out, all the way back to a login screen. Log in again and sit through any updates; there might be quite a few.5. When the button goes to PLAY, you should be good to go! I love Test for more character slots; I am a create-oholic. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" />But again, I'm not sure if it's this simple any more. :-|Uwk

Marrie

09-18-2011, 01:06 AM

I recently had trouble getting back onto the Test Server and was getting advice on this forum that did not work for me since I no longer had the old launchers and I could not get the Station Access Launcher to work either. On the EQ2 Facebook fan page, another user suggested using the Streaming Client instead of the one you can download completely to your computer. Since I don't care for the lag I get with the Streaming client, I hadn't been using the streaming and had chosen the download to computer client instead.If you use the Streaming client, you can change your region from US English (or whatever you are using) to Test Server. It is the very last option in the list. Once you change your region to Test Server, the test server data will download and it is very easy to play on Test or Test Copy. I have a bit more lag and the annoying loading dragon walking endlessly, but at least I can play on Test again.This option was not available in the latest launcher that you completely download to your computer as Test Server was not listed as a region. However, the everquest2.com website under the Get the Game and download menu no longer allows you to choose the downloaded version and only gives you the streaming option. I was able to download it a week ago, but when I went to get the Streaming version yesterday, streaming was the only option available.Hope this helps others get onto Test.

d1anaw

09-18-2011, 12:55 PM

<cite>Uwkete-of-Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote>Er? I haven't had any issues at all getting to the Test server (maybe I DO have the old launcher; not sure); it's easy enough to click the li'l button on the upper left that says Test Server on the launch window (after you've logged in, but before you hit that final PLAY button). And yeah, you do have to log in again, but you'd have to do so anyway if you were also on Splitpaw server, for example (I am, I am! A big shout-out "hullo" to my buds across the Pond!). Of course, I've been on Test successfully for so long, relatively, that I may not be remembering how tough it might've been originally...they do say that memory-- ... ::shrug::At any rate, usually the toughest thing about it that I do remember was having to sit through all the updates and whatnot that had come down the pike before I got to Test, but as I say, I may have an old launcher or am misremembering. At any rate, I'm hardly a geek myself, and it didn't take me that long to figure out. If I can, anyone can! <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" />In summary:1. Go to EQ2. Log in as usual.2. Get to the last screen before getting into game; after dealing with any updates, the big greyed-out button goes to red and says "PLAY" (if it says "UPDATING" in bright white letters on red, you're in trouble and will be booted out. At least with my launcher version).3. Once the button says PLAY, before you push it, look up above it, way near the top on the left hand side. There should be a small, rectangular button labeled Test Server. Click on that.4. You'll be redirected out, all the way back to a login screen. Log in again and sit through any updates; there might be quite a few.5. When the button goes to PLAY, you should be good to go! I love Test for more character slots; I am a create-oholic. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" />But again, I'm not sure if it's this simple any more. :-|Uwk</blockquote>This is what I have been using all along.

Cloudrat

09-18-2011, 05:25 PM

<cite>d1anaw wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Uwkete-of-Crushbone wrote:</cite><blockquote>Er? I haven't had any issues at all getting to the Test server (maybe I DO have the old launcher; not sure); it's easy enough to click the li'l button on the upper left that says Test Server on the launch window (after you've logged in, but before you hit that final PLAY button). And yeah, you do have to log in again, but you'd have to do so anyway if you were also on Splitpaw server, for example (I am, I am! A big shout-out "hullo" to my buds across the Pond!). Of course, I've been on Test successfully for so long, relatively, that I may not be remembering how tough it might've been originally...they do say that memory-- ... ::shrug::At any rate, usually the toughest thing about it that I do remember was having to sit through all the updates and whatnot that had come down the pike before I got to Test, but as I say, I may have an old launcher or am misremembering. At any rate, I'm hardly a geek myself, and it didn't take me that long to figure out. If I can, anyone can! <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" />In summary:1. Go to EQ2. Log in as usual.2. Get to the last screen before getting into game; after dealing with any updates, the big greyed-out button goes to red and says "PLAY" (if it says "UPDATING" in bright white letters on red, you're in trouble and will be booted out. At least with my launcher version).3. Once the button says PLAY, before you push it, look up above it, way near the top on the left hand side. There should be a small, rectangular button labeled Test Server. Click on that.4. You'll be redirected out, all the way back to a login screen. Log in again and sit through any updates; there might be quite a few.5. When the button goes to PLAY, you should be good to go! I love Test for more character slots; I am a create-oholic. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/8a80c6485cd926be453217d59a84a888.gif" border="0" />But again, I'm not sure if it's this simple any more. :-|Uwk</blockquote>This is what I have been using all along.</blockquote>Not on the new launchers<img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

PhabiusBile

09-21-2011, 03:36 AM

On a side note I enjoy trying out the test server and giving feedback on the new quests and changes that get implemented but.......... I use "test copy" and the population is barren forget trying out group instances....and don't event hink about the raid content.And I really do not have time to devote to lvling up a character from lvl 1 to 90 on test server where the population actually is.Is there any way to copy a character over to the normal test server?

Gladiolus

09-21-2011, 08:06 PM

<cite>PhabiusBile wrote:</cite><blockquote>Is there any way to copy a character over to the normal test server?</blockquote>You can copy a character to TestCopy but not to Test.

TSR-JoshuaM

09-22-2011, 05:22 PM

<cite>Cloudrat wrote:</cite><blockquote>I am still seeing people say they can't get to the test server with their launchers... Where is a stickie with instruction on how to access the test server for the non geeek? We can't test and increase the test population without some way to get people able to get here and to test copy.<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></blockquote>Only our Streaming LaunchPad currently has a supported means of accessing the Test Server.The full download version shares the file structure of Station launcher and previous methods, but does not include a means of installing the test server at this time.To access Test from our Streaming LaunchPad, you log in and click Options. Change the Region to Test Server which should be last on the drop down.There are no current instructions on how to do so as it no longer takes additional steps, just a simple region change from the LP options.I've included a link for our latest LaunchPad right here. I'll also have a sticky up on the support forums shortly.<a href="http://launch.soe.com/eq2" target="_blank">[EQII] LaunchPad</a>

Soresha

09-25-2011, 03:41 PM

So I was looking at this thread for the Nth time, and felt inspired to try to tackle this. Goodness knows we need more testers, it's ridiculous that those who want to come to our server, can't. I ran through this to test the procedure, so it has "works for me" status. But if someone who's been trying to get onto Test could try this out I'd be grateful for the feedback. And if anyone wants to contribute to improving the instructions, or correct me on anything, feel free to chip in! Obviously it's unofficial and unsupported. But all I'm really doing is re-distributing an old version of the launcher until SOE gives us a non-streaming one that supports the Test server. If this method works out for people, I'll stick up a page on my website for it and us Test folk can all put links in our sigs or something. This is for people who currently have a NON-streaming installation of EQ2 and want to get onto Test or TestCopy servers. 1) Make a new directory for your Test EQ2 installation. It can sit alongside your regular installation, e.g. C:Program FilesSonyTestEQ2 2) Go to your regular EQ2 installation. Copy everything inside to your new Test EQ2 installation directory. (Ok you can exclude the logs, cache and screenshots directories, maybe some other stuff but it won't hurt to take more than you need. You're basically saving yourself the hassle of downloading the whole game again.) 3) Download this file: <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.soresha.net/external/misc/LaunchPad.exe" target="_blank">http://www.soresha.net/external/misc/LaunchPad.exe</a>It's a copy of an old version of the Station Launcher, the one I'm currently using. One that lets you "switch versions" and have a Test installation. 4) Make a new directory for the Station Launcher, e.g. C:Program FilesSonyOldStationLauncher and put this LaunchPad.exe inside. 5) Double-click the LaunchPad.exe to run it. It will download the rest of the files into this directory and set itself up (takes a few minutes). 6) When it's finished, it'll run as normal. Use your existing account and log in. 7) Go to Options => Preferences. In the left column select "EverQuest II Test Server" (ignore the language variants below). Click on the "Change Install Location" button and point it at the directory you made for your new Test EQ2 installation. Click ok. 8.) Now you can click on the big EverQuest II button. After the options, once it starts scanning, immediately click on the "switch versions" text. Go through the options again and then it will patch up your Test EQ2 installation with all the new stuff on Test that isn't on Live yet. It will do a full scan and will take awhile. 9) Click on "launch game". Welcome to Test server. <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" />10) It should make entries under the Windows start menu for the Station Launcher, but if you need to just make yourself a shortcut to the LaunchPad.exe file. That's what you run to start the launcher next time.11) You can also point the launcher to your Live installation as well, and then use it for both. You can keep using the "switch versions" option to hop back and forth between them. Like before, go to Options => Preferences. In the left column select "EverQuest II". Or this time if you play on a non-US Live server you need to pick your language variant instead. Click on the "Change Install Location" button and point it at the original directory for your Live EQ2 installation.NB: There are probably a dozen other ways to do this as well. E.g. if you use a newer version of the Station Launcher, simply copying this LaunchPad.exe over the top might work out nicely for you. Any ideas, suggestions or findings, please post 'em up!(Edited for typos.)