Connection Issues

[Dreams]

Can anyone point me to a troubleshooting guide for connection issues to Arelith (or similar?)

For about a week my connection to Arelith has been terrible. I timeout constantly, cannot stay connected, can only join after repeated attempts to connect to the server. Nothing has changed on my end, no new software, nothing else running, nothing new at all. It was fine last week, this week it isn't.

All other websites work, Netflix is fine, anything requiring any solid connection is ok, other NWN servers are fine. It's only Arelith. A VPN hasn't helped either, no matter the location.

What can I do? How can I find out what the problem is and fix it?

[Righ]

I've had similar issues. The game will frequently hang for several minutes at a time, sometimes disconnecting afterward. Also have had issues with area transitions very often.

I haven't found a troubleshooting guide, persay, but there are a handful of forums posts around the internet regarding similar issues. I've seen it suggested that messing with your video/graphic options can help, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. I would also be curious if someone has found a root cause, or if some of us just have bad luck when it comes to server connection.

[Dreams]

I have:

- reset my computer
- reset my router
- released configuration
- renewed configuration
- flushed DNS
- tried from another source of Internet (cafe 5km away, different ISP)
- tried from other countries (definitely different ISP)
- pinged from laptop (NWN machine, 303ms)
-tracert from same, normal results, hitting same 303ms.
- ping from other devices, roughly the same
- ping from other computers, roughly the same

Connecting to anything else at all on the internet is fine. Connecting to any other NWN server is fine.

It seems like this is something specific to Arelith. I've noticed that in the first hour after a server resets things are fine, then it all goes to shit. This has been the case for about two weeks now. It's driving me Snuggle a Bugbear insane. I can't think of anything else I can do to check if the problem is on my end.

What are the next steps? Which admin should I speak to?

[Dreams]

I’m still looking for help here. The game is mostly unplayable. Who should I speak to about this?

[Royal Blood]

Maybe it is a graphics issue? Especially if a VPN doesn't work.

If I play the game in windowed mode it's very choppy for me and will time out constantly. My computer is more than adequate so I guess it's just the way the systems work together idk. I don't have a solution for that I just avoid playing in windowed mode. But maybe it helps narrow your search. The time out is odd it'll be choppy then PC players get the NPC icon and you just sit there and everything is quiet haha

Can you try another computer with your same internet? That might be a step in identifying s solution

[Ork]

I’m still looking for help here. The game is mostly unplayable. Who should I speak to about this?

Symphony helped me with a crash issue with NWN. He might be able to help.

[Zahlfire]

I'm experiencing this as well. The last few days I've been back has been rough as I'll get lag spikes that last from anywhere between five seconds and until I disconnect and reconnect manually. Arelith is the only server that's causing this issue for me which has made troubleshooting it extremely difficult. Running a ping test resulted in 36%(18) of my 50 pings being dropped.

[Reallylongunneededplayername]

Us 2. GF drops out a lot, There seem to be "crash spots" for her, I myself seem to have at times a harder time getting into the servers of Arelith.

Also in game itself. Most of the time it is smooth, But suddenly it takes 3 seconds for my action or text to appear.

[Biolab00]

Hi

I've also encountered the same issue.
However, I've a program ( Avast, needs to subscribe for few dollars per year ) that provides VPN and I turn it on to United Kingdom VPN because I think the server is hosted there based on the timezone shown in the forum

And my lag is resolved. I'm not sure if this will work for others too
You can try if you've VPN, I think any program that provides VPN works too.

[xalaram]

Me and some others recently had the same issue, big packet loss, disconnects, lag, etc. The server is in the UK and they had a pretty big storm or two recently. These storms took out some of the telecom infrastructure leading to a lot of connection issues for people connecting in from outside the country over the public routes.

One solution is to use a VPN. Someone used NordVPN and it worked well, I used Dashlane and it worked fine. The issues should resolve themselves given time. I connected today without the VPN and had no problems so maybe it's fixed by now (18 days after this was posted).

[Dreams]

Definitely a connection issue, not a graphics issue. (Those ones are a whole new can of worms)

This is more about either connecting to the server to begin with, or maintaining a solid connection to the server. I can always locate the server, it is just that any connection will timeout.

I'll give a UK based VPN a try and see if anything improves!

[Reallylongunneededplayername]

Hi

I've also encountered the same issue.
However, I've a program ( Avast, needs to subscribe for few dollars per year ) that provides VPN and I turn it on to United Kingdom VPN because I think the server is hosted there based on the timezone shown in the forum

And my lag is resolved. I'm not sure if this will work for others too
You can try if you've VPN, I think any program that provides VPN works too.

How much they pay you >.>

[thimblegiant]

A couple of thoughts, didn't see these mentioned:

1. Try a basic ping and see what your latency is. I'm in the US and run consistently at about 115ms, and other than rubberbanding during high load, I've had zero issues since I've been here (a little over a year). The current IP address for Arelith is 145.239.204.29. All three servers share the same IP (except for Arelith PGCC which looks like it is hosted in Germany). If you are running windows, run ping with the -t option to keep it going until you cancel it.

Keep this as a reference, and when you begin to experience issues, run it again to compare.

2. If the ping is inconsistent or high, try running a trace route (tracert or traceroute, depending on your OS) and see if you notice any hops that are obviously slow.

Another thought is if you are running wirelessly, this alone could be causing grief. Probably not your issue, but it so happens my wireless router will drop on occasion (actually a known problem with the hardware, not inherent to the normal drops experienced while using wireless). Wireless routers also have been known to degrade over time, but this presents itself more as a function of connection distance, not in the form of drops (to my understanding). But - if it were wireless issues, you would likely experience this at other times, and there would be other obvious indicators.

[Dreams]

Thanks for the suggestions people. Unfortunately this is ongoing...

A couple of thoughts, didn't see these mentioned:

1. Try a basic ping and see what your latency is.
...
2. If the ping is inconsistent or high, try running a trace route (tracert or traceroute, depending on your OS) and see if you notice any hops that are obviously slow.

Another thought is if you are running wirelessly, this alone could be causing grief.

So far the ping has been consistently at 300ms, during times when it briefly works and also times where it does not. The trace route doesn't show anything that sticks out. For the wireless, I would notice issues with other sites, streaming, etc, if that was the issue. Everything else works fine. It is only Arelith that is a problem.

Arelith is pretty much unplayable for me now. Today I've spent almost 2 hours just trying to get to my character's quarter, which has been released/bought and everything within taken. Horay connection issues.

[thimblegiant]

Ok, even though 300 ms isn't awesome, it shouldn't be the source of your issues. (I had to laugh though - I reread your posts and noticed you already tried my suggestions about a month ago. ).

Anyway, awhile back I was looking at moving to a remote location that only had a satellite uplink, which meant 600ms to 1.5s latency. I run Linux, and in the kernel there is a built in tool where you can introduce latency into your network. I set it to 1 second and played around a bit. I found I could still play. It was annoying, with inventory taking a full second to refresh, casting spells was click...wait...cast, but walking around seemed to be fine. It still sounds like nothing compared to your issue, and I didn't experience drops.

Someone mentioned trying a different computer, and you noted you have tried pinging, but it isn't clear if you have tried playing on another box? Also - is it always an hour before you see issues, or do you have trouble immediately sometimes, or play longer at other times? Do you always play the same time of day? Do you notice your harddrive spinning (swapping) during this time?

I know this isn't very helpful, but I think you may be at the point where you'll need to try it on different hardware for an extended time so at least your computer can be ruled out, and then if it is at fault begin component isolation.

[Dreams]

Yeah, so this is the probably the end for me on Arelith then. I only have my laptop, can’t really try it on other machines. I think when I first experienced the issues it was happening after a while (or I might have been getting lucky), but now it is just all the time.

[Biolab00]

Hi

I've also encountered the same issue.
However, I've a program ( Avast, needs to subscribe for few dollars per year ) that provides VPN and I turn it on to United Kingdom VPN because I think the server is hosted there based on the timezone shown in the forum

And my lag is resolved. I'm not sure if this will work for others too
You can try if you've VPN, I think any program that provides VPN works too.

How much they pay you >.>

Hey fella, you are making me upset with this sentence.
I've already mentioned that you can try other program too if you want to.
I earned enough and do not need to do this bullshit thing if you do not appreciate it.

[Covex]

Arelith always had this even when i started few years ago
but game lag is not there just low fps it's STEAM NWN has it

Arelith servers is like Wild mages you never know what you will get
i play with 400+ ping 10% of the time since my internet is garbo

good luck

[Reallylongunneededplayername]

Hi

I've also encountered the same issue.
However, I've a program ( Avast, needs to subscribe for few dollars per year ) that provides VPN and I turn it on to United Kingdom VPN because I think the server is hosted there based on the timezone shown in the forum

And my lag is resolved. I'm not sure if this will work for others too
You can try if you've VPN, I think any program that provides VPN works too.

How much they pay you >.>

Hey fella, you are making me upset with this sentence.
I've already mentioned that you can try other program too if you want to.
I earned enough and do not need to do this bullshit thing if you do not appreciate it.

If that joke makes you upset . . . I don't know man, You okay?

[Biolab00]

A joke is meant to be funny.
From my response, do you think I'm laughing and it's funny?

Right, I shouldn't respond to this thread after this post to avoid making this thread becoming an ugly quarrelling post.

[TrickBlack]

I thought it was funny.

[Dreams]

Back on topic...

If anyone else has some suggestions? I've tried everything I can. I'm about to give up and just say goodbye to Arelith from here on.

[Reallylongunneededplayername]

So far my solutions; (might not be for you, Also depends on time zone and events)

-avoid CnP, From my experience it is the one that lags the most. They placed two major cities, UD and majority of the shadow plane
on it. Not sure if that is 'it' but it feels to me like it, So, I'll be curious about guldorand-city taking effect. (before one
mentions surface having lot of cities: At my play time it's often 1 at the tower, 3 at Bendir, 0 at Myon, 2 at guldorand and 0
at brog, You get the idea, Right?)

-play a rp character, my actions take a few seconds to become my characters actions, 'hunting' is kind of messed up most the time.
with some friends you can go for supportive role wich get's you out of the hot zones. So, I'm basicly walking with
folk or chatting it up.

-keep an eye out for events, If there are large player events or DM events that draw a lot of players, And you ain't intrested, Likely best
you avoid the server it is on.