At a complete loss

[Elkay]

Spent the majority of the past 2 evenings trying to get a fresh server going. I haven't updated my server since 2018 and a lot of changes have happened since then, so easier to just start fresh. I was able to manually compile the latest source, get all the needed extra files downloaded, and get the latest database up and running, however no matter what I do I simply cannot get the server to show anything but "Down".

Weird thing is - I can click and get into the server. I can even create a character. I just can't zone them in. I was able to see tin World:

[WorldServer] [Info] Attempting autobootup of [gfaydark] ([54]:[0])
[WorldServer] [Info] No zoneserver available to boot up
[WorldServer] [Info] Client disconnected (not active in process)

However, 5 zone servers did launch:

[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading server configuration..
[ZoneServer] [Info] Connecting to MySQL...
[ZoneServer] [Info] [MySQL] Connection [default] database [peq] at [localhost]:[3306]
[ZoneServer] [Info] Starting File Log [logs/zone_1896.log]
[ZoneServer] [Info] CURRENT_VERSION: 2.0
[ZoneServer] [Info] Mapping Incoming Opcodes
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading Variables
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading zone names
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading items
[ZoneServer] [Info] [Shared Memory] Attempting to load file [shared/items]
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading npc faction lists
[ZoneServer] [Info] [Shared Memory] Attempting to load file [shared/faction]
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading loot tables
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading skill caps
[ZoneServer] [Info] [Shared Memory] Attempting to load file [shared/skill_caps]
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading spells
[ZoneServer] [Info] [Shared Memory] Attempting to load file [shared/spells]
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading base data
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading guilds
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading factions
[ZoneServer] [Info] [2105] Faction(s) loaded...
[ZoneServer] [Info] [610] Faction Base(s) loaded...
[ZoneServer] [Info] [8800] Faction Modifier(s) loaded
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading titles
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading tributes
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading corpse timers
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading profanity list
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading commands
[ZoneServer] [Info] 282 commands loaded
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loaded default rule set 'default'
[ZoneServer] [Info] Initialized dynamic dictionary entries
[ZoneServer] [Info] Current expansion is [-1] (All Expansions)
[ZoneServer] [Info] Enabled content flags []
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading Perl Event Export Settings...
[ZoneServer] [Info] Loading quests
[ZoneServer] [Info] Entering sleep mode

They never do anything.

So I bit the bullet and just started a fresh install using the Windows install script. The only thing I didn't do was install MariaDB and Strawberry Perl - I already have a full MySQL server I used with my prior EQEmu, also for EqEmu 2 and over a dozen other emulators and databases for other uses. I also have ActivePerl installed and has worked fine (installer worked etc.)

However - upon going through the whole installer, including the manual login server installer successfully, doing it this way I cannot get zone.exe to do anything at all. The zone count just goes up and down constantly. Manually running it has no console output and no errors. No logs are written. Just like with my manual process - I can get logged in (server shows "Down" still!) and get all the way through the character creation process.

I have tried EVERYTHNING I can think of, modding the hell out of the login and eqemu JSON config files, even trying just all localhost/127.0.0.1 config (this was a dedicated server) and yet still zone.exe will not behave and the server always shows "Down". I have tried the RoF2 client I was previously using, also a fresh one and still server always "Down".

Yes, I completely removed the peq database with each of these attempts.

I have disabled Windows Firewall on both machines and verified no pertinent ports are in use.

I'm at a complete loss. Help.