Unable to Connect to Servers - Freezes & Drops to Login

[Fifflefluff]

I'm having serious problems connecting to EQEmu servers. I'm using a fresh, unpatched Titanium install. I've altered eqhost.txt so that the game connects to the EQEmu login server. I've been trying for many hours to connect to various servers, but it just isn't going right. For some reason I seem to be able to connect to the PEQ server with a higher success rate than the others, but for the most part the following problem is making everything pretty much unplayable for me.

I start EQ. I log in. Sometimes it tells me it can't connect to the login server. Sometimes I connect just fine, and I am presented with a list of servers as expected. Sometimes it gives me an error 1017, but still shows me a list of servers that I can supposedly connect to. Whenever I get a list of servers (with or without the 1017 error), I then select one. I click on "PLAY EVERQUEST", and then the screen freezes with the button depressed, although I can still move the cursor around. Sometimes the screen goes black, which is always followed by the usual loading screen, and if that happens then I always succeed in getting to character selection. More often than not, though, the screen just remains frozen at the server selection screen with the "PLAY EVERQUEST" button depressed, until after a minute or two it drops me back at the login screen without any error messages.

If I succeed in getting to character selection (which is a rare occurrence in and of itself), then I encounter further problems when attempting to enter the world. I can create characters just fine, but the moment I try to enter the world with any character, the screen freezes in exactly the same way that it does at the server login screen -- that is to say, it freezes with the button "ENTER WORLD" depressed. Sometimes it will eventually go to a black screen, which is always followed by the proper loading screen. It almost always succeeds in bringing me into the game world if it gets to this point, but it did lock up on one occasion during the loading screen. More often than not, though, when I try to enter the world from the character selection screen, the screen simply remains frozen with the "ENTER WORLD" button depressed, until after a minute or two it drops me back at the original login screen without any error messages.

Moreover, once I actually succeed in logging all the way in to a game world -- and I am able to do so, albeit rarely -- sometimes when I try to zone, the screen freezes as it says, for example, "Entering Nektulos Forest", and after a minute or two I eventually get dropped back to the login screen without any error messages.

This is making it exceedingly difficult to log in to the various servers, let alone play on them. Can anyone suggest to me what I might do to fix this problem? Is the problem even on my end? If you need any more information, I'll be happy to provide it. In anticipation of such requests, here's a splurge of additional info for you:

OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU T7300 @ 2.00 GHz
Memory: 2 GB of RAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT, 512 MB
Display mode: 1680 x 1050 (32 bit) (60 Hz)
Sound: SigmaTel Audio
DirectX version: 9.0c
Connection: Comcast cable via Linksys Wireless Range Expander (i.e., relay) connected wirelessly to Linksys Wireless Router connected physically to the modem provided by Comcast connected physically to the actual cable.

Upon running EQVerCheck, I receive the following output:

Originally Posted by EQVerCheck

*** Scan Summary ***
Legacy EQVerCheck Version Strings:
LEQ Version String: EQ61EA436B52DAE106831BDF131E2727A6B8291587
SEQ Version String: SEQB6367

*********************************
EverQuest Version: 9FBB
Generated by EQVerCheck v4.0.0
Connecting to EQEMulator.net, Please Wait..
Downloading version information...
Examining version data...
*********************************

StudyCard was able to identify your SEQ number as being compatible with the Titanium EQEmu Server Releases at the LoginServer eqemulator.net:5998. While a matching SEQ number and server version will usually work, be aware that if you have backpatched to this version, other files in your directory may be out of date which could interrupt normal gameplay.

Lastly, in order to try playing on nilbog's "Project 1999" server, I have followed his instructions here and here regarding the changing of various files in EQ's root directory; i.e., I have replaced spells_us.txt with a newer version, renamed spellsnew.edd and spellsnew.eff to spellsnew.original.edd and spellsnew.original.eff, respectively, and I have renamed the following files in the same manner: arena.eqg, arena_EnvironmentEmitters.txt, lavastorm.eqg, nektulos.eqg, and Nektulos_EnvironmentEmitters.txt. The problem I have described existed before making these changes, and it persists after changing them -- this is true for every server I have tried to connect to, not just the "Project 1999" server.

[computerweekend]

Wish I could help =/

Having the same exact problem on a laptop that I just installed a copy of titanium on yesterday. I've set up 3 computers with the emu with few to no problems, and never anything like this...

Have you set your processor affinity yet? I'm having speedy graphics issues that seem to be related to the strange disconnects, but haven't figured a way to set my affinity yet, as every time I do, I get an access denied message... so, try that if you haven't yet, it's all I've got!

[computerweekend]

Just a quick reply to let you know, if it helps at all -

I went and downloaded a program called Runfirst, and put it in my EverQuest folder. Sent a shortcut to the desktop, and then edited the properties of the shortcut. If you edit the shortcut path to be the following:

C:\Program Files\Sony\Everquest\runfirst.exe "eqgame.exe patchme"

And then run that shortcut, it will ensure that EQ only runs on one processor! Don't know if it will work for you the same way it did for me, but here's hoping... best of luck to you!

[Fifflefluff]

Since I got the same Access Denied error when I tried to change my affinity via the task manager, I tried using that "Run First" program you talked about. It didn't fix the problem, though. :(

[Fifflefluff]

Am I to assume, then, that everyone else is able to connect to servers and zone without any problems at all, consistently? Knowing that there are people out there for whom the system functions normally would also be valuable knowledge; then I would know that it's probably something on my end that's causing the problem. Anybody?

[Apotheos]

Originally Posted by Fifflefluff

Am I to assume, then, that everyone else is able to connect to servers and zone without any problems at all, consistently? Knowing that there are people out there for whom the system functions normally would also be valuable knowledge; then I would know that it's probably something on my end that's causing the problem. Anybody?

The system is functioning completely ABnormally for me. I think my problem is similar to yours, though a bit more severe. I get to the server select screen with no slip-ups, but as soon as I click PLAY NOW -- seemingly regardless of server -- the EQ window goes permanently black (i.e., freezes), and I eventually have to cntrl+alt+delete it away. Absolutely no idea why this is happening, and would appreciate immensely any suggestions.

[Fifflefluff]

Another interesting anomaly that I've noticed while experiencing this problem:

I run EQ in windowed mode. When I hit "PLAY EVERQUEST" and it freezes, I've noticed that my laptop's monitor gets a little bit lighter than normal, just as if its gamma value had been changed. When the game drops me back to the login screen, or once it starts loading normally, this abnormal lightness goes away, and the screen goes back to normal. Is this a symptom of any known bug?

[Fifflefluff]

Followup: I've discovered that I can connect to the Mithaniel Marr server without any problems. The success rate for logging in and entering the game world is astonishingly high -- the only disconnects I've gotten were strange ones that seemed symptomatic of a different problem, wherein I would get slammed with "YOU HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED" right after clicking on "Enter World" in the character selection screen, but those were the exception, not the norm. Also, I never crash while zoning on that server.

This suggests that my problem is server-specific, but it doesn't help me much in terms of figuring out how to make it possible for me to play on other servers.

[Fifflefluff]

So it seems that my problem was the Linksys Wireless Range Expander I was using to connect wirelessly to my router (also Linksys) via my laptop. How bizarre. Turning it off solved all my woes, although now I have a weaker wireless signal... Makes no sense.