Flintlock Burnfur

April 14

Brentwood, Saskatchewan

BRENTWOOD-16726

Shard: Everlasting

Global in game: (at)lady skald

Base is an urban environment in a northern boreal forest.

December 28, 2023

Well, after all this, I have finally discovered the actual problem.

Nothing to do with Windows 11.

Nothing to do with ASUS at all.

Nothing to do with the router.

It's completely and totally with my ISP.

I'm with SaskTel (which, if familiar, should give an idea where I'm located). SaskTel has 3 levels of internet packages. I'm on Internet 5, which means 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. I needed to swap to Internet 10 or Internet 25 (which is the one I swapped out to). So it was more that the package I was on was not good enough for online gaming.

December 5, 2023

The crux of the problem is why does CoX run with such garbage ping when Guild Wars 2, Champions Online, Star Trek Online and ESO run with a ping of less than 100, but CoX is running at 150 then skyrockets to 700-800. What's different about the network connections of those games compared to the network connection that CoX is on?

December 5, 2023

Firstly, the graphics are fine, that's all fine. There's nothing to worry about with the graphics.

Also, that's not the problem.

Secondly, turned off the firewall while playing didn't have any effect at all, ping still skyrocketed to 1500 and then settled back down to 700-800.

December 4, 2023

I've tested that, having Discord and Steam, both of which were running in the background when I checked them, and they both were consistently running at normal priority.

December 3, 2023

4 minutes ago, Luminara said:

In the game, type /priorityboost 1 .

It is still Below Normal after using that command in game.

I even tried a registry edit explanation that I found and that's not working either.

December 3, 2023

This is a few months late, but no, the problem still isn't solved.

I have learned a few things, however. Windows 11, for example, doesn't exactly play nice with older games, especially older MMOs. Another issue I've noticed is through Task Manager. You can set priorities for each application, and the exe file for CoX always comes up as running Below Normal. I then tried launching CoX and opening the task manager and setting the priority to Normal, but it just automatically goes back to Below Normal.

September 11, 2023

Okay, NOW it's solved.

Apparently I had the HC Launcher unblocked in the Windows Defender Firewall list, but not the 64-bit CityofHeroes.exe file.

September 3, 2023

Spoke too soon, it's back to what it was doing before.

August 31, 2023

Yeah, I've been in game playing for about two hours a night since I posted that on Sunday and have had only minor issues. Doing a hard reset on the hardware of the machine has helped tons. There's been the odd time that the ping has skyrocketed to 750 but I just log out to character screen and go back in and it's fine. I'll eventually get an external GPU but that's just to help make things pretty. Outside of that, everything runs fine, I have no issues at all and even server side things like the environment animations not created clientside are running fine now.

It's been a journey, in which I was hoping a brand new laptop would alleviate the issues my Mac was having and just run that machine as basically a fancy TV that I can watch movies and shows on or use it to run GIMP, Inkscapes and Scribus.

August 28, 2023

Just got a tip from Crystal Dragon on discord. She was offering a suggestion to someone else for another model of Asus, but it worked with mine as well. Power the laptop down, then hold the power button for 30 seconds. Turn it back on and the reboot should be a bit slower, but that's because it's resetting hardware.

So far, an hour and a half in game and the ping is stable at 150.

August 12, 2023

1 minute ago, Hyperstrike said:

Also, if you're going to try an USB-to-Ethernet adapter, it's going to eat one of your 4 USB ports.
Recommend getting a USB-C-to-Ethernet adapted with additional USB ports.

https://www.amazon.com/Ethernet-Adapter-ABLEWE-Aluminum-Chromebook/dp/B07YWTTP9L

You're in The Land Of Maple, so use this link:

https://www.amazon.ca/Ethernet-Adapter-ABLEWE-Aluminum-Chromebook/dp/B0BGR5JQRQ?th=1

Don't simply "settle" for whatever's sitting on a shelf in your only brick and mortar option.

For the Ethernet cable,. I recommend shielded CAT6a. Only get something as long as you absolutely need.

Link is to a 5 foot cable with the option to choose longer/shorter..
https://www.amazon.ca/Monoprice-Cat6A-Ethernet-Patch-Cable/dp/B077H5N5L5?th=1

That's a good suggestion. I've already had to purchase a USB hub due to the fact I have more connections than USB ports (mouse, keyboard, mic, an XBox controller). I'm gonna check with Western Wireless first just to see what they have, but I'll ask for those specs.

August 12, 2023

18 minutes ago, Captain Fabulous said:

One thought, the new laptop is likely using a faster WiFi protocol than your old Mac, which could make the connection unstable at a distance. Try playing the game very close to the router to rule out distance as an issue. You could also try connecting at a slower speed/lower protocol, see if that helps, e.g. 2.4 GHz instead of 5 GHz.

I'm literally three feet away from the router.

August 11, 2023

On 8/8/2023 at 2:06 AM, Marine X said:

This may not be important but I see from the specs that your laptop is 64 bit, yet you are running the Homecoming Launcher at 32 bit, was that intentional?

Whether it's on 64-bit or 32-bit, I run into the same issue.

On 8/7/2023 at 5:39 PM, Tock said:

Other thoughts: Is the Windows 11 on that system pre-installed, or did you wipe the system and any ASUS Bloatware first? I'd check the Task Manager and the Network tab to see what is running during Cityofheroes.exe gameplay and see if it's the game causing all that ping or something else.

It's a preinstalled machine, and all the Asus software was disabled after this issue was discovered, and continues even after it's all disabled and the computer is restarted showing the Asus stuff is not running at all.

On 8/7/2023 at 5:39 PM, Tock said:

Also, location, location, location. The higher your router/wi-fi equipment is above eye level in the house, the better it'll work. (Human bodies block signal, moving or not, so chest height or lower may be fine if you're single or living with one other person, but in a family or gathering situation, it isn't great.) Along with microwaves, fridges and metal appliances, avoid bookshelves, linen closets, and other dense absorptive objects in your path between router and device. If you have a wide house, brick walls on the interior, or multiple floors, a mesh kit may make sense to spring for.

The router is on the wall at head level in my house. Same location as where it was when I ran the Mac, which never had this problem.

On 8/7/2023 at 5:25 PM, Captain Fabulous said:

If there's a network issue between you and the server there is nothing you can do about it. One thing you can try is playing on the Reunion shard as that's a different server than the others.

You don't mention what kind of connection you're using, but if it's WiFi you should try a wired connection, see if that helps. You can also try connecting your PC directly to your modem (if you have a separate one) to rule out issues with your router.

If all else fails definitely call your ISP and have them send a tech out to test the lines.

My bad on not mentioning the connection, it's WiFi, and to my amazement... there's not a single Ethernet port on the laptop. At all. Because that was something I was going to try. It floored me, because I've seen newer laptops that have a "hidden" Ethernet connection (like a small "door" where you can pop in the cable) but there wasn't anything at all I could find. Turns out the ASUS X515 does indeed not have an Ethernet port at all and the suggestion is to get a USB Ethernet connection. Which I'll try on Monday as the one shop in town is not open on the weekend.

... by one shop, I mean the only computer store. Which doubles as the SaskTel Mobility centre. As well as the Mac authorized store. And they sell high end televisions/monitors.

On 8/8/2023 at 2:32 AM, Hyperstrike said:

Also, check to see if you're running any sort of download/content management software on your machine.
3rd party game accelerators, etc.
These things, are almost always universally BAD for normal function. As they screw around with regular network traffic in an attempt to speed up certain types of traffic.

Not running anything like that at all. I do have Vortex for mod installation for Skyrim, NWN, The Long Dark, Tomb Raider, etc., but when I'm not using it I shut it down. I've even checked in the taskmanager to see if it's still running and nothing is there to identify Vortex.

And all of the locations of the router are no different than when I ran it on the Mac (2016 Mac running Catalina). The only difference is that the laptop is running Windows 11. Now, while the Mac's FPS ran poorly (averaging 15 fps) there was no issues with horrible ping such as described above (going from 150 to 600 or even 800). The router is even the exact same router. Now, unless that's an issue where the router is used to a Mac and not a Windows laptop... though this would not surprise me. I've even tested it recently with the Mac being in a completely different room and it still works fine with no lag and no horrible ping.

I may have forgotten people through reading, but I'm doing this while cooking supper. I will most likely come back and read some more.

August 7, 2023

So here is my issue. I have recently purchased an ASUS X515 laptop (last May). Because my old Mac was not that great, and it was time to get something new.

Here's the specs on it.

And for information, it has an integrated video Intel Iris Xe.

When I first started running the game, the graphics were fine, but things were choppy. Where I had quite a lot of lag. With some help, someone suggested putting this in the command line in the launcher.

The first is to limit graphics, the second is to limit frame rate to 30 fps (it was holding nicely at 60 fps even with the problems) and the third one is to direct the launcher where the mods are located (Vidiot Maps and such). Just for information sake, here are the mods I'm running.

Now, while I don't get the lag with the first command line, there are a couple of other ... issues. This first being a texture problem. The spoiler has the examples.

Spoiler

See through walls, textures that just aren't there ...

To be fair, I can live with that, that's fine. What I can't live with is this.

Upon launching the game after a short time I began noticing a severe amount of lag. NPCs walking would hover, then move to a new location after a second, cars would drive in place, then continue down the street and repeat. Even other player characters were having the stutter walk. So, I ran a netgraph.

Upon launching the game and starting up the netgraph, this is what I get. And I let it settle down for a moment.

Still good, run through a couple of missions (in this case in Faultline, but I've seen this in Steel Canyon, Atlas Park, the Hollows), and after about two, maybe three missions, the ping just tanks.

The second icon on the map is Arbiter Sands. His icon blips in and out as he travels following me.

So I've gone from 150 ping to about 650 to 850 ping. And it stays that way until I close the game and relaunch it (I've kept it open an hour, two hours and three hours and always within twenty minutes to half an hour of launching the game, it goes from 150 ping all the way up to 750 on average, the worst I've seen is 1500). And it gets worse. See all the red, as time goes on, that red just becomes larger and larger, giving me nothing but lots of Lost Connection to Mapserver messages.

I'm at my witts end with this. I bought this laptop to have an upgrade from an aging Mac (2015). And now, I can't even use one of the games I have enjoyed.

To add a few things extra that I've done, ASUS does have proprietary optimization programs that run in the background, all of that has been turned off, I've also changed the DNS Server assignment to 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 (which runs through Google). But any additional help outside of calling up my ISP to see if it's my router would be appreciated. In the last three months, I've gotten nowhere with this.

March 1, 2023

Character name: .Canadienne (yes, with a period at the beginning)
Global: @lady skald
Base or SG Name: True North Legion
Shard: Everlasting
Passcode: CANADA-27298
Item Count: roughly 3000 (item count fluctuates as base is still being added to, but is also at role play point)
Category for Contest: RP Base under 7K
Other associated contributors; up to 4 more people (don't forget to credit the Builder if different from the Owner!): @Baroness Winter
Additional Info / Must-See Areas of Note: The common room/living quarters, the hockey rink (because of course there's a hockey rink), the Tim Hortons (again... because of course there's a Tim Hortons), the clinic and the medical centre just off the training area (for that sweet, sweet universal health care), and the jump ships in the landing zone named in order: TNL-Peart, TNL-Downie, TNL-Lightfoot, TNL-Murray, TNL-Cochrane and TNL-Aaron with the carrier named TNL-Kanata (internet cookies if you can recognize the names).

October 21, 2022

From Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

October 21, 2022

Appearing on CBC Television, it lasted 14 episodes (hey, so did Firefly). Not the traditional western, as it contained fantasy elements to it, making it more weird west.

August 26, 2022

I’m always down for more items.

The coffee cup seen in Port Oakes.

The gas station or just the pumps seen in Nuetropolis.

Even the houses found in Nuetropolis.

Signage. Icon sign, generic street signs, highway signs.

A smaller font.

I’ll post more with screenshot later.

June 27, 2022

Was cool to see you around on the weekend. At some point need to dust off Sharon Hargrove/Ogma and rp. But I'm currently madly leveling a second version of Canadienne, so it's all good!

Take care of yourself and see you in game again sometime.

September 2, 2021

Sharon Hargrove brought the tow truck to a stop at the edge of the dirt road. Dirt road might be a bad description for some, as it was actually a crumbled provincial highway between Uranium City and Fond du Lac, on the northern shore of Lake Athabasca. She sighed as the flashing lights from the RCMP cruiser and EMS vehicle blinked against her rain soaked windshield. She adjusted her ball cap and made sure her aviators were pushed up on her nose before she got out of the cab of her truck.

The usual people were on the scene; Constable Martin Kowalchuck and Constable Maria Twofeathers, Sammy Gerard with the local EMS, and Jimmy Starstruck from the auto repair shop in Fond du Lac.

"What's the deal, Marty?" Sharon called out as she pulled her coat a little tighter. It was July, but still cold out thanks to the rain.

"Guy tried to avoid a bear on the road," Constable Kowalchuk said as he joined Sharon. The two walked together toward the edge of the road where a 1994 Volkswagon Golf sat partially submerged in the marsh. "Drove his car off the road. Got himself stuck. He's okay, but we need to get his car out of there."

"Who the fuck drives a Golf up here?" Sharon said with a sigh as she walked down into the ditch. She reached down to the licence plate and scrubbed off the mud. "This guy drove all the way from Washington State?"

"Says he knows somebody in Fond du Lac," Marty replied. "They met online."

Sharon looked back to Marty before making her way back to the tow truck. "That's not sketchy at all," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Think you can get his car out?"

"Yeah, it's not sunk in too deep," she said as she prepared the hoist. "Fifteen minutes and I'll have it out, then tow it over to Jimmy's."

As Sharon walked back to the driver's side of the cab, she caught sight of the man in question sitting on the back bumper of the EMS vehicle. And it hit her. She could see his aura. He was surrounded by what Sharon could only see as death, deception, cruelty and malice. "That's the guy?" she asked motioning to a man being treated for a minor injury.

"Yeah, that's him," Marty replied with a nod. "Arnold Brooks. Doesn't exactly strike me as the outdoorsy type."

"Have him ride with me on the way back," Sharon said in a quiet tone.

Marty's expression became serious, quiet. "What are you getting off of him?"

"I don't know," Sharon said as she opened the driver's door and climbed into the cab. "But there's something dark about him."

August 23, 2021

So I really wanted a moon in The Hunter's Dream base on Everlasting. Something to tie it up and give it the presence that it needed for something akin to gothic horror and a tribute to Bloodborne (my favourite game I've never played, but watched over a dozen let's plays because THAT GAME IS AWESOME!).

I eventually managed to find one.

And it came to me while looking under statues! Because it's the Atlas Park statue just lifted to float in the air and tilted onto it's side.

Seriously, though I was gonna have to kit bash something together.

August 23, 2021

I now have two toons with over 1,000 badges.

... seriously, though, I need to stop badge hoarding on all my toons and just leave it with Canadienne and Ballistic Witch.

July 28, 2021

An update to the Hunter's Dream base.

First, a base code. TheDream-21173

And now, a few more screenies!

Spoiler

Honourable hunter, pursue the echoes of blood and I will channel them into your strength. You will hunt beasts and I will be here for you, to embolden your sickly spirit.