Constant Map Server Disconnects

[SteelRat70]

I have some very odd behaviour going on.  Constant map server disconnects that are preceded by unresponsive power buttons or any kind of client interaction.  I can see other players running around, even damaging auras causing damage numbers on surrounding mobs, but I can't do anything except quit the client and run around the map.  It's obvious where the game server thinks my character is, due to aggroed mobs attacking where it thinks I am.  My characters health will drop too, but nothing I can do about it.

Ordinarily I would suspect my internet connection, but I can run a continuous ping to the IP lifted from the manifest and it doesn't drop a single packet when this happens.  In addition it's happened when I've dual boxed where one client instance disconnects, but the other one is fine on the same machine.  Local client files have been verified as OK as well.  It's all very odd and appears to be getting worse.

Has anyone else had similar experience of this?  Are there any log files that I can check for some insight as to what might be going on?

[dvirb]

hi Steelrat, i  have the same thing for the past month and i know from a post i made on this same subject in this forum that other people are expriencing this.

so far the only solution i found was to use a vpn, when i do that i have zero map disconnextions, otherwise i get tham every 5 minutes.

Edited November 28, 2019 by dvirb

[Marine X]

Just to put it out there, there are sometimes issues reported with Tequilla/Homecoming being miss Identified as an issue with Windows Defender and some Anti-Virus programs because of the type of connection and Traffic it generates. It may not help but worth making sure it is allowed past each of those, a normal update to them may have changed it's status.

[SteelRat70]

4 hours ago, Marine X said:

Just to put it out there, there are sometimes issues reported with Tequilla/Homecoming being miss Identified as an issue with Windows Defender and some Anti-Virus programs because of the type of connection and Traffic it generates. It may not help but worth making sure it is allowed past each of those, a normal update to them may have changed it's status.

I'll have a look at that, thank you.

Couple of things that I've tried / found that appear to have made things a little more stable in the first instance, although I confess that I'm not entirely sure which of these have made any difference:

* Moved from Cream Soda to Tequila - I was still using the recommended manifest url for homecoming, rather than the default Cream Soda one.
* My network was being shown as a "Public" connection instead of "Private" - granted this is only generally to do with network discovery and resource sharing, so probably irrelevant.
* Disabled Windows Firewall - Google searching suggested some ports needed to be opened to play CoH historically, but I've never had to make any direct changes in the past.

[SteelRat70]

Update...  I've also added the whole CoH folder to the exclusions on Windows Defender and I'm still getting the same behaviour.  It appeared to be fine for about an hour this evening, and now I can't log in without the issue happening more or less immediately.

Of course this may be related to the server issue that I can see at the top of the screen as I type this which is why shard transfers have been disabled!  I guess we'll see.

[Marine X]

Something I've used several times at work to isolate connection issues that might help is called "Wireshark", it is a free open sourced network tool and does a very good job of monitoring and isolating issues. It will take a little poking around in the "Frequently asked Questions" to get the scan set up, but it will tell you everything going on with your network. Worth a try and could point a finger at the culprit.

[Chris24601]

I'm still having the problem of periodic mapserves dropping me to the login screen after the latest patch and there's nothing ISP related my scans have been able to detect.

 

Typical mapserves are just a moment or two and then you rubberband or what have you and your health/endurance alter to reflect what's happened while you weren't synced up.

 

These always last until it dumps not just to character select, but to the login page, all action stops immediately (flight doesn't even decelerate, you just stop and start standing in place) upon the mapserver hitting and just hangs for a minute or so as the packets sent and received slowly cycle down to 0.

 

As an additional experiment, I streamed a movie on Netflix in the background on the same computer and it didn't skip a moment.

 

The fact that this ONLY started with the post-Thanksgiving patch is just very suspicious in terms of trying to narrow down a cause because there's nothing I've been able to find on my end and the fact that its either running absolutely smooth or hard-mapserving (vs. rubberbanding or brief mapserves indicating a spotty connection) makes me think something is broken in the spaghetti code.

[hellrasier2]

same issue here with me its something with the patch and/or networking to the server i dunno what isp everyone with the issue has but im in the se u.s with at@t and have crazzy issue atm. However the eu server works perfect for me..

[Chris24601]

I'm using Verizon FiOS (by way of Frontier Communications) and everything from streaming to other MMOs runs absolutely smooth. It could be an issue with where the signal being routed through having connectivity issues (i.e. one of the hops has issues that that hop is not one that occurs when connecting to Netflix, YouTube or SWTOR), but I have no idea how you'd actually change that.

[Marine X]

7 hours ago, Chris24601 said:

It could be an issue with where the signal being routed through having connectivity issues

True, run into this trying to diagnose issues with VOIP Phones and SIP Trunking, I can usually track down which hop is causing the issue, but getting it fixed is really difficult. Your connection may be from Frontier, but it may "hop" through several other carriers equipment and services on it's way to the endpoint. If you have a Dynamic IP Account sometimes ( not very often though ) cycling the Modem will cause it to pull a fresh address, and perhaps find an alternate route when you try to connect. Probably running through " Bob's Internet Service and VCR Repair " on its way to Homecoming. Uhhh..

[ScarletFe]

I am also having this same issue since the Thanksgiving patch. Can't seem to go 5 minutes without disconnect. Oddly enough there are two of us on two separate computers in the same house, playing this game. Only one of us is having the issue. Both are MACs, updated to the same iOS version. Exact same computers and set up. I had zero issues prior to the patch. The game is practically not playable at this point for me....    All this said, I highly doubt it has anything to do with anything windows related , or anything on my end internet/network related.

Edited December 7, 2019 by ScarletFe

[Abacus]

Also having the same issue since then, game has been basically unplayable since last month there was massive framerate drops/lag and constant disconnects.

 

EDIT: And it got worse with the winter event, can't even log in since the game is so slow now.

Edited December 8, 2019 by Magellan01

[Lazarillo]

There really seems to be something weird going on here.  I don't know but I am starting to suspect it might somehow be tied to the overall load on the game, as I can typically play during the daytime without issue, but during peak hours, I'm getting mapserved every couple of minutes.  This isn't an issue with my connection because nothing is interrupted.  I've tried changing servers, or even swapping from the "live" servers to Pineapple just to see, but it's happening all the same.

[ScarletFe]

The part I really dont understand is why it seems to only be some of us. Like certain accounts have been flagged to kick first ....

 (kidding)

[Marine X]

13 hours ago, Lazarillo said:

I can typically play during the daytime without issue, but during peak hours, I'm getting mapserved every couple of minutes.

Run a speedtest during the day when things are working, then run one when it's having issues. It could be a load issue with your ISP, when the kids get out of School and everyone gets off work is when the traffic hits it's peak. It may not show for services like streaming, which are buffered, but can kneecap CoH which has to run in realtime and with very low Latency. If you are not getting the bandwidth at Peak Times you are paying for that may be the culprit.

 

PS ( Don't run a speedtest supplied by your ISP, as it will only test the speed they are providing not the full link, try finding one that runs out of another part of the country, Remember Homecoming Servers are actually in Canada, and Reunion Shard is in Germany )

Edited December 11, 2019 by Marine X

[Chris24601]

Still no change on the constant mapserves after the latest maintenance. I can’t even finish a short door mission without a mapserve kicking me to the login screen. It’s absolutely unplayable as is and there’s nothing more I can even think to do on my end.

 

Would it be too much to ask for the pre-Thanksgiving build to be put up on a server for, say, four hours? Just long enough to confirm whether this error is related to whatever got changed in the Black Friday patch or if it’s an issue independent of that.

 

Because if nothing changes, I may as well just uninstall and check back after the holiday patch is gone.

[PeterDutcherJr]

This issue has arisen for me again since the patching this week. (unannounced)

[PeterDutcherJr]

BTW, I know it's not my personal network, as I just had a tech out a day or two ago and he gave us a new router, boosting our speed to 115 mb/s.

 

This started right after the post thanks giving patch last time, and not it started right after the new years patch this time.

 

So I know this is server side.

[RikOz]

Out of curiosity, how many of you who are experiencing this are on Spectrum high-speed internet?

 

With my Spectrum connection, I was getting constant disconnects, one after another, until I went ahead and started using a router Spectrum gave me instead of my own router. Now it still happens, but maybe only 2-3 times a day.

 

The thing about these disconnects are that it's probably only online gamers who would notice, and possibly people watching streaming video like Netflix, because the disconnect is very brief. It goes down and then comes right back up, so I'm only offline for a matter of seconds. But it's enough to lose the connection to the mapserver and force relogging. Even people watching Netflix or whatever might not notice, because of video buffering carrying them through the "down and back up".

 

I know it's my internet and not the HC servers, at least for me, because when it happens, it happens to everything in my apartment at the same time, regardless of whether I'm playing the game or not, and regardless of whether the device uses the WiFi or has a hard ethernet connection like my PC.

Edited January 8, 2020 by RikOz

[WanderingAries]

36 minutes ago, RikOz said:

Out of curiosity, how many of you who are experiencing this are on Spectrum high-speed internet?

 

With my Spectrum connection, I was getting constant disconnects, one after another, until I went ahead and started using a router Spectrum gave me instead of my own router. Now it still happens, but maybe only 2-3 times a day.

 

The thing about these disconnects are that it's probably only online gamers who would notice, and possibly people watching streaming video like Netflix, because the disconnect is very brief. It goes down and then comes right back up, so I'm only offline for a matter of seconds. But it's enough to lose the connection to the mapserver and force relogging. Even people watching Netflix or whatever might not notice, because of video buffering carrying them through the "down and back up".

 

I know it's my internet and not the HC servers, at least for me, because when it happens, it happens to everything in my apartment at the same time, regardless of whether I'm playing the game or not, and regardless of whether the device uses the WiFi or has a hard ethernet connection like my PC.

Is your modem restarting on its own? I caught mine doing that throughout the year and ended up buying my own. The last tech that was out flat stated they had firmware issues causing it but the one he gave me was supposedly current. Kept having problems and bought my own online.

[RikOz]

18 minutes ago, WanderingAries said:

Is your modem restarting on its own? I caught mine doing that throughout the year and ended up buying my own. The last tech that was out flat stated they had firmware issues causing it but the one he gave me was supposedly current. Kept having problems and bought my own online.

I first had the issue last spring (before HC, so I was still playing WoW). At that time, I was still using the same modem (provided) and router (my own) I'd had when I signed up with Charter/Spectrum, so both were about 7 years old. They pointed out that the modem was outdated, so I took it in and exchanged it for a brand new one. The issue continued, so I went out and bought a new router, different brand from the old one. The problem immediately went away, so I thought that settled it. But then the problem came back in the fall. This time I got them to actually send a tech, and he went through everything and couldn't find the problem. But he gave me one of their routers to try out to see if it helped. I went from very frequent disconnects down to 3 a day at most.

 

I don't know specifically what's going on with the modem - it's downstairs, and my computer is upstairs, so I can't see what happens, and it fixes itself so quickly that it would already be over by the time I got down there to look at it.

[WanderingAries]

11 minutes ago, RikOz said:

I first had the issue last spring (before HC, so I was still playing WoW). At that time, I was still using the same modem (provided) and router (my own) I'd had when I signed up with Charter/Spectrum, so both were about 7 years old. They pointed out that the modem was outdated, so I took it in and exchanged it for a brand new one. The issue continued, so I went out and bought a new router, different brand from the old one. The problem immediately went away, so I thought that settled it. But then the problem came back in the fall. This time I got them to actually send a tech, and he went through everything and couldn't find the problem. But he gave me one of their routers to try out to see if it helped. I went from very frequent disconnects down to 3 a day at most.

 

I don't know specifically what's going on with the modem - it's downstairs, and my computer is upstairs, so I can't see what happens, and it fixes itself so quickly that it would already be over by the time I got down there to look at it.

If it's "fixing" within 30-120 seconds, that's a reboot. I bought this mostly because it's a 24x8 where as the one they give is like a 16x4. Their modem wasn't using all the streams, but mine Does now and NO restarting. I'd made them replace everything short of the line under the home before that point. They even replaced boxes along the mains and we were getting dropped.

[RikOz]

And speaking of lines under the home, this all started after they did exactly that. I live in a very old apartment building, and the previous owner apparently did not like things attached to the building. I found that out when I initially wanted to get my internet via the fiber-optic system the local utility district installed. Alas, hooking up to that required a box be installed on the exterior of the building, so the owner wouldn't allow it. That left me with no option except Charter/Spectrum, and even then the connection was limited to a cable hanging loose outside the back of the individual subscriber's apartment.

 

That guy finally sold the building, and the new owner came in and started remodeling everything. That included getting Charter to come in and completely redo everything with new cables, strung neatly in the basement across the length of the building, and new connections into every apartment. A couple months later, the problems started.

 

I should look into whether the new owner would allow the fiber-optic box. Because those lines are a public utility, they're available to local providers at low cost, so I'd be able to get my high-speed internet cheaper than Spectrum (and without constantly being nagged to add TV and phone service). Though I do have suspicions that the rental agency (as opposed to the owner) might have some deal with Charter/Spectrum for exclusive access to the building. They might have been feeding me a line of BS about the previous owner not allowing it.

[PeterDutcherJr]

I do have Spectrum, and had the same issue, but they replace my router and I had them switch to channel 11, and no home-wide disconnects any more.

 

But I still loose connection on CoHH since the last two unannounced patches. It is coh servers. Was last time too.

[Chris24601]

Since I did find a solution to this and posted it in another thread, but it hasn't propagated here I'm going to repost the relevant bits;

 

* * *

The problem isn't on your end or Homecoming's... its the messy internet in the middle and is probably related to your physical location.

 

Why where you're located is relevant is that the particular route taken by some data is the problem. For example, I'm in Fort Wayne, Indiana and the route my internet takes to the HC servers in Canada on its own is probably through Detroit.

 

The solution is to use a VPN or proxy server to re-route your traffic around the problem. For a rough visual...

 

You -- Your ISP -- Bad ISP -- HC's ISP -- HC Server

...................\___ VPN -- Good ISP __/ 

 

I used ExpressVPN and their closest server (New Jersey) for my connection and via the in game /netgraph I can confirm no loss of ping while doing so. This probably changed the course from "Ft. Wayne > Detroit (bad) > Canada" to "Ft. Wayne > New Jersey > Buffalo, NY > Canada" bypassing whatever badness was mucking up the connection.

 

What WAS interesting in the /netgraph report once I was no longer getting mapservered was what happened with a lost packet. Prior to using a VPN there'd be zero lost packets then it'd just mapserve and eventually dump to the login screen. WITH the VPN running I got the occasional lost packet (denoted by a red or yellow line on the graph) but the game kept right on running past what I suspect would have been a mapserve for me otherwise.

 

* * *

TL;DR The problem is a bad ISP between you and the Homecoming servers. Use a VPN (better security) or proxy server to change the route your data takes to connect. New Jersey has worked great for me as the exit point from the VPN into the internet at large.