Keyboard is not responding in game.

[Possumcatcher]

I try to play my character, but I do things like press the ASWD keys to move and my character stands still and my keyboard won't work for a few seconds, then it works again. Is there a fix I can use to make it work. My keyboard works fine on my browser and my other games. 😞 

[starro]

Wireless keyboard?  My old Microsoft one can still type characters and works but my hero will 'stutter' on low batteries.

[MistressOhm]

I've seen this happen on occasion, often it's a networking glitch between your game client and the server.  It's not enough to lose the mapserver connection, but it IS enough to make things 'freeze up' and then just as you're looking at your modem to see if you've still got Internet, it starts working again.  

 

If you're using a VPN, try selecting an endpoint that's close to the server instance (for me it'd be Chicago or Buffalo, since my server is in Canada).  That might make it worse, BUT it also means that any ISP shenanigans like traffic shaping or protocol-specific priority is smoothed out, cos VPN encrypted traffic can't be spied upon and then decided it's not as important as someone's streaming of HBO. 

 

Speaking of streaming, if someone else is on your home network, pulling down a 4k movie, they'll be using up a fair bit of bandwidth, and that could impact your play depending on how much you actually get from the ISP. 

 

Another consideration is, do you have any other game launchers running?  Epic and Steam will occasionally decide to update something, and hog bandwidth at the network card, making the game get choppy and causing rubberbanding. At that point I alt-tab to desktop, open up whatever it is that's still running, and close it down.  If it bitches about having an update in progress and do I really want to interrupt that? Oh yeah. I just found the problem.

 

Lastly... if you're running on WiFi, make sure you don't have a ton of other devices on your WiFi net.  Even if they're not actively communicating, your router has to hold the connections, and ISP/telco provided routers are REALLY BAD when it comes to wifi network connections.  When I set up my house with WiFi enabled lights, each bulb needed a connection... and then my tablet started losing its connection when I'd turn a light on.  >.>  So now I have a separate wifi net JUST for home automation.  They can fight over connections, leave my phone and my tablet alone, please. 😛 

 

And yes, WiFi is radio-based, so.. are there a lot of other WiFi nets in range? These all use the same set of radio frequencies, and if two or more are on the same frequency, they tend to step on each other and degrade the speeds.  Antennas and repositioning can help, there, but for best results... run an ethernet cable to the router. 🙂 

 

If everything in the house is clean, you're on ethernet cables, your connection to the ISP is solid and has no issues, but this happens frequently, you might need to run an extended ping/ trace test in the background to the Homecoming server network.  Because you can't be expected to watch it 24/7 and catch the glitches, it will have to be logged.  Once you find a pattern with the connection drops (the trace should help you or a network pro figure out WHERE they're happening), you can then use that to open a ticket with your ISP.   They can then take it to their main provider (Level3, AT&T, Convergys, etc) and raise holy hell that network connections are being bounced in East Podunk with disturbing regularity, and they need to send a tech out to replace a component.  Yeah... this does happen, and it is that simple... but no one really pays close attention until that component starts throwing data packets on the floor.  USUALLY it'll be a corporate tech making the call, but with the right 'evidence' an end user can get ISP's to follow up on their behalf, too.  You just have to give them more than "it's not working".  

 

[biostem]

On 11/24/2022 at 10:33 PM, Possumcatcher said:

I try to play my character, but I do things like press the ASWD keys to move and my character stands still and my keyboard won't work for a few seconds, then it works again. Is there a fix I can use to make it work. My keyboard works fine on my browser and my other games. 😞 

Does this happen on multiple different characters?  Does it happen across multiple game servers?  You could do a /netgraph 1 to see if there's any weird latency issues, (it should look like a "nicely trimmed lawn" instead of being all jagged).  Let us know!

[Zep]

I have been experiencing this too.

 

I am on a gigabit, low latency, internet connection.

 

I am on ethernet.

 

I live alone so I can be sure no one else is using my internet.

 

I have a reasonably spaced computer.

 

I have found (since I have multiple monitors) that if I click into another program on another window, type something, then click back into COH the keyboard input will start working again.

[Norl]

I've had a similar problem, but I traced it to the monitor and/or my legs being between the wireless keyboard and the little receiver dongle on the computer.  But that happens no matter what the program, not just CoH.  Still, I'd give that a whirl just to eliminate it.