Problem playing GW with Telkom ISP and DSL384

[BandwidthAddict]

Hello.

Has anyone had a problem playing GuildWars with a Telkom ISP account recently? My NightFall character got stuck trying to connect to "Chantry of Secrets" and my Prophecy character got stuck connecting to "Augury Rock". The problem manifests as an eternal "Connecting" screen. I can sometimes connect to other areas but those are on different game servers.

After some time spent with PlayNC support, the consensus was a network connectivity issue. I have a friend playing on a Telkom ISP connection but in Edenvale (JHB) (I'm in the vacinity of Randburg (JHB)) and he has no problem. I switched to an IS account; apart from the increased latency, the game works with no problem.

The GW problem started on Tuesday, around the same time I started having problems with the LCP connection; the LCP would drop around 21:50 for 15 minutes leaving me with no internet connectivity. My friend did not experience LCP issues so I think there is a causal relationship between the two.

Has anyone experienced such a problem, or do you know what might cause it? I got the IS account to test the connection so it's a wimpy 1GB account but I would really like to get Telkom to fix the problem so any advice would help.

Thanks.

 

[dakeyras]

I sometimes have the same problem as you do (happened a few times today), but I believe the problem to be with the Anet servers. That is why only certain areas is affected.

I have a telkom and mweb account, and this happens with both

 

[BandwidthAddict]

Hello Dakeyras.

Thanks for the info.

I wish I knew why this problem affects me but not my friend who is also on a Telkom ISP account. We both go into an area at the same time and I get the problem but he has no such issues. Also, my IS account has no problems either but it is almost capped so I can't use it for gaming.

The problem is that I cannot prove to ArenaNet that it is not an ISP issue because I can connect with the IS account.

I'm pretty sure it's not a software/OS setup issue as this has not changed from when the game worked fine, and the IS account works.

I logged a call with Telkom so maybe I will get an answer some time before the sun destroys all life on the planet. Well, maybe not but we can always hope

If Telkom cannot fix the problem, then I will be forced to drop my Telkom accounts and go with IS. I don't play any other online games so that should not be a problem but I NEED my GW

Thanks.

 

[dakeyras]

I see the GW servers is scheduled for maintenance next weekend. Lets hope that it fixes some issues.

On another note... When was the last time you scanned your comp for spyware/adware/malware/virus?

 

[James]

I am on Telkom512 with SAIX backbone account and I have had issues like your but more often than not it is Telkoms problem. We have some guildies on iBurst and if we all drop then we know it is ANet but mostly it is just the iBurst or just the DSL groups.

 

[binkybozo]

i still think the problem is with telkom line its self. before they updated our lines we were getting d.c.s constantly now there is not so much a problem with it. i know that gw has been a bit choppy lately because they are doing server work and trying to get china connected as well so you may experience some lag here and there till they get it all worked out, plus it is the holiday season so more people are playing as well.

 

[lilDeath]

GW had a maintenance window yesterday between 10am - 4pm SA time.
I had a code=010 once, which I think was because of this, but other than that my connection is very stable and I do not experience any connection or disconnection issues.

I am on SAIX DSL384, shaped account. Some people will say you must get unshaped, but I will disagree with them as I very rarely have issues.
I have heard some people having issues on IS connections too, so I think it will be more of a gamble don't matter which ISP you go with in SA.

My advice would be to first check out your pc. How big is your gw.dat file? When last did you run a defrag?
If your gw.dat file is hugely fragmented, your gaming experience will be affected, it manifests itself in lag and you will experience disconnections and also connection problems. You may even have some NPC's jumping randomly around in places.

 

[BandwidthAddict]

Hello All.

Thanks for the advice.

@LilDeath: The game play is fine. I was playing it last night on my IS account. Thank goodness the game handles the extra latency with no problems.

I got a phone call from support this morning and he was blunt when he said that he will have to log a call with SAIX but they will just come back and tell me to buy an unshaped account. At least he was honest.

If they do that, I will tell them to go jump and drop my one Telkom account and replace it with another IS account.

I can't wait for NeoTel. If they can at least sort out these types of problems, they will be 1000x better in my book. Besides, I'm on my way out so I won't have to deal with these issues for much longer

Thanks again.

 

[BandwidthAddict]

Hello All.

I managed to resolve my problem.

My GW client connects to the game servers on port 80. I believed this to be the default based on the ambiguity of a PlayNC knowledge base answer. I went to visit my friend in Edenvale and we played the game on his connection. I noticed that his client was connecting on port 6112.

To cut a long story short, I added a rule to my firewall that prevents the game client (gw.exe) from accessing port 80; it eventually took the hint and started using port 6112. I can now play the game.

I hope that helps anyone who may experience the same problem when their client decides to use port 80.

Peace.

 

[lilDeath]

@LilDeath: The game play is fine. I was playing it last night on my IS account. Thank goodness the game handles the extra latency with no problems.

I got a phone call from support this morning and he was blunt when he said that he will have to log a call with SAIX but they will just come back and tell me to buy an unshaped account. At least he was honest.

I can't wait for NeoTel. If they can at least sort out these types of problems, they will be 1000x better in my book. Besides, I'm on my way out so I won't have to deal with these issues for much longer

Bastards, unshaped is not required IMO.
BTW, where are you going, if I may ask?

I managed to resolve my problem.
My GW client connects to the game servers on port 80. I believed this to be the default based on the ambiguity of a PlayNC knowledge base answer. I went to visit my friend in Edenvale and we played the game on his connection. I noticed that his client was connecting on port 6112.

To cut a long story short, I added a rule to my firewall that prevents the game client (gw.exe) from accessing port 80; it eventually took the hint and started using port 6112. I can now play the game.

I hope that helps anyone who may experience the same problem when their client decides to use port 80

Good to hear you have sorted it out.
I am pretty sure the port (6112) GW uses is on their FAQ, especially for resolving connection issues.
My client don't use port 80, never have so dont think anyone else should have this problem unless they force it themselves.
For gameplay Port 6112 has always been in use AFAIK.

 

[evilspinach]

Bastards, unshaped is not required IMO.

Agreed. Though your updates stream through HTTP, if I'm not mistaken. Either that or iBursts shaping is really cooked since I get streams @ 50-70KB/s most of the time.

 

[lilDeath]

Agreed. Though your updates stream through HTTP, if I'm not mistaken. Either that or iBursts shaping is really cooked since I get streams @ 50-70KB/s most of the time.

I might be mistaken but I dont think the updates stream through HTTP.
I use proxies for http and if I game or launch my client I cannot get to the proxy from where I am, meaning http won't work. I need to establish VPN's first for it to work.

If your theory is true, then my updates won't come down, which it does.

Have thought about it myself but my reasoning convinces the voices in my head

 

[evilspinach]

Well then, similarly, the voices in my head are convinced of iBursts technical competence

 

[Shin]

Alright, I've been having these problems for the past 4 months and I haven't been able to sort it out at all.

I usually can log in all the way to my character selection, then I get stuck on connecting. Most of the times I can get into an area with a char, but once I try to go somewhere else it gets stuck again. It's gotten to a stage where some areas will load up and others won't although most don't load at all.

other times those areas will load up an the ones that I could load don't. it's really been affecting my gameplay and it's becoming very frustrating. I've had a hunch that something is allowing me to connect to certain area ip ranges and it keeps changing those ranges. I'm running a 384 DSL and my ISP is mweb. I have a friend that started getting this problem at the same time mine started.

Before that happened my game worked fine. been playing for more than a year now. Sorry bout the long post but I really need to sort this out.

 

[lilDeath]

Do you have any personal firewalls (Windows, third-party) or ADSL router firewalls running, restrictions, etc.
Have you done a defrag lately?
Have you done a reinstall lately?
What does running a diagnostics (-diag switch) on your game return?

You problem certainly sounds strange, if it isn't any of the above it must be that ports / ips thing and then your ISP can also be doing something.

Capped or uncapped ADSL?