Issue with logging onto P99 (other games connect)

[Swiftyfist]

Hello! I have been been getting very down on this issue.
I recently switched internet to a t-mobile provider (dont get cable where i live)
its basically my only option to where other internet plans are too expensive.
Right now i have a AT-T hotspot for another two days. P99 connects fine!!! no issues
But with my new connection it will not connect. to where it will connect to CS:GO - RUST - basically any other game i own. just not P99
i am not tech savvy and am looking into port forwarding but having issues and cant get it to work
please any ideas or suggestions.

i also ruled out it being a computer/game issue because ATT connection works fine.

checked firewalls and anti virus they are not causing this issue.

does anyone have the port info i need for port forwarding and or maybe to help walk me thru it?
thank you guys for your time, i hope i get up and running soon :(
-Swiftyfist

[paulgiamatti]

The server connects to the client via UDP on a randomly assigned port between ~40000 to 65535, so the only way to use port forwarding would be to open up that entire range of ports. I wouldn't recommend doing this for security reasons - usually when you open a range of ports it's only for a very small subset - but P99 shouldn't require any port forwarding and chances are that port connectivity isn't the real issue. Sounds more symptomatic of a general connectivity issue rather than something specific like blocked ports or firewall interference.

Troubleshooting connection issues with P99 can be pretty counterintuitive because everything else could be working perfectly fine - you could be connecting to other games fine, your connection could seem flawless in every other way, but there could still be some weird hangup preventing you from relaying packets with the P99 servers. I don't know enough about networking to say exactly why that is, but a good starting point is your connection to the internet.

You should also make sure it's not just your computer - if you have another machine that can connect to the internet, try connecting to P99 on that. If that can connect, then you can pretty much rule out your ISP, and just focus on your computer. There are lots of connectivity-related things that can happen to your computer that would interrupt your connection, such as malware or even well-intended software that is doing something your connection or configuration doesn't agree with.

[Swiftyfist]

Hey Paulgiamatti... i was wondering. Well first of all there are times i can connect. like early in the am And late at night/am...its currently 1053 pm and i cant log in tho. yet. but have been trying. When i connect it sometimes gives me an error that servers may be down...other times i get a black server screen, other times it times out. but sometimes i get the server list and the game runs fine. Now for my question i was wondering about the bit about malware or a problem with my computer, cant i rule this out being the at&t Connection works flawlessly? never a hiccup or issue. I would reformat my computer but that is a big step and if it is working on another connection it makes me think that is not the problem. It seems peak hours is the times i cant play. thx man.
*edit* I have been leaving my game run 24/7 and it worked great until i crashed zoning around 8pm. but no lag or anything like that.

[Swiftyfist]

I am kind of wondering if a VPN would be of use, i tried a tree trial of one, but nothing would connect at all as if i had no connection. really would like to see this issue fixed. hope i can figure it out! will post here if i do

[Tann]

I play via tether to my tmobile cell, no issues connecting these days. I had connection issues in the long ago, the before time, and upgrading my .NET framework somehow fixed the issue.

[ericabeth86]

I am using a t-mobile tether as well and I am having the exact same issues. This started about 3 weeks ago and has progressively gotten worse to the point where I am completely unable to play at night or on the weekends. Tried a VPN, with no luck. I am stuck with blank server screen or unable to connect messages.

[Tann]

I am using a t-mobile tether as well and I am having the exact same issues. This started about 3 weeks ago and has progressively gotten worse to the point where I am completely unable to play at night or on the weekends. Tried a VPN, with no luck. I am stuck with blank server screen or unable to connect messages.

by chance are you downloading or using any of said bandwidth for something else? That's about the only time i get the black server select screen these days.

[ericabeth86]

No I am not and that is the is the weird thing. I have never had these connection issues until recently.

[Swiftyfist]

yep about 3 weeks this started for me as well!! I live in SC. This is driving me bonkers i have no other options...so bummed out! I need to find a new company that offers wireless internet. Stand alone plans for cell phone company's are way to expensive...like 60gb 400$ type crazy.
Tann I am not downloading anything, no background data being used, and i close my browsers. Im 99% sure its not a connection issue...because wouldn't videos stutter and other games lag. its just a EQ issue i can run any game on steam =/

[ericabeth86]

And I'm in NC, it's starting to sound like some sort of regional issue with t-mobile.

[Swiftyfist]

Are you able to log in early AM and late night? 11:20 pm and it wont let me in, useally around 12, it works. but sometimes i get no characters in my character select screen and have to start over. if you find any fix for this let me know as i will do the same :o

[Swiftyfist]

I Found this video...i set it to 3% negative to my download speed (in QoS quality of service in my router) . it didn't fix the issue but still tinkering with it. my bufferbloat was a F on the rating scale.

this is the site to test connection and bufferbloat
http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest

this is the video instructions, but so far no luck. gonna keep tinkering with it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C72c4B277Vg

[Swiftyfist]

UPDATE : So I got messed with it for a good while and got my bufferbloat to a C Instead of F and it did not fix the issue.
aside from this bufferbloat strat
I normally would be able to log in around 12 EST...it wont let me. to where it would other days.
took me about 15 log in attempts to get servers to show. zoning is painfully slow and 75% It crashes. =/
I also setup WinEQ hoping it could fix the crashing issue so i could just leave my game running and not risk zone crashing and not being able to log in...there is no lag when im logged into game, during hours that i normally wouldn't be able to connect, accept for the zoning issue seemed to worsen the last few days.
wineq2 and buffer bloat not fixing issue.

[Swiftyfist]

I am still wondering if VPN would fix this issue. Or i am also wondering if there are alternet ways to connect to project 1999 maybe with EQemu? anyone know info about this?

[paulgiamatti]

Now for my question i was wondering about the bit about malware or a problem with my computer, cant i rule this out being the at&t Connection works flawlessly? never a hiccup or issue.

Not necessarily - the only way to be sure is to install EQ Titanium on another machine on the same connection and see if the issue persists. Definitely something worth doing if you can - copying your EQ directory from one computer to another shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes with a USB flash or external drive.

I would reformat my computer but that is a big step and if it is working on another connection it makes me think that is not the problem.

Being able to connect to P99 fine using a different connection definitely lowers the chances that it's a problem with your machine specifically, but it doesn't necessarily rule it out. I wouldn't reformat unless you've exhausted all other options.

I am still wondering if VPN would fix this issue.

Not likely, because on a VPN your connection to the internet is still going through the same ISP as it normally does.

Or i am also wondering if there are alternet ways to connect to project 1999 maybe with EQemu? anyone know info about this?

Some people have had success resolving connectivity issues by changing eqhost.txt from:

[LoginServer]
Host=login.eqemulator.net:5998

to

[LoginServer]
Host=leqemulator.net:5998

And I'm in NC, it's starting to sound like some sort of regional issue with t-mobile.

This could definitely be a possibility - there was a recent flare-up in connectivity issues which also seemed to be regional or ISP-related a couple months back: https://www.project1999.com/forums/showthread.php?t=251917. In the past there have also been regional issues caused by data center outages/problems and such - something to do with how traffic is routed through the data centers to the P99 servers.

[ericabeth86]

I don't think there is much we can do on our end, from reading the other forum posts it seems like something that will have to be fixed by the isp. Fortunately it looks like it does always eventually resolve itself.

[Tann]

Started getting this issue again when I updated win10 yesterday, had been using the release version.

If you go into resource monitor you might see BackgroundTransferHost.exe eating up a little bit of bandwidth:

https://i.imgur.com/Ow2hweA.jpg

its not much but still more then what p99 uses, right click on it and end the process, it will start back up on its own but it should give you a window of time to log in.

[Swiftyfist]

Hmm i tried all of these options with no luck
when i tried this part
Some people have had success resolving connectivity issues by changing eqhost.txt from:

[LoginServer]
Host=login.eqemulator.net:5998

to

[LoginServer]
Host=leqemulator.net:5998

it just times out instantly
I am going to try another install on another computer in the next day or two i need to pick up a mini usb.
thanks for the help guys hopefully it does fix itself

[ericabeth86]

The issue seemed to be a little better for me last night. I was able to login after a few attempts and survive multiple zonings during peak times. Hopefully this is finally getting resolved.