P99 started crashing every time I try to login

[saintwarhead]

I've been a P99 player off and on for a few years. A couple weeks ago P99 started crashing at the character select screen almost every time I click Enter World. The game will just freeze and then eventually boot back to the initial login screen. Every now and then I'll get lucky and it will randomly let me login but 99% of the time it freezes. I tried deleting and reinstalling P99. I tried playing P99 on my older laptop that I used to play on all the time - the exact same problem. I've tried logging in with and without WinEQ and the same thing happens. My best guess is something got messed up in my ini files somehow but I'm not savvy enough to know what to look for. Someone please haaalp.

[Vdaria]

Does this happen with another internet connection? Can you test connecting via your phone's internet?

[mcoy]

Yeah, generally a connection issue. ISPs have routing issues from time to time which normally you don't notice. However, EQ uses UDP (rather than TCP) so it's highly susceptible to packets failing to arrive or arriving out of order. Your ISP will "eventually" fix it, but in the meantime using a hotspot, as Vdaria suggested, or a VPN service is a viable workaround. Fortunately, the data usage is minimal as it's a late 90's game so unless you're also working under 90's era data caps you have nothing to worry about.

-Mcoy

[xaix1999]

so in your main eq folder there is character named files
by this i mean, i have a character named bob, so i look for files like bob_ui or *_bob
cut and paste to another folder and let eq generate new ones
the same should be done for your eq_client.ini (i forget the spelling)
if you regenerate both, your problem should fix
reason i say this is the login screen is a separate program from the character screen and game
the resolution is reloaded, along with the graphics and audio to go with the Network stack
once you have ruled those out i would suggest a reinstall just to make sure the files aren't corrupting

but like Mcoy stated the udp packets are dang
i don't have most of the windows issues but i get the udp in spades

[saintwarhead]

You guys are godsends. I connected my laptop to my phone's hotspot instead of my xfinity wifi and problem solved.

[Jibartik]

Is xfinity crap? I was going to get it this month, should I not?

[mcoy]

Depends where you are - all the ISPs just bought out their local competition and only invest in infrastructure when absolutely necessary. Best bet is to ask your neighbors and see which service works best for them.

-Mcoy

[Jibartik]

Hmm my neighbors are pretty stupid lol if you saw them you'd be like, wtf is this a scene from Idiocracy

but Ill check online ha

[xaix1999]

comcast = xfinity

they over sell their network
have some of the slowest speeds
some of the highest prices
and sadly the worst customer service
to go along with the highest fees
all of the Xfinity wifi + router devices are compromised
dns servers are slower than dog turds rolling uphill (you talk to their dns before reaching every website)

only thing that is a pro and con at the same time
if you have Xfinity at home and go to a friend's house that also has Xfinity, you can use the hidden guest network on their Xfinity wifi + router device to get internet with out asking your friend for their password
also the neighbors can do it
most of the time those accounts work for 1 year after you closed your account
and most of those hidden networks are easily exploited