FloatingFatMan

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PS - hey ML, did FFM actually say that? I find it... disturbing. *twitch*

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Yes, I did. However, context is important too! We were discussing CGI movie monsters over the more traditional men in rubber suits!

I don't know... Logic would dictate that datacentre bandwidth upgrades would help a lot, but there could also be problems in the netcode the game uses. There's a LOT more data being transfered down the line to every user now than there was a few issues ago, and this HAS been seen to cause extra lag...

How about implementing Direct Debit payments?

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Seems my work's filter is smarter than I am, it won't let me near the Sun's website!!

"430 - Forbidden

You don't have permission to access http://www.thesun.co.uk on this server"



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Danish HO's FTW!

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Finnish, actually!

Seems my work's filter is smarter than I am, it won't let me near the Sun's website!!

"403 - Forbidden

You don't have permission to access http://www.thesun.co.uk on this server"

Entered!

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Romans? In 300? Where? I didn't see any...

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I think there might have been some Romans hiding behind the samurai.

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Nah, that was Vikings... Couldn't you see all the spilled ale from their quaffing? There was so much of it, boats were sinking!

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I too have concerns regarding I13... I got the feeling with I12 there was a distinct move away from the classic superhero comicbook game with Cimerora, clearly trying to cash in on Frank Miller's 300 and the subsequent movie.

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Uh? What similarities do you see between Cimerora and 300? I'm hard pressed to find any.

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The fact that they both involve Romans *Shock! Horror!*

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Romans? In 300? Where? I didn't see any...

Then it comes down to the shoddy netcode. Time to throwaway the 56k limitations perhaps? I know there are still one or two people on dialup in the US as I've seen their posts; but to quote Spock & Kirk... "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one..."

Actually, the US servers got an upgrade not too long ago, so are now a little higher specced than ours. The problem, though, isn't the actual servers themselves. I've always suspected the netcode the game uses isn't that efficient, and it's known that the internet infrastructure, at least between the UK and Germany where the datacentre is located, sucks big time. So the problem is likely a combination of iffy netcode, and [censored] network.

Well, I had major fun yesterday.. About 4ish I had a MAJOR lag bomb in Talos. So bad that even messages to team chat were taking 2 or 3 minutes to appear, some got lost. My netgraph was solid yellow (no red oddly), and I couldn't move anywhere without rubber banding. Took me near 10 minutes to actually enter the mission, and then it was ok.

After the mish, I tried to alt to another character, and I couldn't get back in to the game. Constant "lost connection to db server" errors when selection the server. Took 2 hours before I could reconnect...

I'm rather fed up with the German datacentre... It's ALWAYS like this on DXP weekends, and there's no need for it! The servers themselves can handle the load, it's the sodding datacentre that can't!

What video card are you using?
What video drivers are you using?
What OS are you running?
What other programs are you running with CoH?
What graphics setting causes the crash?

Frustrating as it is, it's also TOTALLY normal on DXP weekends. It's ALWAYS like this, due mainly because of the rubbish internet infrastructure at the German datacentre.

There's a common problem on the installer where it creates a shortcut to the US version instead of the EU one. Check your shortcut, you'll probably find it's pointing to "CohUpdater.EXE". This needs to be changed to "CohUpdater.EU.exe". If you don't have that file, copy it from your desktop.

He probably added Asus because they make the best motherboards on the planet.

Yep, it loaded up no problems, but then, my firewall and router are correctly configured. Just because a hotel allows free web access, doesn't necessarily mean they are happy with guests gaming over the internet, which uses quite a bit more bandwidth than just web browsing or email and would likely affect their other guests. You really should try talking to the hotel staff, and ask them if they allow online gaming through their connection.

Incidentally, I've just installed CoH on my new laptop, which has a T2330 1.6 gig CPU and the same video as yours, a lower spec machine, and it runs fine. A little slow, but fine, so your laptop CAN run CoH. It's the hotel internet connection that's blocking you.

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I think villain RP would be far easier if a normal meeting in Pocket D could be made. I myself have a character I love roleplaying, but you rarely get the chance with other villains, and its pot luck in Pocket D. If GG became located at Pocket D, then it could be the primary roleplayer gathering for both sides, making plots easier with heroes AND villains roleplaying together.
I have never been good at roleplaying a hero, I just don't know how, but anti-heroes just don't work as they're too self centered to be liked by heroes, but with far too much good intention to be accepted by villains.

If you could combine GG for villains and heroes together, RP could become easy for both sides.

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Many people's heroes have no reason or desire to go to PD, and to be honest, GG has been established pretty much since EU launch, and it's really not going to change. People have suggested it before and nothing has or will, ever become of it.

Besides, there are plenty of hero RPers who don't like the GG scene, and either RP in PD, or amongst their own circles.

Those programs won't be using the same ports as the game does though, so those tests aren't really valid. There are thousands of ports through which you can send data, you know (in fact, 65535 IIRC); and each one is separate to the others.

If it's hanging in the same place, right after you click AGREE to the EULA, I still disagree it's a hardware problem. A poorly configured router, or blocked firewall, would make the game appear to lock up too.

If it won't go any further than the EULA, then that really does point towards a connection issue. If the windows firewall is disabled, then there's a very good chance the hotel internet is either deliberately blocking ports, or just isn't configured properly to let game traffic through.

Have you tried any other games on the laptop?

EDIT: Not Windows Safe Mode. Just the game Safe Mode.. A checkbox on the launcher itself.

OK, that's the X3100 then. Have you tried visiting Dell's website and seeing if they have newer video drivers? Also, have you tried clicking the "Safe Mode" checkmark on the launcher? That will set the game to minimum video settings.

As for the hotel, you put a question mark there... Are you asking me, or are you not sure if they are or not? It may be that they're not, but that whatever connection system they're using has a router than needs the correct game ports opening.

At what point exactly does it lock up? On the updater? On the "LOADING" bit of text? On the CoH loading picture? On logging in? On selecting a character?

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Or you can end up insulting a load of lesbian girls with retractable cat claws and be hunted down for the rest of your short-and-fear-filled life.

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Hey, you made that particular bed... Now you gotta lie in it!

*Releases the catgirls*

OK, that helps a LOT. Thanks.

According to Dell, that machine comes in a couple of flavours, including 2 possible video cards. Are you able to go to the Device Manager (Right click My Computer->Manage->Device Manager->Display Adapters) and tell us which one you have? It'll be either an Nvidia Quadro NVS 135M, or an Intel X3100.

Either of them SHOULD be able to run CoH, at least on absolute minimum settings, but it might require updated video drivers to do so. The X3100 though, isn't really a chipset that's condusive to gaming... I know, I just bought an Acer laptop with the same chipset, though I've not had chance yet to try CoH on it.

I still think, though, that the hotel internet might be the root cause. You could try asking them if they're blocking some ports, but I very much you'll get anyone capable of answering that question...

So... From that, it looks like they WANT to lose one HELL of a lot of players then...