What's Up With The Server?

iversonjm · Post by **iversonjm** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:19 pm

I consistently get "failed to connect to the server" errors. I'm having no other internet issues.

VPaulus · Post by **VPaulus** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 1:02 pm

Maybe it's temporarily. So far nobody else reported.
Please keep reporting.

iversonjm · Post by **iversonjm** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 1:14 pm

VPaulus wrote:Maybe it's temporarily. So far nobody else reported.
Please keep reporting.

Okay. Its been happening for two days, on an off. At least one other player that I correspond with has had it happen to him as well.

VPaulus · Post by **VPaulus** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 1:15 pm

Ok. I'll warn Iain about this thread.
But keep reporting.

Post by **IainMcNeil** » Mon Nov 14, 2011 11:09 am

Sorry guys - investigating now to see if we can see anything.

the_iron_duke · Post by **the_iron_duke** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:14 pm

I've had the same problem. I tried playing the multiplayer around 1st November, just after I bought the game. My first move worked okay but when I made my second move I got the "failed to connect to the server" several times in a row. I ended up having to redo my move about three times, trying to re-create my original move again and again. Eventually I gave up as it was getting silly.

The second multiplayer game I started has suffered from black screen syndrome (which I've started another thread about). So I've been a bit unlucky with the multiplayer experience and I've been playing the solo campaign instead.

I'm not sure what the "failed to connect to the server" problem was caused by. I was wondering if it was problem my end as I access the internet using a mobile broadband dongle but I don't know if that would be the cause. If someone else is also getting this problem then maybe it's got nothing to do with it.

I was thinking of a way around the problem. Would it work to save the move when it's finished, before pressing the End Turn button, so that it if there are "failed to connect to the server" problems the move can be reloaded perhaps at a later time of the day?

Post by **pipfromslitherine** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:36 pm

Can I get some more info here. At what point do you get the error messages (e.g. when you first attempt to log in, when you try and download a turn, when you try and upload a completed turn, etc).

Cheers

Pip

the_iron_duke · Post by **the_iron_duke** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:56 pm

I just returned to my multiplayer game, remade my move and ended the turn.
I then get the message: "The game will now be saved and sent to your opponent. Continue?"
Then it waits for a while on the Status sub-window with the cog turning and and the message: "Uploading the game..."
Then I get the message: "Failed to connect to server. Please check your internet connection."

I turned off my antivirus firewall, reloaded the game and made my move but got the same result.

Post by **pipfromslitherine** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 9:47 pm

Hmmm - you say you are using a mobile broadband dongle as your internet access? I wonder if it might be an MTU issue, as I know that some mobile protocols have smaller MTUs. Although that is just a guess.

I will see whether there is any way we can test some things out for you.

Cheers

Pip

VPaulus · Post by **VPaulus** » Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:21 pm

pipfromslitherine wrote:Hmmm - you say you are using a mobile broadband dongle as your internet access? I wonder if it might be an MTU issue, as I know that some mobile protocols have smaller MTUs. Although that is just a guess.

When using a mobile broadband dongle, I get the idea that sometimes the "communication" falls asleep, after some time of no Internet activity. When this happens, I've to wait a few seconds before everything goes back to normal, but time enough to get some timeouts. It doesn't happen always.
What I'm telling here is not related with Panzer Corps multiplayer connection, but my personal experience when using such type of mobile Internet communication.

the_iron_duke · Post by **the_iron_duke** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 12:50 am

I've made multiple attempts in a row and tried it on different days so I don't think it's a case of the mobile broadband falling temporarily asleep. What makes it strange is that I was able to send my first move the first time I played (and so received Turn Two to play). That was also using the same mobile broadband dongle (although the previous Panzer Corps patch, if that makes a difference).

Unfortunately it's not easy for me to test sending a move on a different internet connection. Maybe one of the other people experiencing this problem can shed light on what their internet connection is like and whether this might be an issue.

Regarding MTUs, I don't have great technical expertise in this area but I googled them and did an MTU ping test if that's useful. The MTU setting result was somewhere between 1400 and 1422 (didn't fine-tune further).

Razz1 · Post by **Razz1** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:59 am

Funny thing is I play MP games everyday and rarely have a connection problem.

the_iron_duke · Post by **the_iron_duke** » Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:58 pm

I managed to send a move again today so this problem is inconsistent. As I've said, I've tried sending a move several times over previous days without success. Unless I can post my moves consistently then multiplayer is a bit pointless as having to redo moves is a waste of time and unfair to my opponent.

What sort of size is the data package sent between the server and user for each move?

the_iron_duke · Post by **the_iron_duke** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 4:01 pm

Next time I tried to send a move I got the old server problem message. Tech support has no ideas on this?

A useful improvement would be for the move to be saved if connection to the server couldn't be made so an attempt to upload it could be made at another time. As it is, if uploading a turn is unsuccessful then there is nothing that can be done except trying it again at another time which involves redoing one's move.

Rudankort · Post by **Rudankort** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 4:49 pm

Most likely we'll have to send you a custom version of the game EXE in order to fix this issue or at least get some more information about it, this might take a few iterations. In the meantime, what is the scenario you are playing and who is your opponent? If it is a big scenario, it is worth trying to try a smaller one (like Battle of the Bzura or Poland) and see if it plays any better.

Also, could you please collect game's log right after the error happens and send it to me (rudankort@rsdn.ru)? The log can be found in %My Documents%\My Games\Panzer Corps\Log\log.txt.

Thanks!

Rudankort · Post by **Rudankort** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 4:58 pm

And one more question. How much time passes between the beginning of the download and the error message you get? This might be a server time-out, and in that case, increasing the timeout interval (on server side) could help.

the_iron_duke · Post by **the_iron_duke** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:25 pm

Thanks for the attention. The scenario I'm playing is Bersaglieri and the Bear. The opponent's name is listed in the log.txt file which I've sent to the email you provided.

I timed the length between sending the move and being informed of the server error as 1 minute 44 seconds.

Rudankort · Post by **Rudankort** » Thu Nov 24, 2011 5:44 pm

Thanks for update. That sounds like a long interval. When the game did upload for you, did you notice that maybe it uploaded faster than usual?

the_iron_duke · Post by **the_iron_duke** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 1:12 am

I'm not sure how long it took off-hand. I'll have to try some tests and get back to you.

Post by **IainMcNeil** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 11:01 am

We've made a change so that slow connectiond should have longer before the connection times out. Let us know if you continue to have problems.