Cannot reproduce Servers issue ?

[DeletedUser]

As from about 5 minutes ago, none of the 3 servers I play on seem to communicate any more (Beta 1, En1, Fr2).

It started with a 'Stream error' on En1 (sorry, those are from URL, I do not have the actual server names), which the first time I reloaded displayed a message:
================
Welcome to Elvenar!
Get Adobe Flash Player
================
After which none of the 3 URLs loads anything any more, while https://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/ loads perfectly well and confirms that Flash is up and running (as well as up to date which is why I have this page bookmarked).


Update:
Well, while I was posting this, Fr2 displayed in turn the same 'Get Flash Player', then all 3 are now reloading properly.
Unscheduled servers shutdown seems a likely explaination for this glitch.
Or the cleaner needed the plug for a vacuum cleaner (that kind of things has been known to happen elsewhere xD )

 

[DeletedUser]

Similar issue again, but this time just with en1 which has stopped responding about 10 minutes ago; going back to https://en.elvenar.com/web/?#, it recognises me as logged in, propose me to go to the corresponding server (Arendyll), but from there a [Connecting] overlay happen, and nothing more so far.
The other 2 servers I play on are still functionning this time.

Update: 15 minutes later, https://en.elvenar.com/web/? does not even load any more.

2nd update another 15 minutes later: I have cleared the cache, restarted Firefox, still same situation: Beta1 and Fr2 load normally, En1 get back as far as https://en1.elvenar.com/game/index?login=1&ref=_portalbar_flags but not past the [Connecting] overlay.

3rd update: it just loaded on its own right now; 47 minutes past the initial time of this post, making it a roughly 50 minutes apparent server downtime on that server (this post was here because it appeared as a repeat of the earlier problem which affected all 3 servers at once).

However, this confirms my suspicion of server-side issues, as a whole.

 

[DeletedUser628]

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Fafhred. Could you please include some of the details from the bug template found HERE, mainly the following:

Browser + version: __
Flash Player version: __
Operating System: __
Screen resolution: __
Account name: __
Humans or Elves: __
Hardware Acceleration: ON/OFF

As it would help us with our investigation. Thanks!

 

[DeletedUser]

Considering what I have seen, tried, and reported, I do not believe that it can be a client side issue, however here are the informations required:

Browser + version: Firefox (always latest release version, currently 40.0.3)
Flash Player version: You have version 18,0,0,232 installed
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.141211-1742)
Screen resolution: 1366x768 (laptop standard resolution)
Account name: Fafhred (all 3 servers)
Humans or Elves: Elves (all 3 servers)
Hardware Acceleration: OFF

 

[DeletedUser867]

It would also be useful to isolate connectivity issues. Speedtest.net is an excellent tool, our Beta servers are in Hamburg. Your symptoms would indeed be consistent with a flaky internet connection.

If the speed test looks suspicious, from Seattle I'm getting 200 msec ping 8 meg upload and 2 meg download, if you're a techie you could pull your command prompt and run a tracert, to get even more information.

 

[DeletedUser]

I was using 3 servers in parallel.
The first time all 3 servers were simultaneously involved, while the rest of the Internet did not display issues.
The second time, only 1 server was involved, while the other 2 were still operating correctly.
That would be a very bizarre connectivity issue, since those are not known to be selective, however it could be interesting to know if all 3 servers involved are at the same location or in different countries.

I am currently on ADSL 2+ broadband, which according to contract is NOT subject to bandwidth 'management' (or whatever some ISPs want to call restrictions depending time or usage).
A test would only give relevant informations while this problem is occuring; yesterday was the first time, and it has not re-occured since, so far.

One thing I might suspect is a possible bug in the way Flash uses sockets (nothing specific, just a hunch given the current data, experience of past Flash issues, and general past professional experience - I once tracked an apparent programming language bug, back to an actual bug in the BIOS ROM of the computers I was using back then).

 

[Muf-Muf]

Are you still having these issues now? So far, we have been unable to reproduce them.

 

[DeletedUser]

So far, it only happened on Sunday.

 

[Muf-Muf]

Alright, thanks for the feedback! We'll archive this thread for now then. Should it happen again, please don't hesitate to let us know.

 

[DeletedUser]

I am just passing and d not have the time to investigate, but the same issue seems to be happening right now:
- Beta1 loads normally
- En1 stuck at [connecting] overlay
- Fr2 page not loading at all


Checking again several hours later, all 3 loading normally again.

Update Monday morning: I did not see the problem reoccur this week-end, but so far the 3 times I saw it were during week-end, not on week days, so it could possibly be an Internet traffic issue.

 

[Muf-Muf]

For issues with the International (EN) or the French (FR) worlds, please report them at those versions' bug forums or support. At Beta, we can't do anything with reports of other servers' issues, I'm afraid.

 

[DeletedUser]

As I mentioned earlier in the post, it is not a server specific issue, and it first appeared with this server, which is why I posted it here.

 

[DeletedUser]

Actually I am just having the problem again, Beta1 stopped updating infos, so I tried to reload it, and it is now having the same issue (stuck at [connecting], while the other 2 are currently fine.

Just tried to upload a screenshot, but apparently this forum does not like this and gives me an error message (screenshot of it also taken), after a few seconds; the upload attempt never moved from 0%.

Edit: Beta1 just resumed loading, the issue lasted about 10 minutes in total this time.
Both screenshots available if you want me to email them.

 

[DeletedUser]

I am now getting the clear feeling that you only want to bury this issue:
- It DOES reproduce, just not at will.
- It is NOT a server-specific issue, since the server on which it appears vary (therefore telling me to report this to another bug forum looks pretty much like a cop-out).

 

[DeletedUser867]

Gee, if it's not server specific then the common factor must be your last mile.
I've been very happy with the convenient results that I get using speedtest.net.
The US servers are in Miami and the Beta and most of the European servers are in Hamburg.

Here's what I get on a bad day, and it's often much better into both the Hamburg and Miami areas.

 

[DeletedUser]

If it was an Internet connectivity issue of any kind, it would affect at the same time all servers from the same location; this is not the case.

 

[DeletedUser]

I have now observed the bug https://beta.forum.elvenar.com/index.php?threads/6143-fellowship-chat-stuck.3333/ , and verified that it is linked with this: when trying to reload the page when the chat is stuck, most of the times it reloads normally, but sometimes the page does not reload, or even once displayed the 'Get Flash' message, as per THIS bug report.

It also reinforces my suspicion that it could be an issue with Flash handling of sockets; Flash is notoriously prone to hangings, it could simply be hanging on independant sockets.

 

[DeletedUser628]

We have done tests and have not had this issue appear at all. In order for an issue to reproduce it would have to happen after a series of steps are taken. At this time the issue seems isolated to your account and happening at random. We also cannot do anything regarding other servers - the staff behind each market is different and any reports for issues on other markets would have to go through their staff.

The issue being market as 'cannot reproduce' means precisely that, we have investigated it but at the time we could not find anything concrete to establish a bug. We welcome any new information which could help locate the issue, but at the present time, with the information we had, it was not possible to confirm any issue.

Regarding the linked bug report - I have experienced that behavior and have had no problems reloading the game page after it. If other are experiencing similar issues, then do please let us know, any bit of info might be helpful.

 

[DeletedUser118]

Actually, there seem to be some Server issues right now as all I'm getting after trying to log in to the game is blank screen.

 

[Muf-Muf]

Yes, we're on it!