Technical/bug/lag guide

[Globalastro]

Before posting, I would like you to know what a bug IS and what is a Technical issue. Also, I would like you to know what bugs have already been reported. This should help from confusion between things in the wrong place and help for things to get noticed by the game developers and GMs.

To start out, What is a bug?

Spoiler!

In a game, a bug (or glitch) is a problem in the games coding that causes issues with game play while IN game. These include (but are not limited to)

1. Quests not finishing
2. Menus not closing
3. Certain graphics issues
4. Invisable equips
5. etc

What is a technical issue?

Spoiler!

Technical issues are more client side issues. These include (but are not limited to):

1. Control issues
2. Patcher issues
3. Error messages
4. Login issues
5. etc.

Now, please do not confuse any of these with Lag/Latency.

What is lag/latency?

Spoiler!

"In computing and especially computer networks, lag (slang) is a symptom where result of an action appears later than expected. While different kinds of latency are well defined technical terms, lag is the symptom, not the cause..."

"...While strictly every packet experiences lag, the term lag is used to refer to delays noticeable to the user. Latency is directly related to the physical distance that data travels. Thus the time taken for a packet to travel from a computer server in Europe to a client in the same region is likely to be shorter than the time to travel from Europe to the Americas or Asia. But protocols and well written code that avoid unnecessary data transmissions are less affected by the latency inherent in a network. Modern corporate networks have devices to cache frequently requested data and accelerate protocols, thus reducing application response time, the cumulative effect of latency."

There are 2 types of lag associated with this game that can cause issues, those are "Packet Loss Lag" or "Distance/Slow Connection Lag"

Now, with lag a multitude of issues can occur but are almost always client side, and not server side. These (Distance/Slow Connection) include (but are not limited to):

1. Players on different maps during PVP
2. Characters who seem take delayed damage or no damage at all
3. Monsters frozen in PVE
4. Monsters seeming to not take damage or not a full combo in PVE

Instances of Packet Loss Lag include (but are not limited to):

* Characters flashing back and forth on screen in PVP
* Characters appearing from nowhere in PVP
* Erratic movement by monsters in PVE

Before posting any bugs/glitches, technical problems or lag issues, please make sure to verify which of these it is and please post it in the correct forum.


Notes:

Spoiler!

Note 11/14/08:

1. Guide has been updated on MyMMOGames.net and reformatted to fit the forum coding. If you notice any mistakes, please let me know so that I can fix them as soon as possible!

Note 8/23/08:

1. (NEWS UPDATE) Loki Officially confirmed my worst fear after the most recent patch. Unfortunatly Microsoft Windows Vista is not OFFICIALLY compatible with GC (or vice versa, but as vista is the craptastic program and GC is the better program, its Vista that should be highly scorned) Due in large fact to Vista's stability issues and also Legal issues
   • What does he mean by legal issues?
     1. I've been pondering this lately and come to this conclusion: There was an issue with programs saying that they were vista compatible that were not and caused lawsuits.

1. (UPDATE) ok, it seems that the boot to pvp fix i have listed here is less effective (for me atleast) since the last patch, is anyone else not able to use this hotfix anymore? once i get around to clearing up some space on my computer to reinstall GCBR or GCTW and test it there.

NOTE 8/18/08:

1. (FIX)Realized that i never posted most of the causes and fixes for technical issues.... OOPS!

NOTE 8/17/08:

1. (UPDATE)There have been some reports of receiving an error message stating that a 3rd party program or hacking software has been found running, restricting Grand Chase to run. There have also been reports that some normal programs will cause this. Here is a list of Known possible programs that may cause this.
   • o Apple iTunes
     1. + Now, i understand that this list is small... but bear with me, i can hardly test every program to see if it causes an issue. Most likely, programs that access the internet for updates that are not made by microsoft may cause this.

NOTE 8/12/08:

1. If you have an issue that you can not seem to find a solution to, feel free to post about it in this thread.
   • Please include:
     1. What happens when you get this bug
     2. What you were/are doing when this bug appears
     3. System specs
        • right click on My Computer and select Properties
   • Screenshots if possible or exact quoting of the error message if applicable
2. You can also PM me, I try to check them daily
3. If you do not see a response for a period of time, I no longer PLAY grand chase, but I am here to try to help you to be able to.

• side note:
  1. I lose my computer in a month as my brother needs it back ('tis his) so i may be posting updates from my phone. If need be, i will have a very trusted friend continue with updates that I tell him to edit in this post.

Currently trying to figure out: (7/19 10:01 PM PST):

Spoiler!

[list=1] System restart after loading screen

• If you can give me any information about what your system specs are and if you have always gotten this problem before, please let me know, i will try to do my best to see if i can simulate the problem and find a fix

[*] Boot to pvp, I am currently having this issue and doing everything i can to try to fix it, I have done everything posted about the error to no avail for the past 2 days, as soon as I find any possible solutions that have not been posted before, I will update this. At the moment, I am almost positive that it has something to do with lag. files not loading correctly when it opens.

• Currently trying to see if maybe available HDD space may cause this issue, as i found i am suddenly down to 323mb.

• THINGS I HAVE TRIED OR AM CURRENTLY TRYING:
  
  1. If this is caused by lag. (NO)
  2. If it is a running process in Vista that interferes with Main.exe (NO)
  3. Repatching most/all of Grand Chase from scratch (NO)
  4. Rebooting (rarely)
  5. Repeatedly logging in (rarely, but less often than rebooting
  6. If it is a HDD space issue (currently testing Did NOT help)
  7. Running as admin (helps, but does NOT fix)
  8. Running in XP SP2 compatibility mode (helps but does NOT fix)
  9. Turning off UAC (Helps but does NOT fix)
  10. Turning off Antivirus (No change)
  11. Turning off firewall (Helps but does NOT fix)
  12. Upgrade to Vista SP1 (Do not know, receive error when trying to upgrade and it reverts back did NOT help)

Added to Guide:

Spoiler!

ADDED 6/23/2008 1:39 PST

Spoiler!

1. Lag issues and how to fix them
2. Windows Vista issues and possible solutions

ADDED 7/29/2008 10:01 PM pst

Spoiler!

[list=1] Windows Vista "Boot to PVP" Hot fix

Bugs that have been discovered:

Spoiler!

1. Invisible equips from quests
2. Crossbow fragments that will not go above 150 (FIXED)
3. "Quest information does not match..."
4. Inability to take off equipment/items
   • Cause:
     1. Equipment expiring while in use
     • Fixes:
       1. Exit grand chase and log back in
5. Sticking Menus. (I.E. Cannot close mission menu)
6. No text in game (found by toxxy Instance of no text reported)
7. Not receiving amount of exp due (found by nashannata Exp glitch poster)
8. Ronan's job change mission can be bought and completed at level 15 i believe
9. Anything listed in the above list of bug examples (What is a bug? section)

Technical issues that have been discovered:

Spoiler!

1. Any game guard issue or error message when the patcher tries to start the game
   
   • Gameguard Error 72: Gameguard failed to initialize
   • Error 7c. The GameGuard.des file is missing or has been modified. Please reinstall the game. (error 7c)
   • Error 97/b4. An error occurred while executing Gameguard. Please send us *.erl files to game@inka.co.kr (error 97/b4)
   • error 73-The game client or gameguard is already running. Please close and restart the program.
   • Error a0- An error occurred while executing GameGuard. Please send us *.erl files in the GameGuard folder to game@inca.co.kr.
2. Errors patching the game
   
   • After auto-patching, computer restarts
   • after clicking Start, nothing happens.

Issues (most likely) related to lag

Spoiler!

1. Inability to join dungeons
2. inability to join PVP matches
3. Players flashing around the screen
4. Players frozen on the map
5. Monsters frozen in dungeons
6. Monsters moving erratically
7. Opponents appearing to take no damage

Ways to decrease lag

Spoiler!

• Wireless:
  1. Move closer to your wireless router
  2. Stop any and all downloads and do not load webpages
  3. Reset your router
     • Do this by turning your router off for 60 seconds, then back on
  4. Reset your modem
     • Do this by turning off your modem for 60 seconds, then back on
  5. Reset both your modem and router for 60 seconds
  6. Repair your connection
     • Do this by right clicking on the wireless icon in your task bar, then click properties, then repair
  7. Try using a CAT5 cable to connect directly to your router to see if that fixes the problem.
     • NOTE: If you are the only one using the wireless connection, try going around the router completely and hooking up straight through the modem to see if it helps

• Wired connection
  1. Reset your Modem
  2. Do this by turning off your modem for 60 seconds.
     • Some lag issues cannot be fixed by any means other than moving, If you are overseas and you play Grand Chase, I suggest looking for a grand chase version closer to your area

• List of other Grand Chase versions
  1. Korean Website
  2. North America website
  3. Brazil website
  4. Taiwan website
  5. Hong Kong website
  6. Southeast Asia website
     • If there is no version closer than this one, then you will have to deal with what is called Distance lag

Issues while using Windows vista:
(Yes, I am dedicating a separate section to lag.)

Spoiler!

1. After clicking start, nothing happens
   
   Spoiler!

   • Possible fixes for this but are not guaranteed.
     1. Turn off UAC. (To do this, go into control panel and use the search bar to search for UAC, it comes right up, do not ignore the warnings that come up please, take them seriously, if you do not know what UAC is or what it does, I strongly recommend not playing around with it.
     2. Make sure your computer is in compatibility mode with Windows XP SP2
     3. Make sure you are running as administrator
     4. Disable any firewall or anti-virus software
        • WARNING: This will cause your computer to be more vulnerable to infections of viruses and spyware
2. Boot to PVP
   
   Spoiler!

   • In all honesty, it seems to just be a client side error tending to deal with Vista.
     1. Possible fixes:
        • turn off UAC
        • Disable all firewall and antivirus (I have never had this one work)
          
        • Re Log
          1. Reason for the relog, is because it almost seems to be an error dealing with the game not loading correctly sometimes on Vista.
        • Re Login AGAIN
          1. keep relogging till it lets you in, try at different times, wait like an hour, try again twice, wait another hour, try twice
        • Restart your computer
          1. (Added 7/19/2008 10:01 pm PST) It seems to be a problem with a Microsoft Vista Startup application that causes an interference with grand chase, Keep rebooting your computer until it lets you in, and I can assure you, this has worked for myself, LuzCeleste and others I have talked to in game.
        • if you delete every file in the "Stage" folder except "str_mission_en" then run the Launcher let the patcher reinstall the files. Then after that restart your computer and it should let you play until you restart your computer. This is still just a hypothesis it has worked for me everytime and so I post it here as a "Possible" solution (Credit LuzCelest)
          1. I have tried this with poor results, it did work once or twice, but not enough to call it an actual hotfix
        • NOTE, I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS FOLLOWING FIX, IT IS SOMETHING THAT I TOSSED TO CUJOEX FOR HIS THOUGHTS AND WE AGREE ITS WORTH A SHOT, BUT AT THE SAME TIME DO NOT KNOW WHAT RISKS ARE CAUSED BY USING THE MASTER VISTA ADMINISTRATOR ACCOUNT THAT MUST BE UNLOCKED VIA THE COMMAND PROMPT

          1. To unlock the secret administrator account in Windows Vista, follow these steps:
             
             Start> type cmd in the search box> right-click on cmd.exe> select Run as Administrator> type: Net user administrator /active:yes then press enter. Now the next time you log in you will see the ”master” administrator account, which BTW is unprotected so I strongly suggest you set a password. Now if you want to disable the administrator account just follow the same steps above but change the active:yes to active:no (Net user administrator /active:no).

             • If you attempt this, please let me know the results, I currently use that administrator account on my desktop, but have never had an issue with GC on it. The laptop I had that received the boot to pvp issue has been sent back to my brother so I cannot test it myself
   
   
   
3. System restart after loading screen
   
   Spoiler!

   • (note I have not tested these yet as I have not been able to simulate this problem, so I am just going to post the standardized Vista troubleshooting possibilities)
     1. Right click on Grand Chase and click on Run as Administrator (whether you are the Admin account or not)
     2. Right click on Grand Chase and click on Properties, go to the compatibility tab and click on run in compatibility mode making sure that Windows XP SP2 is the version selected

Ok, i tested the above issue (vista vs vista sp1) and it seems it does not make a difference, i finally got it to upgrade only to have the same problem. Now, I understand that many of you are frustrated, i am to as i have been able to play 3 hours in the past 4 days, but we just have to keep troubleshooting it to figure out the cause, obviously Ntreev has not found a way to recreate this issue, therefor they are useless in helping with the exception of offering us suggestions to try, but i believe we have covered most of the obvious ones, and some of the less obvious ones, just keep trying guys, we will figure it out eventually.

Copyright Tim Kelley 5/26/2008
MyMMOGames and Gavist Media LLC are the only places with the rights to this guide, if you see it anywhere else, please email me.
Please, let me know if you notice major mistakes in spacing/listing/grammar/spelling/etc. I am updating this guide at 3:30AM EST. I started editing this about 2 hours ago? So I'm a little tired and may have missed something! I would also like to know if this guide is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, I have just spent 15 minutes just playing with the text sizes alone and tried to make it not hurt anybody's eyes. Also, due to format differences between this forum and the official forum, there may be spaces where they are not needed, PLEASE let me know via PM so that I can correct them as soon as possible!