[OPEN] Chat crashes at random times

[Fexno]

Short description:
The chat window crashes at random times. Sometimes (maybe most of the times) it comes back on its own, in other cases you have to reload the game.

Screenshot:


Possible cause:

• Might be connection related
  

  I find that this happens to me sometimes, but not as often as it used to, and only when I am straining my computer's resources, for example:

  • When playing on 2 or more game servers (e.g. Sandycove, Test Server and a German server)
  • When playing the game while accessing other Flash-rich sites, especially ones with lots of ads
  • When downloading or uploading stuff that takes up most of my bandwidth
  • Running your OS on a minimum-spec computer (e.g. Win 7 with less than 1Gb of RAM)

• Corrupt cookies.

 
Prevention:

• My advice for anyone that this regularly happens to, close all other browser tabs and any other programs that access the internet (IRC, downloaders, torrents, etc...).  If you computer is low-spec, then upgrade it - I upgraded from 768Mb to 4Gb recently, and this problem for me was almost eradicated...

• For some people it works if you clear your cookies before you start the game.
• Others think that using chrome reduces the occurences
• Increasing the amount of data the game can store might help, see here

Workaround:
If your chat doesn´t come back automatically, go to the island of a friend and return.

Related:

Original thread(s): 1

[inyi]

i am very happy this is finally reported as a bug

After facing this for a very long time now, i noticed a few things.
It hardly never happens while on adventure, lately it happens occasionally.
*Hiding* on an inactive island prevents the chat from crashing.
It usually crashes when something refreshes, like wheat fields or when all explorers return home
All my mills are close to each other, going to that part of the island creates a huge lag and the chat to crash

Maybe i am wrong, but a button to stop animations might solve the issue

[Rislem]

HI. I have set my browsers to always clear cookies once I exit it and its a matter of minutes not weeks before it starts again, so could you please tell us which browser your using.. I am using a lot of them and all give the same problem.

[DrakeAdams]

Hi. Thanks for opening this, but I have set my browser to remove all cashe once I close it, and this happens constantly, not 1-2 weeks it happens almost right away. Could you please tell us which browser your using, as im using a lot of different onces, there all the same.

[Jamdoggy]

I find that this happens to me sometimes, but not as often as it used to, and only when I am straining my computer's resources, for example:

• When playing on 2 or more game servers (e.g. Sandycove, Test Server and a German server)
• When playing the game while accessing other Flash-rich sites, especially ones with lots of ads
• When downloading or uploading stuff that takes up most of my bandwidth
• Running your OS on a minimum-spec computer (e.g. Win 7 with less than 1Gb of RAM)

My advice for anyone that this regularly happens to, close all other browser tabs and any other programs that access the internet (IRC, downloaders, torrents, etc...). If you computer is low-spec, then upgrade it - I upgraded from 768Mb to 4Gb recently, and this problem for me was almost eradicated...

[Fexno]

could you please tell us which browser your using

I use chrome.

Hmm for those that have it often, could you try and change the amount of data that the game is allowed to store.

• Right-click somewhere in the game
• Click "Settings"
• Go to the middle tab, should be called "Local storage"
• Change the setting to 10 Mb

Also would be nice to know if the prevention measures posted by Jamdoggy helps you.

[Tripi]

Just for info; the chat/trade server does not use local storage. Amending those settings will change nothing. There is no reason to store anything locally for those as they need to refresh quite often. Localhost flash memory is mostly used to store graphics or mathematical algorithms (not done in settlers due to exploit-ability - little known bit of info: the first attempt at hacking/exploiting the settlers online game happened within the first minute of the game going open beta)

Both chat and trade are hosted at a different port to the actual game and are thus governed by thread overload within that port and handling threads of the server (presuming the server was thus configured) that might not affect actual gameplay (subnote: I do not as yet know what flavour of linux the server is running, so cannot guess further).
Flash uses a TCP based transmission protocol (Transmission Control Program) which basically takes control of package handling once direct IP linkage is below scope. A number of applications use this same protocol (email, ftp, ssh, p2p and some similar streams), so it is possible to clog it up. TCP though also has a facilty where the host (the settlers server) will request a resend of the packet which would mean one more communication. (It does though manage to juggle badly handled packages back into the correct order - yay tcp)

Basically though, if you are having trouble with chat refreshing or dropping out, there is little you can do except: reduce your email refresh download rate, limit ftp uploads, limit other tcp based gaming and stop streaming that mmm stuff you do. If that doesn't work, blame overload on the settlers EU server.

[Fexno]

I agree it´s infinitely more likely that is has something to do with the connection to the server.
I was just looking through the things I tried a few months back, when I had chat crashes a lot more often, and this was one of them.

For the others experiencing chat crashes often, follow the advice of Tripi and Jamdoggy and please report here if it helps you or not.

[inyi]

I have nothing running while playing settlers and tried the flash settings increase months ago, it won't make a difference.

If you computer is low-spec, then upgrade it - I upgraded from 768Mb to 4Gb recently, and this problem for me was almost eradicated...

i am not in the position to do that, besides that TSO is a browser based game and do browser based games need system requirements ?
You can't tell me everyone, who plays this game, has a pc or laptop running on win7, to demand that is ridiculous.
Sure i can understand the game is running less smooth on an older pc, but not like this.

[Fexno]

You can't tell me everyone, who plays this game, has a pc or laptop running on win7, to demand that is ridiculous.

He doesn't mean that you have to be running Windows 7, but giving an example that running Windows 7 on a computer with less then 1 GB is considered a minimum-spec. Windows 7 generally reserves a big part of the 1 GB for itself, so not much is left for other applications like settlers online.