Nikki
meh...
- Gender
- Female
First and foremost, here is a link to Soda's FAQ, I'm only making this as people seem to not want to go through a FAQ and would rather post for help so I'm listing the most common issues users run into. I AM a bit disappointed I have to reiterate some of the things he's already posted but it is what it is.
https://ephinea.pioneer2.net/faq/#technical
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So because so many new members have issues installing the game, keeping it installed, and running into issues with their OS. I'm going to create a simple but neat installation checklist for you to run down if you're having issues. I'll be naming problems that could occur with each issue brought up by users by number, so refer to that as a handy tool to decipher your issue.
Before I get into this, I must stress that Ephinea and all other PSOBB servers are safe, and are not trying to give you a virus. This is a common issue that happens across PSO servers depending on your antivirus, and it's due to the functions of the modifications we've made to the game. Ephinea loads different functions into memory and executes them there, antiviruses see this as a trojan because of how it acts.
This is a false positive and (my guess as im not a coder) this is simply the best way we know to give you custom content because we have only so much access to changing the game. Sodaboy could explain it better than me, but yea. That's a general gist of it. PSO is safe and your antivirus is a derp.
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List of fixes for common problems.
1: before you even install the game, or with some even download it make sure to turn off your antivirus. Some antivirus go so far as to hit our launcher for some reason despite everything its flagged for being a false positive.
2: After installing the game, and before turning your AV back on make sure to put an exception in your whitelist for your Ephinea PSOBB folder. Most paths for this are disc:C programfiles>Phantasy star online/ephinea psobb or w/e you named it. If your game still isn't running correctly or you get DLL error at the login screen, your antivirus is still nailing our DLL as a false positive. Make sure to keep an eye on your quarantine to make sure its not being hit.
3: some antivirus are finicky and will catch the individual exe so if you need to go this far whitelist psobb.exe and online. You shouldn't need to do online.exe but it cant hurt.
4: You're on windows 10 and did not disable the DEP (data execution prevention). To do this.
6: If you logon to your game and your character isn't there, there is a chance you changed your character slots. On your ephinea PSOBB main launcher/patcher window there is a tab at the top right that should read "SLOT 1-4". These are your initial slots. On ephinea you can have many more characters on one account, all you have to do is change this slot.
There is a more rare phenomenon with missing character data that has to do with missing or bad registry values. If changing your character slot didn't help, or...if you never changed it to begin with this might be it. I cant really help with this one but it's been talked about before on the forum so don't be afraid to use our search bar.
7: If your set resolution exceeds your monitors maximum the game will just open and close. Make sure to not exceed your Monitors max resolution in the launcher. If that doesn't work, try different resolutions until one works. Some peoples computers/monitors are picky or just have issues with widescreen/resolution options.
8: If you're crashing in game there is a potential something went wrong with your installation and you might wanna reinstall. Also if you're using custom files like skins and model swaps that could be causing a issue as well. Not all skins are bad but if done incorrectly it can cause instability or crashes. It sounds cliche but reinstalling can save you a lotta guff and doesn't take long.
There is also a issue with some systems not running the game correctly due to its age. It's advisable to mess with the games priority in windows task manager. Just simply hit ctrl+alt+delete (or if you're ingame ctrl+shift+esc to avoid crashing yourself) find PSOBB.exe in your processes tab, and right click it. Go to "Set priority" and set it to high. This doesn't work for everyone but does sometimes.
9: If you keep disconnecting, try running something in your background. I've heard with some ISP's that PSO uses SO LITTLE bandwidth that it can cause you to be disconnected. So keep your connection active with something running in the back so your connection stays active.
I would also heavily recommend NOT using a wireless connection unless you have a very good router, not just with PSOBB but with any game as you're handicapping yourself and your connection to games.
This can also sometimes tie into your antivirus as sometimes there are net monitor shields on certain ones that have conflict with PSO. Make sure you globally whitelist the game!
10: if you're on windows 10, and you want to play the game but see that it's gone it's because a windows update most likely uninstalled it. This is a specific problem with windows 10. I'd personally recommend disabling any form of windows updates (after you're fully up to date) with win10, and blocking microsoft's update servers in your router if you can. I'm not so sure if this is a consistent problem as I refuse to use the OS myself but I've seen this complained about before.
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"The game wont launch!"
See number 2, 3, 4 and 7.
"I get to the title screen but get a patch error in the corner!"
See number 2 and 3, your antivirus or other protection isn't allowing the game to patch correctly.
"It does nothing when I try to launch it!"
See numbers 2 and 3 again. It's very likely you failed to whitelist it and your exe got nuked.
"When I get to my characters some or all of them are missing!"
See number 6
"I went to get on PSO but my install was gone"
See number 10.
"I keep disconnecting from the game and I don't know whats causing it"
See number 9.
"When I download the game there's nothing there"
See number 1
"I downloaded the installer but it refuses to do anything"
See number 1
"The game opens then closes really quick!"
See number 7
I'll be trying to add to this list as I see the problems become common but to my memory these are what people run into the most. Also If I missed ANYTHING, feel free to PM me with the issue people run into and I'll try to post a solution or ask others. Hope this helps and have fun on Ephinea!
https://ephinea.pioneer2.net/faq/#technical
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So because so many new members have issues installing the game, keeping it installed, and running into issues with their OS. I'm going to create a simple but neat installation checklist for you to run down if you're having issues. I'll be naming problems that could occur with each issue brought up by users by number, so refer to that as a handy tool to decipher your issue.
Before I get into this, I must stress that Ephinea and all other PSOBB servers are safe, and are not trying to give you a virus. This is a common issue that happens across PSO servers depending on your antivirus, and it's due to the functions of the modifications we've made to the game. Ephinea loads different functions into memory and executes them there, antiviruses see this as a trojan because of how it acts.
This is a false positive and (my guess as im not a coder) this is simply the best way we know to give you custom content because we have only so much access to changing the game. Sodaboy could explain it better than me, but yea. That's a general gist of it. PSO is safe and your antivirus is a derp.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List of fixes for common problems.
1: before you even install the game, or with some even download it make sure to turn off your antivirus. Some antivirus go so far as to hit our launcher for some reason despite everything its flagged for being a false positive.
2: After installing the game, and before turning your AV back on make sure to put an exception in your whitelist for your Ephinea PSOBB folder. Most paths for this are disc:C programfiles>Phantasy star online/ephinea psobb or w/e you named it. If your game still isn't running correctly or you get DLL error at the login screen, your antivirus is still nailing our DLL as a false positive. Make sure to keep an eye on your quarantine to make sure its not being hit.
3: some antivirus are finicky and will catch the individual exe so if you need to go this far whitelist psobb.exe and online. You shouldn't need to do online.exe but it cant hurt.
4: You're on windows 10 and did not disable the DEP (data execution prevention). To do this.
- Open the start menu
- Type "sysdm.cpl" and press enter
- Go to "Advanced" tab
- Click Settings (on the performance group)
- Go to "Data Execution Prevention" tab
- Select "Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select"
- Click Add and search for PSOBB's executable (NOT the launcher)
- And Click ok to close everything
6: If you logon to your game and your character isn't there, there is a chance you changed your character slots. On your ephinea PSOBB main launcher/patcher window there is a tab at the top right that should read "SLOT 1-4". These are your initial slots. On ephinea you can have many more characters on one account, all you have to do is change this slot.
There is a more rare phenomenon with missing character data that has to do with missing or bad registry values. If changing your character slot didn't help, or...if you never changed it to begin with this might be it. I cant really help with this one but it's been talked about before on the forum so don't be afraid to use our search bar.
7: If your set resolution exceeds your monitors maximum the game will just open and close. Make sure to not exceed your Monitors max resolution in the launcher. If that doesn't work, try different resolutions until one works. Some peoples computers/monitors are picky or just have issues with widescreen/resolution options.
8: If you're crashing in game there is a potential something went wrong with your installation and you might wanna reinstall. Also if you're using custom files like skins and model swaps that could be causing a issue as well. Not all skins are bad but if done incorrectly it can cause instability or crashes. It sounds cliche but reinstalling can save you a lotta guff and doesn't take long.
There is also a issue with some systems not running the game correctly due to its age. It's advisable to mess with the games priority in windows task manager. Just simply hit ctrl+alt+delete (or if you're ingame ctrl+shift+esc to avoid crashing yourself) find PSOBB.exe in your processes tab, and right click it. Go to "Set priority" and set it to high. This doesn't work for everyone but does sometimes.
9: If you keep disconnecting, try running something in your background. I've heard with some ISP's that PSO uses SO LITTLE bandwidth that it can cause you to be disconnected. So keep your connection active with something running in the back so your connection stays active.
I would also heavily recommend NOT using a wireless connection unless you have a very good router, not just with PSOBB but with any game as you're handicapping yourself and your connection to games.
This can also sometimes tie into your antivirus as sometimes there are net monitor shields on certain ones that have conflict with PSO. Make sure you globally whitelist the game!
10: if you're on windows 10, and you want to play the game but see that it's gone it's because a windows update most likely uninstalled it. This is a specific problem with windows 10. I'd personally recommend disabling any form of windows updates (after you're fully up to date) with win10, and blocking microsoft's update servers in your router if you can. I'm not so sure if this is a consistent problem as I refuse to use the OS myself but I've seen this complained about before.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The game wont launch!"
See number 2, 3, 4 and 7.
"I get to the title screen but get a patch error in the corner!"
See number 2 and 3, your antivirus or other protection isn't allowing the game to patch correctly.
"It does nothing when I try to launch it!"
See numbers 2 and 3 again. It's very likely you failed to whitelist it and your exe got nuked.
"When I get to my characters some or all of them are missing!"
See number 6
"I went to get on PSO but my install was gone"
See number 10.
"I keep disconnecting from the game and I don't know whats causing it"
See number 9.
"When I download the game there's nothing there"
See number 1
"I downloaded the installer but it refuses to do anything"
See number 1
"The game opens then closes really quick!"
See number 7
I'll be trying to add to this list as I see the problems become common but to my memory these are what people run into the most. Also If I missed ANYTHING, feel free to PM me with the issue people run into and I'll try to post a solution or ask others. Hope this helps and have fun on Ephinea!
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