Curse

Mason · Dec 09, 2006, 09:11 PM // 21:11

Recently I switched from horrible dial-up internet to satellite. Hughes: www.hughes.com, to be exact.

Now, it's stuck on connecting to Arena.net everytime I try to login to the game.

Does anyone know any solutions?

Thanks,
-Mason

Elemental Cotton · Dec 10, 2006, 12:20 AM // 00:20

I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but have you tried contacting your internet service?

mrgoat · Dec 10, 2006, 03:51 AM // 03:51

A quick look around guildwars.com didn't tell me anything about what ports etc. have to be open for gw work, but if you can connect to the internet, but get stuck on the "connecting to arenanet" message, I'd guess it's an issue with your ISP or router blocking traffic on ports that the gw client needs to use. I would send a message to arenanet support, and they can likely tell you what steps to take to ensure proper connectivity. It might require going back and forth between you and anet and your isp though, so be patient.

The other thing it could be is firewall settings on your end. Did you add any hardware, like a router? Sometimes they come with some rudimentary firewall features.

Either way, arenanet support should be able to tell you at least what ports need to be open to connect, and someone around here can help you out with figuring out who needs to do what to make sure it's open.

plastichead · Dec 10, 2006, 04:32 AM // 04:32

a friend of mine had a similar problem connecting for any length of time with hughes service. turns out that hughes is unreliable at best and can't deliver on what they promise.

for more info from people who actually use Hughes, check here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sat

Mason · Dec 10, 2006, 04:33 AM // 04:33

Looks like I'll be calling the dreaded customer support, then.

Thanks.

Mason · Dec 10, 2006, 04:35 AM // 04:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by plastichead

a friend of mine had a similar problem connecting for any length of time with hughes service. turns out that hughes is unreliable at best and can't deliver on what they promise.

for more info from people who actually use Hughes, check here: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sat

Yeah, I joined those forums and was asking some questions today.

Hughes is far from perfect, but it was either this or 28.8 randomly disconnecting dial-up for me--no other alternatives.

Did your friend ever be able to connect to Guild Wars, or is my situation hopeless?

aeroclown · Dec 10, 2006, 07:29 AM // 07:29

The last bits of information I read up on about consumer level satellite based internet brings for a different issue other then that of reliability. In most circumstances these connections while suitable for browsing and downloading are not well fitted for online game play and streaming content. The problem is not one of a providers reliability but one of latency. What often occurs is the time it takes for the signal to travel both ways to the uplink and from the downlink create problems for the above mentioned and similar content. I would be surprised though not entirely if there is little that can be done for you. I haven't personally used consumer level satellite based Internet services, but to my knowledge there is actually quite little you can do to minimize the effects of the time of travel.

Vlatro · Dec 11, 2006, 11:37 PM // 23:37

Sorry to say, you may have been better with dial-up. Satellite internet is extremely limited on the up-band, so latency is very high. You should be able to log in however. According to AreaNet, Guild Wars uses TCP Ports 80 and 6112. Try forwarding those. Also consider that port 80 (used for updater and login I believe) is sometimes blocked by ISP's to prevent users from hosting web servers. If they gave you "Setup Software" that you had to use to get your connection working, they are likely forwarding port requests on a "per approved application" level, similar to windows xp firewall. You should be able to configure it, but expect to be calling tech support a few times to do it. May even be in the router/modem firmware.

Run Diagnostic mode to do a traceroute. Copy your Guild Wars shortcut, then edit the target field in the shortcut properties and add " -diag" (minus the quotes) after the program location. Launch the new shortcut and let it run. It'll save a Text file in the Guild Wars directory with all the test results, including a traceroute. If your ISP is blocking it, you'll see their IP address or domain in the log file but not AreaNet's. If you can't make much sense of the file, just send it to areanet, and copy in your ISP's tech support. They'll get back to you with an answer.

Out of curiosity, where are you located, and do you have a laptop? I used to live in a remote town in Arizona, and relied on open WiFi connections from companies (who never enabled WEP). The Office Park right down the road may be your ticket to a free T1 line. Schools are also a great source for fast free unsecured WiFi networks. Just something to consider.