Knowledge Base
Q: I run Windows Vista and... A: Say no more. There are three common issues.
1. You need to install and run as Administrator. Vista's security doesn't understand how Wizards and Champions handles files. 2. You need to install Wizards and Champions some place other than Program Files. Vista's security thinks the Wizards and Champions patcher is doing something it isn't supposed to. The default installation location of c:\Games\Wizards and Champions should be fine on most systems.
Q: The client won't start? A: If you are running Windows 7, check this report.A: Assuming the problem is not your video drivers, your system is most likely missing DLL files needed by Wizards and Champions to run. Because of rules from Microsoft, I'm not allowed to include them in the installer, but I can give you links to the files. Additional Downloads A: The other cause of a non-start condition is video drivers. If you've never played modern 3D games on this specific computer, it is wise to check to see that the drivers from the video card, motherboard, or laptop manufacturer are up to date.It is NOT safe to assume that just because you can see your desktop that your drivers are correct. Many Microsoft provided drivers do NOT include support for 3D. A: One other note regarding drivers, and this goes in big type for emphasis. Wizards and Champions engine is DirectX 9c. If your video card does not support the shader modes used in Wizards and Champions it will either 1) not play at all, or 2) may play slowly and/or have visual defects. A: One way that you might be able to diagnose a video issue is with a program supplied by Microsoft that comes built-in with the DirectX distribution. It's called dxdiag, short for DirectX Diagnostic. To run it:Start > Run > dxdiag The program will open, and might ask you about connecting to Microsoft about drivers. Answer either way, I prefer to let it connect just in case it finds something. On the first page, it will tell you what version of DirectX is installed. On the machine I'm on this is 9.0c version 4.09. It should be at least 9.0c. If it's older, you need an DX upgrade. From there, hit the display tab. Run the tests for Direct Draw and Direct 3D, and they should pass. If they don't, then you have driver or hardware problems.
Q: I can't get connected to the server. A: Okay. Here's a list: 1. The client has an outdated communications protocol that was designed to work over dial-up connections that got REAL (not private network) IP addresses. Because of this, the client is not aware of NAT Traversal for UDP packets through modern NAT schemed proxy-routers.Some of the new routers can auto-configure NAT UDP forwarding automatically so you don't have to. Others do not. If you are reading this, there's a good chance yours doesn't. If you are confident with handling your own network and computer security, try making the machine you game from the DMZ host so it will receive UDP responses from the Wizards and Champions servers.If you want to setup a ruleset to make Wizards and Champions work (I'm not even sure this is possible with some routers), here is diagram on how to set it up.
2. There are many, many ports in use because of the way Wizards and Champions server clustering works. If your firewall (software or hardware), or your ISPs firewall (probably hardware) doesn't allow those ports to pass between your computer and our routers and servers, then you don't get into the game. If the issue is with your software firewall, then tell it to allow the Wizards and Champions client.exe full access to the Internet. If you don't know how to do this, you might want to find someone local who can help you. If the issue is with a hardware firewall, then depending on how friendly it is you may have to do a good bit of work getting this setup correctly. These are normally configured by logging into the firewall appliance via web browser. Here's a quick ports list:
- 14999 Incoming TCP
- 28900 to 28999 Incoming TCP
- 29000 to 29999 Incoming UDP
(list expressed from server side) UDP packets from server to client are sent to the same port on the client machine that is sending packets to server. This is often the source of connection issues if the client machine is behind a NAT router. Many NAT routers have functions that allow them to be configured to handle such traffic. The ruleset for UDP is packets going to ports from 29000 to 38999 are to open a reverse connection to the machine and port that is sending the packet. With this, our servers should be able to send the game's UDP packets to your computer without issue. *** NEW ***
The default port for your computer to talk to the servers via UDP is 51337. If you configure your router to forward UDP packets on port 5137 to your game machine (also port 5137), this will often allow communications to take place. See Forwarding Diagram 3. We turn the servers off when we have to patch or upgrade the game. I know this is obvious, but I've already had people contact me to tell me that they couldn't connect to the servers on patch days. At the moment the game is in alpha testing, and patches can happen at any time. If you can normally connect without issue, but this time you cannot, most likely the servers are down for a patch. 4. Sometimes things break, and packets don't get through. The Internet is a voluntary interconnection of privately run networks. The network my servers are on probably isn't the same one that your computer is on. This means if something in the middle breaks or gets laggy (overloaded), then you will have trouble getting connected.
Q: I can't login after re-installing. The issue most likely is that you have misentered your username with incorrect CaPitAlization. After this happens, the server refuses to let you fix the caps. Here is the workaround:
Start the game, type something impossible into the login screen.
like...
Username: xoi0907lsdflj
password: not
after it says you can't login, shut the program the whole way down and restart it.
Key your username in the correct case, same with password.
The game should login correctly.
Q: Patcher runs very slowly The patcher is set to play nice to other applications. If set focus to another window, it will run very slowly. Leave it focused if you want fast.NOTE: Patcher slowdown when not in focus has been resolved. If patching moves slowly, this is most likely caused by a slow or very long distance connection.
Q: Uninstalling Wizards and Champions Wizards and Champions installs itself completely into a single folder and sub-folders. Itself, it doesn't use the registry at all. The Wizards and Champions installer does interact with the registry, but only enough that Windows can do the uninstall.Here's the procedure to completely remove Wizards and Champions: Start > Programs > Wizards and Champions > Uninstall
My Computer > C: Drive > Games
Look for a Wizards and Champions folder, and if there is one, delete it.
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