6 replies to this topic

[Raynsideways]

In accordance with the "READ BEFORE POSTING" thread: I HAVE READ THE HOW-TO THREAD

 

Now, to my actual issue. I installed the C&C online launcher and actually got it to work properly, and I was able to play games with my little brother on C&C3 Kane's Wrath. The problems started (seemingly) when I and my computer went back to university. When I attempt to launch the games via C&C Online, the launcher freezes upon me clicking either C&C3 or Kane's Wrath on the launcher. Then, (in the case of Kane's Wrath), separate instance of the launcher opens behind it. If I attempt to launch Kane's Wrath from this second window (the other one is still frozen, mind you, and is only killable via Task Manager), it will start the game, but attempting to log in to C&C Online gives me the "Cannot connect to C&C Online servers" message.

 

Attempting to launch C&C3 just causes the launcher to freeze--no secondary window.

 

Regarding my university (as I realize university firewalls can be finicky): The firewall they have on the network (separate from my own, which has had no conflicts with Online) doesn't seem to have any problems, and I haven't had games or anything conflict with it. That said, if the problem somehow ends up being with the firewall, I'm basically screwed since they have a no-concessions policy. I have almost zero information about their firewall beyond "There is one" and "We're not changing it for you" thanks to a lovely lack of communication from the university.

 

I have tried hooking and unhooking both games as well as reinstalling the C&C Online launcher, all to no avail. I also tried running the launcher in Windows XP Compatibility mode due to receiving the error "CA public key patching routine failed" a few times inexplicably--I can't reproduce this error for some reason. 

 

I originally thought the source of this problem was mods (The C&C3 Essence mod, in particular) I had installed in C&C3, but uninstalling the mods didn't fix the issue or affect it in any way. I am running the games on Windows 8.1 via Origin, as part of the Command & Conquer Ultimate Collection. I also have Bibber's fixed Command & Conquer launchers installed (which solved an issue I was having with missing ssleay32.dll errors when attempting to use mods). Both games work perfectly fine on their own, mods included. The problems only start when I try to launch them directly from the launcher or launch them while they are hooked to it.

 

I also had one random instance where I attempted to launch C&C3 via the launcher; it displayed the game's logo as though it was getting ready to start, and then nothing happened. I don't know if this makes any difference but I also installed Desura to manage my mods recently.

 

Also, I checked my C&C Online Error log, and it is empty.

 

EDIT: I just tried running Red Alert 3 (the only other game aside from C&C3 and Kane's Wrath I have installed from the collection). It does the same as C&C3--produces the opening logo, and then nothing. Red Alert 3 also runs fine on its own.

Edited by Raynsideways, 15 January 2015 - 04:48 AM.

[ToxicShock]

Are you sure that your log is empty?  That is very surprising if the launcher is launching the game, even though it's not loading fully.   Can you confirm what happens when you try to launch from the launcher without the mods? 

[Raynsideways]

It's like I said--I removed all mods, nothing changed--launcher still freezes when attempting to run Kane's Wrath and C&C3. I'd like to clarify that it only started loading C&C3 once or twice, most of the time it just freezes outright when I try to launch it via C&COnline. I did pretty much all of my launch attempts after having uninstalled the mods and confirming that vanilla C&C3 was running properly on its own. As far as I can tell, the log is empty--I went to %temp% and dug up the CNCOnline_Log.txt file right after failing to launch and it was empty.

 

Also, just an FYI, Kane's Wrath has been a vanilla install the whole time--no mods or anything, aside from the fixed launchers (which I was reading were recommended to run it with C&C Online) C&C3 is the only one that was modded further when I was initially trying to launch (I was doing so to test, however unlikely, if it was possible to run online with a modded installation). When it failed to launch, I tried Kane's Wrath to see if the mods were doing it, and Kane's Wrath didn't launch either--leading to what I said above.

 

Edit: I know it's unrelated, but I love your profile pic, lol. I've never seen Kane so happy.

Edited by Raynsideways, 15 January 2015 - 08:02 PM.

[ViperMkVII]

Can you try to run the launcher as administrator?

[Raynsideways]

I attempted that, no effect. Launcher still froze upon game launch.

Edited by Raynsideways, 15 January 2015 - 09:02 PM.

[ViperMkVII]

So when the game starts the C&C: Online launcher will freeze right?

What if end the game launcher process with your task manager? (I mean game launcher, not the C&C: Online Launcher)

When you have launched a game, you can see it's launcher and true game file in your Task Manager.

For example, when you've launched Red Alert 3, you will able to see these two process in the Task Manager: "RA3.exe" and "ra3_1.12.game".

The first one (RA3.exe) is the game launcher, it's used to launch the second one, "ra3_1.12.game", which is the true game main process.

 

The game launcher of C&C3 and KW should be "CNC3.exe" and "CNC3EP1.exe".

What if you end with the Task Manager these game launcher (not the game masin process)? Will the launcher still freeze?

[Raynsideways]

Those instructions were a little tricky, so here's what I tried:

First, I brought up C&C Online and hooked Kane's Wrath, then closed C&C Online. Then, I launched the game via the C&C3 And Kane's Wrath launcher via Origin. (the origin installation uses one launcher where you start it up and it asks you to choose which one to play).

 

Then, I clicked Kane's Wrath, which then took me to the C&C Online Launcher. At this point I went into Task Manager and found the task "CNC3Launcher.exe" (the only C&C Related process aside from C&C Online that had appeared in the Task Manager) and ended the process. Then, I went back to the launcher and clicked on Kane's Wrath. At this point, as in my original post, the C&C Online Launcher froze and a second instance of the C&C Online Launcher opened. This one behaved like I said--it would run the game but wouldn't connect to C&C Online.

Ending C&C3Launcher.exe before choosing either C&C3 or Kane's Wrath (before it takes me to the C&C Online launcher) simply shuts it down on the spot.

 

One thing I noticed while going through this is that the C&C3Launcher.exe process actually closed on its own if I waited a bit. This didn't affect whether the C&C Online launcher worked, however.

 

Update: While I was typing this I had both the frozen and the second C&C Online launchers still up. After a while I noticed that (apparently) the frozen one woke up and I could interact with it. I tried launching C&C Kane's Wrath via the one that was frozen, and it produced this error: 

I closed this out, and then tried the other launcher (the one that opened when the original froze), and it gave me the same error.

 

I'm now working on backing up save files since I'm starting to think this inevitably means I have to re-install both of them.

 

EDIT: So I reinstalled both games. They are both fully vanilla--no mods, not even the fixed launchers. C&C Online will launch the game, but despite everything I have tried, I can't connect to Kane's Wrath or Red Alert 3 online now. I ran it as administrator and turned off my firewall to no avail. Yeesh. 

 

EDIT #2. I tried installing the fixed launchers, and the issue came back. So this basically means I either can play online (which, technically, I can't still, due to the above issue), or I can use mods (and since Origin's installer doesn't differentiate between the two games, I can't, say, install the fixed launcher for C&C3 so it can run mods and leave Kane's Wrath as vanilla so I can play online.)

 

Unless you guys have any suggestions for me, the outlook seems bleak. I'm guessing the vanilla game breaking is due to my university's firewall being a jerk since it worked fine at my folk's place.

Edited by Raynsideways, 17 January 2015 - 02:58 AM.