10 replies to this topic

[morbiditto]

I can't even start the darn game, it gives me this 'sprite' bs as soon as i press start button. first i have tried to download the game for 6 hours or so, the download was at first stopping every 20-30 minutes, zz, finally it was done so i thought' oh goodie!' but my effort was naught... my eyes are closing already, and all i get on this support forum is how i should run the darn exe files as admin and install the damn game outside of protected directories. i've reinstalled it 3 times, inside protected directory, outside of it and on the different hdd... result:'sprite!!!missing!!!x3', i mean how hard it has to be to install one little rpg on this wreck i call my pc? but this is it, i give up, i'll go to sleep and forget the whole thing... i hope i'll find some sprites there, anything but my x

^^

[Chucklet]

*looks around, lifts keyboard*
"nope, no sprites here... Have you checked your thrash can?" (sorry, could not resist).

---

If you have downloaded the install files from any other site than either Warpportal or irowiki, the problem lies there.

However, if that is not it: The message you get is that you miss certain files, like you figured out. When you 'patch' the client (running the .exe) does it give a message? (ie: patch failed or patch completed?) Is the folder you installed it in marked as 'read only'? What system do you use? Have you tried a manual patch method? (etc.)
If you want some help we need to know what we are dealing with .

Edited by Chucklet, 01 June 2011 - 04:20 PM.

[DrAzzy]

Sprite errors as soon as the game loads, before you even log in? You've got _no_ sprites, i'd say.

I'm with chucklet in suspecting something with the download - you got the iRO 13.2.2 VIP download?

Also, you don't have any illegal private server clients running do you? You can't run those at the same time as RO, they don't get along.

[morbiditto]

Well, I have tried installing this again as soon as I got back from work today, most of the time it took to download the client, this time I used the one hosted on iRO Wiki page (iRO 13.2 VIP Full) as yesterday I was downloading it from the main site. The installation process went fine without any problems, patching also. And here I encountered a couple of unusual situations, while I was writing this, I pressed the client .exe to make sure of the 'patching complete status'and was surprised by that the client started patching again, I back off a bit to see where will it lead me, but at some point ragnarok.exe crashed at 'repacking resource files'.

Funny thing I noticed, when I go to the location where RO is installed and press the .exe icon patch client opens with a status 'patching complete', but when I go to that same location using objectdock and start it from there it starts patching every time but crashes every time attempting to repack resource files.

To say frankly I am a bit confused how the things go, I have an idea of installing some other regions client, or at least try to do that.

And DrAzzy answer to your question would be no, I tried doing all steps with no programs at all running on the background, and this is my first attempt of playing RO. To think of I live in East EU, can the region be the cause of my problems? Also I run Windows XP Pro SP 3 on Intel Celeron Dual Core 2.4 Ghz with 1Gb RAM with an integrated Intel graphics card, it is a pretty outdated gear but as I think enough to play RO.

[DrAzzy]

Well, I have tried installing this again as soon as I got back from work today, most of the time it took to download the client, this time I used the one hosted on iRO Wiki page (iRO 13.2 VIP Full) as yesterday I was downloading it from the main site. The installation process went fine without any problems, patching also. And here I encountered a couple of unusual situations, while I was writing this, I pressed the client .exe to make sure of the 'patching complete status'and was surprised by that the client started patching again, I back off a bit to see where will it lead me, but at some point ragnarok.exe crashed at 'repacking resource files'.

Funny thing I noticed, when I go to the location where RO is installed and press the .exe icon patch client opens with a status 'patching complete', but when I go to that same location using objectdock and start it from there it starts patching every time but crashes every time attempting to repack resource files.

To say frankly I am a bit confused how the things go, I have an idea of installing some other regions client, or at least try to do that.

And DrAzzy answer to your question would be no, I tried doing all steps with no programs at all running on the background, and this is my first attempt of playing RO. To think of I live in East EU, can the region be the cause of my problems? Also I run Windows XP Pro SP 3 on Intel Celeron Dual Core 2.4 Ghz with 1Gb RAM with an integrated Intel graphics card, it is a pretty outdated gear but as I think enough to play RO.

Does RO have full permissions in the location it's installed?

It sounds like it's having trouble accessing data.grf in general (which would explain why there are no sprites when you try to start the client). Based on your latest observation of odd patch behavior as well, i'd venture a guess that it's failing to load/modify/etc data.grf entirely, resulting in the client getting no sprites or any other data, and the first sign of that being that it can't display the custom cursor, and choking with missing sprite errors.

What is "objectdock"?

iRO is the correct RO to play from eastern europe (note that Russia has an ruRO, though you can still play iRO from russia afaik). In any event, this isn't the problem, because the client will run fine even if you're using the wrong one for the location you live. A few countries are actually blocked from accessing the game (but again, the client will work) because of massive abuse from those countries (ex: most of china), but countries with their own national RO's are just blocked from payment.

That computer should run RO fine (if you threw some more ram in there - which btw would be a cheap and easy way to dramatically improve your computers performance - you could run 2 clients at once no problem. With 1 GB of ram, you'll have crap performance switching between clients if you were to run 2 clients).

Edited by DrAzzy, 02 June 2011 - 08:13 AM.

[morbiditto]

Hey,

to cover that 'objectdock' question, it's a desktop customization app I use, it was just weird to notice that it's 'explore' function would cause .exe file to behave differently.

Also I have installed and patched the game, and it's running, with Your help Gentleman! All I did is repeat my steps, but this time I used 'Run as...' when installing the game, also 'Run as...' when launching ragnarok.exe for the first time, so it patched properly and hopefully won't give me any more headaches.

The thing is that I am the only user on this PC and this profile has all the possible authority needed to work with, I have never encountered a problem like this one before thus it took me a while to figure this out, again with your assistance Gentleman, as you focused your advices around 'permission' issue.

Well, that's a relief ^^

Also I've noticed your comments among most of the posts I have checked yesterday in search for a solution, I reckon it's not an easy task to keep the forums clean and try and offer a word of advice to those in need of it Thank you very much for paying attention to this post and for the assistance given!

[DrAzzy]

O_O since when does Windows XP SP3 have a "Run as Admin" option? I thought that nightmare came with vista and later only!

You need to _always_ run it as admin. On versions of windows where MS has started doing the whole "run as admin" option, processes are normally launched with reduced privileges EVEN IF THE USER HAS ADMIN PRIVILEGES!


Start long rant:
Prior to the introduction of UAC and "Run as admin" options and so on, if you were logged in on a windows user with admin privs, everything ran with full privs. It was like logging into a unix/linux system as root. This was seen as a security flaw, and so in Vista and later, things are launched with user privileges, unless they are somehow set to run otherwise - system control panels automatically escalate privileges, and there are ways of making a program require admin rights to run and automatically escalate privs when run (wait, doesn't this defeat the point? In any case, these methods don't work half the time!), and of course, you have the ability to explicitly run things with admin privs - so now, a windows user with admin privs acts like a unix/linux user with SUDO privileges.
And then they made program files a protected location that you need admin access to modify. But this would break scores of programs, which foolishly took microsoft's word when they said "install your program in program files!", and assumed (understandably) that they'd have full rights to write config files, run patchers, etc, in the same directory as the program. So to try to maintain compatability, windows (Vista and later only, "UAC File and Registry Virtualization" silently virtualizes the program files directory when someone without proper privileges tries to modify stuff in it, putting the modified files into a virtual store hidden under that users documents, and when they later request the file, if they're not running as admin, it shows the version in their virtual store, and if they are as admin, it shows the real files. Oh, and installers run with user privs can under certain conditions modify protected locations, and in other conditions cant!
This can result in a situation where a program running as admin will see one set of files - but if you look in the directory, you'll see a totally different set of files (because windows explorer runs with user privs, you see...) - and this is _intended behavior_. Whoever made the decision to make that possible deserves to be dragged out and beaten to death (no jury would convict).

This is inconvenient for one as many windows systems are only used by one person, and the whole thing is so obnoxious that most people either disable it or get used to running things as admin, secondly, it represents microsoft changing the rules of the game, causing a lot of application problems, like the ones encountered by RO - and their implementation is horrendous enough that you can't design around it, because the default behavior is not standard.

Turning UAC off (on vista and later - again, I don't know how you have UAC-like "run as admin" options on XP*) tends to get rid of most of the wierdness, but some have still observed anomalous behavior in program files (possibly from applications detecting the situation and trying to compensate?). In any case, the whole thing is a horrific mess, and that's why RO (and anything else that patches itself) shouldn't go in program files on Vista and later, and if you're still reading now, I salute you.


*Maybe you actually have vista, configured to look like XP? Maybe there was some enhanced security package that adds that behavior? Maybe you were a bad person in a past life? Maybe you doomed yourself to an eternity of UAC by invoking the name of Microsoft's CEO three times in front of a computer screen? (not sure if anyone will get that reference :-P )

Why the hell did I type all that anyway. I guess i really didn't feel like setting up that SQL test my boss wants me to run >.<

tldr; Don't install pre-UAC programs into program files on Vista or later.

[Chucklet]

Why the hell did I type all that anyway. I guess i really didn't feel like setting up that SQL test my boss wants me to run >.<

Sometimes everyone needs to blow off some steam, like writing an angry letter... and actually sending it... Hope you don't get in trouble with your boss tho!

Maybe you doomed yourself to an eternity of UAC by invoking the name of Microsoft's CEO three times in front of a computer screen?

everyone should get that reference... As a matter of fact, I highlighted it while reading and someone who walked behind me pretty much spilled his coffee all over my desk laughing about it, it seems you're his hero now (my paperwork was less happy tho).

[morbiditto]

DrAzzy l0l, what has gotten into you?

I really think this 'Run as...' option was around here all the time, it's just that it has never been required before as I remember, or maybe it's a tweak I added once, it's hard to keep track sometimes and maybe once a year my machine starts acting like a stranger because details here and there have been forgotten. I tried to make my system as simple as possible back then and used to dig a lot into the registry and config files, but in time a lot of changes have been in my lifestyle and it's weird how easy technical knowledge abandons your thoughts when you stop applying it on a daily basis. Probably a month or two back I wouldn't even bother looking out for a support page

At some point I am stuck at being an Advanced User, though I fancy the higher level awareness of computers it's more of v00d00 to me so I leave it alone in hope an instant enlightenment will grant me a visit someday. Thus you can see MS CFO's name can not affect me in anyway, as ignorance is bliss ^^ and if it's not I'll hack it, and if I won't someone else will, in any case my karma won't be disturbed

[DrAzzy]

Oh interesting. I always set up XP to only have 1 user, the admin, and ran everything with that.

[morbiditto]

Well 'Admin' can't be 'Lj', but 'Lj' can be 'Admin'. So for me in this case it's just about having a custom profile, thus it's plus one alltimes.