User:LOSTRANGER/On death and disconnecting

Three commonly asked questions by players are:

• Why did I log in dead?
• Why do I keep getting disconnected?
• Why do I keep getting disconnected while I am dead?

This guide aims to explain both of these events definitively as well as offering suggestions on how to solve the latter issue.

Why did I log in dead?

If you lost your connection to the game due to internet issues of some form, it is possible that your character "ghosted". In short, the server did not get the memo that you were no longer connected and your character stayed around -- effectively AFK -- for however long your idle timeout is. If this happened in a hunting area, you probably got killed by something when you weren't around to see it.

If you intentionally logged out of a hunting area -- especially while stunned or otherwise in peril -- you might be killed when you logged back in by enraged monsters rejoining the fray. This is an anti-cheating mechanic -- logging out is not intended to be a mechanism to cheat death. (TODO: Figure out exactly which POLICY this violates and mention it)

(TODO: Link to technical explanation of why ghosting occurs involving FIN and RST packets).

Why do I keep getting disconnected?

(If you're dead, see the next section too!)

The game has an inactivity timeout -- if you do not send a command within X amount of time, the game kicks you offline. This is in part to save server resources, and is in part a solution to the problem of 'ghosting' (when you get disconnected but the game doesn't realize it.) You'll typically get a loud "YOU HAVE BEEN IDLE TOO LONG, PLEASE RESPOND." warning (and a a beep) before getting disconnected due to inactivity.

The inactivity timer is around 5 minutes with SET INACTIVITY OFF, and around 10 minutes with SET INACTIVITY ON.

The Wizard and StormFront front ends have a built-in 'rest mode' (Ctrl+Z by default) which will send a command to the game every 2 minutes to avoid timing out while idle. Lich also features a few scripts that can serve this purpose. None of these solve or exacerbate the issue of ghosting (since if you're not really connected you're not able to send commands to the game), but they will keep you from being disconnected when you're idle.

Obviously, if your internet is unreliable and something happens, there's nothing that can prevent you from getting disconnected. Due to the nature of the Internet, it is entirely possible that you may get disconnected from GS while other services appear to be working normally -- and the issue is often somewhere in between you and Simutronics with neither side 'at fault' for the problem.

Cheap consumer wireless hardware is often a culprit if you play on wireless -- if you have the budget and the technical know-how (or a friend who can help), it is often worthwhile to invest a little bit more in your network equipment.

Why do I keep getting disconnected while dead?

To avoid issues of decaying if you happened to be ghosted, the game does not like to keep you online while you are dead.