Frustrated doesn't BEGIN to cover it

I know there are other threads dealing with this, but I want to say some things and not have them lost in the bottom of a long thread.

After the June 23 update, my husband can not enter the game at all on his Windows XP computer.

There are numerous posts by other Windows XP users with exactly the same problem.

I see a guildie logging in and immediately out again since the June 23 update, I suspect she has the same problem.

With player population so low lately anyway, now there are a lot of players who can't log in since the June 23 update, even though they could log in before.

In one hour of patching, everything changed for those players.

I have spent two days reading every post in the forums I could find about this problem, and trying everything that was suggested. Nothing works.

To say I am frustrated doesn't begin to cover it.

My husband had a heart attack three months ago. This game keeps him occupied, and prevents him from becoming depressed over the physical activities he can no longer do. Now, after one hour of patching, the game that ran fine one hour before that on his computer will no longer run at all.

He is retired and we are on a very limited budget. Although we are all access and buy every expansion, including Rum Cellar, we can not afford to go out and buy him a new computer just because the programmers did something in that update that makes it impossible for him to log in on his current computer, even though it worked fine immediately prior to that update.

I am no programmer, but I find it beyond belief that merely adding a few new instances, with entrances in old zones, would cause the game to become totally inoperable unless the programmers did something wrong. After all, this did not happen after the Rum Cellar instances were put in.

Yes, I can and will put in a support ticket. But if there is a do-it-yourself fix that can be communicated through a support ticket, then it could also be posted in the forums, thereby avoiding the necessity of answering numerous support tickets.

If the solution is not a do-it-yourself fix, then the programmers need to fix it, and they do not need a multitude of support tickets to know there is a problem that needs to be fixed -- it has been all over the forums for two days now.

And I notice, that although there has been much discussion of this problem, no dev's have chimed in. I personally think they should.

Well said. Loving the fact that there's numerous threads about thus and no word from devs...

I was just about to post on another of the threads wondering if anything had been said or done yet. I have been able to log in with the work around someone mentioned, deleting a file or two, but that honestly shouldn't be how I can access the game and it's obvious that it doesn't work for everyone.

I know this is going to sound harsh - and yes, this is an old game. But usually there comes a time when old operating systems are just not supported anymore. Maybe they haven't chimed in yet because they are working on it - but be prepared to hear that Windows XP won't be supported any longer.

First of all, I would expect that when the time comes, or more precisely, is COMING, that a certain OS will not be supported anymore, that it would be announced IN ADVANCE, i.e., "on such and such a date we will cease to support such and such an OS, so the game may not run properly or well in the future on computers with that OS".

That is how I have always seen it done in other areas of computing, when something will no longer be supported.

Secondly, I would expect that as support is ceased, that the game would run worse, with more lag, etc.

I can not comprehend that an update that adds just a few instances, attached to a few zones, results in instant non-support of a given OS so severe that log in to any zone is impossible.

I agree that eventually an old OS has to be laid to rest and support removed for it, but if that was what they did, they should have announced it. At least then people who are still running XP would have been prepared.

For operating systems you kinda just accept that once the manufacturer stops supporting it so will everyone else. But anyway, you wouldn't need to replace the whole computer, just the operating system. It may sound daunting but honestly these days it's as easy as putting in the disc and letting it do its stuff. Just need to make sure you back up any files you want to keep first.

I realize that isn't what you're hoping for but if you do decide to its very easy.

The OS worked "FINE" the day before. And works fine on Everquest. It also brings the program up. I fit were the case that it were not supported - there would be a messages of such that comes up. Not an error. I've had games that are not supported before and that is generally the case.

I on the other hand "do" have a service case in to support and have sent them the appropriate files that they've asked for and am waiting now for them to get back to me again with some sort of answer.

Yes, it is "EXTREMELY" frustrating. I am as well disabled and use this game and Everquest to help distract from pain - ( part of my disability deals with severe pain) and it doesn't help when the distractions for this are interupted.

Yes, updated OS, equipment etc all help but are not always the answer when the problem lies in the update, as the game worked fine the day before the update. Any stoppage of service surely would be announced, especially being that people ( some people) actually pay to play the games.

It's not that easy. For example there is no W7 drivers for my motherboard, and one can't simply change an old MB, you have to get a new processor and memory at least. Most likely you'll need a new case and psu after it....and that is pretty much a new pc cost, if you dont' want to change you graphic card and HDD.

Even though this is frustrating for you i am sure they are looking into it and gonna fix it. But i do have to say that xp is 2 decades old, thats a freaking long time in the pc industry nowadays when everything gets better versions with only a couple years apart. Sadly xp wont be able to keep up forever with all the new things coming out these days and im actually surprised its been running ok so far for you who still use it. Im crossing my fingers for you though that they will find a fix for you.

It amazes me that people are perfectly happy replacing phones every couple years, cars every 4-5, but expect computers to last forever.

Please. Stop acting like this was malicious and on purpose. If you're running an old operating system, it was bound to be complicated at some point.

All you can do is put in a petition and wait for a response. Acting like a child throwing a tantrum because your toy broke isn't going to make anyone want to help you or expedite the process.

The argument that they might be stopping support for XP is specious at best. Low numbers have been plaguing EQ2 now for some time. So, what business sense would it make to eliminate a good portion of the supporters, those who bring in revenue? But then again, common sense has oftentimes not been the hallmark of big business.

I respectfully suggest, that with all the activity in producing new content, Daybreak also spend some time keeping the current fans they already have, and have had for years. Building a new wing on a building looks great. But the rest of the building still needs to be kept up.

Its a little bit like if people would cry about not being able to play the xboxOne games on the 360 console. Win XP is 20(!!!) years old, its bound to break at some point. But as i said before, they will most definitely fix it.

Microsoft ceased support for Windows XP quite some time ago, the fact that they (DBG) are willing to work with you, requesting files (dxdiag?) means they might be able to fix the issue.

If they don't, depending on your geographic location you can pick up a machine capable of playing EQ2 for around £350 fully built. Not ideal but just food for thought as gaming grade PC's used to cost double that just for starters.

@Raeven

Please describe the problem with launching the game in more detail please.

For example, after hitting play does the game launch and just give you a black screen and music?

Also please post what video card you have and what driver is installed. Sometimes the latest drivers cause issues with older hardware. The DEVS have been doing performance tweaks on the client for a year now and sometimes their optimizing causes issues if you have older hardware.

After you post your video card specs and describe the problem more, I may be able to offer more help.

My old PC was an absolute beast when I had it built ten years ago... its specs (aside from the XP operating system) would still exceed the minimum requirements for most of today's games. When I finally decided to upgrade the OS (in part due to Landmark requiring win7 or higher), I was surprised to discover that I could find machines with similar/better specs with win7 preinstalled, for not-much-more than purchasing win7 by itself.

I realize that money is tight for a lot of folks, but XP has been falling off the landscape for years and even if EQ continues supporting it for a while, is eventually going to get dropped. I'd encourage XP users who love gaming to start actively searching Ebay. There are a TON of hobbyists who build PCs in their spare time using brand new parts they've purchased in bulk lots and sell/auction those PCs for *far* less than you'll find at department or computer stores, and many offer free shipping as well.

Microsoft ended support of Windows XP on April 4th 2014, almost 15 months ago. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/end-support-help
Continuing to run XP means you are running all kinds of risks, not the least of which will be ongoing and continuing compatibility issues with all kinds of software, including games. XP user really need to think about upgrades.

That said, DBG system requirements for EQ2 at https://help.daybreakgames.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/10562/kw/eq2 system requirements
still indicates Windows XP SP3 as a supported OS, so they need to at least update the System Requirements.

It's unlikely however they will put any effort into supporting what is in effect an obsolete OS.

Out of all the replies on here only 1 person has offered to help the OP out...
Kudos to you
Lamatu

As for the rest of you, which part of "retired, recent heart attack, not the richest people in the world" did you not see....
If you can't say something constructive then move to another thread.
The point the poster is trying to make is "If" XP is not being supported by EQ2, then it would have been polite to mention something a few months before pulling the plug.....Yet a lot of you commenting here are just saying "it was inevitable", maybe it was, but you are missing the point about the company informing people, and giving notice.

It looks like something in the patch has pushed the game beyond xp capabilities, or it has forced an instal of an update to something that XP can no longer handle....

At least Lamatu has offered to try and help, something that EQ2 people should be talking about on the forums.

I wouldn't know about that. I drive a 1998 vehicle, which I have had for 11 years, and I have a land line phone.