The Great Chinese Firewall - intermittent blocks on all platforms, network Gods unite!

#1

Edit 2:
Looks like this is the end of my RotMG career, 9 years in the making… RIP
I’ll load it up every now and then but if it’s not the server side issues, it’s perhaps issues with my computer? Playing RotMG recently just seems so hit and miss, that honestly it’s not worth my time anymore meticulously searching the internet for new fixes every other day, which I feel honestly is a pretty common occurrence for a lot of players.

I’ll check this thread every now and then, so any ideas please do post them but for now lads. F.

Edit:
Oh I forgot to mention a rather crucial element to this - I live in China and have been using a gaming VPN to bypass the mass block of games which are for reasons unknown blocked. So, honestly I’ve heard this issue everywhere. Which makes me think it’s not due to China’s block of foreign content… Thoughts?

Hey guys, so I’ll attach screenshots for all of this to help you guys help me, haha…

I’ve looked back through the history all the way back to Sep’16 and tried all the fixes… Unless I’m a tard who has executed them wrong, I don’t know what’s possibly wrong with my ROTMG.

On flash projector using correct links and Steam after an ungodly amount of restarts, uninstalls and reinstalls, as well as clearing my cache using CCleaner, I constantly get the classic ‘D’oh! English Language’ error, two days prior to now I could login absolutely fine… Last night I was trying fixes for 4 hours, as well as today for about half an hour.

Operating System: Windows 8.1
ROTMG Client: Steam, Flash Projector, Exalt and Browser - the result is the same

Any Forum God’s out there ready to come to my rescue?

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ROTMG.PNG.jpg1918x1078 223 KB

#2

For the unable to load init, restarting pc should work.

#3

I’ll try it now boss man.

Edit: No luck unfortunately, same issues problem with loading init data, other clients also giving me the D’oh error.

#4

Have you tried using a different Gaming VPN? I’m not sure how the VPN you are using works, but maybe a change in server location or etc could help?

#5

I’ll try it now, but honestly my connection seems fine for every other game and when I load in it zooms up at the pace which seems typical - like 1-2 seconds to get from launching the game to my in-game mouse cursor appearing, it just black screens and does nothing after that…

Makes me think it’s not my connection.

#6

One fairly reliable fix for the “do’h” language error is make sure you use a direct link to the SWF. Which is

https://realmofthemadgodhrd.appspot.com/AssembleeGameClient1588855392.swf

as I type. This works as the language error is due to a domain mis-match between the client and the file it is loading – they need to have the same [web] domain. This is a Flash security feature.

Not used a VPN but I guess it could cause problems if it is bypassing normal DNS to work. Might be some VPN setting you can tweak to keep its connection to ROTMG more stable.

No experience of Exalt problems, although it seems unlikely to be the same issue as Flash – the whole client is downloaded. It actually looks like a problem other people have had, so you might try again or try re-downloading it.

#7

So RotMG is blocked in mainland China???

#8

I wonder what stupid reason they came up with.

#9

That’s a RIP. Some games are not blocked in mainland though.

Possible reason(s):

In People’s Republic of China, there are laws for gaming. There are time limit how long you are allowed to play each day depending on your age. Oh, you will need proofs of PRC citizenship in order to play games in mainland China, possibly Hong Kong and Macau SAR… And the only way to obtain is renounce your current citizenship to China.

The reason why proof(s) of idenfication is/are needed to make sure if anyone in the game are planning some malicious deed (human trafficking for example), they will get tracked easier and punished by the law.

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First picture means:

  • If you spend no to three hours, your earning will be normal. In this case (if DECA are willing to comply), EXP earning, pots and equipment dropping rate will be normal as it is.

  • After 3 hours but less than 5 hours, earning will be decreased by 50%. Meaning, if you defeat Void Entity after the 3 hours mark, you will earn 50k Exp instead of the normal 100k.

  • Spending 5 hours or above… your earnings will set to zero. You are still allowed to play, but the EXP earning and drop rates will be zero

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Second picture tells the reasons why the limits are issued.

  • To enforce the concept of healty gaming duration.
  • To tackle unhealthy gaming duration by reducing in-game earning;
  • To control time gap between gaming, enforcing the user to get enough rest, education and working time.
  • To enforce the user not relying on “extended online duration” to obtain earning, to promote the user to get the habit of healthy gaming duration.
  • To utilize message and warning method to remind the user of healthy gaming.

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Third picture tells us the same thing as the 1st picture but color coded.

  • Healthy duration: Spent none to three hours is indicated green.
  • Exhaustion duration: Spent more than 3 hours but less than 5 is indicated yellow.
  • Unhealty duration: Spent more than 5 hours is indicated red with the X crosses.

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Fourth picture means:

  • To minors who are under 13 year old: the accumulative duration of such game account is 1 hour and when a match is over (let’s say you defeated MBC and exited the dungeon via the Realm Portal), your account will automatically log off immediately (by force) and cannot login again on the same day. In addition, it is not possible to log in from 21:00 CST to 8:00 CST duration (8:00 AM CST next day I meant).
  • To minors who are at least 13 years old but under 18: the accumulative duration of such game account is 2 hours and when a match is over, your account will automatically log off immediately (by force) and cannot login again on the same day.

In the nutshell, mainland government issued such law/policy is to make sure gamers will have a joyful gaming experience while making sure they are not getting derailed. In addition, in China, students face mass pressure from both education and a lot of stuffs.

One time on YouTube, I saw a dude playing Fortnite 100 hours in a row. Hell, it was not a good idea. If that such behavior is mimicked to mainland Chinese (minors), it can and will cause devastating effects.

And lastly the popular belief…
THERE IS NO FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN CHINA!!! CPC ARE EVIL AS HELL!!! TOTALITARIANISM KILLED FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY!!! OVERTHROW THEM! REPLACE THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT WITH DEMOCRACY!!!
MLG SCREAM INTENSIFIES TO MAX

I’m just kidding, don’t take that last reason seriously. Inserts troll face

The General Chat Thread
#10

Well, thats shitty. Also, it’s 3 “normal” hours per game or in general? If it’s per game it kinda fixes nothing.

#11

I think it’s 180 minutes of being online in general. Regardless of trading or AFKing.

The policy may be shitty to you, but for mainland Chinese parents, it is a great way to make sure their children are getting sufficient education.

#12

No, this

#13

Try checking to see if any sort of firewall that you’re running (not the golden shield) is the cause by just turning them off for a short period. Maybe upgrade to windows 10? I have this problem on an old pc of mine, but have never figured out a fix for it. Good luck though.

#14

LOL, of course, 1C2S. Who knows. shrug

#15

Thanks, I’m giving it a bash via the Flash Projector again with the link you’ve provided - I’ve also added this domain to my Trusted Locations just to make sure. Thanks for the reply alas it hasn’t seem to have worked.

#16

As much as I appreciate the reply, these are all things I already knew. The Chinese government is heavily invested in this area of social concern, but ultimately this does nothing for the topic.

Two days prior I was able to use RotMG with no gaming VPN necessary - I only used to it to improve my ping to cool 30-50 from 200-300.

So, it doesn’t seem likely the Chinese government has only just discovered RotMG within the last two days…

Thanks for the reply though, hope it’s an interesting read for people.

#17

If you’re interested the way it works is that every Chinese national has a card which is called a ‘ShenFenZhen’ which attached is like your social security number.

When signing into any Mainland China games, internet cafes - almost anything, even things like taking a bus to another city your ID number is used. For minors, the time accumulates over different devices but just like any government policy in any government trying to monitor the internet, the internet usually prevails…

Kids bypass these restrictions with simple APPs or rerouting software…

#18

I haven’t tried my firewall settings, appreciate the reply mate. I’ll let you know how it goes.

As for your own issue, did swapping computers seem to fix it?

Edit: That’s a negative. F.

#19

Sounds scary >_< thank god for 1C2S

#20

Nah man, I’m from Hong Kong and we don’t have that.