31 replies to this topic

[CapnKirk13]

I just verified this with a buddy who has been having the "download 3.7gb file everytime opening launcher" error and here is a temporary workaround until PGI fixes the problem.

The idea is to simply bypass the launcher and open the mwoclient.exe app which will throw an error if you try to do it directly. So...

However you want to go about it, open a command prompt and navigate to C:\Games\Piranha Games\MechWarrior Online\Bin32 (or wherever you installed MWO to)

Type: "mwoclient.exe flowthru" and press enter (no quotes)

BAM! You should be on your way to killin.

Thanks to MongoMic who risked yet ANOTHER 3.7gb download if this didn't work.

[ZelenKai]

You are a life saver! I downloaded the 3.7GB patch. When I restarted, it asked me to download the patch again... this workaround works!

[CapnKirk13]

I'm glad it worked for you. Happy hunting.

[Omnicidal Kitten]

Kirk, I will bear your children for this.

[Glex]

Thank you, Kirk.

This shows how on the ball players are in getting a workaround going faster than anyone in PGI can even respond to it.

[Weaselball]

Assuming that PGI doesn't fix this before the next patch is out this won't entirely solve the problem. Launching the game in this manner will cause issues if the game isn't up to date. In that case simply changing ones DNS seems to solve the problem as well.

Using Google's public Domain Name Servers (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4) resolves the issue, though it might cause other issues with different games / browsing if you're ISP or the game server you're connecting to requires specific DNS numbers, though that's a simple fix - just change the DNS back once you're done playing MWO and voila, resolved.

[phulcrum]

Yup, this worked for me and two buddies earlier tonight.

[Broskadamus]

I tried this, and, while it it worked and I was able to fully play the game, It also seemed to ****** my graphics horribly. Some camo patterns changed to un-textured blue glows and whenever I dropping into a match I could see the map skeleton (essentially gaining X-ray vision, my mech cockpit included).

Update: It appears that after I tried THIS work around, followed it up with a clear update folder, then running the repair tool, seems to have fixed my problem. I can log in and out repeatedly with no issues and no more patching. Though I can't say for sure that trying this method before clearing and repairing (which previously failed to fix anything on its own) is really what fixed my problem.

Edited by Broskadamus, 10 January 2014 - 06:25 AM.

[CapnKirk13]

My workaround (bypassing the Launcher) will only work if you have already updated to 131 (Jan 7 patch) and, yes once they fix the problem and provide a patch, you will have to launch MWO the normal way (NOT bypassing launcher) in able to have the patch applied. All I have outlined is simply the way to bypass the Launcher and fire up the MWO client directly which requires no change to the machine or apps.

[Krist Smith]

Howdy folks,

Sorry about this problem. We're still trying to nail down the exact cause of the problem, but we do have a hunch. It's suspected that one of the CDN nodes didn't update properly after the most recent patch update. I've already run a refresh command, so if that was indeed the cause it should be resolved right now (aaaand cue the flood of responses saying it's still happening).

In the meantime, this workaround isn't excessively risky, as long as you keep an eye out for updates. I would advise running the normal launcher route on Tuesdays (since that's our usual patch day), and watch the forums for hotfixes. If a new patch is pushed, then it's quite likely that you'll be unable to play until you apply it. Of course, once we nail down and fix this problem, you should stop using this workaround and just let the patcher check for updates by using the normal launcher.

If you do respond to this post saying the issue is still occurring, please provide any additional info you think may be relevant. In this case, that would be having multiple releases of the game installed (such as Public Test), having recently reinstalled the game, or having recently run the repair tool.

NOTE: If you want to test, then you can try launching the patcher as usual via the launcher. If the problem is still there and it starts the 3.7 GB download, you can just shut down the patcher and go back to the work-around. Nothing should be damaged by doing so, and you don't need to actually wait out that huge download.

[phulcrum]

CapnKirk13, on 10 January 2014 - 06:51 AM, said:

My workaround (bypassing the Launcher) will only work if you have already updated to 131 (Jan 7 patch) and, yes once they fix the problem and provide a patch, you will have to launch MWO the normal way (NOT bypassing launcher) in able to have the patch applied. All I have outlined is simply the way to bypass the Launcher and fire up the MWO client directly which requires no change to the machine or apps.

One of my buddies had not patched last night. He ran the repair tool first which downloaded the patched files, did the DNS work around and he was able to play just fine.

[OneEyed Jack]

I got this and just deleted my entire PatcherLogs folder out of the Bin32 folder, and it's working fine now. Incidentally, I also deleted the Shaders folder, just for the hell of it, but I doubt that's related.

[Krist Smith]

OneEyed Jack, on 10 January 2014 - 01:16 PM, said:

I got this and just deleted my entire PatcherLogs folder out of the Bin32 folder, and it's working fine now. Incidentally, I also deleted the Shaders folder, just for the hell of it, but I doubt that's related.

I really can't see how deleting the logs would have any impact on this. What was the timing of your attempts? The CDN refresh should have gone through about 2 or 3 hours ago (although it's hard to say for sure when it would have propagated down to all the nodes). Did the patcher try downloading the 3.7GB patch that recently?

[OneEyed Jack]

Krist Smith, on 10 January 2014 - 02:02 PM, said:

I really can't see how deleting the logs would have any impact on this. What was the timing of your attempts? The CDN refresh should have gone through about 2 or 3 hours ago (although it's hard to say for sure when it would have propagated down to all the nodes). Did the patcher try downloading the 3.7GB patch that recently?

It might have just been coincidence. It was only maybe 5 minutes from the time I tried to play and it started patching to the time I cancelled, deleted the folders and reloaded game successfully, but looking at the timing it might have just happened to coincide with the refresh. I was just picking through the thread and figured to try various fixes one at a time. Your post was already up, but I had just had the issue.

[Krist Smith]

OneEyed Jack, on 10 January 2014 - 03:18 PM, said:

It might have just been coincidence. It was only maybe 5 minutes from the time I tried to play and it started patching to the time I cancelled, deleted the folders and reloaded game successfully, but looking at the timing it might have just happened to coincide with the refresh. I was just picking through the thread and figured to try various fixes one at a time. Your post was already up, but I had just had the issue.

Thanks for the additional info. Some other users are reporting that it's back to a normal working state now, so I think it may have just been a timing thing, perfectly reasonable for you to assume that deleting the logs had fixed it.

Again, sorry to all those affected by this issue. We will be talking to our CDN providers to try and ensure this never happens again.

[Tigreen]

worked for me, thank you.

@Krist Smith - It is still happening. I re-installed yesterday and let it run the patch once. I created a batch file to launch the game using the bypass suggestion. I'll keep checking to see if this gets fixed.

Edited by Tigreen, 10 January 2014 - 05:43 PM.

[CapnKirk13]

CapnKirk13, on 09 January 2014 - 07:55 AM, said:

PGI needs to get on fixing this as it is potentially costing those affected Premium Time and possibly bandwidth charges for going over allotted amount of data due to the repeated huge downloads.

Thanks for the reply Krist. Just a suggestion but you guys might want to think about giving a day of Premium Time to those affected for the reasons stated above.

[MAX3D2]

I deleted all the files and folders in the MWOPATCHER directory and it seems to be working fine now

[a little fluffy bunny]

Browse to MWO installation folder

Right click on MWOClient

Send to desktop

Right click on shortcut

Add flowthru to the end of the target line

Job done.


Same deal as op, but no command prompt and you don't have to type it everytime

Just rename that shortcut as "no launcher" or something, lest there be a swathe of complaints about the game not updating.

[John80sk]

Have been getting this bug as well. It is still happening any time I restart my computer and launch the game.

The flowthru workaround works though, thank you Kirk.