Technical FAQ

1. Why is loading taking longer than expected?

2. I received a message saying the game was running slow, and I was kicked from the battle I was in. What's going on?

3. Why won't the game go past the "waiting for 3D engine to load," or initialize a battle on Windows Vista or 7?

4. Why won't the game initialize (or hangs at 100% loaded)?

5. Will the game run on Mac OSX?




1. Why is loading taking longer than expected?

There are a number of reasons loading might be taking longer than expected for you ranging from your physical location of the globe, to your connection speed.

During your very first load of Rise & Ruin, a larger than usual amount of files must be downloaded for you to play. This download averages just a few minutes for most players in North America. For players outside of North America, or with slow internet service, the download may take significantly longer. We send the game files in the background during character creation, and while you are in the chatroom, so the longer you wait to initiate your first battle, the less time it will take to load.

Additionally, if we release an update to the game client, or you have cleared your Internet browser's cache, a file check will be run, which will cause the loading time for a battle to increase slightly.

2. I received a message saying the game was running slow, and I was kicked from the battle I was in. What's going on?

In very rare circumstances when your frame-rate falls below a certain threshold, the game client will stop running and return you to the chatroom. If this occurs frequently, you will need to try any or all following steps:

1. Try closing other open programs and windows to free up available system resources.
2. Clear out your browser's temporary Internet files.
3. Restart your computer to free up available system resources.
4. Use a faster computer

If after trying these steps you still encounter this error frequently, try the following troubleshooting step:

During Battle right click on the screen and select "Settings."

The following screen will appear. Be sure to select your graphics card from the dropdown menu, and select "Force Hardware."

3. Why won't the game go past the "waiting for 3D engine to load," or initialize a battle on Windows Vista or 7?

Sometimes, when loading the game in Firefox or another browser, the game gets stuck on the 'Waiting for 3D Engine' loading screen.

This is due to a problem between the Internet browser and Java.

To work around the bug in Windows Vista or 7 and Firefox:

1. Close FireFox
2. Right-click on the Firefox icon and click 'Run as Administrator'. This will launch Firefox with the permissions it needs to get the game running.
3. Run the game normally.

To work around the bug in Windows Vista or 7 and Internet Explorer: Use Firefox or Google Chrome.

4. Why won't the game initialize (or hangs at 100% loaded)?

It is likely there is an issue between 3DVia and your graphics card drivers.

To resolve this:
1. From the Main screen choose Character Selection
2. Right click on your character's avatar, or the spinning throbber.
3. Choose "Settings"
4. From the dropdown menu select your graphics card (not OpenGL), and then select "Force Hardware" from the radio buttons.

You must also have a soundcard properly set up and working! No sound card or improperly configured sound drivers will result in the game not functioning.

5. Why won't the game run on Mac OSX?

For some players, Rise & Ruin will run on Mac. It has been successfully tested on Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard on Safari 4 with the latest Flash and 3DVia plugins. However, you must set your browser to run in 32-bit mode.