Heyo! So I am not a tech wiz by any means, but I know there're a lot of people having trouble getting in-game and I wanted to try and compile some advice on how to troubleshoot to maybe help players having issues:
If you have been on a break and are flying in for the first time in a while, don't worry you're not alone if the screen is black when you try to enter the game. For many players, Firefox is the only browser allowing us access to the game. A few pixies are still able to enter with Chrome and, for a little bit, Opera was working for many, but currently Firefox is your best bet. Firefox is super easy to install, no strings attached, no scamming. Just click this link, click "Download Now," & follow the instructions on the screen.
A couple miscellaneous troubleshooting tips:
1. Every time I try to enter the game it kicks me back to the home page. When you visit a site on a new browser you have to log in to that site again. Check and make sure you are logged in to fabc, otherwise it'll boot you back to the main forum page when you try to enter the game. If you are logged in, try logging out and in again to solve this.
2. The game backgrounds are blurry/I make a server and it doesn't show up on the server list. You may be using an old game/server link. I'm with you, I bookmark the game/server links too, it's a lot easier than clicking through all the various links to get to the various buttons. However, particularly if you've been on a break, the links you've saved might be old versions. Whenever an update happens, the links update as well. As of today here are the up-to-date links: Game| Server This can also be a standard sign that you need the "clear cache and cookies" fix.
3. I'm stuck on hourglass/no one can enter my servers. Some players in the past were able to fix this by logging out and in again. If you are the person hosting the "hourglass" server, I cannot guarantee this will solve this, it may just somehow be my network being incredibly weird, but you may need to reboot your home wi-fi. I know it makes absolutely no sense, but I've found that people cannot enter my servers unless I've rebooted my wi-fi router within about 24 hours of the time I host them. I know it might be mildly frustrating and a bit of a hassle but, particularly before hosting a server, give it a go. It's a bit tedious but a way to check if people can't enter your servers is to watch the server page and look at the side where it says "0 players connected." If it changes to a number of players connected but no UID numbers show up to the right, it means someone's stuck on the hourglass and can't get in. (It may be easier to check this by asking another player to try and enter your server so you don't have to sit around hoping someone will eventually try to enter it)
4. My server is super glitchy & laggy. Try hosting the server in Chrome. You may only be able to enter the game via Firefox but you can still host a server in Chrome and it's a lot less glitchy and creates better servers. Also closing any other tabs, especially complex apps, will waaay cut down on lag. Want to see what's taking up the most CPU and making your computer work hard? Open task manager (ctrl+alt+delete) then click the "more details" arrow.
5. The standard troubleshooting tips are always worth a shot: Re-enter the game link (don't use the refresh button), close all open tabs & apps on your computer and then try opening the page again, clear your cache & cookies, log out and in again, try to access the game in incognito mode, try different browsers, clean up your computer, reboot your computer, try using a different computer, connect with a different network, and most of all employ grace and patience. It is obviously incredibly frustrating to have difficulty entering a game that we love so much, but patience and perseverance will be your biggest allies.
We've still been able to have FCF each week and I'm going to ask around and see if the users who can consistently get in have any other tips/common computer settings they can share. If you have any other troubleshooting suggestions please leave a reply with them below, I'll add any updates in the replies as well. Best of luck, I hope to fly with everyone soon! <333
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