BoardSpace needs Java!
If the applet doesn't appear at
all, this is the first problem to solve. Our games
require a Java-enabled browser. Most modern browsers support Java,
but some installations don't automatically include
java.
The major causes of "no java" in browsers are:
- If java is not installed, you need to download it. Or if
installed, it might be an old version. Boardspace is
designed to run with any modern version of java, but current
security concerns make running old versions of java problematic,
at best.
- On all browsers, it is possible to disable Java in the
browser's preferences, and sometimes the default is to be
disabled, and not all installations include java by default. If
your browser should be new enough to include java, check that java
is enabled in your browser preferences. For reasons
best known to the developers, this seems to be different in
every version of every browser. Java.com has instructions
where to find the java
enable options for most browsers.
- Security measures may require you to grant permission for java
to run separately for each applet or each site. Use the
"activate all" option for Boardspace applets. Some confused
browsers display a small red icon next to the URL line instead
of a pop-up.
Click on it and select
"activate all"
- If all else fails, uninstall all versions of java your machine
thinks are installed and reinstall just the latest.
Two sites that will help you test and diagnose java on your browser
are Java.com
and Fitwise.com
Firewalls, Routers, Ports and Proxies, Lost Connections
If you get some kind of "can't
connect" message in the lobby chat area: The Java
applet must be able to open an outgoing tcp connection on port 2255. Most firewalls
and routers are configured allow this; but some institutions (work,
school) and some personal firewall products (blackice, zone alarm)
may block this port. If the applet window comes up, but can't
connect to the server, look for problems with port 2255. The
applet will also fail to connect if it was loaded from some place
other than Boardspace.net, which could be a side effect of some
browser proxy setups.
If you get the message rcv 221 errConnection
error then you have successfully connected to the server,
but your connection has been rejected. The most likely cause
of this is that you accidentally connected to the server without
going through the login procedure. This can happen if you use
your browser's back
button, or if your browser has cached the login page (and so didn't
to chat with the server about your login). Check your browser
cache settings.
If you lose connection in mid-game:
don't panic, you can reconnect and rejoin the game.
This can happen for a variety of reasons, most of which are
impossible to predict or control. Watch the little
spinner 
located next to your clock
(and your opponents clock). The little arrow should change
position at least every 10 seconds or so, and if it has not changed
position recently, the color starts fading from green to red.
After 2 minutes of no activity a timeout will occur and you can try
to reconnect.
Slow connections: Once the applet is downloaded, the
bandwidth required to maintain the lobby and a game is very modest,
and any type of internet connection should work fine.
One problem we have seen a few times is that firewalls such as Zone
Alarm interfere with the flow of data to the server without
completely blocking it. We don't know why, but disabling Zone Alarm
fixes the problem. A test for this condition is to switch the
type of a game room, say from "Game Room" to "Unranked Room".
The changeover should happen very fast, within a second. If
there is more that a very brief lag, look for this kind of
networking problem.
If you successfully play games, but scoring the game fails: To score games properly, the
applet must be able to make HTTP requests on either port 80 or port 4321. Port 80 is
normally used by browsers, so it is usually open, but some sites
enforce the use of a http proxy server by blocking port 80.
Scoring a game fails occasionally if the server is unusually busy,
or just due to random internet glitches. If port 80 is
permanently blocked, try referring to boardspace.net as http://www.boarspace.net:4321/
Browsers, Platforms and Java Versions
The Java applet that runs the game works in any browser that
supports Java, but not all browsers or platforms are created
equal. Be advised that running old, unpatched versions of
browsers and/or java is considered dangerous.
Windows (any version)
Firefox, Chrome, Safari and IE all work.
Macintosh
Safari,
Chrome and Firefox all work
Linux
Relatively
few of our players use Linux , the only general statement we can
make is that the most current combinations work ok.
Old Java Versions
Boardspace works with Java version 1.4.2 and greater, which
is really old. No bleeding edge features are required.
However, security patches may require you to load a newer version
of java.