Frequently Asked Questions

**PoLiX** · February 23, 2007

Connection Issues

I cannot connect to any servers, or I can't download the zones list, what can I do?

How does lag work?

OS/Software Issues

Why will Continuum not load for me?

I receive the error "Unable to create zones\...\map.lvl" when entering a zone, how do I fix this?

Graphics Issues

I cannot select any resolutions, what can I do?

**PoLiX** · May 4, 2014

I cannot connect to any servers, or I can't download the zones list, what can I do?

If you are unable to connect to a server or zone:

Make sure you download the latest zones list
Make sure no firewall is blocking Continuum
If you are on a school or corporative network, it is possible that the ports used by Continuum are blocked. In this case, it won't be possible for you to play.

If you are having problems downloading the zones list:

Make sure you are using valid directory servers
List of currently available directory servers
Make sure no firewall is blocking Continuum

See also

Some zones work, others don't; neither does zone list update, Firewall problem?

**PoLiX** · May 4, 2014

Why will Continuum not load for me?

There are many reports where attempting to run Continuum does nothing at all. It never shows up.

This is always caused by some other program that Continuum does not like.
Continuum has built-in security mechanisms that do not allow it to be run if a suspicious program is active.

You can try closing the "suspicious" programs or uninstalling them.

These are the types of programs that are most likely to do this and some known troublemakers are also listed:

Anti-spyware programs (SpySweeper, AdWatcher, Spyware Doctor, ...)
Spyware programs
Firewalls
Anti-virus programs (Panda AntiVirus, Norton AV 005...)
Any other security programs
Any auto-scanning programs
Data Execution Prevention (in Control Panel/System/Advanced/Performance Settings/DEP)
Any "system fixer" tools (Tune-Up Utilities, ...)
Programming tools (debuggers)
Norton programs
Warcraft 3
If you have a nVIDIA card try this:

Control Panel - Display - Advanced - Gforce6900 (or your card name) - Additional Direct3D Settings

There you will find "Max Frames to Render Ahead" and that option should be set to "0".

One known problem is the "Protect against unknown threats" option in Panda AntiVirus and other similar products.

You might have to uninstall them, not just disable. (Try to disable them first, of course)

Note: adding Continuum to the ignore list of these programs might not help! You might have to completely remove these programs or make them not run at all when the computer starts up. Disabling them when already running might not help.

Note: disabling any "heuristic" or "detect unknown viruses" options in anti-virus programs might help.

Note: since you can't get rid of spyware without anti-spyware programs, you should do this to ensure best compatibility:
1) Install anti-spyware
2) Run it and clean the system
3) Uninstall anti-spyware

If it still does not run after removing suspicious programs, you should use a "registry cleaner" program to clean the computer's registry (parts of the programs you uninstalled could still be there).

Some other possible fixes to try:

(Windows XP) Right-click Continuum and select Properties. Go to the "Compatibility" tab and check "Disable visual themes". Click OK and run Continuum normally.
Create a new (Windows) user to play Continuum with
Try playing with a user that does not have administrator rights.
1) Install Continuum under an "administrator rights" account. DONT RUN IT AFTER INSTALL!
2) Share the installation directory with "change rights for ppl in network" (it will apply to other users in the computer too)
3) Log in with some other "limited rights" account and play the game as you always did in the past.
It may also be possible that your computer has Data Execution Program (DEP) enabled for all programs.

For Windows XP, right click on “My Computer” and follow “Properties > Advanced > Performance Settings > Data Execution Prevention” Once you have opened DEP, see if you have 'Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only', if so, check 'Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select'. Next add Continuum.exe to the list, and apply. Then you can go back to 'Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only' if you'd like, and it will load fine.

For Vista and Windows 7, go into “Start > Computer > System Properties (button under the link bar) > Advanced System Settings (on the left navigation menu) > Performance (click settings)”. Now move over to the one that says “Data Execution Program”, and add Continuum to the list.

See also

Advanced: Continuum 100% CPU crash (reproducible)
Continuum not starting up fix (sandboxie)

**PoLiX** · May 4, 2014

How does lag work?

Lag has two sides: ping time and packetloss.

Understanding ping times is easy. A ping time is the amount of time it takes for data to go from your computer to the server and then back to your computer. It is measured in milliseconds (One second is 1000 milliseconds).

Obviously, a smaller ping time is better. Ping times of over 300ms noticably affect gameplay and ping times of over 500ms make any real gameplay impossible.

Data on the internet is sent in units called packets. In this game, one packet is up to 520 bytes long.

Because connections are not perfect (bad physical media, connection overloads, ...), some packets never make it through to the other end.

Continuum handles this by making sure that all important packets go through and re-sending them until they go though if they should fail.

Packetloss is the amount of packets that do not reach the destination and have to be sent again.

In Continuum, packetloss is measured in 3 ways:

S2C (Server to Client) is the amount of packets that never reach your computer from the server. This will cause others to seem to jump around on your screen.

C2S (Client to Server) is the amount of packets that never reach the server from your computers. This will cause you to jump around on other players' screens.

S2C (Server to Client) Weapons is the amount of weapons (Bombs, bullets, repels, decoys, ...) that never reach your computer. Weapons are never re-sent, so this is a great (and unfair) advantage to you. The amount of this can only be viewed by game moderators.

Packetloss is measured as a percent. 0% packetloss is best, which means that no packets get lost. It is also possible to have negative packetloss, which means that some packets get sent multiple times. This is not harmful, but can overload weaker connections (56k).

You can check your ping times with the command ?ping. This is a client command, which means that you will always get a reponse to this.

You can check your packetloss with the command ?packetloss. This is a server command, which means that you will not get a response if not connected to the server.

You can check both with the command ?lag. This is also a server command.

**PoLiX** · May 4, 2014

I cannot select any resolutions, what can I do?

Symptoms

No resolution choices appear in the 'Resolution' menu of the main screen.

Screenshot

Solutions

Go to the Profile Editor from the main menu
On all of your profiles, set both 'Resolution' and 'Window' to ; Hit 'OK'
Click on the 'View' menu, then 'Advanced Options...'
Make sure 'Show Default Resolutions' is unchecked
See if it is fixed (You might need to quit and restart Continuum)
If not fixed, go back and check 'Show Default Resolutions'

If this still does not fix your problem, another (weird) solution exists that may work in some cases:

Click on the 'View' menu, then 'Options...'
Select the 'Chat' tab
Set the 'Chat Window' option to 'Always Show'
Select the 'Graphics' tab
Uncheck 'Show Stars', 'Detailed Explosions' and 'Rolling Ship'

See also

Unable to change resolution - SSForum.net
Resolution problem - SSCU Trench Wars Forum
Can't select any resolutions - SSForum.net

**PoLiX** · May 4, 2014

I receive the error "Unable to create zones\...\map.lvl" when entering a zone, how do I fix this?

OS: Vista -> (Should work the same on XP and before, but the steps arent exactly right)

Right-click Continuum folder.
Click "Properties"
Click the "Security" tab.
Click "{}Edit" ({} represents the admin shield which requires additional approval)
When the UAC box comes up, click "Continue"
If your username is in the box, click then continue to step 8
If your username is NOT in the box, click ADD, type in your username then hit "Enter"
Highlight your username, then make sure the box next to "Full Control" under the "Allow" column is checked off.
OK/Apply out of ALL boxes.

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