Game Crashing? | Can't log in? | Please read and try these tips before posting

If you would like to report a bug or issue, please make sure to include the following:

1. Your device (iOS, Android, please be specific) and its version number (check under settings-device)
2. Your game version (this can be found on the bottom of the Help/FAQ page)
3. A description of the problem and what you were doing when the problem occurred
4. A screenshot of the problem if possible/applicable (How To A Post Photo) | please make sure you crop your photo first to remove the game information on the top of screen for privacy and the security of your game as pictures will be removed if they now have your RP/coin/gem numbers showing

You can either post in:
(1) Castle Story | Bugs and Issues | Current Known Bugs and Issues for Castle Story thread
(2) existing thread of the same problem
(3) start a new thread

Before you start a new thread, please check to see if there is any existing thread of the same problem as yours to avoid duplicate threads.

iOS General Issues
To check for your device version - go to Settings, General, About - Version
To check for game version in game:

Open game, go to Menu, Help/FAQ - on the bottom edge of the box, the version will be listed

To check for game version if you can't open the game:

Open App Store, search game name (or Storm8), click on app, on the left side, under the logo it will show current game version

A good way to find out if the games are down is to visit https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/...rod.storm8.com

What can I do to try to resolve my game issues?

iOS General Issues
If your iOS device is having issues, make sure you've tried the following:

• Restart your device
• Delete and reinstall the game - Press down on the app icon until it jiggles. You can then tap the 'X' in the upper left corner to delete the app from your device. Now go to the App Store to reinstall it.
• Hard restart - hold the power and home buttons, through the power off slider, until the Apple symbol appears.
  
  For newer devices (iPod Touch 4th Gen and newer, iPhone 3G and newer, all iPad versions [possibly other devices]) - close out background running apps. Double tap the home button, when the screen raises up, hold the app until it starts shaking. Press the red minus symbol to close.

Connection Issues

1. Force close your game
2. Disconnect device cellular/wifi setting
3. Switch off device
4. Power off modem and router, and power up after 2 mins if you're using wifi connection
5. Switch on device and reconnect cellular/wifi setting
6. Start game
   
   If you are using wifi, the bandwidth and number of devices connected to it are contributing factors to your connectivity performance.

Device Performance Issues
Some older devices may have trouble keeping up with the game.

• Clear cache - go to Safari in Settings app on iOS device and click [Clear History and Website Data]
• Check that you have sufficient space on your device. Try deleting some unused apps/photos/videos etc if you don't.
• Store away some (if not all) animated decorations on your board
• Avoid running other apps in the background
• Let your game settle for a few minutes (3 mins or so) after starting it, before you do any activity
• Reduce the number of neighbours if you have close to a thousand

Display/Graphics Issues

1. Clear cache - go to Safari in Settings app on iOS device and click [Clear History and Website Data].
2. Restart device and game
3. Delete and reinstall game if the above doesn't work

Additional advice from S8 about reinstalling.
Reinstalling the game won't solve any drops or craft issues since the user's saved data and event data is all stored on our servers. Force-closing and re-opening on the other hand will solve some issues so that's probably the best bet for resolving an issue. I've heard that CS will recommend reinstalling to fix some specific issues and that may be true but resintalling won't be able to resolve event-related problems.

The only thing that reinstalling *will* fix is incorrect animations or graphics. That's because the graphics are downloaded and cached on the device. If a graphic/animation is changed, the game will not know to redownload it so the only way to force the download is delete all the cached graphics. Android devices can clear cache from settings but iOS doesn't have this feature and requires a full reinstall. With that said, we have ways of fixing incorrect graphics from the server so reinstalling is rarely necessary.


Sync Issues
Ensure your connection is good. Always fresh start your game before you do any actions to avoid sync issues. It is recommended that we do not leave our games running in the background.

• If you discover that you have forgotten to close out your game, force shut it without doing any activity and start it again.
• You can force save your game progress by visiting a neighbour or clicking Social/Community.
• Do not leave your game immediately after your last action. Try to force save your game progress and sync with Storm8 servers before closing your game.

Nugget #11 - How to play on old devices


Information added January 2022. [thanks to SofiaDeo for this additional text]

There are several major things affecting gameplay, processor requirements, available memory, and internet connection. For Example:

On newer devices, Location Services and Background App Refresh are generally enabled by default. Very few apps actually need 24/7 location, switching to Only When In Use for any particular app will cut down on apps' intermittent processor and internet use surge. Background App Refresh almost never needs to be On, for anything. Mail can be switched to "Push" when playing, so email services' constantly checking for/receiving mail doesn't affect bandwidth and processor power available for gameplay. Leaving multiple apps open could tip the bandwidth available enough to affect the game loading/playing properly.

Not having actual memory available on a device will cause issues as an account grows. Number of items out, especially walkers, can affect gameplay. Excessively high numbers of neighbors, as well as visiting neighbors daily, use even more memory. Collectors who develop huge inventories will also need more memory.

Smart devices in homes can affect the amount of WiFi available. Thermostats, washers, dryers, lights, other Smart devices can add up significantly to drain on WiFi bandwidth. Interference from large EMF sources like a house electric Smart Meter, wiring or other metals like range vent hoods in walls, and neighbors' overlapping signals, can interfere with your own WiFi signal. Sometimes moving to a different room, or different spot within a room, can help. Some people make several networks within the main network at home, with the smaller one dedicated for use by printers, thermostats, etc. The ISP provider can assist with directions how to do this, it's a router configuration that's not especially difficult.

ISP issues can sometimes be on their end. I can't speak for every provider, but at least a few can have issues that the purchaser needs to call their ISP support to clear a cache. Resetting a modem sometimes solves issues too.

Regional and Intercontinental internet disruptions can cause problems if the signal to S8 servers is weak or disrupted or rerouted extensively. Weather events with electric outages can overload and time-out signals re-routed from those areas. Underground/underwater cables are rarely affected, but it is possible. Even large solar flare events can disrupt telecommunications!

Troubleshooting wifi!
Common issues with devices:

CS requires a lot of memory to run. To reduce crashing and free up space, try the following:
1. force close* out any other apps in the background; (you need to see the loading screen again)
2. delete any old apps you no longer need;
3. make sure your internet connection is secure. You could turn wifi on/off on your modem and your device.
If all else fails, delete and re-install the app. All game progress is stored on Storm8 servers. This will help clear your cache. It might take a little time for your board to re-load. Wait for a few minutes till all of the graphics are back on your board.

✳️ Force close: double click home screen, swipe up and off the screen the thumbnail pics. This clears device memory.

Post from Bugs thread 22 April 2015.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PikaSquirrel

If you are still running iOS 5.1.1 and can update to a higher OS, we recommend you do this to help with the issue. As you expand and add more items to your board, more resources are required to run the game. Unfortunately, older devices may not be able to handle the amount of resources the game requires. If you are unable to update your device, we recommend you store a few items in your game. If you are unable to open the game to store items, please write to Support for a support agent to assist you with this. Thank you!

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(email removed)

Unless the games are in scheduled maintenance, the problems opening any of the games are a device issue, not a Storm8 issue. Elsa has written some posts below to explain more about this.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by PikaSquirrel

Is everyone experiencing this issue using wifi to try to connect to the game(s)? Is anyone using data and experiencing this issue as well?

We're currently investigating this. If you are experiencing this and have access to a computer where the wifi issue is occurring, please follow these steps:

For WINDOWS:

1. Open the Command Prompt. You can do this by clicking start->run-> type in "cmd".

2. Highlight and copy the line below:

tracert -w 300 75.98.0.150

3. Right click on your Command Prompt window bar. Go to edit-> paste (hit enter) wait for it to finish, it may take some time.

4. Submit a Support form: S8 Support: Click here for form link to S8 Support

5. Send a forum PM to PikaSquirrel with the ticket number.

For MAC:

1. Click on Go > Applications > Utilities > Terminal
This will create a shell window.

2. Copy the line of text below in to the shell window (paste) hit enter (It may take sometime to finish that command.)

traceroute -w 300 75.98.0.150

3. Submit a Support form: S8 Support: Click here for form link to S8 Support

4. Send a forum PM to PikaSquirrel with the ticket number.

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Posts from [S8]Elsa about difficulty opening S8 games. Posted January 2016

Quote:

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Originally Posted by [S8] Elsa

If you're able to connect on your data network (or any other network), then your games are functioning properly. We occasionally receive reports from players who can't access our games during certain hours on their home network. We don't block internet connections and confirmed with our tech department that the connection is timing out on the ISP end. If you still have issues with this, you may need to reach out to your ISP for assistance.

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... This post from Elsa has a bit more info ....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by [S8] Elsa

:( Unfortunately, the connection issues aren't from our servers. Players with this issue typically report that they're able to access the game on another network. If they're having these issues during specific hours or only at home, it's likely that it's related to an ISP issue. While they may be able to connect to other services online, specifically our channels may be targeted by the issue.

When our tech team checked it out based on information we requested from players, the timeout happens on the ISP side when the game tries to connect.

Unfortunately, they may need to reach out to their ISP regarding why they're unable to reach our servers.

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