My joystick doesn't want to calibrate properly.
Make sure that you have calibrated your joystick in Windows first, and then in Aces High.
If your joystick(s) connects to your computer using a USB port, and you have Windows XP (or later) installed, it is not neccessary to load any additional drivers in order for the joystick(s) to be used in Aces High. You still need to calibrate the stick in Windows first though.
I keep getting the message "Not receiving updates switching to TCP".
This message means your connection is not working properly using the UDP connection method/protocol.
The UDP protocol is generally faster, but less reliable and is the preferred method of communication with your computer.
Loosing UDP, typically, happens when you are running from behind a firewall or proxy of some sort. It can also happen if your connection fails, as Aces High tries an alternate method of connection. Or the failure can stem from your anti-virus program.
It can also occur when using a wireless connection as wireless connections are more prone to bit errors in the data stream. Once an error happens, the UDP packet is lost. This will also cause voice communications to breakup or disaply other anomalies.
If Aces High always does this, but works fine, you likely are behind a firewall that will not let the UDP packets through or your router does not support UDP over NAT. A common problem with many routers.
My computer intermittently locks up when playing Aces High.
If your Internet connection is through a modem (dial-up), try removing the connection icon from your taskbar. To do this, uncheck the "Show icon on taskbar" box in your connection settings configuration window. This generally solves the problem.
The problem can also be caused by resource starvation, other programs firing off in the background and a host of other things.
Resource starvation comes about if you have set the details of the game too high. These included, the game resolution, texture size, any anti-aliasing settings, or in-game slider settings being too high.
It is easy to eliminate the starvation issue. Turn everything in the game back to its basic setting and see if the problem goes away. If it does, then incrementally add back what you removedor changed until the problem is seen again.
For other issues, you can send a DXDIAG output to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a description of the problem. Include what the game shows in the CTRL-I information at the top center of the game screen (at the tower).
I try to run Aces High but only get a white screen.
There are quite a few things which can contribute to this issue. Typically it is driver related. For example, we know the 61.77 driver from NVidia works better with all NVidia video cards from the FX5xxx series and back. The use of a later driver will cause lock-ups, stutters, and a melee of other troubles.
The problem can also stem from having "fast-writes" enabled in your computer system's BIOS ROM for the AGP bus. Particulary if you are using a motherboard which is based on the VIA chipset.
Out of date motherboard drivers (INF files) can also cause this problem.
It could be due to the computer having a multi-core CPU.
If you are unable to correct the problem. You can send us the output from a DXDIAG (Start->Run->DXDIAG) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will be happy to take a look.
How can I improve my framerates?
Here are a few suggestions that have worked for other players:
Make sure that you are not continuously running any unnecessary backgroud programs in Windows. (One particularly bad resource hogger is "Fastfind" included with MS Office Applications. Remove it if you see it.)
Anti-Virus programs can also use excess resources, consider checking things such as NAV.exe for Norton Anti-Virus. You can see what all is running in the background by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del once to bring up the task manager. Windows XP/2000 normally has 19 to 21 processes listed in a fairly clean system.
Use the latest version of DirectX.
Add more RAM to your system, 256MB is really the minimum you should consider having. 512MB is a good number, with 1GB being optimal.
Upgrade your processor. If you have a 2GHz CPU or faster, you should be fine.
Check the video and sound card drivers. In some cases, the latest video card driver wcan cause problems. For instance, for all NVidia cards from the FX5xxx series and older, you must use the 61.77 drivers from NVidia. Using later drivers for those vide cards will cause problems.
Upgrade to a better video card. If your video is built onto the motherboard, it will be a very poor video solution. Virtually any AGP video card will be better than an onboard video solution.
A good sound card can actually improve frame rates by allowing the CPU to do more instead of working hard doing sound. Generally, an AC97 type of sound device is very CPU dependent as is most onboard sound solutions.
Try using a different monitor resolution, some people actually get better framerates at 1024 x 768 versus 800 x 600. Virtually all the newer video cards from ATI and NVidia run better at higher resolutions. Just a note though, a new computer does not neccessarily mean it has a new video card. May OEM computers use video chips/cards which were designed several years ago, but are cheap.
Planes are jumping all over the place (warping).
Try downloading a traceroute utility to test your connection speed. (At www.pingplotter.com there is a freeware program called PingPlotter.)
Trace to www.hitechcreations.com. Ideally, your connection should have no more than 250ms ping times to this server. Also, MAKE SURE there is NO packet loss whatsoever. If you do see packet loss, post your traceroute to the technical support forum and let HTC contact the appropriate networks.
If you have a Dial-Up (Modem) connection, try calling your ISP and getting their MTU settings and making sure yours match. To do this, you will have to play around in your registry, for most of us this is NOT a good idea. Fortunately, MTU optimizing utilities exist and can be downloaded for free on the Internet. (Make sure you make a backup copy of your registry if you do decide to play with those settings!)
Modem settings can be reconfigued as follows:
Go to Modems in the Control Panel and select properties. Change your Maximum Speed to the next lowest setting.
Next select the Connections tab and click on Port Settings. Reset Receive and Transmit buffers to low.
Next click on Advanced (still on Connections Tab). Uncheck Compress Data under the "Use Error Control" section.
You may have to adjust these settings to find what works best for you.
I get the message "Host connection lost" frequently. (Also Rubber Bullet problems.)
Try downloading a traceroute utility to test your connection speed. (At www.pingplotter.com there is a freeware program called PingPlotter.)
race to www.hitechcreations.com. Ideally, your connection should have no more than 250ms ping times to this server. Also, MAKE SURE there is NO packet loss whatsoever. If you do see packet loss, post your traceroute to the technical support forum and let HTC contact the appropriate networks.
If you have a Dial-Up (Modem) connection, try calling your ISP and getting their MTU settings and making sure yours match. To do this, you will have to play around in your registry, for most of us this is NOT a good idea. Fortunately, MTU optimizing utilities exist and can be downloaded for free on the Internet. (Make sure you make a backup copy of your registry if you do decide to play with those settings!)
Modem settings can be reconfigued as follows:
Go to Modems in the Control Panel and select properties. Change your Maximum Speed to the next lowest setting.
Next select the Connections tab and click on Port Settings. Reset Receive and Transmit buffers to low.
Next click on Advanced (still on Connections Tab). Uncheck Compress Data under the "Use Error Control" section.
You may have to adjust these settings to find what works best for you.
Aces High crashes with a screen/computer freeze when I try to play behind a firewall.
Firewall software can be configured to restrict Internet access from your computer and access to your computer from the Internet.
It is most probable that Aces High is not frozen, but rather that the firewall is suspending any activity on your computer because of those restrictions. Check your firewall configuration and verify that Aces High (aceshigh.exe) is allowed access to the Internet at all times (so you can play online in the arenas or in free head-to-head mode), and that it is allowed server status (so you can host head-to-head games).
If your firewall software is ZoneAlarm from ZoneLabs, the popup window that usually appears to ask if Internet access is to be given is masked when you try to go to online arenas or free head-to-head games. Aces High appears to be frozen, but ZoneAlarm is actually waiting for your answer. Just type "RY" to instruct ZoneAlarm to let Aces High have Internet access at all times. You will need to do this everytime a new version of Aces High is installed on your computer.
