Anyone here is able to log in the internet games?
I just cant create any account here .

I cant log with my gamespy-id , i cant enter @@@@@ in the danm box , and i cant paste my email adress in the box . As we know , the email adress is use in gamespy for logging .



Anyone know where this game save the logging information so i can edit it manualy myself ?


anyone else?

I have the same problem. CivilizationIv.ini has some fields for adding name, email address, but those are for play-by-email. The Internet Game option/GameSpy doesn't pay attention to them, and I could not find a configuration file that does.
BTW, your gamespyid login name is different from your email address, but I tried typing my login name and it still didn't connect.

Anyone know the secret?

I have the same problem. CivilizationIv.ini has some fields for adding name, email address, but those are for play-by-email. The Internet Game option/GameSpy doesn't pay attention to them, and I could not find a configuration file that does.
BTW, your gamespyid login name is different from your email address, but I tried typing my login name and it still didn't connect.

Anyone know the secret?


I'm having the same exact problem and I have no clue as to why. Like I said in a post on the technical support forum, I originally thought that it was related to my firewall, but when my friend was able to create and log into gamespy, that dismissed that possibility. I don't run a software firewall like Zonealarm or Black Ice. I use a hardware firewall router. My friend was plugged into the same router when he tried, and he got through. It has to be something with the way CIV installed onto my system or something. I'll try the standard "Updating of all Network Drivers." if that works I'll be sure to let you know, but I doubt that will have any effect on my getting through.

If anyone else knows how to fix that us know.

I also went to http://www.gamespyid.com and was able to log in.

I'm assuming the "Nickname" field is the one you use for your login name on CIV IV correct?

Im having the same problems. whenever i try to log in, it says "failed to connect." I have no idea why i cant connect. all i know is that when gamespy is needed for multiplayer games, multiplayer is NONFUNCTIONAL. God damn you gamespy. god damn you firaxis, for being dumb *******s who use gamespy.

just to let you know it isnt a universal problem I can log in...sorry tho I dont know whats preventing you.

Well, it looks as thought we wont get anything constructive here. Might want to try contacting gamespy, which is what I am going to do.

elderotter, I'm really surprised you could log in, Civ 4 is not even in Gamespy Arcade's supported game list.

Well, it looks as thought we wont get anything constructive here. Might want to try contacting gamespy, which is what I am going to do.

I've posted a question about Civ 4 support in the Gamespy Arcade forums:

http://www.forumplanet.com/gamespyarcade/topic.asp?fid=1555&tid=1772522

I'll let you know what I hear.

I had the same problem and found a solution.

The problem is that any gamespyid account not created by the game itself (using the create account functionality) or any gamespyaccount that you try to create from the game but that is associated to an email address that exists on an already existing gamespy account created from outside the game will not work.

In order to get into the multiplayer lobby, just create a new gamespyid account from in game, using an email address you never used with www.gamespyid.com or IGN before.

hope that helps

Anyone here is able to log in the internet games?
I just cant create any account here .

I cant log with my gamespy-id , i cant enter @@@@@ in the danm box , and i cant paste my email adress in the box . As we know , the email adress is use in gamespy for logging .



Anyone know where this game save the logging information so i can edit it manualy myself ?


anyone else? If you have an gamespy account using your email address then you must used the usersname (nickname you used to log in to fileplanet) and the exact password that's already attach to the address. After you set the new "Civ 4" account next time you hit "log in" and enter your ?nickname and password.

none of the above solutions have worked for me. i still get a "unable to connect" error.

Bump, because this seems like a serious issue that many players have. There are at least 2 more threads on these forums where people cannot connect to internet games because of Gamespy. If this has happened to anyone else, and they have a solution, PLEASE post here.

I tried what you said about making a new account in the game using an e-mail that doesn't exist with them, and I STILL get errors when trying to connect to gamespy. I really wish they could have gone with another service for multiplayer. I have a few multiplayer games, and I have yet to find one as problematic as gamespy is. Even with CIV 3 I had problems.

Ok, I have new info.

I used my friend's account name and password, which work. I got the same "unable to connect to game server" error. Whatever it is, it is specific to my (our?) machines.

I live on a college campus. I'm starting to think that maybe my problem stems from the network here. I'm going to test a few things out, and see what happens. For anyone who has these problems, post if you live on campus somewhere. I go to GMU, by the way. Maybe it's a big GMU issue, and I'll meet new friends because of this.:p

Oh, and unistalling and reinstalling it doesnt work. Tried that too.

Hi, I think I have found the solution to the problem you are having. I was having the same problems myself, the reasons for these problems I believe are twofold.

1.) In order to login to an Internet game your GamespyID account must have been created through the CivIV interface, if you attempt to login using a pre-existing account you will receive an error. I believe this is due to an association being made on the gamespy servers which allows a GamespyID account to use the CivIV lobby when an account is made through the CivIV interface, however for pre-existing accounts this association does not exist therefore the Gamespy CivIV lobby server wont recognise your account. The error you will receive at the interface when trying to connect to an account that was not created using the CivIV interface is; "The Username you entered is not valid". The error noted from logging is "ERR: The uniquenick provided is incorrect.".

2.) When creating an account you must use a unique username in the "Login:" field. Or in other words a username which is not already in use by other players, if you're trying to create an account with a common username and are receiving an error then it is likely that the name is already in use. The error that you will see from the CivIV interface is; "The login attempt has failed". However the true cause for this error is only revealed once logging is enabled and is the following error message; "ERR: The uniquenick is already in use.". Basically the error you see from the CivIV game interface is not explicit in describing what the actual cause of the problem was, you receive a generic attempt failed regardless of the cause for the failure. Furthermore, you will have similar problems if you're trying to make a new account using an email address which is already associated with an existing GamespyID account. I believe the error that is shown in the logs is; "ERR: The password does not match the email address." although I have not thoroughly tested that point. Avoid using an email address which has already been used to create a GamespyID.

To summarize, in order to login you must be using a GamespyID account which was created through the CivIV interface. When creating a new account ensure that the username you pick (for the the "Login:" field) is unique, i.e. it is not something common which may already be in use. Also don't use an email address which already has a GamespyID.

I hope this helps to fix the problems anyone here is having, also if you would like to enable logging for your own CivIV it is explained here on a 2kgames support page (http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/support_logging.htm).

ps. If you already have an existing GamespyID registered to an email address and you dont want to create another email address / GamespyID in order to play CivIV here is a little tip which I used myself. Login to the GamespyID from www.GamespyID.com and change the following details; change nickname to something you dont want to use, change the email address to something you dont want to use, enter the password fields identically. Warning: be careful to make sure you change the nickname to something you dont want, and if you want to be safe use a valid email address and password in case there is a mistake. If you accidently changed the email address and password to something you dont know but left the old nick you may lose access to that nickname. I am not responsible for any mistakes attempting this :)

OK, I think that about covers it. Good luck all, I hope there arent any further problems that I havent discovered.

Still doesn't work. I get a "The connection to the game browsing server has failed." error. It doesn't seem like anything to do with my account name or password.

Still doesn't work. I get a "The connection to the game browsing server has failed." error. It doesn't seem like anything to do with my account name or password.

I'm having the same problem.

I can log in ok, but tonight I can't stay in longer than 1 minute then I crash, first time thats happened.

if you still cant connect after that, then the only thing I can think of are firewall and NAT issues. which i dont know the full details of, other than that you may need to open the ports which the game uses.

I hope this helps to fix the problems anyone here is having, also if you would like to enable logging for your own CivIV it is explained here on a 2kgames support page (http://www.2kgames.com/civ4/support_logging.htm).

Also, enable logging as per the above link and check what errors you're getting. That may provide more specific indication of what the problem is.

I'm not really sure what im doing with the logging, but i think this is the error im getting.

[47536.406] ERR: Unable to contact the matchmaking server

anyone know what that means?

Also, I've tried to play this with firewall off, and it still doesn't work. What ports do I need open for the game to work?

look like a problem with your net connection .


It all fine for me now .

I've figured its my net connection, but I dont know whats wrong with it. I've never had a problem like this ever. Anybody have any suggestions? I've tried doing this with the firewall off and everything.

I'm not really sure what im doing with the logging, but i think this is the error im getting.

[47536.406] ERR: Unable to contact the matchmaking server

anyone know what that means?

Also, I've tried to play this with firewall off, and it still doesn't work. What ports do I need open for the game to work?

yes that certainly looks like a problem with your connection, can you give us more detail on how you connect (behind router, NAT) etc. I dont think port forwarding is required due to the way gamespy handles the connections (from what I have read)

i tried doing internet games, i create an account, it says no connection. But Im sure my internet works. I have wireless.

Okay I get the same error about the game browsing server being unavailable.

I know my gamespyid is good as a friend was able to use it on his internet connection just fine.

From the network log

[98040.265] DBG: Resetting the portal! (m_bConnectComplete=false)
[98047.125] DBG: Resetting the portal! (m_bConnectComplete=false)
[98047.375] WRN: Disconnecting from entire Peer Network!
[98060.718] ERR: Unable to contact the matchmaking server

The in game message box is titled "Server unreachable"
with the text of the message being "The connection to the game browsing server has failed"

I do not have windows firewall enabled on any of my network interfaces. I did say yes during the installation to add the config info to the windows firewall though. I've tried connecting with the firewall enabled, disabled, with my machine plugged directly into the cable modem (removing the NAT from the equation. My firewall / router might have been the problem but plugging directly into the cable modem and getting an outside IP proves thats not the issue.)

I have windows XP SP2, an nForce 4 AMD motherboard without the nforce firewall installed. No other firewall or other filtering software is installed.

I used TCPView from Sysinternals and see that Civ causes "[System Process]:0 TCP MY.COMPTUERS.IP.ADDRESS:2561 207.38.11.34:29900 TIME_WAIT" messages to happen
The local port (2561 in this case) changes each time I attempt a connection in Civ but it doesnt seem to be working properly.

Whenever I call Take2 Support they disconnect the call after 5 minutes on hold saying I should email them. They are not responding to emails very fast. :( Anyone have ideas?

I think this may have something to do with TimeWarner's Roadrunner IP block I am getting.

For the curious I have an airlink wireless router, the Airlink 101 Super G... its got the Firmware Version: 1.6.6 , 2005/03/30

But again I plugged directly into the cable modem ( I did MAC address spoofing on the router so my PC and the router report the same MAC to the DHCP servers. Makes swapping it out simple. )

My problem is exactly like yours, Horse. Same errors, and I'm using TW Roadrunner to boot. All other MP games work fine.

Rick Miller

Where are you located on Road Runner? I'm in Austin TX

Okay I get the same error about the game browsing server being unavailable.

I know my gamespyid is good as a friend was able to use it on his internet connection just fine.

From the network log

[98040.265] DBG: Resetting the portal! (m_bConnectComplete=false)
[98047.125] DBG: Resetting the portal! (m_bConnectComplete=false)
[98047.375] WRN: Disconnecting from entire Peer Network!
[98060.718] ERR: Unable to contact the matchmaking server

The in game message box is titled "Server unreachable"
with the text of the message being "The connection to the game browsing server has failed"

I do not have windows firewall enabled on any of my network interfaces. I did say yes during the installation to add the config info to the windows firewall though. I've tried connecting with the firewall enabled, disabled, with my machine plugged directly into the cable modem (removing the NAT from the equation. My firewall / router might have been the problem but plugging directly into the cable modem and getting an outside IP proves thats not the issue.)

I have windows XP SP2, an nForce 4 AMD motherboard without the nforce firewall installed. No other firewall or other filtering software is installed.

I used TCPView from Sysinternals and see that Civ causes "[System Process]:0 TCP MY.COMPTUERS.IP.ADDRESS:2561 207.38.11.34:29900 TIME_WAIT" messages to happen
The local port (2561 in this case) changes each time I attempt a connection in Civ but it doesnt seem to be working properly.

Whenever I call Take2 Support they disconnect the call after 5 minutes on hold saying I should email them. They are not responding to emails very fast. :( Anyone have ideas?

I think this may have something to do with TimeWarner's Roadrunner IP block I am getting.

For the curious I have an airlink wireless router, the Airlink 101 Super G... its got the Firmware Version: 1.6.6 , 2005/03/30

But again I plugged directly into the cable modem ( I did MAC address spoofing on the router so my PC and the router report the same MAC to the DHCP servers. Makes swapping it out simple. )


what about you try to get the ip of the server and try to do a simple ping request , its maybe your isp?

Well, the IP of the server was in my post.. and yes I can ping it.. well, something responds to an ICMP Echo Request...

Pinging 207.38.11.34 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 207.38.11.34: bytes=32 time=53ms TTL=238
Reply from 207.38.11.34: bytes=32 time=52ms TTL=238
Reply from 207.38.11.34: bytes=32 time=52ms TTL=238
Reply from 207.38.11.34: bytes=32 time=51ms TTL=238

Ping statistics for 207.38.11.34:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 51ms, Maximum = 53ms, Average = 52ms

I'm located in northern NY. I also have no problem pinging the above IP.

Rick Miller

My problem and error messages are identical to Mr. Horse's. I have tried it with my firewall turned off, and it didn't work. I have a wireless connection, but I tried plugging my computer straight to the ethernet port, and it still didn't work. On top of that, I can connect to other people through direct IP games, but [eople cannot join the direct IP games that I create.

I'm having the same problem as mattigus and Mr.Horse, and I live on a university campus too. No problems with any other games, and it's probably a connection issue, but living here, I cannot open ports manually.

When I try to play internet multiplayer on my desktop computer, I have the identical problem to the one posted by Mr. Horse. The weird thing is that when I installed Civ IV on my laptop and tried the internet multiplayer it worked perfectly. Both computers were behind the same firewall with the same filters. I also used the same Gamespy login ID and password. Both had windows firewall enabled with the exception for Civ IV that is made during the Civ IV installation. (I also tried disabling windows firewall and removing the physical firewall with no success.) I can play direct ip games on both computers without a problem. It seems that there is something specific about my desktop computer that is preventing internet multiplayer mode to work. What that would be, I don't know.

When I try to play internet multiplayer on my desktop computer, I have the identical problem to the one posted by Mr. Horse. The weird thing is that when I installed Civ IV on my laptop and tried the internet multiplayer it worked perfectly. Both computers were behind the same firewall with the same filters. I also used the same Gamespy login ID and password. Both had windows firewall enabled with the exception for Civ IV that is made during the Civ IV installation. (I also tried disabling windows firewall and removing the physical firewall with no success.) I can play direct ip games on both computers without a problem. It seems that there is something specific about my desktop computer that is preventing internet multiplayer mode to work. What that would be, I don't know.

Okay, so we have a guy on a Uni campus with the issue.. I assume he doesn't use RoadRunner for access...

Please people, post what Network Card you are using, what kind of firewall you have if its a software or hardware (brand / version / firmware or whatever else you can think of.) Driver version for the NIC too if you can.

There's got to be a solution to this. I think it must be something on my PC doing it.

Okay, quick question.. Who here has the issue I talked about AND has McAfee Virusscan?

I've verified that Mcafee VirusScan Enterprise 8.0 On Access Scanner is stopping the Civ4 Internet Server Browser from pulling up.

Looking in the virus scan log files for the network blocker portion I see this gem...
10/30/2005 3:15:35 PM Blocked by port blocking rule Civilization4.e Prevent IRC communication 207.38.11.136
10/30/2005 4:53:35 PM Blocked by port blocking rule Civilization4.e Prevent IRC communication 207.38.11.136
10/30/2005 5:05:35 PM Blocked by port blocking rule Civilization4.e Prevent IRC communication 207.38.11.136
10/30/2005 5:20:35 PM Blocked by port blocking rule Civilization4.e Prevent IRC communication 207.38.11.136
10/31/2005 9:24:51 PM Blocked by port blocking rule Civilization4.e Prevent IRC communication 207.38.11.136
10/31/2005 9:27:51 PM Blocked by port blocking rule Civilization4.e Prevent IRC communication 207.38.11.136
10/31/2005 9:30:51 PM Blocked by port blocking rule Civilization4.e ? 207.38.11.136

So that appears to be the culprit! AH HA!

EDIT:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=135990
Thread I created about the best way to fix this issue of "Connection to Server Browser Failed" errors.

Thanks!

That fixed the problem for me! Thanks Mr. Horse!

the solution is open your civ 4 port in windows firewall
the port number can be found in the .ini file.
if u cant find the file try open port 2056. i think thats the default port number

Thanks, Mr. Horse, that did it, it was Mcafee. You are the man. Panzooka, we had all already tried that, I think it was on page one of this thread, but thanks for trying to help. This is what forums like this are for. Thanks again. BTW, anyone confirm that Symantics anti-virus is not a problem with this game, if not I'll switch.

Sorry to post a reply to my own stuff so soon, but I found a way of making it work without totally shutting down Mcafee. Open the virus scan console, double click access protection in the lower window, under the port blocking tab uncheck all that stuff and hit apply, close these windows and play. This shouldn't affect anything if you are like me, running a router with a firewall and using the windows firewall (they should be enough).

Thanks again,
Rick Miller

P.S. Now to just try a game after work.

Sorry to post a reply to my own stuff so soon, but I found a way of making it work without totally shutting down Mcafee. Open the virus scan console, double click access protection in the lower window, under the port blocking tab uncheck all that stuff and hit apply, close these windows and play. This shouldn't affect anything if you are like me, running a router with a firewall and using the windows firewall (they should be enough).

Thanks again,
Rick Miller

P.S. Now to just try a game after work.

yeah I posted a new thread about how to fix the issue without cluttering this thread up.. see http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=135990 for several methods and some screen shots. I forgot to update my post here with a link. heh. Great minds think alike i guess. ;)

But, your comment about unchecking everything is not a great solution when you only need to uncheck the two IRC related items as thats what causes the problem. Please see the other thread for more detail.

I don't use Mccaffee, unfortunately. My antivirus program is Symantec AntiVirus. How can I find out if this program is the problemmaker?

Thanks, Mr. Horse, that did it, it was Mcafee. You are the man. Panzooka, we had all already tried that, I think it was on page one of this thread, but thanks for trying to help. This is what forums like this are for. Thanks again. BTW, anyone confirm that Symantics anti-virus is not a problem with this game, if not I'll switch.
i dont have any other virus scanner or firewall other than the window's one, after i open the port, i am able to create an account and login.

if u dont have any third party firewall or virus scanner, try open port 2056

Thanks Mr. Horse for posting it about the virus scanner. I too couldnt connect but disabling on access scan of my McAfee 8.0 enterprise scanner solved the problem!

Thank you very much for letting us know what did the trick for you!

Again, please see my linked Thread HERE (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=3257940)... I REALLY REALLY don't suggest totally disabling virusscan just to play the game!!

If this works for you, please bump that thread so people can see the answer there, not have to dig through this thread. (plus the thread title to this thread has logging, instead of login which is really annoying)

If you already have an existing GamespyID registered to an email address and you dont want to create another email address / GamespyID in order to play CivIV here is a little tip which I used myself. Login to the GamespyID from www.GamespyID.com and change the following details; change nickname to something you dont want to use, change the email address to something you dont want to use, enter the password fields identically.


this seriously needs to be fixed in a patch. we should not have to have a seperate email just for this game only. the fact that Gamespy's Arcade won't recognize and doesn't support Civ 4 is part of the problem. when will full support come and not just sneaking through a side door in order to play? I was able to use a pre-existing account in Neverwinter Nights and many other games.

If I change the Id and email to something I don't want can I still play my other games?

This is something that should have been worked out before the game came out and syncronized so we could login after we installed the game.

one of the problem with some beta testers these days is that they want it to always work. they don't test the limits and find where the system fails. this is because they are so gleeful at being a beta tester and fearful that the next incarnation they won't be selected if they always find errors. excuse me, but isn't that the job they were assigned? they aren't given advanced prototypes to tell others "I"m a beta tester and it's gonna be real cool". I'm sorry that's a beta PR person. the best beta tester should find every possible way to crash the program and cheat in the game in order to expose it BEFORE IT'S SOLD.

that's why there are so many problems with what appears to be an excellent architecture plan. It wasn't really tested for possible flaws. It was beta advertised instead. Civ 4 isn't the only game to do this.

btw, this is from gamespy:

In Reply To #1
Greetings,

I can see no reason for it not to be supported, unless the publishers clearly express their wishes for it not to be supported. However, I don't know when/if it will be supported.

You can contact support if you wish for an answer. For official GameSpy Arcade support - visit http://support.gamespy.com


[HELP]Gandalf
Gamespy Arcade [HELP]er
Your ever friendly neighbourhood Wizard
E-Mail Me


In Reply To #3

We've had several requests for support,and we're looking into it; typically, if we don't support a game, it's because the developer or publisher has made it technically impossible. In those cases, it's best to send a message to the developer requesting that they play nice with Arcade. We're *always* willing to support new games.

so it is a matter of firaxis or take two actually cooperating with gamespy. they should make it supported in the arcade for ease of use.

Just bumping this up in case anyone has more ideas, because I've tried everything mention and still getting the 'login failed' error... :(