multiplayer problem with C3C

Me and a friend tried to play a multiplayer game recently but it didnt work. I hosted the game fine but when he tried to connect, his game always stalled. We did a fresh install on his puter (First nilla Civ, then PTW, then Conquests patching each one as we installed it) It still didnt work.
I didn't do a fresh install on my puter cuz i have a bunch of graphic mods (easy to see resources etc) installed and didnt want to search for them again. Could that be the source of our problem?

Only thing other I can think of is that he is running XP and I have 98SE

any help would be greatly appriciated.

Thank You

Are you doing a LAN?

Are you using Direct IP or gamespy???

routers? firewalls?

Doesn't conquests come with PTW free?

We tried it with gamespy and direct IP
first time we tried it from our homes, it didnt work. Game kept stalling on his end right after i hit the launch key
second time he brought his laptop over to my house and we tried to do a IP game and again we had the exact same problem.

We did a fresh install on both puters, and patched them in the exact same order. The only thing different is the operating systems we use. I have 98SE he has XP.

I have a firewall but i always disable it when I play online games. He didnt have any firewalls on his puter and we were using a Hub to access the internet so no firewall there either.

Hello,

You answered the firewall question, but didn't say if you have a router.

1) Don't use Gamespy as it may stall the game.
2) When your friend came over, did you network the two computers or use a router? In my experience, an IP game from within same network won't work: use LAN.
3) Which firewall do you have? I use Mcafee and don't have to disable it....as long as all the correct ports are open on the router.
4) If you do have a router, the router must be set up for you to host. Those ports can be found elsewhere. Also, it is possible for your computer's internal IP address to change, depending on how your router and computer are set up.

Don't give up because it can be done. Hope this helps

I dont have a router, I use a hub.

1) I don't understand. When i select the multiplayer option from within the game and select IP, it automatically connets to gamespy. How do I not go through gamespy?

2) We did a IP game. Since we on different operating systems, I didn't bother networking the two computers, we didnt directly connect the comps, we went thru the hub.
We also tried the playing from our respective homes but we still had the same problem, the game on his end would stall when I hit launch.

3) I use Zone Alarm and he didn't have a software firewall install on his puter. I don't really need to turn it off as I have played online games with others but I do it anyway just to make sure I can rule it out as a possibility.

4) No router so thats not a prob and my ISP has issued me 2 static IP addresses.The only time my IP has changed is when my ISP did an upgrade or something and they always informed me that it would change.

Hi there,

1) By using Gamespy, I mean clicking on the Gamespy link on your desktop and selecting the game to play from within the Gamespy software. It sounds like you are opening your Civ software and entering the game from there. Good move.

2) I'm a bit confused. You say directly above 'we did an IP game'...does that mean you successfully played or just tried and failed? I thought you said further above that you hadn't been able to play an IP game.

3) I don't know your firewall software. What I do know is that if all of the correct ports are open you should be able to play without disbling your firewall. Please note that there are some notes out there that indicate disabling your firewall or lowering your security settings won't help you play because it's the ports that need to be open. Have you been able to host a game for anyone else? If you haven't, try asking someone else (not your friend) if they would help you test your settings by letting you set up a game that will be killed after successful launch. I'm sure someone would be willing.

4) Good for the static IP's. I assume that when your friend came to your house that you reconfigured your friend's computer to assume one of the IP's. I don't have a hub, so I'm a bit of a loss with that one, but I did talk with someone who knows hubs. He said that there are still port settings for the hub. Have you checked them?

My first thought is still that there is a port issue, either on your end or his. My experience with hanging and unending countdowns has always been port related. After the reinstalls and such that you've done, try verifying ALL of your and his port settings. They are in the game manual. Also check this from Gamespy support:

http://www.gamespyarcade.com/support/firewalls.shtml

They have an open port (6515) listed there that I hadn't found in my civ manual which fixed my connection problems.

Hang in there. We'll get you playing.

2) sorry my bad. Ment to say, tried and failed IP game

3) hmm, i'll look into the ports thing on both ends.

4) My hub doesn't require any setup. Just plug the network card into it and done.

i'll try and find a way to manually open the ports listed and then try. Will come back with the results in a day or two. Thanx for all the help so far m8

we tried but failed again

here's a list of the ports we opened. plz tell me if i missed any
2302 (DirectPlay - UDP)
6667 (IRC)
3783 (Voice Chat Port)
27900 (Master Server UDP Heartbeat)
28900 (Master Server List Request)
29900 (GP Connection Manager)
29901 (GP Search Manager)
13139 (Custom UDP Pings)
6515 (Dplay UDP)
6500 (Query Port)

Hi there,

You're very welcome for the help. Sorry to hear you're still in a bind. Are you both still trying to play from inside your house, or are the two computers in separate houses?

Your port list above is good. Now look at pg 48 in the C3C manual.

"In order to connect to or host a direct connection or LAN game, the following ports must be open:
6073 Initial UDP
2302-2400 (2302 through 2400) Unbound subsequent UPD"

If you add those to your list, you'll have everything the same as I do.

Also, make sure your firewall doesn't require any ports be to open (that would be it's documentation).

The last bit of advice I have was discussed with two other people....drop the hub and invest in a router.

Now, get playing and have fun!

Regards,

Also, make sure that both computers' IP's share the same subnet...

thanx for the speedy reply
we trying to play from our respective homes. what we are doing is simply bypassing the hub/router completely. out cable modems are now connected directly to our comps to avoid all the extra confusion lol

when you say 2302-2400, do you mean:
ports 2302 and 2400
or
2302 through 2400?

Did his game crash whenever trying to go to the multiplayer game setup screen? If so I know the problem you're having. I have the same one. I emailed Atari tech a few times but the problem was never solved.

I read through the above thread and would like to have some things clarified. I am also learning how to setup an on-line CivIII game and need to open the ports in my firewall. My computer uses Windows XP. Part of the process of opening the ports requires the specification of whether the port is UDP or TCP. In the CivIII Complete manual, gaming via direct connection (I assume this means connecting directly to a given IP address) and LAN requires opening only UDP ports. If you play via GameSpy, however, some of the ports are UDP, but several do not indicate whether they are UDP or TCP. How do I determine whether the listed ports are UDP or TCP?

You have to open ports 2302 through 2400 no matter which way you play. Does that mean 2302, 2303, 2304,...,2398, 2399, 2400? Or is it every second one or something like that? How do you specify opening them all without having to do it one by one?

Also, I'm not clear on what GameSpy is. If I connect to the internet via a dial-up connection then open CivIII, click "MULTIPLAYER," and setup a game from there, would that be considered an "Internet" game or is that gaming through the GameSpy software? There is a GameSpy icon on the setup page, but I never access their website directly. If I played via a Broadband internet connection, would that be an "Internet" game as well?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.