AND2 multiplayer not working?

[ktek78]

Hello all. I've been following threads on getting the multiplayer working here and there (most of them pretty old), and I'm not having any joy. Does anyone have any pointers on this? I'm just trying to get a game going with 3 friends through Direct IP.

We all have AND2 rev 1087, running without extra civ packs etc. I re-installed the old GameSpy version of Civ IV as advised so that the 'Direct IP Connection' option reappears, but when we try connecting to each other it just times out.

Any pointers would be appreciated!

 

[45°38'N-13°47'E]

Hello all. I've been following threads on getting the multiplayer working here and there (most of them pretty old), and I'm not having any joy. Does anyone have any pointers on this? I'm just trying to get a game going with 3 friends through Direct IP.

We all have AND2 rev 1087, running without extra civ packs etc. I re-installed the old GameSpy version of Civ IV as advised so that the 'Direct IP Connection' option reappears, but when we try connecting to each other it just times out.

Any pointers would be appreciated!

There's a MP subforum for AND2: https://forums.civfanatics.com/forums/rise-of-mankind-multiplayer-and-lets-play.550/
And here's explained how to make AND2 work in MP with DirectIP: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/suggested-options-for-multiplayer.573851/#post-14419496
I haven't tried a real MP game lately, not after rev1067. But I've tried a MP game with rev1086-1087 playing DirectIP with 2 instances of the game on the same computer and it looks like it's definitely playable if you follow my advices in the MP subforum. I didn't have a chance for a game with more than 2 human players though. So if you can make it to play together, please let me know how it goes, I'm really interested in knowing if/how the game works.

 

[ktek78]

Thanks for your reply. I did use your tips for guidance. Just had to also browse Realmsbeyond.net, which you linked to, to know which ports to forward. Looks like my game is up and running (trialled it through a Shadow PC). So thanks for that!

Haven't tested it with more players yet though. You talk about things having to be exactly the same, but is it fair to assume that if they're all clean installs of the Steam version of BTS, and the same rev of AND2, that they're exactly the same? My pals aren't too tech-savvy and there's a lot of room for cock-ups there, is my concern. The less deleting and copy-pasting of folders, the better.

Are DisableCaching and DisableFileCaching enabled by default? If not, where do I find the CivilizationIV.ini file to change them? For that matter, where do I find the UserSettings, XML, Config and Python folders?

Will all the settings I change be attached to the UserSettings folder that I'll be sending over to my friends?

Is OOS like in Civ V, where the game just needs a moment to resync? Or is it more severe than that? Does it render the game unplayable?

I don't see the Surround and Destroy and Great Commanders options. Where can I find them?

Whew, that's all my questions for now! Pointers would be appreciated.

 

[45°38'N-13°47'E]

Thanks for your reply. I did use your tips for guidance. Just had to also browse Realmsbeyond.net, which you linked to, to know which ports to forward. Looks like my game is up and running (trialled it through a Shadow PC). So thanks for that!

Haven't tested it with more players yet though. You talk about things having to be exactly the same, but is it fair to assume that if they're all clean installs of the Steam version of BTS, and the same rev of AND2, that they're exactly the same? My pals aren't too tech-savvy and there's a lot of room for cock-ups there, is my concern. The less deleting and copy-pasting of folders, the better.

Are DisableCaching and DisableFileCaching enabled by default? If not, where do I find the CivilizationIV.ini file to change them? For that matter, where do I find the UserSettings, XML, Config and Python folders?

Will all the settings I change be attached to the UserSettings folder that I'll be sending over to my friends?

Is OOS like in Civ V, where the game just needs a moment to resync? Or is it more severe than that? Does it render the game unplayable?

I don't see the Surround and Destroy and Great Commanders options. Where can I find them?

Whew, that's all my questions for now! Pointers would be appreciated.

I don't have a Steam version so I don't know how it works, but it shouldn't be too different from my version. I don't remember what's the default status of DisableCaching and DisableFileCaching, anyway CivilizationIV.ini is found in your Documents\My Games\Beyond The Sword folder. Sometimes this file changes on its own, don't ask me why, so better have a copy. There should be a copy created automatically CivilizationIV.ini.bak but don't trust it as it gets overwritten from time to time. UserSettings is found inside main Rise of Mankind - A New Dawn folder, while XML, Config and Python are found inside the Assets folder which is inside Rise of Mankind - A New Dawn folder. I suggest having a copy of these folders as it's there all the settings are stored. If for example you play another game while you don't play with your friends, you might change some options; and when you play with your friends again your options might then be different from those of your friends, causing OOS. I never played Civ5 but in AND2 when the game goes OOS usually all players have to quit the game, reload and rejoin. It's sometime a lenghty process but there's a workaround to make it faster using a shared folder, as I explained in the MP subforum. Surround and Destroy and Great Commanders options are among the options you can choose when you start a game. Good luck and let me know how it goes!

 

[ktek78]

Awesome, I'll try to follow your pointers as much as I can and see how it goes. Thanks a million!

 

[ktek78]

Another follow-up: Do they actually need to delete their UserSettings, XML, Config and Python folders, or is it enough to overwrite them with my ones? And as I understand, I don't send them my ini file - just get them to make sure the things you mentioned line up, right?

 

[45°38'N-13°47'E]

Another follow-up: Do they actually need to delete their UserSettings, XML, Config and Python folders, or is it enough to overwrite them with my ones? And as I understand, I don't send them my ini file - just get them to make sure the things you mentioned line up, right?

My advice is to delete their folders because you never know if there's a different file created for any reason which doesn't get overwritten. It shouldn't happen, but if it happens... As for ini, to each their own. It will be different for example because there your player's name is stored. Everyone should have a backup of the file.

 

[ktek78]

So we gave it a shot, and while people can seem to connect to me - the host - no problem, as soon as there's more than one person we run into this error, with folks getting the following message:

Do the UDP ports 2056-2107 need to be opened on everyone's router for this to work?

 

[45°38'N-13°47'E]

So we gave it a shot, and while people can seem to connect to me - the host - no problem, as soon as there's more than one person we run into this error, with folks getting the following message:

Do the UDP ports 2056-2107 need to be opened on everyone's router for this to work?

Looks like you didn't update your hosts files as described in my advices.

 

[ktek78]

I did, and I went a little further by using the list you linked to at http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=7544 , which has your list and then some. 2 of the 3 other players did this too, and it wasn't just the one who didn't who had trouble connecting. I will, however, get the final player to update their hosts file too.

Perhaps it's a case of opening those UDP ports on the router/Windows Firewall? I'll give that a pop too.

 

[45°38'N-13°47'E]

I did, and I went a little further by using the list you linked to at http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=7544 , which has your list and then some. 2 of the 3 other players did this too, and it wasn't just the one who didn't who had trouble connecting. I will, however, get the final player to update their hosts file too.

Perhaps it's a case of opening those UDP ports on the router/Windows Firewall? I'll give that a pop too.

I don't remember how I did it, but I think I port-forwarded some port on my router. But I'm not sure that was really necessary. If you can't do it on your own maybe we can try a connection another time when we have time (which at the moment I'm a bit short of to tell the truth).

 

[ktek78]

No worries. I'm having a troubleshooting sesh this weekend with my friend and a cloud computer, so hopefully we can sort everything then. Will start by getting everyone to forward ports.

I'll keep you posted!