Crashing Multiplayer? - Info on Firewalls, Routers and Proxies

[Plux]

dialt0ne, as I mentioned earlier I use a winroute router, and I play Civ3 MP-games online without problems (although sometimes pings are high or the game is laggy, but that mostly is because of others). Anyway, I have only ports 2302 (NOT 2303), 13139 and 27900 (all UDP and TCP) forwarded. The other ports (that are used for Gamespy) pose no problems, because NAT takes good care of them. OTOH, one time I did try to forward those other ports, and I found out I had many difficulties trying to connect to Gamespy, so I'd recommend leaving those other ports NATted.

/edit BTW: Upnp is a new technique that should make it easier for people behind NAT to play online games as forced portmapping should not be necessary anymore. But, if you do know how to portmap, then I shouldn't worry that there will be games that you cannot play online. To use Upnp you both your router and your OS should support it.

O yeah, remember, if you experience problems with online gaming against people you don't know, it will not always be YOU that necessarily is the cause of these problems.

 

[Seteh]

Could someone help me on setting the portmapping correctly on an Avaks Roadrunner 44 router? I have disabled DHCP and set Virtual Servers like this (example): public port: 2302 private port 2302 host address 10.0.0.2 (which is ip address of the pc i want to play ptw on).

My ISP is not blocking the ports and still the ports I set for Virtual Server don't seem to be open (tried a port scan). What am I doing wrong?

 

[Plux]

Seteh, where did you try that portscan? Good chance that 2302 was just not scanned, as it is not a very standard port. Furthermore, besides 2303, I would map 13139 and 27900 to your pc (both UDP and TCP), and then just try PTW. Good luck

 

[Seteh]

Plux,

Port 2302 was only an example, I have mapped all ports that are mentioned in the readme. I tried the portscan in several places and I'm pretty sure at least some of the ports I mapped should have been scanned.

I can see Internet games and join them as far as the first screen, which shows all the players etc. But when the host hits launch, I get a message saying unable to connect.

Edit: I seem to be able to host a game, but not join one. Well, at least I got something to work.

 

[phileh]

I am about to install PTW. I am running WinXP, broadband connection, and plan to update my Norton Systemworks (antivirus) with a Norton Personal Firewall. I have read through the thread, and anticipate problems, but many of the discussions to not apply. Has anyone here already done what I intend to do? If so, can you provide me with some tips and steps specific to the OS and the firewall software, other than installing the appropriate patches? thanks. I look forward to challenging you all.

 

[Isak]

Phileh: You should be ok as long as you make sure Civ3 PtW and DirectPlay are allowed access to the internet, and are also allowed to act as servers.

Not sure how to set that up, but I believe there is online help in NPF to show you how.

 

[WildFire]

Isak: How come when i play PTW, it always goes to the Connecting box when i try to play? It doesn't do this in a 1 on 1 game. And when i press enter to connect, it says the "host has canceled the game" after about 2 minutes when really he hasn't?

 

[Isak]

I have updated the first post with info from the 1.14f readme, and all the posts here and at Apolyton. Please keep your suggestions, comments, critiscism and help coming.

@Seteh & Wildfire444:

Have you both tried with several different people? Just to make sure that you are in fact the ones with the problems. The fact that you can host, Seteh, seems to indicate that you have no (firewall) related problems, I think.

 

[WildFire]

@Isak: I have 'played' with numerius people over the net. And the only time it has indeed worked, was one on one games. Whenever i try more than two people, it tays the host has canceled. I have tried this many times

 

[Isak]

Well, you should probably find someone (2 other people at best) to go through the Troubleshooting guide (see the first post) with, to make sure that you are having the problem - judging from the error message it seems more likely that it is the hosts in these games who are having problems - also, are you all playing with 1.14f ?

If the troubleshooting guide doesn't help, please post some more details, like types of games you've tried, how far you get, what happens to the other players and what messages they get, and what messages the host gets.

 

[Frankenchrist]

Evertime i hit the host game button the game crashes. Evertime I try to join a game I cant connect and I get the firewall message. Accoriding to the company I bought my cpu from, there is no firewall or proxy or anything on my cpu. I have only installed norton antivirus and norton utilities, and I was told these would not close any ports. My ISP told me that they had no firewalls or anything blocking traffic to any ports. My cable modem (SB4100) makers said that there was no router or anything in my modem box. I tried the DSL Report and it said that All UDP were filtered. I have no Idea on what to do. Could someone help me figure out a way for me to check my cpu and find out what could be blocking ports (if thats the problem). thanx for any help

 

[Isak]

@Frankenchrist: It definitely does sound like you have a firewall issue. Try disabling all other programs (including the Norton Utilities) and if you have Windows XP, also make sure you disable that (link to a guide is in the first post of this thread).

Also, have you checked your ip-adress using the IPCONFIG command in MSDos? Don't post your IP here, but the first digits (before the first 'dot') might be helpful. I wonder whether you get a public IP or your cable ISP have you behind some sort of proxy (regardless of what they say ).

 

[Frankenchrist]

i have disabled all programs (in the ctr-alt-del screen) except for explorer, and the icons on the toolbar. Not sure if that will disable all Norton Utilities but It cant find how to disable it any other way. I dont have windows XP, I have ME. first digits in my IP are 68. It also shows numbers for subnet mask and default gateway. dont know what those are.

 

[samizdat]

I'm not real sure of what I'm doing with this. I disconnected my firewall (I think) in the control panel. I ran the port probe and it said some ports didn't respond. I am using windows xp. When I try to connect to a MP game civ crashes. Sorry about needing the step by step, but if anyone can give me some more detail on how to narrow these procedures down I would appreciate it.

I JUST WANNA PLAY CIV!!!

 

[ezzlar]

I am also having problems playing PTW. I have managed to play about 3 games with about 3-4 players without problems. I can also play 1 on 1 with direct IP. However, a majority of games I try to join I am the only one coming to the Multiplayer setup, sometimes others show up, but not all. This occurs in about 80% of the games I try to join. Sometimes it says that the host booted me or that I am behind a firewall.

I have no software firewall or router. My ISP could have some router (dunno) activated but the port scan says that most ports are open.

 

[Isak]

@Frankenchrist: If you only have the explorer in the list when you press CTRL+ALT+DEL, then any other programs should be deactivated. Note that if you do have a Software Firewall, closing it down will not necessarily reopen the ports, so the best course of action is to set it to allow the necessary programs access to the internet, as per the first post. Feel free to email me at isak@privat.dk if you still can't seem to find the problem.

@Samizdat: Did you deactivate the built-in WinXP firewall - check out the first post for a guide.

@ezzlar: Sounds like you may not be the one with the problem, if you've managed to play games without any difficulty. I'm a bit confused about the firewall message though. What programs are active in the Joblist (press CTRL+ALT+DEL) when you attempt to join a game?

 

[samizdat]

I followed the steps to deactivate my XP firewall. The only thing I saw was when I ran the port (probe?) and it said that there was no response from some of the ports. I don't know how to manually open/close the ports, is this my problem?

 

[Isak]

@Samizdat: Did you check whether you have another software firewall (Zone Alarm, Black Ice Defender, Norton Personal Firewall) or perhaps a Router?

Also, the connection you're using, is it only be used by your computer or are other computers connected to it as well, and if yes, how are they connected (switch, hub, proxy server, etc..)

I need to know some more about what type of firewall it is you're having problem with - once that's established, giving you the step-by-step, do make it work, should be piece of cake, really

 

[samizdat]

I couldn't find any of the software programs you listed. I don't know exactly how to determine if I am using a router. I am using my personal computer, not connected to any others. As far as the type of firewall I have, all I know is it came insalled in my computer (XP home), which I bought this summer. I apologize again for not being much use. I really appreciate your help.

 

[ezzlar]

Yesterday I managed to play a 3 hour game. No other programs were running meanwhile. It feels so hard to locate the errors when there are multiple issues....