TCP/IP problems - can anyone help?

Hi there,

I've been experiencing some really aggravating problems hosting and connecting to TCP/IP games in the last couple of days. What I've been seeing, either connecting from a client on my PC to a server on the net, or hosting on my PC for clients on the net, is the following. The client is able to connect to a game on a particular port and upload a Pretender. Once the game is started, the client can find and connect to the game as far as selecting a nation and enterring their password, but then the client hangs at the sparkly screen we all know.

What makes this particularly frustrating is that occassionally the client has connected, and players have been able to complete a few turns before things ground to a halt.

Now I do have a firewall, which is part of my internet router and I'm able to control port forwarding on it to allow connections to games I'm hosting. I don't have firewall software running on my PCs, and the Windows XP firewall is turned off. Anyway, firewalls don't in general block the Dom2 client, do they?

I've even tried hosting a game on one PC on my local network and had the same problems connecting to it from another PC on the same network!

So, a few questions.

Has anyone else run into a problem that seemed similar, and if so, what was the cause?

Does Dom2 need any other ports open apart from the ones you set when you create hosted games?

Can anyone suggest any diagnostic tests I might try. (I've tried completely disabling my firewall, scanning for viruses, disabling my AV software, reinstalling Dom2, rebooting, and probably a few things besides - but any suggestions would be grateful received).

Mark the Miserable

P.S. Oh yes, just to be clear. It's Dom2.16 on Windows XP SP2.

[Bummer_Duck]

Mark the Merciful said:


What makes this particularly frustrating is that occassionally the client has connected, and players have been able to complete a few turns before things ground to a halt.

Almost sounds like you have something trying to use the same port...Or are experiencing network issues. What port are you using? Are you using multiple computers connecting to the same router? Can you check router stats to see if you are getting errors, dropped packets, etc...

Now I do have a firewall, which is part of my internet router and I'm able to control port forwarding on it to allow connections to games I'm hosting. I don't have firewall software running on my PCs, and the Windows XP firewall is turned off.

You sure?

Anyway, firewalls don't in general block the Dom2 client, do they?

A firewall wouldn't be much good if it didn't... :-)

[Zooko]

Sometimes it helps me to find and remove "ipadr.old" and "portnbr.old".

Bummer_Duck said:Almost sounds like you have something trying to use the same port...Or are experiencing network issues. What port are you using? Are you using multiple computers connecting to the same router? Can you check router stats to see if you are getting errors, dropped packets, etc...

Sadly, my router is pretty basic when it comes to logging, and certainly doesn't record those stats. The ports used were, at different times, 2000, 2001, 3000, 3001, 4000, and 65535. I wondered about another app conflicting for those ports, but I can't find any sign of one. I've even downloaded a packet sniffer to see what was going across the network.

The network is a wireless one; 4 PCs and the router/firewall. Signal strengths range from 60% upwards, and no other network apps cause any trouble.

You sure?

Yes.

A firewall wouldn't be much good if it didn't... :-)

They're for blocking unsolicited incoming connections, surely? I've never had trouble connecting to an external Dom2 server through a firewall - I suppose it depends on which one you have.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure the router/firewall is besides the point, considering I'm also having the same trouble on the local network. It most be something on one or both PCs, though I'm running out of ideas as to what it might be.

[Ironhawk]

Yeah it sounds like there is something wrong with your computer or your router. I say that because you are seeing problems not only with servers running off your machine, but also when you try to connect to TCP/IP server out on the internet. Have you noticed any problems with your dom2 process itself? Like runaway memory or something that might denote it freaking out?

If you want to run some tests connecting against a nuetral server on the internet I can set up a game for you. Just PM me or find me in teh dom2 IRC channel.

[Bummer_Duck]

Mark the Merciful said:
Anyway, I'm pretty sure the router/firewall is besides the point, considering I'm also having the same trouble on the local network. It most be something on one or both PCs, though I'm running out of ideas as to what it might be.

Wireless... Plug your PC in, and then try it. See if you get the same issue.

Thanks, Ironhawk, PM on the way.

Bummer_Duck, good idea. I'll try that. <fx: sound of digging through cupboards for Cat5 cables...>