NWServer Post Game to Internet Always Grayed Out

[Legacy_Thayan]

               

I’m having a very frustrating problem with NWServer on multiple machines. The “Post Game to internet” setting is always grayed out as soon as the NWServer starts up – even if no module is loaded and even though the nwnplayer.ini as GameSpyEnabled set to 1 (srceenshot below). This is happening on 2 Windows 8 machines and 1 Windows 7 machine (which is a VM on one of the Windows 8 machines).

 

I opened ports 5120-5130 and 6667 on the Windows Firewall and the Router, and even temporarily disabled the Windows firewall on the host machine a couple times, but still the same. I’ve copied down the entire ‘Dedicated Server’ file/folders from the Vault and even used those, but no difference.

 

Does anyone know why this is happening or are there any suggestions to try and fix it?

 

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

I can't see what the following are set to, but ... check these as well.

 

Master Server Authentication Required For Player Login=0

Account validation required during Master Server down times=0

MPEnabled=1

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Thayan]

               

Thanks for the quick reply. MPEnabled is in the screenshot (but it's a mess, I know) and set to 1. The others you mentioned are set to 0.

 

When I launch a module through either the DM Client as a test, or using NWNX, the logs do show Post Game To Internet; YES. So it seems like it may be reading the .ini file, but then something else is occurring to shut down that option...?

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

PM sent.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_meaglyn]

               

I suspect it's not available because your IP address is a private non-routable address. You can't use that IP addr on the public internet.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_kalbaern]

               

I suspect it's not available because your IP address is a private non-routable address. You can't use that IP addr on the public internet.

That just shows the local IP. The router will or should handle the actual IP that players will connect to. My own server window shows the local IP as well, but still works online just fine.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_meaglyn]

               

That just shows the local IP. The router will or should handle the actual IP that players will connect to. My own server window shows the local IP as well, but still works online just fine.

The router will do the NAT part, but how does this piece of software post itself to the internet then? It doesn't even know what the public IP on the other side of the router is. I suppose the thing it posts to could look at the source IP of the registration packets but that's sort of a layering violation and a hack.

I don't use the windows server, just looked odd to me.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Thayan]

               

That's the way it looked on the previous Win7 server which worked for a few years for me that way. Pretty sure that's *probably* not the problem.

 

But I continue to really struggle with this. I ended up spinning up a new 32-bit Win7 VM, just turned off the damn Windows firewall on it. After getting everything installed, it was about a 50-50 chance of the server coming up with the checkbox in the Post Game to Internet. However, it still wasn't showing up outside my network, so to just take out all routing variables, I added that machine's IP (which is  static IP I set) to the router's DMZ. Still a no-go.

 

Now, even when I restart the machine, even with the Firewall turned off on the Win7 machine, and even with that internal IP in the router's DMZ, that 'Post to internet' box is grayed out with no check in it. Again. W.T.F.

 

The host for this VM is on a work machine that has a plethora of group policies pushed down to it. I am the admin on the box, but it is possible that network/port group policies on the Hyper-V host could be affecting the Win7 VM?

 

-------------------------------

 

EDIT: So I think I figured out why I was getting a 50-50 chance of having the server come up with a checkbox in the Post Game to Internet field: if I pin NWServer to the taskbar, and then immediately click on it as soon as I login to Windows, it will come up with that checked. But if even a couple seconds pass, or I try to bring it up again, that check is always gone.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_The Mad Poet]

               

The router will do the NAT part, but how does this piece of software post itself to the internet then? It doesn't even know what the public IP on the other side of the router is. I suppose the thing it posts to could look at the source IP of the registration packets but that's sort of a layering violation and a hack.

I don't use the windows server, just looked odd to me.

 

Port Forwarding is done through the router. I'm no network specialist or anything but I imagine that it is posted through there. It's the same with me. Mine reads 192.168.1.### off my machine and it posts to the net just fine.

 

I wish I knew more for you. With the DMZ set there should be nothing in the way as far as I know. Though I know most people strongly advise against leaving it that way for security reasons.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Tarot Redhand]

               

It's just a thought triggered by -

 

 

 

if I pin NWServer to the taskbar, and then immediately click on it as soon as I login to Windows, it will come up with that checked

 

but have you got another firewall other than the one built into windows 7? I ask because the behaviour mentioned in what I quote above suggests to me that NWServer is being denied access to the internet by something that loads at boot time. If you have, you want to check the permissions that it has stored (and those for the built in firewall). If not, it might be useful to check just what actually loads at boot time anyway.

 

TR

               
               

               
            

[Baaleos]

               

Have you tried modifying your hosts file in %windir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

 

8.8.8.8        nwn.master.gamespy.com

 

Since gamespy went down - I had to add this entry to my hosts file in order to get the server status checks to work.

Otherwise nwserver will not bind to a UDP port, and allow status queries.

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Snottling]

               

I don't know if you've tried this, but start NWN, then go to Multiplayer, then New Internet Game, then Advaced options, then click the checkbox for Post to Internet.

 

-Snottling

               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Thayan]

               

Baaleos, that was it!!!!! Thank you SOOOOOOO much for that heads-up. I saw your post about that in the other thread, but since my server was showing up in the lists before the big crash a couple weeks ago, I didn't think it was affecting Thay. But anyway - I just modified the hosts file and it *finally* works!

 

You are the man. '>