Trying to return to NWN and hosting a server

[Legacy_Shia Luck]

               Hi all '>

So, I am trying to come back to NWN and play a few modules with a few friends who are new to NWN. But difficulties abound with no gamespy support.

Here's what I did:

1. Got my external IP from speedtest.net and cleared NWN through the firewall
2. Hosted a server using the dedicated server (also tried from ingame)
3. sent my friends the IP, password etc so they could direct connect. (the format is x.x.x.x:client port as listed in NWNplayer.ini , no? On a fresh install this would be 5121, no?)
4. No one could connect so tried some different ports and then....
5. sent the files to one of my friends so they could host
6. He forwarded the necessary ports to his router and cleared it through the firewall
7. I checked I could ping his server
8. I tried to direct connect... and again nothing. Just a failing to respond msg.


I never really used direct connect in the past, always relying on the gamespy list. Is there something I am missing or forgot to do?

What can I try next?

Thanks in advance for your time and help '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Thayan]

               Does the IP address you are using look something like 192.168.x.x? If so, that is an internal address only devices on your internal network will be able to hit. For an external device to access the server, you'll need to go to whatismyip.com and get your external IP, then add the :5121 to the end of it. Give that to the people trying to direct connect and see if that works. If not, then you've got a problem with port forwarding, or however you cleared NWN through the firewall in your router itself.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_SuperFly_2000]

               Yeah if it doesn't work with what Thayan said make sure ports 5121 and 5122 are open.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shia Luck]

               Thanks for the responses guys '>

I was definitly using the external IP and we forwarded ports 5100-5300 as portforward.com suggested so am very confused it didn't work.

We did however manage to get it going just now, but only by putting it into the router's DMZ bit so what does that mean? That the ports weren't forwarded properly or ...? *confused*

Thanks again in advance '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Thayan]

               The DMZ is going to open those NWN ports for all devices on your internal network. It's kind of the shotgun approach to doing this. In my opinion it shouldn't be a big problem to do so, but it's technically not as secure since those ports are now open on all machines on your network, whereas with port forwarding you are opening up those ports only for one IP address (one machine).

If you want to keep fiddling with port forwarding, I'd say you should double-check that the internal IP address of your server (192.168.x.x) is the correct IP address you have opened port 5100-5300. Keep in mind if you are using DHCP for your internal network, the IP can change every time you boot up the machine - so I'd really recommend setting a static internal IP address for your server if you haven't already. That way the router will always open the port for the correct machine.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Empyre65]

               Putting the server in the DMZ means that that computer is completely unprotected by the router.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_MagicalMaster]

               Yeah, the DMZ is the "Let's just nuke the site from orbit" solution - and it's generally fine, it just is technically more vulnerable.  Really not a big deal in this situation.

Thayan wrote...

but it's technically not as secure since those ports are now open on all machines on your network, whereas with port forwarding you are opening up those ports only for one IP address (one machine).

Say what?  The DMZ should be opening all ports on ONE machine, not certain ports on ALL machines.  You give it a specific IP address to expose.

Thayan wrote...

I'd really recommend setting a static internal IP address for your server if you haven't already. That way the router will always open the port for the correct machine.

This.  Let's say your machine is at internal IP 192.168.0.5 and you open a DMZ at 192.168.0.5.

Now you restart your computer and this time you are given internal IP 192.168.0.4.

NWN won't work anymore since your machine's internal IP is no longer the DMZ IP.  However, a static IP lets you tell your machine to ALWAYS be 192.168.0.5 in this case (though I'd suggest you do something like 192.168.0.x where x is between 20 and 50 - so it's less likely for another computer to accidentally be assigned the static IP while your computer is shut off).
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Aelis Eine]

               If it's just you and your friend, just use Hamachi or Tunngle and LAN mode '>
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_AlgernonsGhost]

               Did you set nwserver to post the game to the internet? Make sure the checkbox for it is marked on the server client. If not, open your nwplayer.ini file and under server options, make sure there is this line: GameSpy Enabled = 1
If it's set to 0, then change it to 1 and save the file.
Even though gamespy no longer lists NWN, try opening the gamespy ports too and see if that makes a difference.
From the original game docs file, double check your settings against this info:

Firewall Information
--------------------

If you are trying to connect to a Neverwinter Nights server through a
firewall, NAT, or router, here is some information for you to help you get
connected. First, please read the manual that came with your firewall or
router.

Neverwinter Nights uses UDP, not TCP for its connections.

If you think that your firewall is preventing you from connecting to the
game servers, please make sure that the following ports are open:

Ports 5120 through 5300

If you are wanting to make sure that your NAT is set up to allow the game
to play here are some details:

Outgoing packets:
Source port: 5120-5129
Destination port: 5121-5300

Incoming packets:
Source port: 5121-5300
Destination port: 5120-5129

On the Game Client side, you can select what port your client uses. Go to
your nwnplayer.ini file in your NWN Client Beta install directory. Find the
following section:

[Profile]
Client Port=5120

Change this number if you need to force Neverwinter Nights to connect as a
client on a different port.

Gamespy
-------

If you want to get a server listing via GameSpy, you’ll need additional
ports to be open: 6667, 80, 27900, 28900, 29900, 29901, 13139, 6500
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shia Luck]

               Thanks for all the replies, guys '>

Coming home, I was also greeted by a msg from my friend saying it was a firmware glitch on his router so the ports never opened, and is, hopefully, fixed. Your work here will not have gone in vain however, as when I get my new net connection next week (fibre optic, oh the joys!), I'll have to do this and am nowhere as competant technically as him. (aka , expect me to reseurrect this next week when I can't get it to work '>

Thanks again

Have fun '>