I have already posted this information to several other forums including the World in Conflict forums where it has received much attention and helped many people with posts such as "I can't connect to servers" , "I can't see all the servers" , "my friends can't see/connect to my server" etc. I have decided to post it again and hopefully it'll be made into a sticky!
I work in IT (design complex NAT/network structures for coporate clients) so that's how I know what I'm talking about. Second, I've had my server the Monk's [PROVING GROUNDS] running a dedicated server for most multiplayer games released since HW1/Operation Flashpoint, so anyone with game hosting issues, ask away! NAT and the misconceptions/inability to configure it are the single largest cause for people not being able to see/connect to/host internet servers today!
A quick lesson on NAT:
NAT (Strict) - Port AND Address-restricted NAT (the router/firewall insists that the packet return from both the same IP Address AND Port the packet was originally sent out to)
NAT (Moderate) - Port-restricted NAT (the router/firewall insists that the packet return from the same Port the packet was originally sent out to but doesn't care if the IP Address isn't the same)
NAT (OPEN) - Port AND Address independent NAT (the router/firewall doesn't care which Port OR IP Address the return packet comes from and simply forwards the data packet on to the internal IP you will have specified in your "port-forwarding") Obviously OPEN-NAT is the least secure and also by extension the most flexible for hosting/connecting-to games.
MOST games will work having TCP set to STRICT and UDP set to MODERATE. ALL games will work setting both TCP and UDP NAT filtering to OPEN. (your routers may or may not even let you modify NAT filtering, many SOHO routers do not!) I have "real" routers/firewalls (very expensive also ) so I have granular control over many things that many SOHO routers don't even reference such as the above.
If your router DOES allow NAT control then my suggestions above willwork! Plain and simple. NAT, when not implemented with any sort of controls (like on many SOHO routers, and crappy retail anti-malware/firewall software) is the single biggest reason for sour gamers!
Happy gaming/hosting, monk out!
xfire: the1monk
EDIT: here is a link a "networking guide for the gamer" I wrote which may also come in handy the "[url=http://www.themonk.ca/Monk/Networking_for_the_Gamer_by_the_Monk.pdf]Networking for the Gamer[/url]" guide I compiled of all the "generic" networking information I posted to various forums.
EDIT:
Here is the link to my SINS-specific guide "Networking and SINS" (version 1.0 written Feb 14/2008) which contains all information necessary in order to play/host SINS!
http://themonk.ca/Monk/Networking_and_Sins_by_the_Monk.pdf
Argh, The link to my "networking-for-the-gamer" guide didn't show up properly in my first post, so I'll try again. Here's the link to the general NON-SINS version of my guide: (for my SINS-specific guide look up! at the OP just under the GREEN writing!) WWW Link I should also mention that I actually run my servers .exe as a windows "service" and am therefore able to run the game with alternate security credentials, start/stop it from the windows "services" list and have the game "service" monitored and automaticly re-started should it actually crash. I run ALL of my dedicated servers for games in this way (I find many of them use less RAM and are far more stable when doing so). here's what needs to be done for you to do what I've done to run any Game.exe as a windows "service" and therefore be able to start at system boot (if you desire), monitor it, run it with alternate security credentials (ie. local system), and be able to restart it! Here's how, 1. Go to [www.codeproject.com] and download a little app made by Xiangyang Liu called "XYNTServiceProject.zip" 2. Extract XYNTService.exe and XYNTService.ini from the .zip and place in your %systemroot%\gamepath folder. (folder which contains the sins.exe) 3. I renamed the XYNTService.exe and XYNTService.ini to Sins_Service.exe and Sins_Service.ini respectively (I have more than one instance of this service for different apps) 4. Goto Start > Run > and enter "cmd" (without quotes) into the run field, then hit enter. 5. In the command prompt window navigate to your %systemroot%\gamepath folder. cd\ <--hit ENTER after each command cd "\program files\Sins" <--use quotes around the path dir <--to verify that the service .exe and .ini are there Sins_service -i <--this installs the service to your "services" list in administrative tools. 6. Now we need to modify the service .ini file. Open the Sins_service.ini using notepad. Here is my sample .ini [Settings] ServiceName=Sins_dedicated <--the name under which it will show in the "services" list CheckProcessSeconds = 120 <--how often to check if service still running [Process0] CommandLine = f:\games\Sins\Sins.exe <--all on one line WorkingDir= f:\games\Sins\ <--path to wic_ds.exe PauseStart= <-- not needed PauseEnd= <-- not needed UserInterface = Yes <-- wether or not you can see it in taskmanager Restart = Yes <-- here's the restart command WARNING!! the "CheckProcessSeconds=" value should NOT be set too low as you may not be able to down your server to make changes. I speak from experience!!! ;0 7. Now navigate to "Administrative Tools" > "Services" (alternatively run "services.msc" from the START > RUN field) and check the properties for the newly installed service "Sins_dedicated" (or whatever you called it in the .ini file value "ServiceName=") By default it will be set to start automaticaly. Here you may also change which credentials the service should run under. I've left mine at the default "local system" and the service runs fine. DO NOT change the "restart" settings here in the properties, that is what the .ini is for! 8. As soon as you right-click on the new service name and click "START" the service will start, which will in turn start your server! I have tested and implemented all of the above on my various dedicated servers for various multi-player games. To those who are averse to cli's and typing (averse to controlling their own destiny....hehe) a GUI to admin the above service can be found at the same website [www.codeproject.com] I have NOT used the GUI so please no questions related to the GUI (I'm sure it's self-explanatory anyway!) See you peeps in game! the Monk
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