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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 31/12/2020 at 12:41 #135700
jo3do88y
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Hi guys,

I'm new to the multiplayer side of SimSig. I'm trying to set up as a host for me and my partner (whos pc is right beside mine) to do a multiplayer game at either Brighton or Leeds or wherever.

I've read through all the information regarding setting up as a server and port forwarding etc etc etc but whenever we try connect the pc joining the game gets the "disconnected" message. From what i've dug up from the forums already some players have had issues with the BT Superhub 2 which I believe is the router we have. We've tried the port forwarding via BT's "Wonderful" menu... unsure if i'm just being thick or if it's just not meant to be.

Sorry to be a burden. If you can help us i'd be so grateful!

Joe

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 31/12/2020 at 13:22 #135701
JamesN
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If your partner’s PC is connected to the same Network as you, Port Forwarding isn’t required.

Port Forwarding is just in very simplistic terms telling the outside world where exactly on your network, your PC is.

For connecting on a local network, your partner just needs to connect to your local IP - it should be shown when you set up the server and will probably be something like 192.168.xxx.xxx

If that still doesn’t work, then it’s likely some kind of firewall rule or other security software blocking the connection attempt. As SimSig is somewhat niche software, not all AV providers “Trust” it by default.

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 31/12/2020 at 20:01 #135742
jo3do88y
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Thanks for that, it seems that because i'm using an ipv6 SimSig doesn't currently support it. We've had a fiddle around with various different settings and we still get the "Server has disconnected you" message every time... Oh well... If you know of a different work around we'd be very grateful!
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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 31/12/2020 at 20:17 #135746
Albert
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Given you're on a local network, it should be well possible to use your local IPv4 address.
AJP in games
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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 31/12/2020 at 20:39 #135748
jo3do88y
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You'd imagine so wouldn't you, sadly no joy... I know i've been really vague with the details so unsure how much help you guys can be with what little i've provided. I've read through all the documents on the SimSig site, as well as the port forwarding section, and my friend who worked in IT took a look at it all... Ehhhh I don't know! I understand trains... computers less so!
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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 31/12/2020 at 21:04 #135749
MrSuttonmann
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Do you have a firewall installed on your computer? If so, it may be blocking inbound ports and you will need to open the SimSig ports in your firewall.
(Formerly known as manadude2)
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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 31/12/2020 at 21:04 #135750
Sacro
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Could you not set up an IPv4 network?
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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 05:49 #135780
jo3do88y
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manadude2 in post 135749 said:
Do you have a firewall installed on your computer? If so, it may be blocking inbound ports and you will need to open the SimSig ports in your firewall.
Oh we’ve bypassed that and disabled the firewall yet still no joy...

When I run my command prompt I do have an ipv4 address but when I try load it with that it still chucks it out

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 06:30 #135781
Chromatix
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Port forwarding only applies to connecting client players located outside your LAN to a host located inside it. This is how you get connections from the "internet" address reported by the host to the host itself.

Clients in the same LAN will usually not be able to connect to the "internet" address with most consumer routers at their default settings, even when port forwarding is set up. All LAN clients should connect to the "local network" address reported by the host, not the "internet" address.

If all clients are within the LAN, you might try disabling all port forwarding and firewall functionality, as this is literally the simplest use case for a network. If there is a setting for "bridging" between Wifi (sometimes called WLAN) and Ethernet (sometimes called LAN), turn that on. But leave any setting for bridging between WAN (Wide Area Network - the Internet) and Wifi/LAN turned off.

If all else fails, buy a dumb Ethernet switch and plug all LAN clients into that, and run a single cable from the last port on the switch to the router. That will bypass any internal firewalling in the router, which is probably trying to "protect" you rather more than you actually need.

Last edited: 01/01/2021 at 06:33 by Chromatix
Reason: None given

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 16:10 #135813
jo3do88y
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Thank you everybody so much for your help, we've still not got it working yet, but we're going to try disabling the firewall on both devices to see if we have any luck... if all else fails we've managed to acquire an ethernet cable which should arrive at a later date.

Sorry to be difficult. I struggle with the details of port forwarding because I have literally no idea what i'm doing haha!

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 16:30 #135819
bfcmik
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jo3do88y in post 135813 said:
I struggle with the details of port forwarding because I have literally no idea what i'm doing haha!
I can empathise completely with that sentiment!

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 17:52 #135827
Dick
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As has been mentioned several times, you don't need port forwarding if both machines are on the same LAN.

Port forwarding isn't really complicated. Your router has a single public facing IP address but each device on your LAN has a private IP address which has to be translated by NAT so that the correct connection is made to the correct device. When you initiate the outgoing connection (by browsing a web page for example) the router knows which private IP address initiated the connection and connects replies to the right device so port forwarding isn't required. When an unsolicited connection arrives at the router, it won't know which device it is intended for, hence you forward the ports that the connection uses to the local IP address of the device that is expecting the connection.

Think of the router as a telephone switchboard that has a public phone number and a number of extensions.

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 19:25 #135834
jo3do88y
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Okay well I shall tell you what I have done so far...

I have a BT Smarthub 2... which offers an ipv6 which I believe SimSig does not support.

I have found an ipv4 address on my command prompt.

I have logged onto my BT Smarthub and forwarded ports 50505 - 50510 which I believe covers the necessary things.

I have tried connecting hosting a game on the free Brighton simulation, clicking the appropriate timetable and spawning at 04:45. I have clicked next and clicked the "run SimSig server" box, and clicked to use the primary port of 50505. I haven't clicked anything in the "interface" section as it's all greyed out. It gives me my external "internet ip address" and internal ip address.

I start the simulation.

I then go on my partners pc.

I click "join multiplayer game"

I type in the ip address of the server my internal ip address as advised by you guys with us being on the same LAN, the ip address beginning in 192.168.

It asks for TCP port underneath so I click the 50505, the same i've clicked on my "host pc".

I type my initials in.

Then when I load the simulation it shows "attempting connection to server"

Then I get "Server has disconnected you".

Just so you're aware as well, i've disabled the firewall on my router, as well as disabling Avast on both host and client pc's.

Sorry i'm probably just being thick here, but i've read all your advice so far. I know we should be able to connect internally and i'm pretty sure i'm doing what you're telling me to do. I'm just stuck with the whole thing.

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 20:07 #135836
postal
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Why have you clicked to forward any ports when every bit of advice given to you in this topic has told you that you do not need to forward any ports when you are on the same LAN?
“In life, there is always someone out there, who won’t like you, for whatever reason, don’t let the insecurities in their lives affect yours.” – Rashida Rowe
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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 21:10 #135839
jo3do88y
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Because the forwarding of the ports happened before I sought help via the forum. I perhaps should have included that. But I know if I hadn’t have included that I’m sure somebody would have told me I needed to do it. I’ve just provided the most in depth account I possibly can of everything I have done to attempt to get multiplayer going since I decided I’d like to attempt multiplayer.
Last edited: 01/01/2021 at 21:11 by jo3do88y
Reason: None given

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That Old "Multiplayer" Chestnut 01/01/2021 at 23:47 #135846
Albert
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Is your network configured as a public or private network (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/make-a-wi-fi-network-public-or-private-in-windows-10-0460117d-8d3e-a7ac-f003-7a0da607448d), and in what way are the computers connected to your BT router? Do you have a second router to set up another wifi network or something like that?

Do both computers have a local IP address (192.168.x.y) in the same range (ie only the last block is different?)

AJP in games
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