Can't see each others ping?

[kiwi_2005]

When we set up a host and the other goes to join he can see my host name but i have no ping so he cannot join. Same thing happens if he sets up a host i can see him but cannot join cause no ping. Our firewalls are off. So why is this happening?

Playing GWX 1.03 multiplayer
Thanks

[kiwi_2005]

fixed it.

Edit:
NOT FIXED. Well we can see other hosts pings & join but when we try to host we cannot see each others ping, its like we can join hosts from other countries but not from the same country???

Why is this. I and another kiwi are wanting to play a GWX match.

[Indiana_Jones]

or not. lol

-Indy

[kiwi_2005]

or not. lol

-Indy

:) Hopefully someone will help us mate.

[Indiana_Jones]

Perhaps something to do with port forwarding?

-Indy

[kiwi_2005]

weird i figured out if i turn off the firewall i cannot see anyones ping if i turn it on i do? Yet still wont let me see your ping or vice versa, but will let me see host pings from outside of NZ. Im trying out a different firewall.

I thought turning off the firewall would solve the problem...

[kiwi_2005]

Perhaps something to do with port forwarding?

-Indy

Your probably right but what port do we forward? :hmm:

[Indiana_Jones]

I think I know where you can find out ports etc, but i have no idea wtf port forwarding is, let alone do it lol, I just see the term used around etc

-Indy

[Lagger123987]

IS anyone still playing online on SH3?

[kiwi_2005]

IS anyone still playing online on SH3?

Yes i see the odd host now and then. Depends really what time of day you are on. Some days i might see 4 or 5 hosts other days i'll be lucky to see 1.

I would host but problem is nobody can see my ping so can't join! Yet i can see other hosts pings. Firewall issues man.:nope:

[Lagger123987]

IS anyone still playing online on SH3?

Yes i see the odd host now and then. Depends really what time of day you are on. Some days i might see 4 or 5 hosts other days i'll be lucky to see 1.

I would host but problem is nobody can see my ping so can't join! Yet i can see other hosts pings. Firewall issues man.:nope:

THERE'S A FIREWALL ON MY COMPUTER? HOW CAN I DESTROY IT? DECK GUN?

[kiwi_2005]

THERE'S A FIREWALL ON MY COMPUTER? HOW CAN I DESTROY IT? DECK GUN?

No! bucket of water!

[Indiana_Jones]

Anyone?!

Please!

-Indy

[Dietrich]

IS anyone still playing online on SH3?
Yes. Our Flotilla plays about 5 to 10 missions a day.

However, to return to the original question. I wrote an article a while back on the topic. It may help...


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Hosting SH3 Multi-player Games -- Packet Forwarding

Setting up a multiplayer game is usually straightforward enough, but you may find that no-one joins your games - even if there is no password. Sometimes, via TeamSpeak, others will tell you that you "have no ping". Or perhaps you will see other games, which have "-" listed as the ping, instead of a number (you will be unable to join these games).

What is the problem?

Well, there are several things that can go wrong.

The first is having a firewall which blocks some Internet access. But this is often easily fixed. The second possibility is the NAT'd address. What this needs is port forwarding. NAT and port-forwarding are most likely causes of not being able to host a multi-player game. This article explains what NAT is all about, and suggests ways to get around it. Like all things with your computer, take care!

So, to start, allow me to explain what NAT is all about.


NAT

NAT is an acronym for Network Address Translation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_address_translation). In summary, it works like this:

You have a computer, which is connected to a router
Your computer has a network card with a hardware address
Your router has a hardware address too, but it also has an Internet address
On the "Internet side" of the router, the outside world can only see one peice of equipment in your house... the router. That router has an IP addres, like 123.456.78.9 (example only!)
On the "Computer side" of the router, each machine connected will have a local IP address. This will be something like 127.0.0.1 for the router, and 127.0.0.2 for the computer. If you have a second computer, it will be 127.0.0.3 and so on. Sometimes the router is 127.0.0.10 or something. It depends.
When a packet (that is, information from the Internet) is sent to you, it will go to your router. It is up to the router to decide whether or not it discards the information or forwards it on to somewhere on the local "127.0.0.x" network.
The decision making process is called NAT (Network Address Translation). Basically, the router says "Okay, here's a packet from the net. Should I give this to the computer, or discard it?"
If the answer was "Yes", it readdresses the packet from the original destination of "123.456.78.9" to a new destination of "127.0.0.2" and sends it on to the computer.
The computer receives the packet, sees it is addressed for "127.0.0.2" and thinks: "Yep, this is for me!"
It then sees that it's an SH3 ping packet and sends a reply. UBI.COM gets it, and notes how long it took for the reply. This is you "ping" number (and the only time that a quick ping is a good thing!)
If the ping packet was dropped by your router, UBI.COM will never see a reply, and so display a "non-existent" ping.
Furthermore, anyone attempting to connect to your server will also fail... thus you have a registered, but inaccessible server... hence no multiplayer games!
UBI.COM

For UBI.COM to work, it needs your computer to send it information. Any information that is sent from your computer to the internet will go to the router first, but the router sees that the address of the packet is not itself, and promptly forwards it on to the UBI.COM. When it does so, it changes the "from" address from the"local" address to the router address.

So, if UBI.COM is 100.200.300.400, the the packet starts looking like this:

Code:
TO: 100.200.300.400
FROM: 127.0.0.2
DATA: (All my server data)

and then looks like this:

Code:
TO: 100.200.300.400
FROM: 123.456.78.9
DATA: (All my server data)

So, you set up a server, and the packet with the server parameters (name, mission, etc.) goes to UBI.COM. There, it will appear in the lobby.

Now UBI.COM wants to send information back to your computer. This will be the IP addresses of other computers who are trying to join your game. It will also include "ping" information, so that UBI.COM can measure what sort of response time your computer has (this is displayed on the lobby list).

So, UBI.COM sends a packet to your computer, the address of which it has from when you sent the packet in the first place. But this is the router's IP address.

When the router gets the return packet, it will see that it is addressed to 123.456.78.9 and a particular port at that address. (The port number is like the PO.Box number at a post office.)

Unless you have explicitly told your router to forward packets addressed to it, with a particular port number, to be readdressed to your computer, the router will discard the packet. This is secure, but stops you hosting UBI.COM games.


Solution

What you need to do to fix this (and thus, be able to host games via UBI.COM) is to tell your router to forward all packets to particular ports, on to your computer.

The list of the ports needed is written up on the SH3 Community Manual Multiplayer Ports (http://www.communitymanuals.com/shiii/index.php?title=Multiplayer) page.

You will also need your IP addresses... both of your computer and router (i.e. your internet connection). To get these, you can open a DOS Command Prompt window, and type:

Code:
ipconfig


Port forwarding

There is no easy way to talk you through this, other than direct you to http://portforward.com/

That website has a list of all the routers that commonly exist.

To use the website:

Click on the "port forwarding" link just under the title bar
This will display a list of routers.
Select your router.
Scroll down to see the list of games. Note that it will also tell you what your external IP address is (useful!).
Look through the list of games to find the link to "Silent Hunter III" for your router model.
Follow the instructions printed there.
Conclusion

I'm sorry I can't make it any easier. I myself am hopeless with computers and I've only found out how to host myself by taking the time to read and learn the documentation for my system. There's no "easy way" to do this. It is intrinsically complicated, because you are effectively trying to bypass the security system on your internet connection, which has to be done manually and by you on your side of the router-defences. Hope that helps. Best of luck with it. -- FK Dietrich.

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-- Dietrich

[kiwi_2005]

Thanks very much for that Dietrich, I will try this out. :up: