Can't connect to some servers

[wurfy]

Hi!

For some reason I don't see all the servers in my server browser. If I look up the list here and compare it to what the game can find, some servers are always missing. Not always the same ones. If I try to direct connect to the servers that don't show up in the game, the first attempt it seems to try to connect but then drops me back in the server browser after a bit. In any further attempts I immediately get an error that says "Address unavailable", even if I try a different server that didn't show up in the server browser.

There is no rhyme or reason to which servers don't get displayed, as near as I can tell. If something doesn't show up, it will likely not show up no matter how many times I may refresh or restart the game. If it does show up, it'll likely continue to show up through refreshing and restarting the game. In other words, it's unlikely to change over the duration of a normal play session. What exactly causes a server to flip from not showing to showing or vice versa is unclear to me. If it does show up, I can join it.

I tried pinging some of those servers (including the specific ports) through Powershell and it seemed to work just fine so it's not like my PC can't see those addresses for some reason, it's evidently a problem specific to DCS.

I also remember never having this issue back when the Growling Sidewinder EU server was still a thing. Might be that it doesn't affect all servers. I think some are very consistently on the list, but I haven't kept track so precisely that I'd know for sure.

To get the obvious out of the way:

• It's nothing to do with updates. It happens always, even if there hasn't been an update in a while. In a space of time without any updates a server can flip from not showing to showing and back many times.
• The servers I want to join are proper, established servers such as Growling Sidewinder Open Conflict, so it can't be a server setup issue.
• Server browser filters are disabled.

I'm at my wit's end. I consider myself reasonably computer-savvy and I can't come up with any explanation for this. I'd love to play DCS a lot more but I just can't because of this issue.

[Flappie]

Hi. Try this:

1. Rename your "Saved Games/DCS..." folder to "DCS.backup" (do NOT delete it - it contains your custom controls and other things).
2. Launch DCS and log in.
3. Check if you're now able to see all servers.

[wurfy]

Nope, that didn't fix it.

Figured I might as well add this: I haven't really measured the severity of the problem up until now, but of the 20 servers listed on the website on the first page, sorted by server population, only six showed up in the game.

Edited March 19, 2023 by wurfy

[Flappie]

OK, then if you haven't already, you can dispose of the new "DCS..." folder and rename back the "DCS.backup" folder to its previous name.

Try this:

 

[wurfy]

Found that setting, it was already on. 

Also, what's described there is different from my problem. As I understand, that guy got no servers at all, and he got "Server offline" instead of "Address unavailable" when direct connecting.

Edited March 19, 2023 by wurfy

[Flappie]

I know, but that's all I have for now, so it was worth checking it.

Please open a support ticket: log into DCS website, click "Support", then "Create a new ticket".

Edited March 19, 2023 by Flappie