Multiplayer Server Creation is Full of Fail

[TraxusIV]

My friend and I have tried for 4 hours to get a multiplayer game going. We tried having me start the game and him connect, we've tried him starting the game and me connecting, and nothing works. We've tried port forwarding, connect by ip, etc. and no joy.

 

Multiplayer servers need a massive reworking. Modern games like Arma 3 have simple, reliable game hosting and even dedicated server programs. There is zero excuse for having such a completely crap system like DCS Has. Insert epic expletive laden rant here. The single player game is great, but multiplayer fails so hard it makes me sick.

 

I for one am not buying any more modules until this crap gets fixed, and I'm going to advise anyone who asks of the nonfunctional multiplayer system.

[Blooze]

Be sure you are allowing DCS to get through your firewall. You have to create an exception for DCS. It's not automatic.

[ENO]

Did either one of you port forward 10308

[TraxusIV]

many many many many times. BUT you shouldn't have to deal with that crap. No other modern game makes you dink with your router, cable modem or firewall settings. This is inexcusable, and the fact that some people can get it to work in no way lessens the fact that the process is onerous, overly complicated, and unreliable.

Edited April 10, 2013 by TraxusIV

[TraxusIV]

btw I love your signature, ENO. XD

[TraxusIV]

and we've both set up exceptions in our firewalls.

[159th_Falcon]

Lets say it like this.

 

Whenever i look in the multiplayer list i see at the very least 30+ servers.

Of which i guess 10 orso or dedicated ones.

 

Conclusion, your the problem, not the program.

 

Now instead of coming on here screaming ED this programs that and the such.

You may actually try and provide us whit info that would be help us help you.

 

seriously, READ that link CAREFULLY.

And then come back here whit your problem, its highly likely someone can help you.

 

Wonder if they still would though after such an insulting rant.

 

***EDIT***

PS, ARMA 3 does NOT have a dedicated server program. Only a community hack to disable the 3d world and run the game in a console.

Edited April 10, 2013 by 159th_Falcon

[KombatMilc]

We have tried port forwarding port 10308 (both UDP and TCP), setting up a static IP address, direct connect, adding exceptions in our antivirus firewalls, changing DCS World connection speeds. Everything we can think of. TraxusIV and I are out of ideas. :helpsmilie:

Edited April 10, 2013 by KombatMilc
added more info

[TraxusIV]

Arma 3's dedicated server is coming and will still be released in the alpha phase. You're right that they haven't got it just yet though.

 

The point, however, is that modern games handle all the connectivity issues for the player, rather than forcing the player to mess with them. I host games and run Arma 3 in server mode with no problem at all, and never had to touch my router or cable modem settings. I never had to manually make an exception for the game in Windows Firewall. The point is that it just worked, and it just works for countless other modern games. For DCS it does NOT just work. And that is inexcusable.

 

I go on multiplayer and can connect to any one of the 30 or so servers I see. 30 servers. That tells me that so many people experience trouble hosting a game that they, like us, give up in frustration. I KNOW the community is bigger than 30 servers worth, but that's all there are.

 

I am confident that if we spend enough time troubleshooting this that we can get it working properly. That's not the point. The point is that we shouldn't HAVE to do any damned troubleshooting in the first place. The game should have been crafted well enough to just work properly. The fact that it wasn't is unacceptable.

[TraxusIV]

^he means static ip address, not dynamic, btw.

[TraxusIV]

And show me the dedicated server for DCS. All my searches tell me there is no dedicated server, just people who keep the game permanently running on a dedicated machine. Same thing as the 'community hack' for the current Arma 3 alpha. But the sad thing is that even though Arma 3 is only in the Alpha phase, it still works better than DCS in terms of multiplayer.

[Sierra99]

You're missing the point of what you're being told...Yes we understand you are having issues...we've all been there. And after just a little effort on our parts, our games work fine.

 

DCS is not arma, steel beasts, falcon BMS or anything you've dealt with before and expecting it to act like anything else is you want to compare it to is counterproductive.

 

if you listen, follow instructions and quit trying to force a square peg into a round hole... we will eventually help YOU resolve YOUR problems so you and your buddy are able to play...

 

That being said, one thing to check for is make sure you have selected Internet when starting server and both players should have LAN selected as their speed in options.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Sierra99

[TraxusIV]

I'm not missing the point, I'm contesting it. There is no justifiable reason that the networking aspects of DCS should not function as well as ArmA, Team Fortress, or any other A class title. DCS is a full blown sim, and that means that in terms of gameplay you can't expect it to be like other titles, but in terms of basic connectivity, yes, I can and do expect it to perform. The community is full of geeks who are used to dealing with complex hardware and software issues, and we have collectively forgotten that stuff does NOT always have to be complicated. You say I'm trying to force a square peg into a round hole and I'm telling you the damned peg ought to be round. There is no excuse for it not to be in terms of networking.

 

I expect DCS to perform as any professionally created multiplayer software package should be expected to perform. If it was free software, then I'd have different expectations, but the fact that we pay a premium price for each module means that we should expect a quality product.

[TraxusIV]

Sierra99 you say "We've all been there." I say none of us should have been there.

[TraxusIV]

and yes, we did the Internet/LAN stuff already.

[Pman]

Arma 3's dedicated server is coming and will still be released in the alpha phase. You're right that they haven't got it just yet though.

 

The point, however, is that modern games handle all the connectivity issues for the player, rather than forcing the player to mess with them. I host games and run Arma 3 in server mode with no problem at all, and never had to touch my router or cable modem settings. I never had to manually make an exception for the game in Windows Firewall. The point is that it just worked, and it just works for countless other modern games. For DCS it does NOT just work. And that is inexcusable.

 

I go on multiplayer and can connect to any one of the 30 or so servers I see. 30 servers. That tells me that so many people experience trouble hosting a game that they, like us, give up in frustration. I KNOW the community is bigger than 30 servers worth, but that's all there are.

 

I am confident that if we spend enough time troubleshooting this that we can get it working properly. That's not the point. The point is that we shouldn't HAVE to do any damned troubleshooting in the first place. The game should have been crafted well enough to just work properly. The fact that it wasn't is unacceptable.

 

You strike me as a very arrogant person so take advise when it is offered to you.

 

The sim is not the problem, it is you or your home network. The game works fine, Dedicated servers with abit of work have few problems.

 

There are a large number of games which need exceptions made to the router firewalls as they use non standard ports when hosting a game. Its only when hosting games comes into the mix that it can be an issue. Even on an Xbox for example you can have issues if your router is setup incorrectly.

 

I am not going to try and help you with this due to your arrogant attitude, but you can be in the knowledge that the problem lays with you and not the sim

 

Pman

[TraxusIV]

I'm not arrogant, I'm indignant. The problem is not my home network. I am able to host many other games with no problem. The problem is the way DCS does networking. Why use an oddball port in the first place, for example? Why use their own server browser instead of GameSpy?

 

The bottom line is that other companies can get multiplayer game hosting to work seamlessly. It is NOT an industry standard that hosting a multiplayer game should require the user to set up port forwarding and firewall exceptions, etc. It IS standard that all that stuff should be invisible to the user. DCS does not meet that standard.

 

DCS needs improvement to its networking functionality, period.

[Pman]

I'm not arrogant, I'm indignant. The problem is not my home network. I am able to host many other games with no problem. The problem is the way DCS does networking. Why use an oddball port in the first place, for example? Why use their own server browser instead of GameSpy?

 

The bottom line is that other companies can get multiplayer game hosting to work seamlessly. It is NOT an industry standard that hosting a multiplayer game should require the user to set up port forwarding and firewall exceptions, etc. It IS standard that all that stuff should be invisible to the user. DCS does not meet that standard.

 

DCS needs improvement to its networking functionality, period.

 

This post just goes to show your lack of understanding of network coding and the way the internet works in general.

 

Using a random port is generally good practice, and FYI using gaming services like gamespy is A) not needed as the code works and B) costs money, they dont run a free service.

 

The problem is 100% your home network and that fact that you cant see or understand that means that you will have little understanding of how to fix the issue. Lay the blame where it belongs. The networking code works fine, you just do not have your setup working correctly.

 

I am sorry that not everything is done for you, but sometimes you will have to do some simple things yourself.

 

Any half decent firewall within a hardware router will block 99% of what goes out, even a cheap old BT hub restricts some traffic. The fact that you do not know how to turn it off or route the traffic correctly doesnt mean the sim is at fault.

 

The answer is simple, calm down, admit that the error is something for you to fix and read up about port forwarding.

 

Take your ranting about networking code somewhere where people will sympathise with you as the people who frequent here would prob have helped you if you could have just admitted that you were stuck instead of blaming everything but you.

 

Your rude attitude will win you no fans here and tbh learning to solve this yourself will probably be good for you

 

Pman

[chromium]

Another common problem (At least here in Italy) is that some internet provider for optic fiber connection gives you a "semi-public" IP, so that you can host directly connect only inside your network. All the games that work with external mutiplayer provider works fine, instead all those games that require a direct IP connection can have issue.. or people can't connect at all at you as host (unless you, customer, pay an additional fee to have a public IP).

 

It's ok to say that DCS is not the most user-friendly-multiplayer piece of software... but it's not true that it doesn't work for the most of people. AFAIK, in our squadron 100% of the people, at least properly helped in the very first connection, can connect whitout problems.

 

Instead, being an host could be little more complicated due to network reason: I strongly suggest you to ask for help in the proper section following the direction given from 159_Falcon.

[zaelu]

and yes, we did the Internet/LAN stuff already.

 

And your server is visible outside the network?

 

After you start the server and you are in mission did you alt-tabed and go to "canyouseeme.org" and see if your server on the specified port is visible? cause if it's not... then...

 

Sometimes you need to press "newsearch" for a refresh. Also direct IP should work without server being visible in server browser but only if the port has been forwarded. AFAIK DCS does not uses UPnP so it will not open automatically the port for you in router.

[TraxusIV]

The issue is not connecting to a host but being the host. Let me clarify that my goal here is not to obtain assistance in troubleshooting the problems we are experiencing, but to highlight the need for changes to the game to make hosting a game more simple and reliable. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but i believe that ED does monitor these forums, and my hope is that they will take note of the issue and address it. Of course, if we get the problem solved in the process, that's a nice side effect.

 

Side note: pman, you do realize that you are the one who is being insulting and rude here, right? You are personally attacking me without knowing anything about me or my knowledge base. I am simply attacking deficiencies that I see in the software. Unless you are the guy who wrote that code, I don't see how you have any grounds for getting pissy at me. If you ARE the guy who wrote that code, then I understand your offense, but it still stands that the MP hosting capability is SUBSTANDARD.

[TraxusIV]

We can connect to established hosts just fine, but cannot connect to each other, nor do either one of us show up in the server browser.

 

Zaelu, we'll give that a shot and see what the results are. Thanks for the link. And as to clicking new search, we've done that plenty.

Edited April 10, 2013 by TraxusIV

[BIGNEWY]

you are doing something wrong then, plenty of servers online who dont have issues

 

but from looking at it everyone else's post have tried everything.

 

it has to be something you are doing / not doing

 

Open a support ticket and be patient for help

[TraxusIV]

And pman, I reject your assertion that the user should be responsible for dicking with firewall and router settings. Those are things that the user should never have to mess with just to get a multiplayer game going with a friend. And btw, that stuff does not fall into the simple category. No chance in heck my mom could ever forward a port. If my mom can't do it, it's not simple.

[Pman]

Side note: pman, you do realize that you are the one who is being insulting and rude here, right? You are personally attacking me without knowing anything about me or my knowledge base. I am simply attacking deficiencies that I see in the software. Unless you are the guy who wrote that code, I don't see how you have any grounds for getting pissy at me. If you ARE the guy who wrote that code, then I understand your offense, but it still stands that the MP hosting capability is SUBSTANDARD.

 

Firstly, I am not the first in this thread to note that you have been rude and arrogant of your issues.

 

Second, Your knowledge base is obviously limited as this is in general a simple issue to fix that normally takes about 5-10 minutes.

 

Third, you seem to be oblivious to the fact that alot of other games and programmes require ports to be open to function correctly, however I suspect that you have had everything done for you in the past and the fact that you have to do something is a shock to you.

 

Fourth, The code the ED uses is not new coding, but it is proven to work, how so? Well I run a very popular server for DCS and how many people out of the 200+ unique users who have used the server in the past month have contacted me about problems? Zero.

 

Lastly, I generally go out of my way to help anyone who needs it, however your obvious reluctance to accept that the problem is with your computer/router. Your attitude towards people here and the sim in general depict that you are the type of person who if they cant get something working in 30 seconds then the toys go out of the window and nerdrage ensues.

 

Good Luck to you, but I wont solve your problem for you.