[SOLVED] How to host online game ?

[ThriLLseeka`]

Hey guys, need a short description how i can host and / or join games please :)

Anyone knows ? ^^

[NogardDerNaerok]

The short version is that in order to host, you need to be connectible on port 17011 TCP (by default), then simply click the host button in any of the channels on WormNET. Joining games is a matter of double clicking an already hosted game.

The long version, in case you're behind a router or firewall or worse, is available through a guide on the wiki here:

http://worms2d.info/Hosting_Guide

[ThriLLseeka`]

ok i found it, but how can people join me ? I mean if i try to join WORMNet it tells me its unable to join :(

[NogardDerNaerok]

Hm, not sure what's preventing you from connecting to WormNET. See if any of these apply to you, I guess:

http://worms2d.info/Troubleshooting_FAQ#WormNET

[ThriLLseeka`]

Thnx for today, will look tommorow, pretty excited to play after around 10 years ;D

[Obn3g0n]

If you can't host the regular way, using HostingBuddy is almost as good.

You type "!host SCHEME" (eg. !host shopper)

Once inside, you use commands to set the game options. For example.....

!map - loads a different map
!bigmap - loads a different, large map
!worms # = number of worms (eg. !worms 8)
!turntime ## (eg. turntime 30)
!ammo bazooka inf (sets infinite bazookas)
!ammo bazooka # (sets ammo to a given number)
!roundtime # (time before sudden death)
!kick PlayerName (eg. !kick `Pn`RichUK)
!close - closes your game so nobody else can join
!reopen - re-opens your game

And of course /help to see all the commands. there are lots!

You can upload your own map to wmdb.org and then host it using the "!wmdb #####" command, where, the number is the map number on wmdb, found in the URL.

After a bit of practice the commands become really familiar and easy. Hosting with hostingbuddy is nice for big maps because everyone loads the map a lot faster.

[Obn3g0n]

No, if you can't host, it's your own fault for not configuring your router properly. Doing so takes about 15 seconds.

Plus there are two very solid workarounds for those lazy people: WormNAT2 and HostingBuddy.

[Muzer]

Yeah. Modern games really are wonderful. Extremely dependent on one server which ties intrinsically into the online functionality of the game; and when this server goes down, you don't have an online game any more. Everyone loves paying money for something that then loses a significant portion of its functionality after a few years.


Say what you like about WA - its online play, as in the core experience of playing with another person over the internet, does not rely on any one server being up. Of course, WormNET does, but WormNET can be (and has been in times when WormNET has been offline) replaced by a third-party server - and even if all of these go down, you will always be able to directly connect to another player bypassing WormNET altogether.


In addition, many modern games still use this traditional model of one person being the host to whom everyone connects. You still have to forward ports, or at least set up UPnP, in these games.

[Obn3g0n]

Originally posted by colonel_j2020:

or they could have spent some time to update it to work like a modern game using modern forms of online multiplayer. hope you can all play games and enjoy it. RIP Team 17

DC and CS don't have access to the server source code, unless that has changed.

All of the four Asian worms games (OnlineWorms Korea, Japan, and China, and then WWPA) had centralized multiplayer systems like you describe, so anyone could host. It worked great while it lasted, but now they are all offline. All the tens of millions of players that played those games now can't play them at all, since they were exclusively online multiplayer games.

[Icephyre]

It's poor implementation on T17's end, as it can't handle any modern type of NAT, it needs simple NAT (1:1). I'm not setting up a dedicated 1:1 NAT and permanently opening a port. Other games work properly with just port triggering.

[Muzer]

Sorry? If I'm understanding the term correctly, WA doesn't need a 1:1 NAT - it just needs one port forwarded, which can be done on a one-to-many NAT.

WA also supports UPnP to automatically forward ports if you use more than one computer on your NAT, though I'm not sure if it fully works. You can try enabling it in the network configuration and seeing if you have any luck.

Finally, if you really for some reason don't want to forward the port, you can use a solution like http://worms2d.info/WormNAT2


I'm not entirely sure how port triggering works (your post is the first I learnt about it) - if it doesn't require trigger port's connection to stay open, and you don't use IRC, you could try setting it to trigger on port 6667 - this is the port that WA connects to for the WormNET lobby chat. It closes this connection once you host a game, however, which is why it needs to keep forwarding the port even after the connection has closed.

[Icephyre]

UPnP is a security risk, and doesn't always work properly, though it does make life easier. I'm under the impression it needs to be a 1:1 NAT as I have port triggering setup for WA and it still doesn't work; yet all the other games work just fine with port triggering.

[Muzer]

"I have port triggering setup for WA and it still doesn't work"

Which trigger port are you trying to use? WA won't create any outgoing connections on 17011 if you're hosting. As I said, only 6667 will be used, and closed once you actually host a game.

[CyberShadow]

In comparison with many realtime multiplayer games, or even newer Worms games, Worms Armageddon relies on a synchronized state that is updated with each player's input for each instance. This model has made W:A resilient to common forms of cheating, such as memory hacking.

Other games (mainly realtime multiplayer games) commonly use the UDP protocol, which sacrifices reliability for improved performance. Latency is not an issue for a turn-based game, and reliability is mandatory for synchronization based on input, and for this reason W:A needs to use TCP (as opposed to raw UDP). Although it would be possible to implement the desired features of TCP on top of UDP, so far I haven't encountered a solution that would work for W:A.

I have researched the problem here[stackoverflow.com], a while ago.

I'm not sure what you mean by "simple NAT (1:1)" - I have not encountered that terminology before. I'm also not sure how port triggering would work in conjunction with W:A's ability to use an arbitrary port number for incoming connections, as supporting both would require a server and an IPv4 address that accepts connections on any port. Finally, I don't see the problem with a permanent port forwarding rule (assuming you don't use DHCP) - the default port used by W:A (17011) is within the registered port range, and thus will not be assigned by the operating system to programs requiring a random port to listen on. It's also not really used by anything else[www.google.com].

[CyberShadow]

I think the ultimate answer to the NAT problem would be IPv6 support. Clients lacking IPv6 connectivity would still be unable to connect to hosts behind IPv4 NAT, though.

[CyberShadow]

If you're interested, I could write a WormKit module which connects to a server whenever W:A starts listening on a TCP port. This would allow creating a port triggering rule, which should also work with Direct IP games.