Dedicated server fail... in need of assistance ;~;

[Cynical Orange]

As the title says, I have failed this server... and I'm at a total loss for what to do at this point.
I've searched the interweb and forums far and wide seeking any new intel on what might be causing the struggles, and have had no luck in finding anything helpful.

The Struggle
I cannot connect to my private server. For the life of me. Nothing I've tried works.
This is definitely a problem many have endured, and some seem to have solved. I should know having spent a week and a half scouring threads in search of any lead, guide, and just a smidge of hope that I wouldn't have to ask for help. It's always the stereotypical "male asking for directions" scenario. But less phallic in my case... anywho...

What Makes this Different
Rather, what I think makes this different. It shows up under LAN under 'Servers' on Steam, but it's not displaying on the arkserver.net page.
I have attempted to connect through 'Servers', which gave me the error "unable to query server info for invite", as well as through Ark itself, but the server is nowhere to be found.
I have set up port forwarding on my Netgear router, (my router is not on portforward.com) and have been using a Static IP for some time now.
Everything has been allowed through my firewall. (Even turned it off to troubleshoot.)
My router is connected to a Comcast modem/router. I connected directly to the modem's broadcasted network, and only then do the ports show that they're open, but I can't get the game to even load on that network, so it's kind of useless.
I have everything updated to the most current version, which is what I had been seeing was the most common cause of the "unable to query blah blah". So that has been ruled out.

The Bigger Struggle
I am not techtarded, however, networking of any sort is not really my forte. But I decided to say, "challenge accepted" and went for it... now I can't sleep, I'm down to my last box of girl scout cookies, and I'm not a single step closer to figuring this thing out...

I rambled my frustrations enough for now, so for those who don't put networking on the same level as rocket science, or if you've suffered from the same issues, any and all input/advice/pep talks are welcome.

Some, but not much information has been provided, but if anything else is needed, please let me know!

I'm at my wit's end, so help me fellow steamers... you're my only hope. ;~;

[Turbo Lover]

The couple times I've had this problem were when Kaspersky Internet Security was installed and another time I couldnt figure it out where only a clean install of the server worked. In the former case I had to uninstall KIS then it finally worked.

[SoMinimalItsCriminal]

Tell us about your server. Are you hosting on a Windows or Linux machine? What are your firewall settings? Also note that depending on the machine, ARK service may take several minutes to get to a state where players can log in.

[Cynical Orange]

Thank you both for your replies! It's much appreciated!

Porter eredeti hozzászólása:

The couple times I've had this problem were when Kaspersky Internet Security was installed and another time I couldnt figure it out where only a clean install of the server worked. In the former case I had to uninstall KIS then it finally worked.

I've clean installed he server numerous times thinking every time that the next one was it. I'm saving uninstalling everything and reinstalling it as a last resort.
To my knowledge, I don't have any additional security systems, but I will have to double check that nothing else factory installed is still running rampant, causing havoc. I know McAfee reappeared not too long ago, but I'm 90% sure I uninstalled it.

AnxiousInfusion eredeti hozzászólása:

Tell us about your server. Are you hosting on a Windows or Linux machine? What are your firewall settings? Also note that depending on the machine, ARK service may take several minutes to get to a state where players can log in.

I have Windows 8. I dislike it very much, but a laptop is a laptop is a laptop. It gets the job done.
I've allowed Shootergame.exe, Shootergameserver.exe, and all ports (tcp and udp) through inbound and outbound.
The fact that it was mentioned multiple times that it might take a few minutes (max 10-15) for the server to display was why I didn't panic until a week later. After leaving it for at least an hour, still no connecting to it.

[Sk33v3]

Have you opened the right ports on your router? I just started hosting a dedicated server. I had the same issue where the server would only show up in LAN, I opened ports TCP/UDP: 27015/27016 and TCP/UDP: 7777. After that it was visible in the unofficial section of the server lists.

[Cynical Orange]

tkjeffery eredeti hozzászólása:

Have you opened the right ports on your router? I just started hosting a dedicated server. I had the same issue where the server would only show up in LAN, I opened ports TCP/UDP: 27015/27016 and TCP/UDP: 7777. After that it was visible in the unofficial section of the server lists.

Yes, I did. I read on one thread that someone's server didn't work until they forwarded 27016, so I did it just in case. It has been allowed through my firewall, as well.

[IXISlowIXI]

When I have had this problem it is caused by the ports being directed to the wrong device ip in the router. netgear router should be set to port forward, service name to ftp. call the ports ark and ark2. external start port 27015 internal start port 27015 internal ip is the address the pops up in the list for your pc. second port is external 7777, internal 7777, internal ip is your pcs address.
if the internal ip is directed at another device on the network, it wont show up.

[Tova]

Sending a contact request, i'll be happy to help if i can

[{AW}Dommo]

i would try this, but only to find out if its the problem, turn off ALL firewalls. if you can connect with all firewalls off, then thats the problem. Then make sure to turn them on again.

[Cynical Orange]

crackattack eredeti hozzászólása:

When I have had this problem it is caused by the ports being directed to the wrong device ip in the router. netgear router should be set to port forward, service name to ftp. call the ports ark and ark2. external start port 27015 internal start port 27015 internal ip is the address the pops up in the list for your pc. second port is external 7777, internal 7777, internal ip is your pcs address.
if the internal ip is directed at another device on the network, it wont show up.

I had wondered if this might be the problem a couple of times, however, my router automatically populates my internal ip. I have run ipconfig just make sure it was the correct ipv4, and what displays is the same that is auto-populated.

{AW}Dommo eredeti hozzászólása:

i would try this, but only to find out if its the problem, turn off ALL firewalls. if you can connect with all firewalls off, then thats the problem. Then make sure to turn them on again.

I have tried that, but I just found out that McAfee was, in fact, still present in my programs, and it has been known to create many problems on all the laptops I've ever owned. Sneaky bastard... Pardon my french. So, once that finally finishes uninstalling, I will retry this. (:

[IXISlowIXI]

did you check the box to show unofficial servers on the bottom of the server list page in ark? there is also one to show password protected servers.

[Sk33v3]

Netgear should allow you to assign the specific port forwarding to an IP Address from their network manager. I know that after I opened up the ports mentioned earlier I still had to assign those openings to the static IP running the server.

Also, if you aren't already using it...
http://arkservermanager.freeforums.net/thread/3/downloads
Ark Server manager is an amazing tool for starting, hosting, and editing all of the settings on the server.

[Cynical Orange]

crackattack eredeti hozzászólása:

did you check the box to show unofficial servers on the bottom of the server list page in ark? there is also one to show password protected servers.

Yes, I made sure to filter the servers correctly.

[Gran]

{AW}Dommo eredeti hozzászólása:

i would try this, but only to find out if its the problem, turn off ALL firewalls. if you can connect with all firewalls off, then thats the problem. Then make sure to turn them on again.

If he can connect via Lan to the Server the Firewall isn't the problem here.
Router not configured right, or worse case Internet Provider is blocking ports.

[Cynical Orange]

Gran eredeti hozzászólása:

{AW}Dommo eredeti hozzászólása:

i would try this, but only to find out if its the problem, turn off ALL firewalls. if you can connect with all firewalls off, then thats the problem. Then make sure to turn them on again.

If he can connect via Lan to the Server the Firewall isn't the problem here.
Router not configured right, or worse case Internet Provider is blocking ports.

I'm unable to connect at all due to the error message mentioned in my original post. It only displays under LAN with the actual server name. I can't see it anywhere else but under Steam Servers.

Smittah79 eredeti hozzászólása:

Just a crazy question which might help in figuring out why its not working... but how are you running the dedicated server? Are you just hosting a game through the singleplayer/host mode or did you download/install steamcmd and installed the dedicated server through a command line?

Sorry, I overlooked this comment earlier.
I've been using Steamcmd. Or trying to. Someone is helping me out through chat right now, so hopefully he'll be able to get it to work! I am still open to any comment, or suggestions, though. There might be something I haven't tried (:

[Cynical Orange]

{AW}Dommo eredeti hozzászólása:

tkjeffery eredeti hozzászólása:

crackattack eredeti hozzászólása:

AnxiousInfusion eredeti hozzászólása:

Gran eredeti hozzászólása:

Smittah79 eredeti hozzászólása:

Just test your external ports using http://www.canyouseeme.org/
You will need your WAN address, type "what is my ip" in google and it will tell you. Put in that IP address in the website above. Then type in the ports and it will tell you if the port forwarding is working or not.

I figured I'd just post an update here for everyone who went out of their way to try and help. I appreciate you all! This is also partially because I hated those threads and discussions that just cut off right when a question was asked that could potentially pertain to my problem.

So, with extensive help from Steamer Nova, wonderful human being that he is, the server is set up. I believe my initial set up had a few errors, but now it's playable only on LAN, where it wasn't before. It only took 5 hours and a lot of patience to get there.

We had deduced that the problem is with the port forwarding, and could potentially be my ISP blocking the ports. My ports are showing that they're closed on the link you provided, and I have no idea how to resolve that with Comcast without contacting them. And I really don't want to call them. Definitely not Comcast's biggest fan... but I'm fortunate enough to get free internet, so my complaints will be between me and this public discussion. My internal IP hadn't changed for ages, so I thought I had a static IP, but, silly me, it's still dynamic. Upon further research, it seems like ISP blocking ports is a common thing with Comcast. Networking constantly has me on the brink of insanity. Every solution invites a multitude of problems...

Nova set it up via ASM, and the "waiting for publication" under availability still shows no matter what he tried.

I did try and play on the test server he set up for me, and after a little while, it glitches so no crafting or harvesting can be done without exiting and updating via ASM. Even though everything is completely up to date. Not sure why that is... but still troubleshooting.

I'm envious of those who were able to make setting a server up look so easy, but, with my history with technology, the answer is probably right under my nose.

I'm still open to any suggestions that anyone may have after this update (: If no one has suggestions, I'd still like to thank everyone for their help!