Unable to connect to server...sort of

[Bones]

Just picked up a couple of copies of the game for the wife and I to play. I run a dedicated server on a spare pc in the house.

After setting up the server for Empyrion, my issue is that we cannot connect to the server through the server browser. It shows up in the list but clicking on it results in the loading screen and the the standard connection failed error.

Tried typing the IP (external IP address both with and without the port number) to see if direct connect will work...no joy
Tried typing in the private IP address...bingo! We can both connect, server runs fine. When connecting by private IP, I do not need to enter the port number.

Why can we connect with the internal but not the external IP? This would lead me to think it is a port that needs to be forwarded. So far I have forwarded 30000-30004 TCP and UDP as well as 26900-26904 TCP and UDP but still no success.

I don't think the network or server pc are an issue since both my Ark Survival and Space Engineer servers run just fine, and even this server runs fine once we are connected.

Thoughts?

[JDaremo Fireheart]

You two are welcome on my PVE server if you can't get yours going, just add me and message me for the details

[piddlefoot]

When I had this problem it was port related, one of my client systems was usuing the same ports as the server and would do the same just hang at load screen.

Once I changed the ports so all connections were set to different ports to get out of the modem to the net, the problem went away.
After portforwarding all my local PC's, so technically I can run a server on any of them and all the other system can always connect to eachother.

On my modem I set up a new profile for each PC connected to it.
All of the PCs can also still share the same homegroup.

I can connect via IP or server list in steam/empyrion with all machines.

So I say treat every PC on that network with Empyrion installed like a dedicated server, and set them up like so, its really really handy for testing, swapping files etc.

[jimbobslimbob]

Originally posted by Bones:

Just picked up a couple of copies of the game for the wife and I to play. I run a dedicated server on a spare pc in the house.

After setting up the server for Empyrion, my issue is that we cannot connect to the server through the server browser. It shows up in the list but clicking on it results in the loading screen and the the standard connection failed error.

Tried typing the IP (external IP address both with and without the port number) to see if direct connect will work...no joy
Tried typing in the private IP address...bingo! We can both connect, server runs fine. When connecting by private IP, I do not need to enter the port number.

Why can we connect with the internal but not the external IP? This would lead me to think it is a port that needs to be forwarded. So far I have forwarded 30000-30004 TCP and UDP as well as 26900-26904 TCP and UDP but still no success.

I don't think the network or server pc are an issue since both my Ark Survival and Space Engineer servers run just fine, and even this server runs fine once we are connected.

Thoughts?

Perfectly normal if port forwarding has not been set up. This happens because you are connecting via the external IP address, which acts just like being outside your LAN. No port forwards = router does not know where to send the data so the connection will fail.

It works when you use the internal IP because the your router knows exactly where the data should go (you supply it with the internal IP).

Most of the cases I have seen on these forums where people have set up the port forwarding but are still having issues are related to one or more of the following:

1. Not all the correct port forwards are set up.
2. Ports are being forwarded to the wrong internal IP address (which is subject to change if dynamic).
3. Firewall is not allowing access.

[Bones]

The odd part is, that port forwarding 'has' been set up. Although it's hard to find information on exactly what ports are used. I currently have ports 30000-30004 TCP and UDP as well as 26900-26904 TCP and UDP. I also tried putting the server IP in the router's DMZ and the issue still persists.

Firewall is almost certainly not the issue since I can connect no problem using the internal IP address which still must pass through the server's firewall (although I did turn it off just to eliminate it as the cause.)

Ports are definitely going to the correct IP (I have the router set to reserve IP 192.168.0.102 specifically for the server). I also run Ark Survival and Space Engineer servers from the same box without issue. I only run one server at a time however (it's just for family use)

The only conclusion I can come to is that there must be a port that is not open. Does anyone have ports other than 30000-30004 and/or 26900-26904 forwarded?


Edit: Thank you to everyone for the replies :)

Update: Just ran a port tester (Simple Port Tester) on ports 30000-30004 and all passed on both TCP and UDP.

[jimbobslimbob]

You shouldn't actually require 26900-26904, just 30000-30004.

If it is appearing in the server list and others can connect to it from the internet then it suggests a routing issue with your LAN.

[Bones]

Originally posted by jimbobslimbob:

You shouldn't actually require 26900-26904, just 30000-30004.

If it is appearing in the server list and others can connect to it from the internet then it suggests a routing issue with your LAN.

It certainly does suggest that. I'm almost convinced it is routing. I just cannot figure out how, since other servers work and the ports required are all open :(

My server is set to use 30000, I only opened 26900-26904 to be sure I had every possible port open that the server may possibly require.

[jimbobslimbob]

Ah, do you not have 30001, 30002, 30003 and 30004 as well?

[Bones]

Originally posted by jimbobslimbob:

Ah, do you not have 30001, 30002, 30003 and 30004 as well?

As I said in my previous posts a few times, I have 30000 - 30004 (which would include 30000, 30001, 30002, 30003, and last but not least 30004) as well as 26900-26904 forwarded as both TCP and UDP.

The funny part is I picked up two copies of 7 Days To Die in the halloween sale yesterday. Took me 5 minutes to get that dedicated server up and running. Just like Ark Survival and Space Engineers. I'm not sure why this server kit is giving me grief, I've set up many many game servers in the past (all the way back to Starfleet Command 2), and have never had this much trouble with one.