Can't join game hosted by computer on same network

[FishPants]

I am trying to have one computer host a game and the other two join it. All of the computers are connected to the same modem but one of them is using a different router. When I try to connect to a game hosted by any of the computers, I get an error message that says:

Attempting to find server.
Direct connect and UDP hole punch failed.
Requesting relay token.
Relay access was denied.
Relay said: You are connecting to a server on your own public address. Please use the Direct Connect button, or the LAN view, instead of the Internet server listing.
Connection to server has failed.

In the LAN view, there is nothing. When I use Direct Connect, I get a slightly different error message:

Attempting to find server.
Direct connect and UDP hole punch failed.
Requesting relay token.
Relay access was denied.
Relay said: Server is in a private network.
Connection to server has failed

The only solution I could find on the internet was to use port forwarding. I did that but nothing changed.

Is there any way I can get this to work?

[Lady MacBeth]

I'm assuming you have already followed the steps from the beamdog website? https://www.beamdog.com/nwn_faq#38

Creating / Playing in an LAN|Internet Game:

From the main menu, click 'Multiplayer'
Click 'New Internet/LAN Game'
A 'Campaign to load' screen will appear. This mimics Single-player game creation. Select the game / module you want to play
On selecting the campaign you want to play, you will be provided options for your multiplayer game at the bottom of the screen. Activate what settings you desire
Advanced options are also available under the 'Advanced Options' menu
On having all options set as is desirable, click the module / chapter name, or the 'load' button
Select your preferred pre-made character, or create a new character
Based on your option selections other players should be free to join your game
(just double checking the basics that everything is setup correctly, before we get into troubleshooting steps)

[FishPants]

Looks like the basics are set up correctly, but its still giving the same errors.

[Lady MacBeth]

Are all of the machines able to see and connect to internet games? For now we will ignore the machine on a different router for this next bit. So the 2 machines that are on the same router, is it a real router, or is it just a networking switch? Are both these machines assigned a static ip, or are you using the dynamic ips supplied by the router? Are either of these machines using a networking card, wireless, or are they hardwired via the default ethernet port?

[Commander Makara]

have you tried using a local IP for the DirectConnect?
yhave you tried using a WAN IP for the DirectConnect?

[FishPants]

All of the machines are able to see and connect to internet games. The router the two machines are connected to is a real router. Also, I do not know if this matters, but the modem that both routers are connected to appears to be a hybrid between a modem and a router. They are both assigned a static ip. They are connected to the router via ethernet cables.

[FishPants]

Originally posted by Commander Makara:

have you tried using a local IP for the DirectConnect?
yhave you tried using a WAN IP for the DirectConnect?

When I use the local IP, the error message is:

Attempting to find server.
Direct connect and UDP hole punch failed.
Requesting relay token.
Relay access was denied.
Relay said: Server is in a private network.
Connection to server has failed

When I use the WAN IP, the error message is:

Attempting to find server.
Direct connect and UDP hole punch failed.
Requesting relay token.
Relay access was denied.
Relay said: You are connecting to a server on your own public address. Please use the Direct Connect button, or the LAN view, instead of the Internet server listing.
Connection to server has failed.

[Lady MacBeth]

Originally posted by CptRex4:

Also, I do not know if this matters, but the modem that both routers are connected to appears to be a hybrid between a modem and a router.

Sometimes that can have an effect. Whats the brand make and model of the hybrid and of the router connected to the hybrid. Also is the hybrid assigning a static IP to the router, or is it running its default dynamic ip?

Also have you tried disconnecting the router, and connecting both pcs in question ot the hybrid to test is they can then connect to each other?

[FishPants]

The hybrid is made by Arris and its model is DG1670A. How do I find out whether it is assigning a static ip to the router or running its dynamic ip?

I connected both computers to the hybrid instead of the router, and I still have the same issues. I noticed that the ip of the hybrid showed the same ip that would show when they are plugged into the router. Does this mean that the hybrid is doing everything and the router is not doing anything?

For clarification, the two computers in the same router are both macs.

[Lady MacBeth]

Well I know nothing about macs, so I will have to just treat them as any old pc. Hopefully this isn't a mac specific issue. Odd that you still have the same issue on the Arris. I had thought it was an issue with two routers connected to each other, sometimes you can get weird networking stuff when daisy chaining them.

What happens if you have one machine host it as a password protected internet game. Can the other machine join then?

[FishPants]

That is what I have been doing, resulting in the error messages.

[FishPants]

The computer on a separate router is a pc and is having the same problems, so I do not think it is mac specific.

[Lady MacBeth]

Hmm I will have to think on it some more. There are some things that "might" be causing an issue like if QoS is enabled on the arris modem/router, or if somehow the static ips are causing a random issue (not very likely).

In the meantime while waiting to see if anyone else has any ideas, I suggest also mentioning your problem on the beamdog nwn tech support forum located here: https://forums.beamdog.com/categories/nwn-technical-support

If you can get logged into the control panel for the arris you may also went to try disabling qos if its on, and disable dynamic ip and assign a static ip to the router your connecting to it. See if that gets you anywhere.

[FishPants]

Do you know where I can find a good tutorial on port forwarding? I would like to double check that I did it correctly but i’m having trouble finding info on how to do it.

[Shia Luck]

This is way beyond me so if this idea sounds stupid I apologise in advance, but I had a similar problem with a different game where 2 computers were diredtly linked and one shared internet connection from the other with some not-proper-router connection to the phone. In that case, the answer was to get the two machines using different ports.

Good luck :)

[Lady MacBeth]

Originally posted by CptRex4:

Do you know where I can find a good tutorial on port forwarding? I would like to double check that I did it correctly but i’m having trouble finding info on how to do it.

Steps can be router specific, whats the brand and model of the router?

Edit: Since I havent heard back on what router you have, heres a generic walk through. https://www.wikihow.com/Set-Up-Port-Forwarding-on-a-Router bear in mind the most important parts of port forwarding are 2 fold, 1 you have to have the right ports forwarded in the right protocol, and 2 it doesnt stack. So only one of the machines can be port forwarded, which is why I personally don't believe that its going to resolve a 3 computer setup issue.

Edit 2: On second thought though, if the host was the machine that was having the proper ports forwarded to it, then it just might work. Ignore my prior statement, I wasn't thinking in the correct context.