How do you "host" a game?

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buckmana
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How do you "host" a game?

Post by buckmana »

I recently tried to host a multiplayer game from my computer.

Although I went through all the steps, it appeared not to work.

Is there anything I need to know to make it happen?

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Arokhs Twin
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Post by Arokhs Twin »

Make sure the master server list in your drakan.cfg file is correct & check firewall settings. Does it give any kind of error? Does hosting a dedicated server work?

My master server list in drakan.cfg - <i>set MasterServerList "master.gamespy.com:27900"</i> Anything other than this results in a crash. The master server has changed over the years but the above line is needed for the server to register with gamespy so other players can see your server from gamespy arcade. This is the only way to find servers now unless you know their IP addresses. The in game server browser won't find them anymore.

buckmana
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Post by buckmana »

This is the line:

set MasterServerList "master.mplayer.com:27900,master.gamespy.com:27900"

I don't really know if it works, because I need someone to be on the other end to let me know if it does.

The only time I tried it with someone else, they didn't see my game appear.

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Arokhs Twin
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Post by Arokhs Twin »

Remove the mplayer part as the mplayer server is long gone. The person who wants to play on your server must use gamespy arcade to see your server unless you give him your IP address so he can manually add it in the game browser.

buckmana
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Post by buckmana »

Okay, done that.

Now I need a volunteer to see if it works.

The problem with Drakan is once it starts, I can't access any windows software until I exit the game.

So I can't send a chat message with the IP. And I can't get the IP until I host the game.

Does anyone know how to control which levels the host game randomly allocates?

There are some I've got to avoid because they're damaged.

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Arokhs Twin
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Post by Arokhs Twin »

You can host a game for just one level only or use the dedicated server which runs in a window and is command line based. The levels it runs are configured using the level list files which are text files and can be edited with notepad. These are in your drakan multiplayer folder and by default there should be ones for all levels, air only and ground only. You can create your own level list files though.
For example the shortcut for hosting a dedicated server with air only levels is the command "C:\Program Files\Psygnosis\Drakan\Drakan.exe" -dedicated -levellist "Air Only"
The level list files are in the multiplayer directory; create your own level list and replace the air only part of the example above with the file name of your level list.

It should be explained in the user manual or the 445 patch readme if you want to check it out.

As for finding out your IP address, this can be done with the command ipconfig at the windows dos box command prompt. Note that if you are using a router, this will report your local address starting with 192.168 so if this is the case go to http://whatsmyip.org and this will tell you your internet IP address. This is the IP address you need to give to your client who wants to connect to your server.

You could also drop me an email and I will check on gamespy to see if I can see your server.

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Post by buckmana »

I tried it again and eventually I gave up because it didn't work.

For some reason, I was unable to connect to another computer (join a game).

Or when I hosted a game, it didn't appear on Gamespy Arcade.

I'm thinking I need to do more work before I can actually host a game.

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Arokhs Twin
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Post by Arokhs Twin »

It could be firewall settings if you can't join a game. If this isn't working you won't be able to host either. What error message (if any) does it give?

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Post by buckmana »

None.

I just checked the firewall settings and Drakan is allowed free reign to the internet.

I'm just not sure what's going on.

But it's probably WindowsXP related!

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Arokhs Twin
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Post by Arokhs Twin »

I don't know then but I guess its something to do with port forwarding etc either on your router or some software is blocking the IP traffic from getting through.

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Post by buckmana »

I guess I'll have to keep working on it.

I thought it would be simple to do, but apparently not.

Any other advice (aside from this problem) would also be welcome.

How do you control the levels that are played? I have to avoid certain levels because they crash the game. The offending level maps have been removed from my hard drive, so the game can't even try to open them.

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Arokhs Twin
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Post by Arokhs Twin »

Please see my post above on the 13th

buckmana
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Post by buckmana »

I've edited the text files to remove the flawed levels.

Unfortunately, I've been unable to test them all for compatibility (you need to play someone else in multiplayer to do that).

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