RPTools.net

Good day. I’m new to the RPTools forums and am having Maptool connectivity issues. Any advice or help than can be provided would be much appreciated.

The Problem: When I press the Test Connection button in the Start Server dialog box I get an error message that reads, “Could not see your computer from the internet. It could be a port forwarding issue. Visit the RPTools forum (Tools->MapTool->HOWTO) to find the networking FAQ.” I found the “MapTool Network and Connection Problems and Solutions“ document – a great doc by the way - but sadly nothing seemed to help. If I start the server despite the failed connection test it looks like all is well – the Connection Information dialog displays my Local Address, External Address, and the Port (51234) – and I see “Server started” in the Chat window. Unfortunately, when I have one of my players try to Direct connect he gets a “Connection timeout” message.

What’s Changed? I have done plenty of MapTool game hosting in the past and everything worked perfectly. I was able to set the port forwarding in my router firewall and the Windows firewall and never had a problem. Then I switched my ISP from Verizon DSL to Comcast Highspeed. This is the first time I’ve tried to host a game since the switch and I’m baffled.

Step-by-Step Problem Diagnosis:
1. My router is a Linksys WRT54G and does not support UPnP. I manually configured the port-forwarding on the router firewall and Windows firewall, tried several different ports, tried adding my machine to the router’s DMZ, and finally disconnected the router from my network and disable the Windows firewall. All attempts failed to eliminate the connectivity problem.
2. By running two MapTool instances on my computer (one host and one client) I’m able to Direct connect the client to the server by using the IP address 127.0.0.12. I also tried Direct connecting using my actual external IP address and it also worked! Weird…if I could only get my players to be able to do the same.
3. By running two MapTool instances on my computer (one host and one client) I’m able to see my game server on the LAN tab and connect to it with the client instance. No problems here.
4. I don’t have wired clients trying to access my game server.
5. I don’t have wireless clients trying to access my game server.
6. I appears that when I have two instances of Maptools running on my machine the client instance can see and access the server instance via LAN or Direct connect. However, even when I remove the router and connect the modem directly to the computer nothing from outside my machine can access the MapTool server. It makes me wonder if Comcast is blocking the traffic somehow, but their Technical Support staff says the aren’t.
7. I’m trying to have my players Direct connect. Again, this was working with Verizon DSL but since my switch to Comcast I’ve had no luck.
8. N/A
9. I’m not getting any exceptions when I run MapTools from the command line.
10. I’m using a 3Com 3C920 Integrated Fast Ethernet Controller (3C905C-TX Compatible). Jumbo Frames was not present in my list of properties, but Hardware Checksumming (called Rx Checksum Offload and Tx Checksum Offload) was Enabled. I disabled both properties and rebooted but it didn’t correct the connection problem.
11. My internal IP address is being reported by MapTools and IPCONFIG as 192.168.1.101
12. I have not tried Hamachi yet.

What Else I’ve Tried:
• I’ve eliminated router port forwarding problems by completely disconnecting it from my network. Even with the router out of the loop (internal and external IP addresses the same) I still get the same connection problem.
• I’ve shut off the Windows firewall, my AVG antivirus, and my Spybot antispyware to eliminate them from contention. Still get the same connection problem.
• I’ve downloaded older versions of the Maptool JNLP from Azheri’s web forum thinking it may just be a problem with b63. Still get the same connection problem with every version.
• Downloaded the latest, greatest Java - Version 6 Update 20 (build 1.6.0_20-b02). No help here.
• Tested some of my Peer-to-Peer applications to see if my system is blocking their connections as well. They all work fine.
• Called Comcast twice and spoken with their technical support. They say they are not blocking any ports on their end.
• Tapped into the Arris modem to check out it’s event log. No errors found and my guess is its in bridged-mode. I don’t have access to change the settings anyway.
• Changed the default port from 51234 several times. No help.
• Tried using static and dynamically assigned IP addresses. No help.
• Installed Microsoft TCP/IP Version 6. No help.

My System: I’m running Windows XP Professional SP3 on an old Dell Dimension 8300 desktop. I’ve got a Linksys WRT54G (does not support UPnP) router and a Comcast Arris TM602 G/CT modem with Comcast as my ISP. I’m using Maptool 1.3.b63 (Java Web Start) with Java Version 6 Update 20 (build 1.6.0_20-b02). Only one connection exists in my Network Connections window and that’s “Local Area Connection”

The Network Connections window reads:
Local Address: 192.168.1.101
Port: 51234

Here is my Java Console:
Java Web Start 1.6.0_20
Using JRE version 1.6.0_20-b02 Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM
User home directory = C:\Documents and Settings\Family
----------------------------------------------------
c: clear console window
f: finalize objects on finalization queue
g: garbage collect
h: display this help message
m: print memory usage
o: trigger logging
p: reload proxy configuration
q: hide console
r: reload policy configuration
s: dump system and deployment properties
t: dump thread list
v: dump thread stack
0-5: set trace level to <n>
----------------------------------------------------
Could not launch from cache. Will try online mode. [Need to update]
TinyLaF v1.3.04
'Default.theme' not found - using YQ default theme.

Wow, great problem report there, Thorcorps!

You said you've had it running in the past and it stopped working when you switched ISPs. I'll start there.

Since their tech support says they don't block any ports, let's test that assumption first. There are two tests you can try. You should have your port forwarding setup as you described earlier, or bypass the router and plug your computer directly into the modem. The first test should fail, the second should succeed. I'll describe them first and then describe what it is they are testing:

1. With MapTool shut down, visit CanYouSeeMe.org and tell it to probe your IP address using port 51234. You should get a line near the middle of the page that starts with "Error:" in red. The reason may be "no route to host" or "connection refused".

Those error messages are because the web site tried to access your IP:port and it was actively or passively rejected by some computer equipment between the web site and you're machine. Could be Comcast, your modem, your router (if present), or your computer. This is expected since MapTool isn't running on your computer. If it were, the connection would get through your router and all the way to the computer, where MapTool would accept the connection and the response would be "Success".

2. Start MapTool. Using the default (empty) Grasslands map, start a server as you would normally. Now go back to the browser and test the port again. This time you should receive "Success" in green.

The reason the second one works is because the packet made it all the way through the 'net to your computer, which then passed the packet to MapTool. Since MT was sitting in an accept() function waiting fo rthe call, it was accepted and an acknowledgment went back to the web site causing the refreshed page to report "Success". (You won't see any response on the MT end because the web site doesn't actually send any data; it just immediately closes the connection.)

These two tests allow you to test outside of your LAN without needing a player running the client and potentially introducing their own network issues. And they provide a (slightly) more controlled environment than Test Connection.

If you find that port 51234 doesn't work, try changing it to port 21, 80, or 443. Those are "well-known" ports that may be allowed through by the ISP. If the high-numbered port doesn't work and those others do, then their tech support lied to you. The best you can do at that point is to try a variety of different port numbers until you find one that can get through. Note that the web site can't help you test unless you have a server running on your machine that is listening for the call to come in.

Btw, I have a plan for a replacement Test Connection button that will incorporate a round-robin of sites such as CanYouSeeMe.org so that the tests end up being more reliable and more descriptive. But that won't be for quite awhile, I think.

Another "btw": after disabling the Checksum Offload features and rebooting, did you check to make sure they were still off? Sometimes they "stick" in the on position for some Windows-only-knows reason...

Third "btw": Your WRT54G does support UPNP, but you haven't found the config page yet. I know that because I own at least four of those, although various models (some 54G's, some 54GL's, and one 54GS). I don't run the stock firmware on them anymore but you may want to check their website for a fw update (I use DD-WRT which is built on Linux and has support for much more than the Linksys fw).

Last "btw": The Arris is a cablemodem, right? Can you provide a model number? If so we can check out the product manuals online...

I don't have time to write as thorough a report, but I too have suddenly lost my ability to connect on the settings that have worked for a long time. I tried setting up my ports the same way that has always worked, no dice.

Azhrei, thank you for taking time out of your day to help me with my connection problem.

I tried http://www.canyouseeme.org/. It picked up my external IP address automatically and I entered the default MapTool port (51234). With MapTool shut down, the site returned an error message stating “connection refused”. I started MapTool and my server as you suggested using the default MapTool port (51234) and re-tested using CanYouSeeMe. This time the site returned “Success: I can see your service on (my external IP address) on port (51234). Your ISP is not blocking port 51234“. I’m guessing this means that Comcast is not blocking anything on their end that would inhibit connections to my MapTool game server.

So after my success with CanYouSeeMe, I called all my players including the one that had the connect problems and walked them through the Direct connect dialog. Lo and behold, everyone was able to connect up! I’m embarrassed to report it seems like the combination of problems with the MapTool Test Connection button along with my player’s failed connection led me to believe there was some problem.

My apologies for the confusion.

Heh, no problem. We all help with the expertise that we have. I know that I'm certainly grateful for all of the fine macros that I "borrow" from people here!


Yep, exactly.


No sweat. However, you should stay away from the Direct tab if possible. As long as you fill a server name into the Alias field, the RPTools Registry will keep track of your server information (MapTool version, IP address, and port number). Then when a player wants to connect they can fill in their name, the password (if you set one), and then double-click on the entry for your server in the listbox that shows up -- super easy.

For my Tuesday night games I use Crimson Throne (768MB, 3MB) so that anyone looking at it can tell if they started their MapTool with a large enough memory allocation. (Players should always have a memory allocation at least as large as the server's so they don't run out of memory if the server loads a large map.) I have plans to add additional information to the server list, such as whether a player password is required and maybe the number of clients currently connected.

I am having similar problems to first post. every time I go to start a server it says "unable to see your computer from the internet".

I have a router in link, preformed the port forwarding with no luck.

I then used the DMZ feature also to no prevail.

I then proceeded to remove my router, still no luck.

I then tried using the website suggested above (canyouseeme.org) and ended up with a failure (connection timed out) on multiple ports, all having hte same results.

Double checking my windows firewall settings, and as far as I can tell, all things related to the maptool are unblocked.

Currently, I am using Windows 7 x64, a D-Link WBR2310 router, and Shaw Canada as my ISP.

Any help would be appreciated. thanks.

Do you have a software firewall (other than Windows built-in) or antivirus program installed? If so, kill them by using Task manager and kill process. Then connect the router directly to the modem and make sure the PC has a routable IP (not 192.168.*, 10.10.*). Then see if it works. If not, I would say it is a driver or weird setting issue.

Test Connection has been down for a few days now -- the ISP of the RPTools site was blocking the outbound port (apparently, although another server involved in testing was also having trouble).

It should be working sometime soon as a trouble ticket filed with HostGator says the port has been opened...

Thanks for the help all, I did manage to get it working again using a different router this time. I think something Software related had failed somehow because my xbox was also having problems shortly after. Thanks all!

I am having issues getting my Ubuntu desktop with a wired connection to connect to a server. I can go online, no problem. I look at the connection info and everything is normal. I even have my wife's laptop connected and running a server. All through the same modem and router. For some maddening reason, on this computer maptool just thinks the IP and port are something totally different. I don't know what to do, I have tried everything suggested in all of the pdf's and tutorials but nothing is working. Perhaps I need someone who knows about Linux distros. Any help would be gladly appreciated.

I replied in your other thread.