Connectivity Suddenly Gone

[tpkurilla]

Greetings!

I've been using FGII for about 2 years now, and I've suddenly run into a problem. No one in my gaming group can connect to me.

Everything was fine when we quit last week, but when we tried to get going this week, nobody could connect.

First thing I tried was the external test with the server, and that comes back with "SUCCESS" instantly.

I've reset my router, we all upgraded to 2.9.1, and tried many other things, but nothing seems to work.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance,

-Thomas

[Trenloe]

Do your players use an alias or your IP address to connect to you?

[tpkurilla]

We've always used the 4-word alias to connect, but one of them tried to use the raw IP as well.

Neither one worked.

When he tried to use my raw IP, he noticed that the first octet was different from what we've always seen before. We have only ever seen '68' for the first octet, but now my first octet is '70'.

We have no trouble connecting for other games using Steam, but I have not tried hosting it on my computer.

I'm currently downloading the latest to install on my laptop to see if I have any better luck with it.

I can't shake the feeling that the change in my first octet is causing the trouble, but I don't know how I can test the theory.

Hopefully someone has seen this issue before, and can help us out.

-Thomas

[damned]

generate a new alias and it shoudl pick up your new ip...

[Trenloe]

generate a new alias and it shoudl pick up your new ip...
That's worth a try, but I don't think that will be the cause - one of the main functions of using an alias is that it will allow players to connect using the same name each time, even if the GMs IP address changes a lot.

One thing to check is run your campaign (as if you were ready for players to join) then open a Web browser to https://canyouseeme.org check "your IP" is the same as Fantasy Grounds is reporting, enter 1802 in "what port?" and click the "check your port" button - see what is reported back.

[tpkurilla]

generate a new alias and it shoudl pick up your new ip...

First thing I tried...no go.

[tpkurilla]

That's worth a try, but I don't think that will be the cause - one of the main functions of using an alias is that it will allow players to connect using the same name each time, even if the GMs IP address changes a lot.

One thing to check is run your campaign (as if you were ready for players to join) then open a Web browser to https://canyouseeme.org check "your IP" is the same as Fantasy Grounds is reporting, enter 1802 in "what port?" and click the "check your port" button - see what is reported back.

I tried both of those, but not simultaneously! DOH!

In my defense, I'm trying to get over a summer cold...

I'll be trying more tonight. I've even got my laptop loaded with the latest so that I can rule out something specific to my desktop.

I'll report back what I find.

-Thomas

[tpkurilla]

FG II "Run Test" still works.

canyouseeme.org works perfectly.

I tried to connect with my laptop, which is on my lan via wireless router, and even it can't connect.

So I've loaded FGII up on my laptop, and have loaded all of my campaign info onto it. As soon as the wife gets off her computer so that I can set my router up to forward 1802 to my laptop, I'll see if it works on there.

Of course, if the data in my campaign is causing it...hmm, alright, I'll try it with a fresh campaign. :eek:

[Trenloe]

When you try it locally on your router you need to use the internal address to connect - the external address won't work correctly when you are both on the same local network.

[tpkurilla]

When you try it locally on your router you need to use the internal address to connect - the external address won't work correctly when you are both on the same local network.

Right, but I'm using the alias, and it has always worked before.

[tpkurilla]

I had my player do an ipconfig /flushdns, and I did the same on my desktop.
No luck.

So I installed FGII on my laptop.

I got new alias words, and my player could not connect.

I had him use my IP address, and he got connected fine.

So I went back to my desktop, and now, the alias still dosen't work, but the IP address works now.

Now we at least have an avenue for connecting, but the alias mechanism seems completely fubar for us.

Maybe I need to have my alias reset?

No idea, just grasping. Any other ideas?

[Trenloe]

I had him use my IP address, and he got connected fine.

So I went back to my desktop, and now, the alias still dosen't work, but the IP address works now.

Now we at least have an avenue for connecting, but the alias mechanism seems completely fubar for us.
Which IP address works - the internal or external one?

When you try this are you on an internal network or connecting across the internet?

To clarify how the alias functionality works - the GM PC connects to a Smiteworks server over the internet and tells it the alias name and the external IP address of the GM PC. When players use an alias, they connect to the same Smiteworks server over the internet and asks what the IP address for the alias they are connecting to is. The IP address returned is then used to connect over the internet.

[tpkurilla]

Which IP address works - the internal or external one?

When you try this are you on an internal network or connecting across the internet?

To clarify how the alias functionality works - the GM PC connects to a Smiteworks server over the internet and tells it the alias name and the external IP address of the GM PC. When players use an alias, they connect to the same Smiteworks server over the internet and asks what the IP address for the alias they are connecting to is. The IP address returned is then used to connect over the internet.

My player is connecting using the external IP address and port forwarding on my router.

We've had perfect functionality for nearly two years, and now it is suddenly just not working.

FG "Run Test" where the FG server tests whether it can see me says "SUCCESS".

canyouseemy.org can see my port 1802.

None of my players can connect using the alias that we've used for 2 years.

But now, the external IP is working. Hopefully we don't lose that.

[Griogre]

The external IP should always work barring connection or Internet issues. Aliases are non exclusive and the last host to start with the same alias gets it. Thus you can have some people use your alias to your game and get in and then someone who is late not be able to get in because another host started a game with the same alias.

[Callum]

I've had aliases stop working before. If you have a relatively static IP address, I'd recommend just using that, instead - it also means your players don't have to go via Smiteworks to connect to you. The IP address should stay in their connection history in FG, so you won't have to keep telling them what it is.

If your IP address changes all the time, or you play with lots of different people who you don't know well, then the alias is a helpful tool.

[tpkurilla]

The external IP should always work barring connection or Internet issues. Aliases are non exclusive and the last host to start with the same alias gets it. Thus you can have some people use your alias to your game and get in and then someone who is late not be able to get in because another host started a game with the same alias.

This doesn't track with what we've observed. Even when I've generated new alias words, their display shifts back to our original words when my players connect. i.e., they type in the new words, hit Start, and the words change to the original alias words in the history list...or the connection code sees that it is me, and doesn't create another/new alias. So that alias appears to be tied to me.

If anyone can just generate an alias that others are using, this would wreak havok with trying to connect.

This also doesn't appear to explain why getting a new alias on a fresh install on a new system would not work at all either.

Something else seems to be going on here. It appears to me that somehow the aliases associated with me are somehow corrupt, and need to be purged from the system so I can start fresh.

But since I mostly just did that with a fresh install on a never-before-registered system, there may be a deeper issue.

Seems like this is at least somewhat isolated, otherwise other users would be complaining. Thus my inference that it is related to my account somehow.

I'll be stopping by the Fantasy Grounds booth at GenCon on Thursday. Maybe I'll get some more ideas first hand.

Thanks for all of the suggestions / help, guys. Even though I haven't found it yet, it really does help to have others' suggestions to try. I've just not got it cracked yet...

-Thomas

[tpkurilla]

I've had aliases stop working before. If you have a relatively static IP address, I'd recommend just using that, instead - it also means your players don't have to go via Smiteworks to connect to you. The IP address should stay in their connection history in FG, so you won't have to keep telling them what it is.

If your IP address changes all the time, or you play with lots of different people who you don't know well, then the alias is a helpful tool.

Unfortunately, my IP address isn't static. But I guess the change is infrequent enough that we should be able to work around it.

But we've used the alias for nearly two (now that I think about it...), no three(!) years. Having it suddenly not work just doesn't make any sense.

Hopefully my trip to GenCon will give me some more things to check.

-Thomas

[Trenloe]

Hopefully my trip to GenCon will give me some more things to check.
I'd not wait until GenCon - send an email to [email protected] now. You will reach the same people you will meet at GenCon and they can suggest things for you to try now and give immediate feedback - rather than just talk hypothetically face-to-face.

[Moon Wizard]

There have been rare cases where the alias words have clashed in the past. The alias generation system has enough unique combinations to theoretically keep the issue of clashing aliases in abeyance for years.

The workaround is to generate a new alias, and distribute to users.

If the user local history is not updating correctly with the new alias, that is an issue I can look into addressing in the near term.

Regards,
JPG

[tpkurilla]

There have been rare cases where the alias words have clashed in the past. The alias generation system has enough unique combinations to theoretically keep the issue of clashing aliases in abeyance for years.

The workaround is to generate a new alias, and distribute to users.

If the user local history is not updating correctly with the new alias, that is an issue I can look into addressing in the near term.

Regards,
JPG

That would be great, moon_wizard, thanks.

Hope to see you on Thursday :)

-Thomas

[Callum]

It might be worth noting that I experienced pretty much exactly this issue two years ago, as discussed in this thread (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12814). We never got to the bottom of it, and I just switched to giving my players my IP address (I switched to a new ISP who provided me with a static IP).

I just had a random thought. It seems that we both had been using the same alias with the same group of players for a long time, when it suddenly stopped working. Is there some field in a database or some counter somewhere associated with connecting via alias that could get filled up through many, many connections being made over a long period?

[Trenloe]

I just had a random thought. It seems that we both had been using the same alias with the same group of players for a long time, when it suddenly stopped working. Is there some field in a database or some counter somewhere associated with connecting via alias that could get filled up through many, many connections being made over a long period?
The player connection history is stored in the registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Fantasy Grounds\2.0\History

Perhaps try deleting all of the items under this registry key (access through the regedit application) - but not the history key itself.