Alias / IP address Question

[ShotGun Jolly]

Not so much of a problem, just more of a question.

When I ask people to join my game via the alias. Does that mean that they are connecting through the(a) Fantasy Grounds server (Not even sure if that is how this works) and then it gets routed back to me?

Or if I ask them to connect directly via the IP Address, does that bypass said server (if that is what happens) and connect directly to me?

I guess what I am trying to find out, is if there is a overall better performance if you pick one way or the other? Or is the point of the alias just to make typing in the address easier for others to remember?

And lastly. If I am on a network that does not connect to the internet, can I still have players connect to me if they use the internal IP address?

Thanks

[Nylanfs]

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, the all the alias does is register your IP with the FG server in a semi-encrypted form, they put the alias in it queries the FG server for what IP address is associated with alias x and then connects to that IP directly. There shouldn't be much (if any) of a performance difference in the beginning and none during the game.

They can connect to your IP address if they are all on the same network.

Edit: I should clarify they can connect to you ONLY if everyone has a full license. If you have an ultimate and they don't have any license. Every time somebody tries to connect to you your instance will try and verify that your license is actually a Ultimate and if you do not have a internet connection this will fail.

[darrenan]

The alias you get back from the FG server is not related to your IP address at all, it is time based. If you sit on the launch screen and repeatedly press the generate alias button you can see that the server is just incrementing through a list of known words every second or two. I'm sure Doug or MW could provide specifics here, but that's what I have observed.

[Trenloe]

To explain the complete process. When the GM starts their campaign they briefly connect to the FG server to store their external IP address against the last alias selected before starting the campaign (for most people this will remain the same unless you generate a new alias). This means that if the GM's external IP address changes it will always be refreshed when they start up their campaign.

You can see this in the GM FG console.log file:

[16.04.2015 20:22:57] Runtime Notice: Initializing DirectX
[16.04.2015 20:22:57] Runtime Notice: Initializing COM
[16.04.2015 20:22:58] Runtime Notice: Fantasy Grounds starting
[16.04.2015 20:23:04] Runtime Notice: Refreshing alias
[16.04.2015 20:23:04] Runtime Notice: Alias refresh result = Success
[16.04.2015 20:23:04] Runtime Notice: Host session started

Likewise, on the player side, when they "Join Game" with an alias, they briefly connect to the FG server to resolve the alias entered into an IP address (IP address changed to ww.xx.yy.zz for security):

[16.04.2015 20:25:23] Runtime Notice: Initializing DirectX
[16.04.2015 20:25:23] Runtime Notice: Initializing COM
[16.04.2015 20:25:24] Runtime Notice: Fantasy Grounds starting
[16.04.2015 20:25:54] Runtime Notice: Resolving alias
[16.04.2015 20:25:55] Runtime Notice: Alias translate result = ww.xx.yy.zz
[16.04.2015 20:25:55] Runtime Notice: User 'Player' attempting connection to 'ww.xx.yy.zz:1802' using alias 'good thug dead ninja'

[Griogre]

And lastly. If I am on a network that does not connect to the internet, can I still have players connect to me if they use the internal IP address?

Yes, assuming they are also on the local LAN. In fact if you have someone on the same LAN as you they *have* to use the internal IP address. Note you can have a mixture of people connecting through external and local IP addresses.

[damned]

darrenan you are correct the actual code is time based. but what happens next is what Trenloe says - your IP address gets recorded against that Alias and then players clients request the Alias from the FG server which tells them the IP address.
Its very similar to what happens when you type in a website address in your browser - a DNS server reports back the IP address to your browser.



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