Odd issue, random people connecting to my client

[Dark Jester]

Hi Team,

I've got an odd issue that's been going on for a few days now. I have a Full license for reference. When I start up Fantasy Grounds and load a campaign, randomly I will get messages saying "Unlicensed user connecting. Switching to demo mode.". When it first started happening the people were actually fully connecting. A couple started trying to make characters. So I added a password to the Campaign and that seems to have stopped the successful connects, but I still get the connect attempt messages. I've had more than 20 attempts in the last 45 minutes since I started FG tonight.

Questions:
1. Is there some sort of active server list that people are seeing me on? I looked for one, but I'm not seeing anything.
2. If not, how would other users know to connect to me? I have not given my IP or Server Alias out to anyone yet, I'm still just learning the program myself. I highly doubt they are connecting to me by IP address unless #1 is true.
3. That leaves the Server Alias I picked. I cycled through a LOT of aliases to get one I liked. More than most people would ever think of trying to sit through. What are the odds that someone would type in my alias randomly? Multiple times seems even more unlikely. Are there that many demo users out there just spamming aliases to connect to?
4. Or, could I maybe have selected an already active Server Alias? Would that even be possible? I'd think alias assignment would be handled by the FG server, and would prevent the possibility of duplicating them, but maybe it's never come up before?

With a password protected game I don't really need to worry about random people fully connecting, but I am a bit concerned that this many random connection attempts are happening when from my perspective I should not even be visible to these other users on the internet.

Please let me know if anyone has some insight on this.

Thanks,

-Dark Jester

[Nylanfs]

Change your alias, #4 is remotely possible. :)

[Trenloe]

Aliases are generated locally, not on the central FG server, so there is a possibility of there being a duplicate (however remote that may be). If you picked a cool sounding one, I suppose that could be more likely to cause a clash - pick an uncool sounding one instead! ;)

[damned]

there is a finite number of aliases. the pool is large, very large, but still it has been in use for a long time.
i think you have snafu'd someone elses alias!
one of you is going to have to get another one...

[Dark Jester]

Guess it's new alias time then. ;) I don't want to interfere with someone else's gaming.

Thanks guys.

[JohnD]

Interesting question comes to mind here; what if two people have the same alias and they are both trying to host a game at the same time?

[ddavison]

When you launch the game, it registers the alias with the server and records your external IP address. The last one registered wins and all connection attempts will hit that one. When you request a new alias it will grab the next one. This list recycles over time, but the list is quite large.

[Hector Trelane]

Put up a password and share only with your known players--should screen out those not invited.

[damned]

When you launch the game, it registers the alias with the server and records your external IP address. The last one registered wins and all connection attempts will hit that one. When you request a new alias it will grab the next one. This list recycles over time, but the list is quite large.

Can we perhaps add a few extra words to the list?
Adding another 20 words to each list would massively increase the pool...?

Or go the custom alias!

[LordEntrails]

I'd buy a custom alias for $5...

[dulux-oz]

Or go the custom alias!

I'd go for and use a custom alias (& I bet you can all guess what I'd use, too) :p

[Dark Jester]

I'd be open to paying a small fee for a custom alias as well. Sounds like a cool option if it can be done. :) I'm a guy that dropped a few hours on clicking 'generate new alias' repeatedly to cycle through the list just to get something that sounded cool to me, after all. ;) I bet I'm not the only one to do so.

[yeknom]

I'd pay upwards of $10 for a custom alias.

[JohnD]

I'd buy a custom alias for $5...

Me too.

[Andraax]

The "generate alias" thingy doesn't hand out an alias that has been used recently, so if you keep one alias and don't cycle through them all the time (like I see some GMs do), you usually won't have any problems.

The other thing that can cause this is that you are using the same ISP as someone else using FG, and you got handed their IP address. This is far more unlikely, however.

[damned]

The "generate alias" thingy doesn't hand out an alias that has been used recently, so if you keep one alias and don't cycle through them all the time (like I see some GMs do), you usually won't have any problems.

Im not sure that is correct. I believe that it just rotates through them all kinda like ipv4 address space 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.1 0.0.0.2 .... 0.0.1.0 0.0.1.1 0.0.1.2 ... etc

[Andraax]

Im not sure that is correct. I believe that it just rotates through them all kinda like ipv4 address space 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.1 0.0.0.2 .... 0.0.1.0 0.0.1.1 0.0.1.2 ... etc

So, you're saying that if I start hosting a game now, and my alias come up in half an hour when someone does a "generate alias" it will hand that alias to them and start routing it to their computer instead of mine? I think that registering a game "locks out" that alias for some period of time.

[damned]

So, you're saying that if I start hosting a game now, and my alias come up in half an hour when someone does a "generate alias" it will hand that alias to them and start routing it to their computer instead of mine? I think that registering a game "locks out" that alias for some period of time.

See post #7 in this thread.


When you launch the game, it registers the alias with the server and records your external IP address. The last one registered wins and all connection attempts will hit that one. When you request a new alias it will grab the next one. This list recycles over time, but the list is quite large.

Im not positive but there are some duplicate aliases running around these days. I think its relatively new but I think it is affecting some of the old timers....