My ISP uses a masquerade....

[racerblue]

My question is, how does the "Alias" Feature for FG work?

I can't host games behind the masquerade, but if the FG server can be used instead, I will seriously consider purchasing this software.

[Dupre]

The alias works like a dynamic DNS service so the actual game connections are made directly between the host and clients.

Our server contains a database which links aliases to IPs so when you start hosting a game, your external IP is linked to an alias. When a player enters an alias in their connection screen, the software fetches the corresponding IP from our database.

You can get go around nearly any router, firewall configuration if you know what kind of setup it is. By default, the software uses port 1802 for the connections, but you can override that with a command line parameter(e.g."-p80") if you prefer to use a specific port.

However, if you are hosting behind a firewall that blocks all incoming connections regardless of port, then you wouldn't be able to host.

[racerblue]

My problem is that I have no external IP. The external IP address is always the one that corresponds to the ISP's router...so I'm always "hidden" behind his router.

I played neverwinter nights from bioware for several years, but couldn't host games there either.

So, I suppose there is no hope for me then?

[racerblue]

I assume the person DMing has to be the host...

[racerblue]

What connection speed is neccessary to host a game. I could use a dial up service, but the speed is very slow..28.8

[Dupre]

If you have no control over the router, you will not able to host a game. We might introduce a service which acts as a middle man for all communications so that everyone could host regardless of routers.

You could technically run a game with a 28.8k connection, but using maps/images would be too slow.