Impossible to play with poeple

[Zakyrel]

Hello there,

I'm a DM playing with friends since 4 years with Fantasy Grounds (we own 2 full licences and 3 player licences).

Until last sunday (05/02/2017), I was able to load my campaign and play with them. We were creating new characters for new poeple to join us. But seeing that only one of them can use a demo licence, I decided to buy an ultimate upgrade key for my full licence. I bought it on sunday evening.

Since monday, impossible to join my campaign from the web. We had to cancel our evening session. Myself, I can load it, I can open another Fantasy Ground to join within my local network, but none of my friends can join. I did the connexion test and it says "Failure". I never had to test it before since it always worked.

I set back my old full key into FG settings. I test. Same issue too. I can't use my full key anymore too ?

I even uninstalled the game and empty all in the two locations FG files are. Then I rebooted the PC and installed again FG (we don't use Steam version). And same issue.

My brother tested from his house with his full key, and with my ultimate key. He has the same issue now. He didn't have any trouble before too.

Looking more in depth, I saw that all our player keys aren't working when I enter them in the settings. It says "The licence key entered is invalid". But they were working until last sunday !

I think that opening the 1802 port wouldn't help since I never had to open it before. And moreover, I tried and I didn't success to open it for now.

I just bought 110$ to be able to play with my friends and then this is not working anymore. We (7 players) really need help to understand and solve this issue.

You can contact me here but I have a Steam account "Zakyrel", a Skype account, and many more way to talk and troubleshoot (Teamviewer included).

Regards,

[Andraax]

If you're getting a failure on the connection test, that means that port 1802 is blocked somewhere. I may be blocked by your ISP and not your local system. There are others that can help you debug this.

[Zacchaeus]

In your start up screen you should see a message at the top right saying 3.2.3 Ultimate. If you do not have that then you haven't properly updated to the ultimate version of the software.

Go into settings and make sure that you have entered the correct key for your ultimate purchase. Enter your username and password. Make sure check steam for DLC isn't ticked (since you don't have anything on steam). Additionally make sure that the Data Directory is pointing at the place where your campaign data is located. Once you have done all of that click on 'Update' in the settings menu.

Once that has run and finalised check that you now have 3.2.3 Ultimate in the start up screen. If so try a connection test and then if successful see if your players can connect.

[ddavison]

All of the symptoms point to a network issue. Either the router you have for your Internet was supporting UpNp and isn't now for some reason, your router had a port forward set up that now points to an incorrect local IP address in your network or you have an anti-virus or security program blocking Fantasy Grounds on your Windows machine.

If you have a 2nd computer in your house you can use as a test, try to connect to the Local IP address shown within Fantasy Grounds. If that connects, then there is nothing on your main computer (host) that is blocking it and it is specifically a problem with your router configuration.

Once you know the local IP address and the make and model # of your Internet router, go to https://portforward.com, choose All Programs and choose Fantasy Grounds and then choose the make and model # of your router. It will show you step by step instructions with screenshots on how to add the port forward entry.

[Myrdin Potter]

Looking even deeper into the post you made, I think you are saying if you connect internally from your own network, it works. But any external connections do not work.

Have you tried disabling your firewall long enough to test to see if the connection test works? If it works without your firewall then there is some update there that is now blocking the port.

Many internet providers have started pooling IP addresses and often once they do that, port forwarding gets messed up. Was there a recent power failure or anything that would have caused a reboot and a new IP address (external or internal) to be assigned? Modem or router firmware get updated?

[swbuza]

Just a personal opinion, but UPnP is literally Hitler and should always be disabled. I would much rather know what my network is doing.

[damned]

Just a personal opinion, but UPnP is literally Hitler and should always be disabled. I would much rather know what my network is doing.

And yet in another post somewone else swears that UPnP should manage everything and you should never touch your router :) Do what works for you.
One other thing that could have happened here is an ISP change that no longer supports IPv4 port forwarding...

What country are you in Zakyrel?
Please call your ISP and tell them - "my port forwarding isnt working anymore - what did you change?"
If they dont know what you are talking about ask for another tech... :)

[Nylanfs]

Don't forget to use the secret password! (https://xkcd.com/806/)

[JohnD]

This may be something your standard Tier 1 technical support agent might not know about, just keep that in mind when you call.

[Zakyrel]

Hi there,

Thanks for your answers.

I'm from France.

To answer some questions from you :
- Yes my FG is v.3.2.3 ULTIMATE.
- I know how to forward a port to my PC with my NetGear CG3700L ; but it just doesn't work...

So far, what I've done since last time :
- I never had to do it before but I did this when reading your messages : I entered my FantasyGrounds account in the Settings and then Update, in the "Fantasy Grounds Store Purchases" frame.
- I disabled my KasperSky firewall (and make sure Windows firewall isn't active too)
- I reseted my internet Box.
- Then I tried again to forward the 1802 port, but the validation of this action still doesn't work
> Same issue

The things that are worrying me :
- As I said, my brother had the same issue in his home when testing. We have the same internet provider (Numericable), but not the same modem-rooter.
- Moreover : all our player keys aren't working anymore. When entering one of them in the Settings, it says "The licence key entered is invalid"

I'm contacting my internet provider.

Keeping in touch with you.

[Zhern]

Paging damned. damned, please report to aisle 5, connection issues.

Edit: looks like damned was already here. It is still early and I haven't had enough coffee.

[damned]

Many Euro countries have run out of IPv4 addresses and aggregate customers on to a shared address - this disables IPv4 forwarding.
If this is what has happened for you then you will need to try Hamachi or a VPN option...
You can PM me if you would like me to test/confirm your settings.

[Zakyrel]

I sent you a PM Damned.

I'm waiting for my ISP to give me news about the issue I have in my firmware. Since the last firmware update, I can't forward ports, I can't change my Wifi password, I can't see some basic info like IP, Mask, Passerel, DNS... Same issue when I reset the box.

But on the other hand, I still don't know why my player's get aren't recognized anymore by the software ? Does using a key in a new computer unvalid it ?

[Trenloe]

But on the other hand, I still don't know why my player's get aren't recognized anymore by the software ? Does using a key in a new computer unvalid it ?
I've never heard if this happening - unless, for some reason, they are using subscriptions and all of the subscriptions got cancelled - check on PayPal to see if the subscription is valid (if you're using subscriptions).

Otherwise, the only thing I can think of is that the license key isn't being entered in the top license field (not the second) in the form AAAAA-BBBBB-CCCCC-DDDDD-EEEEE - that is, 5 sets of 5 alphanumeric codes separated by the minus (-) sign. Make sure there are no spaces before or after the code.

[Moon Wizard]

Zakyrel,

Can you be more specific about your players not being recognized by the software?

* The player's license will be reflected in the version string in the launcher (FREE, ULTIMATE, or nothing (STANDARD))
* If the player is running a FREE version and you are running an ULTIMATE version, then their client will check in with our server to make sure GM license is valid ultimate license.

* Are the players getting a message about unauthorized GM copy?
* Are the players getting an unable to connect message?

Basically, I need to know the details of why they can't connect so we can help you.

JPG

[damned]

I sent you a PM Damned.

I'm waiting for my ISP to give me news about the issue I have in my firmware. Since the last firmware update, I can't forward ports, I can't change my Wifi password, I can't see some basic info like IP, Mask, Passerel, DNS... Same issue when I reset the box.

But on the other hand, I still don't know why my player's get aren't recognized anymore by the software ? Does using a key in a new computer unvalid it ?

Aye - and I emailed you back yesterday :)

[dellanx]

I had same issue with Comcast, tried to set port forwarding to 1802, did not work. Finally turned on DMZ on my router to the PC that I run FG from everything works fine. Have to set the PCs local address, one can only have one DMZ on a network I think. Something like: 168.0.10.03 Hope this helps.

[Xydonus]

I've had connection issues (but never key licensing problems) before with FG. For a pricey product, it isn't exactly a 'Buy and Play' cause port forwarding appears to be a requirement that a majority of customers have to do.

Have you tried setting a static IP? Cause that was a fix for me. Even after I port forwarded, I still had network issues. Once I set a static IP, I was sorted.

https://kb.netgear.com/27476/How-to-set-a-static-IP-address-in-Windows

[Andraax]

For a pricey product, it isn't exactly a 'Buy and Play' cause port forwarding appears to be a requirement that a majority of customers have to do.

Only the GM is required to port forward. Most customers are players only.

[Xydonus]

Only the GM is required to port forward. Most customers are players only.

I'll rephrase that then as 'majority of GM's'.

Although I'd argue that there's probably more non-paying players than there is paying as a result of ultimate users, but that's getting into statistics that I'm not aware of.

[LordEntrails]

I'll rephrase that then as 'majority of GM's'.

Although I'd argue that there's probably more non-paying players than there is paying as a result of ultimate users, but that's getting into statistics that I'm not aware of.
Regardless of the statistics or exact numbers. The current network architecture model is known as a significant hindrance, and is probably the topic that causes the most issues that we see in the community support forums. Both in the requirement for port 1802 access and IPv4 addressing.

It's also one of the key things that SmiteWorks has stated that they plan on adjusting in the unity version which is under development. So, this isssue is being addressed, its just not something that is simple to do so we will all have to wait until FGU is released for changes to the network architecture.

[damned]

I've had connection issues (but never key licensing problems) before with FG. For a pricey product, it isn't exactly a 'Buy and Play' cause port forwarding appears to be a requirement that a majority of customers have to do.

Have you tried setting a static IP? Cause that was a fix for me. Even after I port forwarded, I still had network issues. Once I set a static IP, I was sorted.

https://kb.netgear.com/27476/How-to-set-a-static-IP-address-in-Windows

Actually a significant number of people never have to set port forwarding up as UPnP works for them - still this is a bug bear and when it causes issues they are often significant for that person.

[Zakyrel]

Hello there,

I forgot to reply here.

Two weeks ago, I found what was the issue.

The last update of my Box firmware wasn't compatible with the last update of my KasperSky Antivirus IS 2017. So I had to disable totally KasperSky services to be able to allow my firends to join my FantasyGrounds session.

I was in touch with my ISP, and they took all the informations about this issue. Since about one week, we succeed to play without me disabling my KasperSky services. Wierd. I can't believe they would react that fast between my ISP and KasperSky company...

Anyway. My issue is solved. Thanks for your help guys !

[LordEntrails]

Glad you got it solved,and thanks for reporting back what was the cause :)

[snafubar]

xxx

[JohnD]

Hello there,

I forgot to reply here.

Two weeks ago, I found what was the issue.

The last update of my Box firmware wasn't compatible with the last update of my KasperSky Antivirus IS 2017. So I had to disable totally KasperSky services to be able to allow my firends to join my FantasyGrounds session.

I was in touch with my ISP, and they took all the informations about this issue. Since about one week, we succeed to play without me disabling my KasperSky services. Wierd. I can't believe they would react that fast between my ISP and KasperSky company...

Anyway. My issue is solved. Thanks for your help guys !

I've used Kaspersky for about 10 years now I think. Did you go into your list of programs and indicate FG was "trusted"? Verbiage may vary depending on the version I suppose.