Seeking Help, Port Forwarding / Triggering

[Risla]

Hello all!

I'm hoping someone here can help me out with my router forwarding and/or triggering problem(s).

I've finally gotten into Horizons, created a charactor, and even played the game for a bit. I'd previously thought I couldn't get in because of my ISP (one wich is somewhat notorious for blocking ports) but it turned out the problem was in my router. (Whoops!)

I understand that I need ports 47701-47704 and 47101-47110 open to play Horizons.

My setup is as such.

My computer has a static IP addy.

My router is a Linksys BEFSR41v4 with Firmware Version 1.04.05 (the lastest available for this router, as far as I can tell at the linksys site).

I've never tried these both set up at the same time, my understanding was I need one or the other... hmm... mabye I SHOULD try them both at once!

Here are the router settings I've tried -
(and here's to hoping this formats allright!)

PORT TRIGGERING SETUP

Applications & Gaming > Port Triggering >

                     Triggered Range            Forwarded Range
Application       Start Port End Port         Start Port   End Port
horizons           47701   to   47704          47701     to   47704
horizons           47101   to   47110          47101     to   47110[/FONT]

PORT FORWARDING SETUP

Applications & Gaming > Port Range Forwarding

                       Port Range
Application    Start   End    Protocol    IP Address   Enabled
horiz1        47701   47704   TCP & UDP   (my IP addy)    yes
horiz2        47101   47110   TCP & UDP   (my IP addy)    yes

Does any of the above look wrong?

What is confusing is, sometimes one or the other will work, sometimes neither will work.... wichever method I pick, forwarding or triggering, I seem to have a 1/3 shot of actually getting into the game.

That is to say, I will actually make it into the game between my first and sixth attempt, usually around the third.

When I don't make it in, it's because the game just stalls at the "Receiving Charactor Stats" screen, and then I get a shlew of transport errors.

Needless to say it's somewhat frustrating!

Anyhow, any advice on this would be much appreciated!

-Risla

Also, I should point out, I know this is a router problem because if I bypass my router I am in, sleezy easy. (And no, I really can't just bypass the router to play, as my husband and I share a network, and to further complicate things HE wants to play Horizons too!)

[Ulkesh]

i've never needed to configure port forwarding on any router to get into hz, but if you do you want port forwarding and not triggering.

you need to make sure you have the ports both opened and forwarded to the correct place. one issue is though, if you have 2 computers trying to run horizons and all the ports specifically forwarded to your ip, then the other pc might have issues since the router is sending all hz related packets to your ip.

however, since each pc is initiating the packet transfer, forwarding shouldnt be needed as reflexive forwarding is pretty much always in effect for routers.

if you are the only one playing hz, and removing the firewall fixes your problems, you can always just add your ip to the dmz.

note that you won't have any firewall protection and will be open to the random bot/worm attacks that are constantly floating around the internet, but if your system is patched and up to date that wont be as big of an issue. at least until the next one hits....

[Risla]

Thanks for the response Ulkesh.

I'll try to keep working on forwarding then, and not triggering. At least I've got a direction to focus on now! Thanks!

I don't think I'll bother with the DMZ option, as my husband and I are really hoping to play together.

I just don't understand why it's so ... spotty.

Also, if I make a change (say disable forwarding, and then re-enable it) and save the changes, I usually get right into the game. It's allmost as though the forwarding settings are falling asleep, and trying to launch the game just isn't enough to wake them.

Heh, you know I'm in over my head when I start applying personable terms like "sleeping" to a piece of hardware!

-Risla

[Risla]

Just to clarify, when I read "Horizons needs ports 47701 - 47704 and 47101 - 47110", does that mean specifically ports

47701 47702 47703 47704
47101 47102 47103 47104 47105 47106 47108 47109 47110
, each and every one?

I'm just wondering if I should continue forwarding in "ranges" as I am, or if I should pick fewer, more specific ports.

Should I be forwarding TCP, or UDP, or both?

-Risla

[Ulkesh]

according to the support site it uses all ports in between and UDP.

do you have a software firewall installed? if so give the horizons.exe file complete exemption from any rules.

it is possible the router is timing out on forwards "sleeping"
if you can get your hands on another router to test it out that might help narrow it down. i prefer dlink or netgear over linksys, ive had way to much trouble with linksys equipment.

[tramsan]

Do NOT use DMZ! This effectively hangs your computer's butt out there, a ripe target for any who come along. DMZ should only ever be used in very specific testing circumstances and generally never with a Windows box.

After googling around for a bit it seems your particular router has a lot of problems in general. You could try powercycling it (remembering to check your IPs afterwards), switching the router to/from DHCP mode (changing your Windows machines' IP settings accordingly), stopping all other internet applications (specifically intensive ones like Torrents, etc), disabling the UPnP services on your Windows machines (they sometimes create lots of connections, which this router is allergic to).

Or you could take the router back and ask for a refund and use the money to buy, say, a Netgear router or something.

[Daeanor]

Port forwarding and triggering only affect incoming connections. They do not apply to HZ at all, because the connection is established by your own computer going out, not but the game server contacting you. You are chasing a red herring. If anything, you have a firewall issue. I can tell you this for sure: I have the exact same router, and I have never ever set up any forwarding or triggering to get any game to work, including HZ. The only way you would need to use it is if you were running the game server. You are wasting your time diddling with the router.

[HappyFunBall]

Port forwarding and triggering only affect incoming connections. They do not apply to HZ at all, because the connection is established by your own computer going out, not but the game server contacting you. You are chasing a red herring. If anything, you have a firewall issue. I can tell you this for sure: I have the exact same router, and I have never ever set up any forwarding or triggering to get any game to work, including HZ. The only way you would need to use it is if you were running the game server. You are wasting your time diddling with the router.

I agree. I've had 3 different routers, and never had to mess with the ports on the router for the game to work.

Some people had said they had a problem with ZoneAlarm, but I have the latest ZoneAlarm suite, and can get into Hz just fine. I would never use DMZ like the other poster said. It's like inviting hackers to hijack your pc.

Try *temporarily* disabling all firewall software, including XP's firewall and trying the game again.

You don't have an X-Fi or Audigy 2 do you?