(minor bug) - shared connection problem

[DarkFox]

Just thought I'd post this as 'minor' since not that many people play over a shared connection.

If someone on a shared internet connection hosts a game, then someone else on that connection also tries to host a game, it seems that battlezone 2 1.3 completely locks up for the second player that tries hosting. I had to reset my computer over this.

Not a massive deal, but worth posting.

[OvermindDL1]

Its waiting for the connection, it does connect to the GS matchmakers, ping and all, but when it attemps to transfer the game information it will not sync as the router routes everything to the first connection as it has priority.  Would need to find someway to do it on a different port, but I am not sure BZ2 or even Gamespy has that capabaility.  I have not messed with Gamespy in that regard so I am unsure.

[DarkFox]

Obviously it'd need a port change to work, but my thinking was more along the lines of 'stop trying after waiting for 20 seconds', rather than 'get multiple servers on one connection working'.

[PhoeniX-FlamE]

in 1.2 if 2 brohters / sisters wanted to play in same server they had to click "join game" at the EXACT same time...


if 1 do it before the other only 1 will get in and the other wont be able...
is it fixed? it seems to be belong to same topic

[DarkFox]

Facts:
1.3 supports Network Address Translation.
in 1.3 two players on the same connection can join an external server without having to both click 'join' at the same time.

My assumption:
In 1.2, two people trying to join the same server does not work because the messages sent to your IP address become very confused. 1 player is in the game, and all of a sudden his computer is asking for game-joining data. It confuses the server, and causes a crash for the two clients trying to get in.

Since the gamestate information and settings upon joining a server is about the only message a server sends specifically to a client (rather than sending info to ALL clients), one can successfully connect a whole local network to an online server simply by all asking for this information at the same time, ie. all clicking 'join server' and 'start game' at the same time.


In 1.3 NAT is supported, which effectively allows the server to distinguish two computers despite the fact that they both share the same external IP. For this reason, in 1.3, two or more people on a local network (more frequently housemates than brothers and sisters, in my experience), can indeed join an external online server without having to all click join at the same time.
This problem is a different one, this is a bug when two players on a single connection try to each host their own internet game. Obviously the second player tries to host a game, but receives no response from gamespy, and sits there trying indefinately. As I said, if it *stopped* trying after about 20 seconds it would stop a computer lockup.