Yet Another Internet Absent TF2 Server

[visualtim]

Wow, so many people are having problems with this, myself including.

Here is my problem: I start up a TF2 server. I open up steam and look for it in the Servers window (I don't start the game). It appears in LAN, but nowhere in Internet. I had my friend try to connect via IP and he couldn't find it either.

Yes, I'm running SRCDS and not the Team Fortress 2 Dedicated Server tool located in Steam.

Here is what my tf.bat looks like:

Code:

start orangebox\srcds.exe -console -game tf +map pl_goldrush +maxplayers 30

Here is the console output during startup:

Quote:Particles: Missing 'particles/error.pcf'
maxplayers set to 30
maxplayers set to 30
Network: IP 192.168.1.102, mode MP, dedicated Yes, ports 27015 SV / 27005 CL
Executing dedicated server config file
--------------------------------------------------------
sv_pure set to 1.
Note: Changes to sv_pure take effect when the next map is loaded.
--------------------------------------------------------
exec banned_user.cfg: file size larger than 1 MB!
exec banned_ip.cfg: file size larger than 1 MB!
Writing cfg/banned_user.cfg.
Writing cfg/banned_ip.cfg.
Unknown command "mp_autoteambalance_delay"
Unknown command "mp_autoteambalance_warning_delay"
exec: couldn't exec pl_goldrush.cfg
Adding master server 69.28.140.246:27011
Adding master server 69.28.140.247:27011
Connection to Steam servers successful.
VAC secure mode is activated.

The (important) part of server.cfg is:

Code:

hostname "Cephalopod Nexus"
IP 71.37.218.56
hostport 27018
sv_lan 0
mp_maxrounds 5
sv_pure 1
sv_consistency 1
sv_region 1

If I query the srcds console for "ip" and "hostport", those are the same values I get. I got my IP by looking it up at P2P Connection Checker.
Curiously enough, when I put in "27018" through the port, the UDP connects, but the TCP fails to connect.

My computer is a Windows XP that runs through a Linksys WRT54G Router, Firmware Version: v1.02.5. The computer's IP that runs the server is 192.168.1.102. I port forwarded like so:

Quote:SteamServ1 27000 to 27039 Both 192.168.1.102 Enabled

(Both means both TCP and UDP.)

I even got frustrated at one point, shut down the computer, disconnected the router from the modem, hooked up the ethernet straight to the modem, and then tried it all again with both server.cfg IP AND "localhost" as IP and still no change.

I use Norton Personal Firewall 2006 and I'm pretty sure that's not the issue. And to make sure, I occasionally disable the firewall to see if that worked or not.

I'm not sure what else to try, or if I missed something and am doing some step blatently wrong. Has it something to do with TCP failing on P2P Connection Checker? Is it at all possible to even see my server listed in the Internet Server list on Steam when I'm looking from the same computer? Or am I only going to see it pop up under the LAN tab? What else can I try that I haven't done yet?

Halp preez.

[Doggie52]

Here's a bunch of problems and a few solutions:

FIRST of all, NEVER write "localhost" as the IP, it will loop your connection to Steam around and nobody but the server-computer will be able to connect.
Also, writing your external IP as the IP will also cause problems! Use your internal IP and nothing but your internal IP !

SECOND of all, as far as I'm concerned, IP and hostport aren't console commands, but instead you should use -ip (also try +ip, I'm not certain as I don't need to use it) and -port in the start-up parameters! Please, someone, prove me wrong on this one, I am not sure about orangebox games!

THIRD of all, is there an option in your router to put your computer on DMZ (open all ports completely) ? Try that for a limited amount of time and whether it works or not you might know that the port forwarding is wrong.

FOURTH of all, remember the difference between the internal and external IP (192.168.1.102 and 71.37.218.56 respectively)!

Hope this helps!

[visualtim]

Yes, my router does let me open up all my ports with DMZ. When I have time later today or early tomorrow, I'll get one of my friends to help me see about that.

And I've set my IP on srcds as the internal IP addy now.

But wow, you were right about the console IP and hostport command!
Even though when I typed in "hostport" in the server console window it would always come up what with I wanted. But when I looked at the Server list (Steam) under the LAN tab, the port was still 27015! I went to my server.cfg, commented out the "ip 192.168.1.102" and the "hostport 27018". Then I went to the tf.bat and added "-ip 192.168.1.102 -port 27018" to the end and saved. I quit the server, started it up again, and now in the Server List under LAN, it says "27018"! Also, when it starts up, it now says "ports 27018 SV / 27005 CL"

So this could be one of two things. Either A) Steam doesn't update the server ip/ports when changes are made after the server has started up or B) the commands "ip" and "hostport" do NOT work in either server.cfg or as a command in the console for assigning values. I learned the safest way to assign these would be -ip and -port in the tf.bat file.

Finally, I tried to start the server with "-ip 71.37.218.56" in tf.bat (for shits and giggles) and it gave me an error with "Couldn't allocate any server IP port", an error it never gave me when I (mistakenly) assigned my external IP in the server.cfg.

Like I said before, I'll test this out later with a friend and I'll report any findings whether they are successful or not.

[Doggie52]

It's the latter of the two possibilities you described; ip and hostport are not cvars at all. The "safest", and really the only, way of setting them is by doing it through the startup parameters.

But you should also note that startup parameters are different from cvars or console commands. You can only set a certain amount of things in the startup parameters, and only things that need to be (as you said) assigned "before" the server starts !

Hope this helped, but you're saying it's still not working?

[visualtim]

Yeah, it's still not working.

I had a friend try to join via the address (ip:port) and he couldn't. He couldn't after I completely disabled Norton and he couldn't after I set the router to DMZ.

I don't know what else it could be. Any more ideas?

[trewq]

visualtim Wrote:Yeah, it's still not working.

I had a friend try to join via the address (ip:port) and he couldn't. He couldn't after I completely disabled Norton and he couldn't after I set the router to DMZ.

I don't know what else it could be. Any more ideas?

Windows Firewall?

[visualtim]

Windows Firewall has been off ever since I got Norton.
...but just to make sure, I double-checked and, yes, it's still disabled.

So it shouldn't be Windows Firewall.

[pengy]

1. If your running a server uninstall all symantec products (including norton), they just suck.. period, even when it says its off, its still on, taking up your resources, running folding@ home would use the same amount of resources but be better for the whole world.
2. Try doing a port forward to just 27018 udp and 1200 tcp
3. I would reccommend getting DDWRT as a firmware for that router
4. Make sure hes connecting through your external ip @ http://www.whatismyip.com

[Jazz]

I'm having the exact same problem as this with my brand new linux based server. I also have the same router (WRT54G) except I'm running OpenWRT firmware. My server connects, gives me the exact same output as this and I can see traffic to/from various IPs on port 27015 but I still can't see it in the server list.

I have subscribed to this thread and hopefully someone will be able to drop some hints soon. It's doing my head in.

[Mooga]

Servers that are on your local LAN will ALWAYS show up on your LAN.
Other viewers should be able to see the server on the internet list.

[L33t_Of_Lag]

good luck getting rid of norton ,
as for the issue, sounds like port issue. Can they see it in the master list?

[Jazz]

Mooga Wrote:Servers that are on your local LAN will ALWAYS show up on your LAN.
Other viewers should be able to see the server on the internet list.

How I read it was that it will show up in BOTH. But I think you are totally correct that from my LAN it will ONLY show up in the LAN list and not in the internet list. This was confirmed this morning when I found 2 players using my server. So, it looks like I don't have an issue after all....

[Mooga]

It does this so that users can find LAN games easily.
As to why it doesn't show it on the internet list as well... I'm not 100% sure why that's done. It seems like more of a side-effect of something then being hard coded...

[rodregis]

Jazz Wrote:

Mooga Wrote:Servers that are on your local LAN will ALWAYS show up on your LAN.
Other viewers should be able to see the server on the internet list.

How I read it was that it will show up in BOTH. But I think you are totally correct that from my LAN it will ONLY show up in the LAN list and not in the internet list. This was confirmed this morning when I found 2 players using my server. So, it looks like I don't have an issue after all....

Any locally hosted server I have run manages to show up on both LAN and Internet tab's. The only problem is when people try and join me on my locally hosted server from the friends list in steam and they get my internal server IP instead of what it's forwarding to.

[visualtim]

1. Yeah, I am not going to uninstall Norton. That would be stupid.
2. I'll try, but I'm sure that'll produce the same results.
3. What.
4. He's connecting through my external, yes.

I really don't mind that I can only see my server in the LAN tab. It's just that my friends cannot connect period. And no, they cannot see it in the Master List. I've tried getting them to connect by adding my ip:port address (external IP) to the favourites, and then connecting that way. (It'd be easier if I could get the console up, but I guess TF2 doesn't have that whereas CS1.6 did.)

What's different from Jazz is that I haven't had anyone ever connect to my server, but I guess I'll just have to run for a really long time just to make sure.