tf2 server not showing in master list

[gnerstil]

I just created a tf2 server off my computer, and its running great. My friends and I have been playing on it and it works great. It's nice having a ping of about 1-5. I thought my computer would lag too playing the game while running the server, but it was working fine (there were only four people though XD).

Anyway, my only problem is we can't find the server in the master server list. My friends and I can all connect to it if we enter the IP address. I'm sure I have the config right because my script says

sv_lan 0
sv_region 0 (for U.S. East) I've also tried -1 for world.

Now I am on a router, but the thing is, I have my DMZ enabled on my computer so there is no firewall to my computer. I did this because everything would make me open ports, so I decided this would be easier and I don't care about viruses and spyware. I don't get any, and if I do I can fix it.

Anyway, I did notice something. When I click my server's info in game, it says my computer's IP to the router which is 192.168.1.103 is the actual game server IP. I connect to the server using this IP Address of course, but my friends all connect to it using my external IP. So why would the server say the IP is 192.168.1.103, when it really isn't? Hopefully this isn't too confusing, or too much work for anyone to figure out. I really appreciate any help!

[Spartanfrog]

Because you are on the same network as the server, it will only ever say the INTERNAL ip address which is 192.168.1.103. The reason it is not on the master server list is, I can almost 100% guarentee, is that you're hosting and playing on the same computer.

[gnerstil]

Thanks for the reply, but even if I'm not playing the game, my friends can't find the server.

[Drocona]

If your server doesn't list it's being blocked by something, this can range from playing the game at the same machine to hardware like routers.
In 99% of the cases it's the router, cheap home routers aren't cheap for a reason, some just won't work.
If you've done all the things we explain in almost every post about routers there's nothing you can do, the router is simply incompatible.

[Spartanfrog]

Do you close steam when you arn't playing the server?

[bifelis]

you could try adding +ip <wan_ip> to the command line and see if it helps.

[Drocona]

bifelis Wrote:you could try adding +ip <wan_ip> to the command line and see if it helps.

That never works and we always tell people NEVER to use your external Ip when you are behind a gateway, it will give the "Unable to allocate server UDP port" error or "WSA address bind failure"

[bifelis]

check what's in your sv_tags cvar from the server console. if it's not empty, your server is moved to the custom tab in the find servers dialog