Mega Man 8-bit Deathmatch > Tutorial Collection

[TUTORIAL] Port Forwarding I CANT SEE MY SERVER ON THE LIST!

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CutmanMike:
Introduction

Port Forwarding can be a huge issue when trying to host servers for your favourite PC games. MM8BDM is no exception. It can be a huge issue or a minor inconvenience depending on your router model, your technical know how and how well you can follow this guide!

Most likely you're here because you're behind a router, or have tried to host a MM8BDM server and failed. This tutorial will help you get started on your short/long journey to getting your router to understand that you want people to be able to connect to you!

Understanding you router

It took me a while to figure it all out because there were hardly any guides out there at the time. Today you can usually find helpful guides or forum posts that explain how it all works, but back when I started this it was all guess work.

First of all, you may or may not know that your router actually houses multiple IP addresses. The two you're going to be interested in are you external and internal IP addresses. Your internal IP address is your computer's IP address. It's usually something like 192.168.0.*. If you have more computers that use the router, you'll have the same IP but usually with a different last number. So for example you could have 192.138.0.1 for your computer and 192.138.0.2 for another computer. These are NOT the IP address that other players will connect to. Your external IP address, can be found at http://www.whatismyip.com and is the IP for the router. This is the IP address that people to connect to (and the one you give out, if you want friends to connect to directly).

Now the great thing about routers is that they're very secure. Unless you specify, certain connections will not be made and it will be impossible for you to host servers for games like Skulltag. What you need to tell your router is which ports are open for each individual computer. This usually involves going on to your router's admin page and simply adding your computer's internal IP address to a list of open ports. How complicated and how much effort is required to do this, is totally up to the manufacturer of your router. Some can be rather simple, while others can be so locked down you have to phone them up to give you access.

Opening the port(s)

IMPORTANT: ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO BACKTRACK THROUGH YOUR STEPS

The first thing you need to do is find out what your computer's INTERNAL IP address is. The easiest way to find this out (for windows users), is to hit the start button and click run (OR windows key + R). Then type cmd and hit enter. You'll get a lovely dos box pop up. In here type ipconfig.



You should see something like this. IP Address is your EXTERNAL. Default gateway is your INTERNAL IP address, which is the one we're after.

Now that we have our internal IP address, type it into the address bar of Internet Explorer. Yup that's right. You should get a login prompt pop up. If you don't know what the login and password is, it's most likely still the default one. Do a google search for your router model and "default password", usually you'll find one fairly easily. If it doesn't work, ask the one who pays the bills (your parents prehaps). If that one happens to be you, and you don't know your own password, you'll probably have to phone your internet provider up and they'll tell you what it is.

Your next step is to open the port for your INTERNAL IP. This is where things can get a bit grey. As most routers differ I can only give you hints to find what you need. Some routers just flat out say "Port Forwarding", while others label them as "Services" or some other weird name. When you've found it, it will usually ask you for your IP address and the port you want to open. The default port for Skulltag servers is 10666 but it can be anything (as long as that anything is the same port you host your sever with). Some routers will have multiple places to put this.

For some help, try searching on google for your router name and "port forward". Usually you'll find either an official guide from the manufacturer or a question and answer on a forum. Google is your best friend here, unless you happen to know someone with the same or similar router. If you give up, your last option is to phone customer support and get them to walk you through it. Sorry!

When you've opened the port (or you think you have) test it out by trying to host a server and see if it shows up on the server list.

Good luck! Post here if you need help and we'll try our best to get you hosting!  :mrgreen:

Zellough:
i tried opening a port but my server is still nonfindable... i got a linksys router wrt54g v8

CutmanMike:
Post some screenshots of your port forwarding screens on your router menu to see if we can help out

Zellough:
Oh nevermind thanks sorry for the trouble, i was able to fix it with the halp of my brutha

Blueiscooltoo:


What am I doing wrong? I add this and save it, and my server doesn't do anything.

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