Our ReVolt Pub

This is progressing very nicely.

Another important thing. Re-Volt and LAN support.

A few players reported that Re-Volt for LAN doesn't always work, even if the connection system in Re-Volt 1.2 has been optimized (I assume?).
Or at least that's what it looks like by seeing that there's no way to write local IP anymore.

Last_cuban investigated a little more about it and this is what he wrote on Revolt Live:

Last_cuban in Revolt Live wrote:Hi

I have found out why Re-Volt will not connect on a LAN to other local computers. After Windows XP Microsoft did not put in the IPX/SPX drivers/dll/protocols as standard.

Re-Volt requires this as far as I know.

I have found compatible files and instructions to add the appropriate protocol for Windows 7 64-bit Pro, at least.

I have tested it and I can now race over my LAN with another computer.

Can someone else please verify this or say that this is not a new fix.

Go to my website where the link is to the files with instructions: http://www.revoltxtg.co.uk

Thx

LC

Can you confirm / deny / add a solution for this problem?

We all want a robust multiplayer system that doesn't have these weakness.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
As a separate comment, maybe you'd like to read this topic:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Revolt_Live/ ... topic=2791

Very interesting. Don't doubt to read it all.

This was an UPnP problem afterall and it could be solved, but by showing you this I hope you can have an idea of what kind of problematic situations people have to deal with.

Thanks.

Me and a friend are having serious issues with the Revolt 1.2 Alpha LAN multiplayer mode.

It seems like there is no way to manually add an IP address, but my friend and I are unable to find each other games when we host them.

Firewall is down, UPnP has been turned on and off, the ports are opened, and we can play online games with RV House, but the LAN multiplayer mode simply doesn't seem to work.

We are both using Windows 7.

Any ideas on what we can do? Is this a known issue? Are we doing something wrong?

I'm splitting this topic from the main v1.2 thread as this sounds like a specific issue than need a specific investigation and answer, unless Huki already knows more about it than I do (hmm, what is Windows 7, actually?... ). Better open a new thread so that infos about this issue don't get lost in the main discussion.

BTW, there's just something I found weird already, by reading the 2 topics reported by Phantom. Both were dealing with Windows 7. In one topic the solution is to force the installation of the missing IPX support, in the other the solution is only to disable UPnP. It means it works even without IPX installation here... So why was it needed in the other case? That's weird.

I assume it is a Windows 7 issue as Cuban thinks but I'm not sure.

Today other 3 guys entered in RV House whith the specific intention to know how to play on LAN. The 3 computers had Windows 7. Re-Volt doesn't find any games in the other side.

Is Port Forwarding really needed when trying to play on LAN? I always thought it's not needed for a LAN party. Or maybe it is for the host only?

With this confussion I can't determine if the problem comes from the router or windows7.

Last_cuban wrote:I have found out why Re-Volt will not connect on a LAN to other local computers. After Windows XP Microsoft did not put in the IPX/SPX drivers/dll/protocols as standard.

Re-Volt requires this as far as I know.

In fact IPX is only optional for LAN play - you can just as well connect through TCP / IP by keeping the Host Computer field blank (manually entering the host's internal IP address would work too). It's interesting nevertheless that IPX support can be added back to Vista and above. Note that the last Alpha doesn't use IPX even if it is available, but we would consider supporting it if it has benefits over TCP for LAN play.

I think I've heard of the UPnP problem before. UPnP seems to mess with DirectPlay connectivity, but I'm not sure if it only affects LAN using TCP/IP or LAN using IPX too. One question though: can Win7 players over the internet (from different routers) connect through RV House with UPnP enabled?

Armagedda wrote:It seems like there is no way to manually add an IP address, but my friend and I are unable to find each other games when we host them.

You can manually enter the IP address if you select Internet instead of LAN. Does that work? Also, can you tell me the IP address of both the computers? (for the host it's displayed at the top right corner in re-volt).

Phantom wrote:Is Port Forwarding really needed when trying to play on LAN? I always thought it's not needed for a LAN party. Or maybe it is for the host only?

Well no, port forwarding is not needed for LAN.

jigebren wrote:hmm, what is Windows 7, actually?

Windows with a license to kill (gun sold separately).

One question though: can Win7 players over the internet (from different routers) connect through RV House with UPnP enabled?

Yep, I have no problems.

I have to give special Thanks to abdellatif for the patience and time involved to do the following tests. He came yesterday asking to me how to play on LAN (yeah, LAN parties are becoming very popular it seems) so I took the chance to do some tests.
Router involved: TP Link TD-W8951ND. A very common router and one of the best.

References:
PC1 = A laptop with Windows 7 with ports correctly opened
PC2 = A laptop with Windows 8 with DMZ enabled

A ) - Results for Online tests in RV House:
Both PC1 & PC2 can join when somebody else is hosting in RV House.

When PC2 hosts in RV House, PC1 can't join.
When PC1 hosts in RV House, PC2 can join.

This means the computer using DMZ is allowed to join Races, not to host.
It's a good thing, better than nothing.

B ) - Results for LAN tests:
When PC1 hosts, PC2 can't join.
When PC2 hosts, PC1 can't join.

Then I asked the user to check in Router settings if UPnP was on. Yes it was activated since this comes enabled by default in almost all routers. There was still hope !
So he turned it Off and we repeated the tests.

When PC1 hosted, PC2 couldn't join.
When PC2 hosted, PC1 couldn't join.



Yes, I know. Life sucks.

In conclussion, Re-Volt doesn't work on LAN for Windows 7 & 8 at least.
We will repeat the tests tomorrow using vmware to see if with WindowsXP he can play.

Huki wrote:

jigebren wrote:hmm, what is Windows 7, actually?

Windows with a license to kill (gun sold separately).

Yes I understand that working with Windows 7 may be complicated for you or frustrating sometimes like now, but asking the people to migrate to Linux or other systems is something we can't even imagine. It's an irreality that will just not happen.

These results are very odd to me - I play over LAN with Windows 7 against other computers running Windows 7 weekly and have typically no issues. We play either over LAN via Ethernet cable, Wi-fi or ad-hoc and do not experience issues in either modes. We are typically at least three computers connected at once. Joining/Hosting via Linux also works, though it requires special configuration settings when playing over ad-hoc (else it won't connect to Windows-created ad-hoc networks at all).

The only thing disabled while we play is Windows Firewall. We play using the latest Re-Volt 1.2 Alpha patch in Simulation mode.


We only experience issues from time to time when we are on a network with a very uncommon configuration (proxy/NAS/whatever). In these cases we just fire up a wireless ad-hoc-network which we never have problems with.

That's weird. From all the computers from players in RV House I tried I could never make it work. You must be very lucky person.

What router are you using? Is it Windows 7 Pro/Home 32-bit ?

The router differs depending on where we play. When we play at my place we play through a noname router provided by the service provider. In other cases it's a D-link or a Linksys - I don't know exactly, as it differs greatly where we are playing. Over ad-hoc there is no router involved of course, it's a direct wireless connection between laptops. We are using Windows 7 Professional 32-bit or 64-bit (differs depending on the player) and sometimes Windows 8 (don't know which version though).

Btw, just to be sure, you are not trying to play over LAN via RV House, are you?

urne wrote:Btw, just to be sure, you are not trying to play over LAN via RV House, are you?

I don't even know how that can be made.

For online I mean every computer creates a different account and both join a room in RV House, and launch from it like we always did. This method uses Internet as far as I know.

For LAN game I mean they don't use RV House at all. The host opens revolt from shortcut, goes to Multiplayer, creates a game, chooses LAN in the mode selector and waits in the waiting room while hosts tries to join the same way.

I see, in that case I am clueless as to why it does not work for you. We have been playing Re-Volt over LAN on ~10 different computers on ~5 different network setups over the last 2 years and have rarely had issues. o.o

Windows with a license to kill (gun sold separately).

Im using Linux and indeed it's a lot better than Windows in everything except Windows gaming.

I am only asking this question because it have to be asked but: Did all computers run Re-Volt with administrator priviligues?

When we play with Windows 7 we play without any thirdparty firewalls, no windows firewall activated, no thirdparty anti-virus, and with no UAC activated.

Also, try turn off the Ipv6 module (temporarily) - I remember we had trouble on one computer once and that fixed it for us.

Also also, I can definitely advice you to try see if creating a ad-hoc network works for you. 90 % of all our LAN races is over ad-hoc because it works, every time without lag. If ad-hoc network works then we can be sure that it actually IS windows which is the source to the problem and not other variables like your router / network set-up.

I have fresh news for you. It was the Automatic game detection method on LAN mode that is not working. It doesn't do the job.

Today I had the chance to test with other 2 new guys at RV House.

We tested on a ZTE W300 and later with a NETGEAR WGR614. Same results.
Alpha 1225 + Build D installed.
Windows Firewalls Both Off.
Ports correctly forwarded.
DMZ for the 2nd pc.
UPnP off.
@Huki: You said the opposite but absolutely every router I help with teamviewer in rv house comes with UPnP activated by default. I turn it off manually. It's been over 25 routers last month.

When testing on LAN mode, the host creates but the guest cannot find any games in the network.
The automatic detection doesn't bring any result.

Then I remembered to test by choosing Internet mode this time, and writing the Host's Internal IP (e.g. 192.168.1.33) and pressing Join. He could find the game perfectly and they are playing now.

@Phantom
I'm still surprised that you're talking at the same time about LAN, and about ports forwarding / RVHouse, so I'm afraid there's a misunderstanding here...

Do we agree that LAN means Local Areas Network? Which means you and the others guys are located on the "same side" of the router. To make it clear, it implies the IP of all players (the internal IP or LAN IP) start with the same numbers, as we're not talking about the external IP (the WAN IP, which would be the same for all players BTW, and would not be appropriate here). Just for info the internal IP is what you get using ipconfig in Windows. The external IP is your router IP.

In that case there's no need for RVHouse, and no ports forwarding either.

Otherwise you're trying to connect to a distant player (using an external IP), and in that case using LAN mode will obviously not work.

Can you clarify which situation you're actually into?

lol it seems you didn't understand what i wrote, but i can't blame you. Since you aren't in RV House you don't know how many people i've helped in the last years using TeamViewer in any issues related with re-volt.

The thing is that new players come to RV House every single day asking any kind of questions, and lately one of these questions is 'guys, how can i play on lan with my brother or friends here?'.
Then I give them instructions and if necessary, I take the chance to check their network settings using teamviewer, for both host pc and guests, if everything is allright. and I try many things until I get their problem solved, most times it ends up succesfully and they leave happy, but the good thing of teamviewer is that I can do it as if I were there, right next to them. Because most times they don't have a clue what options to choose, but I do. And if i can help then, why not doing it.

Ofcourse I know what an internal ip is, and i know what lan and internet play means, i've helped new people in rv house for the last 7 years at least, and not much has changed since 2006. I added the ports information to my post just to make it clear that we used every resource possible to allow the connections, even the ports wich in theory have no relationship with lan games being blocked, i just added that info as a note in case u are curious.
And obviusly we don't do the lan tests through RV House. we just use the house for the chat and the internal menu of the game for the lan tests.

Hey, no offence was intended. Let's say I didn't add the small explanation only for you but also for anyone else reading the topic, which may not be as smart as you are regarding LAN/router config...

Phantom @ Jun 10 2013, 11:16 AM wrote:...and writing the Host's Internal IP (e.g. 192.168.1.33) and pressing Join.

...and before you edited your post this was actually not that clear. Once again, I won't blame you for giving detailed information, but mentioning ports forwarding for that issue was rather misleading. Hence my question.

Don't worry! Sorry for not being clear enough.

Let's continue trying to find a way to fix this issue for the benefit of those lan players.

i had problems with my win7 computers finding revolt hosted games over LAN until I read the solution on this page referred by Phantom:
http://z3.invisionfree.com/Revolt_Live/ ... topic=2791
LowVoltage posted a solution:

I took your advice, and looked up the error. Seems others had same error with a different LAN game. ............ Microsoft's solution???
A person of the forums said they had to turn OFF .. UPnP ... on their router.
Seems .. the routers can't figure out why VISTA and WINDOWS 7 need to use DirectPlay ..... sooooo .. tries to "pass the buck " to UPnP.
.
And UPnP has no idea why, so rejects it. Turning OFF .. UPnP .. on the router (then resetting the router) worked.