Can't get lan to work (tried wired and through same router)... Can't find server.

[NamelessName]

So here's the thing. I have been playing splitscreen with the program nucluescoop for a while, through the lan option, offline (I own two copies of the game). Now we bought a secondary computer and want to play lan through WiFi, but we can't find each others servers. Strangely enough, when launching nucleus it works properly (which is lan simulated as splitscreen on same PC, basically).

I have read about problems with lan on some posts here in the official klei forum, but so far I have not a seen a fix. What can I do? I have tried other games and those works properly. I have tried "Radmin VPN" even though we are on the same wifi and it shouldnt be needed, as well as turning off firewall on both PC's. By using the "console command: c_connect" it just says I cant find server. Do I need to open "10999" port, even though everyone says DST doesn't require that? I tried so many things...

PS: Please DON'T advice me to play "online". My internet is horrible which is why we want lan only. This thread is ONLY to find out the cause of the lan problems. Please, ONLY advice about getting same router/wifi lan working.

[loopuleasa]

yeah, lan only is tricky in some configurations

there are some tools from sys internals you can use to figure out what ports are being used

btw, you can use curl to connect to an IP, since that is what I think the DST engine uses in the back. if that one doesn't work, then DST won't work also.

 

if you have a router you will need to google port forwarding as well if you want to go cross your network, but I don't think that should apply in LAN

 

if you have a work issued computer (like I do), there might be some weird settings on it that would prevent you. for me, I had to be connected to my company VPN for it to work (likely due to some proxy autoconfig files and others). Not to mention, for my work laptop, my antivirus is locked, and I cannot configure much in it.

 

Yeah, also try to dig through your antivirus and firewall settings.

 

A pain when this happens, but I wish you luck.

[nome]

6 hours ago, loopuleasa said:

btw, you can use curl to connect to an IP, since that is what I think the DST engine uses in the back. if that one doesn't work, then DST won't work also.

curl is only used to talk to the services like authentication and skins. Gameplay is done over UDP.

[NamelessName]

7 hours ago, loopuleasa said:

yeah, lan only is tricky in some configurations

A pain when this happens, but I wish you luck.

Thanks for an answer.
Yea I bought this game primarily due to it being lan-compatible (futureproof) back in the days but I never got to play it with my family, because I only had one pc at the time, until nucleuscoop released. Now I just want it to actually work with two pc's connected (I am fine with wired, but that doesnt work either strangely enough). I live in the forest, and while I love it here I dont really like playing laggy online-games (slow and limited internet), which is why I always go for lan.

I have read that port forwarding shouldn't be necessary for lan, but only for a dedicated server. Which is why I dont want to learn and spend time on it, unless I am possitive I have to. 

Could it be my 5+ years old asus router messing things up? Buying a new one could solve my issues?

[nome]

Networking issues can be tricky I'm afraid, and I can't tell you what specifically is causing your problem based on the information I have now.

One thing to note is that "online mode" doesn't inherently require your packets to go through the internet. It just needs you to have an internet connection so that Klei can validate your identity and "prove" to the other players that you are who you say you are - that's all done over HTTPS as @loopuleasa pointed out - technically minded players can use the https_proxy environment variable and something like charles to inspect that traffic. The gameplay doesn't have to use your internet if you connect to a local IP instead of using steam's relaying service, even in online mode.

One thing that might help you a lot in debugging is going to the lua console and using c_connect() - you should be able to find lots of instructions for this if you google. It cuts out a lot of the automatic bits, so if c_connect fails you know you've got a networking problem like a bad firewall config, whereas if it works you can work your way back up the stack and figure out which piece is misbehaving.

 

[NamelessName]

14 minutes ago, nome said:

Networking issues can be tricky I'm afraid, and I can't tell you what specifically is causing your problem based on the information I have now.

One thing to note is that "online mode" doesn't inherently require your packets to go through the internet. It just needs you to have an internet connection so that Klei can validate your identity and "prove" to the other players that you are who you say you are - that's all done over HTTPS as @loopuleasa pointed out - technically minded players can use the https_proxy environment variable and something like charles to inspect that traffic. The gameplay doesn't have to use your internet if you connect to a local IP instead of using steam's relaying service, even in online mode.

One thing that might help you a lot in debugging is going to the lua console and using c_connect() - you should be able to find lots of instructions for this if you google. It cuts out a lot of the automatic bits, so if c_connect fails you know you've got a networking problem like a bad firewall config, whereas if it works you can work your way back up the stack and figure out which piece is misbehaving.

I have used the "c_connect()"  to try to connect to virtual IP of radmin and through my own router. Sadly even when I had a wire through both my pc's it didnt work with this command. But are you saying I can maybe troubleshoot somehow with "c_connect()" or are you saying that the only thing I can do with that command is connect?
But if it were firewall issues wouldn't disabling the firewall for both PC's actually make it work, if that were the problem? Which is why I am thinking that maybe it could be my 5 year old router.

PS: I can technically play with online connection but I really dislike that and it gives me lag problems (most likely due to my 3g forest internet) that I much rather just play splitscreen instead. But with TWO pc's connected it would be much more fun.

[nome]

If you're getting lag in online mode it means your computer is using steam's relaying service. When we fix the problem with your PCs connecting directly to one another you can play in online mode but with direct traffic, which will let you enjoy skins and added security without any extra lag.

c_connect() should work if you have two IPs that can communicate directly. If c_connect isn't working then you've got a networking issue of some kind. Make sure both IPs are allowing traffic to one another on the DST UDP port (usually 10999, extra ports as well if it's a caves enabled server). 

[NamelessName]

41 minutes ago, nome said:

c_connect() should work if you have two IPs that can communicate directly. If c_connect isn't working then you've got a networking issue of some kind. Make sure both IPs are allowing traffic to one another on the DST UDP port (usually 10999, extra ports as well if it's a caves enabled server). 

Then I assume it has to be a networking issue of some kind. How would I make sure both IP's are allwowing traffic on the DST udp port? Also what ports is it for a extra cave senabled? Would I need to enter my router? I am not that young to figure these things out on my own I believe.

 

EDIT::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

So I figured out that I had to use my local IP (ipv4) to actually join via the "c_connect" command. This was news to me. I assumed I had to use the public IP adress as I have done in the past when playing hamachi (years back when I lived in the city). But it makes sense now that the local one would be the one to use.

Thanks for all the help nome. You got me testing that command again and it in turn made me test "ipv4" instead.

[loopuleasa]

15 hours ago, nome said:

curl is only used to talk to the services like authentication and skins. Gameplay is done over UDP.

yes, but I guess the user has issues with the login step, which requires curl authentication and handshakes

[nome]

On 12/24/2020 at 12:02 PM, NamelessName said:

Thanks for all the help nome. You got me testing that command again and it in turn made me test "ipv4" instead.

Glad to hear you figured it out! Best of luck with the game!