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Since we seem to have a growing Mechwarrior4 community here, I thought it would be useful to have a reference for how to get MekPak3.1 online. Many people seem to have problems when trying to play online the first time. At the mektek forums, where the MekPak is at home, there is a very detailed guide about how to fix these problems. I repost it here for the MSFC Mercs community, especially for the Tiger Nakama.
Getting MP3.1 Online
So you've got Mekpak 3.1 installed and running fine, but every time you try to connect to a server, you get the "Can not join the selected game, There may be networking problems or the server may be gone" error. Here's a basic run through of everything you need to configure to get rid of that error and start playing online.
First thing's first, you need to know how you connect to the internet. Dialup users can skip ahead to the info on software firewalls. Broadband users are either going to have their PCs connected directly to their modems or through a router. If you aren't sure, just grab the ethernet cable in the back of your PC (it has a connector that looks like a phone jack, but bigger) and follow it to the device it connects to. If that device has a phone cable or coax cable plugged in to it, that's your modem. If it has more ethernet coming out of it that goes to a modem, that's your router. If you're using a wireless connection, you're using a router. Those of you connecting from your college/university campus, you're probably out of luck for now, though your school's IT department may be willing to help out. Just ask them if they would open some ports for you. If they can't, you're stuck. Sorry!
The ports that need to be open to play online are 2300-2400 for both TCP and UDP, and 47624 for TCP. If you're hosting a server, you'll also need 27999, 28800-28809 open (UDP and TCP). It wouldn't hurt to open them if you're not hosting, though, and some users for whatever reason seem to need them open.
To open those ports, you need to connect to your router and configure it. PortForward has an excellent list of routers and modems and how to connect to and configure them. Note that PortForward's guide to opening ports for MW4 Mercs is for the original Microsoft release. Mektek has done quite a bit of work on the networking end, and as such, the ports required to connect have changed. You want to open the ports listed above.
Here's what you need to know to connect to your router. First of all, open up a Command Prompt window (Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, type in CMD (caps don't matter) and press enter. In the command prompt, type in ipconfig and press enter. You're looking for the lines that look like this:
Your IP address and default gateway may be different but will in nearly every case begin with 192.168. You'll need both of them. In a web browser, type in the default gateway's IP address (in this example, 192.168.0.1) in the address bar and hit enter. It's probably going to prompt you for a username and password. Consult your router's documentation or PortForward for the default login credentials. If your router was provided by your ISP and the default doesn't work, they may have given you some documentation with the username and password. If not or you can't find it, you'll need to call them.
Once you've found your way to the router's config screen, you'll need to find the port forwarding section. This is in different places in every router. Once again, PortForward is a great place to find out where specifically you need to go. What you're looking for is a section that is usually called either Port Forwarding or Virtual Server. Once you find it, create new rules to open the ports for your PC. Remember that IP address from the ipconfig you ran earlier? This is where you'll need it, as you need the IP address of the machine you're forwarding ports to. Consult your router's documentation on how to properly forward ports and ranges of ports. Some routers may even let you squeeze everything into one rule. Usually, it's going to take more than one rule though. When you're finished, you should see something like:
Once that's done, make sure you save your settings. If all goes well, you should be able to play online now. If not, find your router's UPnP setting and toggle it (if it's ON, turn it OFF, or vice versa). If that still doesn't work, keep reading.
A lot of modems these days double as routers. If you're connected directly to your modem and run ipconfig, or if you visit your router's config page and find its DHCP assigned IP address, and that IP address is a 192.168 address, you've got a modem that's also a router. You can also see if you can find it on PortForward's device list. Those of you who are plugged directly into the modem have hopefully followed the bit above about port forwarding. If that still hasn't worked for you, skip ahead to the part about software firewalls. The rest of you with routers between your PCs and modems, you have 2 options.
The best solution is to configure your modem to Bridge Mode. This will disable its router functionality, sending ALL traffic to every device connected directly to it, which should only be your router. If you can't figure out how to switch to Bridge Mode, try searching Google for your modem's model number along with the phrase "bridge mode" or just the word "bridge". There should be documentation on how to do that available online, possibly even at the manufacturer's website. If all else fails, call your ISP and ask them how to set it up. Once that's done, power cycle your router and it should get a new IP address that is NOT in the 192.168.X.X range. If that's the case, you should be ready to play online. If you still get a 192.168 address from the modem, it's still not properly configured. You may also need to disable its DHCP server. If you don't get an IP at all, turn your modem and router off, wait 5-10 minutes, then turn the modem on, let it sync up, then turn the router on. If you still can't get an IP address, you can try cloning the modem's MAC address into your router (check your router's documentation on how to do this), and if even that doesn't work, then set your modem back to the way it was (typically, the reset button on the modem should do the trick) and read on for the other option.
Option #2 is to set your router in the modem's DMZ. You'll need to grab the router's DHCP assigned IP address (or even better, assign it a static IP in the router's configuration), and then find the DMZ settings in your modem's configuration and enable it for your router's IP. Ask your ISP if you need help with this, or search Google for your modem's model number and the word "DMZ". Once that's done and your ports are forwarded properly in your router, you should be all set to play online. If you still can't play, keep reading.
Software firewalls need to be configured too. When you first ran Mercs, you probably got a popup from your software firewall asking if you want to allow Mercs access to the internet. If you clicked Yes, you did good, but you're not done. If you clicked No, what were you thinking? In either case, you need to have your firewall allow both incoming and outgoing connections for Mercs. There is a bit of info on how to do this with Windows Firewall here. For other firewalls, the same concept applies, just getting it done may be a little different. Consult your software's documentation (and/or Google) on how to set up firewall rules, or just disable it completely, which should be fine if you're behind a router. Note that some antiviruses like Norton and McAfee can come with firewalls. If you aren't sure, temporarily disable your antivirus software. Once all of that's done, you should be ready to play online. If you still can't, there are a few things to try.
1) Use PortCheck to test that the ports are open. If they are all open, you probably still have something on your PC preventing Mercs from connecting and receiving.
2) Bypass your router and connect directly to your modem. Use PortCheck to test the ports again. If they are open now, your router isn't configured properly. Double check those settings.
3) Reboot your computer in Safe Mode with Networking. To do this, hit F8 before Windows starts to load and select Safe Mode with Networking from the menu that comes up. From Safe Mode, use PortCheck to test the ports again. If they're open, something on your PC is blocking the ports. Double check your firewall settings. If you're in Safe Mode, connected directly to your modem, which isn't also a router and the ports are still closed, your ISP is probably blocking those ports.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR LINKSYS ROUTERS
Certain Linksys routers are known to crash when attempting to play Mercs online. The only known solution is to put your PC in the DMZ and enable UPnP. This problem is most likely caused by the small amount of flash memory these routers have installed.
(c) by Zertoss
If you've followed the guide and still can't get it to work, you can ask at mektek or here. But in most cases, disabling the firewall and forwarding all of the mentioned ports should work.
No go and have fun!
Getting MP3.1 Online
So you've got Mekpak 3.1 installed and running fine, but every time you try to connect to a server, you get the "Can not join the selected game, There may be networking problems or the server may be gone" error. Here's a basic run through of everything you need to configure to get rid of that error and start playing online.
First thing's first, you need to know how you connect to the internet. Dialup users can skip ahead to the info on software firewalls. Broadband users are either going to have their PCs connected directly to their modems or through a router. If you aren't sure, just grab the ethernet cable in the back of your PC (it has a connector that looks like a phone jack, but bigger) and follow it to the device it connects to. If that device has a phone cable or coax cable plugged in to it, that's your modem. If it has more ethernet coming out of it that goes to a modem, that's your router. If you're using a wireless connection, you're using a router. Those of you connecting from your college/university campus, you're probably out of luck for now, though your school's IT department may be willing to help out. Just ask them if they would open some ports for you. If they can't, you're stuck. Sorry!
The ports that need to be open to play online are 2300-2400 for both TCP and UDP, and 47624 for TCP. If you're hosting a server, you'll also need 27999, 28800-28809 open (UDP and TCP). It wouldn't hurt to open them if you're not hosting, though, and some users for whatever reason seem to need them open.
To open those ports, you need to connect to your router and configure it. PortForward has an excellent list of routers and modems and how to connect to and configure them. Note that PortForward's guide to opening ports for MW4 Mercs is for the original Microsoft release. Mektek has done quite a bit of work on the networking end, and as such, the ports required to connect have changed. You want to open the ports listed above.
Here's what you need to know to connect to your router. First of all, open up a Command Prompt window (Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, type in CMD (caps don't matter) and press enter. In the command prompt, type in ipconfig and press enter. You're looking for the lines that look like this:
Code:
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.100
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1Your IP address and default gateway may be different but will in nearly every case begin with 192.168. You'll need both of them. In a web browser, type in the default gateway's IP address (in this example, 192.168.0.1) in the address bar and hit enter. It's probably going to prompt you for a username and password. Consult your router's documentation or PortForward for the default login credentials. If your router was provided by your ISP and the default doesn't work, they may have given you some documentation with the username and password. If not or you can't find it, you'll need to call them.
Once you've found your way to the router's config screen, you'll need to find the port forwarding section. This is in different places in every router. Once again, PortForward is a great place to find out where specifically you need to go. What you're looking for is a section that is usually called either Port Forwarding or Virtual Server. Once you find it, create new rules to open the ports for your PC. Remember that IP address from the ipconfig you ran earlier? This is where you'll need it, as you need the IP address of the machine you're forwarding ports to. Consult your router's documentation on how to properly forward ports and ranges of ports. Some routers may even let you squeeze everything into one rule. Usually, it's going to take more than one rule though. When you're finished, you should see something like:
Code:
Rule 1 - Ports [2300-2400] Protocol - [Both]
Rule 2 - Ports [47624] Protocol - [TCP]Once that's done, make sure you save your settings. If all goes well, you should be able to play online now. If not, find your router's UPnP setting and toggle it (if it's ON, turn it OFF, or vice versa). If that still doesn't work, keep reading.
A lot of modems these days double as routers. If you're connected directly to your modem and run ipconfig, or if you visit your router's config page and find its DHCP assigned IP address, and that IP address is a 192.168 address, you've got a modem that's also a router. You can also see if you can find it on PortForward's device list. Those of you who are plugged directly into the modem have hopefully followed the bit above about port forwarding. If that still hasn't worked for you, skip ahead to the part about software firewalls. The rest of you with routers between your PCs and modems, you have 2 options.
The best solution is to configure your modem to Bridge Mode. This will disable its router functionality, sending ALL traffic to every device connected directly to it, which should only be your router. If you can't figure out how to switch to Bridge Mode, try searching Google for your modem's model number along with the phrase "bridge mode" or just the word "bridge". There should be documentation on how to do that available online, possibly even at the manufacturer's website. If all else fails, call your ISP and ask them how to set it up. Once that's done, power cycle your router and it should get a new IP address that is NOT in the 192.168.X.X range. If that's the case, you should be ready to play online. If you still get a 192.168 address from the modem, it's still not properly configured. You may also need to disable its DHCP server. If you don't get an IP at all, turn your modem and router off, wait 5-10 minutes, then turn the modem on, let it sync up, then turn the router on. If you still can't get an IP address, you can try cloning the modem's MAC address into your router (check your router's documentation on how to do this), and if even that doesn't work, then set your modem back to the way it was (typically, the reset button on the modem should do the trick) and read on for the other option.
Option #2 is to set your router in the modem's DMZ. You'll need to grab the router's DHCP assigned IP address (or even better, assign it a static IP in the router's configuration), and then find the DMZ settings in your modem's configuration and enable it for your router's IP. Ask your ISP if you need help with this, or search Google for your modem's model number and the word "DMZ". Once that's done and your ports are forwarded properly in your router, you should be all set to play online. If you still can't play, keep reading.
Software firewalls need to be configured too. When you first ran Mercs, you probably got a popup from your software firewall asking if you want to allow Mercs access to the internet. If you clicked Yes, you did good, but you're not done. If you clicked No, what were you thinking? In either case, you need to have your firewall allow both incoming and outgoing connections for Mercs. There is a bit of info on how to do this with Windows Firewall here. For other firewalls, the same concept applies, just getting it done may be a little different. Consult your software's documentation (and/or Google) on how to set up firewall rules, or just disable it completely, which should be fine if you're behind a router. Note that some antiviruses like Norton and McAfee can come with firewalls. If you aren't sure, temporarily disable your antivirus software. Once all of that's done, you should be ready to play online. If you still can't, there are a few things to try.
1) Use PortCheck to test that the ports are open. If they are all open, you probably still have something on your PC preventing Mercs from connecting and receiving.
2) Bypass your router and connect directly to your modem. Use PortCheck to test the ports again. If they are open now, your router isn't configured properly. Double check those settings.
3) Reboot your computer in Safe Mode with Networking. To do this, hit F8 before Windows starts to load and select Safe Mode with Networking from the menu that comes up. From Safe Mode, use PortCheck to test the ports again. If they're open, something on your PC is blocking the ports. Double check your firewall settings. If you're in Safe Mode, connected directly to your modem, which isn't also a router and the ports are still closed, your ISP is probably blocking those ports.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR LINKSYS ROUTERS
Certain Linksys routers are known to crash when attempting to play Mercs online. The only known solution is to put your PC in the DMZ and enable UPnP. This problem is most likely caused by the small amount of flash memory these routers have installed.
(c) by Zertoss
If you've followed the guide and still can't get it to work, you can ask at mektek or here. But in most cases, disabling the firewall and forwarding all of the mentioned ports should work.
No go and have fun!