Figuring out JKA non-dedicated multiplayer in 2022

[Mike Oldfield]

A friend started playing this game a couple weeks ago with zero knowledge of multiplayer. I've played for a long time but my understanding of its technical aspects is hardly any better. As soon as he got it, it has been my intention to play brief matches with him. Both of us have used OpenJK and connected to existing servers just fine. However, when either of us attempted to host a private, non-dedicated server from within the game, we were unable to find each other through the server list. An attempt to set a non-dedicated LAN connection through Hamachi also failed. I presume setting a server from within the game doesn't actually connect to the functioning community hosting? We could briefly set dedicated servers just for ourselves, but that requires more effort. Is a non-dedicated server, run entirely from within the game, still possible? What am I forgetting to do?

[Circa]

Running a private server from your PC usually requires you to forward ports so that players can connect to your network via that port. You'd also need to look up your public IP address and have them connect via that address manually, as I believe any self hosted server is going to be listed on the Raven Software master server which is currently down and not functioning. You could simply edit your server.cfg (found in your base after making a server) and add "sv_master1 master.jkhub.org" to show up on the JKHub master server that OpenJK/EternalJK use.

Check out this tutorial on home hosting a server, that might help you out further.

 

[Mike Oldfield]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:58 PM, Circa said:

Running a private server from your PC usually requires you to forward ports so that players can connect to your network via that port. You'd also need to look up your public IP address and have them connect via that address manually, as I believe any self hosted server is going to be listed on the Raven Software master server which is currently down and not functioning. You could simply edit your server.cfg (found in your base after making a server) and add "sv_master1 master.jkhub.org" to show up on the JKHub master server that OpenJK/EternalJK use.

Check out this tutorial on home hosting a server, that might help you out further.

 

Thanks to the answer, the bit about self-hosted servers connecting to Raven's master server was enlightening. Apologies for the late reply, I was hoping to get things working and only then reply, and guess what, I'm still stuck.

I can't port forward because of CGNAT, I've known this since I tried a Minecraft server last year. Now me and my friend tried Hamachi using this guide. I managed to launch a server and join it, but he couldn't find it in the Local server list. We found out we couldn't ping each other, fixed that after changing firewall settings and he still can't find it. He'll try port forwarding on his own, but will take some time to get it done - we still don't know if he, too, has CGNAT. It should be straightforward if he doesn't, but otherwise the Hamachi workaround has so far reached a dead end.

If it helps: I'm using this as my server.cfg, server.bat and serverjoin.bat:

The sv_master1 line is probably useless in a pseudo-LAN server. For the serverjoin, we've tried with both of us connecting to my address, and each one having a different file, and it didn't make a difference.

 

[Circa]

3 hours ago, Mike Oldfield said:

The sv_master1 line is probably useless in a pseudo-LAN server. For the serverjoin, we've tried with both of us connecting to my address, and each one having a different file, and it didn't make a difference.

The master server line is important if you're using the server browser to find servers. If your friend is just waiting for your server to show up on that list, they'd need to be using OpenJK or EternalJK to be able to see them on that master.

You could just skip the server list completely and just tell them to use the console and type /connect 192.168.1.1 (for example - and if you have a password do /password password)

Or you could tell them to add the IP as a favorite in the server list and change the filter to Favorites.

[Mike Oldfield]

As it's Hamachi, we're using the "Local" section of the server browser, so the master server really isn't necessary. When I host I can find it on the list or connect directly through the console. He tried connecting through the console and got stuck on "Awaiting connection". On my part, he did not show up on the dedicated server console. This is what his ingame console looked like while attempting to connect:

Spoiler

I think he hasn't been able to connect to my server through our Hamachi network, even though the network itself is funcional (we can ping each other). Ditto for when he tried to host. In this situation, connecting through the server browser or the console won't make a difference. I've got no clue on how to push forward on my quest to get a Hamachi-based server.

[Mike Oldfield]

Updating this: I've managed to set successful and low ping connections with GameRanger. Server configuration is entirely ingame, which might be limited compared to a server.cfg, but I guess console commands can change any setting I want. EternalJK failed when we tried it with GameRanger, and there's no information about it online, which is a shame. It does work fine with OpenJK, and it has been good enough for me.