Hi, folks..

First of all, I am sorry for posting an issue while there are hundreds of threads about all those problems with dedicated servers around here already - and even more answers - but I am working on it for weeks now and it is a real pain in the ass . This forum seems to be my last chance to fix this.

So here we go:

• Halo CE (updated to v1.09)


• Halo CE DED (updated and patched to v1.09)


• Gandanur 11.2.0 initialized and running


• Proper settings


• Server port set to 2312


• Router and Windows firewall ports 80, 2300-2400 forwarded

I have already changed the server port (see above) so even I am able to join my server using Halo's default network settings (2302/2303) but no one else is. And it is not to blame on them due to the fact they are able to join other dedicated servers listed in the game lobby. But if they want to join my game, their client is just retrying to connect several times and finally says 'Unable to join.'

I have already set the server port to 2302 (default) and asked other players to change their settings to 2305/2306. So did I and - again - I was able to join my server but no one else was. Their games are up to date (however any version would be allowed to connect to my server anyway (sv_version any)).

Oh boy.. I would be so grateful for every hint you can give.

Thanks in advance
TheGuyWhoPlaysHalo
Edited by TheGuyWhoPlaysHalo on Sep 11, 2011 at 08:24 PM

May I know what your Internet connection bandwidth is?
Also, who are the "other players" from, online or through your LAN? (you weren't that clear, so just asking)
And rather than forwarding the actual ports themselves in the firewall, I suggest that you add exceptions for the Halo Dedicated Server .exe itself (and probably Gandanur if you plan to use its remote control feature). That way, any connection to the Halo CE dedi should be accepted through the firewall regardless of port.
If possible, check if your computer is up-to-date (Windows updates, network card drivers etc.).
I find that updating can help sometimes, especially the network card drivers.

Thank you so much for your quick response!

Bandwith is 16 Mbps, all the others try to join online and drivers are up-to-date. Now, some weird things happened.. suddenly even I was not able to join my server anymore ("Retrying (1-4"). I shut down and started the server again, tried to connect directly - and it worked! Some minutes later people joined my server - yes! So, I do not really know what I have done but however.. it works!

Unfortunately, many players are getting kicked from the server after a few minutes of playing - mostly after dying or when the map changes. Here is what the log file says about it:


or




Only after a few others or I left the game, it says:


I can not believe 90% of the people joining my server do not have a legal copy of the game.. well but however - I want them to stay because otherwise I can shut down my server .

So I added "sv_version any" and "sv_cdkeycheck true" so each and every one should be able to join and stay, no matter which version or cd key they use. After initializing, the server now says: "Allowing all clients to connect." and "Server now allows players with invalid or duplicate cd keys to join."

But the problem is still the same - nearly everyone gets kicked after a few minutes of playing.. Do you (or anyone) have an idea?

Again, thanks a lot in advance..
Edited by TheGuyWhoPlaysHalo on Sep 13, 2011 at 08:40 PM

What's the name of the server?

There are a few other reasons that causes random disconnect. sometimes the server hack just doesn't stay connected to people. You might have good download speed, but the server probably isn't uploading data BACK to the players fast enough, some other reasons I can't come up with on the spot.

If it is still up, I'll see if I can join
Edited by OrangeJuice on Sep 13, 2011 at 09:08 PM

Are you using wireless or a ethernet cable?

Hey folks, thank you again!

@OrangeJuice: I hope you're wrong because I wouldn't even have the chance to find out if the error is caused by lost data on its way back to the client. However, the server's name is now ".:: 24/7 CTF ProServer - mapVOTE - Njoy! ::."". Just restarted it. I'd be happy if you'd see if you can join.

@Maniac1000: I know what you're driving at.. but it's a cable.

Wellp:

• I joined, didn't crash.


• I voted for a map switch, didn't crash


• Had 300+ ping, didn't lag out

Wow if this is your first server, it has some pretty cool toys(map voting, other things)

Edited by OrangeJuice on Sep 13, 2011 at 11:30 PM

May probably be a problem with Gandanur itself, submit a bug report to Goemitar's website and see what he says? Also, can I find out the OS of the computer that you are running your server on? Otherwise, I think you have done very much everything I myself would do to get my server running. In this case, I can only suggest that you reinstall Halo CE on the server computer and update it to 1.09 then reinstall Gandanur clean, and then try running the server.

@Orangejuice: Gandanur is a very useful server tool, and one of its features is its map vote function that it adds to servers.
Edited by sargejohnson on Sep 14, 2011 at 05:24 AM

@OrangeJuice: Thanks a lot man! I really appreciate someone spending his time to check those things out - so thank you again! Today there were up to 10 people playing for hours without any incidents (except some people getting autobanned for endlessly shooting their own team). So as far as I know there has been no unwanted kicking of players anymore. And even players from Mexico or Russia didn't exceed a ping of 300 for a longer time. I'm really happy about that because my server is located in Western Europe. Players from the US generally got an average 250- ping, that's ok!

Yes, this is my first server.. and thank you for the compliment! The reason why I decided to run one on my own was my personal opinion that there are some things a game server should provide:

• map voting, so people may decide democratically where and what gametype they play
  
  
• also rtv allows them to instantly vote for a new map (if more than 50% agree)


• I really was wondering only a very few servers are having friendly fire enabled. Is that anything else than unrealistic and boring?


• I didn't find any server yet where verhicles don't respawn, why? This great game could be so much more tactical.. I really do hate lazy people hear to say: "Well.. if you lose your car, just wait a minute and it'll be right back in front of the door."


• Also I thought there should be a motivation to not die, shooting your own team or committing suicide.. so I decided to increase respawn time in those cases unless you kill someone of the right team.


• Finally there shouldn't be more than 1 scorpion, banshee, ghost and a few warthogs on each side. More vehicles don't make much sense.

I don't have in mind to steal your time with this but just to inform you why I wanted to run a server by myself so badly .


@sargejohnson: Thanks again! It's running on a Win7 Ultimate x64 (quad-core). I'll see if I'm able to contact the developer. But running this server without Gandanur is not an option for me. Not only because of the toys OrangeJuice mentioned but without sv_version any and sv_cdkeycheck there would be far too few people joining
Edited by TheGuyWhoPlaysHalo on Sep 14, 2011 at 11:02 PM