SRB2 Hosting Issue

So, I recently got a new router and have been trying to reconfigure myself to be able to host netgames again. I did the port forwarding business (at least as well as I remembered how), however no one has joined my server in the times I have hosted, and I'm having a hard time figuring out if I screwed up my port forward or if I'm just lame and no one wants to play on my server.

I do see my server listed on the Master Server list when I do host, if that is any indication. I'd appreciate if anyone could give me a way/service that would tell me which it is!

If, you saw the MS, then you must be seeing a red cross under the Ping title...
That means you have not forwarded your ports...
And, you say, you have forwarded your ports with the no. 5029
That means you are using WiFi... You cannot host on WiFi I think...

Wagon said:

You cannot host on WiFi I think...

Click to expand...

This is completely false.

You can tell your ports are forwarded properly if the MS actually displays a number of players on your server. If they aren't, it'll instead show up as ?/?.
Checking the MS tells me that it's down as of now, so your best bet is to give it another shot when it goes back up.

Wolfy said:

This is completely false.

You can tell your ports are forwarded properly if the MS actually displays a number of players on your server. If they aren't, it'll instead show up as ?/?.
Checking the MS tells me that it's down as of now, so your best bet is to give it another shot when it goes back up.

Click to expand...

Oh no it is not... I forwarded my ports 5 times at least using WiFi.
And that is a error of the MS while the page says that the MS is currently offline while I can still join server from SRB2 itself...

Wolfy said:

This is completely false.

You can tell your ports are forwarded properly if the MS actually displays a number of players on your server. If they aren't, it'll instead show up as ?/?.
Checking the MS tells me that it's down as of now, so your best bet is to give it another shot when it goes back up.

Click to expand...

Indeed this is false, my shitty wi-fi thingy lets me host and it's ... kinda fine. (Aside of the Synch Fails of course.)

Back on the main topic, if your server is listed on the Master Server page with things such as "Players: ?/?" or a red circle with a white cross instead of the ping, then you haven't port forwarded and no one can join. (At least by using the find server option.) Else, if it displays the number of players and the ping etc, it's just that no one wants to join, and this is annoying indeed, hosting a game with no one on it.
...If you want players, I might suggest hosting while the "American late afternoon", around 4~5 pm for there.

Wolfy said:

Checking the MS tells me that it's down as of now, so your best bet is to give it another shot when it goes back up.

Click to expand...

Every time I've checked in like the past month, that red banner has been there telling me that the MS is down.

It seems like the red banner is glitched and is staying permanently up for some odd reason, as I've hosted and joined other servers without an issue repeatedly with that message up in the past month.

Thank you everyone for the assistance.

As Sky mentioned, I have the same issue with the red banner being on the Master Server, but being able to join netgames freely, and the list appears to be updated correctly. Based on that, I tried hosting again, and sure enough, both the red "X" and an unknown player count confirmed that my ports are not forwarded correctly.

Makes me feel a little bit better about no one joining my server, but I guess I have to hit the Google. Thanks again everyone

Port Forwarding also kinda differs depending on your internet operator, sometimes, there is a kind of "website" that allows you to change your box's options, check its statuses and portforward.

I remember I had to go to "192.168.1.1" to change my box's settings.

Lat is right, and most routers have an HTTP-based configuration tool. To find the address of your router that it assigns itself in the network, you can open cmd.exe, and type in "ipconfig", and look for the default gateway, and entering this IP into a browser. If you don't have the settings password for your router, try asking your parents or the company issuing the router. In general, it should be labeled something like "Port Triggering", "Port Forwarding", or "Tunneling", although it's not limited to that. Be aware that some routers will restart to take effect, so get ready for your family to complain.

I've had to learn this to play MM8BDM with my friends.

So, this is a bit late, but if you still haven't figured anything out, an old trick that worked at the last place I lived at was to turn on DMZ Hosting (short for demilitarized zone). DMZ Hosting is a setting that is meant for people trying to host a service that has to effectively be on the other side of the firewall and NAT - you choose a single device, and it's like forwarding every port to that computer.

Obviously, this is only something you should do if nothing else works, and even then it should only be enabled when hosting, but it can do the job when everything else has failed. Like port forwarding itself, this is a setting you should find in your home router's configuration. Good Luck!