Thanks for the response. It is really great seeing the developer of a game help it's customers out. Ironically enough, I am going to take a networking class in college next year and go for the Cisco NOC. AI wars though seems to want me to know some stuff now though. Can you please guide me with this? I like learning new skills and being more erudite.
Hopefully with just a few questions, I can figure out how to do this and get it to work by myself with a computer on a separate network. Then I can hopefully I can get it to work with my friend but thats a separate issue only I will be able to solve lol. I thought the client literally had to do nothing and I only needed my own addresses. I read the online guide you recommended but I still am confused. Can you replace the pronouns by any chance in your post? It caused me to get things backwards.
Sure, no problem, and it's my pleasure:
1. Your friend does nothing.
2. You find out your local behind-your-firewall IP address. (generally use ipconfig /all at the command line if you are on windows)
3. You logs into your router.
4. You forward the single AI War port (configurable in settings if you wish) to your behind-your-firewall local IP.
5. You find your external IP (just go to http://www.whatismyip.com/) and give that to your friend.
6. Your friend connects to your game via the external IP from #5, using the same port that was set up in #4.
7. If there are still problems, make sure that there are not any software firewalls on your friend's computer or your computer that are interfering (sometimes antivirus software includes firewalls you might not even be aware of). There needs to be an exception in any and all software firewalls on both computers for AI War and its port. However, your friend should have to do nothing with their router at all.
NOTE: If you have a router of your own behind a dsl/cable modem, then it is entirely possible that you have two firewalls -- one on your router, and one one the cable modem. To avoid complexity here, you generally want to turn off the firewall on the modem, because it is pointless -- your own router is already doing that. Generally that means putting your modem into "DMZ" mode or similar. Please note! If you hook up anything directly to your modem without going through your own router, and the modem is in DMZ mode, then there is no firewall at all protecting that thing you connected to the modem -- it's as naked as can be, bad news. So don't set it up as a DMZ if, for instance, you are running your Wifi off the modem. Your wifi would have to be running off your own router to do that.
Whew, I hope that's not too confusing.
Can I get both addresses from typing IP config?
No, just your own internal address. That is the address that your router has assigned your computer. That is the address that you need to do the port forwarding to on your router. Port forwarding is just saying "hey router, any messages that come to port X, be sure and send it to this specific computer on your internal network, thanks."
It's like the mailman dropping off all the mail at the front desk of an apartment building (the router), and then someone who works for the building looking at the apartment numbers and delivering them to each apartment (those being the ports being assigned to the internal network IDs). I hope that example didn't make things worse rather than better.
If yes, can you tell me the text besides the local behind-their-firewall IP address and external IP address in command line? I am not familiar with the jargon of each type of IP address.
Type "ipconfig /all" minus the quotes. You will see a bunch of crap. You may see multiple network adapters, representing things ranging from your wireless network card, to your physical network cable jack, to any virtual private network software you might have. You want to look at the names of these and see which one matches the network adapter you are actually using. Generally this would be something like "local area connection 4" or something. Under that, you will see IPv4 Address, which is your internal addres. The line that says "Default Gateway" is the IP address of your router -- go to that address to configure port forwarding.
None of this has anything to do with anything outside your own private network. It doesn't know or have any way of knowing about that stuff. Right now we are inside your own private space, behind your router. The public address is on your modem and outwards, at your ISP and beyond.
To find your own public IP, just go to
http://www.whatismyip.com/ and it tells you. You give this number to your friend, and that's it.
Then all I need is the password to my friends router and I will only be touching his router and his IP addresses; not mine? Step 5. is really confusing.
All I need to find my friend's router is his gateway address then?
Sorry for the confusion, you don't need any such info from him. He just needs to make sure software firewalls aren't blocking him from getting to the internet on those ports (or blocking AI War as a whole), and that's it. Your setup is on your own router, and you then hand him your public IP, and that's all he needs to know.
Thanks for your help and I am always ready to learn something new.
My pleasure, and I hope that's clearer! I'm off for the night now, but if there is more, I'll respond in the morning. Cheers!
