SBRelay 1.2 and FS2004

[Guest NickLivans]

OK, but if it was the box, would it let SBRelay start working in the first place? Do I need to get another type of modem maybe? Or do you think it can be fixed without any hardware changes. If you can find out any more info that would be great! I have no idea of who to ask for help on the cable modem.Thanks again for all of your help!Nick

[Guest russell]

Hi Nick, sorry to hear you're still having the trouble with SBRelay. I remember your email to me, and I looked back through all our emails just now to refresh my memory.I think the most important thing you mentioned in this thread is that you're having a very similar problem with the IVAO program as well. You said that when a player is removed, both programs are locking up. You also mentioned in email that the same thing happens when you use SBRelay to manually remove a player.The main thing SBRelay and the IVAO program have in common is that they both use DirectPlay for the network communication, and to host the 2002 and 2004 sessions. When a player is removed, either because it was removed by SB or you removed it manually, DirectPlay is doing a lot of work internally to clean everything up for that player's connection. If you had said that only SBRelay was hanging, it would indicate that I had a bug somewhere in my cleanup code. But the fact that the IVAO program is hanging also indicates that it's almost definitely in DirectPlay somewhere.You mentioned before that you were already on DirectX 9.0b and that you didn't have any errors on the Network tab in dxdiag. I'm not sure you can actually uninstall DirectX (you can check to see if there's an entry in Control Panel / Add-remove Programs though), but at the minimum, I'd suggest re-installing DirectX again over the top of what you have now to see if it helps.You also mentioned you have a firewall. I kinda doubt this is related, but if you can disable it completely, and maybe bypass any other network hardware you have (router, etc., if you have it), it might be a good idea. That's a bit of a shot in the dark though -- my gut feeling is that it's not something specific to your modem, but that it's more related to DirectPlay and DirectX somehow.Another thing you might test is to host a game with FS2004 itself, and get someone to connect to your session. Then see what happens when they disconnect, or when you remove them manually. It's quite possible that the same thing happens there. If you have FS2002, try the same test there as well -- maybe we can figure out which side (2002/2004) is having the problem. I don't know what we'll get from that test, but maybe you'll notice something that will give us another clue.One other thing I just thought of related to knowing if it's 2002 or 2004... Try removing someone manually in SBRelay, and watch the log messages that are printed at the bottom of the screen. Usually there are two messages printed when someone disconnects -- one for 2002 and one for 2004. It might be good to know if you're seeing either message.Thanks,Russell Gilbert (OzzieYank)http://www.chocolatesoftware.com

[Guest TigerGuy]

Greetings!I made the mistake of posting my own thread since I am having a similar problem. It turned out that it was the EXACT same problem after further testing. When a player is removed the SBRelay/IVAO clients 'lock' up. My system specs are;Pentium 1.2ghz, 512 RAM, Geforce 4 MX video card, and cable connection via router. (Same problem occurs disconnected from the router.) I'm on the same boat with Russell about the modem. I doubt the modem is what's causing the problem as my modem is a 3COM and I'm experiencing the same results.Going to reinstall DirectX tonight and do some more testing. I've been trying to get this figured out for a few weeks now. Regards,

[Guest TigerGuy]

Well, I don't think it's possible to uninstall DirectX short of reinstalling Win XP. I went ahead and reinstalled DirectX though, but still get the same problem. Tried unplugging from the router (Linksys), same deal. I'll try and host a regular FS2004 session later and see if the same errors occur. Removing a player from SBRelay causes the program to instantly lock up, no messages, no nothing. I do have FS2002 but due to my lazyness and the amount of moving i've been doing the past year, the file usbigenglish.gvp (or something) on Disk 1 will not install. Pretty sure it's a small scratch on the disk. So, unfortunatly I can't install and play that... :( I haven't given up yet. If all else fails, I'm thinking about reinstalling XP, but I really hope it dosen't come to that.Regards,Bryce

[Guest TigerGuy]

To Nick:Do you have multiple hard drives on your computer? If so, is it installed on the default drive? Have you tried uninstalling, then reinstalling to the other drive?I'm experiencing the same issue as you and have 2 hard drives. I have FS9 installed on Drive D:, C: being the default. This afternoon I finally got my FS2002 #1 disk to behave and installed to the Default © drive. Moments later I installed vatsim and the related files, everything worked without any problem or lockups. Going to try to install to the Default drive later tonight and hopefully report back some progress. :) Regards,

[Guest NickLivans]

I have a two drive setup also. C: being the windows drive, and I have FS2004 on D: When I had FS2002 installed on D: I had no problems with multiplayer. I think it might have to do with a port being closed by the ISP.( i think it was 6709) I was reading something about it on the microsoft website. I'm gonna look for that article again and repost.

[Guest NickLivans]

Here's that article...... SUMMARYThis article describes the ports that you must open to play and host a Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight multiplayer game through a firewall, a proxy server, a router, Network Address Translation (NAT), or Internet Connection Sharing. MORE INFORMATIONTo make sure that these ports are open or to open these ports, contact your network administrator or Internet service provider (ISP). If you are the administrator of the network, view the documentation that is provided with your networking software to determine how to open these ports. Flight Simulator 2004 requires that the following DirectPlay ports be open to play a Local Area Network (LAN) or Direct Internet multiplayer game:Port Protocol Inbound / Outbound 23456UDP Both 6073UDP Both To customize the Host and Client ports for your network, follow these steps: Start Flight Simulator 2004.Click Multiplayer.Click Open Multiplayer Session.Under Client Settings set both Host and Client to Other, and then select the alternative ports that you want to use.Click OK. So first thing tomorrow morning i'm gonna call up my ISP and ask if these ports are open. Will post the results tomorrow.

[Guest TigerGuy]

Sounds interesting about the port thing. Tonight I gave in and uninstalled FS9 and reinstalled onto the C drive (Default), and still get the same result. Back to the drawing board I guess. :)

[Guest NickLivans]

So I called my ISp today, and they said these ports cannot be opened due to security issues with viruses and such.....what bull! I'm looking for a new ISP now that had the ability to open and close needed ports. If there are any network savvy people that can help with this, because this has to be the problem! look at my last post for the info on the required ports for FS9 to function properly. or for those guys that have FS9 working fine to find out if they have those ports open.Thanks again!

[Guest russell]

Hi guys,Unfortunately I don't think it has anything to do with your ports or your ISP. It's doubtful that your ISP is blocking those ports anyway (I have a feeling they just said that because they had no clue). But even if they were blocking them, there are two problems with that theory. One is that the program is working up until a player is removed -- whatever port was used to connect the player should still be available when the player is removed -- and I know for sure that DirectPlay does not open any new ports at the removal point. And second, the ports we're talking about here are internal to your computer, because you're connecting between SB, FS9, and SBRelay, all on the same machine -- so even if the ISP was blocking the ports externally, it shouldn't affect you. The only external connection involved here is the one between SB and the VATSIM/IVAO servers, and that's not via DirectPlay.Did you have a chance to try the tests I mentioned in my post above?Russell

[Guest dweese]

Hey this fixed this problem for some else I have been talking to via e-mail. He opened port 1900 and all his problems when away and SBRelay works fine.

[Guest russell]

Sorry, but I don't see how port 1900 is related. I'd have to call that a coincidence. (unless there's a DirectPlay port I don't know about -- stranger things have been known to happen :-)Russell

[Guest NickLivans]

OK, how do we open port 1900 then?

[Guest dweese]

You may get an e-mail about this Russell, the other problem was not the same but close.I deleted my firewall and the reinstalled it, started SBRelay and wathced the warnings that ZoneAlarm displayed about programs trying to use the inter net, got a display from FS2002 at Port 1900 when I started SBRelay. Thinking that since SBRelay starts a FS2002 MP game to make SB see the other traffic. I guess that it was really SBRelay that had requested that port and not FS2002 since it had never been on the current install of my system.Worked for the other person. just one more shot in the dark.Dave Weesewww.fspilotguy.tk

[Guest dweese]

Good question, I don't know what you have for a router or firewall, check the website/manual for both and see what you can find.