Port Forwarding, Firewall and Hamachi Guides

ark626

Moderator
This guide will take you through some steps to set up a Secrets of Grindea for playing online in co-op.

First of all, start Secrets of Grindea as admin, if possible, to evade strange behavior. Secondly you need to make sure your firewall won't block the program, and after that you have two different options for setting up the connection: Port Forwarding or using a program such as Hamachi or Evolve.

Start SoG as admin
If you are Playing the DRM free Version just leftclick the SoG.exe and click on execute as Administrator.

If you are Playing on Steam follow these instructions:
1. Search the Steam Path (normally it is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\SecretsOfGrindea\)

2. Leftclick on the Secrets of Grindea.exe and go to its Properties.

3.Click on the Register Compatibility.

4.
Admin.png
Make the hook at the red signed run as administrator flag and press apply.

5. You are done. Now even Steam runs SoG.exe everytime as admin.

Setting up your Firewall
First of all we need to allow SecretsofGrinda.exe to trespass your computer's firewall. Normally in Windows 7 you need simply to start the game and minimize it: there should be a popup window asking if its okay for SecretsofGrindea.exe to access the Network (press YES of course).

If the popup window doesn't appear, follow these instructions:
1. In Windows 7 you need to go to the control panel and click on the icon
that says Windows Firewall (appears under System & Security). In the new window there should be some options.

2. Click on Advanced Settings. Here you need to select "Inbound Rules" in the menu to the left and do the action "New Rule..".

3. When it asks what type of rule you want to create, select "Program". In the second step it will ask for the path of you program, in my case this path is C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\SecretsOfGrindea\Secrets of Grindea.exe

4. Allow connections for Private and Public.

5. Give the rule any name you want and you're done.

If you want similar instructions with images, try this guide.
If the option to add a firewall exception is disabled, you're likely using a work computer (shame on you!). You may be able to circumvent it with the following instructions:
Hit start and type "cmd" press control+shift+enter and it should pop up asking for an admin password. Assuming you know this, you can proceed.

Type the following into the command line:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Secrets of Grindea" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=6000

That should add a lower level port rule in your firewall.

Second, you should check if you have any other firewall programs installed.
For example Zone Alarm and some Antivirus software have their own firewall on which
you need to allow the SecretsofGrindea.exe to access the network as well - check the firewall settings inside these programs to make sure.

Port Forwarding
Most internet connections normally use a router. If you want to play Secrets of Grindea with other users, you must tell this router to send incoming connections to your computer. This is done via port forwarding (for more technical information, click the spoiler tag below).
When HOSTING a SoG game online you need to explain to your router if somebody accesses its InternetIP:SoGPort which internal IP is meant

For example your PC has the IP 192.168.1.2, Router has Internal 192.168.1.1 and external 230.24.1.23
so you have to set a setting in your router that explains if a programm connects to it with the port of SoG
(6000 i think) also if a programm calls 230.24.1.23:6000 it has to reroute this to 192.168.1.2:6000

This is called forwarding because the router knows which PC is meant and which port of which pc.
To set up port forwarding you'll have to go to the router settings. Usually you'll need the internal IP of your router to do this. To find your internal IP, press the windows menu button and type "CMD" and hit enter. In the new window, type "IPCONFIG" and hit enter.

Something like this should appear:
CMd.png
Your computer's local IP is the IPv4 Adress. The Standard gateway/Default gateway is normally the router's IP.

If you open your browser and type in the router IP (for me it is 192.168.1.1), it will open the config site which requires a password (the default login is usually admin/password, if you haven't added a password of your own).

It should look something like this:

youfoundme.gif

In here you should be able to find different settings for Port Forwarding. Add port 6000 (or 6000 to 6000 on some routers, this is just giving you a chance to add a range), and make sure you enable UDP and have it forward to your computers IP address.

Once you've done this you should be able to host: those you want to play with should type in your router's external IP which can be looked up here http://www.whatsmyip.org/ or found in the lobby in-game.

If you are having trouble configuring your specific router, try finding some tutorials on Google or have a look at this site: http://setuprouter.com/

For a stable connection you can also set up a persistent internal IP for your PC, because otherwise it may change and you'll have to change the port forward again.

Using Hamachi
If you don't get port forwarding to work or you're still unsure of how to do it, you can always use Hamachi. You can download and install it from here: https://secure.logmein.com/hamachi.msi

If you're unsure of how to use it, follow these instructions:
After installing the program, there should be a window that looks like this:
Hamachifirst.png
1. Click on "Network" and select "Create a new network". It will ask for a ID/Name and a password which you should note somewhere.When you're done your network (at the image above it is "Timelines") will appear in the window.

2. Get your friends/co-op partners to install Hamachi, press "Networks" and select "Join an existing network". They will need the Password and the ID/Name that you noted earlier.

3. If everything is fine they will now appear in the list of your network!

(If you want to have more than 5 users in your network, you will need to make more networks. For example, if I want to connect 7 users I can create two networks: the first 4 users can join network 1 and those left join network 2. If I'm online those users can now see me and each other.

This only works when the person hosting both networks is online, though, as he turns into something like a "man in the middle" or a bridge which holds the connections together.)

When it's been set up correctly you should be able to right-click on other users in your network and PING them or write messages to check if they receive data of you. When one of you host a game, the others simply need to use the IP found next to that person in the Hamachi window when trying to connect.

If you still have problems...
Try using this guide to give the correct network priority!

Edit by Vilya: I have merged Y-aji and Ark626's guides, if you have any questions please ask below!
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Antar

Green Slime
I am playing the demo with my brother but I am having trouble getting the server to work. He can't seem to connect to me. I don't know why because it is the right IP and I port forwarded the same way as I did with other games like Minecraft, Cube World, and Terreria. It worked on those times, so is there anything different I should know?
 

Vilya

Developer
Staff member
There has been suggestions that if you're on Win7 its firewall might cause problems. We're gonna look into it and make some kind of guide for how to disable it or make a proper exception!
 

Antar

Green Slime
Thank you for the quick reply and help. We were using Hamachi today and we beat the demo story and played the arcade. We decided to buy it so if we could get the multiplayer working, it would be a great bonus. Like you said, it might be the firewall so I'll look into it, thanks for the help. :3
 

ark626

Moderator
Ive added a describtion for Starting Secrets of Grindea as administrator on Steam.
Also i wanted to thank @Vilya (i suppose it was her) for organizing this guide :D it is so much more structurated than before.
 

y-aji

Green Slime
I keep hearing complaints of difficulties getting a game hosted. I figured I'd throw something together really quick for folks having trouble.

The quick and dirty: you need to open up port 6000UDP on your router and local software firewall. Make sure you open the port on both your router and your local computer.

Windows may have asked to add it to your list of exceptions when you first opened the game, but if not, perform the following:


If the option to add a firewall exception is disabled, you're likely using a work computer (shame on you!). You may be able to circumvent it with the following instructions:

Hit start and type "cmd" press control+shift+enter and it should pop up asking for an admin password. Assuming you know this, you can proceed.

Type the following into the command line:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Secrets of Grindea" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=6000

That should add a lower level port rule in your firewall.​

Once you have completed this, it's on to the router!


ROUTER TIME! Okay, so you need to log into your router. Look this up on the mighty google! You should be able to search "<router name> login instructions". For most routers, you can open the internet and type 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.2.1 and then press enter. If all goes swimmingly, you will get a login screen, where the username password will be some combination of administrator and password. Again, look this up on the google!

Once in, there should be a place to put port exceptions. It will look like this:

youfoundme.gif
Add port 6000 (or 6000 to 6000 on some routers.. this is just giving you a chance to add a range). and make sure you enable UDP and have it forward to your computers IP address.

If you don't know your computers IP address, hit start and type "cmd", then type "ipconfig" and press enter.. you should have a 192.168.x.x ip address somewhere in there. should be like 192.168.0.101. Use that for the forwarding address.

If you have any questions or difficulties, or complaints on this entry and I'll try to respond in a helpful manner.

Good luck! Once you have both windows 7 forwarding your port AND your router doing so, you should be able to host a game.
 

y-aji

Green Slime
It's also worth noting some users have mentioned they continue to have problems. The following has helped some issues:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2526067

Make sure that whatever adapter you are using is at top priority. After doing so completely restart the computer and try hosting again.
 

Antar

Green Slime
Oh, I forgot to mention, we got it working. After we bought it I checked my Firewall permissions and you were right, it was the firewall. What's funny is back when I was trying out Terreria, I think I had the same problem.
 

ark626

Moderator
Thanks for the feedback. yeah the firewall is often blocking games because windos just dont likes fun :D
 

ark626

Moderator
I think its not important if UDP or TCP
but on UDP you get better rates if your connection is slow
TCP is more reliable while UDP is faster
 

ark626

Moderator
Also TCP is more "Fair" if more users use a single connection.
in case somebody hosts a game and three people join that connection which have the same router.
THose three would gain equal bandwith when using TCP but on use of UDP it is first come first serve (first participant reserves bandwith he needs second does also and the third get the bandwith which is left)

EDIT: i WAS INFORMED THAT THE GAME USES UDP NOT TCP :D
 

Ezoner

Green Slime
Tried for 2 days with firewall router , hamachi still can't get it to work to play with my brother on lan(MikroTik router)
 

GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
Tried for 2 days with firewall router , hamachi still can't get it to work to play with my brother on lan(MikroTik router)
Aww, have you checked everything? Are you using the same version of the game? Do you put in the correct ip adress? Have you both tried to be the host? Sometimes you miss the simple things. :p I don't know much about multiplayer and setting up a server but I think @ark626 can help you out. Maybe you could try to connect with somebody else here on the forum to see if that works. :p
 

hadig5

Rabby
Its easier to port forward and connect thorugh the main IP when ur playing lan. It shouldnt be so hard.
 

Zeph Grey

Green Slime
Tried for 2 days with firewall router , hamachi still can't get it to work to play with my brother on lan(MikroTik router)

I've tried everything here, and still in the same boat. Not using Hamachi, just direct connect.

All my other games work, but SoG (Steam or Demo) just won't recognize the port as open when I test it. I'm not new at this, I know what I'm doing, but I just can't figure this one out. Very frustrating.
 

Zeph Grey

Green Slime
Have you set up a static ip for your PC?
On which port are you trying?
What router do you use?

Static IP is set. Port 6000 for both TCP/UDP is forwarded along with port triggers. Using an Arris router/modem (supplied by the ISP). I'm running as admin, Window's firewall is all set (even tried turning it off once just to confirm).

No idea why Secrets of Grindea is giving me so much trouble here. Everything else works fine. In fact, after a couple hours of frustration with this, my friend and I gave up and played Starbound with no problems at all.
 
Top