LAN and internet compatability.

[megaicemage]

My friends and I were trying to start up a four person game of factorio on release 11.8. Let's just call each other A B C and D. The problem we had is that if A and B are in the same LAN network and C and D were across the internet then either A and B could connect to each other and that would block out C and D, or C and D could connect to A, blocking out B. Is there any way to fix this?

[slpwnd]

In this case you should be using some virtual LAN services (Hamachi / Evolve). Also check out the wiki page on Multiplayer: https://forums.factorio.com/wiki/inde ... ultiplayer

[Nova]

Do you use the LAN IP to connect between A and B?

[megaicemage]

Whenever C was in game with A and B attempted to connect, the error we received was always the same. In game it was B's LAN address "failed to connect, and was dropped" and B would receive "Unable to communicate with C's public IP address". This was the same whether B connected with A's LAN address or A's public address. Almost the exact reverse occurred if A and B were together and C attempted to connect to the game. It should probably be mentioned that either A or B hosted and neither C nor D port-forwarded their routers.

Also, don't ask me to explain why, but three of our members are against Hamachi. I'll look into Evolv, but it'll probably go down in similar fashion.

[Phillip_Lynx]

AFAIK, it is not posslible to mixconnect (as some connetct via LAN and others via Internet) to one game. This is true not only for factorio but also for other games (I tested this some times ago with an Heroes of might and magic).

Also it is (afaik) very complicated to connect 2 computers in the same LAN to the same outside IP-Adress. This, btw, is one reason for the devlopment of such sotware like hamachi or evolve.

You have 2 possibilites

1.) Use hamachi or evolve
2.) Use for the secod computer in your LAn an other way to get to the internet.

[cube]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but IMHO if the connections are like this:

Code: Select all

A ---- L                                  L ---- C
       A ---(NAT)--- Internet ---(NAT)--- A
B ---- N                                  N ---- D
 

then at least one of the clients needs to have opened port through their nat. Let's assume that is A.
so now C and D can connect to A without any problems using its public IP and opened port.
Now when B wants to connect to the game, he can also use the public IP and port of A.
Their router will either loop the packets right back, completely avoiding the internet, or it will route it out, where the packets will get immediately returned, but in either case the connection should work.
This is the same way that connection between C and D works, even though it was established in a slightly different way,
All the clients see their respective public IPs and everyone can communicate with everyone.