Had a problem when trying to connect two computers (Vista and XP), solution inside

[unmerged(28842)]

Hi,

I had some problem when trying to get two computers (one running Vista Premium, the other XP Professional) to play CK [1.05] via LAN.

I had tried everything possible like disabling firewalls, updating everything on the PC, removing every unnecessary running program and so on.

Then I found the solution and am happy to share it with you, perhaps someone else can use it, too.

I simply had to deactive the UPnP-Function of my router (T-Sinus 1xxx DSL) and everything worked like a charm.


I will add some further details and call the computers XP and Vista (and Win2000 which was used for further tests):

- Vista was able to see XP games
- XP couldn't see Vista games
- When Vista tried to join XP the computer hang until the timeout was reached (about a minute)
- Connection via IP was not possible
- Every other kind of game worked like a charm
- Win2000 was able to join XP
- Win2000 wasn't able to join Vista (didn't see the games)

Seems like a new feature of Vista that adds UPnP-Capabilities to DirectPlay or some bullshit like that.

(UPnP is a feature that let your computer negotiate with the router to which ports he should open. But why that spawns errors during a lan session is behind my knowledge...)


Perhaps someone can use this info. I will play now.

 

[unmerged(28842)]

... [but crashing every five minutes...]

 

[Swuul]

Try to close down all unnecessary processes (mediaplayer, virus-scan, instant messengers, IRC, automatic updaters etc) while playing. Also refrain from alt-tabbing. I have found following those improve CK MP stability quite a lot (altough it still crashes every now and then). Also, try with very slow speed initially (the AI is hyperactive the first minutes after launch), and do not go above normal speed, as higher speeds seem to cause more crashing.

Of course, if one of the machines is Vista, then you might be screwed. It has loads of processes you can not turn off, and it has other issues too making gaming with it a pain in the butt. I would like to suggest that you do not use Vista for gaming, if at all possible.

 

[unmerged(28842)]

I had no problem so far with Vista, having two cpus/cores helps to avoid any problem.

Highest speed makes the game crash every time (even when the slower pc is the host) and I noticed that saying "seems stable now" makes the game crash, too. Strange.