Dreamcast-Talk.com

Consider this my official tech support ticket asking for assistance then. It's frustrating trying to get this working and just hearing "well it's fine for everyone else".

I captured the logs from my dreampi for the connection dialing up. Using those (saved for reference later if anyone's interested) I found the re-routed IP address of the AFO server that the dreampi's DNS is re-routing to.

Sylverant [138.197.20.130] stops somewhere around NYC. (Note this is with the Sylverant boot disc, which I believe does not have the DNS rerouted through the dreampi.) I can ping this server without any problems, with 88ms response times.
AFO's Server [146.185.135.179] stops somewhere close to Amsterdam, NL. I CANNOT ping this server.

I'm unable to ping or traceroute all the way to the AFO server, leaving me to believe it's a firewall or related issue on the server's side.

The last hops I have in my traceroute to the AFO server is as follows:
13 87 ms 93 ms 88 ms ae-7.r23.asbnva02.us.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.6.238]
14 163 ms 162 ms 162 ms ae-2.r25.amstnl02.nl.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.6.163]
15 174 ms 174 ms 175 ms ae-1.r03.amstnl02.nl.bb.gin.ntt.net [129.250.2.147]
16 164 ms 164 ms 164 ms 83.231.213.94
17 164 ms 164 ms 165 ms 138.197.250.23
18 * * * Request timed out.
19 * * * Request timed out.
20 * * * Request timed out.

If you recall from the first time in the chat I tried to get help with this, it was happening from my nephew's house where I installed his dreampi as well. He's 30 minutes away from me with a completely different ISP, and he continued to get the same errors.

The dreampi's logs at the time of the "communication lost with server" are the following lines:
pppd[23815]: rcvd [LCP TermReq id=0x3]
pppd[23815]: LCP terminated by peer
pppd[23815]: Connect time 0.6 minutes.

It would be really nice if someone who manages the DC servers can reply. I sent a PM to Shuouma politely asking if he had a moment to take a look at my issue.

Thanks

Ping/traceroute isn't going to tell you anything. It times out for me too but I have no problems playing AFO. I think Shuouma's server rejects ping requests to prevent DDOS attacks.

Have you set up DMZ or port forwarding as described here (bottom of page). I looked through your previous posts and you haven't mentioned it.

The issue could also lie with your line voltage inducer. If the voltage provided is too low, you'll experience a slow and unreliable connection.

As PC said, it could be a LVI issue. You should invest in a USB or AC powered LVI. Weak powered LVI's cant send UDP packets correctly I believe.

Also if you have a modem/router combo, like one of our users here has then you could be suffering from a double NAT issue. Send a PM to UglyGoblinBoy he can explain what he did to fix his router as he had the exact same problem you did.

Thank you both for the replies. I have forgotten to mention those details in the post here as I had described them to TacT in the chat.

I am running the Dell USB modems TacT sells that do not require the addition LVI, and yes my DC is in the DMZ for my router.

I have not gone down the NAT route yet, and will give that a try.

I also was able to successfully play 4x4 Evolution last night, to add that to the list besides Sylverant's PSO of working games for me.

BLueSS wrote:I am running the Dell USB modems TacT sells that do not require the addition LVI

Technically it has a LVI but it's in the modem case. I wouldn't rule it out completely even though you can still play some other games. Some games are more susceptible to disconnecting than others (AFO being one of them). I see from one of your previous posts that you purchased two of the modems. It might be worth trying the other one if you haven't already.

pcwzrd13 wrote:

BLueSS wrote:I am running the Dell USB modems TacT sells that do not require the addition LVI

Technically it has has a LVI but it's in the modem case. I wouldn't rule it out completely even though you can still play some other games. Some games are more susceptible to disconnecting than others (AFO being one of them). I see from one of your previous posts that you purchased two of the modems. It might be worth trying the other one if you haven't already.

The second USB modem went to my nephew (I setup his dreampi) and he has the same connection issues. It's at his house so I won't be able to immediately try that.

I just configured NAT on my router to "open" instead of "secure" but this has not made a difference. Since it was another NAT option I also tried "Disable SIP ALG" but that had no effect either.

I am always able to get INTO the lobby of AFO and I've seen games hosted by others in the list. The disconnect happens as soon as I try to join a game or host my own game.

I also just tried the IPTable edit in the link below but that made no difference. Yes, you don't have to tell me that was for dreampi 1.5, I can read that. Yes, I'm on dreampi 1.6 so it should have that fix. I'm desparately trying anything at this point.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9889

I'm also using my own router, Netgear R7000 straight into the fiber converter box from my ISP. No ISP provided equipment other than the fiber converter to ethernet is in my path.

BLueSS wrote:I also just tried the IPTable edit in the link below but that made no difference. Yes, you don't have to tell me that was for dreampi 1.5, I can read that. Yes, I'm on dreampi 1.6 so it should have that fix. I'm desparately trying anything at this point.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9889

I'm also using my own router, Netgear R7000 straight into the fiber converter box from my ISP. No ISP provided equipment other than the fiber converter to ethernet is in my path.

Dug through my emails found something for you to try that made it work for UGB

Here's the full email

"Hey guys,

First up, thanks for all the help with my router issues. At some point I should switch it out, but in the meantime I think I found a fix. It doesn't make any sense to me, but it appears to be working. First off, I changed my ethernet switch to something extremely simple. 4 ports, no router. Secondly, and I think the part that worked, I added port forwarding to:

Protocol: UDP
Port: 7980
IP: 192.168.1.98

Why is this weird? Well I tried it before with the my previous router/switch and it didn't work. I changed the switch and now it works, but my RPI still has the IP of 192.168.0.98. So I really don't know what is happening with that IP, but when I connected to AFO it seemed to be stable.

Again, thanks for the help."

HuntrRose wrote:you should DMZ the Dreamcast not the Pi.. at least that is my understanding...

Xiden wrote:
IP: 192.168.1.98

IT'S ALIVE!!!

It was not very clear to me how the DreamPI was actually getting the Dreamcast online and my troubleshooting last night was late and I was pretty tired. The dreampi is making a ppp connection using two additional IP addresses (often 192.168.1.99 and 192.168.1.98 in a home router) and you need to DMZ / port forward to the Dreamcast's IP of that pair, NOT the raspberrypi.

This is quite tricky for a non-network inclined person, and suggest some ways to make it clearer in the instructions.

The main instructions on the "Online games" page app.php/page/onlinegames are poorly worded.

Also, for DreamPi configure port forwaring/DMZ on your router for UDP 7980.

If you forward the port to your dreampi, it is incorrect, because it's supposed to be forwarded to the Dreamcast's IP.

I suggest updating the wording when talking about port forwarding to explain this needs to be the PPP IP address, and NOT your raspberry pi's IP address.

The only way I've discovered to confirm what IP address the dreampi is giving the DC in the PPP connection is to tail the logs.


Now, I'm not sure exactly why the dreampi is using those IPs. Any explanation on that front? They're the two IP addresses below the start of my dhcp scope (192.168.1.100 and beyond) and when I changed my dhcp scope to start at a different IP range, the IP address on the dreampi changed for the PPP connections.

What's a more noob friendly way to get the IP the dreampi is using for the PPP connection?

they are hardcoded ip's in the dreampi code.

You can easily obtain your DC IP via Connecting to Quake 3 Arena and it will tell you your ip after its "connected'"

Dreampi's IP is listed near the end when you boot up the pi