Hosting Guide
From Worms Knowledge Base
If other players time-out when trying to join your hosted games in Worms Armageddon, you may need some network set-up. This may seem daunting at first, but it isn't as difficult as it seems. This guide will help you through it, and you'll have full control of your hosted games when you're done. However, if you want to just be able to host without any special network configuration, see the "Alternative workarounds" section near the bottom of this guide.
Contents
Why does hosting games need a guide?
W:A uses a peer-to-peer networking model, which means that games are hosted on the players' computers, and not on the WormNET server. This means that in order for a player to successfully host a game, the host's computer must be able to accept incoming connections, not just make outgoing connections. Certain hardware (routers and modems) and software (firewalls) create a barrier and block incoming connections, and require configuration to allow these incoming connections to go through and reach Worms Armageddon.
First attempts: do not set password for the public games
First, when hosting a game that you want to be joinable by everyone, make sure not to input the password that some people may misinterpret for a login box. There have been no logins on WormNET since a very long time ago, and the password here is used solely for creating a private game. By default, your name is inserted into a title (and is probably one of the sources of confusion). It is common that some newcomers who would otherwise be able to host without any configuration changes make the game passworded by mistake. In case you verified this and this doesn't apply to you, proceed to the network configuration.
Routers
If you have a router, you will need to configure the router to forward incoming connections on a certain TCP port (by default, 17011) to your computer.
The website portforward.com has detailed steps on how to configure port forwarding for many router models:
- Proceed to the Routers section on portforward.com;
- Find the model of your router (or the closest model if you can't find yours), and click on it;
- Skip the advertisement (see below);
- Scroll down and find the Worms Armageddon link, and click it;
- Follow the instructions there.
Note 1: Unless you have money to burn, ignore the PFConfig banner and full-screen advertisement (screenshot). This program is not free - you will need to purchase the program if you want it to forward the ports for you.
Note 2: Please read the instructions on portforward.com carefully, and don't skip any steps. Don't confuse internal (LAN) IPs (which usually are in the form 192.168.xx.xx or 10.0.xx.xx) with external (Internet) IPs. Many people make a mistake when configuring their router because they're too impatient to follow every step, such as setting up a static IP address.
Note 3: If your router supports UPnP, you could try enabling it. As of v3.6.29.0, W:A will try to automatically forward the hosted port.
Software firewalls
Software firewalls (sometimes also called "Internet security suites") will often block all incoming connections, unless a special rule is created. There are usually two ways to configure them, depending on their type. You may find a guide specifically for your firewall on nanacide.
Make WA.exe a trusted program
Often software firewalls allow users to mark some programs as completely trusted, which means that the firewall will not block any network activity by that program. The exact steps vary for every firewall, but doing this might involve:
- adding WA.exe to the "trusted zone"
- adding WA.exe to a list of "exceptions"
- creating a rule to allow all network access to and from WA.exe
Allow all traffic on port 17011
Some firewalls operate on a port-based level, rather than an application level. In this case, you will need to instruct the firewall to allow all network activity on W:A's hosting port (by default 17011).
Make sure that the Force IP checkbox is unchecked
W:A versions since 3.6.28.0 will correctly auto-detect your external IP, even if you're behind a router or firewall. There is an option to disable auto-detection and override your IP address, but this is only required in very exotic network configurations. If you read somewhere that you need to enable Force IP, ignore that guide as it is very outdated.
The Force IP option can be found in the network configuration screen, accessible from the network play screen via the Configuration button.
Change the port used for hosting games
If you know that your computer is connectable on a certain port, and do not wish to set up another port just for W:A, you can change the port number used for hosting games in W:A's network options screen. However, note two things:
- Players using W:A versions older than 3.6.28.0 will not be able to join your game
- If you try to host a game while another application is using the port you specified, other players will not be able to join your game.
Checking your connectivity
When setting up hosting, you don't need to ask someone to try joining your game to see if it worked - you can check yourself. To do this:
- Host the game as usual (you don't need to host it on WormNET, a Direct IP game will work too)
- Minimize W:A (by clicking on the bottom of the screen, or pressing Shift+Esc)
- Open canyouseeme.org
- Enter 17011 as the port (unless you changed it)
- Click Check
The website will tell you whether your computer is connectable on the port you specified. Remember that this will only work while you're actually hosting a game!
Alternative workarounds
If none of the above helped you or applies to you (for example, you're in a LAN without access to the router/gateway, or are behind a Carrier-grade NAT), you could try one of the following solutions.
WormNAT2
WormNAT2 is a WormKit module which enables players behind NAT or firewalls to host games which are joinable by everyone. It achieves this by hosting games on a proxy server, which redirects connections to your computer.
HostingBuddy
HostingBuddy is an automated hosting bot. It can host games for you when asked to. When you join your game, you'll be able to control and customize it using text commands. It doesn't require you to download any software, maps or schemes to host. It isn't as customizable as a real hosting solution, so if you want more control, see below.
Hamachi
Hamachi is a user-friendly Virtual Private Network application. It allows games hosted on LAN to be visible to users on your Hamachi virtual network, over the Internet. Only people in the same Hamachi network as you will see and be able to join your games.
