Unable to host on my home lan.

[TheBlackHand 0]

I bought this game because it supposedly had cooperative play. I want to play it with the kid on our home LAN. So far, OFP hasn't been very cooperative.

When I attempt to host a game on either of the PC's on my LAN I can't see anyone in the "Pool". I do get a message that say's so & so's connecting, but nobody ever shows up in the pool. If I press "OK" I get, "No player assigned."

I can see the game from the "joining" PC. I can pull that PC's player from the pool into the unnassigned slots & click start, but of course, the game never starts.

When I back out of the game that I just tried to start, I can see it in the available games screen, but it says something like "creating". After a few seconds it fades away.

This hosting/joining problem occurs on either of the two PC's on my home network. That is, I have the same hosting problem on both PC's.

The manual doesn't help, nor has the readme that came with the last patch. Both PC's are patched to 1.46. I have the original Operation Flashpoint. I only have one CD, which I use to start both games on the network.

I'm thinking it might be a firewall issue? I've disabled the WinXP firewalls on both machines. Beyond that I'm clueless about how to work a firewall.

Can anybody help me out here? If it's a firewall port issue can somebody walk me through the steps to setting the damn thing up?

I refuse to buy two copies of the game to play on my home network. I've about had enough hassle just trying to get the one working.

[Guest]

Are you using DirectPlay or Sockets?

[Mister Frag 0]

Try these steps:

On the Server

1. From the Main Menu, click on Multiplayer.

2. Choose an implementation. DirectPlay offers VON (Voice over Network) communications, Sockets can handle more players. For LAN play, I would recommend DirectPlay.

3. Choose a port -- the default is 2302.

4. If Internet is selected, click on it to switch to LAN.

5. Click New to create the server and go to the mission selection screen.

On the Client

1. From the Main Menu, click on Multiplayer.

2. Choose an implementation. DirectPlay offers VON (Voice over Network) communications, Sockets can handle more players. For LAN play, I would recommend DirectPlay.

3. Choose a port -- it must match the one selected on the server.

4. If Internet is selected, click on it to switch to LAN.

5. The server should now show up. If it doesn't, try clicking on Remote and enter the local IP address of the server (most likely in the 192.168.x.x range).

Be aware that both the server and client should be running with the same patch level, i.e. V1.96 if your OFP:Resistance is completely up-to-date. If a client has modified configuration files or modifications on it, it may also not connect. Last but not least, you must have separate installations of OFP on the server and client, or you'll get a FADE warning, and the performance and features of OFP will slowly degrade. The downloadable MP demo of OFP doesn't have this limitation.

Let us know if you are still having problems.

[ozanzac 0]

The problems you are having are strange to me.

Can you or have you played games on your network before?; because if you have. OFP shouldn't behave much differently.

I noticed your still using v1.46, which is OK, but if I were you, I'd invest in Resistance or GOTY.

The latest patch for resistance/GOTY: 1.96 doesn't require a CD in the CD-ROM to play, so it's probably perfect for your needs, but that's all a bit hush hush.

[Placebo 31]

Unless I'm missing something 1CD with 1 Serial number used twice over a LAN is not a good thing to do?