Advanced Hosting Issues

Opening and Forwarding Ports

To make sure that your server will show up in the Targetware Server List, you must also be able to establish an outbound connection to the metaserver on TCP Port 2989. This will allow other people see your server on the list and join your game. Because most outbound firewalls do not block outbound TCP traffic, this should not be a problem.

For your game server to work properly 4 ports must be open: 2 TCP and 2 UDP. Targetware uses the ports below by default. Please make sure they are open.

  • TCP 2766
  • TCP 2767
  • UDP 2766
  • UDP 2767

However, if you desire or need to use different ports, you can use the port setting in the Config.txt file to control which ports you will use.

[Server]
port = XXXX

whatever port number you choose, your game server will use the following ports:

  • TCP (port number chosen): The main game server connection. It must be open through your firewall.
  • TCP (port number chosen + 1): This port is used for automatic file downloads. It can be left blocked, but that would prevent your players from automatically receiving any files needed to play that they do not already have.
  • UDP (port number chosen): This is the UDP data connection. Although it is possible to leave this port blocked and still run a game server, it will require more bandwidth to do so, and will run slightly slower.
  • UDP (port number chosen + 1): This port allows the metaserver to get information about your server. If this is blocked, your server will always show up with question marks in the game server list. If open, players will be able to see the server information, including their ping time to your server.

Hosting and Playing with Multiple Computers behind a Firewall.

The steps necessary to host and play Targetware with different computers behind a firewall will depend on the type of firewall setup that is used.

If the setup is a firewall and NAT (Network Address Translator), then port forwarding is only necessary for the server. The clients will take care of themselves automatically.

If you're trying to run multiple servers from behind a single firewall and NAT, separate ports will have to be used as well as separate port forwarding.