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Author Topic: OP2 NATfix 2.1  (Read 3222 times)

Offline BlackBox

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« on: March 16, 2005, 06:10:18 PM »
Alright, on zigzagjoe's request in IRC I decided to figure out what was wrong with the new NATfix, and have fixed it.
You can get the new version from here: http://www.outpostuniverse.net/files/natfix21.zip
(If you are using the old 1.x version of NATfix, please remove it before installing 2.1. You'll have to reapply it after installing 2.1. Unzip ALL files in the zip to your OP2 folder, overwrite if prompted.)

For the people who don't know what NATfix is, it allows you to host OP2 from behind a router, without getting the replication list error.

The reason it's necessary is because OP2 improperly detects the IP address of the host computer. It gets the internal network IP rather than the external Internet IP address. This is sent in data packets to the other players in the game, so when they try to send back to this IP, the data never gets there (because those IP's are only valid inside the host's LAN.) This causes the replication error.

Anyway, the fix recently released in the OPU4 update had a bug which made the hosting OP2 crash when the game was started.
The recent NATfix applies the patch in memory on game startup, rather than hardcoding it into the EXE file as the old version does.
This bug was caused by an invalid code patch (it would call an invalid memory address which caused the game to crash). This has been corrected and the new NATfix should now work.

The old NATfix will still continue to work, however we recommend you update to the 2.1 NATfix to prevent any possible problems. (The old NATfix is removed if you ever update the EXE. Also, your IP address is hardcoded into the file itself. Poor coding practice! :P)
The new NATfix stores its information inside the Outpost2.ini file instead, so updates from now on won't overwrite the NATfix information. Also, this way, if you have a problem the IP address is easily changed or disabled by editing the INI file.

This new NATfix will be included in the next major OP2 update.

--op2hacker
« Last Edit: March 16, 2005, 06:15:02 PM by op2hacker »
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Offline Leviathan

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2005, 03:52:38 AM »
Thanks for the update.

To run it put it in your op2 folder then run.

And Joe, we only wish for people to download opu4op2dl.exe from our site dl url.
www.www.outpostuniverse.net/op2dl
« Last Edit: March 17, 2005, 03:54:10 AM by Leviathan »
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Offline Nightmare24148

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2005, 12:45:35 PM »
I gotta try this...

^_^
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Offline Leviathan

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2005, 02:03:45 PM »
You gotta ahve rotuer setup with all op2 ports forwarded or dmz, then u can use natfix to host. u dont need it to join.
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Offline AxisMann

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2005, 07:30:59 PM »
Hi,

Will the latest version of NATFIX work with my original version of OP2 with the 3 updates?  I've been unable to host from behind my Netgear 614 router and was hoping that NATFIX would correct the problem.  I tried with the previous version but it didn't appear to work.

Thanks

 
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Offline BlackBox

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2005, 08:03:52 PM »
Unfortunately, it won't work with the old version of OP2. This is because the newer versions all use a file called op2ext.dll, which actually performs the NAT fix (the natfix.exe just saves a setting for the actual fix to work)

Old versions of OP2 won't load this op2ext.dll, and thus the patch won't get called.

However, one day I may make a new patch which does the actual EXE patching, so it should work with any version.
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Offline Leviathan

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2005, 05:32:30 AM »
You should use the version from our site. It includes thos updates.
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Offline zigzagjoe

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2005, 08:05:41 AM »
Yes, we recommend getting the version from our site; It has all the patches, the natfix, and all the map-packs installed already. Besides, it is required to play with us. You may use the music and vids from the cd if you want.
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Offline Flanx

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2005, 08:23:01 AM »
Makes me wonder if this new version of the NATfix will actually work with my router. It's a D-Link 614+ and the 1.x NATfix never did work.
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Offline Leviathan

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2005, 08:26:51 AM »
The router does not matter.

As long as you have forwarding set up correcly you can play online.

If you have the range forwarded you can then use natfix to host games.
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Offline BlackBox

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #10 on: October 07, 2005, 02:33:14 PM »
Quote
The router does not matter.
That's not always the case.

Some routers do not follow the NAT specification; and do not work as they should.

Btw, I'm sure you've already seen me say this fifty times, but

natfix will NOT help you if you didn't do port forwarding or DMZ. All it does, is change the IP that OP2 sends in packets in host mode, to prevent the "replicating list" error.
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Offline Hooman

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #11 on: October 07, 2005, 04:33:16 PM »
Btw, it might not be such a bad idea to leave an older copy of NatFix around. One that will do the exe patch (including writing the IP to the exe) and also apply the checksum patch.

We don't need to stick with that kind of a hack for future releases on this site, but for people who either can't or won't use the version you guys keep promoting, it's be nice if we still made our work available to them. Keep in mind that the older version of the patch was only required for the host, so they could still play with people who were only willing to play with a CD install.
 
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Offline AxisMann

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #12 on: October 08, 2005, 01:32:27 AM »
Bummer,

I want to host my buddies from behind my router but I guess I'm just not going to be able to do that using NATFIX with my original version of OP2.  I might try to download the OP2 version from this site but not at this time.

Thanks.


 
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Offline Leviathan

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OP2 NATfix 2.1
« Reply #13 on: October 08, 2005, 02:30:17 AM »
you dont need anything special like winrar for our just, its just a auto exe extracter. and i suggest u giv it a go and come join us on irc for games, we play everyday :)
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