Topic: SFC3 MP doesn't work =(

[Forgetful_Duck]

Help!

Ive bought SFC3 for ages and ive only been able to experience Dynaverse3 for 10 minutes!!!

Thats because When i signed up and logged on to play using the MP campaign option in game, my game crashed durign a mission!
Ever since then i could never connect.

It'll say "connetcing...etc"
          "Starting direct play host ...."
          " 90 seconds left retrying etc..."
          "30 seconds left  etc etc"

How come it does this?

I just read the long thread about the beta revision patch, ive never patched the game before.

Just 5 mins ago, i uninstalled the game using add/remove programs, then deleted the SFC3 folder, and did a fresh install in the same location. Since the beta patch is 40megs i decided to try the game without it, so i installed the Dx9 Fix patch. But STILL i cant connect to the online campaign games.          Whats wrong with the game?

Do i need to get the beta patch?

Its so weird, cause it connected fine and iw as playing and all, the very first time... I rememebred i had a NO-CD .exe installed cause i couldn't be bothered to put the CD in the drive. Could that be the reason?

Right now ive got a FRESH install of the game with only the DX9fix installed.  But still no luck connecting online. Ive set my firewall to allow access, and cause its zone alarm, it ask me when a new program tries to access the net. So i doubt its my fire wall. Im not behind a router or anything. Just plain Dial-up.

Can anyone help me pleaseeee.... I dont wanna play through gamespy arcade, i hate it  >=\

[Age]

   I would patch up your game as most on GSA are useing the patch mostly 534_B and it is located  in this forum.You need the disk to play the game but there is away around this go into your SFC3 uni file and where it says make it so=0 put make it so=1 that way you don't need the Cd to play the game.That is your reason for crashing as you have no cd in your machine and you need it.

   When patching up follow all directions.I hope all this helps and you may want to play on the Dyna3 sometime if so let me know I will point you to some good mods.Good luck and have fun.

   Turn your Windows XPSP2 firewall off when play online and then turn back on when fineshed.You don't need the direct X9 fix when you patch up as it take care of this.

[Forgetful_Duck]

Thanks, I got my mate to download the patch for me last night (hes got cable) and i just did a fresh install fo the game, and put on the patch.

Im about to try the game again.... So i just start the game, click on "online campaign" and it Should be ok?


EDIT:

No luck...
Same as always, Firewall down, nothing el;se is using the net.
I fire up the game, CLicks Online Campaign

And it just wont connect....

"Starting direct play host"
"attempting to connect 90seconds remaining"
"attempting to connect 60seconds remaining"
"attem.... etc "

I remembered the very first time i connected, like nearly a year ago now, It was so fast. Now its like.... Slow as, plus its not connecting.

I give up...

[Age]

   What are you trying to play on GSA or Dynaverse 3 if you are trying to play on the Dyna 3 you will crash becuase you don't have the mod?You need the mod or you will end up crashing all the time.It seems like you are trying to play on the Dyna 3 so what campaign are you choosing and read the information before choose it and if is not letting you on you are behind a firewall somewhere either in IE or windows.I hope you deleted you game folder before patching.

[Forgetful_Duck]

Thats the thing, I took all the right steps into reinstalling the game. I cleane dit out using add/remove programs in control panel.
Then i removed the SFC3 folder under activision.

I then reinstalled, and put the patch in, the 40.5mb one.
The game works fine in single player.

I have nothing else installed.

And is there some new way to play now?

this is what i do....

Fire up the game
Clicks the Last option in the main game menu "online MP campaign"
takes me to the connect and login page, and at display window, it has the whole

"connecting to server"
"connected"
"starting direct play host"

And im just waiting...

"atempting to connect, 90 seconds remaining"
"attmepting to connect 60 seconds remaining"
and then 30 and 0 and Sorry u cannot connect blah blah blah.

No firewall, no router, no game!

I remembered vividly, that after the logging ina dn creating accoutn it should take me to this other menu with servers to play on.

I dont EVEN GET to that. Im stuck in the login page With all these "attmepting to connect 90 secs..."  The Login button is greyed out.

initially i thought the game was so unpopular someone pulled the online plug. (ubisoft did that to Myst online - due to no players)

That was UNTILL i stumbled across to this website yesterday ... www.dynaverse.net

I was just googling around for a 160mb patch for a game called Soldiers Heroes of WW2, when i foudn out theres a beta patch for SFC3, then i futher googled the file name and typed in dynaverse, i dont even know how to spell it, but i knew it was called soemthing like dynaverse, i wanted to see if the game was still alive online.

Now it seems even if it is alive, i cant play it...

[Age]

   The only problem I had with this is that when logging on to the Dynaverse 3 it wanted my ports opened and put them all in there I got the samething that you did but it was because I was behind firewall.This is becuase I have Windows SPXP2 you might want to check with your ISP provider to see if all your ports are opened on there end as some put ports up.This the Dynaverse forums that you did a search for.

[Forgetful_Duck]

Which ports do i need on? Ive disabled my firewall, turned it off but its still the same...

[Forgetful_Duck]

OMG OMG OMG

IN ZONE ALARM, I turned OFF the firewalls etting, TURNED OFF program ocntrol, TURNED OFF trusted zone protection.

And tried logging in.

IT WORKED.

Access server approved my connection,
And then it ha dltos to say about gamespy accpoutns or enter e-maila nd password and create new account.!

W00t

Hmmm i wanted to join the Alternate B server, but i need to download a 70+Mb file... it'll take 7-8 hours...
Il get it overnight sometime...

Where should i play.

[Age]

   They do have race registrtion in SFC3 the AU mod is located in the mod forum in the SFC3 Campagins and you could PM Victory about it .If you want I can show you a place that has 2 mods and you might want to PM NannerSlug about GAW.I am glad to see you got it going as I know it was firewall or some AV software that was preventing  you from playing.It happened to me to there are web sites listed on when you enter campaign screen to get the mods and where to register.I do believe as I am mostly on Dyna2.

[Forgetful_Duck]

Theres about 8 or so serevrs i can see, but not much people. The Alternate B server had the most, so im joining that one.

Im currently downloading the alternate B mod, 72mb....

16% done, and 5 hours to go.

Age, do u play SFC3??? I thoguht you could only play on dyna 3.
I cant find SFC2 anywhere, I managed to find a brand new copy of SFC1 overseas in asia. So hard to play lol

[Pestalence_XC]

Theres about 8 or so serevrs i can see, but not much people. The Alternate B server had the most, so im joining that one.

Im currently downloading the alternate B mod, 72mb....

16% done, and 5 hours to go.

Age, do u play SFC3??? I thoguht you could only play on dyna 3.
I cant find SFC2 anywhere, I managed to find a brand new copy of SFC1 overseas in asia. So hard to play lol

For SFC 1, use the patch I re-compiled.. It is stickied in the General Starfleet Command Forum of this board.. patch version 1.03.. Follow the instructions exactly as posted.

as for getting Starfleet Command II : Empires at War or Starfleet Command II : Orion Pirates (prefferably Orion Pirates since the fan community is still building it and Dynaverse.net is trusted and authorized to work on Orion Pirate Dynaverse Source Code).. I would look at Ebay.. i have seen almost 50 copies of Orion pirates there and about 18 copies of Empires at War..

For the money, Orion Pirates is the best Starfleet Command of them all.. and the difficulty of Orion Pirates makes SFC 3 look like a kindergardeners game.

[Forgetful_Duck]

Just finsiehd downlaoding the alternate B thing.... hmmm cant wait till i start playing!

Hmm.... thats weird..

The Alternate B server is gone... =|

Are these 24/7 serevrs? or they just pop on and off?

I tried to join other serevrs that dont seem to need mods, but um, i get these Bad File thingies. like bad CRC or soemthing.
how come... Is it cause i installed the alternate B mod?

[Pestalence_XC]

Game files are checked by each server for any alterations.. as such, if you have a mod installed, then game files are altered.. the mod only works on the server it was designed for... there are several mods and several servers, as such, each server has it's own configuration of game files that need to be installed per directions provided by the hosting web site.

the servers are fan run.. anyone can run a server and the server kit is available. The server for Alt B may be down at the moment. You can look for the link to the Alternate B web site and look in their forums to check the status of the campaign running on their server.

[Forgetful_Duck]

So if my SFC3 is modded (It is right now with Alternate B)  then i cant install other mods and play on other servers?

Anyhow, ive just played an hour ro so on the alternate B server, When i got it, it said the server Chat was disconnected or something, and the main chat doesn't work...

Is that like... normal? Sucks not being able to chat , then whats the point of multiplayer.

Anyhow apart from that it was a blast. What i dont understand is, how sometimes u look at a hex or sector and right click it to check for ships inside. I find one, its an enemy Cruiser, and ive got 2 AI buddys in my fleet. Easy kill, i got in and let it attack me.

Then in the actual battle, the sensors pick up another ship futher away. Im like... "WHAT!" and i do the scan option to extend my sensor range. And BOOM, it was a romulan Valdor warbird. I was like.. "OmG"


We had 2 novas' (CL) and a intrepid.    i was amazed we won.  killed the enemey weakship and 3v1ed the valdor.... Took heaps of damage myself..

So what do i need to do if i wanna play with other mods? Do i have to fully reinstall the agme???

cause byt he sounds of this, the mods like, hardwired into the game from now on by default. Too bad, theres no Mods menu like most other games have...

[Age]

  You can only have one mod installed on at one time if you want to change mods you have to unistall the game and delete the game folder.Then you have to reinstall and repatch download new mod etc.The mods do go in cycles what this means in no more than 2 mods will be running at the sametime.This is so that they don't compete with one another on the Dyna you will have check and see if they have the mod back on the Dyna sometimes it is taken down to fix a few things.I have only played on Dyna3 for 10 minutes as I need a better video card btw don't delete the mod since it gets used over agian and a patch is made to make a newer version for the mod.I hope this answers everything.

[Pestalence_XC]

So if my SFC3 is modded (It is right now with Alternate B)  then i cant install other mods and play on other servers?

Anyhow, ive just played an hour ro so on the alternate B server, When i got it, it said the server Chat was disconnected or something, and the main chat doesn't work...

Is that like... normal? Sucks not being able to chat , then whats the point of multiplayer.

Anyhow apart from that it was a blast. What i dont understand is, how sometimes u look at a hex or sector and right click it to check for ships inside. I find one, its an enemy Cruiser, and ive got 2 AI buddys in my fleet. Easy kill, i got in and let it attack me.

Then in the actual battle, the sensors pick up another ship futher away. Im like... "WHAT!" and i do the scan option to extend my sensor range. And BOOM, it was a romulan Valdor warbird. I was like.. "OmG"


We had 2 novas' (CL) and a intrepid.    i was amazed we won.  killed the enemey weakship and 3v1ed the valdor.... Took heaps of damage myself..

So what do i need to do if i wanna play with other mods? Do i have to fully reinstall the agme???

cause byt he sounds of this, the mods like, hardwired into the game from now on by default. Too bad, theres no Mods menu like most other games have...

As for Chatting in game, Most servers have a Team Speak voice channel that will allow you to talk hands free while in mission.. Sometimes the Text chat fails on the Directory server's end.. however most people no longer use the tesxt chat unless sending a private message not meant for the voice comms...

and yes.. in SFC 3, you can have only 1 mod installed at a time.. however you can install multiple copirs of SFC 3..

To do this, completely remove SFC 3 from your system, reinstall game according to the v534_b patch instructions minus the patch (this is required for different servers as some servers still use v531 patch).

now find your SFC 3 game folder, right click and select Copy.. now find a space outside the folder that SFC 3 folder is in.. right click and select paste.

Now you have the stock game on your system 2 times

You can apply the game patch v534_b and it will auto find the original copy you have.. now you have a patched copy of the original game. You can keep this stock or you can mod it.. but lets cover that later..

Rename your original SFC 3 game folder that you just patched to something like SFC 3 534 Stock

now move your copied game folder to where the Original install of SFC 3 is...

now you can choose to follow any Mod Instructions.. some mods require patch v531 others require patch v534_b.. while following the instructions, you will put in first the patch required and then the Mod.. the patch will always find the folder that the CD installed to.. if you do not have a folder named correctly, the patch by default will install itself while creating a new folder with the correct name the folder should be.. when playing the game, you MUST make sure that the copy of the game you are playing has the folder name exactly the same and exactly in the same location that the CD installed to.

now to play the Stock game that is patched to v534 rename your modded game folder from SFC3 to SFC3 Mod

rename SFC 3 534 Stock to SFC3

this is necessary as SFC 3 is Registry Key dependant and playing the game from a folder that your CD did not install to will cause server side errors and make you lock up and crash.. Changing game folder names will not cause errors so long as you make sure that the name of the folder you are playing from is exactly in the location and same name that the CD installed to.

If you want several Mods plus a copy that is out of box that you can still copy for later use.. just keep following the instructions above... just don't patch 1 copy.. just remember for the version you are wanting to play, rename the game folder to the name that the CD used to install to..

yes this takes a lot of space on the HDD to do this, but there is no Mod Chooser for SFC 3 as of yet, thus the only way to easily swap game versions is to have multiple copies on your system

 Just remember that you only want to install from CD 1 time only.. all other copies need to be copies from the installed game folder..

Also, many Mods do not have an uninstall feature, or if they do, it will corrupt the game to the point of non playability until you reinstall again or swap game folders..

Also the patches are not uninstallable, so once you patch a copy of the game, that is the version of the game it is stuck in.. however a v531 patched game can still be patched with the v534_b patch if you so desire...

There are servers still running Out of Box Stock as well, to play on a Out of Box Stock Server, there is a SFC 3 DirectX 9 patch available that is to be used only if you are playing an out of box install of SFC 3 only.. (No version changing game patches).

there are also servers still using v500 game patch.. so basicallly your options are numerous to select which servers to play on.

Hope that this helps.

[Forgetful_Duck]

Il be buying a New HDD soon cause i need more space and to back up lots of stuff for formatting, so i guess multiple copies wont be a problem.

So theres THAT many servers? How come then do i only see like 8 or so serevrs and their mostly modded...

[Pestalence_XC]

Different patch bilds may not see servers running different patch versions..

an Out of Box unpatched game (v464) using the SFC3 Direct X9 fix only sees v464 servers, v500 patch (without SFC3 DirectX 9 fix) only sees v500 servers and can not see previous version, v531 and v534 patches (without SFC3 DirectX 9 fix) can see each other but can not see previous versions.

the SFC3 DirectX 9 fix is built into all the actual patches, but a streight out of box requires the fix applied independant of a patch in order to operate on a game.. Using the SFC3 DirectX 9 fix along with any Game Patch will corrupt game...

[GarrethMacLeod]

Hi Duck,

Glad you finally got on. I noticed you're using ZoneAlarm. I happen to use that as well and had to allow "Microsoft DirectPlay8 Server" in my program control screen to 1) have access and 2) act as a server. That enabled me to play while using the firewall. Oh, and I had to allow sfc3.exe as well.

I use a profile manager that I downloaded from the TAG Insurrection website. Can't find the site right now though. It allows me to have one copy of the game installed and just add mods to it. I can switch from one mod to another if I want.

When you didn't see our server was probably when it was doing a reboot. We have it on an automated 6 hour reboot cycle to keep the memory clean.

Have fun bud

[FA Frey XC]