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Handshake Server?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Ken L, Dec 13, 2015.

  1. Ken L

    Ken L Member

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    Will there be a handshake server for connecting to hosts behind firewalls or NATs?

    I say this as I travel for business and to keep the group together I might host a game though hotel/company wifi. Does d20pro provide this?

    When I say handshake server, I'm referring to a server that when a game server comes online, it can register to the the handshaker and be 'listed'. When players connect, they are bridged by this server then the game server (the host) will bear the rest of the connection.

    If d20pro does not provide this, will it provide this in the future?
     
    #1 Ken L, Dec 13, 2015
  2. edwardcd

    edwardcd Administrator
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    The current way is direct connection.

    If the d20Pro judge/GM is behind a firewall that does not have any ports open due to limited access, you can opt for a vLAN using a service such as logmein hamachi.

    Regarding future, who knows what the possibilities can hold. :)
     
    #2 edwardcd, Dec 14, 2015
  3. Ken L

    Ken L Member

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    Hamachi has a maximum connection limit of 5 devices iirc for free, and I have 5 players + myself so I'd need to buy that utility as well. The listing server doesn't take much resources, is there a reason for not pursuing this medium?

    Many modern indie games do this to handle their multiplayer, heck, almost all modern games do this as every player is considered a potential host.

    I'll see about setting up hamachi for my group.
     
    #3 Ken L, Dec 14, 2015
  4. Wesley Gorby

    Wesley Gorby Production/Community Manager
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    It is my understanding there there is some form/version of this being discussed by the dev team, there just isn't currently a method to do it...
     
    #4 Wesley Gorby, Dec 15, 2015
  5. Ken L

    Ken L Member

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    In the desired capacity I suppose. It's UDP hole punching in the end, it's the relay server that needs to be able bridge the two with minimal oversight to maintain the connection between the two (minimal being the key word).

    Baby steps really, but relying on direct connections alone cedes the category 'ease of connection' to a web based platform like r20.
     
    #5 Ken L, Dec 15, 2015
  6. Wesley Gorby

    Wesley Gorby Production/Community Manager
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    Most of the gamers I have heard from use voip (Teamspeak, Skype, Gtalk etc), looking at a web page for the connection details is an extra step.. the GM just pasts the IP live in real time to the voip channel ..

    This also, has the (tho unintended) benefit of not needing to upkeep a password on the session, as players are not looking at that list on a web page and joining sessions they were not invited to... or the other flip side of that, the disgruntled player who left the game watches the list for the aforementioned game and then DDOSs the session...

    so, there are pros and cons on both sides of having the option of a page that lists active game sessions...
     
    #6 Wesley Gorby, Dec 17, 2015
  7. Ken L

    Ken L Member

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    The listing server isn't really a 'listing' server. In technical terms it's a super node with a static known IP that punches holes (udp) connections through NATs. It need not 'list' the server but internally it tracks registered host servers.

    Take the following usecase:

    I'm at the Mariot hotel in SF and need to host the game for the group. I choose 'assisted connection' and register with the listing server after providing a server alias.

    Player A wants to connect, he launches D20 and chooses to connect via alias vs direct connection. This player provides the server name and this pings the super node server to check for connected hosts with the provided server name. No actual 'list' need be provided (bad name terminology on my part).

    The super node punches a hole and secures a UDP connection to the host and hands over the port allocated as well as IP to the player's client so they can utilize the connection and keep it alive. The player client periodically keeps in touch with the super node just in case it loses connection so a port can be punched through (note that the host client is always involved, the Supernode serves as the 'known address' to bridge the two).
     
    #7 Ken L, Dec 17, 2015
  8. thraxxis

    thraxxis Member

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    Hail and well met,

    The D20PRO GM hosts a TCP/IP server, not UDP.

    We've discussed options, like a hosted server and/or a relay server. This is more likely to manifest in Mage Hand though.
     
    #8 thraxxis, Dec 18, 2015
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