Author Topic: Vox does not work in H2H (Read 557 times)

vfrocket · « **on:** February 03, 2005, 01:43:26 PM »

I host an H2H server occasionally, but I have not been able to get the VOX feature to work. I can tune channel 5 to myself and hear myself, but when I tune to another player they cannot hear me.

I am using a Linksys router, I disable the firewall, and place my pc in the DMZ.

Do I need to forward any ports to my computer via the NAT settings? or what else is wrong?

thanks.

bbosen · « **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2005, 09:53:13 PM »

I believe the Voice protocol used in Aces High is fundamentally incompatible with NAT routers while hosting an H2H session. The NAT protocol is quite restrictive on what can be translated, and applications that transmit IP addresses or UDP or TCP ports within application-level data don't work well with NAT. As near as I can tell, AH voice application data must include IP addresses or Port specifications for which your Linksys (NAT) router cannot reasonably be expected to interpret.

The fact that you can hear yourself on channel 5 suggests that you are suffering from the same problem (channel 5 is "local" to you and is not subject to NAT translation, so you can hear yourself. I think you'll find that other workstations on your local LAN can use AH H2H voice too, but remote users will not be able to participate).

I've given up on H2H voice when I host from behind my Snapgear NAT firewall. Instead, I use "Teamspeak", which works very well. Teamspeak is available free of charge. If you want to check it out, it's available from http://www.teamspeak.org. Several regular H2H players use it (but I wish it had better support among the AH H2H community, because so many of the more sophisticated H2H hosts suffer from this problem with NAT firewalls).

Regards,

-Bob Bosen-
(Peabody)

vfrocket · « **Reply #2 on:** February 07, 2005, 05:32:56 PM »

thx I figured as much... we have been using team speak it works good.

Skuzzy · « **Reply #3 on:** February 07, 2005, 05:51:30 PM »

Voice will work behind a NAT router, but you have to set the NAT router to forward UDP packets to the port of the computer behind the NAT. Without port forwarding, it is impossible for a NAT router to know where the UDP packets are destined.

I believe the voice port number is 2001 for H2H.
You can check it with 'netstat -an' while Aces High is running to see the ports all opened.

bbosen · « **Reply #4 on:** February 09, 2005, 05:20:00 PM »

Thanks for the info Skuzzy.

I'll try that .......again.

-Peabody-

Brooke · « **Reply #5 on:** August 14, 2005, 03:43:59 AM »

I'm forwarding ports 2000-5000 (for both TCP and UDP) to my computer. Everything works in H2H hosting except voice. I've done a lot of reading in the BB about this issue, which a lot of people have, but some people do not. I haven't seen any suggested solution, though, other than doing what I am already doing.

Any new suggestions on this issue?

Skuzzy · « **Reply #6 on:** August 14, 2005, 07:18:14 AM »

Your router has to support UDP over NAT. Not all consumer routers support this. Motorola makes a router which does support it, but I do not have the model number handy.

Support at Motorola could tell you if you ask them which model supports UDP over NAT.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 14, 2005, 01:06:24 PM »

Forgive me for sounding a bit ignorant. Networking has developed in ways my poor brain can no longer keep up with. Guess I killed too many brain cells at some point. But isnt there more than one form of NAT? I swear I remember reading this somewhere. I mean, NAT is just a hardware extrapolation of what we used to call IP Masquerading isnt it? It seems to work about the same to me anyway.

All I know is, I bought this little Linksys router 2 or 3 years ago, despite bad reviews on over heating (which I have never had a problem with by the way). I did have to upgrade the firmware, but other than that it has performed flawlessly for me in Aces High all along. And yes, its an NAT router. I've never had problems with vox, while HTC was trying to implement fixes for everyone else.

Anyway, IIRC, there is one type of NAT router that uses port mapping, and one kind that doesnt. Could this be where the problem is?

Also (and this has nothing to do with the question at hand really, just curious), one of the reasons for the development of NAT routers was to save IP addresses, so you could share one with a network, because of the limitations of IPv4. When we eventually switch to IPv6 do you think they'll stop making NAT type routers? I use it for security reasons, the same way my old Linux box used to do IP Masquerading for me.

Sorry for the hijack. Well, it IS related. Sort of.

Brooke · « **Reply #8 on:** August 14, 2005, 02:41:21 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Skuzzy
Your router has to support UDP over NAT. Not all consumer routers support this. Motorola makes a router which does support it, but I do not have the model number handy.

Support at Motorola could tell you if you ask them which model supports UDP over NAT.

Supposedly, I'm forwarding UDP packets, too, on 2000-5000. I checked the box to forward TCP, and I checked the separate box to forward UDP. I have the latest firmware, but it's possible that the router has a bug. It's a Linksys Etherfast Cable/DSL Router, model BEFSR81.

bbosen · « **Reply #9 on:** August 16, 2005, 11:27:55 PM »

Skuzzy wrote:

"Your router has to support UDP over NAT. Not all consumer routers support this."

Skuzzy: If my router didn't support UDP over NAT, wouldn't I have trouble with the other components of Aces High? Error messages indicating "switching to TCP" are very, very, very, very rare for me (and on those rare occasions when this happens, somebody else on my LAN is usually doing something truly wretched to my bandwidth).

-Peabody-