Stuck at 'Connecting to (server)...'

[Behemoose]

Hello all.

 

Trying to connect to a specific server to which others can connect, including users with the same local ISP as me.  There are other servers I can connect to just fine.  I've tried:

• disabling my firewall
• verifying files
• cleaning game data from launcher
• reinstalling 7D2D
• reinstalling EAC
• removing any possible interfering port forwarding from my own router

 

The server owner sent me a screenshot of the log when I'm trying to connect.  It seems that it does authenticate me with the server password but for some reason my client isn't connecting to steamworks:

 

Does anyone have any insight into this?  I'd much rather be bashing zombie heads with a club than bashing mine on the keyboard.

 

Cheers,

Behemoose

[meganoth]

Thats the problem with too narrow log excerpts. I don't really see where it stops working as the context is missing. In my server logs the connection looks like this

2020-07-29T20:59:51 468.926 INF NET: LiteNetLib: Connect from: [ip]:766
7
2020-07-29T20:59:51 468.930 INF Started thread NCS_Reader_0_0
2020-07-29T20:59:51 468.930 INF Started thread NCS_Writer_0_0
2020-07-29T20:59:51 468.932 INF Started thread NCS_Reader_0_1
2020-07-29T20:59:51 468.932 INF Started thread NCS_Writer_0_1
2020-07-29T20:59:51 468.933 INF [NET] PlayerConnected EntityID=-1, PlayerID='', OwnerID='', PlayerName=''
2020-07-29T20:59:51 468.940 INF NPCID.Write
2020-07-29T20:59:51 469.011 INF NPPL.Read
2020-07-29T20:59:51 469.026 INF PlayerLogin: [username]/Alpha 19
2020-07-29T20:59:51 469.026 INF Client IP: [ip]
2020-07-29T20:59:51 469.028 INF [Auth] PlayerName authorization successful: EntityID=-1, PlayerID='[steamid]', OwnerID='', PlayerName='[username]'

 

As you can see the first line with PlayerConnected is still without any playerid or even playername. Then an ID is transmitted, which still seems to come from the client.

Now I guess the last line of the previous excerpt and the following lines are where the connection to steam and authorization is done.

2020-07-29T20:59:51 469.028 INF [Auth] ServerState authorization successful: EntityID=-1, PlayerID='[playerid]', OwnerID='', PlayerName='[playername]'
2020-07-29T20:59:51 469.028 INF [Auth] PlayerId authorization successful: EntityID=-1, PlayerID='[playerid]', OwnerID='', PlayerName='[playername]'
2020-07-29T20:59:51 469.029 INF [Auth] PlayerId-Steam authorization successful: EntityID=-1, PlayerID='7[playerid]', OwnerID='', PlayerName='[playername]'

The last line is obviously steam-related and all the lines with [Auth] are very probable steam, before that probably only the client is involved.

 

As you can see I'm very careful in mentioning that all this is conjecture on my part, maybe someone else here knows more. But it probably would need a few lines before the "coonection lost" to see exactly where the process fails.

 

 

[SylenThunder]

Over time, your system will automatically collect and store IP addresses and other DNS results, in order to speed up subsequent requests it makes to the same hostname. This is perfectly fine, but at times, bad or corrupted results will also be cached and therefore require to be cleared from your cache in order to communicate with hosts correctly.

Similar to this, your TCP/IP settings may get corrupted, and will need to be reset. To perform this procedure, follow the steps found below.

• From Windows Start, search for cmd.

• Right click on Command Prompt and click Run as administrator.
• In the console, type the following command: ipconfig /flushdns 
  • If the command was successful, you will see the message "Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache":

• Afterwards, type: netsh int ip reset like so:
• Once done, restart your computer as prompted.

It may also be helpful to first shut off your modem, leave it off for at least three minute while you perform this procedure, and to plug it back in when you reboot the PC.

[Behemoose]

12 hours ago, meganoth said:

Thats the problem with too narrow log excerpts. I don't really see where it stops working as the context is missing. In my server logs the connection looks like this

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for not including more.  Here's a more complete screenshot of the log:

 

The redactions are all my Steam ID.

[Behemoose]

This is still affecting me in A19.  If anyone has any ideas they'd be greatly appreciated.

[Behemoose]

I examined my client log and found that LiteNetLib is reporting connection failure.

 

Spoiler

2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.462 INF User joined: Behemoose
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.472 INF Reloading serveradmin.xml
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.472 INF Loading permissions file at 'C:\Users\srook\AppData\Roaming/7DaysToDie/Saves/serveradmin.xml'
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.472 INF Loading permissions file done.
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.780 INF Updated culture for display texts
2020-08-22T07:44:20 23.083 INF [GSM] GameSparks Connected
2020-08-22T07:44:30 32.949 INF UMA Overlay loading took 9862 ms
2020-08-22T07:44:30 32.951 INF UMA Slot loading took 1 ms
2020-08-22T07:44:37 39.432 INF LoadTextureArraysForQuality quality -1 to 1, reload False
2020-08-22T07:44:37 39.974 INF [GSM] Skipping me
2020-08-22T07:44:39 42.162 INF WorldStaticData.Init() needed 9.038s
2020-08-22T07:44:40 42.497 INF [Steamworks.NET] Login ok.
2020-08-22T07:44:40 42.781 INF AchievementManager: Received stats and achievements from Steam
2020-08-22T08:11:59 1681.384 INF Started thread ServerBrowserListUpdater
2020-08-22T08:16:37 1959.969 INF Connecting to server GoB_7D2D_A19...
2020-08-22T08:16:37 1959.975 INF NET: LiteNetLib trying to connect to: 63.142.176.94:26900
2020-08-22T08:16:37 1960.011 INF Exited thread ServerBrowserListUpdater
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.900 INF NET: LiteNetLib: Connection failed: ConnectionFailed
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.900 INF NET: Steam NW trying to connect to: 63.142.176.94:26900
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.901 INF [Steamworks.NET] NET: Connecting to SteamID 90138119848522758
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.902 INF Started thread SteamNetworkingClient
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.018 INF [Steamworks.NET] NET: Connection established
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.063 INF [Steamworks.NET] NET: Password accepted
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.075 INF Started thread NCSteam_Reader_0
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.076 INF Started thread NCSteam_Writer_0
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.080 INF Started thread NCSteam_Reader_1
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.081 INF Started thread NCSteam_Writer_1
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.106 INF NPCID.Read
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.112 INF Connection handshake done
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.113 INF [Steamworks.NET] Auth.GetAuthTicket()
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.114 INF [EAC] Connected to game server
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.114 INF NPPL.Write
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.831 INF [EAC] Disconnected from game server
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.831 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Writer_1
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.831 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Writer_0
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.832 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Reader_1
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.832 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Reader_0
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.836 INF Exited thread SteamNetworkingClient
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.841 INF SaveAndCleanupWorld
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.842 INF [Steamworks.NET] Stopping server
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.842 INF [Steamworks.NET] Exiting Lobby

 

[SylenThunder]

6 hours ago, Behemoose said:

I examined my client log and found that LiteNetLib is reporting connection failure.

 

  Hide contents

2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.462 INF User joined: Behemoose
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.472 INF Reloading serveradmin.xml
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.472 INF Loading permissions file at 'C:\Users\srook\AppData\Roaming/7DaysToDie/Saves/serveradmin.xml'
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.472 INF Loading permissions file done.
2020-08-22T07:44:19 21.780 INF Updated culture for display texts
2020-08-22T07:44:20 23.083 INF [GSM] GameSparks Connected
2020-08-22T07:44:30 32.949 INF UMA Overlay loading took 9862 ms
2020-08-22T07:44:30 32.951 INF UMA Slot loading took 1 ms
2020-08-22T07:44:37 39.432 INF LoadTextureArraysForQuality quality -1 to 1, reload False
2020-08-22T07:44:37 39.974 INF [GSM] Skipping me
2020-08-22T07:44:39 42.162 INF WorldStaticData.Init() needed 9.038s
2020-08-22T07:44:40 42.497 INF [Steamworks.NET] Login ok.
2020-08-22T07:44:40 42.781 INF AchievementManager: Received stats and achievements from Steam
2020-08-22T08:11:59 1681.384 INF Started thread ServerBrowserListUpdater
2020-08-22T08:16:37 1959.969 INF Connecting to server GoB_7D2D_A19...
2020-08-22T08:16:37 1959.975 INF NET: LiteNetLib trying to connect to: 63.142.176.94:26900
2020-08-22T08:16:37 1960.011 INF Exited thread ServerBrowserListUpdater
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.900 INF NET: LiteNetLib: Connection failed: ConnectionFailed
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.900 INF NET: Steam NW trying to connect to: 63.142.176.94:26900
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.901 INF [Steamworks.NET] NET: Connecting to SteamID 90138119848522758
2020-08-22T08:16:43 1965.902 INF Started thread SteamNetworkingClient
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.018 INF [Steamworks.NET] NET: Connection established
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.063 INF [Steamworks.NET] NET: Password accepted
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.075 INF Started thread NCSteam_Reader_0
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.076 INF Started thread NCSteam_Writer_0
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.080 INF Started thread NCSteam_Reader_1
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.081 INF Started thread NCSteam_Writer_1
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.106 INF NPCID.Read
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.112 INF Connection handshake done
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.113 INF [Steamworks.NET] Auth.GetAuthTicket()
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.114 INF [EAC] Connected to game server
2020-08-22T08:16:47 1970.114 INF NPPL.Write
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.831 INF [EAC] Disconnected from game server
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.831 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Writer_1
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.831 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Writer_0
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.832 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Reader_1
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.832 INF Exited thread NCSteam_Reader_0
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.836 INF Exited thread SteamNetworkingClient
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.841 INF SaveAndCleanupWorld
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.842 INF [Steamworks.NET] Stopping server
2020-08-22T08:16:50 1972.842 INF [Steamworks.NET] Exiting Lobby

 

So you're not connecting to the server. That's usually due to DNS routing, poor connection quality, or software/firewalls blocking it.

[Behemoose]

42 minutes ago, SylenThunder said:

So you're not connecting to the server. That's usually due to DNS routing, poor connection quality, or software/firewalls blocking it.

I've flushed/re-registered DNS twice which hasn't changed anything.  Not surprising since I can still connect to many other servers.  I have a 250 Mbps FTTH connection and it never has latency, and besides triple- and quadruple- checking my firewall to make sure the ports are open as well as forwarding 26900-26905 to my static IP, I've also tested with my firewall turned off.  Any other suggestions?

[SylenThunder]

Just because your internet is fine, doesn't speak anything of the route. What does a traceroute to the server look like?   I cover this in the Sticky FAQ.

Also, forwarding the ports is only useful if you are hosting. 

[Behemoose]

I think you might be on to something.  In Minnesota we have an interface between different ISPs called MICE.  The tracert to the remote host dead-ends after leaving my ISP's border and hitting MICE. 

 

Just so happens that the owner of the server is a network engineer with the ISP that the traffic is supposed  to be going to.  I'm going to give him such a hard time about this.

[blackcell1]

i had a similar issue like this, created a new server on a19 and i wasn't able to connect but my partner could (on the same network.)

have you tired editing the server config file to add this "  <property name="ServerDisabledNetworkProtocols" value="SteamNetworking,UNET,LiteNetLib" />" i added the steamnetworking and it solved my issue.

[SylenThunder]

11 hours ago, Behemoose said:

I think you might be on to something.  In Minnesota we have an interface between different ISPs called MICE.  The tracert to the remote host dead-ends after leaving my ISP's border and hitting MICE. 

 

Just so happens that the owner of the server is a network engineer with the ISP that the traffic is supposed  to be going to.  I'm going to give him such a hard time about this.

That's similar to a double-NAT I believe. Will want SteamNetworking enabled even with proper port forwarding.

 

@blackcell1 UNET isn't used anymore, and disabling LiteNetLib will tank your servers network performance.

[Beelzybub]

On 8/1/2020 at 6:09 PM, Behemoose said:

 

Sorry for not including more.  Here's a more complete screenshot of the log:

 

The redactions are all my Steam ID.

 

Just wanted to mention that the output log is just a text file and doing a search and replace would be a much

easier and faster way to get rid of your steam id.

[SylenThunder]

It's not like Steam ID is private information anyway though. That's all publicly available.

[meganoth]

3 hours ago, SylenThunder said:

It's not like Steam ID is private information anyway though. That's all publicly available.

 

Then it should be easy for you to post the last 5 digits of his ID.

[SylenThunder]

1 hour ago, meganoth said:

 

Then it should be easy for you to post the last 5 digits of his ID.

Not that it takes any serious hacking even, but it's most likely 52668.

 

Here's an example of one way to look things up.

https://steamid.io/lookup/76561197990496105

 

Often your Steam profile page has your Steam-64 ID.  When we had the a19 experimental signups I was able to match up close to 3/4 of the applicants. 

And any time you connect using Steam's Family share, you're broadcasting both your ID, and the game owners ID.

 

 

We digress from the original topic though.  I've seen a few reports of this on Discord and Reddit. In every case the issue appears to be a configuration problem on the host.  Why some people can connect when others cannot is still a mystery, but when seen it's the majority that has an issue connecting to the server, and not just a few.

I am curious on details about MICE as well. It's possible that this is causing the connection to behave similar to a double-nat or VPN'ed connection, which may cause considerable issues with hosting a server. The closest thing I can find appears to be this. https://www.micemn.net/ It looks like a strange @%$*#!ized version of how some of the first internal group networks functioned, but I haven't done much more than skim the cover on it.