connection timeout and "CD key in use" problems

[cengique]

Hi,

I have an intermittent connection problem to EFU:R. Although I am using the key that came with my NWN Diamond Boxset booklet, I sometimes get the message that my CD key is already in use. And this message doesn't go away for hours. Other times I can easily connect and play.

When I was blocked, I tried entering with my friends' keys, just to test, and I get a "timeout error" while connecting to EFU:R.

Curiously, if I change the "Client Port" value in my nwnplayer.ini file, the timeout message with other keys change to the "in use" message, but actually they are not since my friends can use them fine for their characters.

Also note that I can use my original key (and the other test keys) fine in other servers (such as Prisoners of the Mist PW server).

Can anybody help to resolve this situation? It is really annoying. My Gamespy account is the same as my forum nick.

Thanks!

[Paha]

So it is sometimes, not always?

You did not happen to order from GOG and use their generic cdkey, because that one is banned. I doubt that's the case as you have been in the server with different one.

So, when you get this CD-key in use message, do you crash just before and cannot connect right after?

Are you absolutely sure that someone from your household does not use it and play at the same time with you? Pirated key?

Connection issues are hard to solve as they usually are not on our end, and if we can do something, there usually is several sides to it. I would need more details of the situations or any repetitive events that happen when this occurs, otherwise it's hard to know where to look from.

[Dredi]

My Immediate thought is if you get cut off from the server then your CD-key will still be showing as in use on that server (heck, your player character may not have even de-spawned yet, the server may still think you are online)

NM, already indicated that its hours so its not that..

My next thought would be, as Paha said that someone else may be using the same key.

[cengique]

Thanks for the quick answer, Paha.

So it is sometimes, not always?

Yes, it worked yesterday and before, too. Today it doesn't work. I think last week it happened once, too.

You did not happen to order from GOG and use their generic cdkey, because that one is banned. I doubt that's the case as you have been in the server with different one.

No, I think I got this from Amazon a while ago. My key starts with QQW7X-..., hopefully that's not the banned one?

So, when you get this CD-key in use message, do you crash just before and cannot connect right after?

This happened once, but not this time. Also, I asked somebody in the irc channel, and they told me it should be back after a few minutes. I tried for an hour and surely didn't come back.

Are you absolutely sure that someone from your household does not use it and play at the same time with you? Pirated key?

Positive. As i said this was in the booklet, but if those Amazon copies all had the same key, I don't know. Although, there is a very strange behavior with the other keys I tried (as explained above).

Connection issues are hard to solve as they usually are not on our end, and if we can do something, there usually is several sides to it. I would need more details of the situations or any repetitive events that happen when this occurs, otherwise it's hard to know where to look from.

I understand, but it is happening now. And I can provide more info (maybe through PM?)

[cengique]

My next thought would be, as Paha said that someone else may be using the same key.

But, I've been trying other keys that are known to work, but it just doesn't work from my end. I get that strange timeout error. Is there anything with my setup that I can check about this?

[Dredi]

Humm.. Do you use a router? - if so, Have you tried resetting it when this happens?

[Paha]

If it's indeed a mere port change, that I've read can at times fix it, I am starting to believe that it's in your end on some firewall setting.

The problem is that if there is for certain no one else using your cd-key, and you get the message when trying to connect on our server, for one reason or another the connection detects it's in use, somewhere, somehow.

It can be an old log, lingering in the connection for one reason or another. Firewall could be one at fault, specific nwn port not going through, back and forth properly.

[cengique]

fixed it!

I figured it out. It was because of my SoU and HotU keys.

When I bought my boxset, it had the same key repeated for original, SoU, and HotU. So I ended up keeping it as Key1, but I must have found Key2 and Key3 from somebody else (don't even remember from whom). And likely that person is playing on EFU:R, sometimes. This explains the intermittent nature of my problem.

While I was switching keys, I was only changing Key1 - for some reason I thought that was the only significant one.

I also looked into possible port/firewall/router issues, but there were none. I think the timeout issue is happening something like what Paha said: the server caches my IP/port and CD key, so if I come back with a different port and CD key, it gets confused (or just blocks me out thinking I'm an intruder maybe).

I did find this article about the meaning of the "Client Port" in case you have that kind of problem:
http://revisited.hidden-waters.com/index.php?showtopic=1401

By the way, Happy New Year ;)