Multiplayer Adventures Forum FAQ's

[salt_air]

Hello All,


Mike (TX_3306) and I (salt_air) have updated Geoff's (capn_sonic) original FAQ to add some necessary new information and lose

some older information that was not necessary. This is the original post with edits made so that it applies to technical

changes in recent months. We will try to keep this FAQ current as time and technology changes what we do and how we do it.

Let's look at some basic guidelines:



RULES

There is a pull down window above the threads titled Rules http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/rules.htm . Please open it up

and read it. This will save all of us a lot of grief as compliance is mandatory and will not be an option. This forum’s best

interest will always be the number one priority concerning how we conduct all that we do.



PURPOSE

I've pasted Nels' "Welcome" post here so you can continue to read without leaving this post:

"Welcome to the Multiplayer Adventures Forum. If you like multiplayer events that are a bit different, then you are going to

love this forum. While anything multiplayer can be discussed here, the main focus will be to use our FS aircraft to go

places and do things together. The key word here is Events


You will need some things to fully participate. You must have Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 or 2004. You will likely need

FSNavigator to find some of the places we are going and to get in and out safely. You will need the Teamspeak client to

communicate with other pilots and guides on our trips. And, depending on your interests, you will need some other multiplayer

software and additional scenery occasionally. Not everyone will want to do everything. You'll have plenty to choose from, that is for sure.

The major events will be posted on the FlightSim.com news page. If you want to know what's coming up early, this forum is the

place to get the information."


Nel’s post outlines exactly where our direction is focused in all of our upcoming activities

and events. A few things have changed since this was originally posted like FSX, Hamachi, TeamSpeak3, etc., which are

covered in this FAQ. Pretty simple so far, now off to the FAQ's.



BASIC GUIDELINES

Be courteous to fellow pilots on the servers. Ensure that your framerates are locked at 25 FPS and no more. Move the Target

Frame Rate: slider in the Settings/Display to equal 25 or less. Higher framerates create unnecessary loads on the server.

Pilots found to have excessive framerates will be asked to reduce them.


Please do not join the server and then sit on the ground in Pause/Slew mode. You may block out other players when you do

this. Look for a friendly "kick" from the server if found un responsive to either FS chat box or Teamspeak requests.


We may or may not use the detect crashes option in the Aircraft Realism settings per event. If it is in use, uncheck the

allow collisions with other aircraft box.


Please read all of the resources available so you will understand what you are doing and learn as you go. This will make

participating in events fairly easy and more enjoyable if you do this one basic step.


"Homework" isn't fun for most of us, but it allows you to participate in the next day's class. We will be directing you to

sources of information that will be valuable to your multiplayer experience and education. Occasionally, there may be some

"Homework" to do to participate in an event.


This is a fine community of folks that enjoy flying together. All of it's members are happy to help you whenever they can, it

is up to you to read and accumulate, over time, any and as much knowledge as you desire. You will at the very least need

some basic knowledge in order to connect properly to our servers.



IMPORTANT

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

Be sure to stay on top of operating systems updates and to do the pain in the butt routine maintenance such as defraging, etc..

Also keep most third party addons running well ... or at all in some cases ... keep your FSUIPC up to date.

If you don't have it then get it ... the freeware is good enough and very much necessary .... payware version is optional and more facilitating.

See the article here: http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/conten...l-User-Systems

Grab it here: http://www.schiratti.com/dowson.html for your sim version (FS9 or FSX).

Version 3.99x is for FS9 or FS2004 ... Version 4.xx is for FSX.




FAQ's

Q:How do I connect to a Flightsim.com Multiplayers Adventures multiplayer session?

A: The server IP addresses are located at the bottom of this thread.

Important Note: You will need to read further to overcome some inherent port connection issues that will not "go away" until

properly addressed and rectified. If you are new to multiplayer and have never used the multiplayer functionality of

Microsoft Flight Simulator before, then you need to know that we use an FSHost server as a place to meet and fly together

online. You do not have to host events in order to organize them, simply join the FSHost server and you can be connected to

other pilots on the server. You will also find quite a comprehensive guide to FS Multiplayer in the FAQ's section at:

http://www.chocolatesoftware.com/fshost/. While you are at the site you can pick up a download for FSHostSpy which is a small

program that allows you to see every FSHost server that is currently running and a brief description of what sort of format

they have set up.


If you are going to use Microsoft FSX in multiplayer on an FSHost server, you will also need to download a freeware program

called FSHostClient. This program is needed to connect FSX to FSHost sessions instead of using the default multiplayer

screen in FSX.

Mike (TX_3306) has published some excellent tips to help you with connection and multiplayer operation. You can reach his

site at http://home.comcast.net/~tmaddox3/.


You will need the TeamSpeak 3 client and a microphone to free yourself from having to hand type chat messages while flying

at the same time. You can get the freeware Teamspeak 3 client at

http://www.teamspeak.com/?page=downloads.


You may already have a microphone, but if not, then you can get one from your favorite source and that should be the only

expense you will incur if any with this experience. It is of course optional, but recommended.



Q: What version of FS can I use on the servers?

A: Our FSHost server is currently supporting FS9(2004), and FSX. They will run together in a single session.

Unfortunately there is no support for previous versions of Flight Simulator



Q: Could we use the server(s) for an impromptu event or an event organized by another member other than the moderators?

A: By all means, Yes! You can use the servers for your own events. All we ask is that you organize your events and send

either me (salt_air) or Mike (TX_3306) a PM with the announcement attached so we can fit it into the schedule. It should of

course be open to all who wish to attend and within the rules of the forum (see above).

Any individual impromptu flights may also be posted on the Live Flight Board at: http://www.flightsim.com/main/fbmr.htm



Q: What if the server has a problem and we need it for a scheduled session?

A: The flight server's status is checked several times a day to ensure it is operational. We also have backup server(s) in

place and ready if needed. If the main flight server is found to be offline, the backup server will be brought online and a

forum post made giving the IP addresses to use to connect to it.



Q: What is IBNet and can it be used on the Multiplayer Adventures servers?

A: IBNet is an easy to install and use FS9 multiplayer connection system that bypasses the default multiplayer dll file. In

an IBNet session, aircraft movement is significantly smoother, all control surface movements are seen, and all FS9 ATC and AI

traffic functions remain available during a multiplayer session. A growing number of our forum members have IBNet installed.

You can get a freeware beta copy of IBNet at http://www.ibirdsoft.altervista.org/. Since IBNet is a peer to peer (P2P)

system, FSHost is not used for IBNet sessions. The IBNet software installs a special FMS instrument window into Flight

Simulator 9 and session connection is done using the FMS to connect to an IBNet server. The IP for connecting to the

separate IBNet server is the same IP as the FSHost server. Teamspeak is used by IBNet players to agree on a meeting airport.

For an excellent manual on IBNet installation and operation, go to http://home.comcast.net/~tmaddox3/



Q: Is IBNet ever used for the forum's sanctioned multiplayer events?

A: Since IBNet requires a somewhat more complex installation, we prefer to use FSHost for our monthly events to achieve

maximum participation. However, with the incorporation of Hamachi VPN software (discussed next) we will be able to use IBNet

more extensively in the future. Quite a number of our pilots use IBNet for free flight sessions, and they fly often. If you

would like help installing or connecting IBNet or would like to schedule a session, post a message on the forum. This of

course after you have read the manual available at http://home.comcast.net/~tmaddox3/. You can also check our Teamspeak

server(s) to see if any IBNet sessions are in progress, as they will not be seen by the FSHost Spy program.



Q: Which ports do I need to have opened in order to connect to a FSHost server?

A: You must have certain ports opened and forwarded in your router and allowances made in your firewall. These are

the minimum required ports to have opened and forwarded:

UDP 23456-This is the default FS port but you may need to add more (23457-23460 or higher) to access other sessions on other

servers.

UDP 6073-Direct Play port

UDP 2300 to 2400-These are assigned by the simulator connection as we join and is how we are each individually recognized

during the session.

UDP 23432-If you want to use FSNavigator connected to the session.




You will continue to have connection errors and be a nuisance to others on the server(s) until you have opened up enough

ports correctly to pass the FS Port Test program found here:

http://www.chocolatesoftware.com/fsh...rtTest_1.6.exe (Updated to version 1.6 on May 17, 2012)

For help on port forwarding for your router, visit www.portforward.com.




CURRENT SERVER INFO

Our main servers are now online.

=============================
FSHost Server IP: fsmpa.hopto.org

IBNet IP: fsmpa.hopto.org

Teamspeak 3 IP: fsmpa.hopto.org:9987
=============================

Please login to our multiplayer servers when you are flying so that others may join you. We encourage you to set up a desktop icon so you can quickly see if the main FSHost server has pilot activity. Set the icon target address as "http://fsmpa.hopto.org".

Our multiplayer group events will be announced on the forum in advance. We encourage you to join us as often as possible. You are always welcome.




Have fun and enjoy our server(s) and always use what you learn to help the next pilots coming along behind you.

Welcome to FlightSim.com Multiplayer Adventures!