Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
Sign in to follow this  
Mystery Man in 3D

Chocolate DOOM: LAN Games Always Freeze

Recommended Posts

All right, I have two desktop computers, one's connected to the Internet through wireless and the other one's directly connected to the router via Ethernet.

Whenever I try to play a LAN game between the computers using Chocolate DOOM, during the game there's several 3-second freezes, and then eventually the game freezes completely. I can still access the main menu to quit the game on both computers or go back to single-player.

These freeze-ups are getting very frustrating. The problem has to be with Chocolate DOOM, because I tried LAN games on DOOM 3 and UT2004 with the same setup and both of them ran magnificently. Since you guys know how to work DOOM source ports better than anyone else I know, you think you could help me with this problem?

Share this post


Link to post

Sounds like a bug, and I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems.

What version are you using? Are you using a wired LAN or wifi? How long does the game run for before this happens? Does it make any difference if you're using only two players?

Share this post


Link to post

What version are you using?

The latest version, v1.6.0

Are you using a wired LAN or wifi?

Both. One computer is directly connected to the router, while the other is wirelessly connected.

How long does the game run for before this happens?

Between 5-10 minutes.

Does it make any difference if you're using only two players?

I've been playing with only two players.

Share this post


Link to post

Sorry about that, I missed/misread some of the details in your original post. For some reason I thought you said you had three players.

Is the server running on the wifi machine or on the wired Ethernet machine? Does it make any difference if you do it the other way round?

I assume you're probably using private addressing within your network - ie. the machines on your LAN have addresses like 192.168.x.y or 10.x.y.z. Is that right? What command line are you using (on each machine) to start the game?

To see if I could reproduce the problem I set up a three player game on my home LAN - two laptops connected via wifi to a third machine on wired Ethernet acting as the server. I've had it running for about three hours now. There are occasional hiccups due to the wireless LAN but the game is still running. It's quite possible that there's a bug in the network code but it's weird that you consistently have problems while mine is consistently ok.

Share this post


Link to post

I use chocolate-setup.exe to set up network games.

I should also note that I also tried playing network games on GZDOOM, and I had the exact same freezing issues with that source port as well.

Share this post


Link to post

Ok, that's fine. I assume you're using the "auto-join LAN game" option on the client side?

The fact that you're getting the same problem in GZDoom is very interesting, because the network code for GZDoom is totally different. But you also said that you can play other games like Doom 3 and UT without any problem at all. Hmm.

What about if you connect to a server on the Internet? There's a Chocolate Doom 1.6.0 server at 147.32.30.5 for example. If you make both machines connect to that, start a game and leave it running, does that freeze up as well? (It might be too laggy to be playable but it would help to see if the freeze still occurs) If no freeze occurs then there might be something weird going on on your network, because conditions on the Internet will obviously always be worse than on your LAN.

Share this post


Link to post

I'm trying to take other people's suggestions from other sites as well, such as setting a fixed ping rate for both computers and port forwarding. I'm gonna try both ideas out once my friends come over for some coop later today.

Share this post


Link to post

All right, there's been a change in structure.

Both computers are now connected wirelessly, the reason being the computer previously connected via Ethernet was using an old TV as a monitor via S-Video. The TV was suffering heavy burn-in, and I didn't want it to escalate, so I installed a wireless card in that computer.

Anyways, I have good news. I was playing a DOOM II network game via Chocolate DOOM with a buddy last night, with port forwarding and fixed ping rates. Even though it still did the 3-second freezes occasionally, the game never completely froze. The game lasted about an hour before we quit out. To verify the good connection, we played a network game of Heretic on GZDOOM for 30 minutes, and it had the same results as Chocolate DOOM.

So in conclusion, the wireless/wired connection type must have had a flaw in it, because now with the wireless/wireless type I don't have to worry about the game freezing permanently anymore.

Share this post


Link to post

Sounds like something wrong with your networking hardware although I can't think what would cause your particular symptoms. I'm glad to hear you got it sorted out though.

The freezes are pretty normal when using wifi and there's not much that can be done about them.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  
×