Coach Mike

Ok that MIGHT have been it but I am pretty sure we had both played it previous and opened it via recent. Could that not still have been the port forwarding issue ?

Gah! I get "compatible content found" then "failed to initialize netplay". Both me and the person I was trying to play saw the port mapping successful message so it has got to be one little darn thing !

So I got a person in another house to work with me via Zoom to troubleshoot. I got us both up and running and able to see one another via Direct Connect but when trying to join each other's games (not at the same time) we were unable. The screen goes black, it hangs for a bit and says it cannot establish network connection or something to that effect. I did see in the Netplay over RetroArch guide, that: " Troubleshooting Cannot connect, keeps saying "Connected as Player 1" for the client - If there is an issue and you did not connect, it will either give you an error, or it will just say " Connected as Player 1", and start loading the beginning of the game, which means you did not connect to the host. At this point, both players will need to go back into the Netplay menu, the host will "Stop netplay host", and the client will "Disconnect from netplay host". If using the relay server, the host has to wait about 45 sec or so before trying again (so the game is removed from the netplay host list). You can check by selecting "Refresh Room List" and checking until the host's name disappears (both can see this). (See "Game Desync") I suggest the host waiting to tell the opponent to connect once he reaches the Setup Game Screen. If using Direct Connect, you can re-host almost immediately." To be fair I did not attempt to "re-host", that will be my next step. In the meantime, are there other known issues as to why this might not be working ? ...tia

Ok update time. I did a reinstall on Mac and PC. I still can't get the Connected to Nick on either Mac or PC when using Relay Server. I do get Joined as Player 1 on both and can create a room using Direct Connect, which I can see from the other computer. As long as my group can Direct Connect I think it things will be fine, I just thought this might be useful to troubleshoot and/or be a resource for others. Interestingly, the reinstall on Mac did not restore the Logitech Dual Action, it reports as Not Configured. I realize I can do that manually and save it, I just expected it to work automatically (like it did initially) after the reinstall. Since I am likely playing on Windows I don't really care but as I mentioned, here for troubleshooting/debugging/resource purposes.

I am starting to think the reinstall is the best route. I think uninstalling in Windows is a little more comprehensive/simple as I *think* it takes out anything that could cause residual settings problems but I might be mistaken. On the Mac side I suspect it's as easy as deleting all the folders in /Documents/RetroArch. Does the relay server have an automated "blacklist" feature I wonder ? Having connected with the same IP twice previously perhaps that is the reason I cannot connect to the server ("Nick) ? It might also be possible that my username is causing the issue. I had started adding information in parentheses to be able to distinguish which machine/OS I was using when testing. Can anyone confirm ? Also reading that the direct connect may make things simpler assuming all my players have UPnP on their routers. I have read all the setup documentation at length, perhaps over-read and confused myself but I don't see a clear explanation of direct connection so that the guest knows who/where to connect. I believe I recall that on the room list it will say "Relay" if that is what the player is using. That said, does it mean that all rooms that DO NOT say "Relay" are direct connect ? Or do you have to communicate your IP to your opponent and manually enter that for connection. Sorry for all the questions that are likely answered in some fashion somewhere !

I am starting to think I really buggered something up trying to connect two computers via relay server at one home. For the life of me I cannot get the "Connected to NICK" message using ANY computer now ! And my Logitech Dual Action game pads now reports as NOT CONFIGURED when it was before. Unplug it, plug it in, same deal. I think I broke my Retroarch

No I was intentionally using the network server as I am trying to play remotely with another group.

I got network play to work yesterday using two computers in my same house as a test but I cannot seem to get it to work today. I cannot seem to get the Connected to NICK message. Can anyone assist ? Thanks!