KOFXIII SE Networking Guide for Good Times and Happiness

[JennyCage]

Configuring networks can be tough for a novice, so here's a guide to help make sure your connection is unimpeded when you play KOFXIII SE.  I recommend trying this if you're having consistently poor experiences online.  It may or may not improve anything, and there is a small amount of risk when opening ports, but anecdotally I've seen this improve connectivity when playing peer to peer games.  If you're already familiar with configuring routers, skip to the ports on step 3.  If your connection seems worse after this, reverse the changes.  Diagnostic tools and general tips can be found near the bottom.

DISCLAIMER:  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONFIGURE THESE SETTINGS IF YOU ARE NOT CONFIDENT ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO DO TO SO.  This guide will attempt to walk you through everything as thoroughly as possible, including screenshots, but I can't be held responsible if you mess something up.  These changes are reversible but because I can't be there to help you if something goes wrong, BE CAREFUL!  DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING!

Step 1: assign a static internal IP address to your computer.  This is necessary for port forwarding to be persistent.  You will need information about your default gateway, subnet mask and DNS servers.  The easiest way to find this info is through the Command Prompt.  Access it by doing the following:

On Windows XP, Vista and 7 -> Start -> Run -> type "cmd" (without quotes) and hit enter
On Windows 8 -> Right click the bottom left hand corner of the screen and choose Command Prompt

Type "ipconfig /all" in the command prompt and press enter.  Keep this window open for later reference.  Look for the section titled "Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection" OR "Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi."  In this section you'll find "Default Gateway," "Subnet Mask" and "DNS Servers." WRITE THESE DOWN AND DO NOT MIX THEM UP!

Next, open the Control Panel in Windows and go to "Network and Sharing Center."  Click your router/connection next to "Connections." A window will pop up with more details.  Click "Properties" at the bottom.  This will open a new window displaying what protocols you have installed.  Highlight "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" and click "Properties."  SCREENSHOT

The properties window will allow you to set a static internal IP for your machine.  You will need the information from the command prompt to properly configure this.

Check "Use the following IP address."  Under "IP address," enter an IP that is a variation of your DEFAULT GATEWAY. For example, if your default gateway is 192.168.0.1, change it to something like 192.168.0.10.  ONLY change the last part of the IP (after the third dot).

Under "Subnet Mask", enter the subnet mask listed in the ipconfig info.  Windows may automatically fill this section in when you click it.

Under "Default Gateway," enter the IP listed in the ipconfig info.

Check "Use the following DNS server addresses" if it's not checked already.  Fill in the fields with the DNS servers listed in your ipconfig info.

SCREENSHOT - PLEASE VIEW FOR CLARITY!

If something goes wrong and you lose your internet, recheck "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS server address automatically."  This should restore connectivity.

Step 2: Access your router's configuration page by entering the IP for your default gateway into the address bar of a web browser, for example http://192.168.0.1.  You will need to log in with your router's username and password.  This can be tricky as different brands use different logins.  http://portforward.com/ has a lot of info about many makes and models of routers, check it out if you need assistance.

Common logins include:
Username: (blank) - Password: admin
Username: admin - Password: admin

If you're still unable to find the login for your router and it was supplied to you by your ISP, contact them.  They will likely have this info.

Step 3: in your router's configuration page, locate the "Applications and Gaming" tab or equivalent, then click "Port Range FORWARDING" (not triggering, filtering, etc).  This is the section you'll use to open your ports for KOF.

Forward the following ports on the internal static IP you set for your machine:

27000 to 27030 UDP
27014 to 27050 TCP
4379 to 4380 UDP
3478 to 3478 UDP

Click "enable" next to all used lines, then click SAVE.  SCREENSHOT

Congratulations, you're done!

SUPER DUPER BONUS CONTENT FOR DIAGNOSING CRAPPY CONNECTIONS

Still getting a bad connection to your friend despite following these steps? Here are some simple diagnostic tools you can use to figure out what's wrong.

Visit www.pingtest.net and check the quality of your connection.  You will need to install Java to measure packet loss.  www.speedtest.net will also help diagnose problem connections.

In your router's Security/Firewall tab (or equivalent), uncheck "Block Anonymous Internet Requests." This will allow people to ping you so you can understand your latency.

Next, type "what's my IP address" into Google and copy the address it gives.  Tell your friend to type "ping XX.XX.XX.XX" (without quotes) in the command prompt, where X is the external IP you obtained from Google.  Use ping -t XX.XX.XX.XX to ping indefinitely until the command prompt is closed. This will tell you exactly how much time in milliseconds it takes for a packet of data to reach its destination.  Pings of 80ms or over will likely produce some input lag, but may be subjectively playable for some people.  Ideally 50ms or under is what you'll be looking for in a great connection.

NOTE: Since SE is still in beta, these thresholds may be subject to change. It's not gospel - play as many varied connections as you can and judge for yourself.

Sometimes bad routing can cause poor connections even when the distances between players is short. You can identify bad routing by using the traceroute command "tracert XX.XX.XX.XX" in the command prompt.  This will ping each hop between you and your opponent, allowing you to see spikes in latency that may be causing an issue.  Unfortunately this isn't something that can be fixed on the user's end, it's simply a way of diagnosing a problem.  You could complain to your ISP, but they probably can't or won't do anything.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR IMPROVING YOUR CONNECTION

- Play the game using a wired connection whenever possible. Some wireless connections may be on par with wired ethernet, but many are not and have a tendency to drop packets.
- Make sure all torrenting software (utorrent, bittorrent) is disabled/disconnected/closed.
- Close all active downloads AND uploads.
- VoIP programs (Skype, Ventrilo etc.) shouldn't affect your latency, but you could try closing them to see if it makes a difference.
- It MAY be possible that having both players run the game in Windowed mode will improve performance.  Evidence is only anecdotal right now, but try it if you're having problems even in low latencies.
- Play League of Legends?  Congrats, you got "infected" with Pando Media Booster.  This is a torrent-like program that Riot uses to distribute their files using YOUR bandwidth.  UNINSTALL this because it can hog all your upload and slow your connection.  LoL will still work properly without it.
- Make sure you can run the game at a solid 60 FPS. If not, both players will be affected by the lower framerate online.

[JennyCage]

The guide has been updated.  I forgot to include info about setting a static internal IP (derp).  I also put some general tips near the bottom for improving your connection speeds.