Local Area Network Troubleshooting Information


General TCP/IP Notes

If you require additional help other than the information provided here, there is a Networking section available on the Blizzard Entertainment Technical Support site http://www.blizzard.com/support that covers many of the topics more in depth and provides images to assist you.

Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne supports multiplayer Local Area Network (LAN) and Battle.net multiplayer games. In order to play on a LAN or Battle.net, your computer must have the TCP/IP protocol installed and must provide TCP/IP support for 32-bit applications.

Prior to doing anything with your network, make sure you have your operating system installation CDs handy, as they may be required. For multiplayer games, all computers need to have the same version of the game installed. Have everyone download and install the latest game patch before playing. http://www.blizzard.com/patches

To install a network card, please follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer of your network hardware. Blizzard Entertainment employees cannot assist with hardware installation.

Network hardware manufacturers:

3COM - http://www.3com.com/selectcountry.html
Asante - http://www.asante.com/support/index.html
Belkin - http://www.belkin.com/support/tech/
D-Link - http://support.dlink.com/
Intel - http://www.intel.com/support/network/
Linksys - http://www.linksys.com/support/
Lucent - http://www.lucent.com/support/
Netgear - http://support1.netgear.com/netgear1/
SiS - http://download.sis.com/sisdlc/index.jsp
SIIG - http://www.siig.com/

This is not a complete list of all network hardware manufacturers, however it does contain many of the popular brands.



Configuring TCP/IP for Local Area Network Use

The following information is intended as a helpful guide for TCP/IP Local Area Network settings. If the following suggestions do not help, please contact the manufacturer of your network card for assistance.

Manually add an internal IP address for each system on your LAN:

  1. Click on the "Start" button, select "Settings", and then select "Control Panel".

  2. Double-click on "Network".

  3. Select the "TCP/IP" Protocol for your network interface card. Click the Properties button.

  4. Select the "IP Address" tab.

  5. Select "Specify an IP address".

  6. Enter 255.255.255.0 for the "Subnet mask".

  7. Enter 192.168.0.x for the "IP address", where 'x' is a numerical digit (use '1' for the first computer, '2' for the next, etc).

  8. Click the "OK" button.

  9. Click the next "OK" button.

Reboot each system, and then select "Local Area Network" from the main game menu.





Installing the TCP/IP Network Protocol on Windows 98/Me

To make sure Windows detected your network adapter properly:

  1. Click on the "Start" button, select "Settings", and select "Control Panel".

  2. Double-click on the "System" icon.

  3. Click on the Device Manager tab to see a list of hardware on your computer.

  4. Find your network card in the list.

  5. If the network card is not there or has either a yellow dot or red X next to it, contact your system administrator for help or refer to the manufacturer's instructions on how to install the card and drivers.

To determine if the TCP/IP protocol is properly installed on your system:

  1. Click on the "Start" button, select "Settings", and select "Control Panel".

  2. Double-click the "Network" icon.

  3. Look for any entries in the list of installed network components labeled "TCP/IP".

Note: If you have more than one adapter type (i.e. dial-up and network), TCP/IP may need to be installed for each adapter listed in the "Network" control panel.

If TCP/IP is not installed, then you will need to add it now:

  1. Click the "Add" button.

  2. Click on "Protocol" and click the "Add" button.

  3. Click on "Microsoft", then find and click on "TCP/IP".

  4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Note: It is also a good idea to make sure the other computers involved have TCP/IP installed correctly before trying again.



Installing the TCP/IP Network Protocol on Windows 2000

Make sure Windows detected your network adapter properly:

  1. Right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties".

  2. Click on the "Hardware" tab.

  3. Click on the "Device Manager" button.

  4. Find your network card on the list.

  5. If the network card is not there or has either a yellow dot or red X next to it, contact your system administrator for help or refer to the manufacturer's instructions on how to install the card and drivers.

To determine if the TCP/IP protocol is properly installed on your system:

  1. Right-click on "My Network Places" and select "Properties".

  2. Right-click on "Local Area Connection" and select "Properties".

  3. Look for any entries in the list of installed network components labeled "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)".

If TCP/IP is not installed, then you will need to add it:

  1. Click the "Install" button.

  2. Click on "Protocol" and select "Add".

  3. Click on "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and click the "OK" button.

  4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Note: It is also a good idea to make sure the other computers involved have TCP/IP installed correctly before trying again.



Installing the TCP/IP network protocol on Windows XP

Make sure Windows detected your network adapter properly:

  1. Click the "Start" button, right-click on "My Computer" and select properties.
  2. Click on the "Hardware" tab.

  3. Click on the "Device Manager" button.

  4. Find your network card on the list.

  5. If the network card is not there or has either a yellow dot or red X next to it, contact your system administrator for help or refer to the manufacturer's instructions on how to install the card and drivers.

To determine if the TCP/IP protocol is properly installed on your system:

  1. Click on the "Start" button.

  2. Click on "Control Panel".

  3. Click on "Network and Internet Connections" if your screen is similar to the image.

  4. Now click on "Network Connections".

  5. Click on "Network Connections" if your screen is similar to the image below.

  6. Right-click on "Local Area Connection" and select "Properties".

  7. Look for any entries in the list of installed network components labeled "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)".

If TCP/IP is not installed, then you will need to add it:

  1. Click the "Install" button.

  2. Click on "Protocol" and select "Add".

  3. Click on "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" and click the "OK" button.

  4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Note: It is also a good idea to make sure the other computers involved have TCP/IP installed correctly before trying again.



How to Test the Network with the DirectX Tools
  1. Click on the Start button and select Run.

  2. Type "dxdiag" in the Open box and click OK.

  3. Once the DirectX Diagnostic Tool loads up, click on the Network Tab.

  4. Click the Test DirectPlay button.

In the Service Provider section you can select what type of network protocol you wish to test. After you have picked which network type to test, one computer must choose "Create new session". Any computers you want to test must choose the same options, except they will choose "Join existing session".

When using the "DirectPlay8 TCP/IP Service Provider", you will have to know the IP address of the machine you are connecting to. Typing information in one box and pressing the Send button or the Enter key should make the text appear on the other machine. If the network is properly configured, the computers should be able to communicate with each other.



Port Mapping Information for Shared Internet Connections

Internet connection sharing devices, such as broadband routers and proxy servers which utilize "network address translation" technology, require special configuration for use with The Frozen Throne. Consult the documentation which came with your router or proxy server to find out how to enable and configure "Port Forwarding" features.

Step-by-step configuration information will vary based on the manufacturer of your router or proxy server. In general you need to do the following.

  1. Configure your router or proxy server to assign a static IP address to each computer on your local area network.


  2. Assign to each IP address you have created on the L.A.N. a single, unique port number between 1024 and 49151. Take care not to use the same port for more than one IP address on your L.A.N. and record for future reference what port you assign to each IP address.


  3. Set all the forwarded port numbers to pass only UDP and TCP packets. If you have a firewall set up you will need to repeat this step for the same ports on your firewall.

When you are ready to play The Frozen Throne, you will need to first find out what IP address your computer is set to use. Next you will need to set the "Game Port" option for The Frozen Throne to match the port number your router or proxy server is set to forward to your computer's IP address. To set the "Game Port" option, use the steps below.
  1. Find the application icon for The Frozen Throne on your hard drive and double-click it.


  2. When the "Main Menu" screen appears for The Frozen Throne, click once on the "Options" button.


  3. Click once on the "Gameplay" button.


  4. Click once on the "Game Port" text area and type in the port number which has been assigned to the IP address your computer is set to use.