ID:1279162
 
Resolved
Closing this issue, as hub connection code in 499.1194 and 1195 have mooted the way ports are selected. This also appears to be related to an upstream firewall.
BYOND Version:499.1189
Operating System:Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Web Browser:Chrome 27.0.1453.94
Applies to:enitre interface/Byond HUB
Status: Resolved

This issue has been resolved.
So i have tried downloading the new Byond version a week ago. I was shocked to see that the program could not connect to the BYOND HUB which butchered almost all functionality to the point where the new interface was nothing more than a fancy looking still image with a few popups. Pager does not work, favorites do not work, game descriptions do not work, and i can not join any games, because i am immediately kicked for not being able to connect to the Byond HUB.
I have tried deinstalling reinstalling, making a clean install, and tried again today. The issue keeps persisting:
After installing and starting the program, the Byond HUB reliably fails to load. "The BYOND Hub is currently unreachable. Some functionality will be unavailable."

This occurs every single time and seems to be account independent.

Now the fact that there are no other errors whatsoever makes me think that it might have to do something with my internet connection.
I have checked the firewall settings but the application has universal free access and i even tried disabling the firewall entirely - both without results.
IE version: 10.0.9200.16576
Chrome version: 27.0.1453.94
And since both previous byond versions and other software work just fine there seems to be no problem with my connection whatsoever.

There are however a few special things about my internet connection:
-It is a university controlled high speed connection for dorms.
-Opening too many/special kinds of PTP connections (torrents) results in a 10 minute ban from the internet for my machine. This has however not been the case with Byond.
-The setup of the connection is extremely complicated. The ISP is another university providing a direct connection to the dorms here. AFAIK the main connection also passes through this uni's server, gets distributed to each dorm, passes through a switchboard in each, and then a router in each apartment.
-There have been issues in the past with the native IP being sent to websites despite having proxies enabled browser independently.
All these things have however never affected any program in a way that it couldn't work, and the previous Byond version (which i continue to use now) also works just fine.

I could only work around the issue by reinstalling the older version provided by someone in the thread about the update (4.0 Public version 498.1163). Everything seems to work just fine there, apart from the pager.

Update: I have tried to connect through my mobile phone via tethering.
The issue is not present.

So the problem has definitely got something to do with my internet connection.
Can you provide a screenshot of the program when you open it? I'm curious if it thinks it can connect to the hub (it should display a message if it cannot). It's odd that 498 would work and this wouldn't though. The main difference is that 499 connects to both the website and the hub (two different addresses) but presumably you have access to both.
I'm sorry, i paraphrased the message, but yes, the little red box appears.
Now the only other programs i know of which try to connect to multiple IPs simultaneously are torrent software.
Those however result in a general, very much visible ban for all outgoing connections for 10 minutes.
What does the contents of the file: [my docs]/byond/cfg/byond.txt look like? Specifically for 'hub-address2'?
That file does not contain a line like that.
"pnews_time 1369500994
hub_mtime 1369904224
hub-address-time 1369904134"
This is all there is in ./byond/cfg/byond.txt
Hmm, that's a bit strange since you had a valid connection with your tether.

Did you confirm that you are running 499.1189?
Yes. 4.0 public version 499.1189.
I do have the older version installed in the same folder though at the moment.
When i do connect through my phones net access the file suddenly gains the new line
"hub-address2 20002"
upon program restart.
disconnecting my phone and reconnecting normal internet works.
i am able to send and recieve messages
Yeah, probably a red herring. I bet it's erasing that when you don't connect to the hub, so that doesn't tell us anything. For the record, it should say 6001 or 20002 there on a valid connection.

Well, we may have to do a chat with you later today (or whenever) to try some debugging out. We had another user who had a similar issue with his university's network; the thing that's puzzling me is the fact that 498 works for you.
Wait, so it works now?
No it doesn't. As soon as i restart the program the line gets deleted and i have no connection.
I wasn't clear by the comment "disconnecting my phone and reconnecting normal internet works. i am able to send and recieve messages"

From what I'm understanding, your school network is failing on 499 but your phone internet works. Anyway, we'll get to the bottom of it. Probably your university firewall is thinking the hub connection (which sends more initial data in 499) is suspicious and is blocking it.
Probably. What keeps bothering me though is how the hell the normal connection works after i disconnect my phone.
It's like the some check fails at program startup with the normal connection, and blocks all further access.
The mobile connection passes that check, and all other subsequent functions do not require that check since i can use any connection i want after i have connected once.
Well, at startup the hub sends more info, and maybe this is throwing off your firewall (this is also different in 499 from 498).
That could be it.
I have no idea how that could be resolved though. I do not even have access to the router in my own apartment...
My guess is it's the same issue as Auduero was having here: ID:110380.

Perhaps there is a way to detect this or to change the initial message so that it doesn't look like a p2p program.
Whoops i just noticed that i had completely butchered the premade form.
Page: 1 2 3