The server was shut down September 2024.
I finally had to shutdown the multiplayer lobby. Unfortunately there were continuous issues with misconduct and I cannot afford to moderate the community.
I have hosted this service for about nine years, spent countless of hours on the open source code of the services and thousands of EUR in the server. Both of which are supported by various contributors, for which I and the community are very grateful. And all of that is fine and I would happily continue to do so, despite not having played a single game in the lobby. However, I will not tolerate the continuous hate speech on the server, nor will I continue to spend time dealing with it. This is not related to an isolated incident or a particular individual, but a continuous and consistent issue.
Neither NatNeg nor Pitboss are directly affected by this.
[old information]
(This is supposed to be a successor for this thread as we shifted from NatNeg/PB only to Lobby & NatNeg.)
Since the shutdown of GameSpy, the official Multiplayer of Civilization 4 is to use the Steam Version and Steam Multiplayer. This thread describes and discusses how to use Pitboss smoothly and restore the original lobby using alternative servers. There are two ways to convince Civ4 to use the alternative server.
Option A: hosts-file:
Run a text editor as administrator, and open the file C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.
Add the following lines:
(removed)
Note: After editing the file you may have to restart your computer for the changes to have effect. If the server ever changes, you will have to update the hosts file to a new IP address. Some Antivirus solutions may interfere with the manipulation of the hosts file. If the IP address of the server changes in the future, you will have to update the hosts file.
Option B: Alternative exe:
Download this alternative exe file into your Civ4 installation folder and replace the original Civ4BeyondSword.exe. You can also keep the '2015' name and update your link (vanilla version). The alternative exe file is obviously not signed and therefore a security warning may show when you try to run it. This version will work even if the IP address of the server changes.
Restoring Direct IP and lobby in the Steam version of Civ4:
Follow the instruction by 2k
Port Forwarding:
It is very important to note, that the GameSpy NAT negotiation was never perfect, neither is our replacement. There are some routers/ISPs that just don't seem to be able to connect to each other. It was and is strongly recommended to setup port forwarding for UDP 2056-2107.
Multiplayer Menu:
To access the lobby, use "Multiplayer" -> "Internet Games" -> "Create New Account" and then "Login". Even if it still says Gamespy, if you prepared your hosts file or use the alternative exe as described above, it will use the replacement server.
Server Software:
To just play, there is no need to download or run any of the NATNEG/RPMaster exe files (except for the patched Civ4...exe files). The server software is running on my server. If my server it shut down at some point, you can use them and take over.
Contact:
For discussion, bug reports, issues please post in this thread, or send me a private message. I will also build up an overview page at (removed)
Known limitations:
The buddy/friends system of the lobby does not work in the alternative lobby.
Software Development:
All software development is done in an open source fashion on GitHub.
https://github.com/civ4-mp
Credits:
AncientMan2002. Initial GameSpy replacement server for project reality.
Caledorn. hosting the original NatNeg Server.
dingus a.k.a. evillurksinternet. Development of lobby.
Luigi Auriemma. Reverse engineering and documenting the GameSpy protocol and encryption.
novice-rb. Port of NatNeg to Civ4.
Ramkhamhaeng. Development and alternative exe file.
SexIsBad2TheBone. Testing and evangelism
VoW - Voices of War, German Multigaming Clan. Supporting funding of the server until 01/2020.
Several members of https://www.civforum.de/. Supporting funding of the server.
Zulan. Hosting and development.
History:
April 2014: 2k announces that the current multiplayer modes of Civ4 are replaced by the Steam multiplayer.
May 2014: GameSpy shuts down their Servers. The Internet/Lobby non-steam version of Civ4 stops working. Direct IP / Pitboss stops working smoothly due to the lack of Nat Negotiation (NatNeg).
August 2014: novice implemented the alternative NatNeg to avoid bouncing in Pitboss. The server was originally hosted by Caledorn. Zulan hosted an alternative NatNeg as redundancy. See the old thread.
September 2014: To simplify his hosting environment, Caledorn shut down the NatNeg server.
October 2014: dingus started implementing an alternative lobby. Zulan hosted it in addition to the NatNeg. The lobby was originally based on the C# code by AncientMan2002, but due to stability issues, different components were ported to python.
December 2014: 2k provides a way to restore Direct IP / Pitboss for the steam version of Civ4
April 2015: All components except the NatNeg were ported to python, hopefully resolving the stability issues. Improving of the server code is still ongoing.
May 2015: This thread goes online.
May 2015: Updated exe (2015 instead of 2014), now works correctly for the lobby.
July 2016: Updated hosts, IRC and Server browser for Civ4Colonization.
July 2020: Added github organization
September 2024 The server was shutdown due to moderation issues
I finally had to shutdown the multiplayer lobby. Unfortunately there were continuous issues with misconduct and I cannot afford to moderate the community.
I have hosted this service for about nine years, spent countless of hours on the open source code of the services and thousands of EUR in the server. Both of which are supported by various contributors, for which I and the community are very grateful. And all of that is fine and I would happily continue to do so, despite not having played a single game in the lobby. However, I will not tolerate the continuous hate speech on the server, nor will I continue to spend time dealing with it. This is not related to an isolated incident or a particular individual, but a continuous and consistent issue.
Neither NatNeg nor Pitboss are directly affected by this.
[old information]
(This is supposed to be a successor for this thread as we shifted from NatNeg/PB only to Lobby & NatNeg.)
Since the shutdown of GameSpy, the official Multiplayer of Civilization 4 is to use the Steam Version and Steam Multiplayer. This thread describes and discusses how to use Pitboss smoothly and restore the original lobby using alternative servers. There are two ways to convince Civ4 to use the alternative server.
Option A: hosts-file:
Run a text editor as administrator, and open the file C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts.
Add the following lines:
(removed)
Note: After editing the file you may have to restart your computer for the changes to have effect. If the server ever changes, you will have to update the hosts file to a new IP address. Some Antivirus solutions may interfere with the manipulation of the hosts file. If the IP address of the server changes in the future, you will have to update the hosts file.
Option B: Alternative exe:
Download this alternative exe file into your Civ4 installation folder and replace the original Civ4BeyondSword.exe. You can also keep the '2015' name and update your link (vanilla version). The alternative exe file is obviously not signed and therefore a security warning may show when you try to run it. This version will work even if the IP address of the server changes.
Restoring Direct IP and lobby in the Steam version of Civ4:
Follow the instruction by 2k
Port Forwarding:
It is very important to note, that the GameSpy NAT negotiation was never perfect, neither is our replacement. There are some routers/ISPs that just don't seem to be able to connect to each other. It was and is strongly recommended to setup port forwarding for UDP 2056-2107.
Multiplayer Menu:
To access the lobby, use "Multiplayer" -> "Internet Games" -> "Create New Account" and then "Login". Even if it still says Gamespy, if you prepared your hosts file or use the alternative exe as described above, it will use the replacement server.
Server Software:
To just play, there is no need to download or run any of the NATNEG/RPMaster exe files (except for the patched Civ4...exe files). The server software is running on my server. If my server it shut down at some point, you can use them and take over.
Contact:
For discussion, bug reports, issues please post in this thread, or send me a private message. I will also build up an overview page at (removed)
Known limitations:
The buddy/friends system of the lobby does not work in the alternative lobby.
Software Development:
All software development is done in an open source fashion on GitHub.
https://github.com/civ4-mp
Credits:
AncientMan2002. Initial GameSpy replacement server for project reality.
Caledorn. hosting the original NatNeg Server.
dingus a.k.a. evillurksinternet. Development of lobby.
Luigi Auriemma. Reverse engineering and documenting the GameSpy protocol and encryption.
novice-rb. Port of NatNeg to Civ4.
Ramkhamhaeng. Development and alternative exe file.
SexIsBad2TheBone. Testing and evangelism
VoW - Voices of War, German Multigaming Clan. Supporting funding of the server until 01/2020.
Several members of https://www.civforum.de/. Supporting funding of the server.
Zulan. Hosting and development.
History:
April 2014: 2k announces that the current multiplayer modes of Civ4 are replaced by the Steam multiplayer.
May 2014: GameSpy shuts down their Servers. The Internet/Lobby non-steam version of Civ4 stops working. Direct IP / Pitboss stops working smoothly due to the lack of Nat Negotiation (NatNeg).
August 2014: novice implemented the alternative NatNeg to avoid bouncing in Pitboss. The server was originally hosted by Caledorn. Zulan hosted an alternative NatNeg as redundancy. See the old thread.
September 2014: To simplify his hosting environment, Caledorn shut down the NatNeg server.
October 2014: dingus started implementing an alternative lobby. Zulan hosted it in addition to the NatNeg. The lobby was originally based on the C# code by AncientMan2002, but due to stability issues, different components were ported to python.
December 2014: 2k provides a way to restore Direct IP / Pitboss for the steam version of Civ4
April 2015: All components except the NatNeg were ported to python, hopefully resolving the stability issues. Improving of the server code is still ongoing.
May 2015: This thread goes online.
May 2015: Updated exe (2015 instead of 2014), now works correctly for the lobby.
July 2016: Updated hosts, IRC and Server browser for Civ4Colonization.
July 2020: Added github organization
September 2024 The server was shutdown due to moderation issues
