Combat Flight Simulator 3: Known multiple-player game issues

This article describes known issues that you may experience when you play a multiple-player game of Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 3.

This article also describes the quick chat and host commands that you can use during a game.

The following list describes known issues that you may experience in a multiple-player game of Combat Flight Simulator 3:

• Games you cannot win
  
  In Combat Flight Simulator 3, you may create games that no player can win. For example, if the spawn limit is set to a low number but the number of kills that you need to win the game is high, no one may be able to win the game if there are too many players. Use spawn limit only in conjunction with time limit as a game-ending goal.
• Multiplayer across 2 LANs on Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
  
  If you try to host a multiplayer game across two computers on the LAN and both computer are running Windows Millennium Edition, you may recieve the following error message:
  You must be logged onto the CFS3 game server.
  To resolve this issue, click to clear Publish my game in the CFS GameMatch directory check box in the game Host options, and then click Start Game.
• Team dogfights
  
  You may not see a score screen (which allows you to enter the dogfight) when you join some team dogfights. To work around this issue, press CTRL+SHIFT+S to manually display the score screen.
• Reloading weapons
  
  You cannot reload bombs and rockets by pressing SHIFT+J.
• Restarting play when your aircraft is damaged
  
  If your aircraft is damaged and you land the aircraft, your engines may no longer work. As a result, you cannot take off again. If this occurs, press CTRL+SHIFT+K to restart play. Your current aircraft is destroyed, and you resume play in a new aircraft.
• Player names
  
  You may not be able to join a game if there are 10 or more players already in the game who have the same name. To join such a game, use a different name.
• International games
  
  When you play the game on a host server that uses a different language version of Combat Flight Simulator 3 than your local version, some of the messages in the game may appear in the language that is used by the host server instead of your local language.
• Personal firewall software
  
  If personal firewall software such as ZoneAlarm from Zone Labs or Personal Firewall from Sygate Technologies is installed on your computer, dialog boxes may intermittently appear on your screen during the game. These dialog boxes may appear behind the Combat Flight Simulator 3 screen and cause the game to stop responding (hang) for as long as the dialog box is open. Press ALT+TAB to switch to the dialog box, and then close it.
  
  To work around this issue, configure your personal firewall program to allow Combat Flight Simulator 3 access to the network. For more information about how to configure your firewall program, see the program documentation or contact the manufacturer of the program.
  
  For information about how to contact your firewall software manufacturer, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
  http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/vendors)
• Network Address Translation (NAT) server and firewall issues
  
  If you cannot see the Combat Flight Simulator 3 game list and your computer is behind a Network Address Translation (NAT) server or firewall, try opening ports on your firewall to enable game play. In the NAT or firewall configuration, assign the following trigger ports to the corresponding public ports:
  
  NOTE: All transmissions use User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

  Trigger port          Public port                Protocol
  ---------------------------------------------------------
  2300                  28883 - 28886, 2300        UDP
  28883 UDP             28883 - 28886, 2300        UDP
  28884 UDP             28883 - 28886, 2300        UDP
  28885 UDP             28883 - 28886, 2300        UDP
  28886 UDP             28883 - 28886, 2300        UDP
  ---------------------------------------------------------
  					

• Other general firewall issues
  
  A client that is behind a firewall may not be able to join a password-protected game that is published by the Combat Flight Simulator 3 CFSMatch server if the server is behind the same firewall as the client. To work around this issue, use the Join Private Game option to connect to the game.
  
  If you connect through the Combat Flight Simulator CFSMatch server to another computer that is behind the same firewall as your computer, you may experience long connection waits (up to a minute). To work around this issue, connect directly to the computer.
• Microsoft Windows XP Internet Connection Sharing
  
  A computer that runs Combat Flight Simulator 3 and that is behind a Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based Internet Connection Sharing server may not be able to connect to a computer that is behind a Window XP Internet Connection Sharing-based server. (An Internet Connection Sharing server is a computer on your network through which other computers connect to the Internet. A computer is "behind" a server if the server is between the computer and the Internet.)
  
  To work around this issue, upgrade all Windows XP-based computers to the latest service pack.
  
  For additional information about how to obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  322389  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322389/EN-US/ ) How to Obtain the Latest Windows XP Service Pack
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Internet Connection Sharing
  
  A multiple-player game of Combat Flight Simulator 3 that is behind a Windows 2000 Internet Connection Sharing server cannot connect to a game server that is behind the same Windows 2000-based Internet Connection Sharing computer. To work around this issue, use the Join Private Game option to connect the clients directly to the server.
Microsoft Windows 98 Connection Sharing
• You may experience extreme synchronization issues when you connect a Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition Internet Connection Sharing server to a Windows 98 Second Edition client.
• A multiple-player game of Combat Flight Simulator 3 that is behind a Windows 98-based Internet Connection Sharing server cannot connect to a game server that is hosted behind the same Windows 98 Internet Connection Sharing server. To work around this issue, use the Join Private Game option to connect the clients directly to the server.
• Clients that are external to your Internet Connection Sharing network cannot connect to games that are hosted on a Windows 98 Second Edition-based computer if the Internet Connection Sharing option is turned on on the host computer.


• Other Internet Connection Sharing issues If a multiple-player game of Combat Flight Simulator 3 is hosted on an Internet Connection Sharing server, clients that are served by the Internet Connection Sharing computer may not see the game on their game lists. To work around this issue, connect to the game host by specifying its IP address.

Quick Chat Commands (for All Players)

In a multiple player game of Combat Flight Simulator 3, you can use the following commands on the chat command line:

• /tell user name message
  
  Use this command to send a message to the player that has the user name that you specify.
• /reply message
  
  Use this command to send a message to the last player who sent you a message.
• /a message
  
  Use this command to send a message to all players.
• /f message
  
  Use this command to send a message to players in your flight (all aircraft of your nationality).
• /s message
  
  Use this command to send a message to all players in your section (all aircraft that are the same type that you are flying).
• /ignore user name
  
  Use this command to add a player to your squelch list.

Quick Host Commands (for Game Host Only)

In a multiple-player game of Combat Flight Simulator 3, you can use the following commands if you are the game host:

• /ban user name
  
  Use this command to remove and ban a player that has the user name that you specify.
• /unban user name
  
  Use this command to remove a player from the ban list. After you do this, the play can reenter the game.

Combat Flight Simulator 3 Update

Microsoft has released an update that addresses several multiple-player game issues in Combat Flight Simulator 3. To download and install the update, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Fixes in the update include:

• Several security (anti-cheat) fixes have been made.
• There are now hit sounds when you are hit by other players.
• A "lock" icon appears on password-protected games in the game list.
• In version 3.0, when you respawned in a mission you would sometimes not have control of the aircraft. This problem is fixed.

For more information about Combat Flight Simulator 3, visit the following Microsoft Web site: For more information about Microsoft games, visit the following Microsoft Web site: