Hosting online races

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Configure router/firewall for TCP/UDP port forwarding

Creating[]

Selecting tracks[]

probably need a separate article describing BKMs for organizing your downloaded and/or custom created tracks.

Specify parameters[]

Number of racers and spectators.

Time of day, weather, wind direction and variability.

About the ladder[]

probably warrants it's own article

Starting a race[]

Handling Latecomers[]

Up until 2 minute before the starting gun any newly arriving racers will automatically join the fleet by spawning at one of the spawn points

Handling undesirable users[]

It's your server so if the behavior of a user does not meet with your approval then you have the power to enforce discipline. Having said that you can create a negative reputation if you are seen to be heavy handed or premature with your punitive measures!

Kick[]

Host unilaterally disconnects a user from the race server. The user can rejoin but must wait for the next restart to race again.

Ban[]

Host unilaterally disconnects a user from the race server and blocks the IP address of that user until the race server is closed and a new instance created. The user cannot rejoin the server until the server has closed and the host creates a new server.

Blacklist[]

A static list of login names that are banned from joining any race hosted by you. (This is reported to be buggy.) A user that you ban does not get added to this list automatically. You must edit the file manually.

See Guestlist for file syntax.

Handling desirable users[]

Guestlist[]

This file is also located in the config folder. Use it to allow your named friends to join a race you are hosting even when the number of boats already connected to your server has reached the maximum that you specified.

The default/sample file shows the correct syntax. You simply add the login name (not the boat name) of each user that you want to add to your list of preferred skippers. If your edits look correct but don't have any effect then choose a different editor. Some editors do not handle the newline character correctly.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<guestlist>
<!-- format
	<player>
		<login></login>
	</player>
-->
<player><login>userid1</login></player>
<player><login>userid2</login></player>
</guestlist>

Caveats

If the total number of boats in the fleet is more than the spawn points available at the start line, some boats will spawn on the same place.
Radar bug - Some boats (usually towards the back of the fleet) do not appear on the radar of other boats.
The fleet size can grow to be bigger than a course was designed for.

Announce your house rules[]

Although regulars to your server will come to know your rules it can save you a lot of typing in chat if you give some thought to your house rules and prepare a script file to automatically announce those rules before the start of each race.

See this AutoHotkey article for how this can be automated.
Consider creating a hotkey to refer skippers to your customized host page here at vsk.wikia.com

Listed below are the currently defined house rules from which you might pick and choose your own. Less is more when it comes to rules. If your house rule is not listed then feel free to add to the list by editing Property:House rule. These previously defined rules appear on the form for creating a new Host page at this wiki.

Ask Penalty Cancel is OK - no response is OKProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Ask Penalty Cancel is OK - no response = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Give Room at Land -Property "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Manual Protest - ask for penalty cancel = DSQ if declinedProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Manual Protest - ask for penalty cancel = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Manual Protest - spam protest = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Manual Protest -Property "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Abusive chat - abuse = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Whining chat - whine = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Swearing in chat - bad words = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Pen Hunting - hunter = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Penalty Cancels - ask and/or agree = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Penalty Cancels - only ask = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Penalty Cancels - except R17.1, ask and/or agree = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
No Penalty Cancels - except R17.1, only ask = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Rule 1 - Fair play - enforced by protest committeeProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Rule 14 - Avoid contact - enforced by protest committeeProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.
Transparent Sails - opaque sail = DSQProperty "Allows value" is a declarative property and can only be used on a property or category page.

DSQ = disqualified. That usually means you get kicked from the server but in some cases you may get banned from the server. It really depends on the host and their mood at the time.

Trouble shooting[]

When things don't go as planned ...

What do the error codes mean[]

Your game client may report an error code such as 10061, 10054, 10004, etc. just before or just after some problem you experience in game. These codes correspond to so-called winsock (Windows Socket) error messages. Search the list at http://www.sockets.com/err_lst1.htm#ErrorDescriptionList for the error code that you see. Note that this list is sorted in alphabetical order and not numerical order so use your browser's search feature to find the error code that your game client reports.

NAT warning[]

NAT stands for Network Address Translation. Your router (or modem/router) handles this without you having to do any configuration at all.

This warning message appears whenever the game client detects that your PC is using a so-called private IP address. The message is only a warning and does not mean that your router's network address translation is badly configured. So just click the OK button and proceed.

Private network IP address ranges

All computers connected to the home/office/school/etc. side of a router will typically default to using one of the IP address ranges reserved for private networks:

192.168.xxx.yyy (common)
172.16.xxx.yyy thru 172.31.xxx.yyy (rare)
10.xxx.yyy.zzz (common)

Nobody comes to your server[]

Chances are the necessary port forwarding has not been enabled at either your software or hardware firewall.