Frequenty Asked Questions

• Why do I need a masterserver?

  To play multiplayer games, you need a list of available gameservers. This list is compiled and maintained by one or more masterservers. If you have no (working) masterservers in your game settings, no online servers will appear to you.

  To play multiplayer games, you need a list of available gameservers. This list is compiled and maintained by one or more masterservers. If you have no (working) masterservers in your game settings, no online servers will appear to you.

  The masterserver keeps track of public gameservers. Every gameserver sends a signal every few minutes to let the masterserver know that it exists and that it is still online.

  When you --as player-- open your multiplayer game browser, it asks the masterserver for the list of these gameservers. Without masterserver, you can not get this list and your game browser will stay empty.

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• How do I select a masterserver?

  We learned from GameSpy's mistake to have a single access point that could be shut down, discontinued or unavailable. 333networks is designed to work with multiple (affiliated) masterservers that synchronise with each other.

  We learned from GameSpy's mistake to have a single access point that could be shut down, discontinued or unavailable. 333networks is designed to work with multiple (affiliated) masterservers that synchronise with each other. Selecting one or more masterserver is simply a matter of picking one or more from the list below.

  Masterserver domain	IP Address	Client port (Game)	Beacon port (server)
  master.333networks.com	81.205.81.173	28900	27900
  master.errorist.eu	150.230.23.146	28900	27900
  master.newbiesplayground.net	199.247.4.173	28900	27900
  master.gonespy.com	77.169.52.228	28900	27900
  master-uk.unrealarchive.org	212.71.247.194	28900	27900
  master-de.unrealarchive.org	172.104.247.54	28900	27900

  Domain names and IP-addresses last verified and updated on November 27, 2023.

  Many game titles support multiple masterserver entries in the configuration. Often, games with two or three different masterservers listed are safe from single point failures in masterservers. When one masterserver goes down, the game simply uses the second or third entry.

  In general, all supported games are synchronised between the different masterservers. There may however be a delay for synchronised servers to show up in the ingame server browser. As a rule of thumb, it takes up to 30 minutes before all servers are synchronised.

  Performance difference based on geographical location is negligible with today's technology. If you have a preference for a specific masterserver, you can as easily select it as such. If you have no idea which one to choose, most of the examples on our website use the recommended masterservers that you can apply right away.

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• How do I use the 333networks masterserver?

  We have detailed instructions about adding the masterserver on our instructions page. If that does not help you, please contact us and we will try to help.

  We have detailed instructions about adding the masterserver on our instructions page. If that does not help you, please contact us and we will try to help.

  We are currently in the process of making it easier to configure your game/client with our masterserver. Please keep an eye on the instructions page for the specifics of your game.

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• Where do I find my configuration file?

  Many game clients allow changing of the masterserver through a configuration file. Until we have a proper answer/instructions page set up for this, we use Unreal Tournament as an example on where possible configuration files are located. We will attempt to make this page as flexible yet universal as possible.

  Many game clients allow changing of the masterserver through a configuration file. Until we have a proper answer/instructions page set up for this, we use Unreal Tournament as an example on where possible configuration files are located. We will attempt to make this page as flexible yet universal as possible.

  Configuration file location

  Unreal Tournament stores the configuration file on the following location:

  C:\UnrealTournament\System\UnrealTournament.ini
  

  If that folder/file does not exist, continue reading for more information on known configuration locations. Once you located the configuration file, proceed with the instructions below.

  Depending on the retailer and installer, other common locations for the configuration file are:

  C:\UnrealTournament\System\UnrealTournament.ini
  C:\Program Files\UnrealTournament\System\UnrealTournament.ini
  C:\Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Unreal Tournament GOTY\System\UnrealTournament.ini
  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Unreal Tournament\System\UnrealTournament.ini

  If the file is also not in the specified locations above, find the installation directory of your game manually: right-click on the Unreal Tournament icon on your desktop and select "Properties". This will show a dialog box similar to the one below.

  The configuration file is called UnrealTournament.ini and is located in the System folder inside the folder that was specified during the installation. Look at the path in the "Start in" field. This path is the directory where System and UnrealTournament.ini are is located.

  Dialog box for Unreal Tournament.

  The information on this page is subject to change. Please revisit at a later point for accurate information.

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• How does the 333networks masterserver work?

  The masterserver receives digital heartbeats from online gameservers, maintains the list of gameservers and provides the serverlist to your game client. To be able to play multiplayer games, you need a list of available gameservers. If you have no (working) masterservers in your game settings, no online servers will appear.

  The masterserver receives digital heartbeats from online gameservers, maintains the list of gameservers and provides the serverlist to your game client. To be able to play multiplayer games, you need a list of available gameservers. If you have no (working) masterservers in your game settings, no online servers will appear.

  There are three important elements in an online game. There are numerous gameservers that hosts multiplayer game sessions, numerous game clients that let you play the online games on your computer and a masterserver that facilitates the interactions between them to make it work. Generally, there are hundreds of gameservers, hundreds of clients, but only a single masterserver for that particular game.

  General interactions between gameserver, masterserver and client.

  When somebody starts a gameserver, the gameserver starts sending a heartbeat to the masterserver every few minutes. This heartbeat is a small text message that contains information about the gameserver (1). The masterserver maintains a list of all the gameservers that have sent heartbeats to it. Gameservers that stop sending heartbeats are removed from the list after some time.

  When you open your game and click on the online game browser to get a list of available online gameservers, the game client sends a list request to the masterserver. The game client asks the masterserver for a list of all servers for this specific game. The masterserver first verifies that this game is actually permitted to see the server list and then sends the list to the game client (2).

  The serverlist only contains IP-addresses and query ports of gameservers, but does not describe any of the server properties like the gametype, server name or number of players. In order to obtain all descriptive information, the game client sends a status request to the game server to obtain all the data that you see while browsing your game list (3).

  Want to know more details about how every step in the process works? Find out more on Masterserver: How does it work?

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• Which games are supported by the 333networks masterserver?

  There are a number of games that are supported for sure. The following games have been tested and worked with 333networks.

  The following games work with 333networks and have active and/or public servers.

  • Deus Ex
  • Duke Nukem Forever
  • Global Operations
  • Han's Deus Ex Coop Mod
  • Heretic II
  • Kingpin
  • Nerf Arena
  • Postal 2
  • Rune
  • Serious Sam
  • Serious Sam: Second Encounter
  • Soldier of Fortune: Retail
  • Unreal
  • Unreal Tournament
  • Wheel of Time

  If one or more games are not on this list, that could mean two things: either the game is supported and has no active servers, or the game is not (yet?) supported because it uses a different protocol than 333networks.

  It is also possible that other games may be supported, but have never been tested. If you have a game that you would like to try, see also "How to get a new game supported?" below.

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• How to get a new game supported?

  Building support for a new game title may be a long and complex process. Before you ask, you should try a number of things first.

  Building support for a new game title may be a long and complex process. Many people ask whether we can support games with a completely different infrastructure or protocol. We will explain here how the mechanics work for adding support for a game.

  Protocol

  333networks uses the classic GameSpy protocol. All games that use this protocol have roughly the same way of communicating with the masterserver. For most of our supported games, it was necessary to make changes in how we interpret the protocol. Many, but not all games from that same period (1998-2005) have been using the GameSpy protocol. As long as the base protocol remains the same, we can adapt our programming to work with the game.

  Other games use either a newer protocol or have an in-house protocol specifically for that game. Reconstructing such a protocol without documentation or existing proof-of-concept software is merely impossible. In such cases, 333networks will not be able to create support for this kind of game without significant (external) help.

  Testing

  If the game is consistent with the GameSpy protocol, you could consider testing it with the 333networks masterserver. Our infrastructure should (but let's not jinx it) be able to handle untested games. The results could range from 1) a working game, 2) an error in our logs or 3) no visible result.

  You can try your game with the following steps:

  • Do research on your game. What engine does it use? What protocol is it said to use?
  • See if your game is in the list of games that was supported by GameSpy.
  • Read up on how the 333networks masterserver works. See if there are similarities.
  • Search for a configuration file or other means to change the active masterserver.
  • Host a (dedicated) server with 333networks as the active address.
  • Use WireShark (or another netsniffer) to see if there is two-way communication between the gameserver and masterserver.
  • Wait up to 30 minutes before the game shows up on master.333networks.com
  • Use your game client's game browser to see if your (dedicated) server shows in the serverlist.
  • If it does not work out of the box, record your IP-address and time of your attempt, so we can look back if the encounter was recorded.

  Failing the initial tests above does not automatically dismiss all support for it. There are also other technical obstacles that could prevent a successful result, like port forwarding or fallback entries. No luck? Join the discussion on our discord server to see if we can make it work.

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• What happens when I violate the Terms of Use?

  The Terms of Use describe what terms 333networks sets for the use of our masterservers, websites and services. Violating those may lead to you not being able to use our services anymore.

  The Terms of Use describe what terms 333networks sets for the use of our masterservers, websites and services. Violating those may lead to you not being able to use our services anymore.

  We pride ourselves on providing accurate information. With certain game titles, we know that it is possible to manipulate the data between server, client and masterserver. We also know of toxicity between community members and their ways to troll or obstruct others from having a good time.

  Users often report violations directly to us and our staff actively looks for discrepancies. We often attempt to contact the server administrator and to establish whether the violation was intentional or an oversight. However, when diplomacy fails, we have the ability to end the services with a gameserver or client completely.

  The mechanics are simple: when violations to the Terms of Service continue, we have the ability to reject/blacklist a server or user from all our services, including the website. Nobody will be able to see the violating server in the list, or the violating user will not be able to retrieve a serverlist anymore.

  We strongly believe that any administrator may do as he wants and/or pleases. However, that does not mean that we are obliged to provide you a platform. Your democratic rights have not been violated.

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• Which publishers officially endorse 333networks?

  Some publishers now rely on 333networks and released a path or new configuration file where 333networks is the default server. Other publishers openly endorse 333networks as their partner. We are not actively keeping track of this, but we are always glad to hear when you remind us that a publisher endorses us!

  Some publishers now rely on 333networks and released a path or new configuration file where 333networks is the default server. Other publishers openly endorse 333networks as their partner. We are not actively keeping track of this, but we are always glad to hear when you remind us that a publisher endorses us!

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• What does 333networks gain from hosting a masterserver?

  For us, this has always been a hobby project. We realise the importance to others and therefore actively continue improving our software and infrastructure.

  For us, this has always been a hobby project. We realise the importance to others and therefore actively continue improving our software and infrastructure.

  More servers and more users help 333networks.com to reach a larger audience. The larger our userbase, the better we can help spread the word that your legacy game may still be supported, so that you can continue playing. This also helps the affiliated people with daily life in the way of boosting our résumé and demonstrating 333networks' actions as our technical skills.

  Maybe consider a donation to help us out?

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• How can I support 333networks?

  You can support us by making a donation or by helping us out with the many tasks to maintain and improve 333networks.

  You can support us by making a donation or by helping us out with the many tasks to maintain and improve 333networks.

  Organisation

  333networks is a non-profit volunteer group, organised by Darkelarious, that developed and improves open-source masterserver software for legacy games. We focus on multiplayer support for legacy games, documenting our efforts and providing this via our website.

  Because the project has grown a lot since the early days, we could really use a hand in a number of discipines, like development/programming, code review, documentation, presentation and graphical design. Nobody assigns tasks to you, but you can join in on any part of the discussion that interests you or start a topic of conversation yourself.

  Joining

  So, how does one join the work groups and get started? It starts with the willingness to help out once in a while with anything that interests you. The next step is to join our discord server if you haven't done so already. Then, go to our #roles channel where you can react to assign yourself to the @workgroup role. You are now part of the workgroup and we look forward to your contributions!

  Join a task and do not fear to try something. Bugs, problems and failures are part of the process. It is up to you to take the initiative, nobody will assign or force a task on you. We hope you'll enjoy helping out and we appreciate your efforts!

  Donate

  We value the effort from all people who helped with the development, hosting and support. 333networks also has the occasional costs, currently provided and paid for by Darkelarious with the help of donations.

  If you consider making a donation, we can afford:

  • Darkelarious providing support
  • Domain name and renewal
  • Server hardware
  • Our 200Mbit up/down glass fibre internet subscription
  • Electricity costs
  • Taking a day off from work to spend on 333networks

  Like many people, we disapprove of advertisements on our websites. We do not intend to put up advertisements to cover these costs, but rather provide people with the opportunity to make a donation as a sign of appreciation and extra motivation for us to keep pushing forward.

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Is your question missing? Do you want to know more? Is something unclear? As always, you can contact us via email or our discord server.