Sometimes I want to join a game, and a person is in there playing all alone, but I can't join them as they "have a router, ..."
What would be the harm of having all games server hosted, as I don't know how many people know that they should be using server hosted?
Thats a good question.
First lets explain the difference.
When Kaiser Network was first started in 2002 people did not use Routers they connected straight to the Internet via cable or dsl modems such as through Shaw or Sasktel. The Firewalls were software based such as Norton or Mcafee.
It was easy for a computer to host a game and allow others to connect to them. The idea is that a Host opens connections to their Room and the players would connect to their computer directly to join the room. Then came Routers with Firewalls and that became a problem because Hosts are now behind Routers with a Firewall. And Windows has a firewall built in now. The primary reason for a Firewall is to prevent Internet traffic from coming into your computer.
So I wrote a Server Host method. Techincally Server Host is a proxy for the room connections. The Host connects to the Server and then the players connect to the same Server Host then the Server Host transfers the information back and forth. All information including chat is sent through this Proxy.
As far as disadvantages id say slower speed and possible relay transmission problems because all information for the room is controlled by the Server and the Host together. Server Host is dependant on the Kaiser Server for room to room connections and communications and the more rooms that are using it then the speed may become noticeable. My Server is very fast and so is my Internet speed and will handle a few hundred Server Hosts without problem.
In the next update that is coming soon i have added full UPnP. As mentioned in this Topic http://www.kaisergame.com/Forum/index.php?topic=953.0 (http://www.kaisergame.com/Forum/index.php?topic=953.0)
It will enable this feature when the game is loaded. If it works for you then you should be able to Host games regardless of the Router.
Direct connections to the Host are faster because they do not require any information from the Server. The Host sends and receives all the room data.
If you Host a room with out Server Host the Server could be completely shut off and everyone in your room could still play and chat.
I would prefer if people could Host games without Server Host because using this proxy method has a potential for miscommunications.
So even though many can't, they should when they can?
It would be better to not use Server Host if you dont have to but everyone has a Router. All Routers are capable of Port Forwarding which involves forwarding TCP port 2400 to the computer that wants to Host. Since many people dont know how to log into their Router then the solution is UpNp. This will allow Kaiser to access the Router and do the Port Forwarding for you.
It will be in the next update.
Very nice.