AC:Brotherhood Multiplayer - Searching Abstergo Agents ... endlessly

[#1]

Windows XP Home
ZoneAlarm Firewall
Avast AV
Techni"color" 582n router
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This is seriously getting on my nerves. Trying to, well, try Multiplayer for the first time in my life and this game just sits there forever "Searching for Abstergo Agents" and invariably remaining at "(1/6)".
In any searching I do on Google, time and again I end up on the diabolical 'support' forum for Ubisoft and the 'support' page here.
These instructions make little sense. I know how to port forward, but I thought the whole point of UPNP was to make it unnecessary to forward ports in the router. Moreover, the instructions:

Quote

**The UDP/TCP ports 44301 and 45301 in the above list should only be opened in firewall software, not in your router/modem”**

don't make sense to me either. It's news to me that ports can be opened in a firewall. I certainly can't find any such option in mine. Aside from that, I can't seem to only open ports in my router for a specific exe.
Its says at bullet 1.:

Quote

... you may need to temporarily shut-down the associated program or bypass the router and establish a direct connection to your modem.

Shutting down ZA makes no difference. How on earth am I supposed to bypass my router and establish a direct connection to my modem? What modem? I thought my router was my modem. I can't shut down my anti-virus. Honestly, I don't like shutting down my security programs. What's the point in having them if they are to be shut down to play an online game?
As for:

Quote

"Allow the game trough your Network:"

I have no such listings or features on my system as are 'detailed' in the page.
Anybody have experience with this game and multiplayer and could help me out?

[#2]

I guess that's a 'no', then.
Excuse me whilst I explode in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ...
Update, just in case someone has some ideas with the stage I'm now at. I did manage to get a couple of sessions this morning; two ten minute ones, roughly an hour apart each - that's how long it took to get going. I was then lucky enough to get a few more; four or five during the afternoon. All ran well when I eventually got connected to each session. Then comes this evening:
I manage to connect to three sessions and find that everything slows right down to a stuttering, jittery, lagging pace, as though my pc were from 1990. I can't help but think, given that everything ran ok with each session throughout the day that this has something to do with my connection. Can anybody give me any advice with this? Do I need to make any requests to PN for any special hidden 'gamer' settings? Do I need to ask them to add this game to some special list? Anything.
In the interim, as things turn out it appears to make no jot of difference whether I forward ports on my router or not, whether I enable the gaming mode on the router or not, whether I enable or disable my firewall, or whether I enable or disable my anti-virus. I can connect to and play the multiplayer levels of the game, it's just largely a matter of waiting for the right connections to be established between the required number of participants for a session.
I'll be back once I can coalesce the pieces of me rage splattered all over the walls. ...

[#3]

try this 
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1810361

[#4]

anyone else experienced problems?
Might make sense to get a wireshark for it.  Which PN product are you on?

[#5]

Hi Kelly. What on earth is a 'wireshark'? I'm on Extra (I think it's called) - the 60GB/m product.

Quote from: rongtw

try this  http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1810361

Hi, thanks, but I've read that posting. Step two is the non existent part on my system that I mentioned in regard to the Ubisoft support page I referenced in my opening post. I don't have any 'settings' and I don't know exactly what it's talking about to adapt.

[#6]

http://community.plus.net/library/faults/using-wireshark-for-data-capture/

[#7]

OK, thanks for that, Kelly. I'll give it a try and see if I can get it going ... though I may well just get totally lost!

[#8]

Following that guide the green highlighted items on Differentiated Services Field show as being 0x80, which seems to be wrong. I'm really not sure what I'm doing here.
EDIT: Reading further in the guide I have submitted a ticket with one of the capture files in a zip (the smallest of two).
As an aside, could the fact that when I do speed tests there is always a long delay before the upload part of the test will begin have any significance to performance?

[#9]

I'll get someone to have a look at the capture tomorrow, thanks for sending it in.
I get a slight pause on upload, but it's normally less than a second. What kind of delay are you seeing?

[#10]

Hi Chris,
The delay varies. It can be five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen seconds. I get the same delay when I'm trying to upload to my dropbox (every time with that, actually, as well as very slow when it gets going - it starts and stops with the same delay with each upload burst. I just always put that one down to dropbox servers, but did wonder if it was connected to the same issue with speed tests). I also get a strange delay at the very end of the upload test where it's clearly finished but the counter still keeps going, as though it's stuck waiting. That one can go on for thirty seconds on occasion. It happens on both bbmax and speedtest.net.
Edit: Sorry, I meant to say thanks for that (getting the capture looked at). I tried to understand it myself, but it just frazzled my brain ... which seems to be happening more and more lately! I did note on the captures that I did (three, just sent one to your people) a lot of 'destination unreachable' messages. I don't know if that's relevant. I expect whoever looks at it will know if it is or not. In the interim, I have managed to have a few more game sessions, but no more than ten minutes at a time before either being disconnected from the host and/or just sitting in this cycling 'searching for abstergo agents' business for another hour or so. Invariably I have to quit the game and take a break. It's driving me insane (yeah, I know, the logical answer is to give up then ... but I just want to play it so much, especially having had a taster). Anyway, I'm waffling now. Thanks, and I'll wait and see what comes up, if anything.

[#11]

I am continuing to try to figure out what's going on with this game. I've had a look at the log on my router and, amongst other things, I see:

Quote

Error Jan 18 17:29:19 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 14): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 192.168.1.64 Dst ip: 216.98.51.138 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 17:28:10 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 4): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 192.168.1.64 Dst ip: 216.98.51.138 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 17:20:17 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 17): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 66.180.170.20 Dst ip: 91.125.98.191 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 16:29:10 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 4): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 95.244.18.214 Dst ip: 91.125.98.191 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 16:28:08 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 4): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 204.15.228.214 Dst ip: 91.125.98.191 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 16:22:21 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 2): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 216.240.146.139 Dst ip: 91.125.98.191 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 15:53:43 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 4): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 177.52.225.9 Dst ip: 146.90.143.122 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 15:49:08 FIREWALL replay check (1 of 1): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 216.240.146.139 Dst ip: 146.90.143.122 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 15:15:04 FIREWALL icmp check (1 of 1): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 199.83.94.84 Dst ip: 146.90.143.122 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 14:36:09 FIREWALL icmp check (1 of 1): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 94.242.238.10 Dst ip: 146.90.143.122 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Protocol Unreacheable Error Jan 18 13:54:45 FIREWALL icmp check (1 of 1): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 198.24.131.73 Dst ip: 146.90.143.122 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Port Unreacheable Error Jan 18 13:49:31 FIREWALL icmp check (1 of 1): Protocol: ICMP Src ip: 94.242.238.10 Dst ip: 146.90.143.122 Type: Destination Unreachable Code: Protocol Unreacheable

Are these the same as the 'destination unreachable' messages I see in the packet captures?
Checking some of the IP's, I think they are to do with the game servers and other players trying to connect with me and me with them and failing. At least one of them belongs to Ubisoft. Isn't this protocol something to do with echo requests, ping, which I think needs to function properly for online games to work? I'm only guessing here, I don't really know what this is about. What if I turn off the router firewall? I know I want to because I think it's interfering, but I worry that's a really bad idea and will leave my system vulnerable.
I'm already disabling my ZA firewall because it is on occasion interfering with the game running - I have found (it does that too with a bittorrent client), but I only do so because I know that my system is still stealthed by the router firewall. I thought that enabling Game Mode in the router would mean that games can still function, but by the log it seems the firewall still interferes. As to 'Game Mode', can someone educate me on what the router configuration page says:

Quote

Game Mode is designed to make more systems and games work through your Technicolor Gateway. The default settings with Game Mode disabled allow the XBOX 360 and PS3 to work correctly as well. Note: By enabling the Game Mode you will be reducing the protection provided by your Technicolor Gateway.

So what does that do, exactly? How does it make more systems and games work? Does it open certain ports? Allow certain protocols? What? And why does enabling it reduce protection? As stated, even with it enabled, according to grc.com, I'm still stealthed. I just want multiplayer to work properly, to connect without problems.

[#12]

Personally, I would turn off all your firewalls for 10mins and see if that helps.  I'm a risk taker like that though, so do that at your own risk

[#13]

Hi Kelly,
I did dare to try in the end (such is the tantalising lure of computer games). I got loads of sessions in a row (and I did loads better at the game itself straight away - I think my bad connection before was making my character obvious to other players, perhaps. I've noticed what I think are other 'laggers' characters blinking in game and making them obvious, and easy kills, so I think the same was happening to me previously). Yes, there were some delays in getting into sessions, but none more than a couple of minutes (a great improvement on an hours wait time). I was very worried about running with the router firewall down, and when I quit the game to check the logs, I saw warning entries that worried me (didn't understand them, but definitely warnings with the exclamation mark). I did also notice that there were still some 'destination unreachable' messages from the firewall, which confused me, because I disabled the firewall so it shouldn't be interfering and logging, surely. I did a reboot after resetting everything, then went to copy the log, only to find it was cleared. I'm a touch paranoid of course and everything might be ok.
If the worst comes to the worst and I get hacked or some virus or trojan or rootkit or something else, I can always reinstate my disk sector backup. I'd rather not have anything like this happen though and would rather find a solution that is secure instead of having to rely on always taking the risk just to play a game. Why is the firewall interfering with these things anyway (when on and off, apparently), when game mode is supposed to make things work? Clearly game mode doesn't work.

[#14]

I knew I spoke too soon. After the above I started to encounter connection problems again, and not getting any games. I did a few speed tests and aside from the usual delays, the ending delays were severe, to the degree that nearly all of them wouldn't end. I've yet to test things out today.

[#15]

general speed problems?