Mirage Source

There have been a few questions that keep cropping up over and over. I can understand people not wanting to wade through a massive text file to understand how to use the engine, so I've added a quick troubleshooting guide here for the most commonly encountered problems:

1. Runtime Error '-2147352567 (80020009)' - "The request address is not valid in its context"
2. I keep getting disconnected when I try to edit Items/Npcs/Shops or even Maps etc.
3. My Server is running but players cannot connect to it.

As more questions of this kind turn up I'll add them here for quick reference.
I really would advise reading the UserGuide.txt file that comes with the engine, it has an up to date and fairly comprehensive explanation of how the engine works and guides newcomers on how to use all of the features contained in the Dev suite.

* Please post any suggestions for entries in this thread either in the 'Latest Release Thread' or 'General Questions'.
Many Thanks Ambientiger.

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Runtime Error '-2147352567 (80020009)' - "The request address is not valid in its context"

The Server will give this error for one of two reasons;

1. An internet connection is not available to the server - Please make sure the host computer you are using has access to the internet.

2. The IP configuration files are not setup correctly on the server, make sure that the servers IP is correctly set to that of the host computers network address or the IP address given to you by your ISP when you connect to the Internet.
If you are not sure what the IP address for the host computer you are using is, contact the network administrator for networked machines and those working from behind a router, or visit a site like http://www.ipchicken.com if the computer is connected directly to the internet.

I keep getting disconnected when I try to edit Items/Npcs/Shop or even maps etc

The Cerberus Engine uses an extended version of the MS security Access system. This is what the guide says about it:

With your server setup, you'll need some way of identifying yourself to it as the owner.
Firstly, connect to your server with the Dev client or the Game client and create an account, login and create a character in the first character slot, then exit the client.
Navigate to '\Server\Accounts' and open the file with your account name using a plain text editor like notepad.
Under [CHAR1] change the value of ACCESS=0 to ACCESS=6.
All tools in the Dev client will now be available to you for editing your game when using your first character.

All levels of access are as follows;

Basic Player Access = 0 - This is default when an account is created.
Player Party Leader Access = 1
Player Guild Leader Access = 2
Admin Monitor Access = 3
Admin Mapper Access = 4
Admin Developer Access = 5
Engine Owner Access = 6

My Server is running but players/developers cannot connect to it

Firstly, check with the player/developer that the clients IP address and port settings correct.

If people are still having trouble connecting to your game one of a couple of things could be wrong;

1. One or more firewalls on your system or router may be blocking the port your using, most software firewalls have some kind of notification system the first time an application or game tries to connect to the internet. If not you will have to check the firewall providers website or manual for how to allow the port your using for your game. Likewise for a firewall supplied with your router.

2. Port forwarding will need to be set up on your router so the host computer can communicate with the outside world (and vice-versa), http://www.portforward.com seems to be the best place for an explanation on how this works and how to get it working with your router.