E2160 - EarthNet

From InsideEARTH

EarthNet VPN

EarthNet VPN is the multiplayer game network built to connect players from around the world. It supports the following games:

  • Earth 2160

How to Connect

  1. Install OpenVPN
  2. Download and Import the following;
    1. OpenVPN configuration file
      1. Right Click > Save As, then double click to import
  3. Right click the OpenVPN Tray icon and click connect on IE-VPN"
    1. It should say connected and issue you with an IP
  4. Launch Earth 2160 then select;
    1. Multiplayer
    2. Player profile
    3. Internet TCP/IP Connection for DirectPlay
    4. If you are Hosting a game then click "Create Game"
      1. Session Name: <Game Name>
      2. Password: <Leave bank for no password>
      3. Click "Create Session"
    5. If you are joining a game, then input the Hosts IP Address where it says "Listen for Connection", then click "Initialize"

Next Steps

Download and run the following PowerShell script Earth2160: EarthNet Configurator or if you prefer to configure manually. This is to ensure you have the required firewall rules as documented in EarthNet Troubleshooting

Why are we using OpenVPN

Port forwarding has always been an issue for plenty of players since day one of Earth 2160 release. Massive deploying of routers in households, combined with restricted administrative access to it by Internet Service Providers and giving to end-users private (non-public) IP addresses instead of real ones, made this issue only worse over the years.

This is where OpenVPN comes in handy. When you, your friends and everyone else are connecting to our OpenVPN server, you will be automatically assigned with virtual IP addresses from the same network, which practically puts you in the same virtual Local Area Network, and since that moment it doesn't matter if you have or haven't public IP and/or restricted router — all you have to do is to make sure your local firewall in your operating system doesn't block necessary traffic.

Using this VPN is safe as it's configured to pass through only necessary game traffic, anything else like shared folders is restricted by default on server side.

Further Information