Tutorial [UPDATED] Setting up an Starbound Server w/ Port Forwarding

Updated the whole post, added some extra tips for your server, also added some features like red text when you need to perform
a action or type something, etc. Be sure to check that out.
I'm terribly sorry if I don't write proper grammar. My main language is Dutch. So I'm trying to
make the tutorial as best as possible. Just correct me if you find anything.

So, a lot of people have trouble with port-forwarding their Starbound server.
So I thought, let's make an tutorial
If you see that it's leaking some information about setting up servers, etc.
Just PM me and I will change it. If it's correct of course.
Thanks to "danks_" for the extra information in this tutorial.

First of all. You can choose between making a LAN-server (This means that people on the same network can join) or making a World-Wide server. For using a World Wide server you need the Port Forward tutorial. If you just want to make an LAN-server check out the other spoiler.

Every router has it's own "site", but the progress will look similar to this tutorial.
I used Thomson for this tutorial.

Go to your menu and search for "cmd.exe". This is a command prompt file.
When opened, type: "ipconfig". You would see a lot of different IP's. And look for the "Default gateway."
Copy that IP and paste it in your URL bar, then press enter.
(Also if you know which brand your router has. Just copy the IP below here:
D-Link 192.168.(0.1) -> 0.30, 0.50, 1.1
Linksys 192.168.(0.1) -> 1.1
Belkin 192.168.2.1
Buffalo 192.168.11.1
Apple 10.0.1.1)

The IP should bring you to your Router's "Site"
It could be possible that you need to log in. Just find or ask for the codes.

2. Search for Game & Application sharing.

3. Click on "Create new ..."

4. Enter a name and select "Manual Entry of Port Maps". Than click next.

5. Enter the port "21025" in the first 3 bars. When done click on "Add"

6. Check if the ports look like this: If it's correct click on "Assign a game or application to a local network device."

7. Click on the bar that says "ABC Another Bittorent Client".
Then select the name that you have selected in Step 4.
Mine is "Starbound Server".


Than click the bar next to it. Under Device and select your Computer name.

When selected. Click on "Add".
If it's right it should now appear.
Now you're done with Port forwarding.

If you still got trouble with portforwarding. Please go to http://portforward.com/
This site gives you free information and help with portforwarding with your router.

If you have a LAN-Server (A server without port forwarding) type in this IP: "127.0.0.1" at
step 10

8. Open the Starbound Launcher.
First click on "Launch Starbound Server".
Then click "Launch Starbound".

9. A command prompt window should appear. Just wait for it to load.

If you did the port forwarding correct there shouldn't be any problem at all

The server is now up and running. You can now join it. And anyone else on the world can join it now.
But first they need an IP. Go back to your browser and type in the URL bar: "ipchicken.com"

Your IP should appear on the place that has been censored in this picture .
Type this IP in your Starbound.

10. Open starbound, click on multi-player, select your character and type your IP in the upper box:
If you have a LAN-Server you type your local IP (127.0.0.1)

Then click on join server.

11. Have fun with playing

Here are some useful tips if you have some trouble with your server. (Keeps crashing, etc.)
If you have troubleshooting with the server just the the section below "'Turning off the automatic Router Scanning
for port-forwarding". Also some nice tricks to make your server more enjoyable for you and others.

Turning off the automatic Router scanning for port forwarding:
You probably noticed when starting the server is takes ages before the text "Scanning router for portforwarding".
It can be turned off. Let me show it below for you.

I showed you in the other section of Port-forwarding how to port-forward. Because we have done this together
you won't need the option that the server automatically tries to port forward for you. Because that option is only
possible if your router supports UPnP. Some routers that doesn't support it, will give you troubleshooting with your
server. The server will crash or generate errors that you don't know how to fix. Here is the tutorial how to fix it.

First, port-forward your server using my tutorial above, if done you can go ahead and open the file: "starbound.config" with
Notepad++ or any other text editor software. The file will be normally located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Starbound".

Than you can go ahead and search for "upnpPortForwarding" : true,". Than change the true to false.

Now start your server. If you already had it running, restart the server.
___
Setting up Server Passwords on your Server.
Setting up a password for your server is an easy way to make your server more private. This kind of server
is also called a "White-listed Server". Just set a password and people will send you a post to ask for the password
to join the server. Your server will be free of scum, more secure and private.

So let's start, shall we?
First go ahead and turn off your Starbound Server. Than go to your Starbound.config file. This will normally be located at
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Starbound". The file will look like this

Open it with any Text Editor Software and search for "serverPasswords".

Change the password between the brackets ( "..." ) as you wish to be.
Than save the file and restart your Starbound Server.
__
Making a spawn planet on your Server.
If you want to make a specific spawn point on your server. Than is this the perfect way. It's really easy and everyone
will spawn on this planet when first joined.

First turn off your Starbound Server. Than you can go ahead and search for the Starbound.config file. This file is normally
located at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Starbound"

Then right click on the file and select your Text Editor Software.

Now search for "useDefaultWorldCoordinate" and change it to "True".
Then you can change your Default World. Search for "defaultWorldCoordinate" and
change the coordinates as you wish.
The Coordinates aren't the easy ones to find.
Go to your Universe folder. Usually located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Starbound\universe"


All these .world files represents the worlds you have been in-game. Because the icons on the .world files are a shovel because
I have World Painter (A Minecraft Tool) installed. Don't worry if you don't got that icon.
Good, when you have chosen your world. Right click on it and select "Rename" this will allow you to edit the name of the file.

All those numbers are the coordinates of the world in the solar system. Copy this whole text and paste it in Notepad or
something similar to that.

Replace all the underscores ( _ ) with colons ( : ).
Just like this:

Now you can go ahead and open the starbound.config file.
Search for "defaultWorldCoordinate". Than after it between the brackets you can paste your own world coordinates.
Remember to paste it between the brackets.

Then save the file and you're new spawn world is now the world you have chosen.

Modded Servers
Mods are working in servers. Only check if you have the exact same mods as the server runs. Also
if you have the same mods and still have issues this would probably come because the mods aren't compatible or you are running the wrong version.


If you need support because you have trouble. PM me and I will try to help you. Also I will add it here.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Still got issues? Post your problem below

 

Is this possible to go with mods?
Cause me and a friend are having issues trying to start one up cause we get a list or errors.

 

Please let people know that they should be using 127.0.0.1 instead of their IP if they are hosting the server in the same machine they are playing the game, since this usually is a problem.
The information about port-forwarding you provided is for a specific router model, let the people know that theirs might look different but that the process should be very similar, and also let people know that different routers have usually different IPs, hence why 192.168.2.254 might not work for them try adding a list of common router IPs, which usually depend on the brand, like this one:

Code:

D-Link    192.168.(0.1) -> 0.30, 0.50, 1.1
Linksys    192.168.(0.1) -> 1.1
Belkin    192.168.2.1
Buffalo    192.168.11.1
Apple    10.0.1.1

Or explain that you can obtain it by using ipconfig on a cmd prompt, like so:


Provide users to with a link to portforward.com, they explain how to do the portforwading process on many different devices.
Add information about editing the starboung.config file, asking users to disable upnpPortForwarding since this is also a common issue that many have problems with, also explaining things like useDefaultWorldCoordinate, serverPasswords, defaultWorldCoordinate and the allowAdminComands options would definitely be a plus to your tutorial.

Good job on the tutorial, user friendly and goes straight to the point.

 

I got my own server with mods. Maybe you should check if the mods are up to date with each other

First of all thanks for the review
And I will add it to the tutorial.
Also I'm going to add spoilers [DOUBLEPOST=1415719532][/DOUBLEPOST]

Uhm maybe you could explain a little bit more about
Add information about editing the starboung.config file, asking users to disable upnpPortForwarding since this is also a common issue that many have problems with, also explaining things like useDefaultWorldCoordinate, serverPasswords, defaultWorldCoordinate and the allowAdminComands options would definitely be a plus to your tutorial.
Because I never had to use that option before.[DOUBLEPOST=1415719696][/DOUBLEPOST]Updated the post. Hopefully the tutorial is now better.
If not please PM me
I will always keep it updated.
Maybe I'll add a Bug Fixer later. So if anyone encounters a bug. I would write it here and
maybe find a fix and will also write it here.

 

My friend finally got his working but sadly for some reason we can't use any custom ship mods cause it'll either crash
the server start up or just won't load.
So do you know why it won't work with custom ship mods like the Xan Union Cargo Cruiser mod?

 

Are you completely sure that the custom ship mod is the one causing the issue? Many servers have custom ships mods, like the one that allows you to build the ship yourself. Please, provide people with starboud_server.log and starbound.log if you want help, otherwise no one will know what's causing the error.

UPnP Port Forwarding is an option many people are having trouble with, if it's enabled the server will try to directly communicate with the Router and ask the router to portforward the ports (without you having to do it), it sounds really cool and it's really useful if you have a router with UPnP capabilities, although some other routers seem to have an issue with this option, sometimes the server will crash or generalte errors while trying to portforward via UPnP, sometimes it just takes like 10 minutes for the portforward to take place, and since you are already explaining how to portforward via Router, turning the UPnP off is a good idea.

serverPasswords, is a very simple option. If one or more passwords are placed inside that option, only the players that know what password is in use will be able to enter the server, and those who don't have the server, can't connect to it. There are already some passwords written inside by default, hence why it's important to change the passwords.

useDefaultWorldCoordinate, this option, if enabled, will make all new players spawn in the default planet. The default planet is defined by defaultWorldCoordinate.
allowAdminComands in the current stable version is not important since there aren't vanilla admin commands, but on the nightly there's already an /admin command, meaning that eventually, people will have to disable this option or modify the list of players that can use the command to avoid people griefing the server.

Good luck!

 

My tip is to send a post to the designer of the Xan Union Cargo Cruiser mod. I hope he can help you. Because I
don't have much knowledge about the compatibility of mods.

And Danks_ thank you. I will add it later. I'm currently busy with something :L

 

I just updated the whole Tutorial, added all the extra information you have given me. I also learned a lot from you now.
I also turned off the UPnP-Option because it was meaking me insane to wait that long to start up.
If there is anything else you I can add just PM me. I will always keep it updated for everyone.

Have a nice day ;D

 

This is wrong, the coordinates that you have to write on the file aren't exactly the ones you find in the game, instead, in order to find that coordinate, you must go into the universe folder, inside it, you will find several .world files. These .world files do have the X and Y coordinates, displayed as such: alpha_305054_44922410 but there are another 3 variables to it, in the case of the world I chose, those extra 3 are _-18803737_10_3, I'm not exactly sure what the first two represent, but, if you visit a planet in the same solar system, you'd get a file named alpha_305054_44922410_-18803737_10_2.world (just an example) meaning that the last number represent the number of the planet in the solar system, I assume the other 2 numbers correspond to the name of the solar system, since most have a name such as "alidsl 76" and then a number represented in the roman fashion "V", after that you have a letter (a, b, c, d...), the planet number in the solar system I already mentioned.

This is probably the most complicated thing about changing the default world, it's not really user friendly and it takes a while until you actually figure out how the option works. You also have to replace all the underscores ( _ ) with colons ( : ), making it look like this: alpha05054:44922410:-18803737:10:2, honestly this is a feature I wouldn't recommend messing with.

Thumbs up on the tutorial.

 

Thanks, I will change it. And you're right that sure does look complicated.
I'll be busy for a while t figure it out and write it down on the forums.
I appreciate the help you are giving me. Together we make this tutorial awesome

 

Ok we figured out why the custom ships kept crashing on him.
When he was making the race ship folder for the mod he was moving it out from the ship mod folder out into the mods folder
which caused the server to have a fit and crash.
So once he kept the certain race folders in the ship mod folder it worked without issue.
So I have my huge cargo ship and he has his small ship.
Pixel Goods 3000 pixel cargo container here I come.

 

I'm happy for you that it's fixed.
Have fun with your awesome ship

Happy playing Starbounder

 

Hey I'm trying to start playing starbound with my Gf and I've had a lot of difficulty creating a server and getting her connected. I've got a virgin media hub so my post forwarding page looks like this.

I'm not sure what i'm doing so if anyone has any useful tips or can help me at all, it'll be greatly appreciated.
Btw when she tries to connect with my ip address and port number it just says connection failed.

 

Is she in the same place as you? If not, then you need to give her your external IP address at whatsmyip.org

 

TP LINK has no toolbar or game or application sharing, can someone please help me?
192.168.1.1

 

Sorry for the late reaction.
Have a look on the Port Forward Site for detailed information. If you can't figure it out. Please let me know.
http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/TP-Link/default.htm

 

OK so i Use century link and i cant find the step 2 of port forward anywhere

 

find your router on this site. It will guide you on how to port forward.

http://portforward.com/

 

So I have my 0.0.0.21025 port forwarded, but my starbound_server.exe hasnt gotten past "writing root configuration for "..\storage\starbound_server.config", and I'm not certain how all this information helps my problem. Thanks in advance

 

I'm having problem setting up port forwarding. In my port forwarding page on my router, it asked me for a IP in the form of 198.162.X.X where the X are empty fields where I can enter a number. What is it for and what numbers should I write?