How do I start multiplayer sessions in Icewind Dale II?

Question

When I attempt to start a multiplayer game as a host, no one can connect, even though the network connection is OK. When I try to connect to another server over the LAN, I get refused.

Where's the problem? How do I fix it?

Answer 1

This bug was a tricky one, and appears on multiple games running on the Infinity engine (see below). There are two possible ways to fix this. The first option working on Win XP is to use the IPX protocol, instead of the standard TCP/IP. You may have to fiddle around with some network settings like fragment size and such. And there is no easy way to do this on Win Vista or newer.

There however is an easy workaround which seemed to work on every PC (and I've met a lot of people with this problem).

1. When initiating the network session, don't run the game in fullscreen mode.
2. You still may start the game normally, then switch it into window mode (ALT + ENTER should work).
3. Wait for all the players to join
4. Start the game
5. Once in game, you may maximize it again. It should now run with no problems.

I had this problem with multiple games running on Infinity Engine:

• Icewind Dale (CZ localization)
• Icewind Dale II (CZ localization)
• Icewind Dale II (original EN localization, version from GOG.com)
• Baldur’s Gate

Come to think about it, those were probably all of the Infinity games I ever played via the network.