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#1 May 08 2007 at 3:49 PM Rating: Decent
Hello all,



I need a little help from the community as Turbine is unable to provide it.

For some reasons, since the last patch there is a IP block on the authenticate page at launch (and only this page).

The page where you need to input user and pass.

The IP block covers at least a part of China and could very well be either from turbine (they solved a similar case on april 26-27 so it is my best guess) or from Chinese authorities.

Can any of you lead me step by step (I am not a IT specialist) in using a IP hiding software to go around this IP block?



Thank you in advance for your help
#2 May 08 2007 at 4:11 PM Rating: Good
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615 posts
"Hiding" your IP (which really amounts to using someone else's IP since IP is required to play the game) would only work if they have blocked your computer specifically from accessing Turbine (e.g. they saw you and specially added a block for you).

If it's really an IP block where they are blocking Turbine from anyone where you live, there's not much you can do other than grabbing an IP that doesn't pass through their system on the way to Turbine (i.e. you are not physically touching any of your area's network, for example - Satellite) or in the case of web traffic, finding a proxy server they have not yet blocked.

If the login screen is all that is blocked and if it is web-based then all you'd need to do is type an unblocked proxy server into your Internet Explorer->Tools->Internet Options->LAN Settings. You can search the internet for these, but web searches are probably logged so any you find won't last long. Even then, publicly accessible proxy servers are usually found quickly and blocked by automated watchdogs - common practice in companies.

If the game server IPs are blocked, setting up some sort of forwarding (where you appear to only be communicating with Server X, but it is forwarding your traffic to Server Y) would be complicated and require a knowledgeable person on the other end to setup the server for you.

Alternatively, could you really be seeing some sort of content filter instead of a straight-up IP block? That also sounds like something the Chinese government would do. Turbine's FAQ says we need Port 80 access to them, which is usually just clear text HTTP which content filters can read.


Edited, May 8th 2007 8:18pm by JoltinJoe
#3 May 08 2007 at 6:42 PM Rating: Decent
Thanks a bunch for your quick answer.
Here below a couple of comments :

1/ "Hiding" your IP : Turbine did not block my IP, It is an area of effect spell, cast at least on Shanghai area and most probably on China in General. I do not know who is the wizard at this stage (Chinese govt or Turbine). When this happened with the April 20th patch, Turbine next patch solved it.

If it's really an IP block,... : Can you be more specific on how to find the proper proxy server? If the server is located in China it should be bounded to the same block rules. Can I access directly From shanghai a proxy in another country?

If the login screen is all that is blocked,... : Another china based player claimed that he bypassed the issue just using ip hiding software for this stage (not used for data center access and not used for server connection).
When I tried a soft like proxyway, I could not access the data center so I could not reach the login screen.
Through proxyway I found many proxy servers all over the world but for some reasons whatever the server I select I still get the "retry thing". I am not a specialist so I am a bit lost to select the right chain of servers (1st from china then to another country). Also I am not sure if I should choose the highly anonymous, anonymous or transparent type servers. I tried different combos but could not find one working (maybe because the last server ports are not opened to play LOTR?)

If the game server IPs are blocked : This I do not believe based on the claims from the guy that went through

Alternatively, could you really be seeing some sort of content filter instead of a straight-up IP block : How can I go around this?

Thank you in advance for your help



#4 May 09 2007 at 6:30 AM Rating: Decent
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801 posts
Maybe Turbine is planning an Asian launch and don't want people getting into the game until they do. Similar restrictions were attempted with the European servers through their deal with the third party host.
#5 May 09 2007 at 8:32 AM Rating: Good
...Or maybe they blocked a whole slew of IP addys in an effort to thwart the gold sellers and accidentally caught some civilians in the process...
#6 May 09 2007 at 4:17 PM Rating: Decent
The IP ban for goldseller, if any, should apply to individual adresses and not for entire area.
I am not responsible if other people in Shanghai are doing someting wrong.

In any case, the new patch did not improve anything so I will be selling 2 life accounts by the end of the week and will switch to European servers, hoping that they are better managed and supported.
#7 May 09 2007 at 4:54 PM Rating: Excellent
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7,466 posts
cameth wrote:
The IP ban for goldseller, if any, should apply to individual adresses and not for entire area.
I am not responsible if other people in Shanghai are doing someting wrong.


No, you're not... however, that is the easiest way to deal with the problem. It is VERY easy to get another IP address, even without a lot of PC knowledge, that is the reason IP bans don't work very well unless it is over a large area. Generally all the IPs you obtain (unless you go the proxy route and such) are within the same subnet, or group for an area. Say your IP was 12.345.67. Now, say it got banned. You could get a new IP, but it would be similar... say 12.345.68. Well, you just got around the ban didn't you? Now, that is just the very base idea, and the actual numbers are different, but it just proves a point. So, how do you prevent that? You just ban all the IPs starting with 12. Boom, whole city/area banned.

The problem with that is you tend to catch a LOT of innocent people with that blanket ban, but sometimes it is the only real option if the problem is overly large. It sucks, and certainly isn't a good business move though.

Have you tried contacting Turbine about this? They should be able to tell if it is on their end or not... however, I seem to remember something about the Chinese Govt wanting to limit the playtime of people over in China due to some issues that happened with child neglect and such... so it very well could be something the Chinese Govt did in an effort to enforce that play-time control since Turbine doesn't exactly have anything to pay to play by the hour like other games in China.
#8 May 10 2007 at 2:48 AM Rating: Decent
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2,293 posts
Quote:
and certainly isn't a good business move though


Its a very good business move, one of the reasons i quit WoW was bc of the gold sellers overspam everywhere and automated hunters camping "my" mote mobs.

Ive thought "Why doesnt Blizzard IP ban whole China? China "IP bans" the rest of the world anyway..." hundreds of times, finally a company that does.

Quote:
Chinese Govt did in an effort to enforce that play-time control since Turbine doesn't exactly have anything to pay to play by the hour like other games in China.


Thats a ruse, imo, i think its more about China not seeying anything of that money and the inability to censor an MMO thats not run in their country.
WoW china is not run by a 100% chinese company for nothing...

China's controlled economy is very "unfair" for world business, China can compete anywhere in the world, but the rest of the world cannot (or extremely difficult with very constricting rules) compete in China.
So i say: ***** them.

Edited, May 10th 2007 6:55am by Sjans
#9 May 10 2007 at 7:05 AM Rating: Decent
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1,151 posts
I would like to point out that selling lifetime accounts is strictly forbbiden.

#10 May 10 2007 at 10:20 AM Rating: Excellent
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7,466 posts
Sjans wrote:
Quote:
and certainly isn't a good business move though


Its a very good business move, one of the reasons i quit WoW was bc of the gold sellers overspam everywhere and automated hunters camping "my" mote mobs.

Ive thought "Why doesnt Blizzard IP ban whole China? China "IP bans" the rest of the world anyway..." hundreds of times, finally a company that does.


Well, to each their own... but I still say it is a very bad business move. Besides banning many legit players, who can easily be millions of bucks in income, it wont stop the farmers and spammers. You'd think it would stop them, but all they have to do is set up a proxy, and boom they got around the ban. They certainly have the skills/ability to put these in place also. Like I said before, IP bans just don't work too well.

Now, I agree, RMT can be a big problem in games and I wish more then anyone (well, ok, as much as anyone who has ever played a game ruined by RMT like FFXI was) that there was some easy fix like banning China. But, it just isn't going to work really. Besides, put yourself in the shoes of a legit player... How would YOU feel if there was a RMT operation coming from your city, and to fix the problem the game company just banned the entire city? I bet you wouldn't think it is a good business move then.
#11 May 10 2007 at 4:05 PM Rating: Decent
Tomec,

Yes of course I have contacted Turbine but they just claim there is no IP block on their side (can they really answer something else?).
I am also thinking about the filter chinese gvt could install but why would they just block the login server, rather than the datacenter or the game servers?
the only issue is with the login server and some other china based player found a way around through "some" proxy based in the US.
However, most of the proxies can not log to the login server (it looks like that there is very short timeout parameters to fulfill to make it work).
I have not yet found my miracle solution and think about reselling my 2 accounts and migrates to the european servers (hoping they are managed differently).
Where I am shocked is that if it is not coming from Turbine they could at least spend 5 minutes to reach a proxy in China and try to log to their game this way to confirm the ban is from the chinese govt.
But 5 mns seem to be too much to ask.

#12 May 10 2007 at 9:01 PM Rating: Excellent
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7,466 posts
Well, the thing is, if it is indeed the Chinese Govt's blocking... then I doubt going to the EU servers will do anything. But, it makes sense (well in a sense lol) for them to only block the login... Can't login, can't play the game. Plus, I don't think they actually make the IPs of the servers themself that public...
#13 May 10 2007 at 11:45 PM Rating: Decent
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2,293 posts
Quote:
You'd think it would stop them, but all they have to do is set up a proxy, and boom they got around the ban.


Multiple farmers running through one proxy are easy to detect.
And proxy banning is a lot more simpler and effective then individual IP address banning.
And it heightens the cost of farming significantly.

I do feel gold farming is rampant in WoW since i think its hard to farm the mobs you need for mats. And the prices of craft ingredients (gems, primals, potions) and potions seem to inflate weekly with 20%.(i quit before the alchemy fix so i dont how it is).

Quote:
Besides, put yourself in the shoes of a legit player... How would YOU feel if there was a RMT operation coming from your city, and to fix the problem the game company just banned the entire city?


I wont have to, RMT doesnt pay enough to maintain our life standard.

HTH can someone that can afford to play LOTRO wants to live in China anyway???
I would go nuts there with the censorship, random arrests and other perks that come with a totalitarian regime.
Go to South Korea or Japan.


(yes, as western rich kid i do not know what im talking about :P)

Edited, May 11th 2007 5:19am by Sjans
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