Connection Issues

Solving network problems, authentication failures, and disconnections.

Connection Modes

Two-Face supports two connection modes:

Quick Diagnosis

# Test Lich connection
nc -zv 127.0.0.1 8000

# Test direct connection
nc -zv eaccess.play.net 7910

# Check DNS
nslookup eaccess.play.net

# Full connectivity test
curl -v https://eaccess.play.net:7910 2>&1 | head -20

Lich Mode Issues

“Connection Refused”

Symptom:

Error: Connection refused to 127.0.0.1:8000

Causes:

1. Lich not running
2. Lich not listening on expected port
3. Firewall blocking localhost

Solutions:

1. Start Lich first:

   # Start Lich (method varies)
   ruby lich.rb
   # Or use your Lich launcher
   

2. Check Lich is listening:

   # Linux/macOS
   lsof -i :8000
   
   # Windows
   netstat -an | findstr 8000
   

3. Verify port in Lich settings:

   • Check Lich configuration for proxy port
   • Match in Two-Face:

     [connection]
     mode = "lich"
     port = 8000  # Match Lich's setting
     

Can’t Connect After Lich Starts

Symptom: Lich running but Two-Face can’t connect

Causes:

1. Lich hasn’t initialized proxy yet
2. Wrong interface binding

Solutions:

1. Wait for Lich startup:

   [connection]
   connect_delay = 3  # seconds to wait
   

2. Check Lich’s listen address:

   # If Lich bound to specific interface
   [connection]
   host = "127.0.0.1"  # Must match Lich
   

Disconnects When Lich Reloads

Symptom: Connection drops when Lich scripts reload

Solution:

[connection]
auto_reconnect = true
reconnect_delay = 2

Direct Mode Issues

Authentication Failed

Symptom:

Error: Authentication failed: invalid credentials

Causes:

1. Wrong account name
2. Wrong password
3. Special characters in password
4. Account locked/expired

Solutions:

1. Verify credentials:

   • Test via web login first
   • Check account status

2. Handle special characters:

   # Quote password with special chars
   two-face --direct --account NAME --password 'P@ss!word'
   

3. Use environment variables (more secure):

   export TF_ACCOUNT="myaccount"
   export TF_PASSWORD="mypassword"
   two-face --direct
   

4. Check for account issues:

   • Verify subscription is active
   • Check for account locks

“Certificate Verification Failed”

Symptom:

Error: Certificate verification failed

Causes:

1. Corrupted cached certificate
2. Man-in-the-middle (security concern!)
3. Server certificate changed

Solutions:

1. Remove and re-download certificate:

   rm ~/.two-face/simu.pem
   two-face --direct ...  # Downloads fresh cert
   

2. If error persists:

   • Check if you’re behind a corporate proxy
   • Verify you’re on a trusted network
   • Certificate changes may indicate security issues

3. Manual certificate verification:

   openssl s_client -connect eaccess.play.net:7910 -servername eaccess.play.net
   

“Connection Timed Out”

Symptom:

Error: Connection to eaccess.play.net:7910 timed out

Causes:

1. Firewall blocking
2. Network issues
3. Server maintenance

Solutions:

1. Check basic connectivity:

   ping eaccess.play.net
   traceroute eaccess.play.net
   

2. Verify port access:

   nc -zv eaccess.play.net 7910
   

3. Check firewall:

   # Linux - check if port 7910 is blocked
   sudo iptables -L -n | grep 7910
   
   # Windows - check firewall
   netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name=all | findstr 7910
   

4. Increase timeout:

   [connection]
   timeout = 60  # seconds
   

“Character Not Found”

Symptom:

Error: Character 'Mychar' not found on account

Solutions:

1. Check character name spelling (case-sensitive)

2. Verify character exists on correct game:

   two-face --direct --game prime ...  # GemStone IV Prime
   two-face --direct --game plat ...   # GemStone IV Platinum
   two-face --direct --game test ...   # Test server
   

3. List available characters:

   two-face --direct --list-characters
   

Connection Drops

Random Disconnects

Symptom: Connection drops unexpectedly during play

Causes:

1. Network instability
2. Idle timeout
3. Server-side disconnection

Solutions:

1. Enable auto-reconnect:

   [connection]
   auto_reconnect = true
   reconnect_delay = 2
   reconnect_attempts = 5
   

2. Send keepalives:

   [connection]
   keepalive = true
   keepalive_interval = 30  # seconds
   

3. Check for network issues:

   # Monitor connection
   ping -i 5 gs4.play.net
   

Disconnects During High Activity

Symptom: Drops during combat or busy areas

Causes:

1. Buffer overflow
2. Processing can’t keep up
3. Network congestion

Solutions:

1. Increase buffers:

   [network]
   receive_buffer = 65536
   send_buffer = 32768
   

2. Enable compression (if supported):

   [network]
   compression = true
   

“Connection Reset by Peer”

Symptom:

Error: Connection reset by peer

Causes:

1. Server closed connection
2. Network equipment reset
3. Rate limiting

Solutions:

1. Check for rapid reconnects (may be rate limited):

   [connection]
   reconnect_delay = 5  # Don't reconnect too fast
   

2. Review recent actions:

   • Excessive commands?
   • Script flooding?

Firewall Issues

Corporate/School Network

Symptom: Works at home, fails at work/school

Solutions:

1. Check if port 7910 allowed:

   • Direct mode uses port 7910 (non-standard)
   • May be blocked by corporate firewalls

2. Use Lich as intermediary:

   • If Lich works (different protocol), use Lich mode

3. Request firewall exception:

   • Port 7910 TCP outbound to eaccess.play.net

VPN Issues

Symptom: Connection fails when VPN active

Solutions:

1. Check VPN split tunneling:

   • Gaming traffic might be routed through VPN
   • Configure VPN to exclude game servers

2. DNS through VPN:

   # Check DNS resolution
   nslookup eaccess.play.net
   

3. Try without VPN to confirm VPN is the issue

Proxy Configuration

HTTP Proxy

[network]
http_proxy = "http://proxy.example.com:8080"

SOCKS Proxy

[network]
socks_proxy = "socks5://localhost:1080"

No Proxy for Game Servers

[network]
no_proxy = "eaccess.play.net,gs4.play.net"

SSL/TLS Issues

“SSL Handshake Failed”

Symptom:

Error: SSL handshake failed

Causes:

1. TLS version mismatch
2. Cipher suite incompatibility
3. OpenSSL issues

Solutions:

1. Check OpenSSL version:

   openssl version
   # Should be 1.1.x or higher
   

2. Force TLS version (if needed):

   [network]
   tls_min_version = "1.2"
   

3. Rebuild with updated OpenSSL:

   # Ensure vcpkg OpenSSL is current
   vcpkg update
   vcpkg upgrade openssl
   

“Certificate Chain” Errors

Symptom: Certificate chain validation errors

Solution:

# Reset certificate cache
rm ~/.two-face/simu.pem
rm ~/.two-face/cert_chain.pem

# Reconnect - will re-download
two-face --direct ...

Debugging Connections

Enable Network Logging

[logging]
level = "debug"

[debug]
log_network = true
log_network_data = false  # true for packet dumps (verbose!)

View Network Debug Info

# Start with network debugging
TF_DEBUG_NETWORK=1 two-face

# Log to file for analysis
TF_LOG_FILE=/tmp/tf-network.log two-face --debug

Test Connection Step by Step

# 1. DNS resolution
nslookup eaccess.play.net

# 2. Basic connectivity
ping eaccess.play.net

# 3. Port availability
nc -zv eaccess.play.net 7910

# 4. TLS connection
openssl s_client -connect eaccess.play.net:7910

# 5. Full connection test
two-face --direct --test-connection

Quick Reference

Connection Checklist

• Correct mode (lich vs direct)
• Lich running (if lich mode)
• Credentials correct (if direct mode)
• Port accessible (8000 for lich, 7910 for direct)
• Firewall allows connection
• Certificate valid
• Network stable

Emergency Recovery

# Reset all connection state
rm ~/.two-face/simu.pem      # Certificate cache
rm ~/.two-face/session.dat   # Session cache

# Test with minimal config
two-face --default-config --direct --account NAME --password PASS

See Also

• Network Overview
• Lich Proxy
• Direct eAccess
• TLS Certificates