One problem that always seems to plague the JJ2 community is that of the pinging server. It's very frustrating when you host your amazing new level, and no one is able to join and admire. I have had this problem myself, but stumbled on a brilliant, elegant solution:

Step 1: Mess with your router's settings and break the internet for your family.

Step 2: Keep playing with the router until it somehow starts working.

Step 3: Forget how you fixed it before the router automatically resets itself in a week or two, and be unable to replicate your first successes.

Step 4: Go to college for a year, and continue to have hosting problems.

Step 5: Give up on hosting.

Step 6: Stop playing Jazz for several months.

Step 7: Move into a new apartment.

Step 8: Dust off JCS and try to make a quick little level for a fun looking contest.

Step 9: Forget entirely how to do stuff like make jailbreak levels.

Step 10: Create a server called "Don't Join" late at night, with an awful, malfunctioning skeleton of a level, assuming the pinging or the name will allow you to test stuff without people seeing how hard you fail at level making now.

This should guarantee that your server stops pinging and people join. 100% of people I know who followed these instructions could host afterwards. Also, to make sure you continue to be able to host, be sure to follow step 11: Post about your success, jinxing your success.

11a: Post about your success in probably the wrong forum.

Originally Posted by Unknown Rabbit

11a: Post about your success in probably the wrong forum.

Fixed

Made me laugh. :P

Wow! Just to host a JJ2 server I'm going to have to go to college and move into an apartment! This is one expensive venture here!!!

Seriously though, just forward UDP ports 10052, 10053, and 10054 to whatever computer you want to host on.

Originally Posted by minmay

Seriously though, just forward UDP ports 10052, 10053, and 10054 to whatever computer you want to host on.

You just pinpointed the problem. Me, for instance, cannot forward ports, and thus I must use a workaround solution, UPnP.

I think most of the time its DMZ.

DMZ works, but it also defeats the purpose of connecting that computer to the router in the first place.

Could you explain please for n00bs with pinging servers like me?

Maybe I'm just being silly but, have you already checked if your firewall gives Jazz2 access to the outside world?

if nothing works out, use Hamachi ;o

Jake: Why can you not forward ports?

Originally Posted by Speeza

I think most of the time its DMZ.

What is DMZ? Is it basically forwarding EVERYTHING to my PC? I've seen the wikipedia entry. Something in English though would be kind of useful.

Originally Posted by Puffie40

Jake: Why can you not forward ports?

My router has an odd configuration, it must be done from my ISP's homepage. And the router doesn't update the configuration I set there.

Originally Posted by Dermo

What is DMZ? Is it basically forwarding EVERYTHING to my PC? I've seen the wikipedia entry. Something in English though would be kind of useful.

DMZ essentially exposes a single computer as if it weren't connected to the router at all. Of course, this means it lacks the router firewall's protection; you need to make sure to have a firewall on your computer as well. Of course, that firewall could prevent you from hosting as well, and turning it off to host JJ2 servers is a pretty bad idea. Of course, you can add Jazz2.exe as an exception to a local firewall.

Man what is the problem with routers? There is no common sense way of configuring them, it's just the random if it works or if it doesn't work. Anyways, tampering with them will sooner or later lead into either JJ2 workin or complete internet blackout.

Enable DMZ. It works for me. And thanks for the basic explanation. That makes sense now. And is convenient for me!