Introduction

If you have ever tried to play on Battle.net with multiple computers on your LAN, then you are probably aware that things don't work quite as expected. This is a result of the Battle.net games all trying to use the same port number on your network. The first machine can log in to Battle.net, but all other machines will be unable to play due to connection errors. The solution is to configure the Blizzard games so that none of them share the same port number. It doesn't matter if you use a Mac or Windows, this site can help.

Goal of this site

The goal of this section of the site is intended to help people configure any of the Blizzard Entertainment Battle.net games so that multiple users on a LAN can all play on Battle.net at the same time. This includes WarCraft II BNE, WarCraft III, Diablo I & II, and StarCraft. If you're a Windows user, then some of this information can be found at http://www.battle.net/ in the user forums or at http://www.blizzard.com in the support forums. If you're a Macintosh user, you're welcome. As a fellow Mac user, I had to do a bit of work to get everything working correctly. Since I spent so much time researching how to play on Battle.net with other family members, I decided to share the knowledge that I gained from my endeavor. For the record, my home setup includes four computers, each running a different OS. Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows XP, Mac OS 9.22 and Mac OS 10.39. I've had complete success with all four computers, so I'd say it's safe to say that the information I'm providing is valid.

I would also like to say that I have no intention of providing any information that would hurt Blizzard Entertainment profits. As long as Blizzard continues to support the Mac community, I'll continue to support Blizzard. No serial numbers, no Battle.net hacks, no BS.

I will suggest that you take advantage of using spawned copies of their games when possible. Sometimes things don't work as expected, and it's better to find out now, as opposed to after you've purchased more copies of any of their programs. For example, you can install the full version of StarCraft on one of your machines, and spawned versions on the rest. If everything works correctly, then please click on any of the links at this site to purchase more copies.

Requirements

If you are planning on playing Battle.net games on your LAN (Local Area Network), there are some key components that must be in place.

• You have a high speed connection to the internet. If you are using a modem, please, please, never join a game that I'm playing. Some people may like the abuse, but I get enough abuse in real life that I really don't want any more. Playing over a modem is very slow. Multiple computers playing over the same 56k modem connection is insane.
• The IP address that your NAT router uses to connect to the internet does not begin with 192.168.xxx.xxx. Unfortunately, it appears that some ISP's are issuing private IP addresses to their customers. End result, your home network is basically connected to their NAT router. Since you have no control of Port Forwarding on their end, your only option is to find another ISP. You could complain to your ISP, but they're probably not worth the effort.
• All your computers are connected to your network. From this point, I will refer to your computer network as a LAN.
• You are using a NAT router to connect your LAN to the internet. As far as I know, all internet routers are NAT routers.
• You're not afraid of your computer, and you're willing to get your hands a little dirty.
  

If you meet the previous requirements, then you will need to complete the following steps.

• Configure your NAT Router.
• Configure your Computer.
• Configure Individual Battle.net Games.

Hopefully this site will be successful in helping you achieve these goals.

Request

I would like to compile a list of internet routers that are confirmed to work correctly. Supposedly, not all internet routers support what we will attempt to accomplish. Personally, I have an old Asanté FriendlyNET Cable/DSL Router FR3000 series. All I can say is, it works for me. Hopefully you will have the same success, but I can't say for sure. If you do have success, then send me an email and let me know what model of internet router you're using. Hopefully this will help other users trying to accomplish the same goal.

This would also be a good time to download the Battle.LAN PDF that I've included on this site. It will help keep track of the changes that you will need to make to configure your computers correctly. You can either do it on screen or print it out. Which ever makes you the happiest. (download PDF)

contact: battlelan@junkboxoftech.com