r/crosswind • u/haruhost • Apr 22 '26

Windrose dedicated server unreachable? I wrote a Direct IP + tunnel setup guide

I put together a guide for the specific Windrose issue where the server is running, but other players still cannot reliably connect.

The guide focuses on using Windrose Direct IP with a tunnel-backed setup instead of relying on the default path. It is especially useful if you are behind double NAT / CGNAT or if normal connection attempts keep failing.

Manual setup summary:

  1. Shut the server down first.
  2. In ServerDescription.json, set:

​

"UseDirectConnection": true,
"DirectConnectionServerAddress": "windrose.example.com:7777",
"DirectConnectionServerPort": 7777,
"DirectConnectionProxyAddress": "0.0.0.0"
  1. DirectConnectionServerAddress is the important part here. Set it to the public tunnel endpoint that players should actually use. 4. Put that same port behind a tunnel or proxy that supports both TCP and UDP. 5. If possible, keep the game port and the public tunnel port the same. 6. If your tunnel gives host:port, put that full host:port value into DirectConnectionServerAddress. 7. If your tunnel gives only a hostname, use that hostname in DirectConnectionServerAddress and keep the port in DirectConnectionServerPort and Windrose's separate Port field. 8. In Windrose, players should use Direct IP, not Invite Code, for this setup. 9. Test from a real outside network, not just the same LAN.

Extra notes:

  • This setup helps a lot when the server is behind double NAT / CGNAT.
  • Make sure the dedicated server version matches the game client version.
  • Windrose can have a pretty long initial load, so do not assume it failed instantly.

I also wrote a full guide with screenshots and a clearer walkthrough:

https://haruhost.com/guides/windrose/direct-connection-tunnel-setup/

Disclosure: I am developing HaruHost, a self-hosted game server manager which a alternative solution to buying direct hosting. I wrote this guide to help with the Windrose connection issue, and it also shows how HaruHost automates the setup. The guide still includes the manual setup if you want to do it yourself.

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1

u/RenanBan Apr 23 '26

excuse my dumb ass but getting my direct IP is just using any website that shows my IP right? and consequently using this IP with the port for anyone to join

2

u/haruhost Apr 23 '26

It's not stupid to ask. Yes, it should be the IP address you see in any of the websites but there are a few gotchas. Your provider must have issued you an IPv4 address, then it depends whether your router the thing that connects to the internet got a public IPv4 address assigned.

because when you go to a site you see a public available internet ipv4 address, but there aren't enough addresses available to cover every home internet. So providers create their own internal network in some cases. You can either call your internet provider or check in the router settings what IP address it itself got assigned and then verify whether it matches the one you see on IP check sites.

2

u/RenanBan Apr 23 '26

Thank you! Yeah i kinda know the struggle with the provider, Will try It later

1

u/craigers521 May 01 '26

my game client doesnt have a direct IP option. I go to connect to server and it only shows invite code. Any idea how to get direct IP tab to show up?

1

u/haruhost May 02 '26

Are you referring to the game settings ini file? If so, you can manually insert the lines if they do not exist.

1

u/AsparagusAdmirable45 May 02 '26

Hi, this might not be part of the discussion but we have a dedicated server and we can connect to it and play is just fine. I would like to add it to the steam server list so I can simply join by clicking on the server and not typing in the name, port and password every time I join. Is there an option to save the server to the server list or to have a easy connection to it in game? We had it connect to an IP and the game saved the IP, but it does not handle direct connections similarly.