Work Through This Checklist
Clone Hero servers are lightweight and straightforward — connection problems almost always come down to one of these five things.
1. Is the Server Actually Running?
Check the DustBowl.Games control panel. The server process must be Active or Running — not stopped, crashed, or restarting.
If it shows as stopped or crashed, start it and watch the console output for errors. A server that crashes immediately on start usually has a port conflict or a bad startup argument.
2. Are Players Using the Right IP and Port?
Clone Hero has no server browser — players connect by entering the IP and port directly. Confirm they have:
- The correct public IP address (visible in your control panel)
- The correct port — default is
14242, but check your-pstartup argument to confirm
A typo in the IP or a wrong port is the most common "I can't connect" cause.
3. Is UDP 14242 Open?
Check the firewall settings in your control panel. The rule must be:
- Protocol: UDP (not TCP)
- Port: 14242 (or your custom port if you used
-p)
Test from outside with https://canyouseeme.org — enter the port and check. Success means it's open and the server is listening. Error or timeout means the firewall rule is missing or the server isn't running.
4. Is There a Password Mismatch?
If the server uses -ps (password mode), players must enter the exact password. Passwords are case-sensitive, alphanumeric and underscores only.
If players say the password isn't working, verify the current password in the startup arguments in the control panel. If you need to change it, update the -ps argument and restart the server.
5. What Do the Server Logs Say?
Set log level to maximum verbosity to get the most detail:
-l 4
Update this in the startup arguments and restart. Then watch the console output in the control panel while a player tries to connect. Look for:
- Connection attempts being received (or not)
- Authentication errors
- Port binding failures on startup
If you see nothing at all when a player tries to connect, the traffic isn't reaching the server — firewall issue. If you see a connection attempt followed by a rejection, it's an auth issue (wrong password) or version problem.
Server Crashes on Start
If the server exits immediately after starting:
- The port is already in use by another process — change the port with
-por stop whatever is using14242 - A startup argument is malformed — check for missing quotes around the server name if it contains spaces
Players Connect but Immediately Disconnect
This usually clears itself on a server restart. Stop the server cleanly from the control panel, wait a few seconds, and start it again. Connection state issues that cause immediate disconnects are rare and almost always transient.