Fixing Windrose Connection Issues

Connection Timed Out

This error means the game client could not reach the server within the timeout period. Common causes:

The server is offline. Check the dashboard to verify the server status shows "Online". If it shows "Offline" or "Starting", wait for it to fully start.

Wrong address. Take it from the Server Address row of the Connection Info panel on the Overview tab — the host’s public IP and your allocated port together, for example 203.0.113.50:28100. Have the player paste it rather than retype it; the port is allocated by the platform out of the 28000-39000 range and is not a Windrose default.

Firewall blocking the port. On GameGrid, firewall rules are managed automatically. If you are running a server outside GameGrid, make sure UDP traffic is allowed on your game port.

The wrong join method. "Use Direct Connection" on the Settings tab decides whether players join with the address or with the invite code, and the two are mutually exclusive. With it off, the address will never work — give out the invite code instead.

Version Mismatch

This error occurs when the client and server are running different versions of Windrose.

Solution: open the Admin tab and look at the Game Updates card. If an "Update available" badge is there, press "Update now". Restarting the server does not fetch a new build — on any game. Then have players restart Steam so their clients pick the update up too.

If the server was recently updated but players still get this error, ask them to verify their game files on Steam (right-click Windrose in Steam > Properties > Installed Files > Verify integrity of game files).

If you want to hold your server on the current build — to wait for a compatible Windrose Plus release, say — switch "Automatically apply game updates" off on the Admin tab first. It is on by default, so otherwise a detected build is applied on its own.

Server Not Found in Browser

Windrose dedicated servers do not appear in the in-game server browser by default. The game uses invite codes and direct IP connections instead of a traditional server browser.

To connect, use direct IP (recommended for GameGrid servers) or the invite code. See our how to connect guide for step-by-step instructions.

Windrose Plus does not change this. Its "Server Query" module publishes your server’s live status as JSON for the Windrose Plus dashboard and the /api/status endpoint; it does not add a Steam/A2S query responder and does not put your server in any server browser or monitoring list. See Windrose Plus Server Query & Status API for what it actually does.

Invite Code Not Working

If the invite code is not working, check the following:

The server’s own region. "User Selected Region" on the Settings tab picks which Connection Service region the server registers with: SEA, CIS or EU (EU covers Europe and North America). Left empty, the server picks the best one for itself. It only matters for invite-code connections.

The invite code may have changed. Read the current one from the Settings tab, under Basic, as "Invite Code". Clearing the field and saving generates a new one, so anyone holding the old code is locked out.

The server may be offline. Verify the server is running before sharing the invite code.

Invite codes are disabled entirely while "Use Direct Connection" is on. If that setting has been turned on since you handed the code out, that is the answer — give players the address from the Overview tab instead.

High Latency or Lag

If players experience high latency (ping) on your Windrose server:

Use a direct connection rather than invite codes where you can. Invite-code connections are brokered through the game’s Connection Service; a direct connection goes straight to the host.

Check where your server is. GameGrid lists East US, Mid US and West US as locations, but only East US has capacity today — the other two show as sold out at checkout — so every server on the platform right now is East US. Players a long way from the US east coast will see latency that no setting can fix.

If latency spikes occur during gameplay, the server CPU may be saturated. See our performance optimization guide for tips on reducing server load.

Network latency between the player and the server is determined by physical distance. If players are on different continents, some latency is unavoidable.

Connection Drops During Gameplay

If players are disconnected mid-session:

Check whether the server restarted. Two platform things restart a server: applying a game update, and the automatic restart on the Admin tab. The automatic one is skipped entirely while any player is online, so it is never the cause of a mid-session drop. The Console tab shows what happened.

Network instability on the player's end can cause drops. Ask the player to check their internet connection and try again.

Check the Resource Usage card on the Overview tab. It shows the game process’s own CPU, memory and network, refreshed every 10 seconds, and it is the better instrument than wp.memory in the Windrose Plus console because it is there whether or not the mod is installed.

If drops happen frequently, contact support with the server name, approximate time of the drops, and the server console log.