u/Ill_Kiwi5101

Trying to get Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition co-op working with my daughter on two Windows 11 PCs on the same home network. I actually bought a new Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 gaming laptop (~$1200) specifically to introduce her to D&D through NWN2, so I’m getting pretty frustrated at this point.

Current status:

• Both machines are running GOG versions of NWN2:EE
• Exact same game version confirmed
• No mods installed
• Both machines can HOST games
• Both machines can SEE hosted games in LAN browser
• Direct Connect reaches the server
• But joining always fails after ~20–30 seconds with:
  • “Server is not responding (timed out)”
  • or “Unknown connection error”

Things already tested:

• Allowed NWN2 through Windows Firewall
• Enabled DirectPlay
• AVG exceptions added on one machine
• Tested with passwords ON/OFF
• Tested Cross-Platform ON
• Tested “Post Game To Internet” ON/OFF
• Tested hosting from BOTH computers
• Tested Direct Connect using local IPv4 addresses
• Tested RadminVPN virtual LAN using 26.x.x.x addresses
• Verified same versions/no mods

Interesting detail:
LAN discovery works perfectly — the actual gameplay handshake seems to fail.

I also submitted a support ticket to GOG.

Next thing I’m planning to test tonight:

• completely disabling Windows Firewall on BOTH machines temporarily
• testing again over RadminVPN

Another theory someone suggested:
Both PCs are logged into the SAME GOG account. Could GOG multiplayer/session authentication be rejecting simultaneous connections from one account?

At this point I’m honestly starting to wonder whether GOG/Galaxy itself is the issue and am even considering rebuying the game on Steam just to see if multiplayer behaves differently there.

Trying to get Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition co-op working with my daughter on two Windows 11 PCs on the same home network. I actually bought a new Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 gaming laptop (~$1200) specifically to introduce her to D&D through NWN2, so I’m getting pretty frustrated at this point.

Current status:

• Both machines are running GOG versions of NWN2:EE
• Exact same game version confirmed
• No mods installed
• Both machines can HOST games
• Both machines can SEE hosted games in LAN browser
• Direct Connect reaches the server
• But joining always fails after ~20–30 seconds with:
  • “Server is not responding (timed out)”
  • or “Unknown connection error”

Things already tested:

• Allowed NWN2 through Windows Firewall
• Enabled DirectPlay
• AVG exceptions added on one machine
• Tested with passwords ON/OFF
• Tested Cross-Platform ON
• Tested “Post Game To Internet” ON/OFF
• Tested hosting from BOTH computers
• Tested Direct Connect using local IPv4 addresses
• Tested RadminVPN virtual LAN using 26.x.x.x addresses
• Verified same versions/no mods

Interesting detail:
LAN discovery works perfectly — the actual gameplay handshake seems to fail.

I also submitted a support ticket to GOG.

Next thing I’m planning to test tonight:

• completely disabling Windows Firewall on BOTH machines temporarily
• testing again over RadminVPN

Another theory someone suggested:
Both PCs are logged into the SAME GOG account. Could GOG multiplayer/session authentication be rejecting simultaneous connections from one account?

At this point I’m honestly starting to wonder whether GOG/Galaxy itself is the issue and am even considering rebuying the game on Steam just to see if multiplayer behaves differently there.

I’m trying to get LAN multiplayer working in Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition on two laptops so I can play co-op with my daughter as a way of introducing her to D&D. I recently bought a new Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 gaming laptop for about $1200 specifically for this purpose, and I’m getting frustrated because I feel like I may have wasted the money if we can’t get this working.

Here’s the setup and everything I’ve tried so far:

HARDWARE / NETWORK:

• Laptop #1 (mine): Acer Predator Helios Neo 18, RTX 4060, Windows 11
• Laptop #2 (daughter’s): Windows desktop
• Both are on the SAME home Wi-Fi network
• IPv4 direct connect tested using local IP addresses
• No VPNs in use

GAME VERSION:

• Both are running Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition from GOG
• Exact same version number confirmed in lower-left corner of main menu
• No mods installed on either machine
• No override files or custom content

WHAT WORKS:

• Multiplayer menu now appears correctly
• I can HOST a multiplayer game
• My daughter’s computer can also HOST a multiplayer game
• The hosted server APPEARS in the LAN multiplayer browser on the other computer
• Direct Connect accepts the IP address and attempts connection
• We can see each other’s hosted sessions

CURRENT PROBLEM:
Whenever either computer attempts to JOIN the hosted game, after about 20–30 seconds it fails with:

• “Server is not responding (timed out)” or
• “Unknown connection error”

IMPORTANT DETAIL:
The connection attempt DOES begin. This is not a “cannot find server” issue. The game sees the server, attempts to connect, then times out during the handshake.

THINGS I’VE ALREADY TRIED:

• Enabled Windows DirectPlay
• Allowed NWN2 through Windows Firewall
• Verified both computers are using same version
• Verified no mods
• Tried with passwords ON and OFF
• Tried “Post Game To Internet” ON and OFF
• Tried Cross Platform Play ON
• Tried hosting from BOTH computers
• Tried Join Multiplayer Game
• Tried Direct Connect using local IPv4 address
• Waited until host fully loaded into the game world before joining
• Disabled/adjusted AVG antivirus permissions on daughter’s laptop
• My laptop only uses Windows Defender
• Reinstalled GOG Galaxy previously because it became corrupted
• Ultimately switched to offline installers because Galaxy was behaving strangely earlier
• Installed latest NVIDIA drivers on my new laptop
• Verified networking visibility between machines

OTHER NOTES:

• Earlier in troubleshooting, multiplayer behavior looked different and I briefly saw IP-related connection options, which makes me think multiplayer was partially functioning at one point.
• Some older NWN2 forum posts talk about dead GameSpy servers, CD keys, and the NWN2 Client Extension, but since this is Enhanced Edition I’m not sure which old advice is still relevant.

At this point:

• hosting works
• LAN discovery works
• direct IP attempts work
• but actual session joining times out every time.

I’d really appreciate any ideas from people who have successfully gotten NWN2 EE LAN multiplayer working on modern Windows systems.

I’m trying to get LAN multiplayer working in Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition on two laptops so I can play co-op with my daughter as a way of introducing her to D&D. I recently bought a new Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 gaming laptop for about $1200 specifically for this purpose, and I’m getting frustrated because I feel like I may have wasted the money if we can’t get this working.

Here’s the setup and everything I’ve tried so far:

HARDWARE / NETWORK:

• Laptop #1 (mine): Acer Predator Helios Neo 18, RTX 4060, Windows 11
• Laptop #2 (daughter’s): Windows desktop
• Both are on the SAME home Wi-Fi network
• IPv4 direct connect tested using local IP addresses
• No VPNs in use

GAME VERSION:

• Both are running Neverwinter Nights 2: Enhanced Edition from GOG
• Exact same version number confirmed in lower-left corner of main menu
• No mods installed on either machine
• No override files or custom content

WHAT WORKS:

• Multiplayer menu now appears correctly
• I can HOST a multiplayer game
• My daughter’s computer can also HOST a multiplayer game
• The hosted server APPEARS in the LAN multiplayer browser on the other computer
• Direct Connect accepts the IP address and attempts connection
• We can see each other’s hosted sessions

CURRENT PROBLEM:
Whenever either computer attempts to JOIN the hosted game, after about 20–30 seconds it fails with:

• “Server is not responding (timed out)” or
• “Unknown connection error”

IMPORTANT DETAIL:
The connection attempt DOES begin. This is not a “cannot find server” issue. The game sees the server, attempts to connect, then times out during the handshake.

THINGS I’VE ALREADY TRIED:

• Enabled Windows DirectPlay
• Allowed NWN2 through Windows Firewall
• Verified both computers are using same version
• Verified no mods
• Tried with passwords ON and OFF
• Tried “Post Game To Internet” ON and OFF
• Tried Cross Platform Play ON
• Tried hosting from BOTH computers
• Tried Join Multiplayer Game
• Tried Direct Connect using local IPv4 address
• Waited until host fully loaded into the game world before joining
• Disabled/adjusted AVG antivirus permissions on daughter’s laptop
• My laptop only uses Windows Defender
• Reinstalled GOG Galaxy previously because it became corrupted
• Ultimately switched to offline installers because Galaxy was behaving strangely earlier
• Installed latest NVIDIA drivers on my new laptop
• Verified networking visibility between machines

OTHER NOTES:

• Earlier in troubleshooting, multiplayer behavior looked different and I briefly saw IP-related connection options, which makes me think multiplayer was partially functioning at one point.
• Some older NWN2 forum posts talk about dead GameSpy servers, CD keys, and the NWN2 Client Extension, but since this is Enhanced Edition I’m not sure which old advice is still relevant.

At this point:

• hosting works
• LAN discovery works
• direct IP attempts work
• but actual session joining times out every time.

I’d really appreciate any ideas from people who have successfully gotten NWN2 EE LAN multiplayer working on modern Windows systems.