I've tried hosting with Hamachi for my friend, but it doesn't seem to work. Is there something I must do in particular?
All my ports are forwarded, both of us use Last Resort mod, also my version is from GoG and my friend has retail version (still patched to 2.1 with the mission upgrade patch). Different languages, as well. Is there a way to make it work?
Thanks in adv.

I could be wrong, but I suspect the different language versions are a problem. Swat 3 does mismatch checks on .DAT files and as far as I know all the language conversions were done in the .DAT files.

Are you getting a mismatch error or is it you can't even see each other in the lobbies?

Thanks for the reply! We simply can't see each other online, on the server list.
Could you tell me which files handle both text and voice languages exactly? I assume they're the ones inside the Missions folder and then Modshell and Scenshell, but not sure if there's something else I should replace.

I'd try and give my friend all my english language files so that he will have the exact same version as mine, to see if this solves the issue.

Even if language was the problem wouldn't the server still show in the list? just as Red so you can't join it, could be a Firewall?

I know Zone Alarm does not like SWAT 3, no matter what I did it just wouldn't work, even turning it off from startup and disabling its service SWAT 3 would not work within my own LAN! once I uninstalled it, no problems.

Zone Alarm is an antivirus, right?
I use Avira and my friend uses AVG. We have both authorized SWAT 3 with Firewall, but that didn't fix the problem (dangit!). I honestly don't feel like uninstalling my antivirus for one game.

I could get another GoG copy to my friend to see if that would work, but he doesn't know english much (this is the only reason he bought a boxed retail version instead). Got no other solution at the moment.

Sorry, I was busy with work last few days and I am slow to reply.

Yes, DarkSynopsis makes a very good point. Even with a mismatch problem you need to be able to first see each other in the lobby.

Hamachi can be a bit of a problem getting it right from what I recall. Sometimes you need to open ports for both Hamachi and Swat 3 through your firewall. Don't forget about your router's built in firewall !

Perhaps you can also try a program (like Hamachi) called Evolve that may be easier to get working.

https://www.evolvehq.com/welcome

* Always try to test regular Swat 3 without any mods at all when trying to diagnose connection issues
* If you still can't see each other both of you should try to completely disable your firewalls (both software and hardware) just as a test. Don't be exposed to the internet for long though without a firewall up. Just do it as a quick test.

No problem, Slippery_Jim.

I tried port forwarding for SWAT (how did I forget about it? Silly me) and also used Evolve instead of Hamachi (thanks Jim for the reminder, didn't want to install it at first, but it seems to work better). Problem now is, as soon as I host a server, this error pops up: "error bind on socket: attempt to bind an IP address that is already in use". Any ideas?

EDIT: nevermind, it seemed to have fixed itself for some reason. Still can't see each other online, oddly. Even with firewall turned off.

Both of you have temporarily disabled your firewalls (or forwarded all the necessary ports?). Your post sounded like it was just you who did all the steps.

Don't forget about Windows firewall ;)

Yep, we both did disable firewall and forward all ports.
Sorry for bothering you guys, I just can't get this to work :V Other games (including SWAT 4) work fine in LAN.

At this point I don't know what else to suggest. I can't recall how Swat 3 treated different language versions. Back when the WON network was running I suspect the different languages had their own lobbies.

As for LAN I imagine you should still be able to see each other in the lobby (ie if someone hosts a games you should be able to see it but probably not be able to join).

I guess you friend will have to buy the GOG.com version.

Got it, will report back.
We thank you for your time.