I am having a prob, that i cant exactly solve..

when i start my own server with bots, and try to get my friends to join me, they cant connect or see me when i give them my ip address. I give them the ip address that it says when i go to "check server info". It doesn't just happen for me though, my other friend it does the same thing, we both have more than one comp in the house, connected thru a lan, but when my other friend who just has 1 comp hosts on his server, i cant get in because it gives me an error. It says something to the effect that i can join in on the lan game. Anyone have this problem or know how to fix it?

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project drift|penguin