Game hangs randomly with WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client

[Thomas Bishop]

Version

2.5

Platform

Windows

Server has no mods except TFP mods that come with it.
Game will hang randomly with these messages repeated.
Log is attached.

2026-01-05T15:04:26 42998.969 INF Started thread NCS_Reader_7_14
2026-01-05T15:04:26 42998.969 INF [NET] PlayerConnected EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='68'
2026-01-05T15:04:26 42998.969 INF Started thread NCS_Writer_7_14
2026-01-05T15:04:26 42999.048 INF NPPL.Read
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=10847, PltfmId='Steam_76561198860391117', CrossId='EOS_0002522ee4094e1ab0f50f1952098293', OwnerID='Steam_76561198860391117', PlayerName='cali19772004', ClientNumber='29'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=11393, PltfmId='Steam_76561198041098869', CrossId='EOS_0002bdd3b7e04717b524993b79b05a0b', OwnerID='Steam_76561198041098869', PlayerName='sleibner', ClientNumber='42'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=1539, PltfmId='Steam_76561199570735958', CrossId='EOS_000215842a3243bd862d032806403edf', OwnerID='Steam_76561199570735958', PlayerName='Moody', ClientNumber='46'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=173, PltfmId='Steam_76561198126562484', CrossId='EOS_00027ca8d6ae430ca614c452bee1cac3', OwnerID='Steam_76561198126562484', PlayerName='caliman101476', ClientNumber='47'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=12497, PltfmId='Steam_76561198975844378', CrossId='EOS_0002368a84ec4ebda6c4e40dc4465801', OwnerID='Steam_76561198975844378', PlayerName='ItzBryanDuhhh', ClientNumber='48'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='49'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='51'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='54'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='55'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='56'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='57'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='61'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='62'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='63'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='65'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.033 WRN NET: LiteNetLib: IP requested for unknown client EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='66'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.064 INF NET: LiteNetLib: Connect from: 47.144.120.185:62617 / 6
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.065 INF Started thread NCS_Reader_6_02
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.065 INF Started thread NCS_Writer_6_02
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.065 INF Started thread NCS_Reader_6_12
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.066 INF [NET] PlayerConnected EntityID=-1, PltfmId='Local_<none>', CrossId='<unknown/none>', OwnerID='<unknown/none>', PlayerName='', ClientNumber='69'
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.066 INF Started thread NCS_Writer_6_12
2026-01-05T15:04:31 43004.113 INF NPPL.Read

 

[arramus]

Based on the log entry, this looks like a Host Havoc server.
The issue starts to appear after the server had been up for about 12 hours. The error suggests it is a random hang, but is it more likely after an extended play through of 8 hours + without a server restart?
How is RAM holding up when these messages start to appear? A server without any mods generally boots up and stabilises between 3.5 - 4GB. However, that will rise over time. If the server package is 8GB, as soon as things climb to about 6-6.5GB there can be spikes which push things a little too much and this type of instability can occur. If the package is 12GB, then that is not typically a factor at the time frame the issues appear. Even so, 7 Days servers benefit from restarts every 6-8 hours to refresh RAM and other processes.
Consider restarting every 8 hours or so just to see if it stabilises things.

A precursor to the LiteNetLib connection issues was an EOS break down just slightly above the log entries shared.
2026-01-05T14:57:32 42584.693 ERR [EOS-ACS] Failed decrypting stream from EOS_0002bdd3b7e04717b524993b79b05a0b: AntiCheatProtectMessageValidationFailed
It could also be that Epic Online Services was having a moment.
Even so, restarting a little more frequently helps to refresh and reestablish handshakes.

 

[Thomas Bishop]

Thanks the quick response! I tried everything I knew before reporting this.

Based on the log entry, this looks like a Host Havoc server.

That is correct.

The issue starts to appear after the server had been up for about 12 hours. The error suggests it is a random hang, but is it more likely after an extended play through of 8 hours + without a server restart?

The issue happened again less than 15 minutes after the restart shown in the log. I have a very short log for that.
https://justpaste.it/jo60z

How is RAM holding up when these messages start to appear? A server without any mods generally boots up and stabilises between 3.5 - 4GB. However, that will rise over time. If the server package is 8GB, as soon as things climb to about 6-6.5GB there can be spikes which push things a little too much and this type of instability can occur. If the package is 12GB, then that is not typically a factor at the time frame the issues appear. Even so, 7 Days servers benefit from restarts every 6-8 hours to refresh RAM and other processes.
Consider restarting every 8 hours or so just to see if it stabilises things.

I have 20GB RAM, more than the max 16GB Host Havoc allotment (I had to beg) because it kept running out of RAM, even on a 4-hour restart schedule. RAM used was 9416.8MB at the time of the hang.

A precursor to the LiteNetLib connection issues was an EOS break down just slightly above the log entries shared.
2026-01-05T14:57:32 42584.693 ERR [EOS-ACS] Failed decrypting stream from EOS_0002bdd3b7e04717b524993b79b05a0b: AntiCheatProtectMessageValidationFailed
It could also be that Epic Online Services was having a moment.

Looking at the logs again, this message seems to be the first ERR before it starts to hang in most or all of the logs (it's a different client each time):
2026-01-05T14:57:31 42583.974 ERR [NET] Client logged in but sent unencrypted message, dropping! EntityID=11393, PltfmId='Steam_76561198041098869', CrossId='EOS_0002bdd3b7e04717b524993b79b05a0b', OwnerID='Steam_76561198041098869', PlayerName='sleibner', ClientNumber='42'
Could this be the root cause of the connection issue? I don't know what to do about it.

Even so, restarting a little more frequently helps to refresh and reestablish handshakes.

I restarted at 4-hour intervals before starting fresh with no mods. I had the same errors at that time, that's why I am running without mods, to debug the issue. I will setup a 4 hour restart schedule and monitor the situation.

I also ran steam file validation and the errors still happened after that.

This wasn't an issue for me until Version 2.5 but I don't see other people complaining about it.

I'll take your advice. Thanks for your help.

 

[arramus]

Running out of 16GB RAM on a 4 hour restart cycle suggests issues beyond your control, unless it was one incredibly resource heavy mix up of mods. I visit a number of community Discord quite regularly through Mod Launcher support activities and this specific issue is not being discussed at all for V2.5, so far. Spartan-85 community and Jean's Gaming community use the same Server Host for comparison and have been silent about this. The only complaint is heavy warping/banding when in city areas and that has been posted in bugs already for SP and dedis for all platforms. There's always routing/hardware considerations if everything else gets rules out when attempting to run things on a frequent restart cycle with such low server mod demand and high redundancy elsewhere. You're collecting plenty of data for review and regardless of where this post ends up, it's being presented as an issue.

 

[Thomas Bishop]

I just wanted to share this Player/Memory/CPU graph from my server because it's interesting. The vertical blue line is when I wiped it and removed all mods.
You can see the memory usage is much lower with roughly the same number of players and no mods.

 

[Thomas Bishop]

Possible solution?

Server has been hanging with this error once or twice every day until I turned off chunk reset:

ERR [NET] Client logged in but sent unencrypted message, dropping!

I've had problems in the past with chunk reset. Server has been up a day and a half with no errors.

I changed this:

<property name="MaxChunkAge"                    value="7"/>

To this:

<property name="MaxChunkAge"                    value="-1"/>

 

[WretchedDollie]

Hello Thomas,

We are investigating some reported freeze issues. If this continues to occur, please post the logs for us.

Thanks,
Dollie

 

[Thomas Bishop]

Hello Thomas,

We are investigating some reported freeze issues. If this continues to occur, please post the logs for us.

Thanks,
Dollie

There have been no freezes since I turned off chunk reset. I'm not seeing the above errors in the log now either. When a player gets an error and drops it doesn't crash the server.

We're running the ProjectZ mod and things are working well.

I'd like to turn on ChunkReset but every time I do I have problems. Coincidence or not, I don't know.

If there is anything I can do for you please ask.

 

[WretchedDollie]

Hi Thomas,

Thank you for letting me know. I'll still look into this further to see if there is any relationship between the freezes and chunk resets.

Thanks,
Dollie