NAT strict?

He said he was wired!!
How can he open ports!?
I can host fine and Im strict (so it says, again-- even though im wired)

uh, ya well he also said "i have the modem thingy" i assumed he means he has his own internet connection that he or someone he knows controls...

wired doesn't really tell anything, it makes little difference if you're using wires or a wireless connection

my directions to "open up some ports" is probably not specific enough, he actually needs to forward those ports on his router to his computer, if he cannot do that then he needs to talk to an somebody who can... that's assuming he can't host of course, if he can then no need to change anything on that front.

as for the lag well more details are needed about his setup before anyone can troubleshoot that problem. but i do suspect that hosting his own game might solve that problem (if not you probably need a new / better computer)

nat strict is sometimes steam's fail, i have that too and my nat comes back open the next day. I have dmz, so i don't have to open port's dmz opens them automaticly.