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Ninjazz 25 Feb, 2017 @ 11:47pm
Multiplayer is a Step Backward?
So I have a few burning questions about the current multiplayer update.
When the game first came up on Steam, multiplayer was present, though it barely functioned at all. (And we were warned as much.) I managed to connect to a friend of mine and we ran around for a few minutes laughing at the absurd glitchiness of it all. But we DID connect and run around a bit.
That was a pretty long time ago, yet this new multiplayer update seems to have taken a solid step backwards... you no longer have any options like direct IP connects, or server list stuff. The game seems to have basically taken about an unfriendly approach to multiplayer as possible.
I have tried playing with a friend on the new update, and we can't get anything to work. We've spent hours on it.
Also, it's been VERY difficult to find any information about what is needed to get things working in the first place! The multiplayer FAQ Doesn't give you any real useful information other than "You have to start multiplayer from within the game itself"
(BTW we gave up on playing multiplayer, as we never could get it to work.)

So here's some questions I have and info I would like to see:

1. Where'd our options go? There's no more direct connects, etc. Heck the game doesn't even tell you your IP and port like it used to.

2. Are there any command line functions that might be able to get around the shortcomings of the current UI?

3. Is there some kind of region locking on the server list? My friend and I both saw games listed, but they were different games. We never could see each other's game...

4. Port forwarding? Is it necessary? And if so, which ports? Previously you needed port 10677 to be able to play multiplayer, (You're welcome to anyone else trying to find that out) but since that old release, I'm not finding ANY more info on this. My friend and I tried forwarding it anyways, but still no success.

5. Will the Steam friends Join/Invite to game features actually work eventually? They seem to do literally nothing atm. (Aside from launching the game if you happen to be outside of it.)

I have to say honestly I'm disappointed with the current release update. I actually bought an extra copy of the game for my friend so we could try playing multiplayer and it's been nothing but a chore so far, and we have yet to get into a game together.

I'm hoping the multiplayer will be made a little more...possible, and better documented soon!

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Showing 1-6 of 6 comments
k 26 Feb, 2017 @ 8:15am 
Thats a real shame, i was about to buy a few copies for me and friends to play but not if the multiplayer is as bad as you say.
#1
gww2 26 Feb, 2017 @ 10:30am 
Sorry to hear you were having issues! Here are responses to your questions.

1. We rewrote the entire networking system for the game to use Steam networking as a base, making knowing your IP/Port unnecessary. We are adding some additional features in the next patch to utilize more of the standard steam networking capabilities.

2. I don't believe we have any command line options about networking setup. However, in general, there are a lot of command line functions in the game that we are continually exposing to the players while improving the UI. This includes switching between creative/adventure mode, setting the time in game, and changing the weather. We haven't put out an official list as it would quickly become outdated and some of them are experimental stuff for testing. Is there something specific that is causing you problems in the UI?

3. Not that I'm aware of, all games should be visible to all players right now. There is a slight delay from when you launch a server and it becomes visible to other players which comes from waiting on steam's server listings.

4. Port forwarding should not longer be necessary or even helpful. Everything is routed through steam's networking system, which handles all technical setup for networking.

5. Yes, this is functional and has been tested for the next patch.

We haven't run into any issues with specific servers not showing up yet on our end, if you can give us some more information about what steps you took to launch the server and what the client was able to see we'd be extremely happy to look into it. Making sure this works for everybody is a high priority for us!
#2
JoOngle 26 Feb, 2017 @ 12:41pm 
Multiplayer doesn't work across the globe.

me and a friend from Canada just bought the game to play together. and we can't see our servers.

There is no option to put in an IP adress, so that's not helpful either.
Any idea how to connect to my friend in Canada? I could only see european servers (one at that!) in the join game menu.

#3
JohnTomorrow  [developer] 26 Feb, 2017 @ 1:07pm 
Sorry you are having trouble. As gww2 pointed out we use Steam's matchmaking system and p2p networking for multiplayer games. This is a robust platform provided by Valve that many, many games use. It should handle all network setup in most cases. We do not limit where you can connect to in anyway.

In cases where you are experiencing issues you can try following this Steam support articles:
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=8571-GLVN-8711
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=6776-MYXU-0480
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2198-AGHC-7226

Also, always make sure your Steam client is online and not in offline mode.

Let us know if this helps at all. If it doesn't please email me at john@katapultstudio.com so that we try figuring out the issue together.
Last edited by JohnTomorrow; 26 Feb, 2017 @ 1:25pm
#4
Ninjazz 27 Feb, 2017 @ 4:14am 
Same as JoOngle, I was trying to play a game with a friend overseas. (Me in japan, him in the US).
I was only able to see two servers in the server list, as was he. We both were seeing completely different servers, however.
Just for experimentation's sake, I tried joining one of the servers I saw, which did manage to connect, so I know I'm able to actually join games, so is my friend, but he and I were never once able to see each other's games, nor did using "Invite to Game" or "Join Game" on the Steam Friends List work.

1., 4., 5. Thank you for letting me know about the Steam integration. It helps knowing which direction to go in for troubleshooting. We thought about trying a VPN, but we both hate installing the third party software for that stuff, and by the sound of it, that probably wouldn't help anyways if it's using Steam.

2. The UI itself isn't so much of a problem, just that in older versions when you tried to fire up a multiplayer game it gave you more options, as well as told you your IP address and stuff, which was actually pretty handy, whereas now it feels really dumbed down. Again though, the use of Steam explains the reasons for that a bit. Just sorely missing that direct connect option atm.

3. Not much I can really say here other than... Clearly it's not working as intended then. I don't know about how Steam's server lists work over regions and such, but given my friend and I were both looking at two very different (and very short) lists of servers, something's not right there.

So as a request, could you guys bring back the direct IP connect option? I'm no network programmer, so I'm not sure of how difficult it would be to reinsert that, but that was something that worked when everything else seemed to be having issues. (I actually managed to connect to a different friend with that, as I mentioned in OP)

I'm usually a very patient person and all that (Been waiting to play the game with friends since the initial Steam release), and apologies if the OP sounded a bit rude, but we'd spent about 2 hours trying to get it to work at that point, and ended up just having to give up. :(
I know it's early access and you guys are working on a lot, but you asked for MP testing, so umm... there ya go. lol

PS. We both have long known about the port forwarding for Steam, and how our respective routers work, and never even bother puttig steam into offline mode.
Last edited by Ninjazz; 27 Feb, 2017 @ 4:16am
#5
gww2 27 Feb, 2017 @ 8:06am 
I totally understand how frustrating getting things to work properly is! No offense taken at all.

I did find a report of someone else having a similar issue with steam networking, and they did find a temporary workaround by having both players select the same download region. This option is found in steam settings -> Downloads -> Download Region. Please let us know if this works for you.

We will definitely be looking further into this so players can connect without crazy workarounds and we really appreciate the testing and reporting.
#6
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CHKN > Multiplayer Bugs/Friend Finding > Topic Details
Date Posted: 25 Feb, 2017 @ 11:47pm
Posts: 6

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