Easier way to do LAN play (AD-HOC)

[Rivalartur513]

If possible could there be easier way to do LAN play with other decks without the use of a hotspot. Such as AD HOC.

[Master Q (Tri-Sen)]

This would be great, maybe add functionality to create a hotspot from the deck itself so we can host local matches on it for games like civ 5. Then other steam decks would be able to connect.

[Marlock]

this should already be possible from desktop mode:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/2/5135803832914248099/

[andritolion]

However, it wouldn't hurt to have it be a native feature of SteamOS. Would improve the experience much more and make it more similar to console.

[Marlock]

Originally posted by andritolion:

However, it wouldn't hurt to have it be a native feature of SteamOS. Would improve the experience much more and make it more similar to console.

yes, that would indeed be much better if it was available from Gaming Mode too

[cheater]

I've posted a somewhat similar request here, but this would be a wired Ethernet connection using USB-C.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/2/6117591738157800523/

[Dirty D]

+1 I would really like to see this feature implemented.

[W3B]

This feature is nice!

As someone who play local wireless/LAN/Ad-Hoc alot this would be helpful for the times i play the steam deck on the go with friends/family. even if the feature will only be used by the few steam games (Borderlands, Stardew valley, hypercharge: unboxed, Orc Must Die, Among Us, Factorio and even Halo!) having this feature paired with the offline mode may help LAN gaming grow again!

[Cas]

+1 since my partner and I both have a Steam Deck now, we'd love to play LAN

[xep]

I just played some Phantasy Star Portable on my PSP and it is wonderful to be able to easily set up a networked game anywhere with friends with the push of a button. Bumping thread for visibility.

[Bimbo Lyn]

Also would really love this, being able to play with friends anywhere is one of the best parts of handhelds

[paulgregquinn]

I completely agree! Quick and easy access to a built-in inter-device network feature for on-the-go lan parties, would be unbelievably cool!!

[Marlock]

have any of you folks tried to do ad-hoc lan between decks setting it up in desktop mode?

it occurred to me that there might be one more issue for Valve to thinker on besides making it easy to set the network up in gaming mode

lan parties (especially over adhoc networks) may not have valid internet access available at the same time as the devices are conected locally to each other... and steam is quite finnicky about not being online (not specific to linux, specific to steam assuming we're online at all times except if explicitly put in offline mode)

I would test this out before assuming all is fine once a connection is made

[suckmyfacelllol]

Originally posted by Marlock:

this should already be possible from desktop mode:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/2/5135803832914248099/

yes but the point should be that we shouldnt have to go into desktop make it a one click type deal in gaming mode and bam

[Marlock]

i know... i revived this idea of testing via desktop mode as a way to try and find out now, before they even fix the basic lack of a toggle in gaming mode, if that's the only thing that needs improvements to enable the lan-party use-case

imagine if we ask them for a toggle for ages, then they finally do it, and only then we discover that most games don't work anyway due to some other silly reason... we would have wasted precious time not asking them to fix the other issue too

by all means, keep asking for the toggle... just don't wait for it to test what else works or not... use desktop mode to help test everything else

[YouthInAsia]

Originally posted by Marlock:

i know... i revived this idea of testing via desktop mode as a way to try and find out now, before they even fix the basic lack of a toggle in gaming mode, if that's the only thing that needs improvements to enable the lan-party use-case

imagine if we ask them for a toggle for ages, then they finally do it, and only then we discover that most games don't work anyway due to some other silly reason... we would have wasted precious time not asking them to fix the other issue too

by all means, keep asking for the toggle... just don't wait for it to test what else works or not... use desktop mode to help test everything else

I gave this a shot in Desktop mode using the manual method documented here:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/ad-hoc_networking

Not sure if I did this correctly, but I was able to ping each Steam Deck's static IP that I had assigned from the other Deck while they were both connected to the Ad-Hoc network. However, wasn't able to join a hosted game that supports LAN (Stardew Valley) from one Deck. Not sure if it's a Steam online feature preventing it, or if it was user error from me in the setup.