Steam VR Home multiplayer not working?

[TPrime411]

Has anybody else noticed that multiplayer for Steam VR Home doesn't seem to be working?

A friend of mine and I use it occasionally, but we hadn't been on in maybe a couple months. We tried using it again recently and found that every time we try to join eachothers room, we just get stuck in the loading plain between worlds. I can load other environments on my own just fine, just not anything with other players. There also seems to be a lot less, almost no hosted rooms. I saw one for a minute, and tried joining it, but had the same issue.

I created a support ticket with Steam, but they said they were not aware of any issues and can't find a problem. They encouraged me to create a post on the forums. So if anyone else is having this issue, please post about it and also create a support ticket to let them know. This is obviously an issue on their end, but they are claiming not to know about it. So we need to show them there's an issue. I found one other post in the forums about it from a couple weeks ago, and post on reddit about it.

Please, when you respond, mention if it works for you or not. If you don't say that it works, then we don't know if you're talkingnfrom experience or not.

[Bob Loblaw]

Originally posted by TPrime411:

This is obviously an issue on their end,

Could be one of your firewall rules. Could be another program you installed using the same ports.

[TheGravityDefier]

I have the same issue. I see nobody in the list of available rooms, and if I try to accept an invite from a friend to join their room I just get sent to limbo and it never loads the environment. I tried switching to the Beta version of Steam and SteamVR (and my friend did too), but we still could not connect. My PC security has not changed (Windows 11 built-in antivirus and firewall) and my router has not changed, so I can't see this being a firewall issue. My provider changed my modem last month, but I have had no other issues. My friend did not have a modem change (and he even lives in another city) and yet he has the same issues of not seeing any SteamVR Home rooms available to join nor being able to join a friend's invite.

Is anyone out there actually able to host a public or friend room in a SteamVR Home environment and have other people join it, to verify the app is even working in multiplayer mode?

[TPrime411]

Originally posted by Bob Loblaw:

Originally posted by TPrime411:

This is obviously an issue on their end,

Could be one of your firewall rules. Could be another program you installed using the same ports.

That's what they tried to suggest, but I don't think so. I'm not running any additional firewall outside of what comes with Windows. I'm not running a vpn, or anything like that, and it was working for me just fine until sometime in the last couple of months. I also have a friend whose having the same issues, and have seen posts from other people saying the same thing. It seems to be at least somewhat wide spread.

[Bob Loblaw]

I just read a post about a guy who fixed nonconnection of steam multiplayer by going on a VPN... His provider was blocking the traffic, but not all games. Another post fixed it just by verifying files. I recall a bunch of posts 2 months ago from people who borked their steam multiplayer by installing some app that let them play android games on their PC.

[TPrime411]

Originally posted by Bob Loblaw:

I just read a post about a guy who fixed nonconnection of steam multiplayer by going on a VPN... His provider was blocking the traffic, but not all games. Another post fixed it just by verifying files. I recall a bunch of posts 2 months ago from people who borked their steam multiplayer by installing some app that let them play android games on their PC.

It might be the service provider. Both my friend and I are on the same ISP. So if they suddenly started blocking something, that could do it. But Id have to find a VPN that doesn't interfere with connecting my Q3 to my computer. Nord caused me nothing but problems in that regard.

[TheGravityDefier]

Using a typical privacy/IP obscuring VPN service is not the answer as they are designed to encrypt and tunnel all your traffic through a different IP online, usually breaking access to local network resources in the process to maintain security. I have tried this as a test and I could not get Steam Link to wirelessly connect to my PC at all when the PC is running a VPN service. Maybe if I had my router configured to make the VPN connection, but this seems extreme and can't possibly be the solution to this seeing how this is the only app having this problem - I would think many more apps would have the same issue.

I also have access to a less restrictive corporate VPN which I was able to use with SteamVR (as it doesn't block local network traffic). This network is in a different (much larger) city with a large pipe connection using a different provider than my own (with no known ports being blocked). Using this VPN I still cannot see or join any hosted rooms.

So Bob, you are saying that public and private rooms in SteamVR Home work fine for you, and you can see public rooms available to join on the panel in your environment right now? Because I see none and cannot join a any friend-hosted ones either.

[Bob Loblaw]

I just tested and a public room became visible after a minute of waiting. It was called something like Borderlands 2 photogramm... something, which I assumed was not only a custom map I didn't have, but a huge photogrammatic thing as well. I attempted to join and was left in the skybox, trying to figure out if my client was downloading a map over my 5MB/s connection. It didn't look like it. I quit back to SteamVR home, and the public room was no longer listed.

edit: same result after seeing a public Summit Pavilion, which I would not need to download.

[TPrime411]

Originally posted by Bob Loblaw:

I just tested and a public room became visible after a minute of waiting. It was called something like Borderlands 2 photogramm... something, which I assumed was not only a custom map I didn't have, but a huge photogrammatic thing as well. I attempted to join and was left in the skybox, trying to figure out if my client was downloading a map over my 5MB/s connection. It didn't look like it. I quit back to SteamVR home, and the public room was no longer listed.

So basically you are having the same issue we are. It does sound like a system wide problem then.

[TheGravityDefier]

You could also try setting up a friend room with someone to test further, but I think this kinda confirms there is a system wide problem and it isn't just us. I haven't heard from anyone who has said it actually works for them, and I haven't seen any available rooms show up whenever I've been online recently. Something is up. I'm surprised more people haven't chimed in. I guess people really aren't using the home environments anymore? That would be a shame. Meta killed the customizable Oculus home, and now Steam might be doing the same. I hope not!

[gavovo]

It is definitely a system wide (SteamVR Home) problem!

I first posted here to that issue at Nov 25 2024 ( https://steamcommunity.com/workshop/discussions/18446744073709551615/4633736485039825521/?appid=250820 ) and after I contacted Steam support MORE than twice the only answer was: That's a SEP (you remember? Douglas Adams? 'Somebody Else's Problem'). Not really helpful.

Then I made a small environment (see ( https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3387301841 )) just as basis for inviting others and see if there is something new to that issue to make tests in lots of different combinations of SteamVR versions and hardware platforms.

@ Bob Loblaw especially:
What the problem NOT is:
- Firewall (not on Win10/11 (Malwarebytes off, Defender off, ALL safety stuff off) not in Linux (Xubuntu)
- other versions of SteamVR: tested all available depots from SteamDB and for sure the V1.27xxx test version offered in the Beta tab. Every time with corresponding user configuration on the other side
- the ISP: my Internet Service Provider is the most lame duck for any changes on the world - there are NO changes made since 1796

So, Bob, when you can join and you can host rooms (WITH several talking and 'living' visitors) then please clone your environment and publish it for all those poor people like me that can't do the same in the moment ( meanwhile since end of November last year!)

Regards, GAVOVO
(who is unhappy that no more visitors can come into his rooms and relax there...)

BTW:
In the unlikely event that someone from Steam Support is reading this: Get the Nobel Prize and bring back the multiplayer mode! THX in advance

[TPrime411]

I just did a test where I installed Steam VR on my sons steam account on our family computer and connected to it with my Q3. I could run games, but Steam Home wouldn't load, and when I checked in the settings, there was no option to enable Steam VR Home. There was no section for it at all.

So did Valve remove Steam VR Home, and for some reason doesn't want to admit or announce it? It looks like if you had it already, you can still use it single player, but new users won't have access to it.


Edit
I just realized I was wrong about my sons account. Vr Home does run on it. The reason it wasn't working was probably because he still had a limited account. Once I made a purchase on his account, it became unlimited, and the Home would work. It still doesn't change the fact though that multiplayer doesn't seem to work for anybody. When I got home working on my sons account, I still couldn't see any rooms being hosted and I couldn't connect with a friend.

[gavovo]

Anyone else contacted Steam support regarding this issue...?

[gavovo]

@TPrime411

On my PC (win10, nvidia 3060) I can start SteamVR Home manually in this way:

- start Steam (NOT SteamVR)
- start a command console (cmd.exe)
- type the following commands when the console shows c:\>:
c:\> cd c:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\tools\steamvr_environments\game\bin\win64> <RETURN>
and then
steamtours.exe -addon -vr <RETURN>

Then the SteamVR HOME environment shows; in my case the default summit pavillon. Now you can start user workshops as usual, but - thats our issue - just as single player.

Hope that helps...

[TPrime411]

Originally posted by gavovo:

@TPrime411

On my PC (win10, nvidia 3060) I can start SteamVR Home manually in this way:

- start Steam (NOT SteamVR)
- start a command console (cmd.exe)
- type the following commands when the console shows c:\>:
c:\> cd c:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\SteamVR\tools\steamvr_environments\game\bin\win64> <RETURN>
and then
steamtours.exe -addon -vr <RETURN>

Then the SteamVR HOME environment shows; in my case the default summit pavillon. Now you can start user workshops as usual, but - thats our issue - just as single player.

Hope that helps...

I can still run Home normally on my old computer, which is my main VR machine. So I'm fine with that. It's just that I like multiplayer better. But yeah I'm sure some people would like to know about that fix. Thanks. I just ran that test on my other computer to show that it looks like Valve has removed it.

[Doc Savage]

Originally posted by gavovo:

Anyone else contacted Steam support regarding this issue...?

FFS MAN>>>> look WAY back in the Discussions... I'll be there