Set up multiplayer

[Pasqualerose]

My son and I are trying to play multiplayer. I'm having trouble setting it up. On the main menu and selected Multiplayer. Where do I go from there? We are both in the same house and have separate Steam accounts.

[tempest.of.emptiness]

After clicking "Multiplayer" the next step is to select one of the next options that are presented to you. Which one you would choose would depend upon the type of game you want to create. For example, since both of you are in the same house, and thus presumably on the same network, you might click "Local Network" if you want to create a local network game. The you would click "Create Game" actually create the game.

After you have selected the type of game you want to create, you will be given the opportunity to set the details of the game, such as rules set, map type and size, and so on. Once you are satisfied with the settings, click "Confirm Settings" to proceed. You will be taken to a staging room to configure the number of civs in the game and to assign those civs to be player- or AI-controlled.

The final step is to get the other player(s) into your game. They may be able to join your game from the multiplayer lobby (by selecting the same game type that you created). If not, then you can send them an invite to join your game through your Steam friend's list. Once all the players are in the game and everyone has clicked "ready" the game will begin.

[Pasqualerose]

Ok. Thanks. I can create the game and I get into the staging room where I can configure the number of civs in the game. From his computer he clicks on multiplayer game and then clicks on "local network game." That takes him to a screen that says "local network games." I'm guessing that is the game lobby. My name is there and it says "hosting game." He can click on that and it gets highlighted. But when he leaves my name to click on join game my name is no longer highlighted. There is a drop-down arrow on my name, but that only gives two options. To look at my profile or to send me a message.

[tempest.of.emptiness]

I have never joined a lan game in Civ VI, but I assume that it is like joining an internet game.

There are two kinds of "highlighting" that occur in the list of games (although this may be hard to see in a list of one game, such as your lan game list would presumably be). When you mouse-over a line in the list, the line highlights so that you know where you are pointing. This highlight starts dark at the top of the line and ends bright at the bottom of the line. A line that has been highlighted in this way is not selected.

The other highlight occurs when you click on a line. This highlighting is uniformly bright (although not as bright as the brightest parts of the first highlight), and additionally puts a brighter outline around the line. This indicates that the line has been selected, and should cause the "Join Game" button to light up. Note that when you first click a line you will also have the mouse-over that line, so both kinds of highlighting will be in effect on top of one another. The result of this is that when you move the mouse away from the line it will get darker; this does not mean that the line is no longer selected... if the line has been selected properly and is still selected then that line should have a box around it after you move the mouse pointer away. (Edit: If so, and if the "Join Game" button is still green - which it should be - then you can click "Join Game" to join.)

If my description is difficult to follow (which is probably the case), then you may want to go into Multiplayer-> Internet so that you have a list of many games and can experiment with selecting different lines and see the visual effects I am describing for yourself. This may allow you to have confidence that you are selecting the game properly from the lan games list.

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If you are not able to figure out the interface then I would suggest instead sending an invite to join the game over Steam to the would-be joining player. Once you have created the game and are in the Staging Room, open your Steam friends list and right-click on the invitee. Look for the section "Civilization VI" and then click on the line "Invite to Lobby" below that. This should bypass the need to select the server from a list.

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Note that in order for either of these methods to work, you must both be eligible to join a game together. This means that both of you must be playing the same version of the game on the same platform (ie, if one of you is on a PC and the other is on a Mac then it isn't going to work out). You must both have the same DLCs active (if one owns DLCs that the other does not, then they can disable those excess DLCs to solve this issue), and you must both have absolutely identical sets of community mods active (including modified game files). Any discrepancy may prevent you from playing together.

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Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention: about the box in the lower-left corner with your name on it... that is not used as part of the process of selecting a server to join or joining the server. That is so that two friends who are trying to get into a game together can communicate without needing another app. For example, one might ask the other for the name of the server or the password, if those details had not been decided upon previously. I would not expect that you two would need to use this feature in your situation.

[Pasqualerose]

Thanks. Pretty detailed into. I appreciate it. We both are running the same version. But what is a DLC? Is that an add on like Gathering Storm. Neither one of us have one of those.

[Pasqualerose]

Thanks for the info on the the box in the lower-left corner with a name on it! That's good to know. That was confusing me.

[Pasqualerose]

Thanks. I was able to set up an internet game with him. I still want to figure out why I couldn't do a LAN game. But this will work for now. Thanks aagin.

[tempest.of.emptiness]

Originally posted by Pasqualerose:

TBut what is a DLC? Is that an add on like Gathering Storm.

Correct. DLC stands for downloadable content, which in the case of Civ VI can include expansions like Gathering Storm, or Civ and Scenario packs. Basically, it means any of the additional official content that you can buy to add onto the base game. If neither of you have any of that, then that section won't apply to you.

Originally posted by Pasqualerose:

I still want to figure out why I couldn't do a LAN game.

I don't know what the LAN game isn't showing up, but it should still be possible to create the LAN game and then send an invite over Steam. Since accepting that invite does not depend on finding the game in the list, it should be possible to accept the invite and join the game.

[Pasqualerose]

Ok. Thanks. Yes, then neither one of us has any DLC. We just have the regular game content. If I can do an invite for LAN games, I'll try that way.

Thanks again.

[paolo.falbo]

I'm having the same problems. I can't share a LAN game.
My and my son see each other in the friends list and can send messages and chat (so no firwall problems). However, if I create a LAN game there is no way to let it appear in the list of available games in his lobby. We have same CIV6 version (rise and fall) and same DLC.
Last incredible detail, we were normally able to a LAN game until a couple of months ago. After a period we didn't play and some automatic updates, trying to start a LAN game has become a nightmare...

[Pasqualerose]

I have never been able to play a LAN game with my son in the same house. I am yet to figure it out. The way we play is I just create a private Internet game. So we play the in same house, but over the internet as if we were in different locations. It works fine that way.

[paolo.falbo]

Exactly the same with me. I need to start a private internet game. It regularly appears on the list of Internet games, and then we can play...

[Pasqualerose]

It works, but it would be nice to have it on the local network.