Simple Multiplayer Options? Help please!

[Nadjia]

I bought this game yesterday for myself and both my kids. The game is listed as both "Multiplayer" and "Online Multi-Player", and our primary intention was to play together. I cannot find any options to play locally just with my kids and am getting rather frustrated. I understand that this is Early Access and so not complete in many ways, but the closest I can gather is that I am going to have to run a dedicated server to be able to play with my kids, and despite following 3 seperate guides (one with a video) and over 2 hours of searching and fiddling with files, etc., I keep getting hung up and/or it is just not plain working for me. Whatever the OP is explaining is NOT there/available/working as intended (you should now see server files... nope; you should see the servers in "unofficial list" in game... nope; now look for X file... umm, that doesn't exist).

Is this game going to (soon, I hope) allow for multiplayer options that don't require some degree of programming background and/or 18 hoops to jump through to get it to work? In the past, right clicking on a steam name and joining a game is so much simpler, or hosting LAN and inviting/joining via the game menu. Is that something that is coming? I don't want to play entirely alone and I don't want to join an official server with hundreds of strangers, so is my best bet to ask for a Steam Refund?

Thank you

[Lem]

There doesn't seem to be a LAN mode like Ark, and Ark's LAN mode was flawed in that players were leashed together because they were using unreal's 'listen server' implementation and not a full server. So forget about that junk that isn't dedicated servers.

The advice to run a dedicated server is correct. Unfortunately, PixArk is too new to have great guides written up, one did work for me.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1343773033

If you don't mess with firewall stuff, then most likely your server will not be visible outside of your LAN (home network)... so just your kids would be able to connect, which is what you want. You can always password protect the server for additional security, just to make sure, but I've never found that necessary.

If you do not see your server listed though (and I never do) you'll need to join directly by IP and Port.

To find your LAN IP,

Windows Start -> type CMD into search -> hit enter, it should bring up command prompt

Type command: ipconfig

Look for IPv4 Address.

That is the IP you'll need to have all your players directly connect to. You may need to add port information as well. I forget if the guide above used default ports. If not, try the different ports used in the guide (I forget which one the initial connect request goes through). I'm not home right now or I could give more specific instruction.

If you're hosting from the same machine you're playing (what I do) you can connect on host machine using the home IP 127.0.0.1, but everyone else on LAN needs to use the IP you got from the command above.

[Voldin]

Originally posted by Lem:

If you're hosting from the same machine you're playing (what I do) you can connect on host machine using the home IP 127.0.0.1, but everyone else on LAN needs to use the IP you got from the command above.

Do you have to own two copies of the game to host and play from the same machine?
Like the OP, I've been trying to figure out the best way of playing with my kids on lan.

[Lem]

Originally posted by Voldin:

Do you have to own two copies of the game to host and play from the same machine?
Like the OP, I've been trying to figure out the best way of playing with my kids on lan.

Nope! You don't even need to own the game or have a steam account to run a server. The PixArk server is given to the steam 'anonymous' login account that anyone can use.

[Loopy1dog]

ya i want the same thing, just to play with my kid :( would never of bought it