Pike's Troubleshooting

As community moderator I have often seen the same questions or issues pop up. This guide will cover many frequent problems players - especially new ones - may encounter. I hope this solves a few issues for you so you can have fun drowning, getting blown up or eaten again. :)

!!!DO NOT POST YOUR ISSUES IN THE COMMENTS UNLESS YOU HAVE FOUND A SOLUTION YOU WANT ME TO ADD!!!

I'm sorry, but I won't be able to help everyone and this guide isn't meant to solve cases in particular. This guide is only for existing solutions. If you need help or advice, use the links I am providing in this guide! Thank you.

Important Links

Official Barotrauma Website[barotraumagame.com]
This is the main website for the game and the #1 location for the latest news about it. You can also access the wiki, modding guide and buy official game merchandise there.



Official Barotrauma Wiki[barotraumagame.com]
You can find tons of information on the game there - mostly in-game, gameplay stuff. Details about enemies, items, locations and more.





Official Barotrauma Modding Guide[regalis11.github.io]
This is where you can find valuable information concerning the modding of the game.







Official Barotrauma Trello[trello.com]
This one contains the development roadmap, and other info about future updates. The most relevant current issues are also displayed.





Official Barotrauma GitHub - Issues Page[github.com]
This is where you should go if you have an issue and want to see if others have reported it. It's a well-organized page with tags to separate issues from one another. The developers will usually refer to this page first, because there are many veteran members of the community who post there, knowing exactly what they're talking about. See if your issue is already listed, and if not, don't be afraid to add it to the list - this is not a veteran only place! Eventually, you should get developer feedback on it. As of August 2024, the devs ask that all reports be filed on that page - they are much less likely to read your issues elsewhere, including the Steam forums.

Official Undertow Games Discord[discord.com]
It has nearly 37 000 members as I am making this guide. This is where you want to go if you want to interact with many passionate Barotrauma players, find groups to play with, get real time help ( #baro-tech-support is probably the channel you'll want to go ), get answers for your questions or discover Barotrauma memesmiths, amongst other things. Be mindful of the rules! And introduce yourself, even if it's not mandatory. ;)

Official Barotrauma Reddit
If you are addicted to both Barotrauma and Reddit, this is the place for you.









Barotrauma Steam Forum for Help & Technical Support
You're on Steam, so you probably have already seen it, but it remains an important link nonetheless and is a very helpful section of the discussion board should you encounter issues since other users may have the solutions you're looking for. As of August 2024, the devs ask that you file your issue reports on their GitHub page instead, and they are less likely to read your issues on Steam forums. Remember that you can use the search function of the forum to see if other people have experienced the issue you're having.

Multiplayer and Networking - Tips

Many issues are related to the online features of the game, and many are not game issues, but user/PC-related. Here you will get basic tips on how to properly prepare yourself and avoid many issues.

Cable Vs. Wireless

The best case scenario is to have your computer wired directly to your router to get the optimal networking experience. However, the router may not always be next to your PC, especially when multiple people use the router or if you have many devices ( "smart home" stuff ) connecting to it.

You can play Barotrauma and online games just right with a regular wireless setup. However, if you want to fully take advantage of your wireless connection, read the following.

Switching from 2.4GHz to 5GHz

This is important if you are using wireless internet to play games. If your internet connection allows the use of 5GHz wireless data transfer, make sure it is doing so. Most wireless adapters or integrated cards will have it nowadays, but they may be set to 2.4ghz by default.

All wireless devices have different settings so it's impossible for me to tell you exactly how to see and modify your settings individually. However, in Windows, you can find them in Control Panel - Device Manager, then, in your list of peripherals, select properties for "Network adapters".

There you should see a series of settings. Try to find something in your advanced settings like "Wireless mode" or "Wireless options". The 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands can be modified there. You should see a bunch of numbers with a letter or two at the end. Here's what they do:

2.4GHz Frequency Band:

• 802.11b: Up to 11 Mbps
  
• 802.11g: Up to 54 Mbps
  
• 802.11n: Up to 600 Mbps (also operates on 5GHz)

5GHz Frequency Band:

• 802.11a: Up to 54 Mbps
  
• 802.11n: As mentioned above, it can also operate on 5GHz
  
• 802.11ac: Up to several Gbps ( This is the one I use, personally )
  
• 802.11ad: Up to 7 Gbps (60GHz band)
  
• 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6): Higher data rates and increased capacity

You may see combinations of two or three letters for some settings. Those settings are just used to get the optimal result from the letters I've mentioned ( your PC/Wireless device will select the fastest and most stable out of the lot ). You may also see a "prefered" settings. Make it so 5GHz is selected.

2.4GHz is vastly used by smart home devices or wireless computer related hardware like printers. It has a wider range, so you can connect devices at a longer distance, but the fact that it is a crowded band may slow down your overall internet experience.

5GHz has a shorter range, but is much, much faster than the 2.4Ghz band and has way less interferences. It is ideal for gamers who don't have direct ethernet cable access to their router. Keep in mind that whilst on the 5GHz band, you won't be able to connect to devices using 2.4GHz, so if you want to use your printer, you will have to revert back to 2.4GHz.

The 5GHz setting you choose depends on a few factors such as the distance between your computer and your router, if there are walls between you and the router, etc. Try a few settings and test each one. You can test your speed two ways: 1) By accessing your router's settings ( some routers can do that ) or 2) By going on https://www.speedtest.net/ and testing your speed there. Note the results and compare, then make your decision.

If you play with friends, it would be a good idea to compare internet speeds between you and your friends to figure out who has the more reliable internet connection, and elect that person to be the host if possible.

Note: normally, uploading speeds are slower than your downloading speed. That's normal. When you upload, you send data, and when you download you receive it. I'm sure you already knew that. However, it's good to know that upload speed is most important when you are hosting or live streaming. If other players in your hosted session are lagging and your PC specs are up to par with the requirements, maybe your uploading speed is not adequate.

Check your antivirus settings

Some antivirus softwares will lock Barotrauma online features or even keep the game from launching. Make sure your antivirus settings are properly allowing all Barotrauma-related content, from Steam to barotrauma.exe and also dedicatedserver.exe if you are trying to host a dedicated server.

I will quote a pinned thread from the forum: If you receive a prompt from Windows Firewall with your antivirus or a similar software asking whether to allow the application to connect to the internet, make sure you allow it to do so.

If you didn't do that the first time you got a pop-up window, or if you didn't get that pop-up window or don't remember seeing it, you may have to go in your firewall settings manually and make sure Barotrauma is allowed.

Windows, but also other antivirus softwares, make regular updates without telling you what they do. They can revert your settings back to default or change other settings, so make sure you return and see if Barotrauma features truly are allowed if one day you can play the game just fine and the next you can't.

Port-Forwarding

Refer to this pinned thread: LINK

All the info provided in the thread is still entirely relevant and you have everything you need to properly get things working. If you don't understand and need help, it's possible that your internet service provider can do it for you if you call their technical assistance, since they can gain access to your router and change its settings remotely.

Major Issues

Game/PC crashes

There is an unsung app in Windows called Event Manager that allows you to see a log of multiple kinds of events, including crashes. Each event has a time stamp so you can easily scroll through the list and find exactly when you experienced a crash. Every event has a short log and will more-or-less tell you what is the source of the problem. For example, if your GPU is causing a crash, you will usually see in the log GPU-related information.

To open Event Manager, type it in your lower left Windows search bar, then open it.

Loading your event log may "freeze" your PC for a short amount of time. That's normal. It will unfreeze eventually. You'll figure out why when you see the huge amount of recorded events. It's a huge log.

Of course, this isn't a "solution" to your crashes, but it will most likely guide you on the right path towards finding a solution.

PS: Don't freak out at the enormous amount of errors. That is also normal. The majority of errors have no impact on your PC user experience and don't mean much to you or to your computer's integrity. Only the "Critical" red squares with an X are truly important, and even then sometimes they "just happen" and aren't really part of a bigger problem.

Can't launch the game

• Check your antivirus and make sure it is allowing all Barotrauma-related things ( barotrauma.exe and dedicatedserver.exe ) to work. Sometimes, your antivirus may be updated unbeknownst to you and revert its settings back to default. This can sometimes happen with Windows Defender when your Windows operating system installs updates.
  
• Check your game file integrity in your Steam library settings for Barotrauma.
  
• Disable/delete all of your mods, especially LUA-related or "overhaul" mods, as it's possible even mods may make your game crash very early as it tries to launch.

Red Text Window

This text can be very bothersome as it can pop up at any moment, even when you're playing. However, it can be very informative as to what is causing the error, so read it and see what it's telling you.

The Red Text Window can quickly be removed by pressing your ESC key on your keyboard.

Sometimes the error is quite benign, and it can be, for example, that a crawler somehow got stuck within the level's walls, or that some collision caused a physics glitch, sometimes resulting in the death or even disappearance of the things involved. Usually, these errors barely affect your gameplay experience, and the red text window will only pop once or twice during your current round. You don't need to worry about that.

Repeated red text window pop ups usually is a sign that the current round or even the game as a whole is about to crash. Your best bet is still to read what the red text is telling you and see if you can do something about it. Usually, nowadays it happens due to a mod error. You have a choice: either you try to keep on playing and see what happens, or you try to go back to lobby and save your game. However, this can be a risk, as it can corrupt your current campaign, if you are playing on one as it happens. This is why you need to refer to the text and see if it could affect your campaign or not.

The red text can vary. Many, many different errors will be reported that way.

If Nothing Helps - Reset your settings

If for whatever reason, your game won't start or you experience what you believe may be a settings-related issue, try deleting configplayer.xml file in your Barotrauma game folder ( Steam\steamapps\common\Barotrauma ). It's a file that has all of your game's settings in it. When you relaunch the game, it will create a new version of the file, with default settings. Please note that this will revert many settings you may have changed in the past, such as your audio settings, keybinds, resolution settings or whether or not you have finished the tutorial, for example. That's why I recommend to make a backup of the file if you ever delete it, so you can at least copy/paste some important settings that you don't want to be back to default.

Do not worry, deleting the configplayer.xml file does not delete your campaign saves or your workshop submarines, only your game settings!

Mod-related issues

If you're using mods from the workshop, many "odd" issues are most likely mod related. The issues can be extremely broad, and obviously this guide can't cover all of them. They can range from specific items not working properly to game-breaking issues that make your game crash.

Contact the mod authors on their workshop page if you can pinpoint which mod is causing an issue. They may reply and offer advice. For example, it's possible that one mod is conflicting with another mod you're using, or it's possible that one mod is outdated after a new update. New updates often "break" mods and it's up to players like you to alert their authors if this happens, because they may not always be aware of it.

Playing a campaign with mods and knowing that the next update may break it beyond salvage is a risk you should think of whenever you start a new campaign with mods. But, thankfully, the game is now quite stable since its full release and the future updates will most likely not affect your campaign, at least not on a campaign-breaking scale.

Frame rate issues

If you experienced frame rate per second (FPS) issues and your PC specs are meeting the game's requirement, here are some reasons why and some tips to go along with them:

• Your submarine is too big. There are limitations to the size of the submarine ( and the numbers of machines, decorations and whatnot ) for a reason. Bots and enemy creatures will constantly calculate where to go and what to do in the game's background. If a submarine is very large, has a lot of waypoints and interactables, it will make your game lag no matter how powerful your PC is because the game has its own limits as to how much it can handle. Reduce your submarine's size to more acceptable levels.
  
  
• You have too many items. Similarly to the above text, having too many items ( ammo, craftables, suits, etc. ) will take a toll on your game's performance. Think about selling excess items whenever you can, or use many items to construct one to reduce the total number of items. Even when in containers, items are still present within the game, so it doesn't matter if you put them in a locker or storage container. They are still calculated by the game in the background. Think about how many items you truly need and make the adequate adjustments. You can also tell AI bots not to interact with certain things to keep them from adding those things in their continuous path "scanning" that makes them interact with the submarine while you play.
  
  
• Enabling many mods, especially big mods that add a lot of content, may cause your frame rate to drop to significant levels. It's best to test your mods in single missions before going on a campaign, and testing them in more advanced conditions ( with lots of creatures roaming around the level, for example ) will prevent you from experiencing frame rate issues in the later biomes that have more creatures and some extra environmental elements.
  
  
• The drive on which you have installed Barotrauma, and perhaps other drives, are too full of data. Personally my advice would be to always have 1/3 or at least 1/4 free storage space in your PC drives. It's also a good idea to store your favorite and also the most demanding video games you own on a SSD instead of a HDD because the SSD is way more efficient at dealing with huge sudden amounts of data transfer. This can definitely play a significant role in any game's performance, including loading times but also frame rate issues.
  
  
• Based on my personal observations, it seems AMD processors (plus laptops) have a harder time handling Barotrauma even with adequate specs. I'm not sure why, because I'm not that deep in computer knowledge.

Display Issues

Game resolution issues

Here are some resolution issues most players encounter:

• The resolution is too large or too small.
  
• Your monitor can't cover all of the game's window ( you can't see some parts of the game screen - it's too large )
  
• You are stuck on fullscreen/windowed and you can't get it to change through the settings somehow.

What's important here is the file called configplayer.xml which I already talked about. It is a file where you can see and modify all of your game's settings, from your in-game character name to your resolution and many other things like sound volume, keybinds and more. You can find it in your Barotrauma game folder ( Steam\steamapps\common\Barotrauma ). I don't suggest modifying too many things if you don't know what it could do, but if you do, you may find it handy once in a while to manually modify it there instead of in-game.

A good way to read XML files - if you don't like the simple look of Windows' default app "Notepad" is to use Notepad++[notepad-plus-plus.org] which is very similar to Notepad but with extra features, including colored text that helps read those files in an easier manner. It is a free and light software that is very popular.

In order to access your configplayer.xml file, go in your Barotrauma game directory ( Steam\steamapps\common\Barotrauma ).

I highly suggest to make a backup save of this file before you modify it!

If you want to modify your resolution settings in that file, search for the line "<graphicssettings". If you are using a software like Notepad++, it should be on line #31.

Here are pretty common basic settings for your resolution and display mode if you want to base your modifications on it:

width="1920"
height="1080"
[...]
displaymode="Fullscreen"


[A glimpse of the configplayer.xml file viewed in Notepad++]

This will give you a fullscreen screen resolution of 1920x1080.

Mouse Look and nausea

Some players will experience nausea with the mouse look settings enabled. Mouse look will make your screen move around as you move your mouse cursor. You may not be aware that this is actually just a feature that you can disable within the game's settings. If you want a more linear gameplay experience, disable it.

If you want to disable it within the configplayer.xml file, look for line 13: enablemouselook, and set it from "true" to "false".

Audio issues

Could not start voice capture; suitable capture device not found. (40964)

This is a frequent problem that has many different sources.

• Your device is not plugged in, or not plugged in the correct port.
  I know it's silly, but it can happen. Replug it and make sure you get a notification message telling you the device has been detected and is ready to use.
  
• Your device of choice is disabled
  Go to "Control Panel", then select "Sound". You will see all your sound devices. Make sure the correct device is enabled. It may be a good thing to disable sound devices you don't need anymore, and even disable those you don't recognize.
  
• Your device does not have an installed driver
  You usually don't have to install drivers manually as they install themselves when you plug your device for the first time. However, due to some reason, it's possible that your driver may have been deleted. A good indicator is when your device is not detected by your computer and you can't see its name anymore. Go to your device's provider website and download then install the appropriate driver.
  
• Your device (often times a headset - headphones with a built-in mic) has odd characters in its name.
  Try renaming your device to a very simple name (ex: "headset1"). You can do that by once again going on "Control Panel", then select "Sound". You will see all your sound devices. Click on your device's properties to change its name.
  
• You have an unusual peripheral device
  Devices such as a DJ controller, electric guitar-related device, VR headset, flight controller ( for flight sims ) or driving wheel ( for racing games ) can somehow cause issues that make this error pop up. Disconnect them from your PC and try again.
  
• Your antivirus is the problem
  It's been reported that some antivirus softwares such as Kaspersky cause this issue.
  
• Your device's output goes through a third party software before reaching the game.
  "Performance enhancing" softwares such as "Razer Cortex" can somehow cause all kinds of issues with Barotrauma, including this issue. Shut it down before you launch Barotrauma if you use it and experience audio or other issues, and see if it makes a difference.

If none of the above works at solving this issue, get VB-CABLE Virtual Audio[vb-audio.com].



It's a light, non-invasive and free software that can act as a bridge between your microphone and the game - or anything you use or interact with, if you want. It's commonly used for people who play guitar on their PC and want to modify the sound of their guitar in real time, people using AI voice changers and things like that, but it can be used to circumvent issues too. Make sure you select the right input/output device within the game once you've began using it ( you can see how in the "Audio issues" part of this guide ).

Finally, if nothing works, delete configplayer.xml as I told you about in the previous section of this guide. The game will make a brand new file with default settings when you relaunch it. Often times, this will solve your issue if it's related to the settings.

Performance Issues

Some players report that they have performance issues, often with the symptom being frame rate per second drops. I already talked about FPS issues earlier ( in Major Issues ), but I think it's important to add some context. This section is about that.

CPU Cores and Barotrauma

To make it short, your Central Processing Unit (CPU) is like the equivalent of a vital organ for humans. Some people will call it the brain of the computer. When it comes to gaming, some time ago, games would be "single threaded" as we call it because most home computers didn't have multiple cores like today.

Barotrauma is actually an older game than you might believe and, alas, it isn't designed to fully exploit one's CPU. It relies heavily on a single core. This means that you can have a CPU with many cores and still have issues.

People have sometimes demanded that the game be optimized so it could rely on more cores, a process called "multithreading". Unfortunately, this would be an extremely long, difficult task to undertake, and would most likely break all current mods. Barotrauma is too far down in its development for that.

However, there are still things you can do.

If you really love gaming in general, and if you want to be sure Barotrauma ( and other single core-heavy games, such as Dwarf Fortress ) run smoothly, try to get a CPU that has high single-core performance. Not all CPUs have the same single-core performance and I think often times people who buy PCs don't pay attention to that and only focus on things like the GPU ( Graphics card ). It doesn't necessarily means you need to get the latest, most expensive CPU either. I suggest you consult a tech expert to guide you if you are unsure as to what to get, as the market evolves quickly and you can find some really good bargains sometimes. This way, you will be able to play games that other people have issues with performance wise due to their CPUs.

Laptops and Barotrauma

Finally, if you play Barotrauma or many games on a laptop, here is my personal opinion: if you play games on a laptop, you'd better not be a hardcore gamer. Playing games casually is fine of course, but you need to keep in mind that laptops are not purely made for gaming unlike consoles and gaming tower PCs. Laptops, even if they are branded as "gaming laptops", will never be as powerful as their tower PC equivalent, even if they sport pretty much the same specs. One of the main reasons is that a laptop's daily use ( carrying it around, leaving it on one's lap or bed ) will degrade it much faster. Your laptop will also generate heat faster due to its design and will be less able to expell it when compared to a tower PC that is equiped with multiple fans and other cooling systems such as water cooling. As time progresses, your laptop's parts will be affected by this degradation and will run slower and will be less effective over time. This includes your CPU performance. Because, yes indeed, the more a CPU is worn out, the slower and less efficient it will be. You can recover some of the performance loss by dusting it off regularly and reapplying thermal paste a few times, but eventually, time will take its toll on your laptop even if you take great care for it.

There is also this mod that is popular, which some people claim helps at alleviating performance issues: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2701251094

General Gameplay Issues

I didn't get my achievement for killing a specific monster

You may have been hunting for achievements in Barotrauma and after killing a monster such as the moloch, you were expecting the moloch-killing achievement to be unlocked.

If you didn't get the achievement, it's because you didn't deal the final blow to the creature. Indeed, it is the last hit that counts for such achievements, so even if you took part of the killing, you really need to be the one to deal the last bit of damage to get the achievement. The achievement is only reserved for one person.

I often read comments saying otherwise, and people have their own opinion. Personally, after 1000+ hours of game time, I'm quite certain the last shot is the one that counts. It can sometimes confuse people because they think they got the last shot and yet didn't get the achievement. This can happen because another character/player/creature hurt it. Secondary "passive" damage ( bleeding, poison, radiation ) also can steal your kill. Finally, it's possible that due to lag, mods, ragdoll-related glitches or performance issues that your last shot did not register, which can also result in a stolen kill.

Some "special" monsters may not give you the achievement even if you deal the last blow. If you want to be sure of unlocking your achievement, my advice is to kill a random, non mission-related "generic" monster.

There are many monsters lurking within Europa's seas, so don't give up and keep trying. :)

Online Server List/Lobby Issues

I can't join any server

This is usually due to your firewall or antivirus keeping you from playing online. The "Multiplayer and Networking" section should cover most issues related to that.

I can't join a specific server

There are some reasons as to why this may be happening, including:

• You didn't properly download the mods/submarines the server is using. Try to download them directly from the workshop instead.
  
• The server is actually offline, but this hasn't been detected by the server list yet. This usually happens when the server crashes or experiences an abrupt, abnormal shutdown. Often times, the server will show a very high or nonexistent ping, but not always.
  
• Steam is doing maintenance, but for a specific part of the world where the host is located. Try again once in a while every 15 minutes.
  
• Crossplay is disabled. As of 2024 whilst I'm writing this, Barotrauma is available on at least one other platform, Epic Games Store. There is an option in the settings that lets you choose whether or not you want to enable crossplay. If you disabled it and you can't join a specific server, it's most likely because of this. You either can enable it or move on and join another session.

If you can contact the server's host and they tell you the game is running fine, ask them to reset their server whenever possible ( after the current round, perhaps ), and ask them to wait in the lobby before launching a game. Not only is this a courteous thing to do by the host, but it usually makes joining games more seamless and if you somehow get kicked out again, you will most likely get an error message this time and it will tell you more on why you can't join.

When I join a server, I keep redownloading mods I've already downloaded

This happens because you and the host do not have the same mod versions. Whenever you launch the game, you should see an arrow next to "Mods" in the menu if mods need to be updated. If the host did not update their mods, they will force every player who joins their game to "downgrade" to the previous version of the mod. Hosts should always update their mods when they launch their servers, and should ideally periodically restart their dedicated servers to make sure this problem is avoided. Whenever you launch the game and see the arrow icon on the main menu, I recommend clicking on it to immediately update your mods.

It says my name contains odd characters and I can't join games because of this

Steam names sometimes don't work with your in-game Barotrauma player name and you may get this message. Sometimes, even if you change your name in-game, it doesn't solve the problem. The solution is to go and open your configplayer.xml file, then change your name manually in it, then save the file and relaunch the game. Use a very simple name like "Joe", launch the game and then change to the actual name you want within the game.

The ping for the servers does not add up - isn't representative of the real ping in-game

This is most likely due to some delay in transfer between the host and the server list. Usually, this is solved when the host shuts down their server and restarts it. This may happen during Steam maintenance, usually on tuesdays.

There are servers that go beyond the usual players per server limit

This is normal, as in "not a bug": it's just the host who did a little workaround to circumvent the in-game limit by modifying hosting settings. However, going beyond the normal player limit will cause increasing performance issues, from lag to frame rate problems. It is not recommended in most cases.

I joined a session labelled as X but it ended up being Y

For example, you may join a "casual" session, but upon joining the server, it was switched to "serious". This is similar to the ping issue - it's just the server list that didn't update properly yet. Most likely, this is because the host just changed this setting very recently.

I was immediately kicked/banned when joining a session

That's probably just the host's choice and there's most likely nothing you can do about that. Sometimes, people don't want strangers to join their game during crucial moments or they are waiting for someone in particular to fill some of the last remaining empty spots. The best advice is: don't take it personal and move on to another server.

I chose X job but when I spawned in the game I got another job

That's a feature of the game, to force players to fill in the missing jobs. It's up to the host/admin to decide if they want to enforce this or not.

Online-Specific Gameplay Issues

This section is designed for issues you are experiencing WITHIN a gameplay session, as you are playing with other people. If you have issues before that, look for the "Multiplayer and Networking - First Things First" or the "Online Server List/Lobby Issues" section above.

P2P Connection timed out/failed error

There can be many reasons for this, and most likely it's not game-related. It can be a lag "spike" or network-related, either due to the host not responding, you lagging a lot or Steam having its weekly tuesday maintenance.. If you are the host and it somehow happens to you ( ex: your friends who are trying to join are telling you this is happening ), restart your server whenever possible and consider following the advice in the Multiplayer & Networking section of this guide.

I've been disconnected from the server / "Event Desync" error

This usually is a case of lag/delay that goes beyond what the game tolerates. Players will sometimes notice anomalies when this happens, such as machines working for one and not for the other. Eventually, the game recognizes these anomalies and may "kick" the players who experience them out of the server to restore a seamless experience for the remaining player(s). It can be due to various reasons:

• Too many mods or high content mods are cluttering game performance. Reduce the amount of active mods.
  
• Your PC performances are sub-par and your loading time is so long that the server kicks you out. Lower your game's settings, close extra apps that may slow you down and see if it gets better.
  
• Your host has a sub-par PC performance, resulting in the same result, but usually for everyone within the server except the host
  
• You are lagging beyond what the server can tolerate. See "Multiplayer and Networking" for tips.
  
• It's the host who is lagging. Usually, this is easy to spot, as all players will complain about lagging. Tell them to come read my guide. :)
  
• The host disconnected unexpectedly and the server shuts down, giving you this error.

If you have a SSD, install the game on it since it will deal with data much faster than a HDD and thus will enhance your hosting or playing experience.

If you are not in position to correct one or more of the above issues, you could restart your server whenever you can and see if it helps.

I lost control of my character and it's moving around and doing things!

The admin ( probably the host of the session, but it could be someone the host gave admin powers to ) is pranking you with an admin command. xD Unfortunately, there's not much you can do at this point, as they probably planned to do this to you and won't help. Maybe it's just a momentary thing. If you feel like you are subjected to admin abuse, perhaps it's time to leave and join another session?

Monsters are randomly appearing out of nowhere, I exploded for no reason & other strange unexplainable things are happening to me!

That's still an admin having a good time at your expense. :P

Barotrauma has a lot of console commands for admins to play with.

Some people are too loud/not loud enough.

Don't be afraid to tell people to check their settings. A good mic volume should totally reach the other end of the sound bar when you look at it in the settings, but only when you scream. Otherwise, I think 3/4 of the bar for a normal voice tone is pretty solid and allows you to be heard very clearly without being annoying for other people.

If you encounter specific audio issues, look at that section in my guide - you may find helpful tips there!

Workshop issues

Limit Exceeded error

Read the forum post by developer Regalis HERE.

Still cannot not upload to workshop

This seldom happens to some people. Here's what you can do:

• Make sure your antivirus or firewall is allowing all instances of Barotrauma.
  
• Make sure all you have all your Barotrauma-related ports open.
  
• Wait for an hour or two. It may just be Steam not responding. Steam regularly does maintenance on its servers. It usually happens every tuesday, but sometimes it may happen at other times.

MacOS Specific Issues

Unfortunately for MacOS users, Barotrauma has some specific issues with your operating system. Here are some issues and solutions I have found. Please note that I am not a MacOS user myself, so I am only telling you what others have experienced and what solutions have been found either by them or other people.

Microphone won't work

This issue was reported by a user with an integrated microphone. LINK HERE.

Solution: Go to the betas tab, install the macos compatibility version, run it and start any random game, quit the game, re-install the normal version and from there it will work properly.

Linux Specific Issues

Framerate Issues

If you have framerate issues under Linux with Nvidia hardware, try this solution on the forum: LINK HERE.

Other Helpful Guides

Here's a list of some very handy troubleshooting guides. Some cover various basics and many issues whilst some address more specific ones.

I omitted some solutions in my own guide so that these older, still quite relevant guides may remain relevant. :)

An Unofficial Guide on Hosting & What Not To Do Whilst Hosting, or How to Host for Dummies by ihd: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1937041914
Informative ( and a little funny/offensive ) guide in case you are still struggling with hosting and port forwarding issues.

Fixing Downloaded Submarine not Appearing in Submarine List by DatBoiTim: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2097351111
A solution to a very specific issue.

LOW FPS+CLIENT SIDE MOD by Terry Davis: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2263054260
Some information is a bit outdated as stated by the author but I'd say 90% of what's in it is still quite relevant for anyone experiencing performance ( FPS ) issues.

Lua For Barotrauma - A Guide to Clientside Lua by Tonic: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2940324793
Lua For Barotrauma is a very popular workshop item that allows you to play many Barotrauma mods. Many mod-related issues are because people are trying to play a mod that requires Lua without it and get error messages because of this. This guide explains how to install and uninstall it.

Troubleshooting Barotrauma by アンジェル: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2688959774
This particular guide is relatively old and may be outdated in some parts. However, I always liked this guide because it covers a lot of issues and has many good hints and solutions that are still relevant. That guide not being updated anymore prompted me to make this guide that you're reading now. If you still have issues that you couldn't solve here, I suggest you check it out.

Uploading and Updating Submarines on the Workshop by Samathy: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2798403177

If you don't understand something about the integrated workshop uploading system within the game, this guide will most likely help you.

Uploading workshop items via SteamCMD by izutsumi gaming: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1881151743
If for some reason you have difficulties uploading your mod within the game, you can try this.

Final Words

I hope this helped some of you at solving problems you've been having with the game.

I'd like to remind everyone that the comments section of this guide is NOT for reporting issues,
only solutions to issues, if you have any. You can of course also leave a friendly "thank you" comment. :)

Please use the links I've already given you on top of the guide to report issues. I'll repeat them here just to make sure:

Official Barotrauma GitHub - Issues Page[github.com]¨

Barotrauma Steam Forum for Help & Technical Support