Troubleshooting

Try this

1. Check the folder. You should have Documents\Timberborn\Mods\BeaverBuddies-Stability-Fork\version-1.1\manifest.json. A common mistake is an extra folder level after extracting.
2. Make sure Harmony and Mod Settings are installed and enabled.
3. Enable BeaverBuddies - Stability Fork under Mods and restart the game.
4. The mod needs Timberborn 1.1 (tested on 1.1.2.4). Older game versions can't run it.
5. Open %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Mechanistry\Timberborn\Player.log and search for BeaverBuddies v1.1.16 is loaded!. If it's there, the mod loaded and the problem is elsewhere.

Why

This mod, the Workshop BeaverBuddies and any other copy in your Mods folder share a mod ID, so they conflict. That includes an old BeaverBuddies-StabilityPreview folder.

Try this

Keep exactly one. Unsubscribe from the Workshop version, delete any other copy from Documents\Timberborn\Mods, then restart the game.

Why

When someone joins, the mod compares the game version and its own build before the save is sent. Two different builds can't stay in sync, so it refuses any difference. A copy someone compiled themselves can be refused even with the same version number.

Try this

1. Have everyone install the same zip: the host's, or the one from the latest release.
2. Replace the BeaverBuddies-Stability-Fork folder, then fully restart Timberborn on every computer.
3. Check that the game versions match.

Why

When someone joins, both games compare their enabled mods and warn about any that differ. The host sees it while waiting to start; a guest once the game has loaded. It's only a warning, but a mod that changes the simulation (housing or pathfinding, for example) causes a desync. A guest missing a mod that sends its own actions (MixedStorage, for example) leaves the game: see below.

Try this

1. Read which mods are listed: "Only on your computer", "Only on …'s computer" and "Different versions".
2. Make the lists match: the same mods at the same versions on every computer, or the listed mods off on all of them. Mods that only change the interface are usually harmless.
3. Restart Timberborn on the computers you changed, then host again.

The warning is also in Player.log: search for "Mod lists differ".

Try this

1. Right after you host, the Steam lobby is still being set up. Wait a moment and click Invite Friends again; Steam's overlay should open.
2. On the host, make sure Enable Steam Networking is on in the mod's settings (it is by default).
3. Both players must be online in Steam. The friend must be on your Steam friends list and own Timberborn there.
4. You both need the same build of the mod and the same game version.
5. If Steam still won't connect, host by direct IP or Hamachi instead. Steam problems never stop direct-IP hosting.

Why

Nobody can join once the host unpauses, or once something is built, marked or changed. A player joining then would miss it.

Try this

The host saves, hosts that save again and sends a new invite. Join before the host unpauses or changes anything.

Why

A failed Steam connection ends with Steam's own reason, for example "The connection timed out. Steam could not find a working route between you." The same detail is in Player.log.

Try this

1. Read the message. It says what Steam reported.
2. Make sure you're both on the exact same build. If joining sits on a loading message, rule this out first.
3. Try again. If it repeats, use direct IP or Hamachi.
4. If it keeps failing, collect every player's logs and ask for help.

Try this

1. The host must be hosting, and must not have unpaused the game yet.
2. Use the right address: the host's public IP over the internet, or the virtual-network address (from Hamachi, for example) if you use one.
3. The default port is 25565. The host's router must forward it to the host's computer, and the firewall must allow Timberborn.
4. Port forwarding is the hard part. A virtual LAN such as Hamachi avoids it and has been tested. So does a Steam invite.

A ping is normal text up to 80 ms, yellow up to 160 ms, and red above that or with no response.

Why

The players' games have drifted apart: something made one of them decide differently. This fork removes many known causes, but it can't promise none.

Try this

1. The host chooses Save and Rehost.
2. Guests then choose Reconnect (wait for Rehost). It joins the way they joined: the same address, or the host's new game on Steam. A Steam guest sees that game when the host has Allow Friends to Join Directly via Steam on; otherwise, accept the host's new invite.
3. If problems persist, restart the game.

Things that cause it

• Different mods, or different mod versions. Take the mod warning seriously.
• Different settings that affect the simulation, such as Reduce the number of forced pauses. Keep them the same.

Keep backups of your saves. If it keeps happening, collect every player's logs.

Why

A multiplayer action couldn't be completed on one player's game. Carrying on could leave the games different without anyone noticing, so the mod stops the session.

Try this

1. Press Esc, return to the main menu and reload a known-good save before hosting again.
2. Don't overwrite your good save with the session that stopped.
3. If it repeats with the same action, collect the logs and say what you were doing.

Why

Your game met something from the host it doesn't have, almost always from a mod the host has and you don't. The message names it. Nothing of that action was played on your computer, so no save is harmed, but you've left the session. The others play on.

Try this

1. Install and enable the mod the message names, at the host's version, or ask the host to stop using it.
2. The host saves and hosts that save again, and you join.

What happens

When a guest loses the host, the game says why and stays paused. The menu and controls work, but nothing more is played in that session.

Try this

1. Press Esc to open the menu. You can save from there.
2. Return to the main menu. Once the host hosts again, accept the new Steam invite or join the same address.

Try this

1. Turn off Always Use Detailed Logging in the mod's settings, on every computer. It noticeably slows the game, and it's off by default.
2. Look at the connection panel. A red ping or a high Behind host means the connection is the problem, not the game.
3. Try a lower game speed if a slower computer keeps falling behind. The host can also click Ease off below and pick a frame rate: the game slows a little while a guest stays under it.
4. With Remove the large colony speed limit on, a big colony runs at the full chosen speed, which a slower computer may not keep up with. Turn it off, or use a lower speed.
5. Make sure every player runs the latest release.

Try this

• The panel only appears in multiplayer games.
• Check Connection panel in the mod's settings. It may be set to Hidden.
• If you bound the Toggle connection panel key, you may have hidden it with that key.
• It may be collapsed to one line (a colored dot, the player count and one ping). Click the line to expand it.
• It may be in another corner. See Connection panel position.

Try this

• Player activity indicators must be on in the mod's settings. A player who turns sharing off disappears from your view until they turn it back on.
• A cursor is hidden while it's over the game's interface, outside the game window or off the map. Yours is hidden while your game window isn't focused.
• Press Esc → Player cursors and check that player's cursor isn't tiny (50% is the minimum size) or nearly invisible (up to 90% transparency). Reset restores the defaults.
• For pings, bind Ping Location under Options → Bindings → BeaverBuddies.