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 nested folder after extracting the zip.
2. Make sure Harmony and Mod Settings are installed and enabled. The mod needs both.
3. Enable BeaverBuddies - Stability Fork in the mod manager and restart the game.
4. The mod is built for Timberborn 1.1 (tested on 1.1.2.4). Older game versions will not run it.
5. Open %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Mechanistry\Timberborn\Player.log and search for BeaverBuddies v1.1.10 is loaded!. If it is there, the mod loaded and the problem is elsewhere.

Why

This mod and the Workshop BeaverBuddies share the same mod ID, and so does any second copy in your Mods folder, including an old BeaverBuddies-StabilityPreview folder left over from an earlier download. They conflict.

Try this

Keep exactly one BeaverBuddies. Unsubscribe from the Workshop version, delete any extra copy (and the old BeaverBuddies-StabilityPreview folder) from Documents\Timberborn\Mods, then restart the game.

Why

When someone joins, the mod compares the game version, the mod version and the mod's own files, before the save is sent. It refuses any difference, because two different builds cannot stay in sync. A copy someone compiled themselves can be refused even when the version number matches, and an old version still running in memory is detected too.

Try this

1. Have everyone download the same zip 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 players' games compare their lists of enabled mods and warn you if any mod is on only one computer or is at a different version. The host sees the warning in the lobby, before starting; a guest sees it as soon as the game has loaded. It is only a warning and nobody is stopped from playing, because the mod cannot tell which mods matter. A mod that changes the simulation (a housing or pathfinding mod, for example) will make the two games drift apart, which is a desync.

Try this

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

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

Try this

1. Right after hosting starts, the Steam lobby is still being created. Wait a moment and click Invite Friends again. The Steam overlay should open.
2. On the host, make sure Enable Steam Networking is on in Mod Settings (it is by default).
3. Both players need to be online in Steam. The friend must be on your Steam friends list and own Timberborn on Steam.
4. Both of you need the same build of the mod and the same game version.
5. If Steam still will not connect, host with a direct IP or Hamachi instead. Steam problems never stop direct IP hosting.

Why

Nobody can join once the host chooses Start Game. An old invite now explains that instead of hanging.

Try this

The host saves and hosts again, then sends a fresh invite. Have your friend join before the host starts.

Why

Steam connects players directly when it can find a route and relays through its own network otherwise. Failures end with an explanation that includes Steam's own reason, for example "The connection timed out. Steam could not find a working route between you." The same detail is written to Player.log.

Try this

1. Read the message. It says what Steam reported.
2. Make sure you are both on the exact same build. If joining sits on a loading message and never finishes, that is the first thing to rule out.
3. Try again. If it repeats, use direct IP or Hamachi.
4. If it keeps failing, collect both players' logs and ask for help.

Try this

1. The host must already be hosting and must not have chosen Start Game.
2. Use the right address: your public IP for the internet, or the virtual-network address (for example from Hamachi) if you use one.
3. The default port is 25565. Your router must forward it to the host's computer, and your 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.

Ping colors: normal text is 80 ms or less, yellow up to 160 ms, red anything higher or no response. The dot beside the status is green when you are in sync, yellow while catching up or waiting for the host, and red when the connection is unstable, out of sync or disconnected.

Why

The players' games have drifted apart. Every copy of the game must make exactly the same decisions, and something made one of them differ. This fork removes many known causes, but it cannot promise none.

Try this

1. The host chooses Save and Rehost.
2. Steam guests accept a fresh invite; direct IP guests reconnect.
3. You may need to restart the game if problems persist.

Things that cause it

• Different mods, or different mod versions. The game warns you about this when someone joins (see the mod warning), so take that warning seriously. This is a classic cause.
• Different settings that affect the simulation, for example Reduce the number of forced pauses. Keep them identical.

Keep backups of your saves. If it keeps happening, collect both players' logs.

Why

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

Try this

1. Press Escape to open the menu, return to the main menu and reload a known-good save before hosting again.
2. Do not 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.

What happens

When a guest loses the host, the game says why and stays paused, and the menu and controls work again. Nothing more will be played in that session.

Try this

1. Press Escape to open the menu. You can save from there.
2. Return to the main menu and join again once the host has hosted again. Steam guests accept a fresh invite; direct IP guests reconnect.

Try this

1. Turn off Always Use Detailed Logging in Mod Settings, on both computers. It records a lot of extra detail for diagnosing desyncs and noticeably slows the game. It is off by default.
2. Look at the connection panel. A red ping or a high Behind host value means the connection is the problem, not the game.
3. Try a lower game speed if a slower computer keeps falling behind, or, as the host, click Ease off below in the connection panel and pick a frame rate: the game then slows a little while a guest stays under it.
4. Make sure both players run the latest release, which does less work every tick and every frame.

Try this

• The panel only appears in multiplayer games.
• Check Mod Settings, BeaverBuddies, Connection panel. 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 a single line (a colored dot, the player count and one ping). Click the line to expand it.
• It may be in a different corner. See Connection panel position.

Try this

• Player activity indicators must be on in Mod Settings. A player who turns sharing off disappears from your view until they turn it back on.
• A cursor is hidden while it is over the game's interface, outside the game window, or off the map. Yours is hidden while the game window is not focused.
• Open Options, Player cursors and check that you have not made that player's cursor tiny (size 50% is the minimum) or nearly invisible (transparency goes up to 90%). Reset restores the defaults.
• For pings, bind a key for Ping Location in the game's keybinding settings.