MultiplayerMod on Android!

[stardiu]

Hi

A friend of mine wanted to play this game in multiplayer on mobile. Of course we all know this isn't possible. Except it is!

I'll post the straightforward way to accomplish this here, and talk about the hurdles I encountered at the end.
This is absolutely fidgety to get working if you don't know exactly the right way to go about it, but if you do know, it does work!

=======================

Install the latest SMAPI Installer for Android from this source on your phone. It's the apk file under Assets.

Releases · ZaneYork/SMAPI-Android-Installer

SMAPI Installer for Android. Contribute to ZaneYork/SMAPI-Android-Installer development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Open it, confirm and allow everything.
Click Install.

Although the installer says 3.7.6.9, it seems to install 3.7.6.1. Probably just an oversight. It doesn't matter though, it works.


Now that you have the actual SMAPI Stardew Valley app installed on your phone, you can delete the SMAPI Installer app, and also the ~130Mb apk file it leaves behind in \SMAPI Installer in your Android home directory:

At this point you can open SMAPI Stardew Valley. You will notice no big difference (except for a keyboard icon in the top left), since we haven't added any mods yet. SMAPI has automatically created a Mod folder in your \Stardew Valley folder with 4 mods in it: Console Commands, CustomLocalization, SaveBackup and VirtualKeyboard.

Time to add the Multiplayer Mod:

(This is the newest version of the mod, fixed an invisibility bug, but reintroduced another bug, making selling something not advisable, as the joining players can't continue past the sales summary screen. At least I couldn't when I tried)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wem8fgcH3hdS8QNEXwVUkTS94zpgrTf0/view

(This is the older version of the mod, which has the invisibility bug, so when you join a game for the second time, you will be invisible to each other)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-eCEXnAn9rcd8FRK4gBnhL1LBhFS47nI/view?fbclid=IwAR2GpV61XPrIocAg0Q3UGEkhyk2kPbO8yw3fYYYFCZDhaA6CykxD3hgFLSg

Copy the MultiplayerMod folder into the Mod folder in \StardewValley\Mods

Start SMAPI Stardew Valley.
Your home screen now has a Co-op option, click it:

Click on Host New Farm (Mobile Platforms).
I tried (PC Platforms) too, but couldn't connect to farms created that way at all.

Go through the usual setup:

Don't forget to set Starting Cabins to at least 2:

Skip the intro and wait till you appear in your bed:

Now quit the game completely. If another person tries to join at this point, they will manage to connect to some degree and get the "New farmer" selection screen, but if they click on it, their screen will stay black with it loading forever.
Start SMAPI Stardew Valley again. Click on Co-op. Now click on your newly created farm at the bottom:

You are back in your bed in your house.
Now get your buddy (who has gone through the same procedure and hopefully has the same mods as you) to click on Join at the top.
Enter the hosts local IP address. You can find out your phone's IP address in your phone's settings, under About phone or Status. You might have to search a bit, every Android phone is different. Mine for example is 192.168.2.102, so that's what I enter:

 

[stardiu]

And voila, I can click on New Farmer, style my guy, connect, and visit the host's house in game:

That's it. Except it's buggy, so here's the problems I encountered.

BUGS - IMPORTANT - READ THIS:

BUG 1: (newest version of the mod)
Fixes invisibility bug, but:
Can't make joining players awaken in their beds, if you've sold something the prior day. If you haven't, you can make the joining player's black screen go away by pressing the back button on your phone (when the DTN logo is on the screen).
But if you have sold something, and you see the sales summary, joining players won't wake up, even when pressing back. Maybe you can figure it out?
Save files from the old mod version are not compatible I think.


BUG 2: (older version of the mod)
You can sell stuff, but:
Invisible players upon joining a game for the second time, so you can't save that day. On first join everything will be fine and dandy.
But if you want to continue another time and so you host again and join again you won't see each other and it makes this version of the mod pretty much useless.

When the sales summary appears for all players at the end of the day (after all went to bed), only let the Host click the green checkmark button!
The others will reawaken automatically (old mod version only).

If there is a Level-Up happening for one or more players (Foraging +1 or whatever), don't let the host press the green checkmark button before everyone has "OK-ed" their Level-up! Only when everyone is on the sales-summary screen may he press the button to start the next day.
Otherwise the host only will load into the game, but the others will be stuck at their sales summary.

BUG 3:
When clicking on a previously created farm (Under Host New Farm (Mobile Platforms)), it loads forever.
Solution: Exit the game, restart, try again. 2nd try works for me every time.

BUG 4:
If you're planning to play with 3 or more players, make sure to join one after the other. Let one player join, customize his avatar, and appear in his bed. Then the next player joins. When I didn't do it this way 2 things happened: 1. The 3rd player got an infinite black loading screen when trying to join. 2. When trying again, somehow only 2 of the 3 players got recognized by the server, so when all 3 went to bed, the next day would never come ("waiting for 1/3 players to go to bed", although all 3 were in bed).

BUG 5:
Don't let the clock hit 2AM!! Instead of every one falling asleep, the hosts screen will go black and stay there, while everyone else freezes in place. Will have to quit the game and host again.
Use CJBCheatsMenu mod to use its freeze time feature in case you aren't able to make it back to bed in time. Or teleport home.

BUG 6:
When a 2nd player joins a freshly created farm on Day 1, he can't connect. The host has to do this: Wait for his character to appear in his bed, exit the game completely (yes actually, Back to Title isn't enough), restart, click on Co-op, load the hostable farm that was created (under "Host New Farm"). Don't ask me why. But at least it's something you only have to keep in mind the first time.

A BUG FIX: (by winduajipras)

Please go to this post on page 2 of this thread to find out about a save file modification that fixes the joining player freezing:

http://forums.stardewvalley.net/threads/multiplayermod-on-android.10268/post-69705

More minor bugs:
Occasional pathing issues.
Joining players can't pick up their starting presents.
On name entry of your farmer/farm, sometimes the textbox can't be clicked, will have to click a ways up left from the textbox to promt the input window.
Probably loads more.

As you can see, this mod is still very much Beta.

The creator's Discord Stardew Valley channel link (Vietnamese):

Discord - A New Way to Chat with Friends & Communities

Discord is the easiest way to communicate over voice, video, and text. Chat, hang out, and stay close with your friends and communities.

discord.com

I have no contact or affiliation with him.

 

[stardiu]

Let's take it one step further, by playing Multiplayer online without having to be in the same LAN.

For that I used ZeroTier.

Go to

ZeroTier | Global Area Networking

ZeroTier enables secure, modern overlay networking for the Internet of Things, Industrial IoT, RMM, Remote Access, Embedded Networking, SD-WAN, VPN, and more.

www.zerotier.com

Sign up (no fees).

Log in, be greeted with this screen:

As you can see, I've already created a network for myself.
Click on Create A Network.
Click on the network with the funny name that was created.
Change the networks name, or leave it as it is.
Decide on the range of the IPs you want the network to use, I like the ones that go 192.168.192.*

Install ZeroTier One from the Playstore on every phone that you want to play Stardew Valley Multiplayer from.
Open the app.
In the top right click on the wrench symbol. I don't know if it makes a difference, but I enabled both "Use Cellular Data" and "Disable IPv6".
Go back and click on the + Symbol in the top right.
Type in the long-ass NETWORK ID from the network you created:

I left it on "NO DNS".
Add Network.
Switch it on.
Go back to the ZeroTier website. There you have to authorize every new member (Press F5 if your device hasn't show up yet).
Just click the checkbox on the left for every device that enters the network via the app:

As you can see, under Managed IPs are the new local virtual IPs of your devices. If you have a Key icon in the status bar of your phone, that means it's connected to this network.

Now, with both phones in the virtual LAN, use that new IP to connect to the host. The rest stays the same. Simply switch off the virtual LAN in the ZeroTier app after playing to get your normal home Wifi IP back.

Good luck.

 

[Grypper]

Night, me and my girlfriend been trying to play multiplayer through your method as it's the only one we found for the Android version of the game.
I think that no need to say that if I'm writing this it's because it didn't work

We followed the steps of creating the ZeroTier One accounts, downloading the app to each other's phone, created a network, connected to the same range IPv4, downloaded the multiplayer mod along with smapi, and yet we keep having the issue in which whoever is trying to join gets stuck on a "Connecting..." "Smapi failed to respond" type of screen. We have been trying for perhaps over 6 hours straight, tried changing the Ips, enabling and disabling stuff, and already read the forum countless times.

Clearly something's escaping us but we don't really know what it is as we got everything done... If you could perhaps try re-explaining with simpler terms since we understand what we have to do (perhaps with more screenshots), It would be of great help!

Here's my discord in case you are capable of contacting me through there, yet if you do leave a forum message with your discord so I know who to accept}:
Kαιƚσ#9531

Thanks

 

[stardiu]

Damn, I'm sorry to hear you spent that much time without success. I wrote this guide to make it as painless as possible for others, since Troubleshooting was terrible, with multiple versions of the mod floating around with no indication on which one was the newest/best. Sometimes connecting worked, sometimes it didn't, for no apparent reason. So know that I'm very interested in figuring out your problem, if only so the guide can be improved.

Connecting via ZeroTier was, surprisingly for me at least, the least problematic thing out of all this, and worked fine the first time.
Getting 2 phones to connect at all was the real trouble.

Therefore the first thing I would try is to get Multiplayer working on a local network. Of course for that you need a second Android device, and not all people have that luxury. But if you do, try it first at home, because it's easier to pinpoint then whether the problem is this buggy mod or a wrong use of ZeroTier.

Ok, now I will explain the steps in more detail.

ONE person creates the ZeroTier account, only one account is needed. I'm saying this because you said you created your accountS. I do this in my PC's browser window, but on your phones' browser works as well (Of course you can share the email and password of the account to your friend, but once it's set up there's really no need to ever touch it again, except for authorizing eventual new members.) You create a network. You click on the network.
I leave everything on default, except for the Name.

Under Advanced, I leave "Managed Routes" on default. I only change the IPv4 Range.

I don't touch the settings under IPv6 Auto-Assign, or Multiclass Recipient Limit, either:

Just create a new network and delete the old you if you think you've messed up the settings.
The only 2 settings I've ever touched is the Network name (optional), and the IPv4 Range.

For now, thats all on the website.

On both phones you perform the following,100% identical steps.

On a freshly installed ZeroTier One you get a blank screen, with the wrench and plus symbol in the top right:

Hold on a network to delete it, and restart the app, if you want to start anew.

My settings under the wrench icon:

Now the plus symbol. Both phones put in the same NETWORK ID found on the website. Leave the rest as is. Join network:

Back on the main menu you switch it on. Network Name: "unknown" should change to Network Name: "Whatever you named it" (I forgot if this happens prior or after authorizing the device).

Go to the website (maybe refresh) and authorize the new device(s):

In the phone(s), click on the network to check the settings, mainly whether the IP under "Managed IPs" matches with the one on the website.
As you can see here, it does. My hosting phone ends with 224. On the other phone it ends with 40. I'm too lazy to attach a second screenshot of the same thing.

Now someone hosts the game (don't try to join a freshly created farm, only one that was saved, exited app, and then loaded from the list of available hostable farms. It really doesn't work any other way, but at least you need to pay attention to this the first time only).
Then the joining player types in the hosts IP (192.168.192.224 in my case), and you get this yellow message in the bottom left if everything is successful.

This is what I do and what works every time. If doesn't for you, the problems must lie elsewhere

Please let me know exactly where it fails for you.

 

[Rao]

The main issue i have with this mod is that the client player cannot skip past the end of the day screen, so it'll just load forever meanwhile the host player continues to play without trouble, this can be fixed by having both players to rerun the game, but it shortly will become such a chore to exit and open the game again and again after completing the day, or you could skip the end of the day screen by not selling anything (basically just not doing anything, meaning there's no progress made).
Other than that, the mod is pretty good, i rarely got lag issues when playing on local wifi hotspot and this actually shows the capability of having co-op on mobile, there's no more reason for CA to not bring co-op to mobile when the next update comes.

 

[stardiu]

The main issue i have with this mod is that the client player cannot skip past the end of the day screen, so it'll just load forever meanwhile the host player continues to play without trouble, this can be fixed by having both players to rerun the game, but it shortly will become such a chore to exit and open the game again and again after completing the day, or you could skip the end of the day screen by not selling anything (basically just not doing anything, meaning there's no progress made).
Other than that, the mod is pretty good, i rarely got lag issues when playing on local wifi hotspot and this actually shows the capability of having co-op on mobile, there's no more reason for CA to not bring co-op to mobile when the next update comes.

You're right. I'm embarrassed to admit that I've only tested it by going to bed right away without putting anything in the box (only used Item Spawner Mod, haven't played it the 'actual' way on Android). Then the error doesn't show. But of course that's generally unacceptable.

However, I am glad that after some trying around I have found a way that works 100% of the time! At least for me...
Only let the Host player press the Checkmark button on the summary of sales screen! That's it.
The black screen announcing the next day will show up for the host, and then suddenly all other players will awaken in their bed as well, without having to press the checkmark button.

I'm glad there was an easy fix for this. Thank you for your contribution, definitely gonna add this to the guide.

 

[Rao]

However, I am glad that after some trying around I have found a way that works 100% of the time! At least for me...
Only let the Host player press the Checkmark button on the summary of sales screen! That's it.
The black screen announcing the next day will show up for the host, and then suddenly all other players will awaken in their bed as well, without having to press the checkmark button.

It works wonderfully now! Thank you very much!!

 

[maythorn]

*2nd try. Removed links to a website that distributes download links to pirated Stardew Valley*

Hi

A friend of mine wanted to play this game in multiplayer on mobile. Of course we all know this isn't possible. Except it is!

I'll post the straightforward way to accomplish this here, and talk about the hurdles I encountered at the end.
This is absolutely fidgety to get working if you don't know exactly the right way to go about it, but if you do know, it does work!

=======================

Install the latest SMAPI Installer for Android from this source on your phone. It's the apk file under Assets.

Releases · ZaneYork/SMAPI-Android-Installer

SMAPI Installer for Android. Contribute to ZaneYork/SMAPI-Android-Installer development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

View attachment 7883



Open it, confirm and allow everything.
Click Install.

View attachment 7884
Although the installer says 3.7.6.9, it seems to install 3.7.6.1. Maybe just an oversight. It doesn't matter though, it works.


Now that you have the actual SMAPI Stardew Valley app installed on your phone, you can delete the SMAPI Installer app, and also the ~130Mb apk file it leaves behind in \SMAPI Installer in your Android home directory:
View attachment 7885

At this point you can open SMAPI Stardew Valley. You will notice no big difference (except for a keyboard icon in the top left), since we haven't added any mods yet. SMAPI has automatically created a Mod folder in your \Stardew Valley folder with 4 mods in it: Console Commands, CustomLocalization, SaveBackup and VirtualKeyboard.

Time to add the Multiplayer Mod:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-eCEXnAn9rcd8FRK4gBnhL1LBhFS47nI/view?fbclid=IwAR2GpV61XPrIocAg0Q3UGEkhyk2kPbO8yw3fYYYFCZDhaA6CykxD3hgFLSg

Copy the MultiplayerMod folder into the Mod folder in \StardewValley\Mods

Start SMAPI Stardew Valley.
Your home screen now has a Co-op option, click it:

View attachment 7886


Click on Host New Farm (Mobile Platforms).
I tried (PC Platforms) too, but couldn't connect to farms created that way at all.

View attachment 7887


Go through the usual setup:

View attachment 7888

Don't forget to set Starting Cabins to at least 2:

View attachment 7889

Skip the intro and wait till you appear in your bed:

View attachment 7890


Now quit the game completely. If another person tries to join at this point, they will manage to connect to some degree and get the "New farmer" selection screen, but if they click on it, their screen will stay black with it loading forever.
Start SMAPI Stardew Valley again. Click on Co-op. Now click on your newly created farm at the bottom:

View attachment 7891

You are back in your bed in your house.
Now get your buddy (who has gone through the same procedure and hopefully has the same mods as you) to click on Join at the top.
Enter the hosts local IP address. You can find out your phone's IP address in your phone's settings, under About phone or Status. You might have to search a bit, every Android phone is different. Mine for example is 192.168.2.102, so that's what I enter:

View attachment 7892

I'm not sure who authored the mod for this, but it would be really helpful to have it on Nexus, or at least open source on Github. As it is, a direct link to a Google Drive download is kind of suspicious to me.

I do appreciate all the work you have done to detail this process though. I know a lot of mobile players have wanted multiplayer for a long time.

 

[Odin]

I'm not sure who authored the mod for this, but it would be really helpful to have it on Nexus, or at least open source on Github. As it is, a direct link to a Google Drive download is kind of suspicious to me.

We spoke with stardiu about that mod and unfortunately the author (who is Vietnamese) hasn't hosted it on any of the popular mod sites. The drive file is uploaded by the mod author though.

 

[langkam]

Does anyone have any solution for the bug which causes players to not be able to see each other?
And also we cant go to sleep cause the invisible player wont register.

 

[stardiu]

If your bug is not on the list, you're the first to report it. Conglaturation .
Sorry, haven't encountered that bug, yet. It sounds very similar to the one where I could still see everyone but one player just wouldn't register going to bed for the server, so yeah, saving and synching is where this mod is really still creaking. Is it like that from the start of the day for you? Is it a permanently messed up save file and even rehosting doesn't fix it?
I'm kinda embarrassed to have found and spread this buggy mod, as it probably brings more frustration than joy in its current state . Can't fix it, either, without coding knowledge.
Wish the big man himself would jump in and finish it, seeing as it's "almost" good to go already. Or the team that did all the networking stuff for him, don't know if CA did it himself.

 

[GeovaneRdg]

Hey guys!
Me and my girlfriend are about to buy the game and we want to play Stardew Valley together. I'm very happy that I've found your guides, but we have one question... I've got an Android (Xiaomi Mi 10t) and she's an iOS (iPhone 11). Do you guys know If it's going to work properly for us?
I appreciate your help and congratulations you all for the great job!

 

[GeovaneRdg]

We spoke with stardiu about that mod and unfortunately the author (who is Vietnamese) hasn't hosted it on any of the popular mod sites. The drive file is uploaded by the mod author though.

Do you know if the mod works with Android and iOS?

 

[stardiu]

No it doesn't.

Quote from one the the SMAPI devs:
"Modding is not supported on iOS, no. Apple likely will not allow a SMAPI app either to support it."

 

[Masterblock]

Theirs a bug where other player are invisible the bug triggers when you quit and play again me and my friends cant play properly unless we make a new world and it would simply trigger again if you quit i tried everything to fix it.

 

[Mez]

Hello and thank you for the mod.
I bought the game after seeing this post and so did my friend. However we've encountered the same bug Masterblock reported:

We create a farm, play togerher, but once we disconnect and reconnect to the saved file, we can't see each other and thus can't go to sleep.

If anyone has a solution for this bug please let us know! Thanks in advance

 

[HyperHorse]

Solution for the bug? Get a PS4.

 

[WhiteEagle12]

Solution for the bug? Get a PS4.

I just want to say that is pretty rude of you. Some people don't have the money, or the space, or the time, or just like playing on mobile, but still enjoy playing with their friends and family. I really don't understand why that comment was necessary in any way, shape, or form. The only purpose was to make someone feel bad for something they have no control over. I don't want to shame you, but if all you have to say are negative things, please, oh please don't say them.

 

[Mez]

Solution for the bug? Get a PS4.

Frect