CK II - Multiplayer game not able to join: "Game not found"

[ValentinD]

One line summary of your issue
Multiplayer game not able to join: "Game not found"

Game Version
3.3.0 (XDSW) 4c405f

What expansions do you have installed?
All of the above

Do you have mods enabled?
No

Please explain your issue is in as much detail as possible.
With 2 different Steam accounts. One has all DLCs. The other has no DLC. Both are the same version and hash: 3.3.0 (XDSW) 4c405f.

Computers on same LAN.

I have tried to host the game from one account or the other.

I have tried by local search and inviting by Steam overlay. Both stop with the client not being able to connect to the host with error "Game not found".

Also tried to redirect the router's external ports I found to the hosting machine: 2300-2400, 1630-1641, 47624. That did not change anything.

Both computers use the same operating system: Debian Linux unstable + Flatpak Steam.

Steps to reproduce the issue.


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[ValentinD]

Forgot to precise: 2 different Paradox Plaza accounts.

 

[Spaninq]

Okay, CK2 multiplayer is a finicky thing. Our group has found 2 "reliable" solutions, one that I use and that works most of the time, and the other one, which can be a bit confusing. Granted, I believe everyone in our group has Windows, so I can't guarantee this works on Linux.

I. The one I use is as follows:
1. Make sure the two of you are friends on Steam and that you're both online
2. Make sure you both have the same checksum in-game, NOT the checksum of the launcher (this is because the launcher allows you to enable mods to change the checksum. You can have mods enabled that don't change the checksum [usually graphics mods], but the person with said mods enabled may crash if one of their graphics mods throws an error. It will also work if you both have the same exact mods, but I don't recommend having more than a few mods enabled.)
3a. Player A (presumably the one with the DLC) hosts a multiplayer lobby and sets up the rules for the campaign (only have to do this the first session, I believe) and clicks Start (don't worry, it just takes you to actual multiplayer lobby.
3b. I'd recommend using a password (we have always used one, it keeps random people from showing up and assassinating people)
4a. Player B clicks the multiplayer button in the CK2 menu, then brings up the Steam overlay (on PC, it is {Shift}+{Tab} by default).
4b. Player A's steam profile should be visible from your Steam friends list, it should be green and say "hosting Multiplayer lobby" or something like that.
5a. Click on the chevron/down arrow next to Player A's name. There should be an option that says "join multiplayer game" or something like that. At this point, you can {Shift}+{Tab} back out of Steam overlay and should be connecting to the game, or Steam does it for you, I can't remember which.
5b. If you set up a password, this is when the game will ask for the password. Enter the password and press the Join button.
6. Ta-dah! You should now be together in the multiplayer lobby!

II. The other one, which I'm told is more reliable:
1.- 3. Same as in method I.
4. Player A should click the Players tab at the top-right of the lobby.
5. Player A should now see the ServerID: ........... (where .... are the numbers of the ID). Either our host is really fast at typing the numbers or there's a way to copy+paste the ID that I don't know about. In any case, Player A needs to tell Player B the ID.
6. Player B clicks the multiplayer button in the CK2 menu, then clicks the Connect to ID button.
7. Player B puts in the ID (pasting does work in the connect to ID menu, thankfully) and Password (If you made a password) given to them by Player A, then clicks Join.
8. Ta-dah! You should now be in the multiplayer lobby!

We've also discovered that if you stay in the multiplayer lobby too long (like 10-15 min seems to be the limit) the game will crash upon start. We suspect this might alternately be caused by people selecting too many different characters in the lobby (like maybe 20-30? dunno).

Additionally, when you host a previously saved multiplayer game, it is sometimes faster to post the save file and have the other person save the file in wherever their CK2 save files are found. In Windows, it's Documents/Paradox Interactive/Crusader Kings II/saves, but I have no idea how it works on Linux. This method is usually only helpful for when you're downloading a save from a lobby across the Atlantic Ocean (you can still download the save, it just takes f o r e v e r).