quantum-space-buddies/README.md

Quantum Space Buddies (QSB) is a multiplayer mod for Outer Wilds. The mod uses the OWML mod loader and customized UNET code (internally referred to as QNet or QuantumUNET) for networking.

License

QNet code adapted in part from Unity Technologies' UNET.

Copyright (C) 2020 - 2021 : Henry Pointer (_nebula or misternebula) - Aleksander Waage (AmazingAlek) - Ricardo Lopes (Raicuparta)

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License along with this program. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

• FAQs
  • Requirements
  • Compatibility with other mods
  • What is synced?
  • Why can't I connect?
• Installation
  • Easy installation (recommended)
  • Manual installation
• Playing as a client
• Playing as a host
• Development Setup
• Authors and Special Thanks
• Help / Discuss development / Whatever

Frequently Asked Questions

Requirements

• Latest version of OWML.
• Latest version of Mod Manager. (If using)
• Latest version of Outer Wilds. (Epic version preferred, as Steam version is untestable. We cannot guarantee QSB, or OWML, will work on cracked/pirated versions of Outer Wilds. Do not come asking us for help when using pirated versions.)
• Fast and stable internet connection, upload and download.
• Above minimum Outer Wilds system requirements.
• Knowledge on port forwarding and router/network configuration. We can be tech support for the mod, not your router or computer.

Compatibility with other mods

TL;DR - Don't use any mods with QSB that aren't marked as QSB compatible.

QSB relies on exact orders of objects found using Resources.FindObjectsOfTypeAll to sync objects, so any mod that changes the hierarchy at all risks breaking QSB. Also, QSB relies on certain game events being called when things happen in-game. Any mod that makes these things happen without calling the correct events will break QSB. Some mods will work fine and have been tested, like CrouchMod. Others may only work partly, like EnableDebugMode and TAICheat. NomaiVR compatibility is currently not planned and likely will never happen, due to extensive changes needed to both mods for it to work.

What is currently synced?

System / Mechanic	Synced?
Anglerfish	No
Brittle Hollow fragments	No
Campfires	Yes
Conversations with NPCs	Yes
Discovering signals/frequencies	Yes
Eye of the Universe ancient glade	No
Eye of the Universe instrument hunt	No
Eye of the Universe jam session	No
Eye of the Universe quantum lightning	No
Geysers	Yes
Items	Yes
Jellyfish	No
Marshmallow roasting	Yes
Meteors	No
Museum statue	Yes
NPC animations	Yes
Nomai orbs	Yes
Nomai shuttle	Kind of
Orbital Probe Cannon (direction)	No
Player animation	Yes
Player position	Yes
Player tools	Yes
Projection pools	Yes
Quantum objects	Yes
Repairing ship parts	Yes
Repairing "satellite" parts	No
Ship	Kinda of
Ship log	Yes
Solanum	No
Timber Hearth satellite	No
Tornadoes	No

QSB also changes some mechanics of the base game, to better fit a multiplayer experience. These include :

• Adding dialogue boxes above NPC and player heads, so other players can "listen in" on conversations.
• Quantum objects check observations from all players and all player probes.
• When dying from any cause other than the supernova, the ATP black hole, or the end of the game, the player respawns instantly at Timber Hearth.
• While at least one player is in them, players can walk into and out of projection pools at will, and everything will work as expected.
• The ship's electrical systems remain on if any player is in the ship.
• The ship's hatch functions differently, allowing multiple players to enter/exit without much annoyance.

Why can't I connect to a server?

For the host :

• Open port 7777 TCP and UDP on your router. If access the internet through multiple layers of routers, the port will need to be opened on every router.
• Open port 7777 TCP and UDP in and out on your firewall. Some AVs might block you editing firewall settings, so check with your specific software.
• Make sure you are giving your public IPv4 address to your clients.

For the client :

• Open port 7777 TCP and UDP in and out on your firewall. Some AVs might block you editing firewall settings, so check with your specific software.
• Sometimes, it has helped to change your network profile to "private".
• Make sure you are putting the right address into the address box.

If nothing here works, many people have got QSB working through programs such as Hamachi. Also make sure you are not running through a VPN while trying to connect.

Note - _nebula has no idea how Hamachi works and has never used it, so don't ask them for help setting it up! As said before, we are tech support for the mod. If you cannot connect to someone, or someone cannot connect to you, that is not QSB's fault.

Installation

Easy installation (recommended)

• Install the Outer Wilds Mod Manager;
• Install Quantum Space Buddies from the mod list displayed in the application;
• If you can't get the mod manager to work, follow the instructions for manual installation.

Manual installation

• Install OWML;
• Download the latest Quantum Space Buddies release;
• Extract the QSB directory to the OWML/Mods directory;
• Run OWML.Launcher.exe to start the game.

Playing as a client

• Run the game.
• You'll see some new buttons on the top left.
• Replace localhost with the server's public IP address.
• Press "Connect". You can join servers in the menu or in-game, but it is recommended to join in the main menu.
• If you see "Stop", you are connected.
• If it stops at "Connecting to..." then you or the host has issues with their firewall/router/other.

Playing as a host

• Open port 7777 on your router.
• Run the game.
• You'll see some new buttons on the top left.
• Press "Host". This can be done in-game or in the menu, but it is recommened to start servers in the menu.
• If you now see the "Stop" button, you are hosting.
• Give your external IPv4 address to your clients (like what you see here).

Development Setup

• Download the Outer Wilds Mod Manager and install it anywhere you like;
• Install OWML using the Mod Manager
• Clone QSB's source
• Open the file QSB/QSB.csproj.user in your favorite text editor
• Edit the entry <GameDir> to point to the directory where Outer Wilds is installed
• Edit the entry <OwmlDir> to point to your OWML directory (it is installed inside the Mod Manager directory)
• Do the same for QuantumUNET/QuantumUNET.csproj.user
• Open the project solution file QSB.sln in Visual Studio
• If needed, right click References in the Solution Explorer > Manage NuGet Packages > Update OWML to fix missing references
• Run this to stop tracking QSB.csproj.user: git update-index --skip-worktree QSB/QSB.csproj.user

To fix the references, right click "References" in the Solution Explorer > "Add Reference", and add all the missing DLLs (references with yellow warning icon). You can find these DLLs in the game's directory (OuterWilds\OuterWilds_Data\Managed);

After doing this, the project references should be working.

The build pipeline (in post-build events):

• Build QuantumUNET.
  • Copy built QuantumUNET.dll to mod folder.
• Build QNetWeaver.
• Build QSB.
  • Copy default-config.json to mod folder.
  • Copy AssetBundles to mod folder.
  • Copy manifest.json to mod folder.
  • Run QNetWeaver on built QSB.dll, putting weaved files into QSB\WeavedFiles.
  • Copy QSB.dll from QSB\WeavedFiles into mod folder.
• Build QSBTests.
  • Use dotnet test to run QSBTests on QSB project.

If Visual Studio isn't able to automatically copy the files, you'll have to copy the built dlls manually to OWML.

If QNetWeaver does not work and does not output anything to WeavedFiles :

• Check what directories it's getting in the post-build events and make sure they point to the correct DLLs.
• Contact _nebula on the Outer Wilds modding server.

It is recommended to use the Epic version of Outer Wilds, as you cannot run multiple versions of the Steam version.

A powerful PC is needed for development, due to the high amount of RAM and CPU needed to run 2 or 3 instances of modded Outer Wilds.

It is also recommended to lower all graphics settings to minimum, be in windowed mode, and lower resolution to roughly a quarter of your monitor space. This lets you run multiple instances of Outer Wilds to quickly test QSB.

Warning : Mod development can lead to unexpected errors in your computer system.

• When editing the networking code, mistakes can lead to QSB overwhelming your network connection with excess packets.
• Too high RAM usage will lead to Outer Wilds sticking at ~31% loading, then crashing.
• There have been instances of graphics cards crashing, and needing to be disabled/re-enabled from Device Manager.

Authors and Special Thanks

• _nebula - Developer of v0.3 onwards
• AmazingAlek - On-and-off developer and sometimes code tidy-er
• Raicuparta - Developer of v0.1 - v0.2
• Thanks to Logan Ver Hoef for help with the game code.
• Thanks to all the people in the Outer Wilds Discord for helping in public tests.
• Special thanks (and apologies) to all the people in the #modding channel, which I (_nebula) have been using as a virtual rubber duck.

Help / Discuss development / Whatever

Join the unofficial Outer Wilds Discord, we have a nice #modding channel where you can discuss all types of things.