From 9bb95d8580e7172f819679d826b3c07e3d75cc5d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: arcattack Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:55:14 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] steam-networking KB: the first real multi-player field verification (night 4) Three back-to-back Steam lobbies, 3+ players, host-and-join, no operator console: launch worked, DAMAGE APPLIED (previously suspected dead over Steam), 2 kills, clean round end, next mission launched. Records what worked, the one genuinely Steam-side defect found (#68 silent exit on a failed join), and the triage lesson -- a bug found in a Steam lobby is only a Steam bug if it lives in the lobby/token/transport layer; the three replication symptoms that night produced (#67/#70/#55) are above the seam and would reproduce on the relay. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) --- context/steam-networking.md | 19 +++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 19 insertions(+) diff --git a/context/steam-networking.md b/context/steam-networking.md index 7237208..add4fc4 100644 --- a/context/steam-networking.md +++ b/context/steam-networking.md @@ -41,6 +41,25 @@ Single-machine (verified): lobby-of-1 GO → token map → egg roster token → stock console ladder. Live 2-machine procedure + checklist: `docs/STEAM_TEST.md`. AppID 480 (Spacewar) via auto-written gitignored `content/steam_appid.txt`. +## FIRST REAL MULTI-PLAYER VERIFICATION — playtest night 4 (2026-07-27, 4.11.584) [T2 live] +Players ran **three back-to-back Steam lobbies, host-and-join, 3+ players**, with no operator +console involved — the first genuine field exercise of this path. **What worked:** hosting and +joining (Draco, SAURON, somebodee, RajelAran all succeeded; "steam works for self-hosting? neat"), +mission launch, **damage application** (previously suspected dead over Steam — "panels were +changing color", "I was damaged"), **2 kills in one round**, clean round end, and the next mission +launching after it. SAURON: "3 missions ran smooth ... felt smooth and normal". Load after LAUNCH +felt "a bit long" (unquantified). + +**Found, and filed:** #68 (a failed JOIN/HOST exits the process silently — the FE returns on any +`BTLobby_JoinAndWait` failure, so "Steam not running" and a real crash look identical to a player). +Everything else the night surfaced was NOT Steam-specific and is tracked in the general issues: +#67 (replicant torso twist / muzzle placement), #70 (twist after respawn), #55 (heat readout not +reset on death), #69 (Sunder V1 → Denkou naming). + +**Lesson for triage:** a bug found in a Steam lobby is a Steam bug only if it lives in the lobby / +token / transport layer. Everything above the seam is the same arcade mesh — the three replication +symptoms this night produced would all reproduce on the relay. + ## Key Relationships - Rides: [[glass-cockpit]] miniconsole (marshal has a Steam-wire branch) · Extends: [[multiplayer]] (the arcade mesh, unchanged above the seam)