Multiplayer

Multiplayer in Heroes of Umbra is played over a network. To host a game, simply choose Start Game after selecting a character.

Steamworks Multiplayer
If you and a friend are both logged in to steam, you may host and join games via Steamworks. Please note, there is some additional latency/instability with this mode, but as an advantage it does not require messing with ports or IP addresses.

Hosting

 * 1) Ensure in the Options screen that the Connection Mode is Steam. This option is only visible if you are logged in to Steam.
 * 2) Start a game as usual. This will create a Lobby.
 * 3) Use Shift+Tab to open the Steam Overlay
 * 4) Right-click on friends and select "Invite to Game"

Joining

 * 1) Invited from friend, not in-game
 * 2) Launch the game by accepting the chat invitation. If not, launch the game normally.
 * 3) Ensure in the Options screen that the Connection Mode is Steam. This option is only visible if you are logged in to Steam.
 * 4) Select "Join Game" to join your friend's game.
 * 5) No invitation from a friend
 * 6) Ensure in the Options screen that the Connection Mode is Steam. This option is only visible if you are logged in to Steam.
 * 7) Go to the character select screen and select "Join Game" from the character select screen to bring up the steam overlay.
 * 8) Right click on a player hosting a game and select "Join Game"

Local Multiplayer
If you are playing with friends and you are all on the same network, simply note the local (or internal) IP displayed when the game begins and have your friends enter that IP under the "Join Game" section of the character select screen.

Note: The game will display the internal IP from the first network adapter it finds, which is usually but not always the correct IP. If it is not, you can find out the IP by using Windows + R > "cmd" > "ipconfig" and searching for an active IPv4 address there.

Online Multiplayer
To invite friends over the internet, you'll need to forward the required port (TCP and port 24234 by default). If you have a firewall, you'll also need to ensure an exception is made for the corresponding port. Then, give friends your public IP. Your public/external IP is not displayed in-game.

To change the port, edit it within the in-game Options. Note, this port is used for hosting and connecting to games.

Dedicated Servers
You can host your own dedicated servers by running the included heroes-of-umbra.jar file! Just run the following command from command-line:

java -jar heroes-of-umbra.jar server slot= 

Where is a number corresponding to the character slot you want to load for the purposes of game progress.

Troubleshooting
If you are unable to connect to a server, here are a few common solutions:
 * 1) Ensure the ports match. If you're trying to connect to a server on a custom port, the default settings are insufficient.
 * 2) Ensure your firewall is not blocking either outbound (for joining) or inbound (for hosting) connections from the configured port (default 24234). An easy way to rule if your firewall is the culprit behind connection issues is to simply temporarily disable it and see if you are able to connect.
 * 3) Ensure you're running the same version of the game as the host.
 * 4) Ensure you've typed the IP correctly. ;)
 * 5) If you're still unable to get things working, shoot an email to support@alcuria.net with steps you've tried, any relevant error messages, and so on.