Stardew Valley is getting some major updates this week, with update 1.6 finally hitting consoles and mobile phones after releasing on PC in March. As it turns out, it brings a multiplayer mode to mobile users that’s so “hidden” that there’s a complete official guide to help you access it.
Yeah, forget about the patch to save some disappearing chicks, you need to get into the secret club on your phone, and you don’t need to do much detective work to get there.
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To do this detective work, you’ll want to read SV developer Eric ‘ConcernedApe’ Barone’s helpful blog post about this new feature, which is hidden because its “experimental” status means it “might still have some bugs” Or in some cases, “issues” and the nature of mobile devices can lead to “frustrating” multiplayer sessions.
“Mobile multiplayer works pretty much the same as other platforms, except there is no farm ‘discovery’ feature,” explains Barone. “You can only connect via IP. However, you can join PC-hosted farms via IP from a mobile device. “
So basically, the “worst case scenario” that could turn your multiplayer dream into a nightmare is this: “If someone hosts the game on a cellular network via a low-performance phone (you might create a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for other people to connect locally) while they’re on the train or somewhere else, going through the tunnel, and then the host gets calls too, causing the application to interrupt repeatedly.”
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So, yeah, sorry, if you’re going to take a train across the country, cross some mountains, and talk to your grandma every month, stay away from Stardew with your friends.
If that’s not you and you’re keen to try this mode, you’ll need to be very, very quiet and follow the steps in the blog post guide to access it. The most important thing is to enter the game’s main menu, click on the leaf on the Stardew Valley logo in a way that matches the famous Konami code, and then complete it by entering and exiting the menu called up by the question mark button. This should show you the Collaborate button on the title screen, and from there you’ll be taken to a potentially very interesting section involving IP addresses.
That’s okay, I’m sure you’ll figure it out when some of the “performance issues” currently affecting version 1.6 of the game are ironed out, which means you’ll be able to tip your hat to your furry friends without any worries – as of now, Barrow Well it is recommended that you should let their ears breathe.
