How to join your Romestead server
Copy your server's address from the dashboard, then use Romestead's direct-connect screen to drop into your world. No Steam invite or lobby hunting — a dedicated server is reached by its address.
Joining your Romestead server is a quick direct connect: copy your server's address from the Netlonics dashboard, then in Romestead open the direct-connect screen, type the address in, and you're in your world. There's no Steam friend-invite or public lobby to hunt through — a dedicated server is reached by its address, the same one you share with everyone who plays with you.
Two things to have ready before you start: you (and everyone joining) need to own Romestead on Steam, and your server needs to be Online on the dashboard. If you've set a server password, have it handy too.
01 Check your server is online
Open your server from the dashboard. The status badge near the top of the page tells you where it's at — you're looking for Online. On a server's very first boot there's a one-time wait while it generates the world (usually a few minutes), so a brand-new server may sit on "Setting up" or show world-gen progress in the console before it's joinable. The moment it's ready we also pop a "Your Netlonics server is ready!" notice with the join address right in it.
If the server is stopped, hit Start and give it a moment. You can watch it come up live in the console on the same page.
02 Copy your connect address
Once the server is online, the Connect to your server card appears on the dashboard with your address shown as address:port. Press Copy address to grab it (it's also in the confirmation email we send when your server first goes live).
Make a mental note of the two parts, because Romestead asks for them in separate boxes: everything before the colon is the address, and the number after the colon is the port. For example, if your address is 198.51.100.42:25675, then 198.51.100.42 is the address and 25675 is the port.
03 Launch Romestead and open Multiplayer
Start Romestead from your Steam library. On the main menu, choose Multiplayer. (Everyone joining needs their own copy of Romestead on Steam — there's no console or cross-platform join.)
04 Create or select a character
Romestead won't let you reach the connection screen until you have a character, so this step comes first: either create a new character or select one you've already made. That's the character you'll carry into the server.
05 Open the direct-connect screen
Back on the multiplayer screen, look for the Advance/LAN option — that's the direct-connect section (as opposed to browsing the public server list). Open it and you'll get two empty fields: a wide one for the IP / address and a smaller one for the Port.
A dedicated server won't reliably show up in the public server browser, so Advance/LAN is the path to use — it connects you straight to your address every time.
06 Enter your address and connect
Split the address you copied in step 2 on the colon:
- Put the part before the colon (e.g.
198.51.100.42) in the IP / address field. - Put the part after the colon (e.g.
25675) in the Port field.
Press Connect. If you've set a server password, Romestead now prompts you for it — type it exactly (passwords are case-sensitive) and confirm.
07 You're in
Romestead loads you into your persistent world. That's it — you're playing on your own server. Share the same address with your friends and they each join the exact same way, with their own Steam copy of the game.
From here, the dashboard gives you a live console, one-click restart, and every other tool your Netlonics server ships with. Two good next steps: set up an automatic backup before your first big session, and learn how to edit a server file when you want to tweak world settings.
Troubleshooting
- The connection fails straight away. Check the dashboard — if the status isn't Online, press Start and wait. A server that's still generating its world on first boot (or restarting) isn't joinable yet; watch the console and wait for the "server is ready" notice before you try again.
- It says the version doesn't match. Romestead is in early access and updates often, so your game and your server must be on the same build. If Steam just updated your game, the server may need updating to match (or the other way around). Open a support ticket and we'll bring your server up to the current build.
- My password is rejected. It's case-sensitive and has to match what's set on the server exactly — no extra spaces. If you manage the password yourself, you can check the current value in your server's config from the Files tab on the dashboard.
- I can't find my server in the in-game browser. That's expected for a dedicated server — use the Advance/LAN direct connect with your address instead. A Steam friend-invite also won't work for a dedicated server; sharing the address is the way in.
- Where do I find my address again? On your server's dashboard page in the Connect to your server card (with a Copy address button), and in the confirmation email we sent when your server went live.