Plan the host and access before building together

Start a crew with friends

The current Wiki's menu instructions use Start game → save slot → session visibility → Play. Friends join through Join game or a Steam invitation. It also reports Esc → Your crew → Invite friends for an invitation from inside the world. These menu steps come from a guide with screenshots, rather than our own session test. Follow your current menu if an update changes a label. S13

1. Have everyone update to the same game version.
2. Choose the host and intended saved world.
3. Select a visibility setting suited to your group. A friends-only or invite-only crew is a sensible starting point for a persistent base.
4. Invite friends or have them find the host's crew.
5. Confirm you are in the same world before dividing the work.

If an invitation fails, compare versions and the chosen visibility first. Do not change router ports or expose a network service based on this guide; it has no verified game-specific port procedure.

What an Upgrade Matrix purchase shares

From patch 1.0.3, the entire crew uses the host's Upgrade Matrix. Any crew member's Matrix purchase upgrades everyone. Older saves carry forward the highest upgrade level previously bought. S02

That official rule covers the Matrix. It does not say every handheld tool or vehicle is copied to every player. Guides describe tools and vehicles as personal purchases, so coordinate them separately. S11S13

Before a major purchase, say what it improves and who needs the equipment. For a small crew, one player can check delivery connections while another cleans; larger crews can work in different areas and leave someone watching a shared route. These are planning suggestions, not fixed game roles.

Understand public access

Patch 1.0.5 adds a warning when a crew is started as Public or switched to Public. It explains what other players can do and where the host can kick or ban them. The warning is a prompt to make a decision; it is not a documented visitor-only building permission. S04

A player posted on 3 November that strangers removed a public base's factories. That account does not establish how often this happens, but it illustrates why a valuable world deserves a backup before public play. S16

The host controls are in Esc → Your Crew. Patch 1.0.3 allows kicking or banning a player; a ban prevents rejoining that save until the host unbans them. Removing a player does not promise to restore deleted structures. S02

Before the next session

Keep the host's world available and make a separate copy of its local data before risky changes. See the save guide for the official backup location. We do not provide an untested host-transfer or save-file overwrite procedure.

If teammates see different cleaned ground or their belt junctions fail, check the 1.0.3 and 1.0.4 multiplayer changes and compare installed versions before rebuilding the base. S02S03