Hosting Archipelago randomized multiworld games at the lab

[Jay McGavren]

Thinking of setting up a few machines running randomized games on https://archipelago.gg/ during an upcoming open hours. (With recurring appearances if there's interest.) Here's a lightning-fast introduction to rando multiworlds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAvHi8ut4C0

Basically, Archipelago mods games to talk with a server, throws all the items from everyone's games into a big pot, stirs it thoroughly, and then redistributes all the items among all the games. Randomly. Your Metroid missiles might be somewhere on my Stardew Valley farm. And we have to work together to gather each others' items so everyone can progress.

So far I have these games working:
- Stardew Valley
- Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
- Super Metroid (SNES)

So that's what we'll have hooked up and ready to play during our first session. There's been interest in Minecraft, so I'll be working to get that going at some point too. And if you can bring your own hardware and game installs, I can help you get any of the supported games on https://archipelago.gg/games set up!

Let me know if you're interested in attending, and I'll lock in the schedule!

[Luis Montes]

This is so cool!  Super Metroid is one of my favorite games of all time.  I'm definitely interested.
Feel free to use the big monitors you need to. It's pretty easy to move them around.

-Luis

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[Rafael]

I didn't know a thing about randomizer mods, looks interesting.
Am I understanding correctly that you have to have the PC game installed first, then install and configure archipelago and run the game you want to start a community type of session with your buddies and their games in their PCs either over internet or in the same LAN, right?

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[Sheldon McGee]

That sounds interesting! Of course I can't help but wonder how it works and what it means to have "certain games working" but I think all that would be answered just by showing up! I hope I can make it. 

Sheldon

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[Jay McGavren]

(Sheldon, this should partially answer your question too...)

> Am I understanding correctly that you have to have the PC game installed
> first, then install and configure archipelago and run the game you want to
> start a community type of session with your buddies and their games in their

Yup! Each game needs to have its own mod installed that lets it communicate with the server. (Emulated games need a scripting-capable emulator.)

In the modded game, each time a player collects an item, the mod reports it back to the server. If the item collected "belongs" to another player, then the server communicates to that player's mod, and the mod immediately grants them that item in-game. (Well, it's usually items. With some games the trigger is beating certain bosses etc.)

That's how it works on a technical level, anyway. Gameplay-wise it feels more like "I found your item over in my game, here you go!"

> PCs either over internet or in the same LAN, right?

Yeah, you can run a dedicated server on your own LAN. I haven't tried that though. The Archipelago community generously runs a central server accessible to anyone with an Internet connection, which is what we'll be using at least at first.

You can learn more about the setup process at https://archipelago.gg/tutorial/Archipelago/setup/en .

They also have instructions for setting up a single-player game there. Single-player is just like a multiworld, except the locations of items in just your local game get randomized. Everyone is encouraged to try this out if you can, especially if you haven't tried rando before; it'll help avoid some confusion when playing with a group. (But we'll also provide plenty of guidance during open hours!)

Think I should do a session on Saturday the 15th? Will that synergize with CactusCon, or conflict with it? I could also wait until the 22nd.

-Jay

[Jay McGavren]

I'm gonna plan to do the 22nd. I'll be around on the 15th, but I'll only be setting things up as a trial run. Thanks, all!

[Jay McGavren]

Update: Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and Zelda 1 are all working!

Also I caught the cold that's going around. I'm going to move the test run to Tuesday's open hours instead.

Unless I hear otherwise, I'll plan on setting up these 3 games on the 22nd:
- Minecraft

- Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
- Super Metroid

Unfortunately it's tricky to remove a game once a multiworld is started (and impossible to add one), so some advance planning is required. I'll look into setting up additional stations/games if there's demand.

[Jay McGavren]

I've had a conflict arise on Feb 22nd, and I already had something scheduled Mar 1st.

That means next opportunity (during Saturday open hours) is March 8th. I'll post a reminder on the 7th.

(Man, scheduling things SUCKS.)

Meanwhile, if you ever want a sneak preview while I'm at the lab, let me know!

[Mike_Dv11]

 Hosting Archipelago randomized multiworld sessions sounds like a great way to bring players together and experiment with shared progression. Coordinating settings, sync timing, and communication really changes how people approach routing and item logic, especially in a lab or community setup. It’s fun when players can test unusual configurations and learn faster through collaboration. That same interest in early testing shows up in other gaming scenes too. For example, Free Fire players often try beta server access to explore upcoming features before public release. I found a clear explanation of how that works here https://unlockbetaservers.com/.