HowToFishDirectConnect

HowToFishDirectConnect

Play How to Fish co-op over a plain direct IP connection — no Steam lobby and no

Steam relay. The mod only replaces the network transport for the players who install it,

and it never modifies the game's files or any Steam data.

Both players must install this mod to use the direct connection. Players without the

mod keep using the vanilla Steam co-op exactly as before.

Features

• Host / Join by IP — the host opens a room and shares their IP; the friend enters it.
• Works across the internet — use a virtual-LAN tool (Radmin / ZeroTier / Tailscale)

or a port-forward.

• Clean bilingual panel (English / 简体中文) that follows the game's own language.
• No Steam lobby required — the mod talks over the game's built-in UDP transport.
• Save safety — the host world is saved before the session is torn down; each remote

player keeps their own save.

• Copy your IP with one click, remembers recent rooms, and shows clear status/hints.

Requirements

• Windows, x64 Mono build of How to Fish (tested on game 1.1.3).
• BepInEx 5 (installed automatically by the mod manager, or see below).
• Both players must run the same game version. Mod versions may differ freely.

Installation

With a mod manager (recommended): click Install with Mod Manager — it handles BepInEx.

Manual:

• Install BepInEx 5.4.23.5

into the game folder (the folder containing How to Fish.exe).

• Copy BepInEx/plugins/HowToFishDirect.dll into the game's BepInEx/plugins.
• Launch the game through Steam (the game itself requires Steam to be running).

How to play together

• Host: open the panel (F7), go to Create Room, pick a save, set the port

(default 7777) and player count, then click Create Room.

• Click your local IP in the panel to copy it, and send it (plus the port) to your friend.
• Same LAN: use your normal 192.168.x.x / 10.x.x.x.
• Different networks: both install a virtual-LAN tool and use that IP.
• Friend: open the panel (F7), go to Join Room, paste the IP and port, click

Join Room.

If nothing happens within 40 seconds the mod returns you to the menu with a reason.

In-game panel

The panel appears at the right edge and is toggled with F7. The hotkey can be changed in

Mod Settings. The panel language follows the game's language (Simplified / Traditional

Chinese → Chinese, otherwise English).

• Create Room — save, UDP port, max players (host included), create.
• Join Room — host IP, port, recent-room history (click to fill).
• Mod Settings — font size, mouse-wheel speed, show-panel / verbose-log toggles,

rebind the hotkey, diagnostics.

Compatibility notes

• Only the game version is a hard requirement; the mod version does not need to match.

A built-in protocol number only rejects genuinely incompatible wire formats.

• Money / Euro is shared in multiplayer (the game's own design).
• If the handshake is very slow, a player may join with a temporary identity and that

session's progress is not written to their normal save (a safety measure).

Chinese description

• What it is: Adding a "Direct IP" connection channel to How to Fish, bypassing the Steam lobby and relays.

This mod does not modify the original game files and does not require a Steam lobby. Both sides need to install this mod.

• How to use: The host presses F7 to open the panel → "Create Room" → copy the local IP and send it to a friend; the friend presses F7

→ "Join the room" → Fill in the IP and port → "Join the room". If you are not on the same LAN, use Radmin / ZeroTier or something like that.

Virtual LAN, fill in that IP.

• Version: only the game version needs to be the same; the module version does not need to be the same (changing the UI and fixing minor problems will not affect the connection).
• Panel language: automatically follows the game language (Simplified/Traditional Chinese displays Chinese, the rest displays English).

Troubleshooting

• Black screen / stuck — the mod returns to the menu after 40s; check IP, port, firewall,

UDP port-forwarding, and that bo …