Co-op Setup and Known Bug Workarounds

Solarpunk is at its best when a small group is quietly turning one floating island into a self-powered homestead: one friend sorting crops, one wiring solar panels, one pretending the airship dock is not judging their parking. The rough part is that co-op and a few current bugs can make that cozy plan wobble. If your invite vanishes, your Research Table opens to a blank panel, or your airship bumps you like a flying shed with opinions, use the steps below before tearing apart the base.

Co-op is online, host-based play, which means one player loads the world and friends join that session. Plan around small-group play; current platform listings support up to four online players where a player count is shown. There are no public dedicated servers, no crossplay, and no confirmed local split-screen setup. Crossplay means joining across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch 2. Local split-screen means two people playing on one screen. For a shared save, pick the host who is most likely to be online when the group wants to build, farm, research, and head out by airship.

Co-op Invite Checklist

Match platforms first. Steam players should invite Steam players. Console and cloud players should use the same platform account system for that session. Do not plan around cross-platform joining.
Let the steady player host. The host should load the shared world, wait until the world is fully loaded, then send invites.
Restart cleanly. If an invite fails, all players should close Solarpunk, restart Steam or the platform app/console, and try again before changing the save or building more.
On Steam, enable the overlay. In Steam, check Solarpunk > Properties > General > Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game. Also check Steam > Settings > In Game > Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.
If Steam says invited but nothing arrives, open chat. Have both players send a few normal Steam chat messages to each other, then invite again. The invite should appear as a Solarpunk chat banner with a Play Game button.
Check privacy and blockers. Make sure both players are online, visible to friends, and not blocked by VPN, firewall, antivirus, or strict platform privacy settings.
Try a different host. If only one host fails, have another player host a test world. If that works, keep the real group world on the most stable host.

Before You Test Any Bug Fix

Make a small safety habit before fussy actions: pause risky building, empty rare materials into a chest, and return to the starter island if the airship or teleporter is acting odd. On Windows PC, the save folder is %localappdata%\Solarpunk\Saved\SaveGames. Back up the folder before heavy testing, and do not edit or delete your only copy. A backup will not save every broken state, but it gives you a cleaner place to return to if a session goes sideways.

Problem	What to Try First	When to Stop Pushing
Falling through the world	This is a current known issue. Do not move wildly while an island, dock, or airship area loads. If you fall, wait a moment and use the normal recovery or respawn option if the game gives one. If you keep falling or spawn into trouble, exit to the menu and reload the last good save. In co-op, have the host restart the session if the same player keeps dropping through.	Stop carrying rare airship parts, blueprint items, or full harvests while testing the spot. Store them first.
Research Table UI is empty or stuck	Close the table, step away, and reopen it. If the panel stays blank, exit to the menu and reload the world. If the recipe list is visible but one research click is stuck, click an already completed recipe, then reselect the recipe you want. In co-op, let the host open the table first, then have clients try again.	Do not spend new research materials while the menu is blank. Do not rebuild the Research Table as a fix unless a later game update clearly says to do that.
Airship collision, death, or bad landing	Approach the ship slowly, avoid jumping into its sides, and park with open walking space around the dock. If a landing pad says something is blocking it, or acts like another airship is in the way, back away, circle wide, and try a clean approach instead of forcing the ship down.	If the ship keeps hurting you or blocking a dock, reload before repeated impacts turn a travel problem into an inventory problem.
Animals, chickens, or animal teleporter stuck	Clear fences, walls, and loose objects around the animal. Try calling or moving it from open ground. For chickens, keep their path simple and give the teleporter room to work.	Do not build tight pens around a stuck animal. Leave space, reload, then try again.
Farm fields move or return after restart	Remove the field again, save, reload, and check the same area before rebuilding decorations over it.	Do not place a finished porch, greenhouse, or path over a ghost field until it stays gone after a reload.
Foundation height or rotate keys feel broken	On keyboard, test the listed build controls again while holding the correct placement mode. If foundation height will not respond, try left mouse input for height adjustment, then leave and re-enter build mode.	Stop forcing placement when the game says it is too low or floating. Reopen build mode and adjust height in a clear patch.
Controller inventory or hotbar locks up	Close the menu, reopen it, then restart the game if items still will not move between inventory, hotbar, chest, or furnace. If you are on PC and have a mouse and keyboard nearby, use them for the stuck inventory move.	Do not keep crafting or smelting while the inventory is stuck. A restart is the cleaner fix.
Oven, rain, or other sound loop	Move away from the object or weather area, then reload the world if the sound keeps playing.	If the loop survives a reload, lower effects volume for that session and keep playing if nothing else is broken.
Drone, drill, postbox, mailbox, or dock automation fails	Check power first. Powered tools can look broken when the energy network is weak, split, or not connected. Use your Network Display if you have it, then check cables, batteries, switches, machine assignment, and weather-reduced solar output.	Do not assume the machine is bugged until the power line is proven good. Overcast days can make a neat plan look broken.

Best Co-op Habits While Bugs Are Current

Keep the first shared base small until food, water, storage, Research Table, power, and the Airship Dock are stable.
Ask everyone to replant seeds before eating or crafting through the whole harvest, because early crop flow is tight in a group.
Have each player keep their own basic kit: food, water, tools, and a little inventory space for island trips.
Let the host handle key progression clicks when a menu is acting odd, especially research, trades, and dock upgrades.
Park airships with walking room on all sides. Pretty sky-base symmetry can wait until the flying furniture behaves.
Reload after a major bug before continuing a long build session. It is less cozy than decorating, but much kinder than rebuilding a vanished afternoon.

Most Solarpunk rough edges are workarounds, not permanent player-side fixes. Treat them like workshop mess: save before the risky job, test one change at a time, and get back to the calm loop of crops, power, automation, and airship trips once the session is stable.

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