Better Networking - Valheim 1.0

An updated networking mod for Valheim 1.0, based on CW-Jesse's Better Networking.

This is not an official continuation of the original project. It is a compatibility-focused fork built and checked/tested against Valheim 1.0.12 (network version 40).

Do you need this on Valheim 1.0?

Not always. If you have network issues give it a try. It can compress network traffic maybe it help a bit. Install on both on the clients and on the server too. The mod has some improvements in the but you can configure to only compress the network data with the VanillaSafe setting.

Valheim 1.0 can work perfectly well without a networking mod, especially with one or two players and stable connections. Start with vanilla networking if your server has no noticeable lag or desync.

This mod can still be useful when:

• several players are online at the same time;
• players explore or use portals together;
• large bases or heavily modified worlds generate many ZDO updates;
• a player with limited upload bandwidth becomes the simulation owner of an area;
• the server or clients benefit measurably from network compression.

It cannot fix every multiplayer problem. Valheim distributes parts of world simulation between peers, so a slow or overloaded player can still cause lag for the area they own.

Why was a new build needed?

The commonly available tibijczyk release describes itself as a rebuild of the old mod for Valheim 0.221.10. Valheim 1.0 changed relevant networking code, while that rebuild kept the original patch logic.

Simply recompiling the old source is not enough because:

• Steamworks packages left in the send queue could be compressed again after a failed send attempt;
• PlayFab now reports its queue using a scaled 0.25 × inFlightBytes value, which the old queue patch treated as raw bytes;
• PlayFab's direct compression and reconnect paths changed;
• the old connection buffer used one shared package list instead of keeping buffers separated per connection;
• private Harmony targets can still exist after a game update while their surrounding logic has changed.

This fork updates those paths instead of only rebuilding the old DLL.

What this version changes

• Compresses each Steamworks packet only once.
• Handles Valheim 1.0's PlayFab worker, direct compression and reconnect paths.
• Changes the ZDO send budget directly instead of spoofing PlayFab's queue measurement.
• Keeps the experimental new-connection ZDO buffer disabled by default.
• Uses a separate buffer for every connection when that feature is enabled.
• Verifies sensitive IL patterns before modifying them.
• Logs every patch as PATCH OK, PATCH SKIP or PATCH FAILED.
• Provides a VanillaSafe mode for troubleshooting/only compressing without any changes in the networking.

Installation

1. Remove the old BetterNetworking.dll from the server and every client.

2. Copy DIT.BetterNetworking10.dll into:

   BepInEx/plugins/BetterNetworking_Valheim/
   

3. Install it on the dedicated server and on every modded client.

4. Restart the server and all clients completely.

Compression is negotiated per connection and is used only when both peers run this compatible build. Do not keep the old and new Better Networking DLLs installed together.

The configuration file is created after the first launch:

BepInEx/config/DIT.BetterNetworking10.cfg

If this is the first launch and BepInEx/config/CW_Jesse.BetterNetworking.cfg exists, compatible settings are imported automatically into the new file. The legacy file is not modified. The experimental connection buffer is deliberately left disabled during migration.

The new plugin keeps its own GUID and configuration filename so BepInEx can reliably detect an accidentally installed old Better Networking DLL. Delete the new configuration file and restart if you intentionally want to repeat the legacy import.

Recommended setup

For the first test, use the default Balanced mode and keep the connection buffer disabled:

[00 - Compatibility]
Mode = Balanced

[01 - Features]
Compression = true
Queue Size = true
Update Rate = true
Steam Send Rate = true
New Connection ZDO Buffer = false

[02 - Networking]
Queue Size = KB32
Update Rate = Percent100

Steam Send Rate affects Steamworks connections only. It does not affect PlayFab/crossplay networking.

All networking feature changes should be followed by a full server and client restart.

Startup log

For Valheim 1.0.12, a normal startup should include:

Valheim target verified: 1.0.12, network version 40
Patch audit complete

Review any PATCH FAILED message before continuing to use the mod after a Valheim update. A newer game version is not automatically guaranteed to be compatible.

Building from source

The project defaults to:

Valheim:    D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\Valheim
r2modman:   Default profile
Plugin:     %APPDATA%\r2modmanPlus-local\Valheim\profiles\Default\BepInEx\plugins\BetterNetworking10

Change ValheimPath or R2ProfileName in BetterNetworking10.csproj if required.

A normal Windows build:

• generates the plugin version from PluginVersion;
• copies the DLL into the selected r2modman profile;
• creates dist\BetterNetworking_Valheim-1.0.zip.

For a portable build, place the required game assemblies in libs/ and run:

dotnet build -c Release -p:UseLocalLibs=true

Required assemblies:

• 0Harmony.dll
• assembly_utils.dll
• assembly_valheim.dll
• BepInEx.dll
• com.rlabrecque.steamworks.net.dll
• PlayFab.dll
• PlayFabParty.dll
• UnityEngine.dll
• UnityEngine.CoreModule.dll

Credits and license

Based on CW-Jesse's MIT-licensed Better Networking project. See LICENSE and THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md for details.