So, you’ve dived headfirst into the world of Satisfactory, the factory-building sim that’s as addictive as it is complex. You’ve got your conveyor belts humming, your miners churning, and your power grid… well, hopefully it’s not about to explode. But there’s just one thing missing: your friends! Building a massive factory is way more fun with a crew, right? Don’t worry, inviting your buddies to your game is actually pretty straightforward. Let’s break it down.

The Basics: What You Need Before You Start

Before you even think about sending out invites, you’ll need to make sure you and your friends have the essentials covered.

• The Game: Obviously, everyone needs to own a copy of Satisfactory. It’s available on the Epic Games Store, so make sure you’ve all got that sorted.
• Epic Games Account: This is a must. You need an Epic Games account to play and connect with friends online, so if you’re living under a rock and haven’t got one, set one up real quick. It’s free and pretty easy to do.
• Stable Internet Connection: This game needs a decent connection to avoid lag, especially with multiple players. No one wants to see a conveyor belt that stutters. Make sure everyone has a reasonable internet setup.

Starting Your Multiplayer Session

Alright, you’ve got the basics down, let’s get into the good stuff. Here’s how you start your multiplayer session:

1. Fire Up Satisfactory: Launch the game through the Epic Games launcher. You should be at the main menu with options like ‘New Game’, ‘Load Game’, ‘Options’ etc.
2. Load or Start a New Game: You can either load an existing save or start fresh. Keep in mind if you are loading an existing save your buddies are going to jump into whatever you have built before. If it’s your first time, try starting with a new game. It will let everyone experience the game together.
3. Go to the Game Menu: Once you’re in your game, press the ‘Esc’ key to open the in-game menu. You’ll see all sorts of options. The one we want is “Session”.
4. Open Session Settings: In the “Session” window there’s a “Session Type” option. This is where the magic happens. Click on it and set the session type to “Online”. This will make your game visible to friends. If you are trying to build alone for a while before bringing in the crew, consider setting this to “Private” until you are ready.

Inviting Your Friends

Okay, now your game is online, let’s get those invites sent.

1. The Epic Games Overlay: Press Shift + F3 to bring up the Epic Games overlay. This might seem like a small step, but it is crucial. This overlay is how you interact with your friend list on Epic.
2. Friend List: Once you have the overlay up, you’ll see your friends list. If you don’t see any friends, make sure you’ve actually added them on the Epic Games launcher.
3. Invite: Find the friend (or friends!) you want to play with, and click on their name. You should see a little invite button. Press that and send the invite.
4. Friend Acceptance: Your friend should now receive a notification that you are inviting them into your game. They need to accept the invite through their Epic Games overlay. Once they accept they will enter the loading screen and should be in your world shortly.

Troubleshooting Tips

Sometimes things don’t go as smoothly as you’d like. Here’s a quick rundown of common issues and how to tackle them:

• Friends can’t see your game: Double-check that your session type is set to “Online”. Also, make sure both you and your friends have a good internet connection. Sometimes a quick restart of the game can do the trick too.
• Invite Issues: If invites aren’t working, try restarting the Epic Games launcher. Sometimes the launcher has issues that will prevent you from sending invites out. Also, ensure your firewalls aren’t blocking the game from connecting. If nothing works, ensure that the friend you want to play with also isn’t having similar problems.
• Lag: Lag can be a killer. Make sure everyone is on a good connection. If the host has a weak connection, it will impact everyone. You may also need to lower the graphic settings if your computer is struggling to keep up.
• Version Mismatch: If you or your friends have a different version of the game, you won’t be able to play together. Make sure everyone has the latest version downloaded and installed.

A Few Extra Tips for Multiplayer Fun

• Communication: Having a way to communicate with your friends is really important. Discord or other voice chat programs can make teamwork and coordination much easier.
• Plan Together: Before you start building, have a quick chat about what you want to achieve. Are you focused on one big project or working on multiple smaller setups? Some coordination will save some time and headaches.
• Be Patient: Satisfactory is a complicated game, and sometimes things don’t go perfectly. Be patient with each other, learn together, and have fun.

Wrapping it up

Inviting your friends to your Satisfactory game is as easy as that! It’s a whole new level of awesome playing with a buddy or two. So gather your friends, fire up the game, and get building! Good luck out there, pioneer!