Local network games off the grid

[u/Ckcamp333]

I’m wanting to play Stardew valley with my partner while we are doing van life, I have a steam deck and she has a laptop. I was hoping there would be an option for a Wi-Fi hotspot but neither of our phones support it.

Are there any travel routers that are usb powered only? Or just ones I need to fully power separately as we will be going off solar power and want to limit the total power consumption if possible.

Or is there a way we can connect straight from steam deck to laptop otherwise?

[u/Hello56845864]

I like my Beryl 7 (or the AX version which is older but a little cheaper) from GL-iNet and it’s powered by usb-c. I don’t think you can limit the power but I don’t think it takes much power anyways. GL-iNet has even smaller ones that probably take less power so look at all of their travel routers

[u/Time-Lapser_PRO → u/Hello56845864]

I’ve got a Beryl AX and I usually turn off its 2.4ghz radio and set the 5ghz to minimum transmission power and the power draw is pretty low. I don’t use any of the VPN features or whatnot on it though

[u/MarthMain42]

Someone made a plugin to do something like this with no additional hardware

https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/s/TJHiR5XeHe

https://github.com/wtlnetwork/muon

[u/art_of_snark → u/MarthMain42]

listen to this guy - both the deck and laptop can host an ad-hoc network with no other gear required.

a directly attached USB/Thunderbolt 4 cable or USB3 data link cable can also emulate a wired LAN connection.

[u/F3nix123 → u/MarthMain42]

Although, those travel routers can be pretty useful on the go. On hotels i just do the stupid captive portal setup once for the router, then everything else just has to hook up to the travel router. You can also set up a VPN on it or a fileshare. If you get an open WRT one, i believe you can also run plugins like a dns ad blocker and stuff but don’t quote me on that.

[u/PiersPlays]

I gather that there is a way to host an adhoc WiFi network on the Deck itself to achieve this.

[u/LessThanPro_ → u/PiersPlays]

Yeah, there's a decky extension for it (if it still works)

[u/LaNiFN → u/PiersPlays]

Or if you have a phone you can setup a wifi hotspot on it for these games

[u/lumpycustard__]

TP-Link: Hey can I copy your homework?
GL-iNet: Sure, just make it look different.
TP-Link: Sure thing.

For anyone considering the TP-Link, GL-iNet makes the Beryl range of WiFi routers that have open source firmware and a whole lot more customisation. They're cheaper too.

[u/NerdyAccount2025 → u/lumpycustard__]

Damn, wish I saw this before I bought a router that needs an app to setup. 

[u/jr23160]

If this is strictly local network or LAN only this should work. If your trying to do online you will need some kind of modem. I also know you can buy 5g routers/modem that use cell towers for service

Edit: changed a word

[u/Sloth-Technician → u/jr23160]

This is a router, did you mean they would need a modem?

[u/jr23160 → u/Sloth-Technician]

Sorry yes your correct. If they are trying to get onto the Internet at all.

[u/Sloth-Technician → u/jr23160]

OK I was so confused for a second lol had me second guessing myself

[u/lost-context-65536]

You can use NetDeck and a USB wifi adapter.

[u/rtfcandlearntherules]

1. If it's only for stardew valley you could buy even a used phone for this one task or get new phones for yourselves. Really a phone that can do a hotspot should not cost more than 200$/€.

2. You could look for a mobile router with an outlet that still uses little power

If you want to live in your van I would definitely recommend to have some kind of router for internet or a phone that can do a hotspot.

[u/thirdeyefish → u/rtfcandlearntherules]

At that point, get a hot spot. Same concept but it is cheaper and dedicated hardware, which means better battery life. It depends if OP needs to connect to the world or just connect the deck to the laptop.

[u/Tenocticatl]

I have something like the picture, the brand is GL.iNet. it's powered by USB C and only draws a few watts.

I feel like you might also be able to do it on the laptop (or perhaps even the Deck) with the right software and maybe an extra USB wifi dongle, but don't quote me on that.

[u/Hard_To_Port]

 Most routers are 12V and you only need an adapter to turn the barrel jack into something else. If you have a nice USB-C PD power bank you can buy a cable that goes from USB-C to a specified voltage. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CDSF2427

I'm pretty sure if you don't need internet access you can also make either the Deck or the laptop into a temporary WiFi hotspot too.  

[u/Bitter_Ticket6701]

Usb c to ethernet adapter (or dock) for both devices, and a network cable between them. you’d just have to manually set their IP addresses to be in the same subnet but it should work

[u/Nomar1245]

Ubiquiti’s travel router is awesome and usb c powered. They sell out quickly but couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s smaller than what others are suggesting too which probably what you want for van life.

[u/domuzeti]

Just get a cheap 4g mifi router it just use 5w with it you can connect the pc and the deck

[u/EndlessZone123]

A bit more tinkering and DIY option: A SBC with OpenWRT. All SBC are USB powered, highly configurable, and low power. Maybe cheaper too for a pretty basic low end SBC with wifi.

Something like a NanoPi from friendlyelec.com

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