---
name: manual-freeplay-session
description: >-
  Launch a manual free-play KenshiCoop session with host + join tiled
  side-by-side on the ultrawide monitor so one person can play both clients.
  Boots both clients to the title screen (no auto-load, no auto-connect); the
  user loads a save and goes online by hand via the F2 panel. Covers the exact
  manual_session.ps1 -TitleScreen invocation, the side-by-side ultrawide layout,
  and how to end the session. Use when the user asks to start a manual/free
  test, play both clients, do a hands-on side-by-side co-op session, or eyeball
  the latest mod build in game.
disable-model-invocation: true
---

# Manual Free-Play Session (title screen, side-by-side ultrawide)

A "manual free test" = both clients (host + join) launched on this one machine,
tiled side-by-side on the ultrawide, left running with NO self-exit and NO
scenario, so the user drives both characters and eyeballs sync.

`-TitleScreen` boots BOTH clients to the Kenshi main menu with no auto-load and
no auto-connect. The user then loads a save and goes ONLINE via F2 by hand - the
real remote-play flow, with full control over which save and connection role.

`scripts/manual_session.ps1` still does the side-by-side ultrawide layout by
default: it resizes each client to 1720x1440 via `set_video_mode.ps1` (2x1720 =
3440 wide) and tiles them host-left / join-right on the widest monitor via
`arrange_windows.ps1`, re-pinning through the load screen.

## Launch command

```
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts/manual_session.ps1 -TitleScreen
```

This builds the latest DLL, deploys it to both installs, sizes + tiles the two
windows on the ultrawide, launches host then join to the main menu, and returns
immediately (windows stay up until closed).

## In-game connect (by hand, after launch)
1. Load the SAME save on both clients (Continue / Load). NPC sync is
   resolve-by-hand, so both MUST be on identical saves.
2. On each window press F2 -> set Connection ONLINE: host role on one client,
   join role on the other. UDP loopback is preset.
3. Free-play: each window drives its own character; watch it render/follow on
   the other.

Do co-op free play on a DEBUG save (`together`, `separate`, `zoom`, or a
throwaway), NEVER a validation/fixture save (`sync`, `squad1`, `duel1`,
fixtures): on connect the host `armConnectPush()` bakes the live world over the
loaded save and rots the fixture. See the `coop-save-orchestration` skill.

## Common variations
- Reuse the current build (skip the ~minutes-long compile): add `-SkipBuild`.
- Colored authority markers on the join (green DRV / red HID / yellow LOC):
  add `-DebugMarkers`.
- Do not resize/tile (leave windows as-is): add `-NoTile`.
- Auto-load + auto-connect instead of the title screen: drop `-TitleScreen` and
  pass `-Save "together" -Inhabit` (host owns rank 0, join owns the rest).

`-Sync` is NOT needed on a single machine - both installs read the same
per-user save folder.

## Preconditions
- Windowed mode: tiling requires `kenshi.cfg` Full Screen = No (the script sets
  the video mode; if a window won't tile, confirm it launched windowed).
- The join install exists (`scripts/setup_join_install.cmd` created
  `%USERPROFILE%\Kenshi-Join`).

## Ending the session
Close both game windows (no auto-exit, no screenshots).