Starship Horizons: Bridge Simulator: Remote Session Hosting Setup

To let friends join your Starship Horizons session remotely, you need to do two main things on the host machine: forward TCP ports 1864, 1865, and 1866 from your router to your gaming PC, then give players a URL in the form your-public-ip:1864, where your-public-ip is replaced by the host's public IP address. Firewall or antivirus software must also allow those ports, or remote browsers will not be able to connect. The connection is made from the players' side through a normal web browser; they do not need the game installed to join as remote players, though the host must keep the session running.

Prerequisites

• Access to the home router's administration page so port forwarding rules can be added.
• The local IP address of the PC running Horizons. This is shown at the bottom of the Main Menu screen when the game launches.
• Knowledge of the host's public IP address.
• Permission in any firewall, antivirus, or security application for Horizons to use the required ports.
• An agreed way to share the host's screen or Main Viewscreen with remote players, such as a conferencing app or Steam Remote Play Together.

Step 1: Forward the Router Ports

Starship Horizons communicates over TCP ports 1864, 1865, and 1866. On the router, locate the Port Forwarding menu, add a new entry, and set the forwarded range to 1864-1866. Point that entry at the local IP address of the gaming PC that will run the session. Router interfaces differ, so the exact menu names and layout may vary, but the required values are the same: TCP, ports 1864 through 1866, and the host PC's local IP.

Step 2: Find the Public IP Address

The address players will use begins with the host's public IP. This appears as four numbers separated by dots, with each number between 0 and 255, for example 100.50.50.50. Two ways to find it are:

• In the game, open Settings from the Main Menu and select Network. The public IP is displayed there.
• Use a public IP lookup website such as whatismyip.com, which reports the address of the connection.

Copy that address so it can be placed into the join link.

Step 3: Allow the Ports Through Firewalls

Security software can silently block the connection. Check antivirus and firewall applications, including common defaults such as McAfee or Norton, and confirm that ports 1864-1866 are not being blocked.

For Windows Firewall, open the Start menu search bar and type Allow an App through the firewall, then open the resulting list. Find Horizons in the list and make sure both the PUBLIC and PRIVATE checkboxes are selected.

Step 4: Build and Share the Join Link

Remote players only need a browser and the correct address. Always include the port 1864 at the end. The pattern is:

your-public-ip:1864

Replace your-public-ip with the public IP found earlier. For example, if the public IP is 100.50.50.50, the link to share looks like:

100.50.50.50:1864

Step 5: Share the Main Viewscreen

The browser connection lets remote players join the game, but seeing the Main Viewscreen is a separate concern. Options include:

• If everyone joining is a Steam user, use Remote Play Together to invite them.
• Use a conferencing or screen-sharing app such as Zoom or Discord.
• Discord has a Starship Horizons server with pre-made Bridge channels for organizing groups; joining that server provides a place to coordinate.

Once the ports are forwarded, the public IP is known, firewall access is confirmed, and the link has been shared, remote players can connect to the session through their browsers.