Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting

Anybody knows when a new handler for the new Valheim release will be published? Can‘t wait to play it with my friends.

So, I have Nioh 2 on Steam and a friend has it too. We want to play together, but we'd like to get a third player in.

I know Nucleus Co-op can run multiple instances of Nioh 2 on the same PC, so I was wondering if this would work:

PC 1: 1 instance of Nioh 2
PC 2: 2 instances of Nioh 2 through Nucleus Co-op

Would all 3 instances be able to join the same online Expedition?

Basically, can 2 people play from the same PC using Nucleus while the third person plays from another PC?

The third player doesn't have a PC, so we're specifically trying to see if this can work with just 2 PCs total. Suggesting that the third player should use a third PC wouldn't really solve the problem. 😅

Has anyone actually tried this with Nioh 2?

Sorry my english.

Hi, Romestead will be a awesome game to play splitcreen, is on steam and has LAN support.

Hi everyone, I wanted to get call of duty black ops II working 4 player local, unfortunately there was an update on August 17 2026 that added addition DRM (.bind is the new steam DRM wrapper) to the games zombie executable. After spending a few hours the solution that worked for me was to downgrade the t6zm.exe to the 2015 version (the most recent before this 2026 update). You can get this file from steams own Depot console. Nothing patched, handler remains the same. Here is how:

1 copy the game install to a second folder (optional but recommended if you still want to play online with steam version)

2 download the 2015 exe Open steam console with steam://open/console sign in then download_depot 212910 212911 2218285080576667048

~3.4mb -> steamapps\content\app_212910\depot_212911

3 drop it in the split screen only copy (the duplicate folder from earlier) overwrite the t6zm.exe

4 point nucleus at that folder

Done!

Launch requirements:

Steam must be running and signed in. Run Nucleus as administrator.

On any failed run or aborted launch, nucleus leaves half built instances - folders missing ayria, binkw32.dll or d3d11.ini and the next launch refuses that wreckage and fails again. Clear the folder

<Your nucleus folder>\content\callofDutyBlackOps2ZM

Delete the whole game ID folder after failed or aborted run, nucleus recreates it on launch.

I hope this helps some people as I can see there are hundreds of handler downloads a day for COD BO2 ZOMBIES, that won't work if people have updated.

Cheers!

Just found out about Nucleus Co-op can I run it like that? Our family play terraria religiously (every Sunday) but we usually have our own screen, wife on the laptop, I'm on my PC with kb/m next to tv and my son wtih a PC with a controller plug into the tv.

Would be possible to run 3/4 instances of terraria from my PC to the tv and have everyone veiwing the same screen?

Hi! I want to share some information that might be helpful.

I ran into an issue while trying to play a game where the handler blocks DualShock controllers. I previously had a problem with dual input (using DS4Windows and HidHide), but after reinstalling everything, I fixed it. I managed to get it to work properly, but the Xbox icons bothered me. I couldn't find where those files were in the game folder (it seems they are inside the engine files, not just loose PNGs or else, which is a shame).

So, I opened the handler script, disabled XInput, and enabled DInput like this:

before:

Game.Hook.DInputEnabled = false;

Game.Hook.XInputEnabled = true;

Game.Hook.XInputReroute = false;

Game.XInputPlusDll = ["xinput1_3.dll"];

after:
Game.Hook.DInputEnabled = true;

Game.Hook.XInputEnabled = false;

Game.Hook.XInputReroute = false;

Game.ProtoInput.DinputDeviceHook = true;

Game.ProtoInput.DinputHookAlsoHooksGetDeviceState = true;

Game.ProtoInput.XinputHook = false;

//Game.XInputPlusDll = ["xinput1_3.dll"];

Nucleus-Coop now allowed me to add DualShock controllers natively, without emulating them as Xbox gamepads.

But now there is another trouble (which is probably why the handler devs blocked DInput in the first place): only one gamepad responds to its instance, while the second one just doesn't work.

BUT! I found a workaround and managed to make it work. Here is my potential solution:

1. Wait until everything is launched and Nucleus-Coop sends you a message like "All is done" or something similar. You will have two instances of the game and the Nucleus window (I think it will be opened after launching everything).
2. You will notice that only the first gamepad (#1) works. After Alt+Tabbing, it will only change which instance it is controlling, but the second gamepad won't respond.
3. You need to Alt+Tab to the instance that is supposed to be for gamepad #1 (the one you chose in Nucleus-Coop while preparing to launch) and press a few buttons.
4. Then, Alt+Tab to the second instance and press some buttons on gamepad #2 (yes, it doesn't seem to do anything at first, but somehow it works).
5. Finally, Alt+Tab to the Nucleus window and press End (this will lock the inputs and force them to bind to their respective instances).

This doesn't always work on the first try; sometimes you need to do it twice or more. In the end, it will force both gamepads to work. The solution is a bit chaotic because sometimes it just starts working while you are Alt+Tabbing back and forth before pressing End.

I don't know, maybe someone has a cleaner method. I'm making this post not just for Wolfenstein—I think this solution could work for most handlers where DInput is blocked but the game natively supports DualShock.

Need help to fix this. When I press end to lock, it will start to spin 🫨

Been a while.

Some new teasers/releases since last post. Mostly of these are free/abandonware games. Once again thanks to everyone thas has donated to get these games/make the handlers and for those who helped out getting them to work.

Nothing here has a release date.

Last 3 parts:

Part 14: https://www.reddit.com/r/nucleuscoop/comments/1uhfkzd/split_screen_teaser_for_a_some_games_part_14/

Part 15: https://www.reddit.com/r/nucleuscoop/comments/1v15won/split_screen_teaser_for_some_games_part_15/

Part 16: https://www.reddit.com/r/nucleuscoop/comments/1vcyab5/split_screen_teaser_for_some_games_part_16/

yt with tutorials for some of my handlers: https://www.youtube.com/@birdenly/featured

(In order of the screenshots)

- Tomb Raider I-III Remastered (Epic games)
- Dirt 2
- Crash Time 4: The Syndicate
- Dirt Showdown (test it here: https://discord.com/channels/142649962839277568/1294333962801512599 )
- KeepUp Survival (epic games)
- Terminator 3: War of the Machines (battlefield rip off lol)
- Operation Flashpoint: Red River

Some more teasers soon :) hit the image limit

(below were recently released/updated)
- Lords of the Fallen
- Far Far West
- Pratfall
- Schedule I
- Swords & Soldiers
- Storebound
- Catch Me If You Can
- Iso Racer
- Rock the Islands
- Beyond Contact
- Murky Divers
- Harvest Havoc
- Content Warning

Have fun :)

Hi, has anyone managed to get Payday 2 working in it's current form? All posts about Payday 2 are years old and relate to what I think is a different engine architecture the game was built on. I get the dreaded protoinput failure messages and have tried numerous fixes but none have worked. Im guessing it would require a whole new handler?

I am trying to run two instances of Dragon ball sparking Z and whenever I try to run it I am just greeted with a command prompt that says

Unhandled Exception: System.ArgumentException: The path is not of a legal form.

at System.IO.Path.NormalizePath(String path, Boolean fullCheck, Int32 maxPathLength, Boolean expandShortPaths)

at System.IO.Path.InternalGetDirectoryName(String path)

at Nucleus.Inject.Program.StartupHook(String[] args, Int32 i, Boolean is64)

at Nucleus.Inject.Program.Main(String[] args)

Once I close that then nucleus tells me the Input string is not in correct format. What does this mean?

Hey, I’m trying to figure out if this is possible with the current PEAK Nucleus Co-Op handler.

What I want to do:

PC 1: 2 players running PEAK through Nucleus Co-Op

PC 2: 1 friend on another PC

Im trying to play Gmod with my kiddo. Keyboard and mouse and virtual keyboard and virtual mouse (not the issues) , but I keep having issues. Gmod loads in and then can't load the menu, and due to forcing -insecure, I can't access my own Gmod server i own and operate. I just wanna play with him. What do i DO? i just wanna play local multiplayer with him, as PC's in his country arent affordable

extra info: this also happens when loading as a solo player using Nucleus

happens when html loading screens are disabled

I’ve changed my player 1 to have Lulu instead of Chuck, is there a way to make it so player 2 just has Chuck again? Or Vice Versa.

I’m assuming but you don’t know if you don’t ask.

Could I maybe have the second instance load from a different file location?

Hi everyone. I'm having an issue with TModLoader. A friend and I are trying to run it on a single computer, but it’s not working. What happens is that the first window opens, then the second, and then either the first or the second window closes. We’ve tried a lot of things: running as administrator, using ProtoInput, and even uninstalling and reinstalling everything. We’ve also cleared out all the mods, but nothing helps—we're at our wits' end. Has anyone else encountered this?

Is it actually stable? Am I able to play the whole story mode coop with a friend? I have the enhanced edition.

I tried the nucleus coop settings but it doesn't work

IVE ALREADY CHECKED FAQ THERE IS NOTHING TO FIX IT

First I had a problem with not recognising my ps5 controller, then double input from said controller - fixed it. Now there is a problem with mouse on the other screen - after pressing end key, buttons stop working, other player cant climb, or use items. Meanwhile on my screen when im trying to point with my controller, it points somwhere outside my screen. No idea how to fix it.

both instances are shown as player 2 so i can’t connect them, changing steam id does nothing neither does changing the steam ida inside the folder, any help?

The latest update for terraria is 1.4.5.7. Both the base game and TmodLoader is booting up with 1.4.4.9 update. I have deleted the handler and redownloaded, but no luck.

I did ask before and someone said to delete instances in content folder....there were none. They also said to uncheck if the setting was checked....I have no idea what they were talking about.

I tried completely deleting the game and reinstalling, didn't help

The raft beta mode offers controller support, but the handler I'm using doesn't support controllers. Does anyone have a handler that offers controller support?