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Installing Multivoid

DISCLAIMER — there is no stable release yet. Every build is a dev build, and everyone playing one is a tester.

Expect bugs. The mod has cleared a lot of milestones and already does a great deal, but it is far from finished and some game systems are untouched entirely.

If something breaks, a report genuinely helps. Say what you were doing, and attach multivoid.log from the folder that contains the game's executable. Testers who send good reports get credited, permanently.

Multivoid is a co-op mod for Voices of the Void. It does not modify any game files. It ships as one zip that every route below installs -- the Thunderstore listing serves that same file -- and the mod runs as a UE4SS mod folder that is deleted to uninstall.

What you need

  • Voices of the Void 0.9.0n (each mod build targets one game version; the release page and the in-game Multiplayer entry both show the pair).
  • A mod manager -- r2modman or the Thunderstore Mod Manager. Every route below except the last one uses it, and it installs the loader for you.
  • Nothing else, if you install from the Thunderstore listing. For the other two routes you also want the one Pelmentor-Multivoid-<version>.zip from the newest entry on the Releases page.

Install from Thunderstore (recommended)

This is the way in. The manager installs the loader, keeps the mod updated, and never touches your game folder by hand.

  1. Install r2modman (or the Thunderstore Mod Manager) and select Voices of the Void.
  2. Find Multivoid in the manager's browser and install it — or open the listing and use its Install button, which hands the package to your manager.
  3. Launch the game through the manager. It sets up the loader (unreal-shimloader + UE4SS) by itself; there is nothing else to configure.

Install a downloaded zip through the manager

Same manager, same result, one extra step -- use this when you want a build that is newer than the listing, since dev builds land on the Releases page first.

  1. Download the one Pelmentor-Multivoid-<version>.zip from the Releases page.
  2. In r2modman, open Settings and click Import local mod, then pick the zip. (It is on the Settings screen itself -- there is a search box at the top if you do not spot it; type "import".)
  3. Launch the game through the manager, as above.

You do not need a Thunderstore account for this, and the zip is the same file the listing serves.

Install by hand (LEAST PREFERRED)

Only if you keep your game folder entirely under your own control. It is listed last for a reason: it is the only route where you install and maintain the loader, and the manager route above takes the very same zip. If you are here because you did not want a mod manager -- the import step above needs no account and no listing, and it is shorter than what follows.

  1. Install UE4SS into the game. Download the unreal_shimloader package and copy the contents of the UE4SS\ folder inside that zip next to VotV-Win64-Shipping.exe (the game folder WindowsNoEditor\VotV\Binaries\Win64), so that UE4SS.dll and dwmapi.dll end up beside the executable.

    Copy only what is inside UE4SS\. The zip also has a dwmapi.dll at its top level -- that one belongs to the mod manager, and you do not want it.

    Why that download and not UE4SS's own release page (measured 2026-08-31). Two UE4SS builds are in circulation, and on Voices of the Void they are not equally fast. The v3.0.1 release on GitHub was built in February 2024; the build carried by the package above is from May 2026. On one dev machine, changing nothing but UE4SS.dll took the in-game frame rate from 70 to 118 fps. That is a measurement on one machine, not a promise about yours -- but it is why Multivoid pins the newer build, and it is the same build the mod manager route above installs for you. Details: docs/UE4SS_ARC.md section 9.

  2. Unzip the Multivoid zip. Copy the contents of its mod\ folder into WindowsNoEditor\VotV\Binaries\Win64\Mods\Multivoid inside your game install -- so that the file ...\Mods\Multivoid\dlls\main.dll exists.

  3. If the zip has a pak\ folder (the player-model skins), copy its contents into WindowsNoEditor\VotV\Content\Paks\LogicMods\multivoid (create the folder if it does not exist). Without this step other players' scientist models fall back to the stock body on your screen.

  4. Start the game. The main menu now has a Multiplayer entry showing the Multivoid version -- that is how you know the mod loaded.

Upgrading from an old (pre-mod-folder) install

Older Multivoid builds were two DLLs sitting next to the game's executable. The new build refuses to start beside them and shows a removal dialog, so finish the upgrade first: delete the old multivoid-*.dll and xinput1_3.dll from the folder that contains VotV-Win64-Shipping.exe, then install normally.

Updating

  • Mod manager: update (or re-import) the new zip; the manager replaces the old version.
  • Manual: overwrite the Mods\Multivoid folder with the new zip's mod\ contents.
  • Host and joiners must run the same build — the game refuses a mismatched join with a popup telling you which side is older.

Playing

  • Host: Multiplayer menu → host. Your world and save are the session's single source of truth.
  • Join: pick a lobby in the server browser, or connect directly by IP.

Uninstall

  • Mod manager: uninstall Multivoid in the manager.
  • Manual: delete the Mods\Multivoid folder. The game boots completely stock without it (UE4SS may remain; it does nothing on its own).

For a full clean sweep, also delete the mod's runtime files next to the executable (all optional — they only store mod settings and logs): multivoid.ini, multivoid.ini.example, multivoid.log, multivoid.prev.log, multivoid-loaded.txt, multivoid-compat-report.txt, multivoid-players.txt, multivoid-banlist.txt, and the skin-pak folder VotV\Content\Paks\LogicMods\multivoid if you created one.

Troubleshooting

  • "Multivoid — old install found" dialog — leftovers of a pre-mod-folder install are still next to the game's executable. Follow Upgrading.
  • "Multivoid is installed twice" dialog — two copies of the mod folder are installed (for example one via the manager and one by hand). Remove one, restart the game.
  • Version-mismatch popup when joining — host and client run different builds. Whoever is older updates (see Updating).
  • No Multiplayer entry in the main menu — the mod did not load. Manager lane: make sure you launched through the manager. Manual lane: check that ...\Mods\Multivoid\dlls\main.dll exists and that UE4SS is installed next to VotV-Win64-Shipping.exe.
  • Modded game refuses to start under the manager — a leftover xinput1_3.dll next to the game's executable makes the manager's loader abort. Delete it (see Upgrading).
  • Still stuck? Ask in the Discord.