Private session in RDR 2 Online (PC only)
How to create your own private session in Red Dead Redemption 2 Online (PC only method):
* (this is exactly the same method as in RDO Lobby Manager, but manually, without using any app)
1. Open notepad and copy to it the text from here: https://pastebin.com/tckzCWEi (or simply click on "download" on top, it will be saved as startup.meta.txt file in your downloads folder).
2. Write anything instead of "your_code_word" at the very end of the text you've just copied/downloaded.
3. Save the file, then rename it to "startup.meta" (without quotation marks, .meta needs to be the file extension instead of .txt).
4. Find subfolder ***\Red Dead Redemption 2\x64\data or ***\Red Dead Online\x64\data (according to what you have installed) inside the game directory. Default paths (***) for Steam, Rockstar and Epic Games versions are:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common
C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Launcher\games
C:\Program Files\Epic Games
There is supposed to be only one folder named "errorcodes" inside this subfolder.
5. Move the startup.meta file you've just created into the \x64\data folder.
6. Now when you load the game, you are the sole player in your session. Note that you can't participate in most free roam events, take part in story missions, showdowns or anything of the sort that requires other players from the lobby.
7. You can invite your friends to your private lobby, they just need to do the same on their computers (steps 1-5) and write exactly the same string as a code word at the end of startup.meta file text, as in step 2 (alternatively, you can simply send them a copy of your startup.meta file).
7a. Sometimes, players in the same private lobby are split into different sessions (especially if they are on different continents). In such cases, to join other player's session, you must be friends on Rockstar Social Club. You can then join your friend through the Social Club menu in-game. Press the Home key, the Social Club menu will appear on top of your screen. Find your friend and select "Join" in the options. Don't try joining his or her session through the in-game Players menu (with "L"); it likely won't work!
8. If there are more than one player in your private session, you can join activities that require 2 or more players. Some Free Roam Events require players not to be in the same posse so they can be opponents. For other missions, showdowns and events, it's easier when everyone is in the same posse – when the leader joins the activity, all active members of his/her posse automatically join it as well. Some showdowns (such as "shootout") will only load if there are at least 4 players, and, for example, "takeover" requires two separate posses with a minimum of 3 or 4 players each.
9. Whenever you want to pause playing alone and come back to a regular public session with other random players, before loading the game open [\Red Dead Redemption 2\x64\data] folder and remove startup.meta file from there, or just disable the file by renaming it (for example, put an underscore, like "_startup.meta").
Enjoy. There are no more annoying griefers and hackers, animals and random quests/encounters spawn frequently all around you. :)
Important note: This is not a mod and it isn't considered a mod by Rockstar. Players who used it were never punished for that in any way, even when their use of startup.meta was detected, as evident from conversations between the players and the support. There's no evidence that Rockstar ever considered it a TOS violation. All this file does is slightly change the game's hash (when any characters are added at the end of its code), and only players with exactly the same hash can be in the same online session.
* (this is exactly the same method as in RDO Lobby Manager, but manually, without using any app)
1. Open notepad and copy to it the text from here: https://pastebin.com/tckzCWEi (or simply click on "download" on top, it will be saved as startup.meta.txt file in your downloads folder).
2. Write anything instead of "your_code_word" at the very end of the text you've just copied/downloaded.
3. Save the file, then rename it to "startup.meta" (without quotation marks, .meta needs to be the file extension instead of .txt).
4. Find subfolder ***\Red Dead Redemption 2\x64\data or ***\Red Dead Online\x64\data (according to what you have installed) inside the game directory. Default paths (***) for Steam, Rockstar and Epic Games versions are:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common
C:\Program Files\Rockstar Games\Launcher\games
C:\Program Files\Epic Games
There is supposed to be only one folder named "errorcodes" inside this subfolder.
5. Move the startup.meta file you've just created into the \x64\data folder.
6. Now when you load the game, you are the sole player in your session. Note that you can't participate in most free roam events, take part in story missions, showdowns or anything of the sort that requires other players from the lobby.
7. You can invite your friends to your private lobby, they just need to do the same on their computers (steps 1-5) and write exactly the same string as a code word at the end of startup.meta file text, as in step 2 (alternatively, you can simply send them a copy of your startup.meta file).
7a. Sometimes, players in the same private lobby are split into different sessions (especially if they are on different continents). In such cases, to join other player's session, you must be friends on Rockstar Social Club. You can then join your friend through the Social Club menu in-game. Press the Home key, the Social Club menu will appear on top of your screen. Find your friend and select "Join" in the options. Don't try joining his or her session through the in-game Players menu (with "L"); it likely won't work!
8. If there are more than one player in your private session, you can join activities that require 2 or more players. Some Free Roam Events require players not to be in the same posse so they can be opponents. For other missions, showdowns and events, it's easier when everyone is in the same posse – when the leader joins the activity, all active members of his/her posse automatically join it as well. Some showdowns (such as "shootout") will only load if there are at least 4 players, and, for example, "takeover" requires two separate posses with a minimum of 3 or 4 players each.
9. Whenever you want to pause playing alone and come back to a regular public session with other random players, before loading the game open [\Red Dead Redemption 2\x64\data] folder and remove startup.meta file from there, or just disable the file by renaming it (for example, put an underscore, like "_startup.meta").
Enjoy. There are no more annoying griefers and hackers, animals and random quests/encounters spawn frequently all around you. :)
Important note: This is not a mod and it isn't considered a mod by Rockstar. Players who used it were never punished for that in any way, even when their use of startup.meta was detected, as evident from conversations between the players and the support. There's no evidence that Rockstar ever considered it a TOS violation. All this file does is slightly change the game's hash (when any characters are added at the end of its code), and only players with exactly the same hash can be in the same online session.