Easier Online Play with PPSSPP v1.20+
Back on March 3, 2026, PPSSPP publicly released their latest update, version 1.20. With it, came a wealth of improvements to the emulator, but notably for us at Tactics League, a major built-in feature that will make playing FFT WotL over the internet easier than ever before.
Introducing Ad Hoc Relay Servers
One of the (apparent) hurdles in getting more community members involved with the PvP Patch or just playing FFT WotL online multiplayer in general, even with the original game, is the amount of various installations you need to complete to be able to do so. Previously, we used ZeroTier VPN to handle the PSP’s local network mode (named Ad Hoc) over the internet by tunneling the connection over a virtual LAN environment. For those not technically inclined, it could be a difficult task or even off-putting to continue with getting set up for online play.
Now, with PPSSPP v1.20+, the ZeroTier step is no longer necessary, port forwarding your router or firewall isn’t as needed either (though enabling PPSSPP through Windows Firewall is still a good idea for the sake of less headaches), and even mobile connections (4G/5G) can play too versus Wi-Fi or other mobile users without extra steps to do so.
Ad Hoc Relay Servers forward these “local” network packets from one player to the other via a central server (in this case, we will be using socom.cc) which also removes a lot of the technical hurdles that comes about with networking. What this means for players is that we can use the settings directly in the emulator to set up a connection and battle it out without needing a VPN or even sharing our VPN IP address to make that connection – faster gaming and smoother connections for all!
Join our Discord and Better Matchmake
Even with this new feat, matchmaking with another player is a bit troublesome as the game requires one player to “Host” a game while the other “Joins.” There is a 30-second window before the fails to connect to others as it doesn’t have a lobbying system found in more modern games.
The Tactics League Discord is the avenue to find players, create fairer matchmaking (by using our bot to determine who is Host or Guest), and of course communicate and grow. If you are interested in partaking in Melee or Rendezvous, I encourage you to join our Discord today!
