playing on iPad with Steam Link and OpenVPN!

loving this community and this game. just wanted to share in case anyone else is addicted to this game like i am… i had to figure out how to play on my work lunch break! unfortunately no wifi at work. feel free to ask questions or contribute if you want to.

here's what i have:
1. iPad Pro 9.7 with cellular (Verizon) 4G
– Steam Link app
– OpenVPN app
– Zagg keyboard
2. Gaming PC (also running Valheim Dedicated Server for me and friends. not required for this)
3. Raspberry Pi 4 running PiHole and PiVPN

there are guides on the internet to setup PiVPN and Steam Link, so i won't rehash that here but i'm happy to answer questions!

one issue was to temporarily setup TeamViewer (any remote access tool will work) because the first time i connected my iPad using Steam Link to my PC, there was a one-time security popup to allow Steam keyboard input for my Windows Hello PIN. so on my phone, i connected to TeamViewer and click OK. i couldn't do that on the steam link because the keyboard and mouse were blocked.

overall the gameplay is good, even on cellular. i had to customize the on-screen overlay and add buttons for mouse wheel up and down, then remove some on-screen buttons since i have a keyboard. also turn off the gyroscope!! if you don't have a keyboard, it plays like any other mobile FPS with touch controls. i mainly just farm trees or craft potions/food on my lunch break, since the control isn't super accurate so it would be frustrating to do intricate building or intense fighting.

in the future i want to look into an iPad compatible mouse if I can't get use to these on-screen controls.

next year i hope to get the Steam Deck but then i gotta find wifi or use a cellular hotspot…