Steam or direct from Frontier? - the demise of an Xbox player

[Old Duck]

IMO if Elite is the only game you're going to buy on PC, get it directly from Frontier. If you plan on having a library of games, then consider Steam.

Also, as a console player myself, I found Steam a very nice "plug in replacement" for the (in my case) Playstation Store. It makes gaming on PC almost as easy and and fluid as it is on console, which has made switching back to PC gaming after years of console gaming much more easy and enjoyable for me.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

If you plan on having a library of games, then consider Steam.

That's a big reason of why so many of my games are on Steam.

When I built my new system this past Christmas, all I had to do was install Steam. All of my games were installed, including all of my progress on them all, it a couple of hours.

No visiting different websites, no entering all kinds of info all over again, just one stop and done. You ever switch computers or have a drive blow up on you, it's just one simple install to get it all back.

 

[Old Duck]

No visiting different websites, no entering all kinds of info all over again, just one stop and done. You ever switch computers or have a drive blow up on you, it's just one simple install to get it all back.

I'm looking to do this for the first time in the "opposite direction". I have an older laptop running Linux (another advantage of Steam) that I want to use as a travel laptop, as it is "disposable", so I'm installing Steam so I can play some of my older, less-demanding games like the various X3s while on planes, trains, and buses for endless hours this summer.

Speaking of, how does this work? Can I have one game running on one computer while a separate game is running on another, or does signing into Steam on one computer completely sign me out of the other for all games?

 

[Ettanin]

Speaking of, how does this work? Can I have one game running on one computer while a separate game is running on another, or does signing into Steam on one computer completely sign me out of the other for all games?

you can be logged in on multiple devices at the same time with the same account, but you cannot start the same or multiple games on different machines at the same time.

You can use offline mode on Steam and there are some games that are DRM free which can be started directly without Steam running. See also: https://steam.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_DRM-free_games

 

[CMDR Theolan]

I'd use Steam. Almost 100% uptime. No fuzz and delicery guaranteed.

Why not wait until you're EDO'd and then spend on ARX? You might like to own some of the snazzy ARX suits for virtual photography purposes, or arm variation. The weapons all have a ton of ARX skins each too, so I assume they must be popular with Cmdrs also.



I've never used a huge projector for games, but a mate used to swear by them when holidaying to avoid lugging his monitor with him. I've seen cinema screens rented out too, so I can see the appeal. I too use IEMs, and so don't forget to enable and try "DTS" in EDO audio settings @CMDR Theolan as its explicitly coded and works great for a wider 3D soundscape. If your "beast" is jacked with a DTS:X enabled soundcard you may also be able to configure locally between a 'balanced' or 'spacious' spatial mode etc... just wait until a ship unexpectedly zooms past you in proximity... base guards open fire... the "illegal download detected" claxon roars... or the new 999 searchlights focus upon you with update 12 (as per today's Frameshift Live #8) ... it'll not just be your skin you need to worry about

ps - exact same game server & same update release times too ime.
pps- always backup any custom binds.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[CMDR Theolan]

Thanks to everyone for their pros and cons and general advice.
The jury is still out on who to go with for Odyssey but I wont be buying until after my xBox migration/transfer/copy (whatever) happens.
I have to say I am enjoying being back in my ship again and the move to PC does seem to have been an upgrade in play quality.

 

[CMDR Theolan]

That said, I’ve just been told Odyssey is on sale on Steam at 40% off.

 

[Marvin the Martian]

That said, I’ve just been told Odyssey is on sale on Steam at 40% off.

Wow. Just looked.

Elite Dangerous base game is $7.49 (75% off)
Odyssey is $23.99 (40% off)

 

[NewBlacksmurf]

Thanks to everyone for their pros and cons and general advice.
The jury is still out on who to go with for Odyssey but I wont be buying until after my xBox migration/transfer/copy (whatever) happens.
I have to say I am enjoying being back in my ship again and the move to PC does seem to have been an upgrade in play quality.

I think your logic is best to wait.
I purchase directly from the developer always just in case something changes…that way I’m covered and don’t have to jump through hoops.

Also I’m not a fan of having yet another launcher up or some other app so I avoid Steam or any third party way to access a game outside of the developer tools.

 

[corvodumraio]

I bought EDH on Steam. I don't have a EDO capable PC so right now I prefer o play on Xbox because it's hard to play on a keyboard and mouse. Later I'll transfer the account form console to PC but...

Will it be possible to keep both progress? CMDR XBOX and CMDR PC

CMDR XBOX will transfer to PC and what happens to CMDR XBOX?

thanks

 

[Torrigwynt174]

I bought EDH on Steam. I don't have a EDO capable PC so right now I prefer o play on Xbox because it's hard to play on a keyboard and mouse. Later I'll transfer the account form console to PC but...

Will it be possible to keep both progress? CMDR XBOX and CMDR PC

CMDR XBOX will transfer to PC and what happens to CMDR XBOX?

thanks

Don't worry, it's more of an account copy than a transfer. The Xbox cmdr can continue on it's merry way, and so can the new PC cmdr. They're completely separate and progress will be different depending on which direction you choose for each cmdr

 

[nouspiro]

O bought ED:Horizon on Steam. Then bought Odyssey directly from FDev. Ended up refundig odysses because of horid update and bought it Odyssey from Steam instead. BTW I still can install standalone launcher and log in into it with fdev account linked to steam and it is working.

 

[Northpin]

BTW I still can install standalone launcher and log in into it with fdev account linked to steam and it is working.

That works only if you got Elite on Steam before April 2019.
ED accounts purchased later can authenticate only through Steam (if they were purchased on Steam)

 

[LanceLord]

Ok, so I’ve taken delivery of a gaming PC that exceeds the spec for Odyssey, so hopefully no problems there.
Someone in another thread said “when I say PC I mean Frontier and not Steam”.
If I purchase Odyssey through Steam at some point in the future do I run the risk of being ditched like I was as an Xbox player?
Do I purchase through Steam or Frontier?

No. Or rather, highly unlikely. I'm a Steam player who launches 100% of all single player offline and MMO/online games from my Steam library. Never had a problem running/launching and accessing the game from the Steam platform. Always had quick turn around support on refunds and tech game issues from Steam CS.

So if by "ditched" you mean being marooned from the Steam end? Then that answer is also 99.9999% unlikely. Steam was designed as a central gaming platform for gamers to play, discuss, create game content. Whenever us Steam gamers get shafted over games, it's 100% the fault of the indie dev themselves and/or actions done by the gaming publisher:

Spoiler: Perfect examples how Steam gamers got shafted/could be shafted

The Outer Worlds - against the dev's wishes/expectations, the publisher went behind the dev's back and did a backstabbing backdoor deal with EGS with this game title. Their unethical exclusivity deal delayed Steam release for about a year.

Starfield - Steam lists this as 2023 TBD. However due to the XBOX exclusivity lock out by Microsoft and fact Starfield appears to be an officially funded Microsoft asset (unlike prior Bethesda franchises like TES, Fallout, Wolfstein etc. etc.) odds are Microsoft will go the greedy pub route and restrict Starfield to their PC store. God help us PC gamers fed up with Microsoft PC gaming policies if this becomes the reality. I haven't forgotten or forgiven MS for letting it's servers wipe 100% game completion progress for Outer Worlds...

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw - publisher went punch drunk after happily chugging EGS poison Kool Aid. Then banned Steam PC gamers from accessing this highly anticipated title for over a year...

Ooblets - sadly (and understandably), this tiny indie dev drank EGS poison Kool Aid. Then sold their soul to exclusive release on EGS. So despite the game still being listed on Steam, every fan boi with a single neuron left firing knows it's going to be an EGS exclusive on release...

The Exceptional donkey's derrières aka EA games - for the longest time, this toxic publisher decided to contain their popular titles (likes of The Sims, FIFA, Star Wars franchises like Squadrons/Jedi etc.) to their cancerous leviathan Origin platform. But even then --and most ironically-- EA's greed once again got the better of it when it realized millions of die hardcore PC gamers like me REFUSED to ever buy anything from that eye gouging, buggy mess of a cancer platform known as Origin. So EA decided to settle for a 70% take on profits from some of it's most popular titles. And apparently discovered an unexpected pool of Steam gamers willing to buy their games---once Steam deflated their stratospherically overpriced titles and returned them to earth that is. Every other sale event, Steam has deeply discounted prices on games like The Sims 4. To the point where this overpriced and once obscure title now enjoys a constant, unprecedented rank on Steam's Top 100 (averaging some 20K+ players daily). EA's shareholders literally have Steam to thank for their bonus millions in profits from players still buying their buggy 8 year old franchise to date

http://store.steampowered.com/stats/Steam-Game-and-Player-Statistics?l=english

So no, you're not getting marooned/stranded if you go with Steam. The biggest advantage to being a PC Steam player is that you get to keep 100% of ALL games you purchase. So if Steam goes out of business tomorrow, I will still own every game I bought and/or downloaded to my local HD from their cloud servers.

Finally, the PR fallout from console players being stranded on Odyssey: this originated on Frontiers end and not Microsoft/Sony.