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Now it's a curse as their servers are down, and I'm unable to launch games... actually I'm now unable to launch the client because of that.
I didn't notice a down server - was this region-specific?
I kinda got used to this sort of thing when Playstation Network would go down, though I've never been happy about it. I don't understand why Steam's offline mode wouldn't work however, unless it's a game like Elite that requires you to be online.
I kinda got used to this sort of thing when Playstation Network would go down, though I've never been happy about it. I don't understand why Steam's offline mode wouldn't work however, unless it's a game like Elite that requires you to be online.
Steam is like the internet. It is what it is.
How you use it (or not) defines/reflects how you feel about it. It's merely a conduit. Others exist, some more or less accessible than the other, and I have yet to buy a steam-exclusive game.
So (for me at least) it's a moot point. Steam simply is. It provides a service that you either want/value, or not.
Blessing? Curse? Irrelevant?
Yes.
How you use it (or not) defines/reflects how you feel about it. It's merely a conduit. Others exist, some more or less accessible than the other, and I have yet to buy a steam-exclusive game.
So (for me at least) it's a moot point. Steam simply is. It provides a service that you either want/value, or not.
Blessing? Curse? Irrelevant?
Yes.
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I'm going to reuse my old thread to ask a new Steam question. I've acquired a second laptop (freebee) and I'd like to set up a new Steam account so I play games with my wife. Is there any sort of "family plan" that I should be aware of? I need the ability to have two copies of the same game running at the same time, and I figure that means buying the game twice, but if there is a way to link accounts for a discount, that would be swell.
I want to set this up later today so I can take advantage of the summer sale, so any help is appreciated ASAP. Thanks!!
I want to set this up later today so I can take advantage of the summer sale, so any help is appreciated ASAP. Thanks!!
Never done it but:
Steam News - Steam Families is here - Steam News
Hello! We are excited to announce Steam Families is now available for all users. Steam Families is a collection of new and existing family-related features. It replaces both Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View, giving you a single location to manage which games your family can access and...
EDIT: Scrap that. Only one copy can be running at a time. Sorry
Yeah there is family sharing, and you can have access to each other's full library. However, the catch is that it's stupidly done: if your partner is playing anything, you can't play any of their games, only those you own yourself. I thought it'd only prevent playing the same game at the same time, but no, if you're playing anything, your wife can't play anything from your library... The workaround for that is for the owner to be playing in offline mode.
If you're looking at a single account for multiple installs and no concurrent checking, you probably want to look at GOG.
If you're looking at a single account for multiple installs and no concurrent checking, you probably want to look at GOG.
I am assuming that my wife's account could buy the games we want to play together (which I don't mind via Steam sale, since most of these games would be under $10), but any single-player game I own she could also play using this Family Plan as long as I'm not playing that specific game at the same time, correct?
EDIT - reading your reply more closely, I guess this is not an option.... Well that's silly!
Yeah, unless things have changed, if you're online with your steam account and playing anything from your library, she's not allowed to use your games.
Well my primary use of this spare laptop will be to put a copilot in my empty seat in Elite Dangerous, which definitely will require two copies of the game. Hopefully ED is part of this summer sale!
Yeah, unfortunately it's only on console that you can buy one copy and play it with a family member on both your consoles together at the same time.
Answering my own question, I went ahead and created a new Frontier account to link my new Steam account, but now I'm having problems logging in. I remember having a hard time getting this to work when I first switched to PC, so I'll try a few more things before I cry out for help.
I've used GoG for several years and never had an issue with it (but I don't buy a lot of games). Back when Steam was new I joined and had a bad experience. This was in the early days of Steam so I'm sure its better now but I still have not loaded it throughout 3 computer changes.
I either buy games direct from the developer like I did/do with ED or through GoG. I'm looking at buying Space Engineers but it seems you have to have the Steam client installed for it to run. Is that correct ?
I don't want to go down a rabbit hole quite yet but I'm standing on the edge looking down in the hole. Then I see this on the SE website - I'm confused:
Buy Now
I either buy games direct from the developer like I did/do with ED or through GoG. I'm looking at buying Space Engineers but it seems you have to have the Steam client installed for it to run. Is that correct ?
I don't want to go down a rabbit hole quite yet but I'm standing on the edge looking down in the hole. Then I see this on the SE website - I'm confused:
Buy Now
- You will be redirected to our e-shop
- After payment, activate the game in your profile: http://shop.keenswh.com/user/Products.aspx
- Open your Steam client, install the game and play!
If a game is sold through Steam, then it needs Steam running in order to launch. Steam also serves as an authentication server, proving ownership of games you bought through it. That said, the Steam client seems very lightweight when running in the background (using %0.1 CPU max), making it much less demanding / obtrusive than the Oculus client from my observations.
So to answer my own OP, I've been happy using Steam for the most part.
Generally this is true in practice, BUT... it depends on the game. It's not a Steam requirement.
If a game uses their Steamworks library in any way, then the client is required.
If not, then you can run it whether Steam is running or not.
Most use Steamworks, because it offers things like achievements, workshop support, multiplayer, voice, etc... as well as a bunch of marketing metrics that the developer then has access to. But as a developer, you don't have to use it in order to publish on the Steam platform if you don't want.