Steam: can I play two games at once?

[Craig234]

You buy a license for one person to play the game. Not you and anyone you let play it.

If you both play the game, buy two copies. That's the license.

If only she plays the game, get her her own Steam account and buy it there - you CAN play two games at the same time on separate accounts.

 

[OCGuy]

No..and there is no reason to.

 

[wirednuts]

i wish you could sell steam games

 

[magomago]

You buy a license for one person to play the game. Not you and anyone you let play it.

If you both play the game, buy two copies. That's the license.

If only she plays the game, get her her own Steam account and buy it there - you CAN play two games at the same time on separate accounts.

meh that is bullshit. If he had two retail version this wouldn't' be an issue.

Sure, you will say, "then buy a retail version with a different license setup" but as PC gaming shifts more and more towards steam style distribution, consumers need to fight back to be able to use their purchases legitimately. Of course it comes down to the definition of legitimate, but I'd prefer the paying consumer define that term, and IMO he is using it legitimately.

But yeah to the OP: I'd try to set it up in offline mode, disconnect your internet so steam is truly offline, and see if it works. If you paid for both games I personally think its restrictive to say that your GF cannot use your account to play at the same time when you are both together. Imo there is a HUGE difference in intent between that and sharing an account with many friends so you can all share each other's games simultaneously (Which is probably why you can only have a single unique log on at any time). It may be hard to detect and formalize that, but i think the right exists. Just like someone said, I can play WOW and SC2 at the same time. I can also buy retail versions of games and do that; hell I can do that and have both copies be 50 miles apart, and it wouldn't matter... No reason that I shouldn't be able to with other things as well. We need to carefully think about the causes of piracy...and while there are many causes, IMO this would be another reason to engage in piracy (ie: you paid for both, but your GF can't play, so you get a pirated copy on her PC so she can use the game that you bought but don't play).

 

[Dumac]

No..and there is no reason to.

There is plenty of reason to.

 

[Snarpy]

i wish you could sell steam games

I never thought about this... but this might be the REAL reason why PC gaming has moved to this license bullshit. Used games are a real pain in their butt.

 

[Joemonkey]

If you put Steam itself into offline mode, could you still play online multiplayer games through it?

 

[mb]

I think it's funny how people still bitch about Steam.

If you don't like it, don't use it. There are plenty of alternatives.

And if there is a Steam-exclusive game that you do end up getting, still, don't bitch about it, because you knew about (or should have known about) the limitations. Don't support the service if you don't like it.

In other words, stop being little bitches.

 

[aka1nas]

I've thought about it, and I still don't see a problem. I have a license to run 1 instance of the game. As long as I only have 1 instance of the game running all is legal.
Don't you think it is going a little overboard for steam to tell me WHO can use my 1 instance of the game?

Not at all, I'm pretty sure that ToS that you agreed to every time you make a purchase says that you can't share the account and only the account holder is licensed to use the account.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I think it's funny how people still bitch about Steam.

If you don't like it, don't use it. There are plenty of alternatives.

And if there is a Steam-exclusive game that you do end up getting, still, don't bitch about it, because you knew about (or should have known about) the limitations. Don't support the service if you don't like it.

In other words, stop being little bitches.

If you paid for several games, but are not able to download and play any of them due to not being able to connect to Steam, you WOULD bitch. Especially if you got no response from Steam technical service after 2 e-mails and 4 days of waiting. And if the e-mail that you finally got bore no relevance to the question that you asked.

And I do think one has a right to complain about having to use steam to play a game that you bought the disk for. Granted, you know about it and can decide to not buy the game, but I think if you buy a DVD of the game, you should not have to connect to steam to play it.

 

[mb]

If you paid for several games, but are not able to download and play any of them due to not being able to connect to Steam, you WOULD bitch. Especially if you got no response from Steam technical service after 2 e-mails and 4 days of waiting. And if the e-mail that you finally got bore no relevance to the question that you asked.

And I do think one has a right to complain about having to use steam to play a game that you bought the disk for. Granted, you know about it and can decide to not buy the game, but I think if you buy a DVD of the game, you should not have to connect to steam to play it.

Funny the one person I wasn't really responding to responds to my reply. The first part I can agree with that it shouldn't take that long, but most likely the problem is a simple one on your end that could be fixed using their guides they have published or by asking for help on their forums.

As far as the second part of your post.. no. Don't buy the game, even on DVD, if it uses steam and you don't like Steam. Vote with your wallet.

 

[aka1nas]

meh that is bullshit. If he had two retail version this wouldn't' be an issue.

That's the entire point, he has a single license. If he wants two people to be able to play the same game, they need to purchase a separate license on a different steam account.

He wants to let two players play on the equivalent of a single retail copy, which usually isn't allowed on physical purchases either.

 

[Spike]

That's the entire point, he has a single license. If he wants two people to be able to play the same game, they need to purchase a separate license on a different steam account.

He wants to let two players play on the equivalent of a single retail copy, which usually isn't allowed on physical purchases either.

Isn't allowed with retail purchases? Even the annoying limited activation games still allow you to install it on multiple PC's. That means once I'm done with the game I can install it on another PC and my wife/brother/friend can play it. These days even Microsoft is being more generous allowing office to be installed on multiple PC's (this was allowed for a while, but never really advertised), why is gaming going to opposite direction?

I personally have several steam accounts, most of which I setup and bought games for just for lan parties so others don't need to buy the game. This I understand since I'm playing copies of the same game on multiple pcs at the same time, of course I would need to purchase extra copies. It's not being able to play an old game from another PC that seems rather restrictive.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Isn't allowed with retail purchases? Even the annoying limited activation games still allow you to install it on multiple PC's. That means once I'm done with the game I can install it on another PC and my wife/brother/friend can play it. These days even Microsoft is being more generous allowing office to be installed on multiple PC's (this was allowed for a while, but never really advertised), why is gaming going to opposite direction?

I personally have several steam accounts, most of which I setup and bought games for just for lan parties so others don't need to buy the game. This I understand since I'm playing copies of the same game on multiple pcs at the same time, of course I would need to purchase extra copies. It's not being able to play an old game from another PC that seems rather restrictive.

This post echos my feeling perfectly.

 

[Craig234]

Isn't allowed with retail purchases? Even the annoying limited activation games still allow you to install it on multiple PC's. That means once I'm done with the game I can install it on another PC and my wife/brother/friend can play it. These days even Microsoft is being more generous allowing office to be installed on multiple PC's (this was allowed for a while, but never really advertised), why is gaming going to opposite direction?

I personally have several steam accounts, most of which I setup and bought games for just for lan parties so others don't need to buy the game. This I understand since I'm playing copies of the same game on multiple pcs at the same time, of course I would need to purchase extra copies. It's not being able to play an old game from another PC that seems rather restrictive.

Read the license more carefully. I doubt it allows you letting others play it, even if you can easily violate the license.

 

[Thump553]

Craig234: under your interpretation of the license, a friend cannot come over to my house and try out my store bought copy of a game on my computer.

What's next-only the purchaser is allowed to view movies/listen to music? Everyone else has to leave the room?

If the license does in fact state that it is far too restrictive for the real world.

 

[Raider1284]

Craig234: under your interpretation of the license, a friend cannot come over to my house and try out my store bought copy of a game on my computer.

There is a very big difference between someone coming over to your house to view/play something. As opposed to you installing your steam game on their computer and letting them play your game on their computer when you arent there....

 

[Lonyo]

There is a very big difference between someone coming over to your house to view/play something. As opposed to you installing your steam game on their computer and letting them play your game on their computer when you arent there....

That was never the suggestion in the OP, which started this thread.
He wanted two of 'his' games running on his computers in his house at the same time.

But basically according to his interpretation of the license, you can't have a friendly king of the hill competition on your home games console, you can't share games within a family, you can't let your own kids play your games, you can't buy a game for your kids to share.
Basically any form of familial game use which involves the original purchaser (who has also played at least once) not partaking would be against the license, and enforcing such licensing is acceptable.

This is also why Steam is terrible for families.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Craig234: under your interpretation of the license, a friend cannot come over to my house and try out my store bought copy of a game on my computer.

What's next-only the purchaser is allowed to view movies/listen to music? Everyone else has to leave the room?

If the license does in fact state that it is far too restrictive for the real world.

Agreed. Some people are just too daft though.

 

[Mike Gayner]

And the constant, unending bitching from PC gamers continues....

 

[magomago]

That's the entire point, he has a single license. If he wants two people to be able to play the same game, they need to purchase a separate license on a different steam account.

He wants to let two players play on the equivalent of a single retail copy, which usually isn't allowed on physical purchases either.

uh no.

read his post. He wants to play two different games that he purchased at the same time.

He isn't trying to load up 2 instances of the same game. My comment actually means "IF he bought a retail version of civ5 and a retail version of shogun he wouldn't be dealing with this bullshit"

 

[Mike Gayner]

This is the way Steam works. Don't like it? Don't use it.

And stop your bitching.

 

[Ross Ridge]

He isn't trying to load up 2 instances of the same game. My comment actually means "IF he bought a retail version of civ5 and a retail version of shogun he wouldn't be dealing with this bullshit"

Unfortunately the retail box versions of Civilization V and Total War: Shogun 2 both use Steam, so even if had bought both games at retail he'd still be dealing with this bullshit.

 

[Rebel44]

1. If you paid for several games, but are not able to download and play any of them due to not being able to connect to Steam, you WOULD bitch.
2. Especially if you got no response from Steam technical service after 2 e-mails and 4 days of waiting.

1. Either software conflict in your PC or problem on your internet connection (Steam network is working)
- If you have AVG, uninstall it - I recently saw several similar cases in Steam forum - AVG was responsible for that problem (if you can easily do clean install od Windows + Steam, it would be best way to make sure that software on your PC isnt a problem)
- try tracert to some Steam server (if you have notebook, try it also from different internet connection - that would help to check if there is problem with your internet connection).

2. by bumping your ticket, you caused it to be pushed at the end of queue.

 

[Lonyo]

And the constant, unending bitching from PC gamers continues....

PC gamers who like to have rights*
Many PC gamers are fine with giving up their rights to Steam. And yes, they do give up their rights to Steam, such as when they buy a game which doesn't require Steam through Steam, and the original EULA of the game states that they have the right to transfer (sell) their game to another person, a right which they can't exercise when they purchase through Steam.

I'm one of those who doesn't use it.