Steam help

[Zebo]

I am considering ditching hard copy installs and have a couple questions which are not really getting answered at steam FAQ, maybe y'all can help.

1) I have 6 PC's in the house, can I install purchased steam game on all or do I have to buy 6 copies?

2) When ordering a game through steam do you ever receive a hard copy?

3) Sorta relates to #2, but say Steam folds up shop (it happens) are all the games I bought lost forever?

 

[zinfamous]

I've never received a hard copy.

and you should only have to purchase the game once. The steam client is one account, so you just have to install that on each computer. You will have to download the game on each computer individually, however.

I've had Steam since Half-Life 2 came with my 9600 some 6 (7?) years ago. I didn't use it (install the client) for around 4 years since then, and I recently reinstalled the client and hunted down my old user name password. All of those games are still there....and what I'm saying is, it's been around for some time now, and seems to be growing every year in exposure. I think it'll be around for as long as you ever care about those games.

 

[Lonyo]

1) You can only access one game per account at any one time unless you set the computer to offline mode.
This means that if you have 2 people in the house, and one person wants to play TF2 (online) while another wants to play CS:S (also online), you can only do so if they are on individual accounts, e.g. TF2 on "ZeboTF2" account and CS:S on "ZeboCS:S" account.

If they are both on the same Steam account (say "Zebo"), you cannot play both at the same time, even on different computers in the same house/on the same internet connection.
If you want to play, say, Bioshock on one PC and Half Life 2 on another (two single player offline games), and both games are tied to the same Steam account, you can log into Steam on one computer, then go into Offline mode, and then log in on the other computer and be able to play either game on either computer at the same time. You could even play Bioshock on both computers at the same time if they are in Offline mode.

You can install all games onto all computers though (non-Steam DRM excepted) and access any and all games on that computer 'just' by logging into the relevant Steam account. Any other computer also logged in to said Steam account will be logged out.

2) No, never. All you get is a copy of the game to download which is attached to the Steam account it's bought with or for (since you can gift games).

3) They have in the past said they will try and make sure you don't lose access, but since it's not happened yet, there's no way to know. Just consider the games long term rentals.

2b) Hard copy games which you purchase that require Steam (e.g. any Valve games, CoD:MW2 etc) are useless and unusable without Steam, so there is no real "hard copy" anyway.

 

[xCxStylex]

1 - Yes, you can install each game on every PC. No limit. However...

For online games, you must be logged into the Steam account to play though, and only one account can be logged in at any time though. You could play the game offline without signing in though, but that largely that differs with each game. You're not really supposed to though, the intention is that one person be playing one copy of the game, the number of times you can install doesn't mean that 6 people should play peggle or defense grid or whatever offline game at the same time.

2 - Never do you receive a hard copy. I'm actually thankful of this now 🙂

3 - You will still be able to play them offline, same as if you don't sign into the internet. It might be difficult to reinstall them, but you can make "backups" of the games. They work so you don't have to redownload the entire thing when installing new OS's or transferring the bulk of the game data to a new OS. Hopefully, IF steam ever dies, we'll still be able to keep our "offline content" or whatever its called and

 

[KeithTalent]

1. It's tied to the account, so you have to buy per account. One of the cool things about Steam is you can really just go anywhere and download Steam, login, and download your games.

2. No, but you can make backups if you feel the need.

3. Not really sure on this, so I'll go with it's possible.

KT

 

[BlueWeasel]

I've never received a hard copy.

and you should only have to purchase the game once. The steam client is one account, so you just have to install that on each computer. You will have to download the game on each computer individually, however.

I've had Steam since Half-Life 2 came with my 9600 some 6 (7?) years ago. I didn't use it (install the client) for around 4 years since then, and I recently reinstalled the client and hunted down my old user name password. All of those games are still there....and what I'm saying is, it's been around for some time now, and seems to be growing every year in exposure. I think it'll be around for as long as you ever care about those games.

Actually, you wouldn't have to do it exactly that way. Once the games are downloaded, you can copy the entire Steam folder over to multiple computers. Then, simply install the Steam client into this folder. The client will check the files and all games would be 100% up to date.

 

[xCxStylex]

3) They have in the past said they will try and make sure you don't lose access, but since it's not happened yet, there's no way to know. Just consider the games long term rentals.

Here's a related question that I'm wondering. IF Steam should ever fold, although I doubt it will anytime soon, isn't all you need a copy of the steam client and your backed up "offline content," which are basically the install/program files. I am 100% sure you can back up the installs so you don't have to redownload them when installing on a new OS/computer, but I haven't actually done it myself. Steam downloads so fast for me that it's been a less of a hassle to download everything overnight to my different computers/OSes instead of manually backing each game up and manually? restoring them.

 

[zinfamous]

Actually, you wouldn't have to do it exactly that way. Once the games are downloaded, you can copy the entire Steam folder over to multiple computers. Then, simply install the Steam client into this folder. The client will check the files and all games would be 100% up to date.

ooo, neato.

I've only installed Steam two or three times on 2 separate computers, so it hasn't been much of a hassle...plus I only have a handful of games, mostly free through videocards...but this is good to know.

 

[aigomorla]

u can not log onto steam twice at the same time.

It would be possible for you to sign on one at a time and download, however you will be breaking every digital copy write violation in existence.

Also some games on steam require you to be logged on to play, its there form of DRM, so yes, you would need 6 different accounts + 6 different copys for it to work and not violate copy write laws, if you wanted to play on all the computers at once.

However if its just YOU, and you have 6 computers, and you just want to go from 1 to the other to test different platforms, as long as you log off steam on the last computer you were at, the new one u sit in front of will work.

And i prefer steam, unlimited downloads on your purchase, plus fast download speed, is so much better then EA Downloader, where you need to buy the option for unlimited download.

 

[Daverino]

3) If Valve and Steam vanished in a meteoric holocaust you would not be able to play some of your games online. Obviously for games that are mostly online MP through Steam you'd be out of a ton of content. Everything else you can play offline. The only caveat to that is if you have a game that is waiting to update and you weren't able to finish it before Bellevue is vaporized then you'd be stuck as the game won't launch when it is trying to patch. You can turn off auto-patching through Steam if you're afraid of getting your games stuck in such a state. It's actually a good idea if you spend a fair amount of time playing offline.

Mind you that many online games bought through Steam have their own online authentication or log ins as well. You could be at the mercy of other vendors as well. I think, for example, Dawn of War 2 requires you to log in to Windows Live and Borderlands requires Gamespy. Could be wrong on that. I believe you can log into Steam as offline and still log into the other services required to play MP, but I've never tried that.

 

[Skott]

Thats why I'm only buying thier games during the big special sales on weekends and holidays. If STEAM does go belly up, which I doubt considering how successful it is, I won't be out as much money if I payed them for full new retail value. Its a loss but not as big of a loss as could be.

 

[Lonyo]

Steam exists to change the personal in Personal Computer gaming. That's how you need to approach it.
Don't view a Steam PC game as a game that you use on your PC, view a Steam PC game as a personal game that runs on a computer.

 

[Zebo]

Excellent replies! Thanks. I've decided to only do specials to limit my exposure as it's obviously a issue if they fold, or worse, start charging for access similar to blizzard. The offline play seems iffy and I have 3 little boys inthe house who may want to play at same time so hard copy still has merit. Thanks again. Z...

 

[tviceman]

Excellent replies! Thanks. I've decided to only do specials to limit my exposure as it's obviously a issue if they fold, or worse, start charging for access similar to blizzard. The offline play seems iffy and I have 3 little boys inthe house who may want to play at same time so hard copy still has merit. Thanks again. Z...

It could be advantageous to setup two accounts if you like both single player and multiplayer games. Use one account to purchase MMO's or multiplayer-heavy games (like L4D or Modern Warfare 2). Use the other account to purchase games that are primarily single player games (like Half-Life 2, Torchlight, or Bioshock). That way you don't have to worry about starting steam in offline mode and without hassle can play Modern Warfare 2 on one account at the same time someone else is playing Torchlight on the other account. Either way, offline mode would allow you to play the same game on several computers at the same time.

All computers can have all games from all accounts installed and since there are no discs involved you don't have to worry about searching the house for the game disc you want if you're gaming is spread out across 3 pc's.

 

[Rebel44]

Excellent replies! Thanks. I've decided to only do specials to limit my exposure as it's obviously a issue if they fold, or worse, start charging for access similar to blizzard. The offline play seems iffy and I have 3 little boys inthe house who may want to play at same time so hard copy still has merit. Thanks again. Z...

Valve said that in case they fold they would release patch that would remove need to login to Steam servers

I dont believe that Steam can colapse any time soon - they are making shitload of money and are growing - and even if they die in say 10 years some1 else would just buy them.

 

[NickelPlate]

With the exception of the L4D series, I've bought all my steam games on half price weekends or holiday sales.

If you need a hard copy keep in mind there is a backup utility built into steam which allows you to backup your games to HD and then burn to a disc/s. You'll still need to have steam running to play them but you can install them later from the discs without having to re-download them again (just the updates).

 

[JoshGuru7]

At first glance it appears extremely unlikely (<1&#37😉 that Steam would disappear in the next decade. It is very profitable and as a result would simply be sold to another company if Valve were to close up shop. Also, the current profitability drastically reduces the chances that Valve or a company that bought it would fundamentally adjust the operating model very much.

That being said, I think the chances for Steam to fail are much greater than it first appears. The probabilities of the known risks appear fairly low and the unknowable risks could be contributing the lion's share to the total risk. For example, if McDonald's had recognized the possibility of being sued for serving hot coffee it would become a known risk and been easily mitigated. It is the unexpected risks (9/11 for the airlines) that would probably cause Steam to fail and if we could see them coming it wouldn't be such a severe problem.

There is a reason why I still continue to purchase Steam games in spite of believing that the chance they will not exist in 10 years is greater than most people believe. Simply put, in most of the scenarios in which I can envision Steam failing I also anticipate that my demand for the games I bought on Steam will be drastically reduced. These scenarios may not be nuclear war, alien invasion, meteor impact, or global natural disaster. Instead, they may very well be the development of a new technology or distribution that is better than Steam, say a digital gaming subscription service comparable to music subscription services (zune marketplace) or movie subscription services (netflix instant watch).

 

[Sureshot324]

Also Steam gives you an actual cd key with every game that normally comes with one. So if you bought UT 2004 off Steam and then hell froze over and Steam shut down permanently, you still have a working cd key and would just need to find a non Steam executable and then you could still play online.

 

[CurseTheSky]

There is a reason why I still continue to purchase Steam games in spite of believing that the chance they will not exist in 10 years is greater than most people believe. Simply put, in most of the scenarios in which I can envision Steam failing I also anticipate that my demand for the games I bought on Steam will be drastically reduced.

My thoughts exactly. There are a few precious games that I try to keep on hand for replayability and nostalgia (Diablo, Diablo II, Starcraft, Warcraft III, etc.), but other than that, a game I played 10 years ago no longer interests me. With the exception of those few personal nostalgic games, how many of you guys still fire up Duke Nukem 3D, Warcraft II, Sim City 2000, Mechwarrior II, and games like that?

If in 5, 10, or 15 years Steam suddenly disappears, I won't be pissed because I can no longer play Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead / 2, Bioshock, TF2, CS: S, etc. I would only be pissed about games that I had bought in the past 1-2 years, and if there's any news of Steam going down hill, I'll stop buying games from them ahead of time.

 

[CP5670]

how many of you guys still fire up Duke Nukem 3D, Warcraft II, Sim City 2000, Mechwarrior II, and games like that?

I play games like that all the time, probably as frequently as I play current games. (not those particular ones, but many others from the 90s)

Although it seems very unlikely today that Steam will go out of business, people also said that about companies like Interplay and Sierra 15 years ago. It's hard to predict these things over long periods of time. I generally avoid Steam for other reasons anyway.

 

[JoshGuru7]

My thoughts exactly. There are a few precious games that I try to keep on hand for replayability and nostalgia (Diablo, Diablo II, Starcraft, Warcraft III, etc.), but other than that, a game I played 10 years ago no longer interests me. With the exception of those few personal nostalgic games, how many of you guys still fire up Duke Nukem 3D, Warcraft II, Sim City 2000, Mechwarrior II, and games like that?

I think this is true to a larger degree than people realize. It's easy to list off a handful of old games that you still may play from time to time, but it's harder to realize that you actually played hundreds of games in the last 20 years and only are remembering a few of your personal favorites.

However, I have a larger point. Even if my desire to own Bioshock 2 never diminishes, my desire to own the Steam copy may diminish under many of the scenarios in which Steam may go bankrupt. The easy example I can think of is the success of a subscription digital gaming service which destroys Steam and eventually leaves my Steam library worthless. This would not be a big deal for me because then I would just play Bioshock 2 using the replacement subscription service.