Steam Family Sharing is Now Avaliable

[D.j. Wellborn]

I don't think you quite understand how it works. You can't lend out specific games. Once you authorize a computer +account (which is easily done via teamviewer) that person has full access to your steam game library. When you play any game, they can't play any game in youe library. If they are busy playing and you start playing, even if not the same game, they get booted out.

Uhhh, what? Actually you can pick and choose what games other people have access to. I use the feature myself so my mom can play Starbound without having to look at the other 60+ games i have cluttering up my library. If you go to settings--> Family--> Family View there is an option that says 'only games I choose'

 

[WeepingAngels]

I don't understand how this is any different from what you could already do with Steam. My son often logs into my account on his computer and we don't use this family sharing.

 

[D.j. Wellborn]

I don't understand how this is any different from what you could already do with Steam. My son often logs into my account on his computer and we don't use this family sharing.

I don't think you're actually allowed to share an account like that. I think it says it in the terms of service but I'm not 100% sure. Also it gives the person who doesn't own the game their own saves in the steam cloud. The way you and your son are doing it you both have to work in the same cloud space so your saves aren't separate.

 

[WeepingAngels]

I don't understand how this is any different from what you could already do with Steam. My son often logs into my account on his computer and we don't use this family sharing.

I don't think you're actually allowed to share an account like that. I think it says it in the terms of service but I'm not 100% sure. Also it gives the person who doesn't own the game their own saves in the steam cloud. The way you and your son are doing it you both have to work in the same cloud space so your saves aren't separate.

Since when? Steams strong point has always been that you can log into any computer to access your games. My son lives in my house and of course I can let him log in to my account in his bedroom.

I guess the saves thing is cool.

 

[Slash2x]

Steam Family Sharing is Now Avaliable

Hey hey Steve family sharing you got it wrong blah blah blah comments the rest of the thread said....

OT: Ehh Steam will change it to share games at the same IP at some point it if their notes and general direction are any indicator. So people in the same home will be able to share easier. Right now my kids will have to stick with playing on their own accounts, with my games, while I am at work.

 

[CJ Schappert]

It actually makes sense they way they did it, it's exactly like sharing your "insert console name" with ppl, you can't play it if they are and vice versa. They took the "you should be able share digital like physical copies" request literally, but like there was only 1 console in use.

Not really. In phyiscal i can give a game to a friend and he can play it on his console. here its WHOLE LIBRARY or nothing, and he cant play any of it if im playing anything, so no "lend your friend a game your not currently playing" either.

Please note what I said again. 1 console in use. The way steam implemented sharing is not giving a friend your game to play on their console, but sharing your "console" with them. Like roommates with 1 PS3, bothers with 1 xbox. The sharing is based on one not using the console at all, for the other to. But for this replace console, with "Library". I said it made sense in that way. Is it the best way to implement sharing of games? No. But is it a method that already exists in the world of physical copies for games? Yes.

 

[Nielas]

It actually makes sense they way they did it, it's exactly like sharing your "insert console name" with ppl, you can't play it if they are and vice versa. They took the "you should be able share digital like physical copies" request literally, but like there was only 1 console in use.

Not really. In phyiscal i can give a game to a friend and he can play it on his console. here its WHOLE LIBRARY or nothing, and he cant play any of it if im playing anything, so no "lend your friend a game your not currently playing" either.

Please note what I said again. 1 console in use. The way steam implemented sharing is not giving a friend your game to play on their console, but sharing your "console" with them. Like roommates with 1 PS3, bothers with 1 xbox. The sharing is based on one not using the console at all, for the other to. But for this replace console, with "Library". I said it made sense in that way. Is it the best way to implement sharing of games? No. But is it a method that already exists in the world of physical copies for games? Yes.

I have a cat that barks. Except to make that statement true you need to replace "cat" with "dog".

You are trying to stretch an analogy into a comparison that simply does not work. For a steam user "console" is just the PC where you play the game. If two people already share a PC between them then this entire feature is completely useless to them. It only makes sense for people who already have their own PCs. In addition if you want to compare the digital games to physical objects that need to be shared physically then each game would be seen as a separate item and not one big monolithic "library".

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

I was really excited and slightly baffled that Valve had finally given PC gamers the convenience of lending games. Then I actually read how this abortion works. That will teach me to be optimistic about Steam features.

oh boy, the first digital distribution service to provide some sort of framework for lending games, how dare they!

granted the first pancake is usually a burnt one but the way they implemented it is quite horrible. still i guess its better than nothing.

i wouldnt say horrible but it definitively needs improvement, the important thing here is that valve took the first step, they own the biggest distribution platform around, any other digital distribution platform hoping to remain competitive must also include a similar feature now

 

[Something Amyss]

I didn't look into the XBone DRM stuff except that they wanted 24 hour check-ins or else your console was bricked. I didn't bother looking into how they had their "one loan per lifetime" or whatever they intended because I have absolutely no intention on owning an XBone.

Actually, they claimed you'd be able to share with people within a network of friends. The tradeoff to being able to play and move your games was the check-in. People weren't kind about it being the first of its kind, they bitched to no end about how DRM was awful.

It seems weird when Steam gets slack for not being perfect, yet virtually everyone else has to get it exactly right the first time.

 

[D.j. Wellborn]

I don't understand how this is any different from what you could already do with Steam. My son often logs into my account on his computer and we don't use this family sharing.

I don't think you're actually allowed to share an account like that. I think it says it in the terms of service but I'm not 100% sure. Also it gives the person who doesn't own the game their own saves in the steam cloud. The way you and your son are doing it you both have to work in the same cloud space so your saves aren't separate.

Since when? Steams strong point has always been that you can log into any computer to access your games. My son lives in my house and of course I can let him log in to my account in his bedroom.

I guess the saves thing is cool.

It's not that your account is being logged into another computer, I think it's that you're letting your son use your account. I do the same thing with my friend FYI so I totally know where you're coming from. I think the reason that Steam is making this such a big deal is because (I think it's stated in the terms of service)two different people, whether they're related or not, can't share a single account. That's all I'm saying.

 

[Strazdas]

I was really excited and slightly baffled that Valve had finally given PC gamers the convenience of lending games. Then I actually read how this abortion works. That will teach me to be optimistic about Steam features.

oh boy, the first digital distribution service to provide some sort of framework for lending games, how dare they!

granted the first pancake is usually a burnt one but the way they implemented it is quite horrible. still i guess its better than nothing.

i wouldnt say horrible but it definitively needs improvement, the important thing here is that valve took the first step, they own the biggest distribution platform around, any other digital distribution platform hoping to remain competitive must also include a similar feature now

true, its that their trying that matters now anyway. steam was horrible platform when it launched in 2003 as well, but look what it became now, people follow it religiuosly, praise lord GabeN

Still i do hope they get on it and make it nice and fix my problem while their at it too. I see they fixed the automatic login to friendslist now, so i guess they do try to fix their ptroblems eventually (took them long enough though).

Personally i would always prefer no-drm services like GOG. but damn when they got a 90% off it may just be worth sucking up and letting DRM rape me for it.

Ah and yes i do hope other platforms start some kind of sharing too now. That is definatelly a feature that should be implemented everywhere. oh well gaming companise became so huge now that things move slow so i guess we gota be patient.

 

[NuclearKangaroo]

I was really excited and slightly baffled that Valve had finally given PC gamers the convenience of lending games. Then I actually read how this abortion works. That will teach me to be optimistic about Steam features.

oh boy, the first digital distribution service to provide some sort of framework for lending games, how dare they!

granted the first pancake is usually a burnt one but the way they implemented it is quite horrible. still i guess its better than nothing.

i wouldnt say horrible but it definitively needs improvement, the important thing here is that valve took the first step, they own the biggest distribution platform around, any other digital distribution platform hoping to remain competitive must also include a similar feature now

true, its that their trying that matters now anyway. steam was horrible platform when it launched in 2003 as well, but look what it became now, people follow it religiuosly, praise lord GabeN

Still i do hope they get on it and make it nice and fix my problem while their at it too. I see they fixed the automatic login to friendslist now, so i guess they do try to fix their ptroblems eventually (took them long enough though).

Personally i would always prefer no-drm services like GOG. but damn when they got a 90% off it may just be worth sucking up and letting DRM rape me for it.

Ah and yes i do hope other platforms start some kind of sharing too now. That is definatelly a feature that should be implemented everywhere. oh well gaming companise became so huge now that things move slow so i guess we gota be patient.

i loooove valve and steam so much, i can tell you, its because of them that i can own games legally

and its not just the insane prices, i love most of the features the service has too, i mean, god, the workshop is simply glorious

but after i got a few freebies via GoG i must admit i like their hassle free way too, if i had the money id buy stuff off of them too, nowadays i get most of my games via trading, getting dollars is very hard in my country

and im sure this feature will see some evolution over time, i mean WHAT STEAM FEATURE HASNT EXPERIENCED SOME CHANGES?

trading, community features, market, workshop, etc, all those things have evolved since they were introduced

 

[WeepingAngels]

I don't understand how this is any different from what you could already do with Steam. My son often logs into my account on his computer and we don't use this family sharing.

I don't think you're actually allowed to share an account like that. I think it says it in the terms of service but I'm not 100% sure. Also it gives the person who doesn't own the game their own saves in the steam cloud. The way you and your son are doing it you both have to work in the same cloud space so your saves aren't separate.

Since when? Steams strong point has always been that you can log into any computer to access your games. My son lives in my house and of course I can let him log in to my account in his bedroom.

I guess the saves thing is cool.

It's not that your account is being logged into another computer, I think it's that you're letting your son use your account. I do the same thing with my friend FYI so I totally know where you're coming from. I think the reason that Steam is making this such a big deal is because (I think it's stated in the terms of service)two different people, whether they're related or not, can't share a single account. That's all I'm saying.

I didn't know that. Makes me dislike Steam even more than I already do.

Think about this. A downloaded 360 and PS3 game can be shared with multiple accounts on the same console and can also be downloaded to other consoles (the 360 you need to be online and the PS3 you can activate a second console and play on both at the same time). That makes Steam less consumer friendly than Sony and Microsoft.