6 ms·

Why is a launcher even needed? Isn't it better to provide downloads and payments from their website rather than paying 25% of transactions to Valve?

crooked-v 5y ago
Among other things, Steam Workshop, seamless multiplayer, and automatic cloud syncing are substantial value-adds for many, many games.
Ekaros 5y ago
Why is package manager needed on Linux? Isn't it better to download everything as source code and compile yourself?
- NullPrefix 5y ago
  My package manager allows me to see the URL to download it and compile it manually. Does Steam/Bethesda/other game launcher allows this?
  - gpderetta 5y ago
    There are command line tools to download steam packages, yes.
  - notafraudster 5y ago
    I mean, yes, you can add non-Steam games to Steam, which is the analogue here.
    - account42 5y ago
      That is not really the analogue as non-Steam games only benefit from a tiny part of Steams features wheres almost all Linux package manager let you configure the repositories they pull from and those repositories can (at least theoretically) be used with other package managers.
      - notafraudster 5y ago
        All of the features of Steam that aren't directly tied to having an authenticated purchase of the game on Steam -- so excluding achievements, leaderboards, multiplayer, DLC -- work via adding non-Steam games to Steam. You can use the game via Proton, you can make use of Steam Input, you can use the in-game overlay, share screenshots, etc. But of course adding a non-Steam version of the game doesn't magically give you a Steam version of the game absent a key-based import (which Valve supports both technically and a matter of policy).
    - NullPrefix 5y ago
      It's the other way around. Does Steam or Bethesda launcher let me download and install manually?
shuntress 5y ago
Why is a package repository even needed? Managing a hundred different games from a dozen different sources is a pain. If we lived in some fantasy utopia with standardized identity authentication and easily-verifiable-cryptographically-secure-proof-of-purchase then maybe distributed content distribution could make sense.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  DRM with NFT on distributed blockchain sounds like fun mess to solve. With DRM operating correctly and not allowing duplication of licenses and content being permanently on blockchain so game developer going bankrupt wouldn't kill it...
mikepurvis 5y ago
The siblings mention some good ones, but another for Steam in particular is the console-like experience available via Big Picture mode. Not only is this a significant aesthetic/ergonomic step up from how you launch software directly from the desktop OS, but it's also able to do some niceties like automatically handling controller mapping— for example, presenting your PlayStation or Switch pad to games as an xinput device (which is the universal standard for PC gaming).
- gpderetta 5y ago
  Also steam link!
  - mikepurvis 5y ago
    I was going to mention that, but tbh it's been lackluster every time I've actually tried it. It's possible my computer just isn't up for doing the stream encoding part, but even outside of perf issues, I feel like I've had problems with the controls, it interfering with Window audio devices, and other random headaches. Maybe it's been a better experience for some others though?
    - gpderetta 5y ago
      I use it on my TV downstairs, connected with my Linux desktop upstairs. Performance wise it works great when wired, but it is unreliable on wireless. For casual gaming the latency is perfectly fine, but some games, like Dirt Rally, it can make huge difference even for a mediocre player like me. Audio works fine almost always [1]. Controls usually work ok (I use both an x360 controller and a steam controller) but sometime it requires a bit of connecting and disconnecting, but to be honest it is probably more of a proton issue than steam link. Overall I'm quite happy, although it is not yet a seamless console-like experience. [1] There was a brief period last year when steam would crash when running under PulseAudio, and switching to alsa would prevent audio to be streamed. The issue fixed itself, either because of a steam update or a system update.
adamrezich 5y ago
we forget that before Steam, the digital downloads for AAA games scene was the wild effin' west. no idea if this ever changed but if you bought Spore at launch, you were limited in the number of times you could download and activate your purchased copy... and if you wanted more, you had to pay for it when the time came. without Steam we might still see various publishers imposing weird restrictions like this.
ajnin 5y ago
Steam is very convenient for users, many people won't even consider buying a game if it's not on Steam. I guess they have more potential sales this way.
charcircuit 5y ago
>to provide downloads There are 2 problems with this. 1. You can't downloaded patches of game updates (with good ux). You would need to downloaded the entire game for every update which is bad. 2. You can't install the game to the system without a program. >and payments from their website Steam can provide less friction to make a payment since someone likely already has payment information attached to their account. A 25% cut is worth it if they can make more than 25% revenue than they otherwise would have made. There is also the marketing potential of being in the steam store. Gamers looking for a new game can see / find your game. You can see people on your friends list playing your game. You can see friends reviewing the game or getting achievements on your feed.
- account42 5y ago
  > 1. You can't downloaded patches of game updates (with good ux). You would need to downloaded the entire game for every update which is bad. Lol no patch installers were a thing before Steam. And usually more efficient - for the longest time Steam would re-download any changed files.
  - charcircuit 5y ago
    >patch installers were a thing before Steam That would essentially be a launcher. We are talking about a downloaded on a website. A website can't patch a file, not know what patches you need to get up to date.
- simion314 5y ago
  >1. You can't downloaded patches of game updates And with Steam(at this moment) there is no way to tell it to "please don't update this game and let me play this version". You can disable the automatic updates but you won't be able to run a game from the launcher if you are not uptodate because the Play button is changed to Update.
  - shagie 5y ago
    Some games (not all) allow you to select a beta that is an older version of the game. https://imgur.com/a/ieZdqxc https://imgur.com/a/ieZdqxc
res0nat0r 5y ago
Steam provides a massive CDN infrastructure, SDK / API integrations for all kinds of things, release manager etc. Plus just being on their ecosystem helps sales too. I personally can't stand any other game launchers and just wish I could get everything on Steam.
mannerheim 5y ago
Maybe if you're on Windows, but I've found Steam is pretty reliable on what games will work on Linux, and I figure I can probably get a refund if it doesn't (which I haven't even had to).

crooked-v 5y ago

Among other things, Steam Workshop, seamless multiplayer, and automatic cloud syncing are substantial value-adds for many, many games.

Ekaros 5y ago

Why is package manager needed on Linux? Isn't it better to download everything as source code and compile yourself?

NullPrefix 5y ago
My package manager allows me to see the URL to download it and compile it manually. Does Steam/Bethesda/other game launcher allows this?
- gpderetta 5y ago
  There are command line tools to download steam packages, yes.
- notafraudster 5y ago
  I mean, yes, you can add non-Steam games to Steam, which is the analogue here.
  - account42 5y ago
    That is not really the analogue as non-Steam games only benefit from a tiny part of Steams features wheres almost all Linux package manager let you configure the repositories they pull from and those repositories can (at least theoretically) be used with other package managers.
    - notafraudster 5y ago
      All of the features of Steam that aren't directly tied to having an authenticated purchase of the game on Steam -- so excluding achievements, leaderboards, multiplayer, DLC -- work via adding non-Steam games to Steam. You can use the game via Proton, you can make use of Steam Input, you can use the in-game overlay, share screenshots, etc. But of course adding a non-Steam version of the game doesn't magically give you a Steam version of the game absent a key-based import (which Valve supports both technically and a matter of policy).
  - NullPrefix 5y ago
    It's the other way around. Does Steam or Bethesda launcher let me download and install manually?

shuntress 5y ago

Why is a package repository even needed? Managing a hundred different games from a dozen different sources is a pain. If we lived in some fantasy utopia with standardized identity authentication and easily-verifiable-cryptographically-secure-proof-of-purchase then maybe distributed content distribution could make sense.

Ekaros 5y ago
DRM with NFT on distributed blockchain sounds like fun mess to solve. With DRM operating correctly and not allowing duplication of licenses and content being permanently on blockchain so game developer going bankrupt wouldn't kill it...

mikepurvis 5y ago

The siblings mention some good ones, but another for Steam in particular is the console-like experience available via Big Picture mode. Not only is this a significant aesthetic/ergonomic step up from how you launch software directly from the desktop OS, but it's also able to do some niceties like automatically handling controller mapping— for example, presenting your PlayStation or Switch pad to games as an xinput device (which is the universal standard for PC gaming).

gpderetta 5y ago
Also steam link!
- mikepurvis 5y ago
  I was going to mention that, but tbh it's been lackluster every time I've actually tried it. It's possible my computer just isn't up for doing the stream encoding part, but even outside of perf issues, I feel like I've had problems with the controls, it interfering with Window audio devices, and other random headaches. Maybe it's been a better experience for some others though?
  - gpderetta 5y ago
    I use it on my TV downstairs, connected with my Linux desktop upstairs. Performance wise it works great when wired, but it is unreliable on wireless. For casual gaming the latency is perfectly fine, but some games, like Dirt Rally, it can make huge difference even for a mediocre player like me. Audio works fine almost always [1]. Controls usually work ok (I use both an x360 controller and a steam controller) but sometime it requires a bit of connecting and disconnecting, but to be honest it is probably more of a proton issue than steam link. Overall I'm quite happy, although it is not yet a seamless console-like experience. [1] There was a brief period last year when steam would crash when running under PulseAudio, and switching to alsa would prevent audio to be streamed. The issue fixed itself, either because of a steam update or a system update.

adamrezich 5y ago

we forget that before Steam, the digital downloads for AAA games scene was the wild effin' west. no idea if this ever changed but if you bought Spore at launch, you were limited in the number of times you could download and activate your purchased copy... and if you wanted more, you had to pay for it when the time came. without Steam we might still see various publishers imposing weird restrictions like this.

ajnin 5y ago

Steam is very convenient for users, many people won't even consider buying a game if it's not on Steam. I guess they have more potential sales this way.

charcircuit 5y ago

>to provide downloads There are 2 problems with this. 1. You can't downloaded patches of game updates (with good ux). You would need to downloaded the entire game for every update which is bad. 2. You can't install the game to the system without a program. >and payments from their website Steam can provide less friction to make a payment since someone likely already has payment information attached to their account. A 25% cut is worth it if they can make more than 25% revenue than they otherwise would have made. There is also the marketing potential of being in the steam store. Gamers looking for a new game can see / find your game. You can see people on your friends list playing your game. You can see friends reviewing the game or getting achievements on your feed.

account42 5y ago
> 1. You can't downloaded patches of game updates (with good ux). You would need to downloaded the entire game for every update which is bad. Lol no patch installers were a thing before Steam. And usually more efficient - for the longest time Steam would re-download any changed files.
- charcircuit 5y ago
  >patch installers were a thing before Steam That would essentially be a launcher. We are talking about a downloaded on a website. A website can't patch a file, not know what patches you need to get up to date.
simion314 5y ago
>1. You can't downloaded patches of game updates And with Steam(at this moment) there is no way to tell it to "please don't update this game and let me play this version". You can disable the automatic updates but you won't be able to run a game from the launcher if you are not uptodate because the Play button is changed to Update.
- shagie 5y ago
  Some games (not all) allow you to select a beta that is an older version of the game. https://imgur.com/a/ieZdqxc https://imgur.com/a/ieZdqxc

res0nat0r 5y ago

Steam provides a massive CDN infrastructure, SDK / API integrations for all kinds of things, release manager etc. Plus just being on their ecosystem helps sales too. I personally can't stand any other game launchers and just wish I could get everything on Steam.

mannerheim 5y ago

Maybe if you're on Windows, but I've found Steam is pretty reliable on what games will work on Linux, and I figure I can probably get a refund if it doesn't (which I haven't even had to).