5 ms·

I can see what you are getting at, but does that really apply here?

okamiueru 4y ago
I'm not OP. but, yes? Steam is DRM. Before DRM, this process was solved very easily by copying over files. What this adds is convenience. Which, I suppose is OK. But, in many ways, "buying games" used to come with some flexibility that we gave up for convenience. I don't think OP suggest what valve is doing is a bad move. Just that, nostalgically, it used to be quite good. But, nothing stops us from buying games on GoG instead, and just copying over install files the "good old way" either.
- adra 4y ago
  The only way this was true was when cracks were a thing. Most games had some sort of copy protection before (and often after) steam. I couldn't imagine a community of idiots downloading untrusted exes these days...
- gambiting 4y ago
  But.....you still can just "copy over files" if you really want to bring over the good old 2002-like flow. Just copy over files from another machine, then start the install process, steam will realize it already has all the files and will finish instantly, done. I've done this many times.
  - okamiueru 4y ago
    Hm, that is true. Good point. I suppose this is just a nice thing then :). Maybe OP wasn't aware that you could do this without steam complaining.
- Hamuko 4y ago
  >Before DRM, this process was solved very easily by copying over files. Before Steam, the game would just yell you to insert the CD after you copied over the files.
  - tmtvl 4y ago
    And inevitably CDs would become unreadable or lost and one could no longer play the game. I remember one of my Baldur's Gate 2 CDs having a crack from the centre to the edge after suffering an unfortunate fall.
    - snvzz 4y ago
      Unfortunate, but at least we've got gemrb, which doesn't care about DRM.
- DRW_ 4y ago
  >Steam is DRM. This is false. Steam offers OPTIONAL DRM. There are plenty of DRM free games on Steam.
- NBJack 4y ago
  Steam does not enforce digital rights management unless the distributer wants it. Many games that can be executed from their own directories without Steam even active agree with this. Steam is first and foremost a software distribution platform. This copying concept has actually been possible by hand for some time, whether by using the Backup feature or by way of just copying data from the commons directory of the installation.
  - okamiueru 4y ago
    The only way steam is not itself a DRM is if copying installed steam files is a facsimile of everything the game needs and expects. I do not think that all "DRM-free" games in steam are excluded from making some kind of necessary system changes as part of its install process. Be that changes to registry, or the likes. In other words, if the install process is necessary, then steam itself acts as a DRM, even for otherwise DRM free games, as you cannot easily copy the install files. Or, at least, not to my knowledge at least.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- Strom 4y ago
  You can manually copy over the game files even with Steam. That has always worked. Steam even offers an export option in case you don't know how to find the directory yourself. The problem isn't the copying part itself, it's getting access to the files. Windows network sharing isn't enabled by default, modern Windows even disables network discovery by default. Even when you enable it, you might not be able to access another Windows computer if it's running a passwordless account. What Steam is doing is automating the access control. No longer do you need to start configuring your OS accounts and setting up network shares. Now it just works.

I'm not OP. but, yes? Steam is DRM. Before DRM, this process was solved very easily by copying over files. What this adds is convenience. Which, I suppose is OK. But, in many ways, "buying games" used to come with some flexibility that we gave up for convenience. I don't think OP suggest what valve is doing is a bad move. Just that, nostalgically, it used to be quite good. But, nothing stops us from buying games on GoG instead, and just copying over install files the "good old way" either.

adra 4y ago
The only way this was true was when cracks were a thing. Most games had some sort of copy protection before (and often after) steam. I couldn't imagine a community of idiots downloading untrusted exes these days...
gambiting 4y ago
But.....you still can just "copy over files" if you really want to bring over the good old 2002-like flow. Just copy over files from another machine, then start the install process, steam will realize it already has all the files and will finish instantly, done. I've done this many times.
- okamiueru 4y ago
  Hm, that is true. Good point. I suppose this is just a nice thing then :). Maybe OP wasn't aware that you could do this without steam complaining.
Hamuko 4y ago
>Before DRM, this process was solved very easily by copying over files. Before Steam, the game would just yell you to insert the CD after you copied over the files.
- tmtvl 4y ago
  And inevitably CDs would become unreadable or lost and one could no longer play the game. I remember one of my Baldur's Gate 2 CDs having a crack from the centre to the edge after suffering an unfortunate fall.
  - snvzz 4y ago
    Unfortunate, but at least we've got gemrb, which doesn't care about DRM.
DRW_ 4y ago
>Steam is DRM. This is false. Steam offers OPTIONAL DRM. There are plenty of DRM free games on Steam.
NBJack 4y ago
Steam does not enforce digital rights management unless the distributer wants it. Many games that can be executed from their own directories without Steam even active agree with this. Steam is first and foremost a software distribution platform. This copying concept has actually been possible by hand for some time, whether by using the Backup feature or by way of just copying data from the commons directory of the installation.
- okamiueru 4y ago
  The only way steam is not itself a DRM is if copying installed steam files is a facsimile of everything the game needs and expects. I do not think that all "DRM-free" games in steam are excluded from making some kind of necessary system changes as part of its install process. Be that changes to registry, or the likes. In other words, if the install process is necessary, then steam itself acts as a DRM, even for otherwise DRM free games, as you cannot easily copy the install files. Or, at least, not to my knowledge at least.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Strom 4y ago
You can manually copy over the game files even with Steam. That has always worked. Steam even offers an export option in case you don't know how to find the directory yourself. The problem isn't the copying part itself, it's getting access to the files. Windows network sharing isn't enabled by default, modern Windows even disables network discovery by default. Even when you enable it, you might not be able to access another Windows computer if it's running a passwordless account. What Steam is doing is automating the access control. No longer do you need to start configuring your OS accounts and setting up network shares. Now it just works.