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I truly cannot describe the amount of confusion that courses through me each time I open the Epic Launcher. I know that Epic decided to create it using the Unre

I truly cannot describe the amount of confusion that courses through me each time I open the Epic Launcher. I know that Epic decided to create it using the Unreal Engine UMG technology, but it truly shines as one of the most sluggish applications on my entire PC. At this point, I would _gladly_ accept an Electron application in it's place. Just wild to me that UX teams at Epic seem happy to deliver this to users.

TulliusCicero 4y ago
I find that Steam can also be quite sluggish, but Steam has the excuse of possessing an enormous number of features.
- zwirbl 4y ago
  Steam still feels orders of magnitude more responsive
- Semaphor 4y ago
  Huh, the only time it's sluggish, is from internet delay for me. What parts are slow for you?
  - ladberg 4y ago
    Not OP but on Mac at least I find it wayyy faster to browse the steam marketplace and community sites in Safari or Chrome than in-app. Everything about it is slow from loading pages to scrolling to clicking buttons.
    - Semaphor 4y ago
      Huh. Not an issue for me, but I use windows, maybe their Mac app sucks?
      - Gigachad 4y ago
        The Linux one is slow too. You have to manually turn off animated profile pics in the friends section otherwise it’s unusable slow, like 1fps.
  - KronisLV 4y ago
    > What parts are slow for you? Not OP, personally the Steam UI seems to freeze in the following cases for me: - when opening or scrolling my library, as the icons load in (~400 games) - when trying to install a game (delay until the install dialog pops up) The other slowness feels inconsequential, like when opening a store page or launching a game - on par with what you'd get when an average web app is loading or an Electron app is being launched. Pretty much every other store out there has been worse in comparison, GOG Galaxy seems to be reasonably close to me though, Origin and Epic are both slower in my experience.
    - Semaphor 4y ago
      OS? I don't have freezes, with more games (though most are in closed categories). Galaxy is second best for me as well, but it's also the only other app trying. I don't remember any install freezes, but I wouldn't bet on that one.
- seba_dos1 4y ago
  Guess what? During the last few years, more and more parts of Steam's UI got rewritten to work in a very similar way to how Electron does (using CEF). Back when these views were still in the minority it was easy to identify them by how sluggish they felt compared to the rest :)
smoldesu 4y ago
Legendary's frontends are great cross-platform, but especially if you're on Linux: https://github.com/Dummerle/Rare https://github.com/Dummerle/Rare This one uses the native Qt library and less resources than Steam.
- CodesInChaos 4y ago
  > Uses the native Qt library It's described as a CLI in the readme you linked, so how does it use Qt?
  - smoldesu 4y ago
    Thanks for catching that, I updated it to link to Rare (the Legendary frontend I use)
- entropicdrifter 4y ago
  Also an excellent alternative (also for Linux initially, but now on Windows and MacOS too) is Heroic Games Launcher: https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ I started using it instead of Lutris for most of my non-Steam installs and it just works for the most part, which is fantastic. Even auto-updates my GOG and EGS games.
  - codetrotter 4y ago
    Heroic is built with electron. Gross!
    - entropicdrifter 4y ago
      Still faster than using the Epic Store app. The GUI is incredibly responsive
- rickstanley 4y ago
  Lutris is also an alternative. They use GTK if I'm not mistaken. https://lutris.net/games/epic-games-store/ https://lutris.net/games/epic-games-store/
ryandvm 4y ago
Also what kind of shitty launcher requires admin privileges every time it runs?
- andybak 4y ago
  Not denying it's shittiness but it doesn't do that for me.
- m463 4y ago
  maybe it's not just a launcher
Semaphor 4y ago
I think they use the same devs as the Amazon prime twitch gaming thing. It's just as slow.
- Kiro 4y ago
  > Amazon prime twitch gaming thing What are you referring to?
  - Semaphor 4y ago
    They have this free gaming app with Amazon prime that changed names several times.
gramie 4y ago
I use the GOG launcher, which centralizes my Steam, Epic, and GOG games.
- standardUser 4y ago
  You can play games you bought in the Epic store, and are usually launched with the Epic launcher, without having the Epic launcher installed??
  - squeaky-clean 4y ago
    It depends on the game, but if they require the Epic launcher it will automatically open the Epic launcher and run the game for you. No need to keep it always running or search multiple store launchers to find which store you purchased X game with. They're all in one place.
  - sgtnoodle 4y ago
    https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ seems to work well on my steam deck.
- pynappo 4y ago
  I'd also recommend https://playnite.link/ https://playnite.link/ which is an open source launcher that does the same stuff.
  - gramie 4y ago
    That's really fantastic. Better integration than the GOG client, and it isn't always trying to sell me something!

TulliusCicero 4y ago

I find that Steam can also be quite sluggish, but Steam has the excuse of possessing an enormous number of features.

zwirbl 4y ago
Steam still feels orders of magnitude more responsive
Semaphor 4y ago
Huh, the only time it's sluggish, is from internet delay for me. What parts are slow for you?
- ladberg 4y ago
  Not OP but on Mac at least I find it wayyy faster to browse the steam marketplace and community sites in Safari or Chrome than in-app. Everything about it is slow from loading pages to scrolling to clicking buttons.
  - Semaphor 4y ago
    Huh. Not an issue for me, but I use windows, maybe their Mac app sucks?
    - Gigachad 4y ago
      The Linux one is slow too. You have to manually turn off animated profile pics in the friends section otherwise it’s unusable slow, like 1fps.
- KronisLV 4y ago
  > What parts are slow for you? Not OP, personally the Steam UI seems to freeze in the following cases for me: - when opening or scrolling my library, as the icons load in (~400 games) - when trying to install a game (delay until the install dialog pops up) The other slowness feels inconsequential, like when opening a store page or launching a game - on par with what you'd get when an average web app is loading or an Electron app is being launched. Pretty much every other store out there has been worse in comparison, GOG Galaxy seems to be reasonably close to me though, Origin and Epic are both slower in my experience.
  - Semaphor 4y ago
    OS? I don't have freezes, with more games (though most are in closed categories). Galaxy is second best for me as well, but it's also the only other app trying. I don't remember any install freezes, but I wouldn't bet on that one.
seba_dos1 4y ago
Guess what? During the last few years, more and more parts of Steam's UI got rewritten to work in a very similar way to how Electron does (using CEF). Back when these views were still in the minority it was easy to identify them by how sluggish they felt compared to the rest :)

smoldesu 4y ago

Legendary's frontends are great cross-platform, but especially if you're on Linux: https://github.com/Dummerle/Rare https://github.com/Dummerle/Rare This one uses the native Qt library and less resources than Steam.

CodesInChaos 4y ago
> Uses the native Qt library It's described as a CLI in the readme you linked, so how does it use Qt?
- smoldesu 4y ago
  Thanks for catching that, I updated it to link to Rare (the Legendary frontend I use)
entropicdrifter 4y ago
Also an excellent alternative (also for Linux initially, but now on Windows and MacOS too) is Heroic Games Launcher: https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ I started using it instead of Lutris for most of my non-Steam installs and it just works for the most part, which is fantastic. Even auto-updates my GOG and EGS games.
- codetrotter 4y ago
  Heroic is built with electron. Gross!
  - entropicdrifter 4y ago
    Still faster than using the Epic Store app. The GUI is incredibly responsive
rickstanley 4y ago
Lutris is also an alternative. They use GTK if I'm not mistaken. https://lutris.net/games/epic-games-store/ https://lutris.net/games/epic-games-store/

ryandvm 4y ago

Also what kind of shitty launcher requires admin privileges every time it runs?

andybak 4y ago
Not denying it's shittiness but it doesn't do that for me.
m463 4y ago
maybe it's not just a launcher

Semaphor 4y ago

I think they use the same devs as the Amazon prime twitch gaming thing. It's just as slow.

Kiro 4y ago
> Amazon prime twitch gaming thing What are you referring to?
- Semaphor 4y ago
  They have this free gaming app with Amazon prime that changed names several times.

gramie 4y ago

I use the GOG launcher, which centralizes my Steam, Epic, and GOG games.

standardUser 4y ago
You can play games you bought in the Epic store, and are usually launched with the Epic launcher, without having the Epic launcher installed??
- squeaky-clean 4y ago
  It depends on the game, but if they require the Epic launcher it will automatically open the Epic launcher and run the game for you. No need to keep it always running or search multiple store launchers to find which store you purchased X game with. They're all in one place.
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ https://heroicgameslauncher.com/ seems to work well on my steam deck.
pynappo 4y ago
I'd also recommend https://playnite.link/ https://playnite.link/ which is an open source launcher that does the same stuff.
- gramie 4y ago
  That's really fantastic. Better integration than the GOG client, and it isn't always trying to sell me something!