Evil Monkey DTT
Banned
In valve we trust!
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Steam Announces Family Sharing
- Thread starter MRORANGE
- Start date
Yes, though that's still a bit more of a hassle and/or security concern than just being able to authorize a remote computer without your account ever logging onto it.
Essentially, it's a more secure, convenient form of credential sharing, but only if you're willing to do inconvenient, insecure credential sharing at least once.
Rather limited, but still something I'd do with a few of my close friends.
TyrantGuardian
Member
This is literally exactly what I came in to post. Glad to see it so early in the thread, though it should have been the first post! Pretty much a megaton imo, this is everything MS promised without forcing you into an always-on walled garden.
But yeah, obviously there are going to be limitations to how it works - still, this is just what has been announced in the beta. I'm curious to see where it evolves over time.
One minor thing I am not sure on. Lets say I want to play more Dota 2, but want to let someone else actually use the other 500 games I have purchased. If I go to play Dota, will the other person still be able to use my games, or are not allowed at all while playing Dota? Am I allowed to share my games and be logged in at the same time?
Haven't read the whole thread, someone probably already pointed it out but:
This is just an officialisation of what you could already do with your account, with the added security of no password sharing. When I log into Steam at a friend's, I can download and play any of my games. I usually forget to log out so he can continue to play my games, until I log back on my own computer. This family sharing allows exactly the same thing except my friend will use his account instead of mine, and can log back when I'm finished without having to know my password.
It's very good, and most certainly not what Microsoft was planning.
By typing that I realise I already had a similar discussion a few months ago. Didn't this feature get leaked in the past?
If I understand correctly it's an account sharing, not a game sharing. You momentarily give away your rights on your account so your friend can use it.
This is just an officialisation of what you could already do with your account, with the added security of no password sharing. When I log into Steam at a friend's, I can download and play any of my games. I usually forget to log out so he can continue to play my games, until I log back on my own computer. This family sharing allows exactly the same thing except my friend will use his account instead of mine, and can log back when I'm finished without having to know my password.
It's very good, and most certainly not what Microsoft was planning.
By typing that I realise I already had a similar discussion a few months ago. Didn't this feature get leaked in the past?
If I understand correctly it's an account sharing, not a game sharing. You momentarily give away your rights on your account so your friend can use it.
Captain Tuttle
Member
Ugh, embarrassing.
This won't work offline well it? Only one person per library at a time.
As someone with a secret extra Steam account, I think F2P games installed on a machine are always considered to belong to whoever is logged in. It would be great if they made an exception, but I think the simplest possible definition of "library" would include your Dota 2 credentials as "your copy" of Dota 2.
It is game sharing, just all-or-nothing game sharing. You can log into your account and do non-game things without booting someone who's currently accessing your library.
Well played. Literally LOLed here in the office.
made me LOL
Charles Alan Ratliff
Member
I wish this had come out before my brother unlocked three Steam achievements when I let him play BioShock Infinite!
It's cool. I would have unlocked them on my second playthrough, anyway.
Good to know I can let him play Saints Row IV / Sleeping Dogs without him messing with my account any further, though.
It's cool. I would have unlocked them on my second playthrough, anyway.
Good to know I can let him play Saints Row IV / Sleeping Dogs without him messing with my account any further, though.
you must be online to use the sharing, i think.
I just hope you can deactivate it and go offline.
Stuggernaut
Grandma's Chippy
Pretty limited to start off. But it is a great step in the right direction.
My daughter's husband buys a ton of Steam games I don't, and he never buys what I do. We can share libraries now and play a lot of stuff we normally would not.
We work opposite shifts for work so we would almost never cross paths for our gaming time.
Should work out nice.
My daughter's husband buys a ton of Steam games I don't, and he never buys what I do. We can share libraries now and play a lot of stuff we normally would not.
We work opposite shifts for work so we would almost never cross paths for our gaming time.
Should work out nice.
ftfy
Palladium Pen and Paper
Neo Member
It says that you just send an electronic request.
elcuervo75
Banned
Too bad you cant share between computers. I am the only gamer in my house.
Well, the owner could also give you their password or do it by remotely controlling your computer, but yeah, that's effectively the same thing.
...But only if one of your games has already been installed on that computer the request is coming from, according to Valve.
did you not read anything?
Fresh Face
Banned
sweeeeeeeet
Killing_Joke
Member
Step in the right direction. Not perfect but a good start.
Next step is digital trade-in please.
Next step is digital trade-in please.
I meant as in I play a F2P game while my friend is using my library to play a normal paid game.
Motorbreath
Member
This is pretty contradictory to this:
How do I enable Family Sharing on my computer?
Family Sharing is enabled in one of two ways: You can either locally enable sharing in Account Settings, with Family Sharing & Devices, or remotely respond to a users Steam request to share your previously installed games via email.
elcuervo75
Banned
Ya, I read it all. But this is what confuses me ...
Share your computer?
Now share your games too.
I read that as, same computer different Steam accounts. Plus it says you have to share your entire library, not selected games.
Where does it specifically say I can let a friend on a different computer on a different subnet borrow my games?
Sorry if I missed something.
It says that a friend can request access to your library if you've already installed a game on their computer.
You do share your entire library, but everyone gets to use their own account.
truestatic
Member
So do we know yet if it's possible to revoke authorization for a machine?
Celestial Mortal
Member
MEGATON !
[WTS] PS3
[WTS] X360
[WTS] PS4
[WTS] X1
[WTB] PC !
[WTS] PS3
[WTS] X360
[WTS] PS4
[WTS] X1
[WTB] PC !
Yup microsoft had so many awsome features that were just killed off for no reason. Now I can just laugh whem someone trys and claim xbox one game sharing was just demos. This proves publishers would have been on board
AcceptableGhost
Member
this is pretty major
valve has dropped a megaton
valve has dropped a megaton
Motorbreath
Member
So I have to give my friend my Steam username and password, let him install the game I want to share with him, get him to log off from my steam, log on to his steam and send the request to play the game to me?
If the game must be installed on friends PC its a major pain in the ass.
If the game must be installed on friends PC its a major pain in the ass.
That's the way it looks right now, yeah. I figure Valve will either remove this restriction or clamp down even more when they realize that plenty of people will do this.
Pegosaurus
Banned
Damn this a really sweet idea.
Wait, that's what it is?
If so, pretty shitty implementation. Not surprising coming from Valve.
edit:
So we can't even play different games at the same time? lol
You don't have to share your credentials with him if you're doing a Remote Desktop Connection, just launch Steam, punch in your username/password, uncheck the option to remember those credentials, and then proceed with the installs and requests.
But it doesn't make sense. If it's so simple to bypass this restriction, and most will, then why put it in the first place?
Well, it's not so simple. Maybe they want it that way because they're not ready for this to be a full-blown "share with whoever" system yet.
XShadows69
Member
So how are my best friends doing at the moment? Having a good day? I hope you are!
It builds an inherent bias into the system that favors accounts that have purchased major releases on Steam before, given that they'll have higher odds of already having a game installed that the lender's library also has.
You can. Just create a second Steam account on the other computer