So, Valve is introducing "Steam Families", which seems to be an
updated version of Steam's previous "Family Sharing" plan.* In
essence, it allows gamers to share their library of games with other
family members, rather than requiring everybody to have their own copy
of the game (although, if more than one person wants to play the same
game at the same time, you'll still need multiple copies).
The earlier "Family Sharing" feature was similar, except it was more restricted; for instance, with the older version, if I shared my
library with Donna, she could play my games... unless I was already
playing something. It didn't matter if she wanted to play "Half Life"
and I was playing "Call of Duty"; only one game per library could be
played at a time. Weirdly, even if Donna and I both owned "Half Life",
if we were sharing libraries, only one person could play "Half Life"
at the same time. The new "Steam Families" will do away with these limitation.
Other features include an ability to restrict which games you make
accessible (good if you don't want your kids to access your M-rated
titles). Also, kids can request that the 'host' library can purchase
specific games; a better alternative than giving the kids your credit
card to buy for their own accounts.
Still, as good as all this may be, it doesn't solve the one issue I
really have with the whole thing, and that is that each person (or
computer) needs to have a separate Steam account. You can't just buy
little Donnie his own PC, log-on to Steam with your account, and let
him use that.
(Well, you can, but you yourself won't be able to play your games
until lil' Donnie stops playing).
And the idea of having to create
accounts for each kid seems sort of creepy. There is enough
data-harvesting done on kids already.
Just let me use the same account on multiple computers, and lock it so
only one instance of each game can be used at the same time. That's
what I really want, Valve. Maybe give parental controls to lock down
access to certain Steam features per computer. It can all be done
without requiring kids to sign away their privacy. Is that really too
much to ask?
Still, as good as all this may be, it doesn't solve the one issue I
really have with the whole thing, and that is that each person (or
computer) needs to have a separate Steam account. You can't just buy
little Donnie his own PC, log-on to Steam with your account, and let
him use that.
(Well, you can, but you yourself won't be able to play your games
until lil' Donnie stops playing). And the idea of having to create
accounts for each kid seems sort of creepy. There is enough
data-harvesting done on kids already.
Just let me use the same account on multiple computers, and lock it so
only one instance of each game can be used at the same time. That's
what I really want, Valve. Maybe give parental controls to lock down
access to certain Steam features per computer. It can all be done
without requiring kids to sign away their privacy. Is that really too
much to ask?
One thing I also noticed was that if you just let the kid play on your account the playtimes on the same account are of course counted to you instead of the player on a second account. I guess people don't mind
that much, but I order my games by playtime, and felt really annoyed
that LEGO Jurassic World showed up as one of the games I have played the longest.
On 3/21/2024 10:39 AM, JAB wrote:
On 20/03/2024 18:06, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
Still, as good as all this may be, it doesn't solve the one issue I
really have with the whole thing, and that is that each person (or
computer) needs to have a separate Steam account. You can't just buy
little Donnie his own PC, log-on to Steam with your account, and let
him use that.
(Well, you can, but you yourself won't be able to play your games
until lil' Donnie stops playing). And the idea of having to create
accounts for each kid seems sort of creepy. There is enough
data-harvesting done on kids already.
Just let me use the same account on multiple computers, and lock it so
only one instance of each game can be used at the same time. That's
what I really want, Valve. Maybe give parental controls to lock down
access to certain Steam features per computer. It can all be done
without requiring kids to sign away their privacy. Is that really too
much to ask?
I'm not sure it makes much difference once you introduce parental
controls as even if you have a single Steam account you still going to
need to be able to set up sub-accounts each with their own
restrictions and probably e-mail addresses unless you want little
Timmy's wishlist items on sale all the time. I'd also add something I
think is more important, once children get to a certain age they want
their own accounts and the privacy it gives them for what they do on
Steam outside of just playing games.
One thing I also noticed was that if you just let the kid play on your account the playtimes on the same account are of course counted to you instead of the player on a second account. I guess people don't mind
that much, but I order my games by playtime, and felt really annoyed
that LEGO Jurassic World showed up as one of the games I have played the longest.
On 3/21/2024 2:21 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 21 Mar 2024 11:36:07 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
On 21/03/2024 10:24, kyonshi wrote:
I find the playtime stat. basically useless as I tend to play a game,
leave it open and then comeback to it later. I also noticed that there
are games like Portal that I've played through I think three times and
the total playtime is 1 min.
I've seen this too. Oddly, it seems to happen most with Valve's own
games. According to Steam, I've only played Portal for 85 minutes,
despite finishing it multiple times (I know it's a short game, but
c'mon!). Similarly, Steam says I've only logged 26 hours on "Half Life
2". But other games are affected too; "Batman: Arkham Asylum" (two
complete playthroughs) has only a 40 minute play-time.
The 'time-played' stat is completely unreliable in my experience. It
doesn't always happen (my "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" remains fixed at
654hours, and has for years) but it happens often enough that I
wouldn't rely on it for anything except basic amusement purposes.
It for sure doesn't log anything if Steam doesn't see an online
connection. And there have been games that I tried once for five minutes
and then found running in the background two days later (putting Sonic 4
into my list of most-played games).
Still, I like looking at a list of the games I spent most time with. I
don't need completely accurate accounting as long as it shows me what
games I spent the most time with.
On 3/22/2024 4:50 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 13:50 this Thursday (GMT):
On 3/21/2024 2:21 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 21 Mar 2024 11:36:07 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:
On 21/03/2024 10:24, kyonshi wrote:
I find the playtime stat. basically useless as I tend to play a game, >>>>> leave it open and then comeback to it later. I also noticed that there >>>>> are games like Portal that I've played through I think three times and >>>>> the total playtime is 1 min.
I've seen this too. Oddly, it seems to happen most with Valve's own
games. According to Steam, I've only played Portal for 85 minutes,
despite finishing it multiple times (I know it's a short game, but
c'mon!). Similarly, Steam says I've only logged 26 hours on "Half Life >>>> 2". But other games are affected too; "Batman: Arkham Asylum" (two
complete playthroughs) has only a 40 minute play-time.
The 'time-played' stat is completely unreliable in my experience. It
doesn't always happen (my "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" remains fixed at
654hours, and has for years) but it happens often enough that I
wouldn't rely on it for anything except basic amusement purposes.
It for sure doesn't log anything if Steam doesn't see an online
connection. And there have been games that I tried once for five minutes >>> and then found running in the background two days later (putting Sonic 4 >>> into my list of most-played games).
Still, I like looking at a list of the games I spent most time with. I
don't need completely accurate accounting as long as it shows me what
games I spent the most time with.
/Why/ did you buy Sonic 4??
(i cant judge too hard i did too ^^)
it was in a bundle on Humble, together with lots of other Sonic games.
And I got enough playtime out of the Racing games and some of the other platformers to make up for Sonic 4.
On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:30:02 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07 <candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 17:54 this Friday (GMT):
On 3/22/2024 4:50 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 13:50 this Thursday (GMT):
/Why/ did you buy Sonic 4??
(i cant judge too hard i did too ^^)
it was in a bundle on Humble, together with lots of other Sonic games.
And I got enough playtime out of the Racing games and some of the other
platformers to make up for Sonic 4.
Seems like a pretty good deal, even if S4 is negative value.
Now I'm feeling like I am missing out.
I own Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3 (and Sonic R, and Sonic Mania,
and Sonic Riders, and Sonic Adventure, and.. and... and... ) but I
don't own Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
You are all making me want to buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
Please don't make me buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
On 3/22/2024 7:30 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 17:54 this Friday (GMT):
On 3/22/2024 4:50 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 13:50 this Thursday (GMT):
On 3/21/2024 2:21 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
On Thu, 21 Mar 2024 11:36:07 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote: >>>>>>> On 21/03/2024 10:24, kyonshi wrote:
I find the playtime stat. basically useless as I tend to play a game, >>>>>>> leave it open and then comeback to it later. I also noticed that there >>>>>>> are games like Portal that I've played through I think three times and >>>>>>> the total playtime is 1 min.
I've seen this too. Oddly, it seems to happen most with Valve's own >>>>>> games. According to Steam, I've only played Portal for 85 minutes, >>>>>> despite finishing it multiple times (I know it's a short game, but >>>>>> c'mon!). Similarly, Steam says I've only logged 26 hours on "Half Life >>>>>> 2". But other games are affected too; "Batman: Arkham Asylum" (two >>>>>> complete playthroughs) has only a 40 minute play-time.
The 'time-played' stat is completely unreliable in my experience. It >>>>>> doesn't always happen (my "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" remains fixed at >>>>>> 654hours, and has for years) but it happens often enough that I
wouldn't rely on it for anything except basic amusement purposes.
It for sure doesn't log anything if Steam doesn't see an online
connection. And there have been games that I tried once for five minutes >>>>> and then found running in the background two days later (putting Sonic 4 >>>>> into my list of most-played games).
Still, I like looking at a list of the games I spent most time with. I >>>>> don't need completely accurate accounting as long as it shows me what >>>>> games I spent the most time with.
/Why/ did you buy Sonic 4??
(i cant judge too hard i did too ^^)
it was in a bundle on Humble, together with lots of other Sonic games.
And I got enough playtime out of the Racing games and some of the other
platformers to make up for Sonic 4.
Seems like a pretty good deal, even if S4 is negative value.
I mean, you would expect Sonic 4 to be at least decent, considering 1-3,
but noooooo. it's a complete stinker.
On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:30:02 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 17:54 this Friday (GMT):
On 3/22/2024 4:50 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 13:50 this Thursday (GMT):
/Why/ did you buy Sonic 4??
(i cant judge too hard i did too ^^)
it was in a bundle on Humble, together with lots of other Sonic games.
And I got enough playtime out of the Racing games and some of the other
platformers to make up for Sonic 4.
Seems like a pretty good deal, even if S4 is negative value.
Now I'm feeling like I am missing out.
I own Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3 (and Sonic R, and Sonic Mania,
and Sonic Riders, and Sonic Adventure, and.. and... and... ) but I
don't own Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
You are all making me want to buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
Please don't make me buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 13:42 this Saturday (GMT):
On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:30:02 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 17:54 this Friday (GMT):
On 3/22/2024 4:50 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 13:50 this Thursday (GMT):
/Why/ did you buy Sonic 4??
(i cant judge too hard i did too ^^)
it was in a bundle on Humble, together with lots of other Sonic games. >>>> And I got enough playtime out of the Racing games and some of the other >>>> platformers to make up for Sonic 4.
Seems like a pretty good deal, even if S4 is negative value.
Now I'm feeling like I am missing out.
I own Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3 (and Sonic R, and Sonic Mania,
and Sonic Riders, and Sonic Adventure, and.. and... and... ) but I
don't own Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
You are all making me want to buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
Please don't make me buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
Don't. It is very very very bad.
On 3/24/2024 9:00 AM, candycanearter07 wrote:
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 13:42 this Saturday (GMT):
On Fri, 22 Mar 2024 18:30:02 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 17:54 this Friday (GMT):
On 3/22/2024 4:50 PM, candycanearter07 wrote:
kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote at 13:50 this Thursday (GMT):
/Why/ did you buy Sonic 4??
(i cant judge too hard i did too ^^)
it was in a bundle on Humble, together with lots of other Sonic games. >>>>> And I got enough playtime out of the Racing games and some of the other >>>>> platformers to make up for Sonic 4.
Seems like a pretty good deal, even if S4 is negative value.
Now I'm feeling like I am missing out.
I own Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, and 3 (and Sonic R, and Sonic Mania,
and Sonic Riders, and Sonic Adventure, and.. and... and... ) but I
don't own Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
You are all making me want to buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
Please don't make me buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!
Don't. It is very very very bad.
THE SACRED NUMBER!!!!
On Sat, 23 Mar 2024 21:29:15 +0100, kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:
On 3/23/2024 4:36 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
On 3/23/2024 6:42 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
Please don't make me buy Sonic the Hedgehog 4!The Number.
Yes, but Sonic 4.
Also the game is a two-parter. Always a stupid idea.
Don't buy Sonic 4.
Technically, I already did, back when the game was new, albeit on iOS
and not PC.
Honestly, I don't remember it being that bad on the iPhone, but
a) I was playing with touch-screen controls, and that
already makes the experience worse, and
b) It's not a genre of game I am particularly endeared too,
so I only played it for a short time, and I am not expert
enough to discern the game's weaknesses
So to me, it looked like yet-another-mascot-platformer that I had no
chance of mastering thanks to awful controls (a problem of the
platform, not the game). I stuck with it for a level or two, said,
"Yup, that's Sonic as I remember it," and moved on.
Honestly, the main reason I've never purchased it for PC was its
episodic nature. I just didn't feel like paying twice for a game I
knew wasn't going to get much attention (quite possibly, the second
episode would never get touched). Especially since the episodic nature
of the game felt so completely unnecessary and penny-pinching. But had
the whole thing been packaged together as a single sale, it's far more
likely I would have acquired it for PC years ago.
Still, I look at my library and see a "Sonic 4" shaped hole there, and
I don't deny the 'completionist'* part of my personality is
whispering, "G'won, buy it!".
* a polite term for 'hoarder' ;-)
On Sun, 24 Mar 2024 19:50:04 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 17:34 this Sunday (GMT):
On 3/23/2024 4:36 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
Don't buy Sonic 4.
Technically, I already did, back when the game was new, albeit on iOS
and not PC.
Huh, I thought it was free on mobile.
Nope. Well, it might be free now, but on release it was a paid-for
product. I spent a whopping $2.99 for it.! ;-)
On Mon, 25 Mar 2024 14:50:09 -0000 (UTC), candycanearter07
<candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid> wrote:
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote at 14:27 this Monday (GMT):
On 3/23/2024 4:36 PM, Dimensional Traveler wrote:
Don't buy Sonic 4.
Nope. Well, it might be free now, but on release it was a paid-for
product. I spent a whopping $2.99 for it.! ;-)
Not as bad, but again you should be paid for playing S4.
Honestly, I'd probably pay that for "Sonic 4" on PC, just to complete
the series. It's really hard for me to resist a game once it gets
beneath the $5 mark. But even if it were priced that low, the fact
that I'd have to pay twice that to acquire both episodes kills that
urge.
Heck, even if each episode were only $2 I'd still hesitate. I'd buy it
as a bundle for $4, but paying twice? That's an added layer of
friction that I don't feel like fighting.
I am sure that there are times when episodic gaming works (even if I'd
be hard pressed to point to an example). But in "Sonic 4's" case -
even it weren't so reputedly awful - it just seems like greedy double-dipping. It's a tactic that not only doesn't make me want to
buy the second episode, it prevents me starting the first.
I'm glad the trend of episodic gaming has largely died out.
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