Steam discussion

[chortles 263]

I don't know if this would be at all illuminating, but I have a SSD ( C:\ ) for my OS, Arma 3 and programs whose installers don't allow alternate installation paths, and the HDD ( D:\ ) for everything else; I actually installed Steam on the HDD and when prompted to select a download/installation location I chose the SSD, and by using Windows 7/Windows 8's user subfolder Location function I moved the Documents folder to the HDD; therefore my relevant paths are:

C:\Games\SteamApps\common\Arma 3\ is where the game is installed to (and where "verify cache" will look)

D:\Games\Steam\SteamApps\common\ is where all of my other installed Steam games are.

D:\Documents\Arma 3\ is where I have my Arma 3 profile, my mods and my Editor mission templates/missions-that-aren't-in-PBO-form.

Fun tidbit: You can in fact install a Steam game onto an external hard drive if you set it up appropriately (create an empty folder on the external HD, then set it as a Steam Library folder through Steam's settings -- same as I did with installing Steam onto the HDD and then setting up a Steam Library folder on the SSD). Haven't tried it with Arma 3, but I already achieved this on 688(I): Hunter/Killer.

[orcinus 121]

I've got XP on the SSD currently, with another primary partition reserved for W8. Rest of the drive (~110 GB) is logical, where I had CO installed before my i5 mobo expired (CO is currently on the HDD along with all the earlier incarnations - OFP to Arma 1). I want to have CO & A3 in the logical drive on the SSDD, with a selected set of mods. My long-timepractice is to install as little as possible into OS partitions. Downloads, documents, data, media files, etc. are all on the HDD, not in "My Documents". Very few programs in the OS partitions also. Who cares if, say, an office program takes a minute longer to load? - not me. My typing skills (oxymoron) are such that load times are trivial.

Heh, only other game I have installed currently is "Stars!" 'cos I still get invites to play that from time to time. No flashy graphics, a brain-dead AI, but a brilliant interface & none of the crappy tiles so many other games are still based on. Best 4x space strategy game ever.

Again, a big thank you to all the posters who are helping to educate me in the arcana of Steam in my pursuit of A3!

[tortuosit 486]

WHAT THE HOLY FUCK? Steam uninstall deletes the Steam directory? I mean - they know all the modding takes place in their Steam dir? What a trap!

THE STORY:

Sharing a multi user windows with my wife, I wanted to have her only access Pinball FX2 which is on Steam. But to Valve a multi user OS seems to be something very new. They are as far in their development as Windows 3.1. Probably they already found out about password hashing algorithms. Anyway, I created a second steam account, and after I did that, no matter if I start it as admin or normal user: the checkbox "save password" does not work any more. It always asks for credentials. BTW I resigned about the multi user idea, because the used credentials are a global thing, so I would end in copying files or regkeys at user login time, nah...

So in order to solve the "does not save password" problem I uninstalled Steam. Then I got a shock, stroke and everything. My Steam folder was about 120 Gigs, Arma 70 GB. Steam folder gone.

But the gods of gaming were with me: I've put the Steam folder on a second SSD - "c:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\" was an NTFS link pointing to a dir on my 2nd SSD. And this NTFS link has been deleted. All the contents of the target are still there on my second SSD. OH I AM SO LUCKY.

[Alwarren 2767]

WHAT THE HOLY FUCK? Steam uninstall deletes the Steam directory? I mean - they know all the modding takes place in their Steam dir? What a trap!.

I use My Files\Arma 2 and My Files\Arma 3 for addons.

[Dwarden 1125]

Ladies and Gentlemen :) i'm not sure if You know it, but Steam WorkShop Subscriber Agreement received major massive update

http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/

which IMHO shall resolve most if not all issues and disputest many content makers from Arma community had with it ...

Edited August 5, 2013 by Dwarden

[celery 8]

Would be so kind as to summarize the pertinent changes and their implications?

[Dwarden 1125]

Would be so kind as to summarize the pertinent changes and their implications?

considering it was more of total rewrite it's quite problematic to summarize, but let say your work, stays your work :) and so on but i suggest to read it yourself

section 6. A, B, C are particular interest

Edited August 5, 2013 by Dwarden

[k3lt 3]

Works amazingly well, and it doesn't look like anyone is stealing any mods.. wut?

Must be painful for all the Steam/Steam Workshop haters. :cool:

Edited August 20, 2013 by k3lt

[chortles 263]

Errr, that's because there are no mods on Steam Workshop... :p In contrast, we've already had Xeno send someone a takedown request for using one of Xeno's scripts in a mission and he didn't want any of his content, scripts included, on SWS.

[jibemorel 10]

Works amazingly well, and it doesn't look like anyone is stealing any mods.. wut?

Must be painful for all the Steam/Steam Workshop haters. :cool:

A case of fixing what is not broken (mission integration system) against not fixing what is broken (the very archaic animation system for example) is always painful to watch. I feel almost sorry for you it makes you happy.

[Dwarden 1125]

A case of fixing what is not broken (mission integration system) against not fixing what is broken

(the very archaic animation system for example) is always painful to watch.

I feel almost sorry for you it makes you happy.

let me quote mysef

think harder, aka

http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=9111

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?71274-Server-ability-URL-forwarding-of-MISSION-content

... it will affect everyone who downloads missions ...

there are things you don't see, w/o basic framework implementation, you can't do these additional steps for advanced usage

[doveman 7]

let me quote mysef

Only if I can quote myself ;) http://feedback.arma3.com/view.php?id=6428

This Steam Workshop stuff doesn't help at all with the problems of having to setup profiles to launch A3 with different mods and as such will not encourage the use of mods, only vanilla missions.

[jibemorel 10]

let me quote mysef

Ok it's a big improvement still an improvement, changing the animation system (apparently not good enough for dayz btw) would have been a fix which would have affecting both SP & MP community. Improving is not fixing

[Dwarden 1125]

again, there is no mod support on Workshop yet, so it's pointless to comment how it's not helping, it's basic framework implementation (first step of many)

[doveman 7]

again, there is no mod support on Workshop yet, so it's pointless to comment how it's not helping, it's basic framework implementation (first step of many)

It's not pointless to comment if there's no way that Workshop can possibly fix the problem with launching missions with mods.

At present, A3 has to be launched with the required mods for a particular mission, then closed and restarted with a different set of mods for a different mission, so I don't see how Workshop can help with this. Only separating into launcher and engine components as suggested would seem to be the answer, so that the engine isn't loaded with particular mods (or without them) before the user has a chance to choose a mission.

I guess Workshop could potentially be able to launch A3 with specific mods for a particular mission but then the user would still be locked into those mods until he closes A3 and relaunches it with another set of mods, which is not good.

[Sniperwolf572 758]

Looks like "SteamBox" is getting some kind of an unveiling in 3 days.

It might actually be 3 different things, if we go by the hints.

[Smurf 12]

It will be big, it will move money. But I don't know if I like it....

Anyway, about time to have a gaming machine huh? Tablets and net\notebooks can handle things from text to videos and apps in between, but the OS somehow cripple the gaming part. I mean, if consoles can anchiev what they can with such hardware, imagine a PC as a dedicated platafor for gaming! Also it's almost the only force pushing hardware forward on the public side of things and consoles are looking more and more like a PC.

Steam\Valve have the money, the resources and the influence to push something like that.

[chortles 263]

Actually, based on my recollection of the earlier 2013 talk about the SteamBox concept, the "three different things" would seem to be along the lines of what Gabe Newell described back then: something akin to NVIDIA Project SHIELD (in-home streaming), something akin to a much cheaper Alienware X51 (console form factor but even more importantly console price), and finally "stereotypical PC gaming". :p

[Dwarden 1125]

SteamOS http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/

[Smurf 12]

SteamOS http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/

EDIT:

Edited September 23, 2013 by Smurf

[Colossus 2]

Hehe, I was going to write something about this earlier this week - that if they were to go for an independent console, they would need an OS that would support Steam games already existing, but thinking Microsoft couldn't possibly allow Steam to become one of it's competitors on the console/livingroom market (using their OS and API) - but I thought it would be silly that Steam came up with their own OS; they couldn't possibly do that, but here we are. Question is, how is this going to operate? Will it have all the API support and programs it needs to run most if not all the games in the Steam library?

Still, the future of PC, console, gaming, and the game industry just got a little bit more exiting. ;)

Edited September 23, 2013 by colossus
typo

[Sniperwolf572 758]

Ok, so they have a gaming oriented OS, next thing will probably be "official hardware" that will be a base for running SteamOS with third reveal still being questionable.

This seems like a push from Valve to remove the DirectX dependency/addiction from PC gaming. I like the idea, but I'm wondering if it will ever become relevant enough.

Sure it might remove some overhead that an "general purpose" OS has to increase performance, but will it be enough to make me consider trading the versatility of a "general purpose" OS?

If it ends up being widely adopted by the developers, could and will the vast legacy of DirectX games ever be abandoned?

Dual booting and streaming to TV seem like stopgap measures until it can stand on it's own. Local streaming would take up the computer and the TV by a single person, just like using Big Picture now does. Doesn't quite appeal to me.

Could Microsoft potentially kill this easy with an XboxOS that in addition of running on their console, could be smilarly installed on the PC and gain access to playing the entire Xbox catalogue of games in addition to the already existing Windows titles? I'm not sure if this is viable due to architecture/whatever or if it would even be a sane business strategy.

It's certainly interesting how this will develop.

[chortles 263]

The revealed SteamOS actually sounds in line with what was declared earlier this year when the SteamBox concept was unveiled -- that official (Valve-built or Valve-sanctioned) SteamBoxes would use a custom Steam-oriented Linux distro.

[mrcash2009 0]

Holy centralised domination batman, letting this company move into hardware and the TV O/S arena as well as own all your game data. Wolves in sheep's clothing like the rest.

Seems they are spinning a PC minded approach and funnelling it into a controlled arena, and if this developers jump on it (like you now have games that drag you to steam to run it) it will be even less choice than ever thought before. Well, it will be plenty of choice "within a frame".

I dont welcome this because I dont welcome the idea of "developers" jumping on it and it becoming the only outlet like steam is right now for games. Its pretty clear that soon enough I will simply pack my game/media entertainment bags, becuase I never welcome some utopia spin (open source style mantra under an umbrella) that this gives off. Its looks like a way to take PC minded folk and direct them slowly into a console mindset.

Im sure people will agree with me after this post (not), but hey, you have to have both sides of a coin :) Of course if you welcome it then cool.

Edited September 24, 2013 by mrcash2009

[Dwarden 1125]

you do realize they want to keep the PC open?

recent Valve talks about Linux and effort to make debugger worthy for developers got reason

while Windows, Android and similar are actually slowly turning into closed ecosystems ?

the shattered DirectX

Vista DX10.x need manual update to DX11.0,

Seven has only 11.0 because the 11.1 manual update is not true 11.1

W8 needs manual update to W8.1 to get DX11.2

was this cleverly orchestrated mess for desktop PC? while the XB1 console has , shockingly 11.2 out of box ...

as i can clearly remember the way too similar story about mess when XBOX360 was about to happen ...

and ... i do remember old XBOX too ;)

don't get me started about the 'apps stores' and limitations and rules enforced upon developers and even users ...

Edited September 24, 2013 by Dwarden