Steam alternatives?

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coopasonic
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by coopasonic »

Fitzy wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:48 pm
coopasonic wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 10:32 am There are tools that already exist for organizing your games across platforms. I forget which one I downloaded... Whichever one it was had options for tagging and I think it even brought in my steam tags.
In my day we used a folder and alias, and most of us didn’t bother to use the folder!
That only works for installed games.
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Paingod
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Paingod »

Blackhawk wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 11:12 amI ended up with Playnite.
I appreciate the legwork and will try this out tonight.

Back in the day, I kept a .TXT file with all my games and serial numbers listed. That became a .XLS file. Then I got Steam'ed and GOG'ed and lost all track of what I had where. It didn't help when GOG started letting me link my Steam account and replicate some things. So now I've got hundreds of games across multiple platforms and no organization. The lists were still there, but cross contaminated and across platforms.

I currently have a single folder on my desktop where every game install icon goes. If I'm not sure what I want to play, I open that folder and look at the names in sequence, trying to recall what each one is about and how I felt about it, until something strikes me. Then I move a copy of that icon off to the desktop for however long I'm into it and start the process over. I don't ever uninstall a game and currently have about 120GB left on my 1TB SSD drive.

Hopefully this will save me some time on a problem I didn't really think about as a problem until now. I often feel like a category of game - like space or zombies or survival. It can be hard to narrow it down just by sifting through 250+ icons.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Max Peck »

I'm sensing a pattern. Fortnite is the new Team Fortress 2, the Epic Games Store is the new Steam, and now Unreal Tournament is the new Half Life.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Blackhawk »

That is where something like Playnite comes in handy. I deleted all of the tags it imported, along with all of the genre information. I then selected every FPS and set 'FPS' as the genre (and so on), then set another field as the broad setting (sci-fi, fantasy, etc.) It takes me about two seconds to look at my entire game collection and narrow it down to only sci-fi strategy games, or modern world RPGs. I use the other tags section for more specific things.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

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Blackhawk wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:55 pmI deleted all of the tags it imported, along with all of the genre information. I then selected every FPS and set 'FPS' as the genre (and so on), then set another field as the broad setting (sci-fi, fantasy, etc.) It takes me about two seconds to look at my entire game collection and narrow it down to only sci-fi strategy games, or modern world RPGs.
This sounds exactly like what I was hoping to get out of it. Thank you again.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by coopasonic »

...and I think that's why I never actually use it. I have two modes that cover 99.9% of my gaming time:
1) play the new hotness
2) replay the most recent iteration of XCOM
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Paingod »

I got Playnite up and running, but had to configure a custom Steam page for myself and make my games list Public for it to work. No big deal there, but moments of confusion. I did not, however delve deeply into the mysteries of tags and filters. Instead I opted to save that for a later date and resumed stomping around in BattleTech.

I now know that I have almost exactly 400 games between all platforms, with 260 of them installed, and a few more that I haven't manually added - like Indie games purchased directly or older games I may have still on CD, though I admit that I'm at a point where I'll just re-buy a game on GOG for $3 instead of hunting for the discs and keys.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Fitzy »

coopasonic wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 3:10 pm
Fitzy wrote: Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:48 pm In my day we used a folder and alias, and most of us didn’t bother to use the folder!
That only works for installed games.
I’m aware. It was an old gamer joke :D. I also had a binder full of CDs and a box full of floppies. It’s been an interesting and fast transition on accessing games.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Daehawk »

Just a reminder the Epic Store is open.

Subnautica and Super Meatboy are both free in a few days.

https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/? ... dated=true

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Re: Steam alternatives?

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Subnautica is an amazing game. One of my top five of the decade so far.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Smoove_B »

But is it good enough for me to install another gaming client to get a free copy? I have that Amazon Twitch Prime thing and can't be bothered with those free games...
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Blackhawk »

I see another client as a hundred megabytes and a shortcut that I only click when I need it. If I'm not actively playing a game on it, I completely ignore it.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by coopasonic »

Smoove_B wrote: Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:31 am But is it good enough for me to install another gaming client to get a free copy? I have that Amazon Twitch Prime thing and can't be bothered with those free games...
I mean...
RECENT REVIEWS:
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But no, nothing is worth another frakking game client. Oh and I already have the client because I played the Fortnite that came *before* Fortnite Battle Royale. Of course I also already have Subnautica and finished it.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Freyland »

Some developers are making their initial release on the Epic platform only. The Rebel Outlaw sequel will not come to Steam until 12 months after release on the Epic store.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by hitbyambulance »

i gave up and just install every storefront now. i already had an Epic account from trying to mess around with the Unreal Engine 3 framework, so no big deal here.

too bad i can't get my games on Desura anymore...
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Daehawk »

Had the Epic client installed a year or two or more now. I do wish I could get Rebel Galaxy Outlaw on Steam but oh well.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Paingod »

Daehawk wrote: Sun Dec 09, 2018 1:16 amJust a reminder the Epic Store is open.
I haven't dug deep, but assume the Epic Storefront is a non-optional install? One of the reasons I've been doing a lot more purchasing on GOG is that every game can be played with or without their storefront app.

At any rate - I hope they give Steam some good competition and that the end result benefits at least the developers, if not the gamers. I don't expect we'll see any translation of their 12% cut vs. Steam's 20-30% cut coming our way. A $60 AAA game will still be $60.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Blackhawk »

hitbyambulance wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 6:28 am i gave up and just install every storefront now. i already had an Epic account from trying to mess around with the Unreal Engine 3 framework, so no big deal here.
There is truth to this. At some point, avoiding multiple clients became like keeping your birthday off the internet. You may want to, but it isn't realistic, nor is there any real reason to do so. As long as they don't want to stay active in my system when I'm not running their games, I don't care. Launching uPlay before I play Rainbow Six, then closing it when I stop isn't that big of a deal. I'd also prefer fewer clients, but that's not reality.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Paingod »

Blackhawk wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:29 amI'd also prefer fewer clients, but that's not reality.
It only bothers me when they all want to be on, all the time. I have all of them except Steam set to disable on Startup unless I want to use them.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

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I don't even let Steam run at startup.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Paingod »

I poke at it (and GOG) daily to check sales and news. I suppose it doesn't bother me since I use it daily.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by naednek »

GreenGoo wrote: Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:43 pm
Lorini wrote: Tue Dec 04, 2018 12:16 pm Also honestly everyone is doing that including FB and Twitch. We'll see how it shakes out but I doubt Steam is going anywhere.
Discord too, just to add another odd company getting into the online store business.
and Razer
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by morlac »

Paingod wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:43 am
Blackhawk wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:29 amI'd also prefer fewer clients, but that's not reality.
It only bothers me when they all want to be on, all the time. I have all of them except Steam set to disable on Startup unless I want to use them.
Same. GOG, Origin, Epic and most recently Bethesda all run when prompted. I actually removed the Blizzard one as I only play Diablo on console now. Of course I also couldn't be bothered to figure out the unlock authentication app and transfer it off my 5 year old phone it was originally installed on. That may change if I ever try the new Call of Duty or when Wow Classic launches for but I am content with only the 5 storefronts for now :).
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Carpet_pissr »

coopasonic wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:51 am I don't even let Steam run at startup.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Daehawk »

Battlenet, Epic, Glyph, Origin, Arc, GOG, Uplay, and Steam. But I only allow Steam to stay running all the time. Handy that way and I use Steam chat for one of my friends. Ha my one of two friends.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Daehawk »

Another one.

https://www.bluesnews.com/s/195952/disc ... h-10-split
Why not 90/10? Asks the Discord Blog innocently, as the chat app announces that beginning next year their fledgling game store will begin offering developers 90% of the revenue for games sold there, taking only a 10% cut for themselves. This seems like a response to Epic Games, who made waves when they announced their new store would only keep a 12% cut. Now word is the Discord Store has passed them on the race to the bottom line:
For fucks sake.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by GreenGoo »

coopasonic wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 10:51 am I don't even let Steam run at startup.
Of course not. Nothing runs at start up if I can help it.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Smoove_B »

No discussion forums at Epic? No problem. Get help on STEAM.
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Re: Steam alternatives?

Post by Smoove_B »

naednek wrote: Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:48 pmand Razer
Ending operations 2/28/19, because of "the company’s realignment plans."
Q: What happens to the games I have purchased?

All purchased games will still work even after the closure. In case you haven't activated your Steam or Uplay keys yet, make sure to retrieve them before February 28 from the Razer Game Store. Your game keys have been sent to your email upon purchase, so you'll still be able to retrieve them in the future
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