Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 6:31am
Physical Library
Greetings everyone!

After hoarding a good amount of games on steam, my only regret is to not have a physical box for each games, so I would like to make my owns and downloading each game on a sd card (one game = one sd) and set them in boxes.

However, does that even work ?

Does putting a game on an SD / USB and plug it would work ?

Thanks for your answers :lilimok: :d4_smile:
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Showing 1-15 of 21 comments
cinedine Nov 18, 2017 @ 6:41am 
Not really, since most games are not protable installs. They need to register to the system and have data in system/home directories.

Also, once you have to live in a 30 m² apartment and your available physical space has to hold with stuff like food, clothes, piles of paperworks or you later move into a 70 m² flat and your available physical space has to hold your wifes and kids stuff, too ... you certainly don't want a closet full of video games, music and movies if you can have it on handy external drive or even download on demand.
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 6:48am 
Yeah, space is a thing, but I always loved having real copies of my games on consoles stacking up and the fact that I would just need to take a game to launch it instead of downloading the game I want when I see it on my library, I would take my option.

Is there any way to counter the system requirement thing ? like, giving access to the system to the game ?
Only some games would work, it's very little %
Some games on Steam are DRM-free, meaning that you can take the game files and run them without running Steam and they'll still work. Not all, though, and you really can't tell until you buy the game and try it out yourself. Some games that aren't DRM-free on Steam can be bought DRM-free on other services, such as GOG or Humble Store.

Furthermore, many games these days require being installed onto a computer -- not just running from the game files. Some still work with standalone game files and honestly, that's how it SHOULD be, given my own experience on Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 where things DO work like this!. But if you're particularly good with programming, it may be possible to create portable versions of some of the games that aren't, the same way people create portable versions of other apps. (You may need permission of the games' creators if you ever mean to distribute them.)

I think your idea is cool, though yeah, it's not necessarily going to be easy with PC games.

There are some places that list your games on a shelf (GOG has an option that does this), but obviously it's not the same as having a real shelf, no matter how small.
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 9:46am 
@Mischievous Protagonist Quint

The thing is, I did'nt meant for it to be "portable", only using it on my pc connected directly to steam anyway. This is why I though it could work!

I mean, My computer would be connected on steam, I just have to set the SD card to play a game from my library.

It looks stupid but that's what would be the ultimate experience to me, even more when considering that I would love to make an arcade cabinet with my computer inside. A massive console, if I may dare say it.
You could make it so that the SD cards each contain a shortcut to the game.

That's sort of "cheating", but it may work depending on your purposes, especially if disk space isn't an issue for you.

And if you really care, you can try to include a game installer and/or a copy of the game files on each of them too.
Last edited by Quint the Alligator Snapper; Nov 18, 2017 @ 10:16am
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 10:22am 
well, I wanted to make each game on a single SD each for space issue.

Yeah, that would be pretty pricey to get an SD for each games (455 games so far, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥) but hey, collections is not about money but accomplishment. :sunglassesDoge:

The thing is that it would be pretty dope to take some games with me when I move somewhere and just plug it with a computer connected to steam, so yeah, installing each game on a cartridge is the best solution so far.
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 10:23am 
For exemple, rooting an SD / USB would do the trick right ?
I don't know what rooting an SD card or a USB stick would do for you...maybe you can get certain files to autoplay, and you can put the game files on it (for games that can run simply from a folder without an install), but I don't know if you need to root the card/stick to do make something autoplay...
If you're just looking for portability, have you considered thinking of your card or stick as a multicart and putting multiple games on there?
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 10:32am 
Well, i'll try to make a game work out of an sd card and come back here to tell the tale.

Don't expect me to do that before 2 or 3 days (you know, to get an SD card before, could be useful)
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 10:34am 
not really portability, but close enough.

"have you considered thinking of your card or stick as a multicart and putting multiple games on there?"
What do you mean ? I'm not sure to understand...
cinedine Nov 18, 2017 @ 10:54am 
Originally posted by Red:
For exemple, rooting an SD / USB would do the trick right ?

...
maybe look up what "rooting" means?

The way Steam works, is to indicate folders as "libraries". As long as you have the manifest files on your games that could work. Also as long as your drive index doesn't change. Althoug I don't know how Steam handles this change internally. Some people complain about it not being able to recognize their games on an external HDD.

Anyway, running a game from an SSD is nonsense. You would need the UHS II ones AND make sure the card reader doesn't bottle neck. Which means dropping a good USD 50+ for a modern major title just for the card.

And you still have the issue with game updates. God help you if someone pulls a Forza and make you download an additional cool 100 GB of textures you now need to somehow fit on your 32 GB card.
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 11:01am 
I'm pretty newb to pc and such, okay I can mod my skyrim like hell and build my computer, but that's pretty much it, no need to pull the trigger on the deads.

Game updates, yes, this is a thing I forgot to think about, mostly because I do not play AAA games or several years after they came out.

50+ USD just for the card ? That's still okay, since I buy my games at the cheapest price possible, so that still competes. Also, it's not that much in France (yeah, i'm baguette)
Red Nov 18, 2017 @ 11:41am 
@Kerem
What ?

Just tried to install 10.000.000 on an usb, it works. Pretty sure huge games will maybe not go as smoothly as this one, but still a good try can't really try for now since my usb only have 1go on it.
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Date Posted: Nov 18, 2017 @ 6:31am
Posts: 21