Steam wont log hours played

[NoCountryForOldPikachus]

So, I couldn't get FO3 to run when I first downloaded it, I finally got it to run after downloading xlive.dll. The problem is, I tried running as an administrator first, and didnt turn that off when i got it running, and Steam doesn't recognize any of my play time. I want to try to turn off "run as administrator," will that mess with my game/save files? Thank you all for any help!

[JAGGzilla]

Mods will mess with the hours played counter. Or doing anything to files that would appear to be a mod.

Do a search of the this discussion forum and I bet you'll see many posts over the years about this issue.

[kdodds]

See discussion here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2369220979

Run as Admin is not necessary. Using this or Compatibility or the Script Extender will force mess with the Steam Overlay. Hour logging is one of the symptoms, not being able to take screens is another. All are resolvable. No, clicking off Run as Admin will not messs up your saves. HOWEVER, it might mess with your ability to save. If you find you can't, move Steam out from under \Program Files (x86),

[NoCountryForOldPikachus]

I have no mods. I'm playing vanilla.

[kdodds]

Still will not work if you set the launcher or executable to "Run as Administrator" or in Compatibility mode for a prior Windows version.

[=CrimsoN=]

Originally posted by kdodds:

Still will not work if you set the launcher or executable to "Run as Administrator" or in Compatibility mode for a prior Windows version.

^This. Nothing to do with mods. This also applies to most Steam games. Not just Fallout 3.

[Doom Sayer]

Your game will be broken without mods such as game crashing upon certain level.

[BryTheGuy]

That's because this game doesn't have DRM. If you launch the executable straight from the directory, or use a normal shortcut, the hours won't get logged. You must launch the game from Steam or from a Steam shortcut.

[Seven7]

or rename game exe to launcher exe and steam start count hours

[kdodds]

Originally posted by Seven7:

or rename game exe to launcher exe and steam start count hours

Or the fose launcher if you're using fose.

[NoCountryForOldPikachus]

Originally posted by Slayer:

That's because this game doesn't have DRM. If you launch the executable straight from the directory, or use a normal shortcut, the hours won't get logged. You must launch the game from Steam or from a Steam shortcut.

I tried that as well, and it will log like 30 seconds of gameplay and then stop logging.

[NoCountryForOldPikachus]

Originally posted by Seven7:

or rename game exe to launcher exe and steam start count hours

I will try this, thanks!

[tape]

Originally posted by NoCountryForOldPikachus:

Originally posted by Seven7:

or rename game exe to launcher exe and steam start count hours

I will try this, thanks!

Did this work?

[Death Approaches]

yes, this works for getting Steam to track time in-game, but this is not the best option, it will depend on if you mod or not (or plan to), as .dll mods and editors will look for Fallout3.exe to verify they're in the right place, so rename the launcher to something else, but instead copy the Fallout3.exe to Fallout3Launcher.exe, not rename it. (or make a symbolic link to it, but mklink is a console command and not everyone is technical.)

also please don't rez old threads, you could have found this by searching or posting your own. I know most forums are OK with it, some even prefer it as long as it's on-topic, but Steam moderators have a tendency to lock rezzed threads with a canned response "This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion." which will now probably appear after my answer.