Already have X-Plane 11. How can I get the Steam key?

[Sims Smith]

I purchased it directly from the developers site. I am very happy with my purchase because this Beta is very stable. I will be upset if they don't give us Steam key and tell us to purchase again.

[★BigShot★]

What do you want/need a Steam key for if you already own the game? Are you just interested in having it show up in Steam when you are playing so your friends know what you are doing and so you can use the Steam overlay from within the game?....if so, you can easily do that without a Steam key.

[Sims Smith]

Originally posted by ★BigShot★:

What do you want/need a Steam key for if you already own the game? Are you just interested in having it show up in Steam when you are playing so your friends know what you are doing and so you can use the Steam overlay from within the game?....if so, you can easily do that without a Steam key.

If you have multiple user account in your computer you can only play X-Plane 11 with one of them. This is not an issue with steam. Steam will have achievement, and other small perks. Most other games developer give you steam key if you purchase it directly.

[★BigShot★]

I see... I doubt that Laminar is going to want to grant a single user license the ability to function for more than 1 person/user. I could be wrong of course but you should try emailing them directly to ask... or have you already done that?

[Ferien auf dem Innenhof]

Having games on Steam, it's also because of convenience. Newer game developers know this and users like it if they get additional Steam keys later (gamers are upset if they don't get Steam keys).

[Crash]

Originally posted by ★BigShot★:

I see... I doubt that Laminar is going to want to grant a single user license the ability to function for more than 1 person/user. I could be wrong of course but you should try emailing them directly to ask... or have you already done that?

Hey, I read some of your posts on my discussion, very well said.lol....now f*ck off.....lol no wait..just kidding.....I am really new to the flight sim world....and am amazed at how much there is to learn, as u have been so hardcore, any where u can point me for info, Payware and freeware, but if u know of good resources for learning to fly these planes...I would accept any info you would be willing to share...u know what I'm talking about...any help speeding up the learning curve would be much appreciated..lol....more to learn than I got years left. I would love to be able to pick someone's brain for a minute.

[HunterSeeker]

The dev said explicitly (at least the support) steam keys wont be provided

[Ferien auf dem Innenhof]

Old fashioned dev not knowing about how to make better money...

[Sims Smith]

Originally posted by Tortuosit:

Old fashioned dev not knowing about how to make better money...

Agree they are missing the bigger picture. With all these crazy good improvements they really need every simmer to be flying XP11. Steam is a very good way to advertise the game because everyone in friends list can see 'what' you are playing.

[Ferien auf dem Innenhof]

I guess, but I do not know, they seem to be afraid about people stealing their software. The other approach is, to sell the software to nearly everybody on earth for not so much cash. Some products are on Steam sale very often, maaaany people bought them, but never play. X-Plane... I have veeery rarely seen it on discount. And the discount was not much. At least it is the opposite of advertising the game. Maybe they are older people not really knowing Steam.

[Mountain Man]

Originally posted by Hopeless:

I purchased it directly from the developers site. I am very happy with my purchase because this Beta is very stable. I will be upset if they don't give us Steam key and tell us to purchase again.

I would not expect them to give you a Steam key if you bought directly from the developer, and since a Steam key wasn't promised at the time of purchase, you really have no room to complain. If you wanted a Steam key then you should have waited for the Steam version to be released.

[Mountain Man]

Originally posted by Hopeless:

Originally posted by Tortuosit:

Old fashioned dev not knowing about how to make better money...

Agree they are missing the bigger picture. With all these crazy good improvements they really need every simmer to be flying XP11. Steam is a very good way to advertise the game because everyone in friends list can see 'what' you are playing.

What are you guys are talking about? It is being released on Steam, so how are they "missing the bigger picture"? Your criticism makes no sense.

[Ferien auf dem Innenhof]

The bigger picture is users convenience. There's many devs releasing games <whereever> and giving out Steam keys to old customers when the game hits Steam.

There's several copy protection concepts. The one extreme side is building a fortress around your software. Dongles, copy protection, extra security clients. High price tag. Convenience factor = 0, Suck factor = 100.
The other side is more what is at the Steam world. Do not care too much, don't build a fortress, but sell as many copies as you can on often lower pricing. I think Laminar is still more on the traditional fortress side of life.

[Sims Smith]

Originally posted by Mountain Man:

Originally posted by Hopeless:

Agree they are missing the bigger picture. With all these crazy good improvements they really need every simmer to be flying XP11. Steam is a very good way to advertise the game because everyone in friends list can see 'what' you are playing.

What are you guys are talking about? It is being released on Steam, so how are they "missing the bigger picture"? Your criticism makes no sense.

Bigger picture is that we will never buy directly from developer site again and we will wait to buy it through steam. Steam keep a big % of the money. It is a loss for developers if they treat their loyal customer like this.

I bought Glora Victus from developers site and when they went live in Steam they gave me a free steam key.

[War Radish]

I've been thinking of picking this sim up. After reading around a lot today, it seems the consensus from people that bought the last one (Xplane 10) is that it's better to wait for a Steam version to release.

The convenience of always having it to hand to (re)install, the automatic updates (apparently the update system of 10, outside of Steam, was poor with reports that people sometimes had to wipe and re-install the game from scratch after an unsuccessful update), the hasle of having to insert DVD No.1 as copy protection if you got a version on disc, or not having to remember or find the installation key code if you bought the download version. I've also read that Laminar won't give a Steam key if you bought it in another way. All-in-all, I see just too many negatives for not having the Steam version.

Just a heads-up for anyone who is too impatient and wants in to the beta version now: rather than buying directly from Laminar, if you get it from Aerosoft it's a little cheaper and you also get 3 free airport addons (buy Xplane 10 with the automatic upgrade to Xplane 11 and the price is lower still).

[Mountain Man]

Originally posted by War Radish:

The convenience of always having it to hand to (re)install, the automatic updates (apparently the update system of 10, outside of Steam, was poor with reports that people sometimes had to wipe and re-install the game from scratch after an unsuccessful update), the hasle of having to insert DVD No.1 as copy protection if you got a version on disc, or not having to remember or find the installation key code if you bought the download version. I've also read that Laminar won't give a Steam key if you bought it in another way. All-in-all, I see just too many negatives for not having the Steam version.

The biggest benefit of the standalone version is that it really is standalone. It installs in its own directory that can be moved, copied, and backed up to your heart's content because the program is not linked in any way to your operating system with messy registry entries or external libraries. You can even have multiple copies installed on the same computer, which some people do for testing and to try out beta versions without trashing their primary installation.

Keeping the software up to date is super, duper easy as well since X-Plane will automatically inform you when a new version is available, and all you have to do is click "OK", and the installer takes care of the rest. No muss, no fuss.

Keeping the program DVD in the drive is not that big of a deal, and neither is keeping the software key easily accessible if you buy the download-only version. In fact, the program will remember the key for you, and on future occasions when you're prompted for the key (for instance, when the software wants to check in with the mothership), the fields will be already filled in. You can also buy a USB dongle if neither of those options appeal to you, but that is an additional expense and is more intended for people and businesses with multiple computers since you only have to buy one copy of X-Plane and can then buy a dongle for each computer you plan to use it on, which, in the end, is cheaper than buying multiple copies of X-Plane.

You're right that they won't give you a Steam key if you buy directly from Laminar Research, but you really don't need one since the standalone version is hardly the inconvenience you make it out to be.