Steam sucks? Two Clients/Accounts, same PC, same time

[lambda]

Hi folks, I recently came back to Steam and computer gaming, after 10 years of break.
I don't even know if this is the right place for this question but here's my problem:

TLDR;
When I try to open Steam Client twice, the second one seems to kill the first one.
That's a known issue, and it's Valve's fault. Steam's client is poorly written, and the installation isn't user-aware, in 2020.

Please read before answer "VM"
I'm trying to run two steam clients with differents accounts.
I'm not talking of the games, that's already ok.
It's about running steam's client, twice.

Why I need it:
I have a multiseat workstation, with Windows WVD.
Running in a VM with GPU/SSD passthrough.
I want each windows user run his own steam client, with his own steam account.

What I DON'T want to do:
- use any kind of VM, or additional layer like Sandboxie or Windows 10 Sandbox
- arguing about how pointless is having two steam accounts logged on the same PC

What I already tried, unsuccessfully:
- do it while disconnected from the internet
- spawn steam processes from different Windows accounts
- copy'n'paste the executable or the entire folder, and running two different ones
- install it twice, once for user, in their own user folder, and launching it from there
- installing/running Steam's Client, Helper and Service from Administrator or Normal users
- running Steam Client without the Steam Service running

Title
It's just controversial clickbait, I'd like attention on this BIG problem. Steam sucks refers to Steam software itself. As platform is a great idea that maybe saved computer gaming and took it to the cloud/drm era. Thanks Valve.

I just want to play with my wife, and It took months to reason her trying to play.
Please... "Don't stop me now 'cause I'm having a good time".

Thanks a lot to everyone that will keep useful information about why and how this behaviour works,
Luca.

[AmsterdamHeavy]

No. You cannot do that. You cant even play 2 games at the same time on different computers on the same account, so you have a second problem waiting for you if you get around this first problem that has no solution that you want to use.

[lambda]

Originally posted by AmsterdamHeavy:

No. You cannot do that. You cant even play 2 games at the same time on different computers on the same account...

Thanks for your reply, but as I told I need just the opposite: same pc, two steam clients each one with his own steam account, running in separate windows user, same time. I can't, and that's crazy.

[MoonC A T]

Welcome back lambia...might want to search first before posting. This took me 10 secs to find, hopefully it helps...

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/624076851253548039/

Also, how are you coming back from a 10 year break with a 3 years of service badge?

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

This would work better if you bought games DRM-free rather than on Steam.

Originally posted by MoonCAT:

Also, how are you coming back from a 10 year break with a 3 years of service badge?

Could have multiple accounts.

[MoonC A T]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

Originally posted by MoonCAT:

Also, how are you coming back from a 10 year break with a 3 years of service badge?

Could have multiple accounts.

duh me... good point

[lambda]

Originally posted by MoonCAT:

Welcome back lambia...might want to search first before posting. This took me 10 secs to find, hopefully it helps...

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/624076851253548039/

Hi, that thread is 6 years old, with no viable answer.

Originally posted by MoonCAT:

Also, how are you coming back from a 10 year break with a 3 years of service badge?

I had an account back in 2007-2010, but I don't own anymore that email.

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

This would work better if you bought games DRM-free rather than on Steam.

Thanks for the advice, you're absolutely right man. Unfortunately I'm not talking of games but of steam software itself.

[Kitai]

have different vms you could see how ltt does it with their what was it 6gamers 1 pc? all running different vms for each user with their own steam account i believe since you cant run the same account different games/same games

you need to make multiple vms, i do vm testing seeing what plays what just note that some games hate vms but yeah in order to bypass the issue youre having you must make a new vm for your wife with her own os since you cant do so with the same install of windows/linux, all parties have to have their own vm for it to work

[eram]

yeah like linus tech 8 gamers 1 pc.. You can virtualize it.

[lambda]

Originally posted by Mabs:

...all running different vms for each user with their own steam account i believe since you cant run the same account different games/same games...

Please, read the question. I want to run two steam clients. Different accounts, no games at all.

I'm already capable of running games, that's not the point. Each user has is own desktop and softwares (office, visual studio, netflix, spotify) running flawlessly same time, same machine, each one with his own account.

Steam's Client instead needs to Run as Administrator, so is capable of killing other Steam processes of other users. That's my guess, more or less.

Originally posted by eram:

...You can virtualize it...

Originally posted by Mabs:

...you need to make multiple vms...

Yep, you're right. But I was clear: is it possibile to do it WITHOUT vm or sandboxing? If not, what's the reason of this behaviour?

I'm already inside a VM with passthrough. Nested VMs would void my purpose.

Moreover, I'm on Windows WVD, specifically aimed at running multiple users same-time, same-machine, avoiding any VM, sandbox or containerization. And that's my purpose.

Thanks a lot to anyone able or at least trying of giving an answer.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by lambia:

When I try to open Steam Client twice, the second one seems to kill the first one.
That's a known issue, and it's Valve's fault. Steam's client is poorly written, and the installation isn't user-aware, in 2020.

It's probably not considered to be an issue.

For starters, yes -- Steam is poorly written in some aspects; specifically, it leaks settings AND ACCOUNT CREDENTIALS between different Windows users. Hits me all the time when I deal with my parent's PC, as I have to be careful to leave Steam with THEIR account on autologin, even if I used my account in the meantime.

However, even if it didn't do that, running multiple instances would cause problems as it handles global stuff, like installed games. Accounting for multiple Steam instances on the same system would require careful locking and/or communication between the instances, which is difficult to test and a usecase that the vast majority of users is not interested in at all.

Windows is not generally seen as a terminal host, and gaming machines even less so.

[lambda]

@Kargor: Thanks man, I think you're the first one who read my post before answer.
Alose you know what we are talking about and you got the point.

Originally posted by Kargor:

It's probably not considered to be an issue...

Well it should. Because it is. It's completely wrong to store settings in the program folder itself, instead of AppData, like any other app in the last decade. Any developer or sysAdmin knows that.

Originally posted by Kargor:

...Steam is poorly written in some aspects; specifically, it leaks settings AND ACCOUNT CREDENTIALS between different Windows users...

yep, that's exactly what I was talking about. That's a bug. A big one.

Originally posted by Kargor:

...multiple instances would cause problems as it handles global stuff, like installed games...

That's the point: games should be installed for local user, not globally. Like bookmarks/password in any browser, or downloaded song of Spotify. Others users shouldn't see my game library.

Originally posted by Kargor:

...multiple Steam instances on the same system would require careful locking and/or communication between the instances, which is difficult to test...

I disagree on this point, sir. Nowadays that's the normal and only way of writing software.

Originally posted by Kargor:

...a usecase that the vast majority of users is not interested in at all. Windows is not generally seen as a terminal host, and gaming machines even less so.

I can understand this anyway. But develop software that way is wrong.

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by lambia:

Originally posted by Kargor:

...a usecase that the vast majority of users is not interested in at all. Windows is not generally seen as a terminal host, and gaming machines even less so.

I can understand this anyway. But develop software that way is wrong.

Its the right way. Spending resources, such as development time on something hardly anyone does is hardly justifiable. You gotta understand that if your use case is an edge one, you gotta help yourself. Which you totally can with virtualization.

[Ettanin]

What you have is a shared server/mainframe case, which is usually not intended for gaming and no, even services like Stadia run containerized.

Steam is primarily a game store, community features are merely a nice (though necessary) addition.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by lambia:

@Kargor: Thanks man, I think you're the first one who read my post before answer.

Rather than insulting people who didn't give you a technical answer, consider that other people did read your post before answering, but -- such as myself -- didn't have the technical familiarity with virtualization to give you the answer you wanted.

I do want to ask though, can the game(s) in question that you want to play with your wife be played without Steam running?

I say this because in your OP you posted:

"I just want to play with my wife, and It took months to reason her trying to play."

But later you posted:

"Unfortunately I'm not talking of games but of steam software itself. "

May I ask, why?

[Brian9824]

So steam sucks because they don't support a feature that less then .01% of their userbase would even use?

Let us know how that works if you try it with Epic, Uplay, Bethesda, or any other gaming platform out there btw.