Steam Legacy Client?

[Codename B.T.]

Theory: If we are able to maintain an old and offline copy of steam, we will not lose access to our games.

It would be nice if Valve would release a legacy/offline client version for those of us cursed with tech that *can't* be upgraded. I built my machine to last, and without income for years now because of the pandemic, and no real sign of recovery in my career industry, I'm now in a race with what will come first, homelessness or losing access to the majority of my games which help keep me sane amidst crippling depression, I've lost all my family to disease and radicalism, my friends are becoming struggling parents and/or losing themselves to drugs, and some have even decided to check out of reality early...

Bad enough that I can't play new games because of game controller drivers that developers don't make universal for operating systems, bad enough that games use drivers that make no sense to limit to a specific operating system. etc. etc. Now I must slowly watch as I and so many others are segregated and shunned by corporatism...

Not like this....not like this....

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Use the search function. Been discussed before...many times. It would still have to be compatible with the backend.

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/1735466157774595212/

https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/618453594745568798/

[Oz Gaming]

There will be No Steam Legacy Client. If you don't upgrade your OS to Windows 10 or 11 by 1st January next year it's all over with Steam for anybody who hasn't.

[Spawn of Totoro]

Originally posted by Oz Gaming:

There will be No Steam Legacy Client. If you don't upgrade your OS to Windows 10 or 11 by 1st January next year it's all over with Steam for anybody who hasn't.

It isn't all over. Eventually they may get a windows 10/11 or higher system and then they just need to install and log-into Steam to have access to their library. Valve won't delete accounts, regardless of the age of the account.

Or even install Linux and log-in.

Either way, they will always have access to their library. None of it is being taken away and anyone can always come back if they choose to.

[Phénomènes Mystiques]

Windows 10 has been the smoothest Windows experience since XP. I will hate to see it go around 2027/29.

[Sifer2]

The answer is Linux. I mean I get it. I'm lazy, and didn't want to learn how to install Linux either. But if the situation is so extreme as the one the topic creator seems unfortunately to be in. Learning to install Linux is probably a hell of a lot easier than trying to create a whole separate version of the Steam client.

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by Codename B.T.:

Theory: If we are able to maintain an old and offline copy of steam, we will not lose access to our games.

Yes. Eventually you'll reach the point where the client cannot communicate with the back end . So ownership verification, downloading, ioffline verification, all of that will go poof.. This is what happened with XP.

Offline is kinda non existent since basically there needs to be some online communication at some point.

[N3tRunn3r]

I do also completely dislike Windows 10 and 11. And not to mention Windows 8/8.1.

W10 is a performance mess and W11 is a buggy and a thrown together crap as heck.. but supports a better gaming experience and performance than W10 does. Before W11, W10 was a thrown together mess..

Well:

Opt-in to the "Windows Insider" program to download and install Windows 12 Beta "later this year". A highly unstable (pre-)alpha version of Windows 12 is already available there in a brand new Dev channel branch called Canary[blogs.windows.com].

W12 will have a greatly improved backwards compatibility implemented to run even older applications and software. Windows 12 official release is somewhere next year in 2024.

• Windows 12 will include ChatGPT, as Microsoft are the owners of ChatGPT..
  
  
• More and enhanced security..
  
  
• Better performances and responses..
  
  
• Windows 12 Mobile will be released to cross-platform stuff etc..
  
  
• And .. and ... and ...

I have the feeling Windows 12 will going to be the very next new sexy Windows 7!!


W12 as a final release/compliation/product of the "experiments": 8/8.1/10/11.. and CorePC.

So when Steam stops to support Windows 7, you can opt-in before to the Windows 12 Beta program for free to bridge time until W12 officially releases..

And/or try out Linux as Debian[www.debian.org], MINT Debian[www.linuxmint.com] and/or even SteamOS which is also built upon Debian. Previous SteamOS was built upon Arch Linux[wiki.archlinux.org].

Debian core is highly stable and reliable with a high performance and will never "vanish"..

[Godspeedhero]

Originally posted by Wynters:

Windows 10 has been the smoothest Windows experience since XP. I will hate to see it go around 2027/29.

2025 actually.

[Iron Knights]

Originally posted by Sifer2:

The answer is Linux. I mean I get it. I'm lazy, and didn't want to learn how to install Linux either. But if the situation is so extreme as the one the topic creator seems unfortunately to be in. Learning to install Linux is probably a hell of a lot easier than trying to create a whole separate version of the Steam client.

Linux to date is not set to use and operate windows games or properly & efficiently manipulate GPU hardware. Despite me making suggestions on how to build a self installing AI, that would make "drivers" obsolete.

[Komarimaru]

Originally posted by Iron Knights:

Originally posted by Sifer2:

The answer is Linux. I mean I get it. I'm lazy, and didn't want to learn how to install Linux either. But if the situation is so extreme as the one the topic creator seems unfortunately to be in. Learning to install Linux is probably a hell of a lot easier than trying to create a whole separate version of the Steam client.

Linux to date is not set to use and operate windows games or properly & efficiently manipulate GPU hardware. Despite me making suggestions on how to build a self installing AI, that would make "drivers" obsolete.

Proton. Simplest answer.

[Crashed]

Originally posted by Godspeedhero:

Originally posted by Wynters:

Windows 10 has been the smoothest Windows experience since XP. I will hate to see it go around 2027/29.

2025 actually.

Win32 software support for Windows 10 likely to persist until at least 2029 or later. Microsoft Store apps might get phased out sooner.

[Bleh]

Originally posted by Sifer2:

The answer is Linux. I mean I get it. I'm lazy, and didn't want to learn how to install Linux either. But if the situation is so extreme as the one the topic creator seems unfortunately to be in. Learning to install Linux is probably a hell of a lot easier than trying to create a whole separate version of the Steam client.

You damn Linux user and your operating systems! If we windows users gave a damn, we'd already be using it! Shut up and go back to reddit! >:-(

[Crashed]

Originally posted by N3tRunn3r:

I do also completely dislike Windows 10 and 11. And not to mention Windows 8/8.1.

W10 is a performance mess and W11 is a buggy and a thrown together crap as heck.. but supports a better gaming experience and performance than W10 does. Before W11, W10 was a thrown together mess..

Well:

Opt-in to the "Windows Insider" program to download and install Windows 12 Beta "later this year". A highly unstable (pre-)alpha version of Windows 12 is already available there in a brand new Dev channel branch called Canary[blogs.windows.com].

W12 will have a greatly improved backwards compatibility implemented to run even older applications and software. Windows 12 official release is somewhere next year in 2024.

• Windows 12 will include ChatGPT, as Microsoft are the owners of ChatGPT..
  
  
• More and enhanced security..
  
  
• Better performances and responses..
  
  
• Windows 12 Mobile will be released to cross-platform stuff etc..
  
  
• And .. and ... and ...

I have the feeling Windows 12 will going to be the very next new sexy Windows 7!!
:cwat:

W12 as a final release/compliation/product of the "experiments": 8/8.1/10/11.. and CorePC.

So when Steam stops to support Windows 7, you can opt-in before to the Windows 12 Beta program for free to bridge time until W12 officially releases..

And/or try out Linux as Debian[www.debian.org], MINT Debian[www.linuxmint.com] and/or even SteamOS which is also built upon Debian. Previous SteamOS was built upon Arch Linux[wiki.archlinux.org].

Debian core is highly stable and reliable with a high performance and will never "vanish"..

Never heard about them improving Win32 app compatibility, but I've heard enhanced security being stuff like sandboxing apps, which could of course be leveraged to provide a stable environment for more fussy programs, kind of like how on Ubuntu the "Snap" sandbox platform can be leveraged to emulate older and 32-bit Ubuntu environments.

I heard another improvement in security is rewriting some low level components like the kernel-mode GDI subsystem (GDI has been kernel-mode since NT 4.0) in Rust to improve memory safety and reduce its attack surface, while still keeping the API fully backwards compatible.

[N3tRunn3r]

Originally posted by Crashed:

Never heard about them improving Win32 app compatibility, but I've heard enhanced security being stuff like sandboxing apps, which could of course be leveraged to provide a stable environment for more fussy programs, kind of like how on Ubuntu the "Snap" sandbox platform can be leveraged to emulate older and 32-bit Ubuntu environments.

I heard another improvement in security is rewriting some low level components like the kernel-mode GDI subsystem (GDI has been kernel-mode since NT 4.0) in Rust to improve memory safety and reduce its attack surface, while still keeping the API fully backwards compatible.

Who knows, maybe 16-bit compatibility comes back with Windows 12. A small, little, smart and free open source project and tool on GitHub with a size of just about 1.5 mb already "emulates" a 16-bit environment with ease. You can install, open and run 16-bit applications on your 64-bit machine as it was a regular app of nowadays.

This tool makes any "heavy" VM's obsolete in this case. By an epic and smart japanese guy: https://github.com/otya128/winevdm

A "Windows-Sandbox" has been already implemented into Windows 11. Enable/Install it via Windows Features. It is even bi-directional. After closing the Sandbox, all progress is gone and all data and files during this "session" deleted of course.

Windows 12 will go this path in where UNIX/Linux systems do already. Seperating/Isolating critical system files and directories into read-only folders.