Sharing library with my young kids.

[kleung830]

Want to buy another Steam Deck, but Steam's current inability to play two different games from my library simultaneously makes a second Deck almost pointless. Yes, I know all the workarounds. None are convenient or acceptable. I have three young kids. They can't have their own accounts and I'm not going to buy 4 copies of every game.

As a mental exercise, we can see that the current restrictions can be circumvented by buying every game on a separate account, so it's obvious this anti-consumer policy isn't quite right.

Guess I need to start buying more games on other platforms.

[kleung830]

Escrito originalmente por Myll:

Escrito originalmente por ⚡ Fl1tS ⚡:

As a mental exercise let's compare this to something in real life so maybe you can wrap your head around it. Let's say your kids want to play tennis. You can buy 1 tennis racket, and your kids can each play tennis in turns. Or you can get them all a tennis racket and they can all play tennis at the same time.

That's not a fair Analogy. A fair sports Analogy is that he buys a Tennis Racket, a Basketball, a Soccer Ball, and a set of Jarts (yes, the deadly kind), all from the same vendor, but the vendor says that only one of the 4 can be used at any one time, even though the children each want to play a different sport (while only Dad can play Jarts).

Finally someone understands the reality of the situation. Thanks.

[kleung830]

Escrito originalmente por Nebsun:

Escrito originalmente por kleung830:

Minimum age for a Steam account is 13.

Make an account for each one - you can make the account on behalf of them if they are under 13. The agreement only prevents under 13 year olds from creating the account, not owning one - as long as an adult creates the account and accepts the agreement on behalf of their kid, it's absolutely fine, and is the accepted / required method for under 13 to gain an account.

Once you have an account for each one, either buy the game that they will play on their account, or share your library for them to access a game.

If you want everyone to be able to play the same game all at the same time, then they each need to own a license for that game - just as normal..

The only way to allow access to the same game for different accounts at different times is to own the game on a different account to both of them - yes it's a pain, but is the only way.

Sharing library doesn't work because it locks out the library from everyone else. That's exactly the same as my current situation with a single account.

I don't want to play the same game at the same time. I don't know why people keep saying that. I just want any of my kids to be able to pick different games from different machines at the same time.

Everyone getting their own account won't accomplish this unless I buy a copy of every game for every account. That's financially infeasible. It would make me financial sense to create a new account for every game I buy, but that would be logistically infeasible.

There is a lot to love about Valve and Steam, but when it comes to being able to play what I purchased for my family, nothing beats the ol' hard copy. I miss the nice box art too. And being able to resell or gift (useful for kid games as they grow out of that phase)

[Piston Smashed™]

Escrito originalmente por kleung830:

Want to buy another Steam Deck, but Steam's current inability to play two different games from my library simultaneously makes a second Deck almost pointless. Yes, I know all the workarounds. None are convenient or acceptable. I have three young kids. They can't have their own accounts and I'm not going to buy 4 copies of every game.

As a mental exercise, we can see that the current restrictions can be circumvented by buying every game on a separate account, so it's obvious this anti-consumer policy isn't quite right.

Guess I need to start buying more games on other platforms.

Steam is a one user account, there are NO family Steam accounts. Steam doesn't allow multiple users playing multiple games at the same time on multiple machines from one account while online, it has been this way since day one, almost 20 years now. One of the reason Steam was created was to stop game code sharing (along with making it easier to install updates for games) which was a big problem back in the day. People would sell or buy pirated games and share the game codes which allowed multiple users to play at the same time in online games.

While you may not want to abuse the system there are many out there that would love to abuse the system if they had the ability to have multiple games running on multiple machines at the same time from one account all while connected to the internet. And this is why you cannot do what you want to do.

It's either go offline or make accounts for your kids. Games can be found cheaper outside of Steam on bundle sites like Fanatical, Humble Bundle or Indie Gala and games like Putt Putt have been in bundles for a few quid for multiple games.

[Crazy Tiger]

Steams family sharing is library sharing, not game sharing. And considering the already widely abuse on the current family sharing, I see Valve removing it alltogether before opening it up further.

[kleung830]

Again. Making accounts for the kids doesn't solve anything because you'd either need an account for each game or one copy of every game for the kids to accomplish what you could do if you just bought a physical game or toy for the household. I know what it was like because I've been gaming since the 80s. I know the reasons for the limitations. I'm just pointing out that it's not quite right. Kids can't technically have their own account. And I will be the one paying for the games anyway.

And once again, if creating a new account for every game you buy can get around this limitation, then something is obviously not right with the policy.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Escrito originalmente por kleung830:

Again. Making accounts for the kids doesn't solve anything because you'd either need an account for each game or one copy of every game for the kids to accomplish what you could do if you just bought a physical game or toy for the household. I know what it was like because I've been gaming since the 80s. I know the reasons for the limitations. I'm just pointing out that it's not quite right. Kids can't technically have their own account. And I will be the one paying for the games anyway.

And once again, if creating a new account for every game you buy can get around this limitation, then something is obviously not right with the policy.

Why not actually listen to what people are telling you instead of assuming? With Family Sharing, the entire library is shared. That's how it works, you cannot share individual games. It's all or nothing. So no, you do not need an account for each game.

https://store.steampowered.com/promotion/familysharing

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Added link

[kleung830]

Holy cow. Why don't you actually read my posts? I fully understand how family sharing works. The entire tread is discussing how I don't think the way it works is quite right.

[ReBoot]

The thing is, sharing digital copies generally Eis easier, ham Sharing physical copies. Mailing someone a physical copy and hope you get it back time unscratched when you want to play it yourself isn't quite easy, as clicking a couple buttons & then wring "yo dawg, please let me play now".

You can not expect this sharing function here to work the same as physical because it operates under entirely different circumstances!

Yeah, you got different expectations and are not happy. ♥♥♥♥ happens, that's life. It works right for the environment it has to work in.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

Escrito originalmente por kleung830:

Holy cow. Why don't you actually read my posts? I fully understand how family sharing works. The entire tread is discussing how I don't think the way it works is quite right.

The thing is, the way it works isn't up for debate.

Furthermore, games that incorporate remote play together, only one person needs to own the game.

[imag2OOO]

Escrito originalmente por kleung830:

Really? The first response is that I am abusing the system?

Minimum age for a Steam account is 13. I have bought Putt Putt and Pajama Sam games for my kids to play. I've got 3 kids under 13. You think I'm going to buy all the Putt Putt and Pajama Sam games 3 times each on 3 separate accounts just so my kids can play? I'm not sure if you guys have kids or not, but this is a pretty reasonable request. I'm not trying to NOT buy the game. I'm not trying to play multiple copies of the same game at the same time. And you can't even buy multiple copies of the same game for the same account.

I'm not giving them my password and letting them play unsupervised. I'm loading a Lego game on the Steam Deck for one of them. Then a sibling wants to play Putt Putt on the living room PC. How many accounts and copies do I need to purchase to be able to do this without being called a criminal?

So strange we cannot have a level-headed discussion without someone blaming the consumer for a very reasonable use case.

What would be reasonable would be a limit on the number of simultaneous games (3 or so) and all within the same LAN. Force me to re-login to verify that I am present at each machine. I don't mind. Basically anything is better than now.

I could also get around this by making a new Steam account for each game I purchase. But is having multiple accounts abusing the system?

If I start a game from my library and then hand the controller to my kid, is that account sharing and abusing the system?

There has to be a better middle ground. Because something as drastic as a separate accounts for each game is way more hassle than pirating games. And we all know anti-consumer policies is what drives piracy. Nobody wants to go back to the days of rampant piracy.

those games arent co op anyway why not just let them play it individualy / take turns

[kleung830]

Escrito originalmente por ReBoot:

The thing is, sharing digital copies generally Eis easier, ham Sharing physical copies. Mailing someone a physical copy and hope you get it back time unscratched when you want to play it yourself isn't quite easy, as clicking a couple buttons & then wring "yo dawg, please let me play now".

You can not expect this sharing function here to work the same as physical because it operates under entirely different circumstances!

Yeah, you got different expectations and are not happy. ♥♥♥♥ happens, that's life. It works right for the environment it has to work in.

Fully agreed. And more restrictions SHOULD be placed in sharing (compared to physical copies). The current policy for sharing is fine for all situations except within a household (buying games for my young kids to play for instance). In that case, I'm proposing a reasonable limit 3-5 separate games simultaneously from the same library within the same LAN.

Escrito originalmente por C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

Escrito originalmente por kleung830:

Holy cow. Why don't you actually read my posts? I fully understand how family sharing works. The entire tread is discussing how I don't think the way it works is quite right.

The thing is, the way it works isn't up for debate.

Furthermore, games that incorporate remote play together, only one person needs to own the game.

I'm not debating how it works. It's clear how it works. I'm opening a discussion and dialogue for how it can be improved to be more appropriate and fair for a family with young kids.

Also, it seems no one is reading anything carefully, so I will repeat it once again: I do not want to play the same game from multiple devices simultaneously. I do not want to share with anyone outside of the LAN. Within one location (within one LAN), there should be some type of simultaneous access to the library allowed. This is not about remote play together or anything like that. It isn't about account sharing. It isn't any of that.

Escrito originalmente por imag2OOO:

those games arent co op anyway why not just let them play it individualy / take turns

Again, I'm not sure why no one seems to actually read what the problem is or what I'm proposing. Only one child is playing one game at a time. That's not the problem. The problem is one kid is playing Putt Putt on the computer and another kid wants to play a Lego game on the Steam Deck at the same time.

Only way to do that is to buy each game on a separate account. But I have more than two games, and a separate account for each title is unreasonable, unwieldly, and would probably be seen (rightly so) by Steam as abusive if not straight up violating something in the ToS. If each kid has their own Steam account (which they can't technically because of their age), then I would have to buy each of them a copy of every title for their account, which is financially un-reasonable. They don't need to play the same game at the same time. They should be able to play different games at the same time at home because I own all the titles.

Offline mode is the closest we have, and it works okay for games that don't need cloud save or online play, which is mostly kind of okay for many of the games that my younger kids play, but it's still a hassle and there are still some limitations and crying/devastation when their saves are lost.

[C²C^Guyver |NZB|]

You're telling others to read when you aren't even reading the FAQ that you were given. It tells you why you cannot share with more than one user at a time. It is because individual games aren't shared, the entire library is shared and you can't share your library with more than one person at a time.

Not even all games in your library can be shared with another user, as per the FAQ.

If you want that policy changed, talk it over with Steam Support. Why? Discussing it here or opening up dialogue here is completely useless, because the only people here are other Steam users, such as yourself. These forums are entirely community based.

[jr.creations]

Escrito originalmente por kleung830:

Want to buy another Steam Deck, but Steam's current inability to play two different games from my library simultaneously makes a second Deck almost pointless. Yes, I know all the workarounds. None are convenient or acceptable. I have three young kids. They can't have their own accounts and I'm not going to buy 4 copies of every game.

As a mental exercise, we can see that the current restrictions can be circumvented by buying every game on a separate account, so it's obvious this anti-consumer policy isn't quite right.

Guess I need to start buying more games on other platforms.

This is an expensive hobby. Everybody is a gamer in my house.
Years ago I encounter the same issue with game sharing. But knowing that you dont really own the games in steam and the account is not transferable I decide to make account for everybody, since I didnt want to have games only in one account.

Also although It has been times that I had bought $70 games 6 times, This is not always the case. As my wife and kids have different taste when it come to gaming and/or platform.

In the matter of not opening an account for your kids and some opinions that I have read above, When is the right age to introduce your kids to particular games and media? This is a question that everybody have an opinion on. As a father you set the rules that you think are going to work for you. It has been my experience that the important thing is to teach your kids good values, to respect others and help anyone in need. Also I has never let the pc or console or phone or tablet to become a virtual nanny and I had introduced them to real sports. It has worked wonders for me.

On the subject of buying games in other platforms, Yeah you can do that, I encourage it. There is platforms that allowed game sharing close to the way you want, as long as you buy 4 Xbox or whatever instead or buy one and have the kids take turns. But you are going to encounter the same issue, you need to create new accounts for your kids. If xbox bring back the family plan you be all set, Nintendo also has a family plan. And I dont know about playstation since I have only 1 ps5. But again all your kids must have their own account to be able to have full benefits.

[kleung830]

Escrito originalmente por C²C^Guyver |NZB|:

You're telling others to read when you aren't even reading the FAQ that you were given. It tells you why you cannot share with more than one user at a time. It is because individual games aren't shared, the entire library is shared and you can't share your library with more than one person at a time.

Not even all games in your library can be shared with another user, as per the FAQ.

If you want that policy changed, talk it over with Steam Support. Why? Discussing it here or opening up dialogue here is completely useless, because the only people here are other Steam users, such as yourself. These forums are entirely community based.

If I didn't read the FAQ, why would I even be here discussing the existing policy? I fully understand the policy.

And I'm not trying to share with others, though that could be a possible solution in a policy change. I'm trying to have my kids play my game on my hardware.

Escrito originalmente por jr.creations:

This is an expensive hobby. Everybody is a gamer in my house.
Years ago I encounter the same issue with game sharing. But knowing that you dont really own the games in steam and the account is not transferable I decide to make account for everybody, since I didnt want to have games only in one account.

Also although It has been times that I had bought $70 games 6 times, This is not always the case. As my wife and kids have different taste when it come to gaming and/or platform.

In the matter of not opening an account for your kids and some opinions that I have read above, When is the right age to introduce your kids to particular games and media? This is a question that everybody have an opinion on. As a father you set the rules that you think are going to work for you. It has been my experience that the important thing is to teach your kids good values, to respect others and help anyone in need. Also I has never let the pc or console or phone or tablet to become a virtual nanny and I had introduced them to real sports. It has worked wonders for me.

On the subject of buying games in other platforms, Yeah you can do that, I encourage it. There is platforms that allowed game sharing close to the way you want, as long as you buy 4 Xbox or whatever instead or buy one and have the kids take turns. But you are going to encounter the same issue, you need to create new accounts for your kids. If xbox bring back the family plan you be all set, Nintendo also has a family plan. And I dont know about playstation since I have only 1 ps5. But again all your kids must have their own account to be able to have full benefits.

Thanks for at least understanding. I think maybe only those of us with kids with whom we share the live for games can even sympathize and understand that I'm not trying to steal games here.

You're lucky that your family has generally different tastes in games. That makes individual accounts for each family member a more tenable solution. I'm definitely not going to be buying $70 games for each member of the family unless it's something we all want to play simultaneously...