Family Library Sharing on Authorized Computers

[9th.immortal]

If I'm sharing my library with my family member and they open the steam client on their computer, will they have to download the games again (I assume so)

I have some questions:

1. When they launch a game, will my game save data appear with my progress and characters or will it only have a "new game" option and they play completely separately?

2. Can we play at the same time?

3. Can the computer be on a different network in a different place?

[9th.immortal]

Such as I have a son who lives with his mom in a different state. I wonder if he can share my account but not get confused by my game saves or accidentally click on one or overwrite it etc

[Josuke_Sensei]

i believe you cannot have more than 1 computer use the same steam account

[ChaosKing]

When they launch a game it will be as if it was their own. You can not play the same game at the same time unless both accounts own the game. I'm not sure about the last one.

If you have any other questions follow this link:
http://store.steampowered.com/promotion/familysharing

[9th.immortal]

It says:

Can two users share a library and both play at the same time?
No, a shared library may only be accessed by one user at a time.

And:

When I authorize a device to lend my library to others, do I limit my own ability to access and play my games?
As the account holder, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when another user is already playing one of your games, he/she will be given a few minutes to either purchase the game or quit playing.

Does that mean that I can't play a different game while they play? Or just one person can use steam at a time?

And:

Can all Steam games be shared with friends and family?
No, due to technical limitations, some Steam games may be unavailable for sharing. For example, titles that require an additional third-party key, account, or subscription in order to play cannot be shared between accounts.

So does that mean that Assassin's Creed won't work?

[Ratsak]

1. When they launch a game, will my game save data appear with my progress and characters or will it only have a "new game" option and they play completely separately?

Steam Family Library Sharing allows family members and their guests to play one another's games while earning their own Steam achievements and saving their own game progress to the Steam Cloud. It works by granting family members' access to your games on a shared computer.

It will look like a new game for the other user, and won't affect your progress.

2. Can we play at the same time?

No, a shared library may only be played by one user at a time including the owner and even if they want to play different games.

As the owner, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when another user is already playing one of your games, he/she will see a message giving them five minutes to either purchase or quit out of the game.

Think of it like a physical disk on a console. If you let a friend borrow your game on a physical disk, you can't play it while he is using it. If you wish to play, your friend will need to return the disk to you.

3. Can the computer be on a different network in a different place?

You will need to login to that computer and enable family sharing.

[ChaosKing]

You can play a game at the same time as them as long as it isn't the same game unless they own a copy of the game. Assassin's Creed might work or it might not depending on weither the developer has disabled family sharing

[9th.immortal]

Originally posted by ChaosKing:

You can play a game at the same time as them as long as it isn't the same game unless they own a copy of the game. Assassin's Creed might work or it might not depending on weither the developer has disabled family sharing

Are you sure? The other poster said you can't do that

[Ratsak]

You can't. Otherwise they will need their own copy of the said game.

[ChaosKing]

Haha opps, I forgot that we both had a copy of a game

[9th.immortal]

I think you should be able to share individual games while you play others. What's the point of sharing

[SpunkyJones]

Originally posted by 9th.immortal:

I think you should be able to share individual games while you play others. What's the point of sharing

You share the account, not individual games.

[Ratsak]

You share your library, not account.

[DBLUM88]

Simply put you are sharing access to the games, if theyre downloaded on your drive already their will be no redownloading nessesary. But if you log onto fresh client with no games downloaded prior then of course redownloading would be required. As for playing at the SAME time i do believe i have been concurrently playing a game that i was family sharing with my dad

[DBLUM88]

It is also seperate saves, unless the game is account based then if you log into the same account in both instances some issues could arise

[9th.immortal]

Ok, thanks, another question, if he already has 10 games on his account, and I have 20 on mine and I share it, will 30 games show up in his library, both libraries combined?

And he can still play any games he's bought even though my library appears in his library list?