Multiple users on one Steam account..

[aperama]

Hi, all. I'm presently in the throes of getting a second computer for my fianceé. Some time ago, I decided to pick up some of the games she enjoys (e.g. The Sims and several favoured Popcap games) for her on my Steam account - and I'm just wondering two things...

A) If I'm to use this second computer at the same time as the first, will Steam kick up a fuss at all?

B) Is there a reliable way to transfer game files etc from one computer to another without actually downloading them through the client? (Wasting 13gb of download capacity for another copy of The Sims seems a little over the top to me.)

If I'm doing something that might somehow be considered a faux pas, by that same token, feel free to say so.

Cheers!

[Marble]

A) You cannot log into Steam on more than one PC at the same time. Accounts are (currently) limited to one user. Some games do not require Steam to be running, but most do and therefore they cannot be played if Steam is logged in somewhere else.

B) You can copy game data from the steamapps folder (or wherever you chose to install the games) to the other PC and it should work fine.

[Castiel`]

Originally posted by aperama:

A) If I'm to use this second computer at the same time as the first, will Steam kick up a fuss at all?

B) Is there a reliable way to transfer game files etc from one computer to another without actually downloading them through the client? (Wasting 13gb of download capacity for another copy of The Sims seems a little over the top to me.)



Cheers!

A - you can't use a same account at same time on different pc ! Sharing of account i just breaking Steam Subscriber Agreement !

B- yeah it's safe to transfer game files from one pc to another ! , Uri™

[kristijanH]

Your steam account is not computer bound but it is person bound. So let's say you want to play COD on computer A and sims on computer B. You need to install steam on both computers. You can eithe redownload sims on comp B or make a backup from A to B using the make a backup feature in steam.

When you want to play COD you play on comp A but when you decide to play sims you need to logout off comp A and login on comp B to play. You can only be logged in your steam account on one computer at a time.

Hopefully in the near future steam will implement borrowing games (which was roomored recently) and they you could make another steam account for your fiancee and lend her your copy of sims indefinitely.

[aperama]

Oh, I've no interest in the games in question. They were purchased on my account purely for that reason, which is why I'm quite willing to admit. There'd be no overlap of games in this situation (I'm interested in what I like, and she is what she likes) - if it came down to a second account, that's all well and good and I'd be perfectly happy to go with, but as she's not had a computer for quite some time outside of my own it was simply impractical to buy for a separate account.

I'd heard about the games borrowing notion, which was a goodly part of why I had decided this might be a decent idea. As it stands, it's a theoretical notion anyway - I just really wanted to know where I stood with it. Realistically, with the exception of, I think, two games (Plants vs Zombies and Bejeweled) neither of them even have steam achievements or online modes which would require or be advantaged by Steam in running. Thanks for all of the quick advice anyway, all!

[BADSPistawful]

Start Steam on 1 pc then set it to "offline" mode, then log in on the other pc. This should allow her to play the popcap games offline while you do whatever it is you do on steam while online.