Playing different games simultaneously on one Steam account/Family Share

[ThatGuyTy]

I know steam does not support playing two separate games from the same account. Nor can you do a family share simultaneously.

I feel like this is very outdated, especially in a world where it is normal for a family to share the same account for streaming services.

Real life scenario that has happened to me several times this past week. I'm playing table top simulator with some friends online, while my significant other is trying to host a jackbox party with her friends. Even though I own both games, they can't be played at the same time.

Other real life scenario, I want to play Rocksmith while my children want to play another game I have purchased on another PC but same account. Can't happen. This is very frustrating and like I said seems very outdated with how people use technology today.

Can we set-up maybe that your games can be shared/played simultaneously but only from only 1-2 ip addresses? Or anything else that allows you to play games you have legally purchased simultaneously. Thanks

[Watermelon {JESUS IS LORD}]

you can play as many games your pc can handle from 1 account and 1 pc
i launch like 5 games at once and there is no problem running them

what you cant do is launch a game on one pc and try to launch another one from another pc if its the same account, is that what you mean?

[Washell]

Originally posted by ThatGuyTy:

but only from only 1-2 ip addresses?

Trusting an IP address to mean something is trusting a 13 year old's claim he's 18 in a liquor store. You can easily hide people from each and every continent behind a single IP. There's no technical means or method without a massive invasion of privacy to verify the family sharing the account is actually a family in a single home. Thus, the present rules to prevent abuse.

[Crazy Tiger]

Until someone can provide a good and reliable way to avoid abuse, it won't be expanded.

Family share is not intended for what you want to do.

[Dr. Death]

i find it hilariously dumb that i cant play a family share game account as long as the person sharing me his games is playing another game. Not because it stops me from playing games from his library, but because HE'S PLAYING A F2P GAME I ALSO OWN.

If he was playing a paid game i would 100% be ok with it but why cant i play, say, his copy of COD MW when he's playing dota or TF2?

[Riyeko]

I think they draw a comparison between owning the game as hardware. You can't play the same copy of Pokemon two times at once aswell. And yes, I think that's pretty outdated

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

First, try running the games without Steam. See if they work that way. If not...

I would say, OP, get the games DRM-free. But unfortunately, neither Tabletop Simulator nor the Jackbox games are available DRM-free.

It seems at least some Jackbox games are available on Epic, though, I doubt they're DRM-free there either. But I guess you could buy them on Epic instead.

Or you could make a new Steam account for every new purchase. A pain, but such may be necessary to deal with the problems caused by a DRM platform.

Meanwhile, bug the devs of both games to make them available DRM-free. Or look harder and see if there's a source I missed. (I only checked IsThereAnyDeal.)

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by ThatGuyTy:

Other real life scenario, I want to play Rocksmith while my children want to play another game I have purchased on another PC but same account.

https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/

"You may not reveal, share or otherwise allow others to use your password or Account except as otherwise specifically authorized by Valve".

[viperscape]

I agree, I think the licensing model is outdated.
If I have two consoles setup and own two different games then obviously I can have both running at the same time in my house. If I have two computers and two different games that I own in my Steam library I cannot have both running at the same time in my house.

Just some thoughts but Steam could do a few things to mitigate abusing the system:
- only allow up to two computers to play from the same account at a time
- make sure the computers are on the same network (checking with multicast and direct connect) and determine that they are likely in the same house
- require both computers' Steam software authenticate to each other with an authorization code to put them in a sharing state

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by viperscape:

If I have two consoles setup and own two different games then obviously I can have both running at the same time in my house. If I have two computers and two different games that I own in my Steam library I cannot have both running at the same time in my house.

Because consoles are closed hardware the user cannot tamper with and computers not.
That's why you can't do stuff with computers that consoles allow you to.

All your bullet points either already happen or are relatively trivial to tamper with computers.

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by viperscape:

I agree, I think the licensing model is outdated.
If I have two consoles setup and own two different games then obviously I can have both running at the same time in my house. If I have two computers and two different games that I own in my Steam library I cannot have both running at the same time in my house.

Just some thoughts but Steam could do a few things to mitigate abusing the system:
- only allow up to two computers to play from the same account at a time
- make sure the computers are on the same network (checking with multicast and direct connect) and determine that they are likely in the same house
- require both computers' Steam software authenticate to each other with an authorization code to put them in a sharing state

1. People would rent out their accounts, if you look at ebay people already do this
2. Cannot check same network, it is incredibly easy to spoof it with vpn services
3. They would just set that up for the person paying for the account

All the services GoG, Uplay, etc have stipulations that you are not to share your account

[Traveller]

I agree the family sharing system of steam is a waste of time and really needs to be made family friendly.

I have a large steam library built up over many years. I now have kids who also want to play many of my games, but they cant unless I buy them again for them each OR only one of us can play a game. What I want is for steam to allow my family members (some of whom are officially NOT allowed to have their own steam accounts yet!) to play games from my collection.

In the old days, I bought a game, it came with a CD etc. If i had multiple computers like when I lived with my parents, Only the person playing the game could play it as they needed the CD, etc.
In the current times, Only one person can play a game any any time...

There will always be ways to get around DRM for those that really want to. (Copy CD, no cd crack, DRM removal tools, etc)

If companies like apple can make family sharing work why can't steam? I have my thoughts ($$$)

For this one reason I now no longer buy games on steam. I can wait until it comes out on GOG or other DRM free system so my family can also play.

For those who want to point out I'm not supposed to share my GOG account, I DONT! The games can be downloaded and installed. Then they can be played without logging in. I personally own the computers and the games. They are my children.

[Nx Machina]

Originally posted by Traveller:

For this one reason I now no longer buy games on steam. I can wait until it comes out on GOG or other DRM free system so my family can also play.

For those who want to point out I'm not supposed to share my GOG account, I DONT! The games can be downloaded and installed. Then they can be played without logging in. I personally own the computers and the games. They are my children.

3.3 Your GOG account and GOG content are personal to you and cannot be shared with, sold, gifted or transferred to anyone else. Your access to and use of them is subject to GOG’s rules which are set out here, as updated or amended when necessary.

[Aachen]

“I can do whatever I want—they’re my children,” eh?

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Traveller:

What I want is for steam to allow my family members (some of whom are officially NOT allowed to have their own steam accounts yet!) to play games from my collection.

Ok so how would you do it so that it's not abused? I mean that's the real issue here. It's not that steam and developers don't want to add it, its that if they add it there is no way to stop it from widely being abused and costing developers BILLIONS of dollars

Originally posted by Traveller:

If companies like apple can make family sharing work why can't steam? I have my thoughts ($$$)

Totally different markets, and types of products. I mean ALL gaming distribution sites use the exact same model. Your purchases are for YOURSELF and not to be shared.

Originally posted by Traveller:

For this one reason I now no longer buy games on steam. I can wait until it comes out on GOG or other DRM free system so my family can also play.

Doing so violates GOG's terms and your account could be shut down and you can face legal issues over it

Originally posted by Traveller:

For those who want to point out I'm not supposed to share my GOG account, I DONT! The games can be downloaded and installed. Then they can be played without logging in. I personally own the computers and the games. They are my children.

That doesn't mean jack
https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/212184489-Can-I-share-games-with-others-?_ga=2.132457480.748161259.1587740753-1473801119.1587740753&product=gog

Your account and games are for your personal use only. If you want to share them, you can always buy a gift for that person. The DRM-free nature of our service means that we trust you that this will not be abused.

They are for your PERSONAL use, they are not to be shared, doing so violates their terms and is the reason why most games are not available on GoG. Developers know people like you abuse it so they won't release on GoG because of lost sales.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by Traveller:

In the old days, I bought a game, it came with a CD etc. If i had multiple computers like when I lived with my parents, Only the person playing the game could play it as they needed the CD, etc.

Yes, we know. In the old days the licensing terms couldn't be enforced. Now with digital content, they can be enforced.

It's not the licensing terms that have changed, it's the way it can be enforced.

Keep in mind that Family share is something every publisher can opt out. Making the system more loose has the risk that publishers opt out of it.