Use old steam UI as fallback for low end hardware

[Scientist]

maybe re-implement the old UI for those comfortable with it and for those who do not have hardware strong enough to handle the updated UI? small mode exists and is similar however lacks alot of features, I don't have a pc that struggles with the updated UI now of course, but when it first launched I had a laptop that was considered terrible, and I saw a 10-15 frame drop in almost all my games so I had to force steam to install an older version with the old UI which was incredibly tedious.

[Gwarsbane]

Not going to happen, they changed stuff in the back end which is not compatible with the old UI.

Also never in the history of Steam have they gone back to an old UI. Once a change happens, thats it.

If people have a old system then they need to stick with small mode for playing and use a real web browser to do everything else.

I had a 10+ year old system which struggled a little but still worked fine in small mode. I used steam to launch games, I used a real browser for everything else.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

You can also launch the client with the -no-browser launch parameter. I do that even on a modern computer because it cuts out a bunch of the bloat in the Steam client and makes it launch faster and run using fewer resources.

Also there are some people who have been trying to make the old version of the Steam client continue to run. I don't know whether that's still possible.

But seriously, it's quite ironic when the launcher doesn't run on a computer even though the game it's used to launch does. And looking at how the 2019 update made the Library require this silly browser-rendered functionality (which runs slower and uses more resources and isn't even as keyboard-friendly for that matter as the old UI), and looking at how subsequent updates turned other features (such as the game properties dialog box) into browser-rendered elements too, the Steam client is going in a very disappointing direction.

There's the possibility that some of those older games may be DRM-free, so they can run without the Steam client anyway. (Though you won't get Steam client integrations obviously.) But not all older games are DRM-free, so this won't work for all games -- making this situation an example of when DRM causes problems for legit customers.

[Acetyl]

They need to clean up the UI in general. It's a disjointed mess.

[WhiteKnight]

How low end are u talking about?. The old UI is done using VGUI and it is a programming nightmare that some former Valve said.

Originally posted by Acetyl:

They need to clean up the UI in general. It's a disjointed mess.

Yeah. Their focus seems to be on Steam Deck now and we desktop have been left behind.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by WhiteKnight:

How low end are u talking about?. The old UI is done using VGUI and it is a programming nightmare that some former Valve said.

And yet it ran significantly more smoothly.

[Acetyl]

Related thread.
https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/10/5241649843379092886/
Basically I fixed it by disabling hardware acceleration. You would think it would reduce the load on a weaker cpu, but it does the inverse.

[nullable]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

Originally posted by WhiteKnight:

How low end are u talking about?. The old UI is done using VGUI and it is a programming nightmare that some former Valve said.

And yet it ran significantly more smoothly.

For people with crappy hardware which may not be a terribly important demographic. After all if you're not willing to pay for decent hardware, how much are you really willing to spend on games? And that's who needs special accommodation?

[Scientist]

Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

And yet it ran significantly more smoothly.

For people with crappy hardware which may not be a terribly important demographic. After all if you're not willing to pay for decent hardware, how much are you really willing to spend on games? And that's who needs special accommodation?

up until like mid 2021 i had a TERRIBLE pc and couldn't afford a good one up to that point, yet i still bought games because they're fun, even if they ran at a lower resolution or graphical fidelity it didn't matter as long as it ran fine

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by Acetyl:

Related thread.
(snip)
Basically I fixed it by disabling hardware acceleration. You would think it would reduce the load on a weaker cpu, but it does the inverse.

Originally posted by Acetyl:

single core

Definitely not a supported demographic. Even SBCs and modern cell phones have significantly more power than that 140 chip. As the client becomes changed over time the minimum recommended to run the client itself, let alone the client & the os with all other apps the user runs at startup, will increase. There's a limit to how well something that weak will perform over time.

[WhiteKnight]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

Originally posted by WhiteKnight:

How low end are u talking about?. The old UI is done using VGUI and it is a programming nightmare that some former Valve said.

And yet it ran significantly more smoothly.

I have no problems with the current client after disabling some settings. However i think this new UI is mostly done because of SteamDeck. I don't how the old ui would do on the steamdeck.

[Acetyl]

Originally posted by Mad Scientist:

Originally posted by Acetyl:

Related thread.
(snip)
Basically I fixed it by disabling hardware acceleration. You would think it would reduce the load on a weaker cpu, but it does the inverse.

Originally posted by Acetyl:

single core

Definitely not a supported demographic. Even SBCs and modern cell phones have significantly more power than that 140 chip. As the client becomes changed over time the minimum recommended to run the client itself, let alone the client & the os with all other apps the user runs at startup, will increase. There's a limit to how well something that weak will perform over time.

It's a balance between ease of implementation / future extension (apparently shared interface with SteamDeck) and optimization. Fast hardware can mask inefficiency, but it doesn't excuse it.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

And yet it ran significantly more smoothly.

For people with crappy hardware which may not be a terribly important demographic. After all if you're not willing to pay for decent hardware, how much are you really willing to spend on games? And that's who needs special accommodation?

1. Many old computers are perfectly capable of running old games. Well, if not for a pesky DRM launcher getting in the way, at least.
1'. Heck, old hardware is actually a pretty popular hobby.
1''. One major benefit to PC gaming is the fact that it is (at least typically) adaptable to a variety of players' needs and tastes, and that includes hardware setups.

2. Games cost much, much less than new hardware. Even just a few years ago, I'd have to shell out at least (US)$300 or so for a new computer, more if I want it to be any good. While even the most expensive games are only $60 at full price shortly after release, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of games costing less than $20, $10, or even $5...and that's not even counting discounts dropping those prices down further. But you don't get those -75% discounts on PCs.

[no154370]

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

Originally posted by Snakub Plissken:

For people with crappy hardware which may not be a terribly important demographic. After all if you're not willing to pay for decent hardware, how much are you really willing to spend on games? And that's who needs special accommodation?

1. Many old computers are perfectly capable of running old games. Well, if not for a pesky DRM launcher getting in the way, at least.
1'. Heck, old hardware is actually a pretty popular hobby.
1''. One major benefit to PC gaming is the fact that it is (at least typically) adaptable to a variety of players' needs and tastes, and that includes hardware setups.

2. Games cost much, much less than new hardware. Even just a few years ago, I'd have to shell out at least (US)$300 or so for a new computer, more if I want it to be any good. While even the most expensive games are only $60 at full price shortly after release, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of games costing less than $20, $10, or even $5...and that's not even counting discounts dropping those prices down further. But you don't get those -75% discounts on PCs.

but Old Computers using Windows XP and Windows 7 have Security Issues that can't be fixed at all.

since Microsoft have Cease Support for old Windows OS completely.

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if you want to play Old Games on the new Windows OS, go and download Dosbox or something similar to it.

not only that, Old Games like Master of Orion, Master of Magic......etc are being updated to run on Windows 8, Windows 10 and Windows 11 but requires the usage of Dosbox.

the gog website it self is a fine example and i have the screenshot as concrete evidence here

https://imgur.com/a/YzuSfWt

go and look up on C & C: Remastered as well which is available on Steam Platform too.

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your argument is extremely weak in my opinion "Quint the Alligator Snapper" as you never bother to do a very thorough research before you make this post of yours.

[Quint the Alligator Snapper]

Originally posted by no154370:

Originally posted by Quint the Alligator Snapper:

1. Many old computers are perfectly capable of running old games. Well, if not for a pesky DRM launcher getting in the way, at least.
1'. Heck, old hardware is actually a pretty popular hobby.
1''. One major benefit to PC gaming is the fact that it is (at least typically) adaptable to a variety of players' needs and tastes, and that includes hardware setups.

2. Games cost much, much less than new hardware. Even just a few years ago, I'd have to shell out at least (US)$300 or so for a new computer, more if I want it to be any good. While even the most expensive games are only $60 at full price shortly after release, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of games costing less than $20, $10, or even $5...and that's not even counting discounts dropping those prices down further. But you don't get those -75% discounts on PCs.

but Old Computers using Windows XP and Windows 7 have Security Issues that can't be fixed at all.

since Microsoft have Cease Support for old Windows OS completely.

WinXP/Win7 systems don't just automatically get infected the moment they touch an internet connection. People have to expose themselves to attacks and on top of that there are specific things people have to do to get malware onto their systems.

Besides, MS does in fact occasionally fix security flaws well beyond their official expected support period.

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Originally posted by no154370:

if you want to play Old Games on the new Windows OS, go and download Dosbox or something similar to it.

not only that, Old Games like Master of Orion, Master of Magic......etc are being updated to run on Windows 8, Windows 10 and Windows 11 but requires the usage of Dosbox.

the gog website it self is a fine example and i have the screenshot as concrete evidence here

https://imgur.com/a/YzuSfWt

go and look up on C & C: Remastered as well which is available on Steam Platform too.

DOSBox only works on DOS games specifically.

Some games are being updated to run on newer systems, but not all.

But most importantly, OP is talking about low-end hardware, which includes systems running newer OSes. This isn't just "it won't run on WinXP because Steam doesn't support WinXP anymore".