Before and After Game Execution Scripts

[MikeDodgers]

This is an idea where the game you have downloaded you can manually set a script that can be executed before a game runs and/or a script that executes after the game has finished executing and the Steam client has completed all its tasks like uploading cloud saves.

The scripts can common scripting language used, could be one used within the steam client if there is.

The scripts cannot be added by any game uploaded to steam than can only be manually added by the end user after they have completed the game install.

My idea for recommending this is one of my games Baulder's Gate Enhanced Edition has deleted all my cloud saves. So I have lost all my progress. I just felt it was a good idea that I could run a script when I finish playing the game to copy the save files to either my local cloud file share or my NAS or even another location.

I could also see this useful if a system as a limited resources (I had this in my older days), I would then stop a number of windows services before I play a game and then restart them when I have completed this. I used to use VB6 to create a small console shell application to do what I needed, it worked a treat. But we now run so many games in Steam or other clients like Steam that I think it would be handy.

I can see there being a potential for people running malicious scripts especially if they download them from the internet, but there could be a number of warnings and switches that need to be turned on an accepted to ensure people who do this, know what they are doing.

[Cathulhu]

Why don't you do that yourself? A simple Batch or Powershell script would do it.

[lightwo]

You can already do that yourself.

Either run the game outside of Steam through a script, or use %command% (expanding to the command Steam would normally use) anywhere in the launch options box to run a customised launch command.

It does require a bit more knowledge of the command line to work, and differs greatly whether you play on Windows/Linux/macOS, but it's already possible.

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As for backing up saves, you could instead schedule a backup script to run at a time the computer would be idling, being careful not to switch it off during backup operation.

[Gwarsbane]

Originally posted by MikeDodgers:

I can see there being a potential for people running malicious scripts especially if they download them from the internet, but there could be a number of warnings and switches that need to be turned on an accepted to ensure people who do this, know what they are doing.

That right there is why Valve won't do something like this. There are warning messages all over Steam about not giving away your info yet people still do and get hijacked.

Warnings about not downloading and running random stuff off the internet has been given to people for as long as the internet and hackers have been a thing.

Most people don't know how to do scripting and would require to download something off the net. This would be a very dangerous thing to add to Steam. If you want to do this, do it yourself. There is already programs out there that can save all your save games every now and then when you run it.

Gamesave Manager is one of them.