Enable the use of PC and Steam Deck at the same time

[pruttmannen]

Make it possible to play on the PC and Steam Deck at the same time. Perhaps im playing something slower/bigger on the PC and use the Deck on the side with something more casual during waiting etc.
Or maybe i just want to take the Deck with me while i drop the kids at the pool while my main game is paused on the PC.

Make it a "premium" feature if you want to, i dont care but its dumb to not be able to use both devices at the same time.

[Tito Shivan]

You 'sort of' can do that through another account and Family Sharing.
The new version of Family Sharing in beta now allows for concurrent use of the shared library as long as both accounts aren't playing the same game.

[Iron Knights]

Dual Logging for better cheating ? No Thanks.

[pruttmannen]

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:

You 'sort of' can do that through another account and Family Sharing.
The new version of Family Sharing in beta now allows for concurrent use of the shared library as long as both accounts aren't playing the same game.

Never heard of family sharing but sounds like it would solve a similar issue where my wife wants to play Sims that i own, while im simultaneously playing something else.

[pruttmannen]

Originally posted by Iron Knights:

Dual Logging for better cheating ? No Thanks.

How would cheating become easier by allowing me to play Terraria on the deck while my pc is waiting in a HLL lobby?

[Anonymous Helper]

Originally posted by pruttmannen:

Never heard of family sharing but sounds like it would solve a similar issue where my wife wants to play Sims that i own, while im simultaneously playing something else.

Won't help in that specific case. Games that require 3rd party launchers (in this case EA app) and/or 3rd party account (in this case EA Account) can't be shared even with new Steam Family. As such games from EA and Ubisoft among others can't be shared. Sims 4 base game is free to play though.

Do note that developer/publisher can opt in or out of the sharing and their participation is entirely voluntary. Family Share is listed on game page if a game has the feature enabled.

As for your original case, afaik, you can play on two machines with same account as long as one is in offline mode.

[Trouter]

There are plenty of use cases where it is valid for someone to play two games at once.

I for instance play Microsoft Flight Simulator, and when I'm at cruise altitude (not much going on) I'd like to be able to fire up a different game on my Steam Deck.

Seems reasonable to limit the account to a maximum of two (different) games at once and maybe detect if the two devices are on the same home network?

[Ben Lubar]

Put whichever device you're playing a non-multiplayer game on in offline mode. You can do this even while playing a game on Steam Deck.

[Trouter]

Originally posted by Ben Lubar:

Put whichever device you're playing a non-multiplayer game on in offline mode. You can do this even while playing a game on Steam Deck.

If putting it in offline mode can get around the issue easilly then what does this actually 'protect'. I fail to see the reason for the limitation. My point is there are easy ways for Valve to limit use that allow for use cases such as the one I mentioned while closing off the abuses people could potentially utilize.

[Tito Shivan]

Originally posted by Trouter:

If putting it in offline mode can get around the issue easilly then what does this actually 'protect'.

Putting one of the accounts in 'offline mode' cuts the chances of playing many games, which makes it as much of a workaround as it's an inconvenience.

Originally posted by pruttmannen:

Never heard of family sharing but sounds like it would solve a similar issue where my wife wants to play Sims that i own, while im simultaneously playing something else.

The old Family sharing wasn't precisely the friendliest. But with the new version games are 'pooled' in a single macro-library, and as long as you both don't try to play the same game at the same time, you both can use games from any of the libraries.

Mind games with third party accounts or that require an external app (The EA App, Uplay, Rockstar Launcher) Are usually not available through Family sharing. So check always the game first.

[Ben Lubar]

Originally posted by Tito Shivan:

Originally posted by Trouter:

If putting it in offline mode can get around the issue easilly then what does this actually 'protect'.

Putting one of the accounts in 'offline mode' cuts the chances of playing many games, which makes it as much of a workaround as it's an inconvenience.

Originally posted by pruttmannen:

Never heard of family sharing but sounds like it would solve a similar issue where my wife wants to play Sims that i own, while im simultaneously playing something else.

The old Family sharing wasn't precisely the friendliest. But with the new version games are 'pooled' in a single macro-library, and as long as you both don't try to play the same game at the same time, you both can use games from any of the libraries.

Mind games with third party accounts or that require an external app (The EA App, Uplay, Rockstar Launcher) Are usually not available through Family sharing. So check always the game first.

There are quite a few reasons why exfgls might be set: https://steamdb.info/history/?filterkey=261