Torrent support for NAS when downloading game files

[Critical_Cursor]

I recently had to download over 50GB of new game files after the Steam sale. The thing is that during this period I had no choice but to leave my main PC active throughout while my Synology NAS was basically doing nothing.

I don't see why we cannot just download a torrent through our steam account and install our games using the current backup and restore feature.

If people are concerned about DRM, well this does not break it, no more than physically backing up your games to a hard drive or optical disc does. You still will have to login to your steam account client in order to install the games and so forth.

The other benefit is possibly better speeds, since the likelyhood is most people will continue to seed the files even after they do a full install to their steam directory.

Again this does not break Steam DRM.

Please consider this.

[TirithRR]

I guess I don't understand the issue. You can pause game downloads on Steam, etc.

Is the issue that you had to leave your desktop on instead of this Synology device that you wanted to download it on instead?

the likelyhood is most people will continue to seed the files even after they do a full install to their steam directory.

Hahaha, good one. You use torrents, right? What in all your torrent experience makes you think most people continue to seed the files after they are done downloading them?

[eram]

Users do not need to give up their upload to other users. The content servers will already serve files to you at your fastest speed.

[Black Blade]

Well what i cant really see here is why cant any one just set a torrent from his Steam file? cant you just set at least for most games the game as a torrent and then just download most of the files then you will have to download what is left....

I mean that is something we can do right now i think not passing any law or anything... or am i wrong?

(in other words i am saying making torrents out of are Steam Games (as you need the game on Steam to really use it and i guess also to download a little more but that will take care of most of it)

[eram]

Yeah you are wrong. You dont have permission to host any steam files.

[Satoru]

I've tried the 'peer to peer' downloads on both Battle.net and LoL. It is ALWAYS SLOWER than just doing a straight download from their servers. Which is why I never use it.

Also I think that given about 99% of users are on metered bandwidth connections, having steam suck up MORE bandwidth sending files to otehr users would just infuriate people.

As for the P2P law thing, from bnet/LoL if you want to P2P your own files then obviously you can do that since you own the copyrights and such. But it's unlikley you could do that with third party titles without the holders permission. No game download store I know of has a P2P style distribution mechanism (Amazon/GoG/GMG/Beamdog/Desura). At best you get download managers but not full on P2P things.

The only one I 'think' does it is Humble?

[CircuitOverlord]

While peer to peer torrenting may not be the best option (torrent does not automatically mean peer to peer, it could technically all be served through steam), I agree with the OP's desire of having another option for downloading steam games and updates. Often I am downloading games or demos yet I would like to play a game, it would be nice if I could use a secondary computer, nas, tablet, cellphone, etc.. to download those files while I happily putter away on my main steam gaming computer.

As I have unlimited 4g on my cellphone, and the connection for my gaming computer is shared with others (thus requiring me to limit download speed), it would be nice to be able to offload my updating and downloading to the cellphone. I know tethering is technically an option, but that would break my mobile terms of service..

[CircuitOverlord]

5 games at 10gb's a piece is not unrealistic. Maybe he bought 5 or more games, and if I were him and I just bought five or more games, I would like to try them all fairly quickly and see which ones I like.

As he is likely paying for broadband internet, it's not unrealistic to expect to download 50gb's worth of data in a day. Why not have an option of offloading that to a secondary device so you can still use your primary device.

Publicado originalmente por Archduke:

I recently had to download over 50GB of new game files after the Steam sale.

50GB Sounds like a lot... surely this wasn't all a single game - so I wonder what aspect of the sale or circumstances meant that you HAD to download ALL of it recently?

[Black Blade]

Publicado originalmente por eram:

Yeah you are wrong. You dont have permission to host any steam files.

Thanks XD any how so is there any problem also to give a friend a CD with the game files so he dose not need to download all of it?

[Tito Shivan]

Publicado originalmente por Satoru:

I've tried the 'peer to peer' downloads on both Battle.net and LoL. It is ALWAYS SLOWER than just doing a straight download from their servers. Which is why I never use it.

Also I think that given about 99% of users are on metered bandwidth connections, having steam suck up MORE bandwidth sending files to otehr users would just infuriate people.

As for the P2P law thing, from bnet/LoL if you want to P2P your own files then obviously you can do that since you own the copyrights and such. But it's unlikley you could do that with third party titles without the holders permission. No game download store I know of has a P2P style distribution mechanism (Amazon/GoG/GMG/Beamdog/Desura). At best you get download managers but not full on P2P things.

The only one I 'think' does it is Humble?

And Humble only torrents the DRM-free copies of the games on its bundles. Games tied to a service get no torrent whatsoever. No Steam/Origin/uplay/whatever game files are shared that way.

[eram]

Publicado originalmente por Black Blade (Study Mode):

Publicado originalmente por eram:

Yeah you are wrong. You dont have permission to host any steam files.

Thanks XD any how so is there any problem also to give a friend a CD with the game files so he dose not need to download all of it?

You are not hosting the files as they are already on a retail disk. What you can not do is host the game files you downloaded on steam.

[Satoru]

Publicado originalmente por Tito Shivan:

The only one I 'think' does it is Humble?

And Humble only torrents the DRM-free copies of the games on its bundles. Games tied to a service get no torrent whatsoever. No Steam/Origin/uplay/whatever game files are shared that way. [/quote]

Actually that's not true. Just doing some spot checking. I bought FTL using the Humble Widget from FTL's website and that has a torrent link on my Humble profile page. I also bought Risk of Rain from the Humble Store and that also has a torrent link as well. Klei's Invisible Inc doesn't but that appears to be a "Steam Only" thing right now so makes sense that no torrent exists. Starbound the game has no torrent, but the sound track does.

[Tito Shivan]

Publicado originalmente por Satoru:

Actually that's not true. Just doing some spot checking. I bought FTL using the Humble Widget from FTL's website and that has a torrent link on my Humble profile page. I also bought Risk of Rain from the Humble Store and that also has a torrent link as well. Klei's Invisible Inc doesn't but that appears to be a "Steam Only" thing right now so makes sense that no torrent exists. Starbound the game has no torrent, but the sound track does.

Change DRM-Free for non-steam files to be more precise ;)
But you got what i meant, games with an exclusive distribution channel (Steam/origin only titles) don't get the option. (THQ & WB Bundles didn't have any torrent option)
Which boils to what Eram said, you cannot simply start distributing the files (you don't own) over the net.