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Steam question...

577 Views 12 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  drjoey1500, 
drjoey1500
Uh, so I've never really used steam before. How does playing online work?

Basically here's my situation, I was thinking about getting L4D on steam to play with some friends, but one guy says his internet goes down for a few seconds several times a day. He said that since you have to be logged into steam then he would get kicked. So first question, how much of a problem is this, would we have to all quit and restart, or could he just log back in and rejoin?

Would this be the same if I had a dedicated server? (Do you have to be logged in on the dedicated server?)

Also, can you run the game and the dedicated server on the same computer?

Sorry, I've never really played games on steam. Thanks for the help
.
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A
Well, firstly, consider what the guy said. His internet goes down for a few seconds several times a day.

It doesn't matter if you're using Steam, Gamespy, Punkbuster or playing Barbie Dollhouse, you will get kicked if you're playing online and your internet drops. If you lose connection to the internet, regardless of what service the game loses, logically you cannot stay connected to an online server.

OK, so if you're in a game and one guy gets disconnected cause his internet drops, the game will continue as is and a Bot (computer AI) will replace him until he comes back. You won't need to restart the game.

You would have to rent a dedicated server to play online. If you turn your own computer into a dedicated one, it would become a local host system like MW2, which is absolute crap; if your PC is slow and your internet connection sucks, everyone will have a terrible gaming experience except for you.

Are you talking about LAN multiplayer or online multiplayer?
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Zippy476
I have a question, When I reformat and install windows 7 do I just need to re download the steam software log into my account and all the games I bought will still be there for me to re download right?
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Daegameth
Quote:


Originally Posted by Zippy476
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I have a question, When I reformat and install windows 7 do I just need to re download the steam software log into my account and all the games I bought will still be there for me to re download right?

Yes, however you can backup your steamapps folder (/Steam/steamapps/) and it would be faster than re-downloading all your games.
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ShortySmalls
correcto
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Zippy476
Quote:


Originally Posted by Daegameth
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Yes, however you can backup your steamapps folder (/Steam/steamapps/) and it would be faster than re-downloading all your games.

Yeah but I am going to reformat all my drives. Or does it back it up another way.
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dskina
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Originally Posted by Zippy476
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Yeah but I am going to reformat all my drives. Or does it back it up another way.

You can save it to another hdd, dvd, flash drive, etc.
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M
Quote:


Originally Posted by Zippy476
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I have a question, When I reformat and install windows 7 do I just need to re download the steam software log into my account and all the games I bought will still be there for me to re download right?

All the games you buy are tied to your steam account.

You can just back up the common file to a dvd / spare HDD and put it back on after you installe steam again. Or you cna Download them again.
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Zippy476
OK thanks.
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drjoey1500
Quote:


Originally Posted by Afrodisiac
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Well, firstly, consider what the guy said. His internet goes down for a few seconds several times a day.

It doesn't matter if you're using Steam, Gamespy, Punkbuster or playing Barbie Dollhouse, you will get kicked if you're playing online and your internet drops. If you lose connection to the internet, regardless of what service the game loses, logically you cannot stay connected to an online server.

OK, so if you're in a game and one guy gets disconnected cause his internet drops, the game will continue as is and a Bot (computer AI) will replace him until he comes back. You won't need to restart the game.

You would have to rent a dedicated server to play online. If you turn your own computer into a dedicated one, it would become a local host system like MW2, which is absolute crap; if your PC is slow and your internet connection sucks, everyone will have a terrible gaming experience except for you.

Are you talking about LAN multiplayer or online multiplayer?

Ok thanks, we'll be playing online. Maybe I'll try to figure out why hes disconnecting (personally, I think its his wireless, but that's a whole other issue
)

But he will be able to rejoin the same game, or will we have to restart?

What do you mean by slow? I think my rig could easily handle it
. Our internet speed at my house is 10Mbps download 2Mbps upload. Would it be better to have a different computer like my laptop or another old computer as the dedicated server? (It would still be on the same connection)

Thanks for all the help
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IEATFISH
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Originally Posted by drjoey1500
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Ok thanks, we'll be playing online. Maybe I'll try to figure out why hes disconnecting (personally, I think its his wireless, but that's a whole other issue
)

But he will be able to rejoin the same game, or will we have to restart?

What do you mean by slow? I think my rig could easily handle it
. Our internet speed at my house is 10Mbps download 2Mbps upload. Would it be better to have a different computer like my laptop or another old computer as the dedicated server? (It would still be on the same connection)

Thanks for all the help


Assuming no one else joins the game, he can hop right back in. You can also votekick someone to make room for him.
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A
There should be some steps to creating a dedicated server that can be used online at home, or you could use Hamachi.

In Left 4 Dead though, you can create a lobby with your friends, and the game picks a dedicated server available online and puts you in it. If the lobby is private/invite only, then if your friend disconnects, nobody else can join until he comes back, and he can rejoin by joining your game from the Steam friends list. If the lobby is public, anyone can take his place if he disconnects.

In other words, you don't need to bother making a dedicated server.
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drjoey1500
Quote:

Originally Posted by IEATFISH View Post
Assuming no one else joins the game, he can hop right back in. You can also votekick someone to make room for him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afrodisiac View Post
There should be some steps to creating a dedicated server that can be used online at home, or you could use Hamachi.

In Left 4 Dead though, you can create a lobby with your friends, and the game picks a dedicated server available online and puts you in it. If the lobby is private/invite only, then if your friend disconnects, nobody else can join until he comes back, and he can rejoin by joining your game from the Steam friends list. If the lobby is public, anyone can take his place if he disconnects.

In other words, you don't need to bother making a dedicated server.
Cool. Thanks guys


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