Subj : Re: Steam
To   : Nightfox
From : Arelor
Date : Mon May 19 2025 14:48:15

  Re: Re: Steam
  By: Nightfox to Arelor on Sun May 18 2025 05:40 pm

 > How is that a "pseudo" backup?  It sounds like it achieves the intent.
 >

A backup strategy needs two main components: a way to replicate the data to safe storage, and a way to use the data you have in safe storage.

If you store your games but then you lack the means to play them your backup is not a real backup. Therefore if your backup strategy does not include a way to operate without the assistance of the Steam ecosystem it is not a full solution at all. Steam's availability is not granted.

If you count on Steam existing forever you may as well not backup your games since you believe you will be able to grab them from their library anyway.

And yeah I guess mocking DRM via library injection or whatever they are doing these days can be considered ugly and whatever have you, but I think DRM is even uglier. I wrote a small article about videogame preservation recently while I decided to create backups of all my retail copies, and DRM is an anger inducing technique which would be a serious risk for videogame preservation if it wasn't so easily defeatable.

Lots of Spectrum games are still available today only because some people took the time to copy the tapes over. So yay for sketchy preservation techniques.


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