How does Steam work?

[Will]

From what I gather, Steam is an online repository of games that lets players purchase the opportunity to download and play games. I read that Steam is a "library client" and "digital distribution source" of Valve, and Steam makes Valve's products and products from third parties available through "game cache files" that users can download to any device.

With something like Microsoft Flight Simulator, is Steam just the storefront that sells downloadable copies of FS2020?

Or does Steam keep part of the game in it's own system, meaning it's not possible to have a truly 100% local copy?

Can you download FS 2020 and then delete Steam?

Or do you need to access FS 2020 "through" Steam even after saving FS 2020 to your local computer?

[cagarini]

Steam only fetches, in the case of MFS, the core installer, which is less than 1GB if I'm not wrong.

It does allow for easier placement of the MFS folders in your partitions, if you do not want default locations. The MS installer also does it but it is a little more cumbersome...

As you fetch that main installer, and Steams starts it for you, it then reverts to a totally MS cloud download process. Installs MFS exactly as if you had bought it from the MS Store. Depending on the version it can range from 90+ GB to 160 GB or around that ( ? )

You cannot run MFS independently of Steam. Well, theoretically you could go through a hard process of Registry Editing and context variables editing to allow for it, but I wouldn't do it myself...

No problem having Steam installed. As you start MFS, it stays in the background but you can configure it to occupy a perfectly residual amount of resources.

I initially installed MFS from MS while on the Alpha team, and then latter through Steam.

[martin]

To add to the info (it's a question often asked): Once you have a game installed via Steam and brought it up to date, it is then possible to run it in offline mode; meaning that while you do still have to have the Steam client on your box, you do not  have to be online and connected to the Steam servers all the time.

Obviously, a game may have its own demands for being online (as is the case with FS2020), but that is another matter.

Cheers,
Martin

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

I'm still waiting for the time that the only thing required is a valid account with Stream (not Steam) and then everything is streamed live from the cloud to your personally identified video card as if it were a plain live video.

No installation.
Nearly no system requirements.
No backups.
Instant upgrades.
No ownership, only customership.
No illegal copying any more.
Pay per display, per minute.

[thecrazedlog]

I'm still waiting for the time that the only thing required is a valid account with Stream (not Steam) and then everything is streamed live from the cloud to your personally identified video card as if it were a plain live video.

No installation.
Nearly no system requirements.
No backups.
Instant upgrades.
No ownership, only customership.
No illegal copying any more.
Pay per display, per minute.

Don't wish too hard please, they're trying. https://www.gamesradar.com/au/is-streaming-the-future-of-video-games-and-can-it-even-work/

[Jeroen Hoppenbrouwers]

They have been trying ever since the internet replaced cable television. Unless everything is Pay TV again, progress will not halt.

[martin]

No installation.
Nearly no system requirements.
No backups.
Instant upgrades.
No ownership, only customership.
No illegal copying any more.
Pay per display, per minute

...and no TITSUP any more of any kind!!

[thecrazedlog]

| How does steam work

Ok so what happens when you get some water, a pot and a heat source is that....

Sorry. Had to