Best client to use, Steam or direct ?

Discussion in 'New Player Welcome' started by Julcar, Mar 11, 2018.

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  1. Julcar

    Julcar Avatar

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    Hello, I would like an opinion on which is the best client to start the game (on Windows 10). I am looking forward to start playing. I have played all the Ultimas. I played Ultima 3 & 4 on the Commodore 64.
     
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  2. Kara Brae

    Kara Brae Avatar

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    In my experience, the Steam client updates faster. Also, Steam keeps track of the number of hours you have played and has Achievements (if you like that sort of thing). However if you link your account to Steam you can't sell it.
     
  3. Luca Xante

    Luca Xante Avatar

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    Welcome @Julcar !!!

    I like it with Steam but I understand why some won’t . Kara nailed main reasons already...
     
  4. liz_the_wiz

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    However on the downside Steam often downloads bigger patches than the direct client..

    personally I like that the direct client means you can sell your account no questions asked if you wish, and dont like steam owning all my soul
     
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  5. kaeshiva

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    Yep, pretty much already said - the Steam patch is -considerably- faster than the regular client is the main appeal.
    Also steam will update the game on its own if you enable that sort of thing so you can come home from work and be ready to play.
     
  6. rpgmaniac82

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    Which of two is the most stable? if anyone has noticed such a thing.
     
  7. liz_the_wiz

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    it will be the same - as its the same code
     
  8. majoria70

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    Yes it is a big deal that linking inhibits resale. I don't play on steam and downloads are now really fast since launcher improvements but at the time Steam came on board it almost seemed like a benefit to link there too even tho I had the stand alone client but now I regret it and can't undo it even though I have no plans to sell out. Welcome to the game @Julcar . I am Majoria in the game if I can assist.
     
  9. skeggy Media

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    Hi Julcar
    as I patch with both I find steam to be slightly quicker at the moment but the game patcher is catching up fast as more people come to the game it will only get better as it uses torrent technology.
    as to gameplay, both are as fast and as stable as each other.

    if you use steam you will not be able to sell the account this is the only issue with steam. you can sell all the items in the account just not the account.

    welcome to the world of Novia
    if you need help please contact me and I will help you in the game I have created videos that can be found on youtube https://www.youtube.com/c/skeggymedia and I stream on Twitch https://www.twitch.tv/skeggy_media and happy adventuring in this World full of Adventure.
     
  10. By Tor

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    Welcome to the SotA family, Julcar!

    As was said: steam updates faster. The only thing I liked about the Sota launcher is that you can play it in 64 bit mode.
     
  11. Daxxe Diggler

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    I do not use Steam to play SOTA because the ability to sell an account is lost if you do. The only real advantage of a Steam account is the fast patch downloads and achievements (as Kara already noted).

    Not many people know it, but the SOTA patch files are available as torrent files, which can be downloaded using a torrent file-sharing program. You don't need to use Steam to get them via file-sharing.

    I rarely ever have long patch downloads using the direct download, but the few times that I did during early access... I just used Vuze and put the links in for the torrent files... which can be found here:

    http://patchserver.shroudoftheavatar.com/sotalive/torrents/SotATorrentFeed.xml
     
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  12. Julcar

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    Thank you all very much for your feed back. The SOTA direct client sounds interesting because of being able to run 64 bit and being able to take advantage of my 16 gb memory on my Win 10 pc. Still considering, Thanks again.
     
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  13. Innascual Inch

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    Steam patcher is no longer faster than the native SotA patcher. That changed a few releases ago. I use both and am able to compare.

    Bothbare about the same now.

    I fins the Sota patcher is faster at the big patch-day release, but Steam is better at keeping the client up to date with the smaller patches as long as you have it always running in the background in your system tray.
     
  14. Arcanoxer

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    The SotA Steam client is not 64Bit?
    With 12GB+ Ram usage, it has to be 64Bit. *puzzle*
     
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  15. Alley Oop

    Alley Oop Bug Hunter Bug Moderator

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    i set a seperate torrent client to watch the patch rss feed and download anything that fits my criteria (right os, only partial updates). they're often on the feed before steam or the standalone patcher sees them. save them to the patcher's working directory and run it once the file is complete. (it won't actually do the update until it can see the patch itself even though the file is available.)
     
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  16. Sean Silverfoot

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    I use both actually. I'm not a huge fan of folks knowing every single minute I play a game. Since I have 2 accounts and the right computer I can login in 1 via Steam and the other direct if I want.
     
  17. By Tor

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    I remember the devs saying they would eventually make the steam version 64 bit.. but as far as I know, that has happened yet.
     
  18. Alleine Dragonfyre

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    Steam. It updates very quickly, has a huge community and there are Steam achievements for playing SoTA which has a bit of added fun. It also brings more awareness to the game in general if you are into helping in that sort of way.
     
  19. Earl Atogrim von Draken

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    Whaaaaaaaat?
    Got to test this. That would explain a couple of issues I still have.
     
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  20. scroda

    scroda Empyrean Enforcer

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    It's 64 bit

    You can run the one that is updated via steam without steam running, just find the executable in the steam directory and make a shortcut to it directly. Then you only need one copy if you'd like.
     
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