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[BigBooper]

Microsoft’s Windows store is finally becoming more Steam-like for games

No more annoying folder restrictions.

www.theverge.com

Some Key Points:
Setting default install directory within a drive and picking which drive to install to.
Installing games into unencrypted folders to allow for modding. ***Not every game unfortunately.
Increasing download speed and making it more reliable.
Adding Gamepass Cloud Gaming within the app for Gamepass Ultimate Users.

 

[Kuranghi]

By the time this is actually usable for me Game Pass will probably have been replaced by the Xbox Gaming Neurochip and ol' grandpa Kuranghi will still be here shouting at the clouds about how I don't have proper framepacing.

 

[ClosBSAS]

good shit...never had issues, but apparnetly a lot of ppl do...so this is a good change.

 

[CheeseCake]

I'll stick with Steam.

...



I've had my share of problems with the Xbox app for PC( to the point where I had to COMPLETELY RESET my PC. It's buggy as fuck)

Installing games with this app is an absolute nightmare and I do NOT recommend it to anyone unless you want to try gamepass for free (and want to potentially fuck up your pc in the process.)

 

[R6Rider]

The Xbox app on PC is indeed garbage.

 

[Dream-Knife]

I was fortunate that the xbox app didn't destroy anything (that I know of) when I tried gamepass this week. Weird issues though; adrenalin didn't even recognize the games which means no custom settings. Ended up canceling and getting my dollar back.

I'd be tempted if it was on steam, but yeah I'm good on using any MS launcher or app.

 

[Fuz]

Installing games with this app is an absolute nightmare and I do NOT recommend it to anyone unless you want to try gamepass for free (and want to potentially fuck up your pc in the process.)

I've read some horror stories about it.
If there's something I truly hate in PC enviroment, is when they remove your authority over your own PC.

 

[Insane Metal]

Mouse/Keyboard support on xCloud? No?

 

[elliot5]

I haven't had issues (yet), but y'all voicing your complaints about the app not letting you access things or having storage nullified, etc... that's kind of the point of this update. To give you file access and prevent said things from happening in the future...

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

The only upgrade I want is the ability to easily back up my games, I don't want to reinstall all my games just because I had to format my SSD.

 

[elliot5]

The only upgrade I want is the ability to easily back up my games, I don't want to reinstall all my games just because I had to format my SSD.

You will be able to transfer your game location from what I understand, so that should be possible

 

[Ev1L AuRoN]

You will be able to transfer your game location from what I understand, so that should be possible

You can, but after a reinstallation you can't restore the games, even if they are still on the drive.

 

[M1chl]

Mouse/Keyboard support on xCloud? No?

It already works, for a game with keyboard support, tho.

 

[Irobot82]

Setting default install directory within a drive and picking which drive to install to.

Why would you not allow every game to be installed wherever? What is this Apple?

 

[elliot5]

Why would you not allow every game to be installed wherever? What is this Apple?

You can choose it on a per game basis I believe. Either way, why would you want to install games in separate folders on the same drive...

 

[purvispisgah]

Adding Gamepass Cloud Gaming within the app for Gamepass Ultimate Users.

I'm confused on this point. Is this feature not already a part of the app? I've played xCloud games in the app plenty.

 

[ozz ex machina]

Why would you not allow every game to be installed wherever? What is this Apple?

It’s because originally their games were using the shitty windows 10 app format (forget the name of it).

Good to see the continued progress. Not had an issue in the xbox app for quite some time outside of updates sometimes needing to be forced. The value i’ve got out of gamepass is disgusting.

 

[Shai-Tan]

"***Not every game unfortunately."

Fuc,hbh

 

[ANDS]

Improvement, but until they release their complete kungfu grip on telling me how I manage my system, it'll take a backseat to STEAM. Hell EGS is a better storefront.

 

[Irobot82]

You can choose it on a per game basis I believe. Either way, why would you want to install games in separate folders on the same drive...

I have 4 drives with steam folders. Depending on the age of the game and the size i put them in different places.

 

[ManaByte]

Adding Gamepass Cloud Gaming within the app for Gamepass Ultimate Users.

That's already there.

 

[elliot5]

I have 4 drives with steam folders. Depending on the age of the game and the size i put them in different places.

Yeah so you can choose exactly which drive (and it's subsequent default folder for that drive) in this Xbox update. Isn't that accomplishing the same thing? Or do you have 4 drives with multiple folders per drive?

 

[Irobot82]

Yeah so you can choose exactly which drive (and it's subsequent default folder for that drive) in this Xbox update. Isn't that accomplishing the same thing? Or do you have 4 drives with multiple folders per drive?

No it's crazy it's took this long. Why does anyone start an app with less than the standard features? Then we all ooh and aah when basic things get added in. Same way with EGS.

 

[elliot5]

No it's crazy it's took this long. Why does anyone start an app with less than the standard features? Then we all ooh and aah when basic things get added in. Same way with EGS.

Because it's old as fuck like 9 years old from the windows 8 days and meant to handle stuff like mobile apps and little apps like media. Not games. Changing stuff like delivery and downloads probably takes a lot of work for an integrated operating system feature set up vs just an application like Steam. It still uses the Ms store as a backbone. Team may be very small too. Idk. I'm just thankful it's being done

 

[twilo99]

The app is pretty solid already, I just wish the EA play integration didn't require another launcher to be installed but oh well..

I recently got a 1TB m2 just for gamepass, so it all goes on that now.

 

[MrFunSocks]

No it's crazy it's took this long. Why does anyone start an app with less than the standard features? Then we all ooh and aah when basic things get added in. Same way with EGS.

Where the games go inside a certain drive is irrelevant. I don’t understand this complaint. You’ve been able to change what drive they install to for years.

 

[Irobot82]

Where the games go inside a certain drive is irrelevant. I don’t understand this complaint. You’ve been able to change what drive they install to for years.

Soon XBox insiders can start testing out selecting what drive your game installs to and select where your default folder goes. They'll also find the download speeds have improved.

They are literally Microsoft, the same company that made the entire OS that runs this app. Again. Basic features. They also own Azure. They own servers and yet their download speeds were slow? Basic Features.

 

[kiphalfton]

Every time I mention how crappy the Gamepass PC app is, some biased fanboy comes along and says "it's still in beta though". I don't care. This garbage app has been available on PC for what like 2-3 years now and still has a myriad of issues. Get your shit together Microsoft. You're a software company ffs.

 

[Hezekiah]

I've read some horror stories about it.
If there's something I truly hate in PC enviroment, is when they remove your authority over your own PC.

What sort of issues, anything that affects system performance?

I haven't had any problems over the six weeks other than one or two slow downloads. The main thing which is addressed in the video is being able to access the folders which games are installed to.

 

[twilo99]

Every time I mention how crappy the Gamepass PC app is, some biased fanboy comes along and says "it's still in beta though". I don't care. This garbage app has been available on PC for what like 2-3 years now and still has a myriad of issues. Get your shit together Microsoft. You're a software company ffs.

I've been using it for a year now, since I got the subscription, and the only issue I ran into was deleting doom eternal after I was done with it.. I uninstalled it but it never gave me back my disk space. Very annoying but it hasn't happened since.

What issues are you having?

 

[elliot5]

They are literally Microsoft, the same company that made the entire OS that runs this app. Again. Basic features. They also own Azure. They own servers and yet their download speeds were slow? Basic Features.

It could've been intentionally using slow TCP protocols or smaller buffers because of the presumed smaller apps prior to games getting a bigger focus. Who knows. What's the sense in bitching about it when they're putting in the work? It would've been great to have been like this from day 1

 

[Irobot82]

It could've been intentionally using slow TCP protocols or smaller buffers because of the presumed smaller apps prior to games getting a bigger focus. Who knows. What's the sense in bitching about it when they're putting in the work? It would've been great to have been like this from day 1

I'm out. Fanboys are funny.

 

[elliot5]

I'm out. Fanboys are funny.

Idk how I'm a fanboy when I just don't see the sense in complaining ad nauseam.

Literally any product or service in the world making a change met with "should've been like this from the start" or "this is the bare minimum" is worthless commentary.

 

[MrFunSocks]

They are literally Microsoft, the same company that made the entire OS that runs this app. Again. Basic features. They also own Azure. They own servers and yet their download speeds were slow? Basic Features.

I don't think you understood me? You could already choose what drive to install games to. You couldn't choose a specific folder inside that drive but there's no reason to since you can't edit the files or do anything with them anyway. It puts them all in a folder there that you don't even have access to.

I've never had download speed problems either. Downloaded 100gb of forza and 150gb of MCC just as fast as i can download anything from anywhere.

Basic features working as they should.

 

[kiphalfton]

I've been using it for a year now, since I got the subscription, and the only issue I ran into was deleting doom eternal after I was done with it.. I uninstalled it but it never gave me back my disk space. Very annoying but it hasn't happened since.

What issues are you having?

Off the top of my head scrolling through games you can't fast scroll or it won't show all games, I've had various error messages that have prevented me from launching a game, I've had random game crashes or been kicked back to desktop, I've clicked on launch game but it never launches, I've had duplicate game pass apps on my PC with no clear distinction which one to use, have had to manually search for games that should be included for free but didn't show up in "all games", and probably a couple other issues.

I don't use game pass a ton, so the fact I've ran into that many issues in the dozen or so games I've played is problematic.

 

[MrFunSocks]

Off the top of my head scrolling through games you can't fast scroll or it won't show all games, I've had various error messages that have prevented me from launching a game, I've had random game crashes or been kicked back to desktop, I've clicked on launch game but it never launches, I've had duplicate game pass apps on my PC with no clear distinction which one to use, have had to manually search for games that should be included for free but didn't show up in "all games", and probably a couple other issues.

I don't use game pass a ton, so the fact I've ran into that many issues in the dozen or so games I've played is problematic.

What is this "game pass app" that people keep talking about? The Xbox App?

There's nothing "problematic" here. Some people have problems with things that others don't. I can guarantee you faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar more people use it without a single issue than those that have problems. It could be an issue with any number of things on your PC. That's the thing with PCs, there are a thousand times more things that can break stuff than on consoles. Most of the time the people that have major dramas with things like the windows store have turned out to have used those stupid "windows cleaner" programs to remove things that they think they don't need like telemetry gathering etc, which just destroys your windows install.

 

[rodrigolfp]

I'll stick with Steam.

...



I've had my share of problems with the Xbox app for PC( to the point where I had to COMPLETELY RESET my PC. It's buggy as fuck)

Installing games with this app is an absolute nightmare and I do NOT recommend it to anyone unless you want to try gamepass for free (and want to potentially fuck up your pc in the process.)

Why?

I've been using it for a year now, since I got the subscription, and the only issue I ran into was deleting doom eternal after I was done with it.. I uninstalled it but it never gave me back my disk space. Very annoying but it hasn't happened since.

What issues are you having?

Just boot a live Ubuntu disk and delete the game folder.

 

[kiphalfton]

What is this "game pass app" that people keep talking about? The Xbox App?

There's nothing "problematic" here. Some people have problems with things that others don't. I can guarantee you faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar more people use it without a single issue than those that have problems. It could be an issue with any number of things on your PC. That's the thing with PCs, there are a thousand times more things that can break stuff than on consoles. Most of the time the people that have major dramas with things like the windows store have turned out to have used those stupid "windows cleaner" programs to remove things that they think they don't need like telemetry gathering etc, which just destroys your windows install.

Yeah... except both my PC's have had clean install of Windows, and like 10-15 different pieces of software downloaded (the vast majority of which are game launcher software and the rest is legit software). Literally no reason I should be running into any issues or software conflicts.

But yeah, none of that stuff is problematic and it's a-okay. Again, see my first comment about biased fanboys who act like there's nothing wrong with the app.

 

[MrFunSocks]

Yeah... except both my PC's have had clean install of Windows, and like 10-15 different pieces of software downloaded (the vast majority of which are game launcher software and the rest is legit software). Literally no reason I should be running into any issues or software conflicts.

Unfortunately that’s the beast that is PC. 2 people can have the exact same setup but get different experiences.

Your situation is anecdotal evidence just like mine is where I have zero problems.

 

[kingfey]

Just release gamepass on steam already. I am not even touching my gamepass pc games. Some games just dont run for some reason.

 

[Gamezone]

They should just do what EA did with EA Play and release it on Steam.

 

[Arsic]

Microsoft’s Windows store is finally becoming more Steam-like for games

No more annoying folder restrictions.

www.theverge.com

Some Key Points:
Setting default install directory within a drive and picking which drive to install to.
Installing games into unencrypted folders to allow for modding. ***Not every game unfortunately.
Increasing download speed and making it more reliable.
Adding Gamepass Cloud Gaming within the app for Gamepass Ultimate Users.

Too bad I can't get a fps counter.

 

[MrFunSocks]

Too bad I can't get a fps counter.

Why not? The windows game bar FPS counter works just fine with every game I've tried, as has the Geforce one.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

They should just do what EA did with EA Play and release it on Steam.

This isn't asking for a lot. I'm a out done with Gamepass if they don't do this sooner than later. It's one thing pushed me to getting a year of EA Play.

 

[Arsic]

Why not? The windows game bar FPS counter works just fine with every game I've tried, as has the Geforce one.

Doesn't game bar cause issues with game performance ?

 

[MrFunSocks]

Doesn't game bar cause issues with game performance ?

Not that I've seen.

 

[nikos]

Really happy we'll have access to local files. Mods are important, especially with an ultrawide monitor. There are ultrawide mods for current Game Pass games, but this will make things way more accessible.

 

[Fare thee well]

Sure. You can't even be relevant if you don't support easier modding. It's a nobrainer.

 

[Stuart360]

I have had PC Gamepass for over 18 months played at least 60 games i'd say, and its worked perfect for me, and i have always been able to pick the drive to install on etc. In fact the only problem i have had with it was when EA Play launched on it, i tried to download Anthem and it wouldnt let me from Gamepass, i had to go to the EA app to download it (which was actually fortunate for me as it meant i only had to have 1 app open instead of 2).

Honestly dont get why so many people have a problem.

 

[Bulletbrain]

More stable and faster DL speeds is most welcome. Steam maxes out my bandwidth while Xbox app at best reaches 60% (and even then it's not stable).