Poll of the Day > Steam's Library Update

(+) Yeah! (+)

Steam's new library layout is shit. They were just trying to emulate Epic Store's library which nobody likes anyway.
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Been using the beta for a couple months before now. It's fine and is better than it was before.
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They rolled mine out like a week ago. It was different but I don't mind it.
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

Been using the beta for a couple months before now. It's fine and is better than it was before.

No it isn't. It's more cluttered. The only change that's somewhat ok is the last played section but even then it was still easy to get to your games. The news section is especially bad.
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The old layout is perfect. Why do all these companies have to fuck with layouts that are already good?

I like some of the new features, but for the most part it's messy
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I don't like it. If I wanna look at the workshop gotta scroll way down.

CaptainStrong posted...

The old layout is perfect. Why do all these companies have to fuck with layouts that are already good?

Cause they don't pay attention to customers and only do what they want to do and not what customers want.
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Some things are nice, but it honestly felt like a rush job because most of the links just go to the old community pages while some (I.E. the least useful ones) are integrated into the new pages. The search features are nice though, it is awesome that I can just narrow down what I am in the mood for by genre, controller support, etc. as opposed to having to go to the store page for a game to figure out what the hell it actually is.

Also, why can't I launch a game from my controller without going into big picture mode? As crap as UPlay is at least it got that aspect right.
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Revelation34 posted...

CaptainStrong posted...

The old layout is perfect. Why do all these companies have to fuck with layouts that are already good?

Cause they don't pay attention to customers and only do what they want to do and not what customers want.

I bet less and less people want things to look like they're stuck in the early 2000s.
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It is ugly and a resource hog. But you can kill it.
https://github.com/antigravities/unreact
That will restore the previous library.

Alternatively, you can use a Steam shortcut to open a Mini library if you don't care about the resource drain. Here is what needs to be added to Target.
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe" +open steam://open/minigameslist
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

I bet less and less people want things to look like they're stuck in the early 2000s.

Well then good thing Steam never looked like that.
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AllstarSniper32 posted...

Revelation34 posted...

CaptainStrong posted...

The old layout is perfect. Why do all these companies have to fuck with layouts that are already good?

Cause they don't pay attention to customers and only do what they want to do and not what customers want.

I bet less and less people want things to look like they're stuck in the early 2000s.

Yeah, people sure love unnecessary bigger fonts and padding so you can't see as many games on screen as you could before. On the old layout, I could see 33 games with the size I have the window. Now it's only 22. I also love how when I check the downloads, the game list is scrolled all the way to the top.

Now you can't just click on library and tools to get to tools. Now you have to click to add tools in with the game list and then click to get rid of games to see just tools. Amazing update. I'm sure loving this modernity. It's always fun having to do more clicks to do the same shit you could have done in less.

The only good thing about this update is now you can go get to the browse local files button by right clicking on the game. Before you had to right click and click on properties to open a new window to get to the button.

Revelation34 posted...

AllstarSniper32 posted...

I bet less and less people want things to look like they're stuck in the early 2000s.

Well then good thing Steam never looked like that.

Cause steam has had so many changes in looks since 2003...

CaptainStrong posted...

On the old layout, I could see 33 games with the size I have the window. Now it's only 22.

OK...do you really play 33 games at a time where you need to be able to see that many at once? I can definitely see liking seeing that many games in the list at once.

CaptainStrong posted...

I also love how when I check the downloads, the game list is scrolled all the way to the top.

This would be annoying but it's still new so of course it's going to have problems that need to get fixed.
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i kinda don't like it but i'll get used to it

like i did with the chat updates
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DevilSummoner1 posted...

i kinda don't like it but i'll get used to it

like i did with the chat updates

I hated new chat, so I just use a few commands to get old chat and mini library :P
https://imgur.com/8zBWeug
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New chat has chat logs but they go away after like 3 weeks for no reason. Which is really funny since the mobile app logs them forever.
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I don't know if I like it or not but it was long overdue for some improvements
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Sahuagin posted...

it was long overdue for some improvements

This is pretty much how I feel about it.
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Sahuagin posted...

I don't know if I like it or not but it was long overdue for some improvements

There was nothing to improve. By literal definition you can't improve perfection.
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Revelation34 posted...

perfection

there was definitely nothing "perfect" about managing a large library of games. I can see some small improvements to this so far, like better contrast for installed games, larger cleaner font, and better Recent grouping.

...and, wow, ok I see that you can now filter your list by genre...! so that's a huge improvement right there. can also filter by tag.

the shelf thing seems cool, but it'd be nice if I could give a shelf its own filter. also would be nice to be able to remove What's New at the top.

would be nice if you could wheel through a shelf.
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I would imagine depending on feedback, they may make adjustments over time

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Metalsonic66 posted...

I would imagine depending on feedback, they may make adjustments over time

They got feedback on issues in beta. They went untouched. People were unhappy about the higher system usage and memory leaks by this library. I've seen people on SteamGifts reporting the client using over a GB of RAM on the library. That is fucking insane.
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I think with Beta feedback they're more looking for bugs than for the interface itself

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DevilSummoner1 posted...

i kinda don't like it but i'll get used to it

like i did with the chat updates

That comparison's less relevant for me because I virtually never used Steam chat before the update, and still don't unless Discord is being cranky. The library, on the other hand, I need to use every time I pick out a game to play.
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Sahuagin posted...

it'd be nice if I could give a shelf its own filter

I see now that you can create a "dynamic category", which is basically a saved filter. then you can add a shelf that's bound to that category.

yeah, so... this is how this kind of thing *should* be designed. this is fantastic.
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A digital item would fall off a shelf.
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The new library does suck imo, but i use shortcuts so i dont have to deal with it a lot.
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what are the arguments against it? resource usage and stability are problems, but not really interface design problems. what's wrong with the interface compared with before? the old style had almost no options or ways of paring down your list of games.
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I do like a lot of the changes to do with the library. I just don't like that it is trying to be some kind of social media hub and that has lost the minimalistic style I enjoyed.
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trodi_911 posted...

lost the minimalistic style

Ya, I basically just wanna press the PLAY button, but now the play button is partially hidden due to the large graphic assets and low contrast.

I mean, they could easily fix it by putting a little border on the button to make it pop out more
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Lokarin posted...

but now the play button is partially hidden due to the large graphic assets and low contrast.

hmmm... can you screenshot it? I have a large bright lime green play button that is twice the size of the old one. it has more contrast than the old one and is larger and is not hard to see. there is also a large green Play menu item at the top of the context menu if you right click an entry in the list.
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Sahuagin posted...

hmmm... can you screenshot it?

well now that's not fair, I go to look at Borderlands and it has a bright red graphic that very clearly contasts the little green button

I do actually have poor eyesight, though
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Revelation34 posted...

AllstarSniper32 posted...

I bet less and less people want things to look like they're stuck in the early 2000s.

Well then good thing Steam never looked like that.

When steam first came out it was a fucking mess and it looked like shit and ran like shit. If you would have told me back then it would be the primary place to buy PC games by the year 2012 or so I would have laughed in your face.

People only used Steam back then because to play the latest Valve games you had to install it.

Lokarin posted...

it has a bright red graphic that very clearly contasts the little green button

ok I see that the background image blurs/bleeds through the interface so that if there was a very green background image it might tend to hide the button. I dunno why you're calling it a "little green button" though since it's like twice as wide and twice as tall as the old one.

https://i.imgur.com/eewj6mT.png
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The old button was little, too
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Lokarin posted...

The old button was little, too

the button in the image I posted is what I would call a large button. how much larger do you think it should be?
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Sahuagin posted...

what are the arguments against it? resource usage and stability are problems, but not really interface design problems. what's wrong with the interface compared with before? the old style had almost no options or ways of paring down your list of games.

Clicking on a game opens up the game page with a ridiculously oversized banner that blocks the game list. You can't see how long something is taking to download or upload to the cloud because of it.
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Revelation34 posted...

Clicking on a game opens up the game page with a ridiculously oversized banner that blocks the game list. You can't see how long something is taking to download or upload to the cloud because of it.

the "game list" being the tree of games on the left panel?
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Sahuagin posted...

Lokarin posted...

The old button was little, too

the button in the image I posted is what I would call a large button. how much larger do you think it should be?

It's not the size that matters... it's just a diminutive aflirtation, or whatever
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Lokarin posted...

It's not the size that matters... it's just a diminutive aflirtation, or whatever

so you mean like a "weak" button? It's larger and more prominent than before so I don't see the issue, except maybe loss of contrast when the background image is very green. otherwise the button couldn't be more obvious and clear.

(note that another feature is that you can change the background image to whatever you want)

(maybe what you are saying is that it's *flat*? you would prefer a more 3D button?)
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Sahuagin posted...

the "game list" being the tree of games on the left panel?

Yes.
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Go into Settings, Library, and check the boxes for "Low Bandwidth Mode" and "Low Performance Mode" and it makes the new Steam work a hell of a lot faster.
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Sahuagin posted...

so you mean like a "weak" button?

No, I mean in the sense of 'oh, look at that cute little button <3'
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DevilSummoner1 posted...

i kinda don't like it but i'll get used to it

like i did with the chat updates

Same stance for me. I'll adapt and will just get annoyed again when they make another major overhaul and just adapt again.
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InfestedAdam posted...

Same stance for me. I'll adapt and will just get annoyed again when they make another major overhaul and just adapt again.

Yeah but tolerating something isn't the same thing as liking it.
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Information seems to be harder to see and less organized in an effort to make the page "prettier".

That said, it's not like there was a lot of vital information in said page, so I don't care that much.

Obviously, the old layout was better.
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Revelation34 posted...

Sahuagin posted...

the "game list" being the tree of games on the left panel?

Yes.

well the banner of the selected game doesn't go overtop of that so I don't know what you're talking about without a screenshot
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Sahuagin posted...

well the banner of the selected game doesn't go overtop of that so I don't know what you're talking about without a screenshot

Actually it does. The sidebar can't be adjusted so the banner blocks the full title of a game which means you can't see how long something is taking anymore if the game title is long enough.
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Revelation34 posted...

The sidebar can't be adjusted so the banner blocks the full title of a game which means you can't see how long something is taking anymore if the game title is long enough.

I don't know what that has to do with the banner, but yeah, the tree has a larger font, no word wrap, and you can't resize it so long text gets truncated. you can hover over the items to get a tooltip with the full text though. having designed similar things myself I make sure to give it a customizable font size and it should definitely be sizable.
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