Steam – Local (LAN) multiplayer with one Steam account

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My son and I would like to play a Steam game in multiplayer. How do I set this up? Do I need two Steam accounts, or is this possible with one (Family) account?

Best Answer

You do need two Steam accounts: a shared Steam library (through Family Library Sharing) can't be used simultaneously by two (or more) people. As per Steam's FAQ:

Can two users share a library and both play at the same time?
No, a shared library may only be accessed by one user at a time.
Setting up a local multiplayer game is dependent on the game, and usually this can be done relatively easily in-game.

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Steam – create one steam account per game

It doesn't cost nothing - it costs time and convenience to create different accounts and log in to them all separately when you want to change which account you are using.

I searched through the User Agreement. I think you're correct in that this is not specifically prohibited. Similarly, using multiple accounts to purchase multiple copies of the same game and multibox is not specifically prohibited (to my knowledge).

If you are the kind of person that would actually want to play different games at the same time, it does make sense. However, I cannot think of a legitimate reason to actually want to play multiple different Steam games at once. I have a hard enough time being good at any 1 game I'm playing.

Should you be doing this? In my opinion, no. I use the community-oriented features of Steam all the time and the Cons you list would affect me greatly. Having multiple accounts would be a tremendous inconvenience for me, and I don't care about any of the Pros you list.

Exceptions: There may be some games where it would make sense to have a separate account for just that game. I hear you do a lot of sitting around in games like Eve Online; perhaps you would want to play Bejeweled while you wait for something to happen?

Steam – Portal 2 Co-op with a single Steam account

As it sounds like you're aware, you cannot be logged in to Steam in two separate locations at the same time (unless one or both are in offline mode, and thus unable to play online).

But, as badp notes, another question talks about a hack for single-PC splitscreen.

Edit: Suprisingly, it looks like you can play with Steam offline over a LAN:

Go to "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\portal 2\portal2\scripts" or to the relevant folder or drive where you installed Portal 2. Now you have to add the following code in "extras.txt":

"lan"
{
    "title"     "Host LAN"
    "subtitle"  "sv_lan 1"
    "pic"       "vgui/extras/attract01"
    "command"   "sv_lan 1"
}

"lan"
{
    "title"     "Connect"
    "subtitle"  "192.168.1.1"
    "pic"       "vgui/extras/attract01"
    "command"   "connect 192.168.1.1"
}

"lobby"
{
    "title"     "Start Coop Lobby"
    "subtitle"  "Kind of pointless..."
    "pic"       "vgui/extras/attract01"
    "command"   "map mp_coop_lobby_2"
}

Select Start LAN on the host computer and select Connect on the computer. Then the host should select Start. Make sure the IP Address is correct for the HOST.

Alternatively you can use the console:

Enable the console via Main Menu, then hit Options: Keyboard and Mouse: Enable Developer’s Console OR add -console to the Portal 2 launch options.
Press ~ to toggle the console.
Run Portal 2 offline on both computers
On the HOST sv_lan 1 in the console
On the other type connect <host ip> in the console
On the HOST type map mp_coop_start or any other MP map in the console

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Related Solutions

Steam – create one steam account per game

Steam – Portal 2 Co-op with a single Steam account

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