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Helldivers 2 will soon require all Steam players to sign in with a PlayStation Network account

Three

Member
The game's actual quality didn't suddenly tank due to an outside issue(account link). I'm sorry but it's not one of the best, it's just another broken one that people play defense or offense with. Just like metacritic.

Again, no bearing on the quality of the game itself.
Steam reviews would be absolutely perfect if they just add the filters I dream of:

the ability to filter out reviews based on keywords so you can maybe get rid of some of the dumb reasons to hate a game like "omg I think the author of this game is a nazi who hates lesbians" or "omg this game is so woke". That's the pathetic crying baby side of reviews I'd like to get rid of. Other than that i think steams review system works very well.

Run services.msc -> set "Steam Client Service" to "Manual".


It did if you wanted to play online. I created one for Gears of War.
GFWL, xbox live and MS accounts were different if I remember correctly. You couldn't login to your GFWL account on Steam for linking. You can now with a MS account unless you logged in and linked your MS and GFWL when they did the whole one Microsoft account push these were separate accounts. If you didn't your GFWL account would be shut down by now.
 

winjer

Gold Member
Here, the same as Guilty_AI Guilty_AI says, nothing from Steam runs on Windows startup if I set Steam Client Service as manual. The WebHelper and the Service only start if start Steam.

That is what I told you. But there is a hidden helper service, that is only shown in MSconfig.
Like I already told, you it probably runs in a low level kernel ring. That is why you don't see it.
But if you disable it, Steam will error out in the next reboot.

Not everything is listed for us to see. There are plenty of stuff running in Windows hidden from us.
 

DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
This is just Sony getting ahead of the Up and coming Xbox release so you have to sign into PSN on xbox...trojan horse moves.

Think About It GIF by Identity
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
That is what I told you. But there is a hidden helper service, that is only shown in MSconfig.
Like I already told, you it probably runs in a low level kernel ring. That is why you don't see it.
But if you disable it, Steam will error out in the next reboot.

Not everything is listed for us to see. There are plenty of stuff running in Windows hidden from us.
The service you see in Msconfig is the same that shows on services.msc. If you disable it on one it will also be disabled on the other. The WebHelper is just a "slave" of the main Steam.exe.
 

Topher

Gold Member
OK, then call it a kernel ring driver, or something similar.

That's why I'm calling one simply a program and the other a service.

That is what I told you. But there is a hidden helper service, that is only shown in MSconfig.
Like I already told, you it probably runs in a low level kernel ring. That is why you don't see it.
But if you disable it, Steam will error out in the next reboot.

Not everything is listed for us to see. There are plenty of stuff running in Windows hidden from us.

The service listed in Services and MSConfig are one and the same. If I disable the service in Services.msc then it disappears from MSConfig
 

Guilty_AI

Member
That is what I told you. But there is a hidden helper service, that is only shown in MSconfig.
Like I already told, you it probably runs in a low level kernel ring. That is why you don't see it.
But if you disable it, Steam will error out in the next reboot.

Not everything is listed for us to see. There are plenty of stuff running in Windows hidden from us.
Disabling Steam Client Service on MSconfig, rebooting, re-enabling it and running steam (without rebooting) will make Steam run just fine so very unlikely to be kernel thing.

All points out that the tab you're using just stops the service from working completely (it even marks the date you disabled it).
 
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This has to be up there with gaming biggest PR stunt right? Were they noticing players falling off so wanted Helldrivers back in the news cycle or something?
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Steam reviews would be absolutely perfect if they just add the filters I dream of:




GFWL, xbox live and MS accounts were different if I remember correctly. You couldn't login to your GFWL account on Steam for linking. You can now with a MS account unless you logged in and linked your MS and GFWL when they did the whole one Microsoft account push these were separate accounts. If you didn't your GFWL account would be shut down by now.
The same GFWL account (@live.com) that I used created there is the same I use today with the same email, avatar, achievements and everything.
 
No, it's just to spend half a minute to create a free PSN account and link it to the game. Beyond that there isn't any other effect in the game experience: no required logins, launchers, etc.

People are being drama queens here.
and you also get a bunch of fun playstation email to go with it. what's not to like?

they should also make playstation players link their account to a steam account too. equality, you know?

then you should also have to link your previous year federal and state tax return. just a one-time thing.
 

winjer

Gold Member
The service you see in Msconfig is the same that shows on services.msc. If you disable it on one it will also be disabled on the other. The WebHelper is just a "slave" of the main Steam.exe.

But it's not.
Time for some people here to learn a new tool: Autoruns for Windows

This is a very powerful tool, and also very dangerous. That shows everything that starts with Windows.
By everything, I mean everything. Services, dlls, exe, etc.

In this program there is a search bar. Type in Steam, and the "Steam Client Service" shows up.
The same that is in MSConfig. And that does not show up in Services.msc

Remove the tick from this service and Steam will stop working. Not only that, it will remove Steam Client Service from MSconfig. As expected.

hHhFegY.png
 

winjer

Gold Member
That's why I'm calling one simply a program and the other a service.

The service listed in Services and MSConfig are one and the same. If I disable the service in Services.msc then it disappears from MSConfig

It's still an exe, it's still a service. Only, it runs hidden in a low kernel mode.

My point is, it is a helper service that is required to start with Windows, for Steam to work properly.
 

yurinka

Member
and you also get a bunch of fun playstation email to go with it. what's not to like?
When creating the account you are asked if you want to receive mails from them or not.

If you don't check that there they don't send you mails. And in case you accidentally kept it checked you can go to disable it in the settings of playstation website.

they should also make playstation players link their account to a steam account too. equality, you know?

then you should also have to link your previous year federal and state tax return. just a one-time thing.
This doesn't make any sense.
 
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Topher

Gold Member
But it's not.
Time for some people here to learn a new tool: Autoruns for Windows

This is a very powerful tool, and also very dangerous. That shows everything that starts with Windows.
By everything, I mean everything. Services, dlls, exe, etc.

In this program there is a search bar. Type in Steam, and the "Steam Client Service" shows up.
The same that is in MSConfig. And that does not show up in Services.msc

Remove the tick from this service and Steam will stop working. Not only that, it will remove Steam Client Service from MSconfig. As expected.

hHhFegY.png

That is the exact same program that is in Services.msc. Find the service in Services. Right click > Properties.

Pi8FQrs.png
 

ulantan

Member
The region psn thing is funny when you think about it because people definitely have ps5s in those regions and definitely play online this has been a non issue for a decade.
 

winjer

Gold Member
That is the exact same program that is in Services.msc. Find the service in Services. Right click > Properties.

Pi8FQrs.png

Yes, and in manual mode, it starts hidden.
Only when we start Steam, do the other exe start running.
that is why it's a helper service.
 

Guilty_AI

Member
But it's not.
Time for some people here to learn a new tool: Autoruns for Windows

This is a very powerful tool, and also very dangerous. That shows everything that starts with Windows.
By everything, I mean everything. Services, dlls, exe, etc.

In this program there is a search bar. Type in Steam, and the "Steam Client Service" shows up.
The same that is in MSConfig. And that does not show up in Services.msc

Remove the tick from this service and Steam will stop working. Not only that, it will remove Steam Client Service from MSconfig. As expected.

hHhFegY.png
You're looking at a registry entry, not some program running in secret. This is just the controller contained in the system meant to meant to make Steam run.

It likely won't appear if you uncheck that box on services because you're disabling the controller itself.
 
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rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
it starts hidden.
If it starts hidden, why the hell it shows itself on task manager when I open Steam??? Some "surprise motherfucker? I was always here." Manual just makes the steamservice.exe run when main Steam.exe requires it.
 
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Danknugz

Member
interesting dynamic going on in this thread with console players trying to tell PC users how to run their PCs and what they should and should not worry about
 

Mr Moose

Member
But it's not.
Time for some people here to learn a new tool: Autoruns for Windows

This is a very powerful tool, and also very dangerous. That shows everything that starts with Windows.
By everything, I mean everything. Services, dlls, exe, etc.

In this program there is a search bar. Type in Steam, and the "Steam Client Service" shows up.
The same that is in MSConfig. And that does not show up in Services.msc

Remove the tick from this service and Steam will stop working. Not only that, it will remove Steam Client Service from MSconfig. As expected.

hHhFegY.png
scs2.png

SCS1.png
 

Topher

Gold Member
Yes, and in manual mode, it starts hidden.
Only when we start Steam, do the other exe start running.
that is why it's a helper service.

Eh.....you said it doesn't show up in Services.msc. It does. It is hidden in MSConfig if I disable the service, but that service is always listed in Service.msc. MSConfig is a limited partial view of Services.msc with limited functionality.
 

winjer

Gold Member
You're looking at a registry entry, not some program running in secret. This is just the controller contained in the system meant to run Steam on startup if the option is enabled.

That is the registry that controls how the SteamClientService is executed.

And it might be appropriate to remind people that setting a service to "manual" does not mean it has to be started manually by the user.
It means that it starts only when Windows or another service needs it, or if invoked by the user.
That means that the user helper service starts with Windows, even for people that set it no manual.
 

winjer

Gold Member
Eh.....you said it doesn't show up in Services.msc. It does. It is hidden in MSConfig if I disable the service, but that service is always listed in Service.msc. MSConfig is a limited partial view of Services.msc with limited functionality.

I was mistaken in that aspect. I mistook the names.

But my point still stands, that the Steam helper service must start with Windows.
Setting it to manual, and it still starts as it's required, when Windows starts.
 
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I don't really mind signing in with my PSN. in fact, I'm pretty sure I already did so when I first started the game. but even so, and even with me ever only having PS consoles, I still feel this really shouldn't be enforced. but then again, if it's clearly written that it'll require a PSN account, there really isn't much you can say against it.
 

Mr Moose

Member
I was mistaken in that aspect. I mistook the names.

But my point still stands, that the Steam helper service must start with Windows.
Setting it to manual, and it still starts as it's required, when Windows starts.
But only if you have Steam starting with Windows.
 

Topher

Gold Member
I was mistaken in that aspect. I mistook the names.

But my point still stands, that the Steam helper service must start with Windows.
Setting it to manual, and it still starts as it's required, when Windows starts.

Yeah, we agree there.
 

winjer

Gold Member
But only if you have Steam starting with Windows.

It starts regardless. Unless you disabled it.
Setting it to manual, and Windows will load the service as it is set in the registry.
if you disable it, then Steam, errors out.
 

adamsapple

Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
Looks like the developers themselves have been caught off-guard with this change. They're getting in touch with Sony about it.

What a fuck-up.


 
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rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
That means that the user helper service starts with Windows, even for people that set it no manual.
Why the hell would Windows request a Steam service to open? Only Steam requests its required service to run. The same happen with EA app services and you can even disable them there.
 

winjer

Gold Member
Why the hell would Windows request a Steam service to open? Only Steam requests its required service to run. The same happen with EA app services and you can even disable them there.

it's not Windows that requests that service to start.
It's Steam that writes into the registry, that it requires that service to start. And without it, it errors out.
Windows is just doing what it has been told to do.
 
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Mr Moose

Member
Looks like the developers themselves have been caught off-guard with this change. They're getting in touch with Sony about it.

What a fuck-up.



It's always been a requirement, it would've been them that disabled it when they had issues with it.
Edit: That's about different countries that don't support PSN.
 
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FoxMcChief

Gold Member
Who made the mistake in buying this for PC, when there’s a PS5 version?

I need to get back into this. Has the meta changed much? The arc rifle and electric shotgun from the extra battle pass still king?
 

Topher

Gold Member
Looks like the developers themselves have been caught off-guard with this change. They're getting in touch with Sony about it.

What a fuck-up.




Genuine question.....how do players play the game online at all in countries where PSN doesn't exist?

Are you even a PC gamer if you haven't ran Norton Antivirus before a gaming session?

Sorry if my responses are delayed. My 300 baud modem is trying to download porn from Usenet*.

*for a friend
 
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It was stated everywhere from the beginning that is was mandatory. On the Steam product page, Sony's website and upon first login you get a message that a PSN account is required. I mean COME ON! If by this point people still don't understand what REQUIRED means, it's entirely on them.

You can use a free vpn like Tunnelbear in the non PSN countries to create an account, which takes 5 whole minutes. So yes while annoying, it's not something that can't be easily circumvened.

Either go against Arrowhead/ Steam/ Sony whatever and be annoyed OR take 5 minutes to make an account, stop bitching, have a coke, a smile and play some Helldivers 2.

People have a choice. While not ideal, there is a solution. Yet they choose to be salty. Not anyone's problem except theirs.

What annoys me the most is the people now screaming REFUND!!!!! while they damn well know it won't happen. Neither Sony nor Arrowhead did anything to justify this. Nothing was falsely claimed or advertised, the people accepted their terms and that's that.

Basically they are saying this: "We failed to read and acknowledge the requirements for this game. Now its coming to bite us in the ass and we want our money back". Yeah, fuck em.

Combine that with the fact 99% of the players have clocked WAY more than 2 hours and it's bye-bye refund. There is NO ground for a refund.
 
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