SWBFGamers

General => General => Topic started by: Shazam on June 29, 2015, 09:39:46 AM

Poll
Question: Which Xfire alternative(s) do you prefer?  You may select up to two options.
Option 1: EvolveHQ
Option 2: Origin
Option 3: Overwolf
Option 4: Raptr
Option 5: Steam
Option 6: TeamSpeak
Title: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Shazam on June 29, 2015, 09:39:46 AM
Information about the alternatives listed above can be found in this topic: http://www.swbfgamers.com/index.php?topic=9273.0

If your preferred chat client is not listed above, please let me know so I can add it.  Also, feel free to tell everyone why you like the alternative(s) that you voted for.  The more information we have, the better.

My goal is to see the bulk of the SWBF community using one of the above options in time for the ICW5.

[spoiler=My Opinion]I prefer Steam, but I understand that some people are not willing to spend money in order to have full functionality.[/spoiler]
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Led on June 29, 2015, 10:22:31 AM
I'm going to thrown in my thoughts--I prefer Steam too (and I know there are advantages of the others).  Steam can upload screen shots (I have some in my account, but I can't remember how to do it).

If the money aspect is an issue for SWBFgamers members in good standing, I am willing to gift the minimum (I think it is $5) to people to help get full functionality on Steam, within a reasonable limit (like $50).

Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Gold Man on June 29, 2015, 10:40:34 AM
Voted Steam all the way.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Viathan on June 29, 2015, 10:41:01 AM
Quote from: Led on June 29, 2015, 10:22:31 AM
I'm going to thrown in my thoughts--I prefer Steam too (and I know there are advantages of the others).  Steam can upload screen shots (I have some in my account, but I can't remember how to do it).

If the money aspect is an issue for SWBFgamers members in good standing, I am willing to gift the minimum (I think it is $5) to people to help get full functionality on Steam, within a reasonable limit (like $50).

very generous  :cheers:

But I think the most have already purchased a game on steam and 5$ or € or what ever you're using is not much  :)

(Voted Steam and Origin)
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Shazam on June 29, 2015, 03:41:53 PM
I decided to download the programs in the poll and do some research. 
Here are a few other things to consider:

- EvolveHQ allows you to sync your Steam and Raptr accounts. 
- The EvolveHQ ingame overlay works with Battlefront.

- Origin doesn't allow you to sync with any other chat clients.
- I wasn't able to get Origin's ingame overlay to work for Battlefront.

- Overwolf allows you to sync your Steam and Raptr accounts. 
- I wasn't able to get Overwolf's ingame overlay to work for Battlefront.

- Raptr allows you to sync your Steam account. 
- Raptr's ingame overlay seems to work for Battlefront.

- I've been looking for a while, and it doesn't look like Steam allows you to sync any other chat clients. 
- I wasn't able to get Steam's ingame overlay to work for Battlefront.

- All of them allow you to add Battlefront to your games library manually.




I am not very familiar with any of those programs, so others may have had better luck getting accounts synced and/or getting the ingame overlays to work with Battlefront.  Just because I couldn't figure out how to get it working, doesn't mean it can't work.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Ultimo on June 29, 2015, 04:44:56 PM
Quote from: Shazam on June 29, 2015, 03:41:53 PM
- I wasn't able to get Steam's ingame overlay to work for Battlefront.

Steam has an odd association with programs, and any game that you add to it's library can usually get the Steam overlay running. A lot of the programs will have to be Full Screen for the overlay to work, however.
I've gotten the overlay working while playing Battlefront back in 2013-2014. I don't know if a Steam update has caused the overlay to respond less,  but normally it should work.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: aeria. on June 29, 2015, 09:34:04 PM
What's interesting is that Steam more or less killed xfire. xfire was consistently a buggy mess. I hated when opening the overlay would sometimes turn your typing into gibberish. That plus every other game being integrated with steam... it was a long time coming.


rip xfire. Definitely do consider switching to steam if you can. A steam gift will NOT give you full access. You need to purchase a game or 5 dollar credit on your own. With that said, I have zero qualms helping people get 5 dollar copies of the steam game of your choice. It's the least I can do to give back :)


Led/I would need to log into your account. But it's not like you have anything to lose since the account is empty. Ideally you'll want to change the password back.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Ultimo on June 29, 2015, 10:31:43 PM
Here is the link to an article that should give you a decent idea of the limited functionality problem.
http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/steam-limits-functionality-of-users-that-do-not-spend-money.html
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Phobos on June 29, 2015, 11:29:27 PM
Steam works with Pidgin which is a huge plus (except for chat rooms), but having to spend money to add friends is a huge minus. I've spent all I care to on Steam and would rather put that money towards the servers so it doesn't really matter if my account is "restricted" tbh. Steam works for chat but I will mostly be using Evolve due to its ingame overlay and other features such as hours logging. Also in case gamemaster ever goes down, Evolve is better than Tunngle for VLAN. I uninstalled Raptr and have yet to try Overwolf. So I voted for Evolve because it works best for SWBF1 specifically, and Steam because that has a larger community.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Anyder on June 30, 2015, 12:59:58 AM
What about Skype ? Many eu swbf1 players use it.

(I use Steam/TS3/Skype/Origin)
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Viathan on June 30, 2015, 02:28:02 AM
Quote from: Anyder on June 30, 2015, 12:59:58 AM
What about Skype ? Many eu swbf1 players use it.
Yea, Skype is great. Even it hasn't an ingame overlay.
But you can build groups and Video / Voice chat and ofc text chat, file sharing and some other stuff.
But I think it's not as stable as Steam is with its ruled member positions such as Admin / mod or normal member.

Quote from: Anyder on June 30, 2015, 12:59:58 AM
(I use Steam/TS3/Skype/Origin)
Same here  :cheers:
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Led on June 30, 2015, 05:53:56 AM
Quote from: aeria. on June 29, 2015, 09:34:04 PM

Led/I would need to log into your account. But it's not like you have anything to lose since the account is empty. Ideally you'll want to change the password back.

I have purchased steam games.  I was offering to give people money to get their account activated.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Ultimo on June 30, 2015, 07:57:50 AM
Skype is nice, but compared to the other services listed, Skype will take a larger percentage of your CPU. For a lot of people, this might not be a problem if you have a gaming PC or built your own. Currently I'm running a prebuilt HP with old hardware, so mine struggles with Skype and Games. Often I have to close skype to play some (newer) releases like CS:GO.

Also, Group Video calls are not free. I believe you can actually have up to 5 people on video in one room before you have to have Skype premium and be the call host to have more people. If there are any clans out there that like their ability to video chat; you'll have to pay up
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: eliad5241 on June 30, 2015, 09:44:39 AM
hello everyone. i just made a steam account and want it to be fully fanctional, but i cannot pay the money for it.
is there anyone you can help me with it  :ohmy:
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Ultimo on June 30, 2015, 03:51:05 PM
I'd would love to pitch in, but I've unfortuanately got only $1.40 on my account.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Epifire on June 30, 2015, 07:03:18 PM
Given that Steam is one of the only applications not bottoming out from Network issues I think it's my only choice.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Epifire on July 01, 2015, 06:09:40 PM
Also a thought (pardon the double post). Was gonna start trying to get a hangout going on the SWBFgamers steam chat just to kinda get some sort of group corner. I'll start logging in there by default now when I log on, but it if anyone else likes the idea of a sort of IM chat room then join the page and come on in!

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/SWBFgamers
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: {TCE}Call-of-Duty on July 01, 2015, 08:11:34 PM
As of right now, I think Steam is the best choice. It has a good group system, large variety of games including non- Steam games that you can add from your computer, including SWBF, and is a good way to communicate with everyone. Evolve is also a good option, I use it for Halo Online Multiplayer, and it works fine, works a lot like Tunngle actually, in the sense of joining a server through the browser and then launching the game.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Syyy on July 02, 2015, 06:03:40 AM
I voted Steam aswell, I do not think the 5$ restriction is very important since Steam is quite useless if you do not own games from its store.
This restriction was mainly added to prevent bot accounts and frauds regarding in-game items and cards you can trade.
May I also add, since the "paid skyrim mods" events, some people decided to build their own independent free and open-source software, they are still in heavy development, you can learn more at their website here : http://www.projectascension.io/
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Droideka on July 02, 2015, 10:25:11 AM
I love steam and I use it every day, so for me it is the easiest option.

Side note, I think it's interesting how Steam used to be the buggy piece of crap 6-7 years ago, and now it's put the Xfire client out of business.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Epifire on July 02, 2015, 05:00:48 PM
Quote from: Droideka on July 02, 2015, 10:25:11 AM
I love steam and I use it every day, so for me it is the easiest option.

Side note, I think it's interesting how Steam used to be the buggy piece of crap 6-7 years ago, and now it's put the Xfire client out of business.

It's improved even since I've had it (2011-ish). I think what really changed is after it started gaining momentum Valve was better able to fund/put more people into managing Steam as a whole. Just my two cents but I still really am gonna miss Xfire. Mainly sentimental reasons but still start tearing up a little when I think about it too much.  :'(
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Joseph on July 03, 2015, 04:34:00 PM
I added the $5 to my steam acct to get chat capabilities, and I will give it as a gift to the first person to message me about it.

(Not that I'm completely sold on Steam as xfire replacement).

Maybe people should try this first though, lol:

QuoteBoMbeR: you do know
BoMbeR: that if you download a free to play game
BoMbeR: you can get chat permissions
BoMbeR: and not spend $
BoMbeR: xD
joseph.9371: hm, steam told me otherwise, is that what you did?
BoMbeR: i made multiple Team Fortress 2 accounts.
BoMbeR: but i have like 30 games
BoMbeR: on this account
BoMbeR: it might have to be a valve game.
BoMbeR: so thats why tf2 worked for me

On the other hand, this page says you have to spend money: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3330-IAGK-7663&l=english

Maybe a "steam virgin" can test this out?
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Ultimo on July 11, 2015, 12:32:19 PM
You know, it might not be the greatest idea, but isn't LED currently holding a Teamspeak server that offers Voice Chat and Instant Messaging?
Just a thought.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Syyy on July 14, 2015, 12:57:59 PM
Yes that is true. It would also provide a medium for the clans participating in the ICW5 to organize their battles. I am mainly thinking about YAK.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: badoit on July 16, 2015, 08:59:33 AM
Salut  Syrion,

Les serveurs  de SWBF 1.2 ( PLA, FC, ICW5 etc...) n'apparaissent plus du tout depuis 1 semaine. je me suis inscrit sur SWBF gamers et j'ai suivi la procédure sur swbfgamers français pour voir apparaitre à nouveau ces serveurs. Démarrer/ordi/...../ etc/host/ puis ouverture par le bloc note. je remplace le nouveau texte en copier coller mais au moment  d'enregistrer le nouveau texte, il m'interdit l'enregistrement: "demander à l'administrateur l'autorisation".
Comment enregistrer?Comment finaliser? 
Ya une astuce mais laquelle?
Tu peux m'aider?
A+ merci
Dash  dit Badoit
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Syyy on July 17, 2015, 01:49:28 PM
Badoit je t'ai répondu en message privé, en haut à droite du site internet, tu as du recevoir un email, aussi.

Mods, I do not know what you should do with this but I answered him via private messages. You can delete our comments or create a new topic from this.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Ultimo on July 24, 2015, 11:01:41 PM
Thanks for noticing my post, Syyy.

I hope they don't mind me bumping this...

Quote from: Ultimo on July 11, 2015, 12:32:19 PM
You know, it might not be the greatest idea, but isn't LED currently holding a Teamspeak server that offers Voice Chat and Instant Messaging?
Just a thought.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: TheGangstarTY on July 25, 2015, 04:14:46 AM
I chose Steam... Because it's Steam.

Steam's the best client out there. Everyone uses it. It's free.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Phobos on July 26, 2015, 10:41:16 AM
Currently I prefer teamspeak over all of these.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Shazam on July 26, 2015, 10:44:25 AM
Quote from: Phobos on July 26, 2015, 10:41:16 AM
Currently I prefer teamspeak over all of these.

I've added TeamSpeak to the poll.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: BOB.LION on July 26, 2015, 10:46:43 AM
Quote from: Phobos on July 26, 2015, 10:41:16 AM
Currently I prefer teamspeak over all of these.

Teamspeak is a voice client. And a voice client only. Steam is a social platform. From my years on steam, groups on steam are closely linked to voice clients (especially for gaming).
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Phobos on July 26, 2015, 10:55:42 AM
Quote from: BOB.LION on July 26, 2015, 10:46:43 AM
Teamspeak is a voice client. And a voice client only. Steam is a social platform. From my years on steam, groups on steam are closely linked to voice clients (especially for gaming).
Teamspeak still works better for most [FC] members than steam for purposes of the ICW.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: BOB.LION on July 26, 2015, 11:00:59 AM
Quote from: Phobos on July 26, 2015, 10:55:42 AM
Teamspeak still works better for most [FC] members than steam for purposes of the ICW.

Yeah use both. Steam for alt tab = type chat/ easy to link url etc + ts3 for voice chat.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Phobos on July 26, 2015, 11:17:57 AM
Quote from: BOB.LION on July 26, 2015, 11:00:59 AM
Yeah use both. Steam for alt tab = type chat/ easy to link url etc + ts3 for voice chat.
Im also using TS for type chat, easy URLs and PMs. Steam lags on my PC more than TS for some reason.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Ultimo on July 26, 2015, 01:00:30 PM
TS i have checked, and it is the least CPU intensive of all the above programs. While I'm sure any of you have a computer that can run any of these programs well (on a normal basis) I figured you should know that TS is the least intensive on your CPU.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: BOB.LION on July 26, 2015, 01:07:53 PM
Quote from: Ultimo on July 26, 2015, 01:00:30 PM
TS i have checked, and it is the least CPU intensive of all the above programs. While I'm sure any of you have a computer that can run any of these programs well (on a normal basis) I figured you should know that TS is the least intensive on your CPU.

I think mumble and ventillo have lower overall, especially with 20+ clients. But the difference is very small.
Title: Re: Xfire Alternatives (Poll)
Post by: Anyder on July 26, 2015, 01:09:42 PM
Quote from: Ultimo on July 26, 2015, 01:00:30 PM
TS i have checked, and it is the least CPU intensive of all the above programs. While I'm sure any of you have a computer that can run any of these programs well (on a normal basis) I figured you should know that TS is the least intensive on your CPU.
Quote from: BOB.LION on July 26, 2015, 01:07:53 PM
I think mumble and ventillo have lower overall, especially with 20+ clients. But the difference is very small.

I've been in a public TS right now to check it and the CPU Usage was 0% and RAM Usage was 26MB lol
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