8 posts tagged with "GameVault"

Hey everyone!

In our last post we mentioned the challenges we've been facing with the videogame metadata database we've been using, rawg.io. Unfortunately, it's become an unmaintained abandonware, causing frequent downtime and issues like incorrect search results and registration problems. The situation peaked on May 5th when the service went down completely for a day.

GameVault's new metadata provider strategy​

To address these issues, we're making significant changes to GameVault's metadata system. Our goal is to make GameVault metadata provider agnostic, allowing users to seamlessly plug in their preferred metadata provider.

We're also excited to announce our official partnership with IGDB (twitch.tv), a trusted video game database. Going forward, GameVault will primarily use IGDB's APIs out of the box.

More details on our plans can be found in this GitHub ticket. We also plan to continue supporting the use of your own API keys and other vendors.

However, as decided in our recent poll, we will be removing all support for RAWG.

Temporary solution: Implementing a RAWG replacement​

However, implementing these changes will take time, and we are both currently busy with work commitments and travel plans. So what happens if RAWG suddenly stops working while we're away? To address this concern, Toylerrr, one of our most valuable community members, had a great idea. He began developing a solution that would be a drop-in replacement for RAWG. An application that mimicked the behavior of RAWG, but fetched data from Steam instead. All you have to do is replace the url in the RAWG_API_URL environmental variable.

We loved the idea and built on it. Introducing rawg-to-steam-redirect.

The link above explains how it works and how you can use it today.

What we liked most about it is that it required minimal backend changes to integrate. We have already tested this solution on our 667 games server and it works great. The quality of box art for example is much better. One drawback is that Steam does not have a lot of tags in its API.

While https://api.rawg.io/api will remain the default RAWG_API_URL for now, you can switch between RAWG and the new solution at any time. Just make sure your GameVault backend is updated to at least v12.1.0.

Exciting new features​

In addition to these changes, we're excited to introduce you to some new features that were recently released:

• 🔖 Bookmarking Video Games: You can now bookmark your favorite games within GameVault.
• ⏯️ Download Management: GameVault now supports pausing, auto-resuming, and resuming downloads.
• 🔒 Encrypted Archives: GameVault now supports password protected archives.

We hope these updates will make your experience with GameVault even better as we move through this transition period.

Supporting GameVault​

Finally, we want to thank all of you for making all of this possible. If you have not already done so, please consider upgrading to GameVault+ to flex with animated profile pictures on your server. We would really appreciate it. Bet you can't find the GameVault+ easter egg though... 😉

With love,

Phalcode

Hey everyone!

We're thrilled to announce that the early access phase of GameVault+ has concluded, and we're officially launching it today! It's been an incredible journey from the inception of GameVault to where we are now, and we couldn't have done it without your amazing support.

GameVault+ is our way of saying thank you to our dedicated supporters while also ensuring the sustainability of our platform. For a small monthly fee, you'll gain access to premium features designed to enhance your gaming experience within GameVault. We're starting with features like animated profile pictures, custom themes, and activation of the GameVault Client API, with more exciting additions planned for the future.

But our work doesn't stop here. We're committed to refining GameVault+ based on your feedback, as well as addressing key areas of improvement in the platform. This includes exploring partnerships with reputable video game databases to enhance our data offerings and refactoring our client application for optimal performance.

And most importantly, we want you, our community, to have a say in the future direction of GameVault. That's why we're opening up the floor for feature suggestions through our Discord channel. Your input will help shape the next big updates to GameVault.

Thank you all for your support and enthusiasm. We're excited to continue this journey with you and to make gaming even more enjoyable for everyone. Stay tuned for more updates, and happy gaming!

Hey Everyone!

It feels like it's been ages since we last caught up regarding the development of GameVault (the self-hostable platform for drm-free videogames), but trust me, the silence from our end doesn't mean we've been slacking off. In fact, quite the opposite has been happening behind the scenes.

When my friend and I first launched this application, it was born out of a simple need for a solution to a problem we thought was very particular and only for ourselves. Having a steam-like platform for game files lying on my home server.

We never imagined it would resonate with others or find its own place in the market. Frankly, we thought it might end up just another forgotten repository on GitHub, gathering virtual dust with no one paying it any mind.

But boy, were we wrong. The response to our app was unexpectedly large and overwhelming. Thousands of people are using GameVault today, and it seems there's quite a demand out there for the exact product we've been building.

We’re a small indie team of two and despite juggling multiple jobs, we've poured our hearts and souls into this project during our spare times, striving to offer a self-hosted alternative to the gaming platforms out there. And while we've received some generous donations (shoutout to our two loyal monthly donors btw – you know who you are, and we're endlessly grateful!), it's clear that relying solely on sporadic tips isn't sustainable for the long term and we need financial support to maintain our services and justify our time investment towards our families.

So, it's time for a slight change. We're thrilled to announce the upcoming release of a new version of our client application, complete with an optional subscription model we're calling...

GameVault+​

What is GameVault+?​

First, to clear some of the confusion:

No, this is not some shady scammy "We're going enterprise" rugpull. The core of GameVaults upcoming features and the features you enjoyed until now will always remain free. Additionally the system is designed to be easily bypassed if you can't or dont want to afford it.

It was long planned on our board and well discussed within our community. Think of GameVault+ as our way of saying "thank you" to our supporters and to motivate them to support us regularly. To be more specific, it's us giving back some goodie-features that are not necessarily needed to use GameVault back to our supporters, while they help us keep the lights on here at Phalcode.

With GameVault+, you'll gain access to premium nice-to-have features designed to enhance your GameVault experience, all for a small monthly fee of €4,99 monthly or €49.90 anually.

Currently, these features include:

• Uploading animated profile pictures
• Applying Custom Themes
• Activation of the GameVault Client API (CLI, URI, and NamedPipe Interfaces Used for client integrations with 3rd party tools like Playnite)

But there are more to come! We will be enhancing this offering with more features, whenever we see room for it, as GameVault+ subscribers are the ones, who keep this project alive.

All details and a Q&A are on the GameVault+ page.

We'll be rolling out this new product today to our early access users first to get the product and the infrastructure around it tested, tweaking and refining it based on your feedback before making it available to everyone. It's an exciting new chapter for us, and we can't wait to have you along for the ride.

So what's next?​

We will polish the rough edges of GameVault+ and bring it to life in the next few weeks, hopefully. You will probably already see some documentation on this website for it. Keep in mind, this is all a work in progress, and we will announce the final release soon.

After that, we will need to urgently find a solution to our heavy reliance on the degrading and unmaintained RAWG Database. We are already in contact for potential partnerships with Video-Game Databases.

Finally, we will need to do some refactoring of our client application's architecture.

But stay tuned because once all of this is done, the Next Big Feature we'll be focusing on will be open for the community to decide in our #polls channel on Discord. So make sure to join "The Council" to get notified and vote on your most desired feature.

Thank you all for supporting us and looking forward to seeing you all on our next updates!

Hey, Guys!

For the upcoming large UI update of GameVault, we're launching a brand new GameVault Early-Access Program, and we want YOU to be a part of it!

What's the Early-Access Program?​

Early-Access is your golden ticket to test-drive upcoming GameVault updates before anyone else. You'll be part of an exclusive group and get a sneak peek into the latest features, but here's the deal – it might not be as stable as our regular releases and you need to interact with us. Your feedback will help us fine-tune everything before the big release for everyone else.

How to Join​

📋 Complete the Application Form
📅 The first early-access phase kicks off on December 17 and lasts for one week.

Prerequisites​

💬 Active participation in the designated Discord channel.
🎮 GameVault installed from the Microsoft Store with a Microsoft Account logged in. If not, grab it here.
🚀 A GameVault Server running the phalcode/gamevault-backend:early-access image. (Only run this if you are accepted as a Tester as it could break things!)

Important Note​

• There are only a limited number of slots in the Early-Access Program. Supporters and Trusted Members are prioritized.
• If you're accepted and later found not meeting the requirements, you might be removed from future testing and the next applicant on our list gets the opportunity.

Apply here!

Hello everyone!

We hope you're all doing well. We wanted to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for the flood of feature requests and bug reports that have been pouring into our issue trackers. Your enthusiasm and dedication to making GameVault even better are truly inspiring to us.

As many of you may already know, GameVault is a passion project for us, and while we are mostly convinced by your fantastic ideas, it may take some time for us to implement them. Our team meetings happen in our free time, and although we genuinely want to incorporate your suggestions into our roadmap, we are limited by the time and capacity we can dedicate to the project. Moreover, we want to ensure that the features we develop are refined, polished, and also the most desired in the users' opinions, which adds to the timeline.

We believe that collaboration with our incredible community is the key to success, and that's why we want to introduce you to our Roadmap. It displays all new issues, planned tasks we want to work on, and all the ongoing work in a well-organized Kanban Board. You can find it right here.

To ensure that GameVault's development aligns better with your needs, we kindly request your active participation. By voting on GitHub with a Thumbs Up or a Thumbs Down on new and planned issues, you can help us prioritize them effectively. We value your opinion: What features do you feel are most crucial? What aspects of the platform do you find most bothersome? What issues do you see as unnecessary or bloated? Your input will mainly shape the direction we take.

If you're eager to go the extra mile and actively contribute to shaping GameVault further, we invite you to join our Discord community and becoming a "Council Member". By becoming a "Council Member" and enabling Poll Notifications under "#Channels & Roles", you will have a direct say in the future of GameVault because you will get notifications about opinion polls we run from time to time.

We cannot stress enough how much we appreciate your involvement in our endeavor to create the ultimate gaming experience for all of you. Your passion and feedback are invaluable, and we are committed to making GameVault the best it can be, together.

Thank you for being part of this amazing journey with us!

Hey everyone,

We are thrilled to announce that the poll for choosing a new name for our app is finally over. The process of transitioning to the new name will commence very soon, and we can't wait to share the exciting updates with you.

But first, let's dive into the poll results and shed some light on the important facts without further delay:

Summary​

In total, 71 people participated in the poll, providing us with valuable data to draw conclusions from. Here's a summary of the key findings:

• 52.1% of the community voted against using any terms related to piracy in the app. We understand and respect this choice because it would harm our business and attract the wrong users, as we have no affiliation with piracy.

• 42.3% of the community voted to recommend the app under a different name but not with its current name. This feedback motivated us to rename the app, confirming that it wasn't just a few critics on Reddit. We want to expand our community to include the families, friends, and colleagues of these people. So please, help us spread the word about the name change!

• 36.6% of you said you wouldn't contribute to our app at all solely because of its name, even if you had the opportunity. We depend on these contributions to grow and improve, so we now encourage you to participate!

Without further ado, here are the top 5 names that emerged as winners in the poll:

1. GameStash (38%)
2. GameVault (35.2%)
3. GameShelf (31%)
4. Harbor (29.6%)
5. GameHub (28.2%)

As mentioned earlier, we conducted the poll without conducting market analysis beforehand. However, we recognized the significance of making an informed decision for the benefit of the community. Consequently, we proceeded to analyze each name after the poll to ensure the chosen name resonates with our vision.

Allow us to share the summarized results of our market analysis:

Market Analysis​

1. GameStash​

Google Search Results: ~33,600
Possible Domains: gamestash.de

• There's already an app called GameStash that offers similar features to ours.

2. GameVault​

Google Search Results: ~800,000
Possible Domains: gamevau.lt, game-vault.de

• The term "GameVault" is associated with a popular online casino/gambling application called GameVault999.

3. GameShelf​

Google Search Results: ~560,000
Possible Domains: gameshelf.de

• The name "Gameshelf" is already used by two existing applications. One is a Board-Game-Collection Viewer, and the other is a Gaming Backlog app.

4. Harbor​

Google Search Results: ~393,000,000
Possible Domains: harborapp.de

• "Harbor" is a very common word, making it challenging to find a suitable domain that aligns with our brand identity.

• Additionally, there's a well-known app called Harbor on the Market related to Docker/Kubernetes.

5. GameHub​

Google Search Results: ~5,690,000 Possible Domains: gamehubapp.de

• GameHub is a popular game library manager
• it also sounds like a popular adult site 😁

What's Next?​

We understand your eagerness for a new name, and we are equally committed to distancing ourselves from the old one. Taking into account all the suggested names and feedback, we engaged in extensive internal brainstorming, free from outside influences.

We sought a name that is descriptive, intuitive, and effectively conveys the purpose of our app. Additionally, we aimed for a name that is easily memorable and emphasizes the ownership and control of a self-hosted server, security, and exclusivity.

Introducing our new name: GameVault
Available soon under this domain: gamevau.lt

We have already secured the domain and registered the name wherever possible. The transition process will commence shortly. We are eager to hear your thoughts on the new name. Do you like it?

Special Thanks ❤️​

Well, as you all know, this was quite a journey to get here, and we wanted to give our special thanks to:

• Everybody who gave this project's idea a chance, even if the name was kind of weird.

• Everybody who made suggestions on our Discord server and participated in the discussions.

• Everybody who voted.

• A special shoutout to @KairuByte on Discord for coming up with the name GameVault.

• We would also like to extend our gratitude to The Selfhosted Podcast for discussing our app. (Brent, we are excited to hear your thoughts on the new name from a marketing standpoint 😜)

• Last but not least, thank you to The Self-Hosted Newsletter for mentioning our release.

Thank you all for your continued support!

We will keep you updated as the transition unfolds. In the meantime, head over to our Discord channel to celebrate and share your thoughts on the new name.

Stay tuned!

Hello, everyone!

We have an important announcement to share about our source-available gaming platform, project. We have listened to your feedback and concerns, and now we need your help in choosing a new, family-friendly name that better reflects our platform's values. To make this decision-making process more convenient, we have created a poll with 100 potential names, suggested by you on our Discord, some of which were generated by AI. Your participation in shaping the future of our platform is greatly appreciated.

We kindly request your support in selecting a new name for our gaming platform. The poll offers a variety of names, and we ask that you choose at least 10 names (10%) that appeal to you. By gathering diverse input and minimizing bias, we aim to create an inclusive and enjoyable experience for all users. We apologize if the current name has caused any discomfort, and we are committed to creating a welcoming environment for gamers.

To cast your votes and contribute to the selection of a new, family-friendly name for our source-available gaming platform, please click on the link provided at the end of this post. Your voice matters, and together, we can find a name that truly represents our app's essence. The results will be announced on this blog around July 15, 2023.

We sincerely appreciate your support and encourage you to stay tuned for updates as we continue to improve our platform based on your valuable feedback.

Link to the poll: https://forms.gle/cYsURG6BqMXcxE3B8

Happy voting!

Hey Guys,

Our team has been working tirelessly for the past year on creating GameVault, the source-available, self-hosted, and free alternative to traditional cloud-based game platforms like Steam, Origin, Epic Games, and GoG. We are excited to share that GameVault is now available for everyone to use, and we are delighted to disclose it to the community.

With GameVault, you can play and track games together with your friends on a shared file server, free from any restrictions that traditional game platforms may impose. We have designed it to work with DRM-free games, providing a unique solution for those who want a more flexible and open approach to gaming. Think of it like Jellyfin, but for Videogames.

GameVault offers a self-hosted approach that gives you complete control over your gaming experience. The platform enables you to browse your server's game collection, securely download games, launch and play them, and even track your playtimes and progress - regardless of whether the server is offline. Additionally, you can compare stats and play states with other users on the server.

Our server features offer automatic indexing of games on the file system into a database, enrichment of games with metadata like tags and genres using RAWG API, multi-user authentication, and configurable logging. We have also implemented health monitoring, full-text search, filters, sorting, pagination, and a fully documented API. The GameVault platform is highly configurable to suit your needs.

We are thrilled that you have found us, and we invite you to try GameVault today. We would be grateful for any contributions, feedback, bug reports, and feature requests you might have. You can also support us by donating using the links provided on our website. If you have any questions or would like to connect with other GameVault users, please join our Discord, Reddit and Lemmy communities - links to which are available in the footer.

We are passionate about creating a gaming experience that is more open, flexible, and enjoyable for everyone. We hope you will join us on this journey and experience the benefits of a truly source-available alternative to traditional game platforms with GameVault.