I’m guessing based on something I read elsewhere about another one of these games but if they’re using a ChatGPT API it is possibly costing them a small amount each conversation (~0.001 to 0.003 USD).

This would explain their throttling on a fixed sum purchase.

I would be very skeptical about games like this tbh.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Greywolf:

Whispers from the Star can only play 40-60 min per day

Hi!

This is just a warning to player and the Steam staff that Whispers from the Star can only be played a few dozens minutes a day even if you have paid for it.

I would say nothing if it was a free game, but it is not.

Please Steam, can you not talk with them to remove this limit? We have paid for the game but cannot play it and when we can it is only when they want us to play it.

Players, do not buy. It is nice, but you cannot play it the amount of time you want.

Rate limiting for the sake of cost per conversation is how they have to do it unless you want them to make it a subscription like a phone and pay overages when going over your data limit.

So the """game""" is just a front-end for chatgpt...

There are a bunch of games like this that are out that limit your playtime because of the cost of using chatgpt with the AI and it's a risk you take when buying these types of games and even more so when it no longer has access to it eventually once the money is no longer coming in like a few games have had happened.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Chompman:

There are a bunch of games like this that are out that limit your playtime because of the cost of using chatgpt with the AI and it's a risk you take when buying these types of games and even more so when it no longer has access to it eventually once the money is no longer coming in like a few games have had happened.

Is there a decent curator that keeps a list of these?

These games are never going to be worth playing unless they incorporate a locally run offline LLM -- of which there are many.

But at the end of the day, all the OP can do is leave a review voicing their displeasure.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Chika Ogiue:

These games are never going to be worth playing unless they incorporate a locally run offline LLM -- of which there are many.

But at the end of the day, all the OP can do is leave a review voicing their displeasure.

Really? That clearly seem to be a breach of contract if this clause is not clearly stated out before purchase...

If they really have to pay to a third party while you're playing, having a daily limit won't be enough. They WILL shut down eventually.

Buy AI slop get AI slop. You got what you paid for.

I still don't get why it is limited, are they using the public chatgpt stuff, and if so isn't that some sort of breech of the licensing agreement for using the free version?

Oprindeligt skrevet af Draug:

I still don't get why it is limited

Because they have to pay for the API, and given what they're charging for the game, it's not like they could afford a limitless plan.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Scamdiver:

Would’ve been great if our beloved "honest marketplace" did something for once in its lifetime.

You're not one of these people who think a store is their best friend, are you? Valve have only ever cared about making money. Like every other company.

TBF Valve is a company, and the two main purposes of a company are to make a product (or service) and make money doing it.

On the other hand Valve has stood up for gamers on a number of occasions, and crafted policies that benefit consumers.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Scamdiver:

Prioritizing money is one thing; allowing/supporting dishonest behavior is completely another.

"Dishonest" / anti-consumer practices have always been in Valve's playbook. I should know, I live in a region that has been the brunt of many of them. I've got real horror stories from the days when everyone else believed Valve could never do any wrong. Compared to back then, Valve not making a developer divulge that their game can only be played for a few minutes a day is very low on the list.

Oprindeligt skrevet af Scamdiver:

My issues with the platform started in 2024 when I paid for a 'live service' game that wasn't available for more than a week. Sales weren't halted, refunds were rejected, reports did nothing.

Before that I didn't even know Steam discussions existed and was spending my money on Steam without thinking.

I suppose that makes sense, but I feel like that's less of a Steam problem and more of a live service game problem. Personally, I stay away from those, but I can see why you might feel a bit burned if one you bought flopped that hard and you were left holding the bag. Was it Concord[steamdb.info]? That's the only game I can think of from last year that shut down quickly after release, and there were red flags all over it leading up to that.

Biggest burn I ever felt was when I bought Starforge[steamdb.info] in early access about 10 years ago. The game was promising, but they quickly just called it a 1.0 release, leaving it completely unfinished. I just considered it a learning experience. Don't invest in early access games you aren't happy with paying money for in their current state. They don't always work out. The game remains in my library as a reminder to spend my money wisely.

I think the biggest lesson to take away here would be that Steam won't insulate you from a bad purchase. (Outside of their standard 2 week and 2 hour refund window.) Do your own research first and buy carefully. Steam is just the purchase facilitator. The actual transaction is between you and the publisher.

Note that I would have said nothing if the game was free. Having limited time of play for a free game would be perfectly understandable.

But we have payed for this game, so we must be able to play at any time. If you pay for a service, it is normal to get it. Otherwise it is illegal to sell things you do not give.

It is not a server problem. This game is small and if we can have a monster MMO like World of Warcraft, a tiny game like Whispers from the Star would not need such huge servers... and modern computers can mage pretty well such small demands.