Personally, I donate via Patreon to the private server I have played on for a long, long time; a certain percentage is shared with at least one mod developer who does mods for multiple servers; both admins of that server work hard, daily, to enforce the rules and both assist in updating mods and creating content for the server. I feel this is a bargain as there are rarely problems and, on the rare occasion, it is dealt with swiftly. Rarely does anyone use family share to avoid bans and if that occurs, they are quickly discovered and dealt with. Most who have ‘alts’ on the server have one, two at the most and the administrators are well aware of it and everyone watches for metagaming such as belonging to multiple clans for nefarious purposes. This server has a tight knit community both in the game and on the server’s Discord channel. I have played on other private servers and the administrator(s) have always been diligent in keeping order and dealing with trolls/exploiters/griefers. I would never consider going back to an “official” server under any conditions and deal with the chaos I used to. Some players, there, donate to not only the server, but to mod developers and even helped purchase a new computer for a developer who had theirs stolen.
They blocked my comment telling people where to get a cheap copy of the game hahah…wow.
Most know where to get that, but I, for one, do not want to cheat Funcom and/or Steam/Valve Corp. I just want the game and the features I have paid for and have been playing with for gosh knows how long. Those I know on the private server I play on do NOT abuse it in any way. Other private servers I have played on, the same. My opinion is that Funcom is not adept at solving the problems on their “official” servers that have been an issue since week 1 or 2 of “early release” and I am convinced that those who wish to wreak havoc WILL purchase the game cheaply from dubious sources and continue until Funcom fixes the problem (which they have struggled with since inception). What are the chances THAT will happen?
I don’t think equating those two things is the slightest bit fair or reasonable.
Called it.
Like I said before, turning off family sharing was a smart thing to do, but it is going to cause a meltdown with some players who used it legit.
Like I also said before, they best thing Funcom could do is make a limited time offer for one additional free copy for people who already own the game and had previously activated family share on it.
Offering that free copy gives them the perfect cover to keep family share off. It wouldn’t cost them any additional cash really, and it would gain them PR points. Anyone who tried to take advantage of it to cheat would quickly get the both accounts banned anyway, and so on.
Not ideal, @Aria_of_Sorrow, but the most reasonable solution I’ve heard so far. Not being a programmer, I can’t imagine how hard it would be to allow private servers to allow or disallow family sharing. If that is possible, that would be ideal. One problem, though, with your suggestion is the loss of characters some have spent hundreds to thousands of hours creating.
I am not commenting whether it is a fair or reasonable to compare the impact of these 2. It is a fact though. You can’t have multiple chars on a server unless you use a feature outside of the game or buy a second copy of it. You can’t play on a server after being banned unless you use a feature outside of the game or buy a second copy of it. All I am saying is that the “family” share feature in both cases is not used as intended but for the benefits of a single individual.
We decided to re-enable Family Sharing for now until we can:
- Implement the fix so family sharing can’t be abused by players we have taken action against. This will of course happen ASAP.
- Decide how to proceed with family sharing after we implemented the code above with our different communities and their play-style in mind.
We will talk to Valve and ask them to flip the switch. We don’t know exactly when that will happen but it should be sometime today so please keep an eye out.
A few additional notes:
- We realized, that the way in how some players used this feature, was way beyond what we had anticipated.
- There was no malintent towards any of our different communities who play Conan Exiles.
- There was no relation to the steam summer sales ending in regards to when we disabled this as assumed by some players.
Thank you again for your understanding and feedback 
Well! Thank you, Funcom! My faith has been restored! 
Good decision!
You can’t make any system fool-proof, because fools will devise ways you never saw coming. Saying this in jest, of course - I’m not actually calling anyone here a fool for using the Family sharing system.
But on a serious note, all game developers (whether digital or board game) will come across situations where a game feature will be used in a totally unexpected manner because there are only so many people working to develop the game, but a basicaly unlimited number of people trying their hand at it after release. Some of those players actively look for ways to “break” the game, whereas others succeed at breaking the game without ever meaning to do so.
So, people may call you “short-sighted” or “disconnected from the community”, but what we need to understand is that where we, the players, are legion, the game designers are not. We bought your product, so naturally we assume you’re omnipotent and omniscient and can see all variables and permutations of your product from a god-like perspective. It’s understandably a shock and a disappointment to many of us that rumors of your divinity were overrated.
I really appreciate the fact that you opened up a feedback thread for this mess, and acted swiftly to fix things upon receiving this feedback. Goes a long way to prove that you guys really are out there listening to us.
Ok, so some “jackass” use faily share to access a server they have been banned from.
I can see how this is a problem, but the solution of just “punishing” the masses for the actions of a few?
You support this, when “all” that was needed in the first place was “siply” to ban all accounts shared if ONE is banned.
Now If we turend this into someone getting around E-Mail security, Sending “Those” mails even when the security is in place, then “you” and those sharing the support in this then think it is fair to then disable e-mail world wide?
The century past, was one where the “rule” was to punish the masses for the actions of a few, and well how many times did this turn into very nasty stuff? …every time.
THis is becuse punishing the masses for the actions of a few is never the solution.
Now when the solution is as simple as banning the “chain” of accounts, then the “fanclub” in this may consider their views?
Why should my brother not be able to enjoy playing conan, becuse some “jackass” bypassed a server ban…HOW is this my Brother’s fault, and WHY is denying him to play conan so fair in you mind that you feel you have to justify injustice?
You should spend more time reading people’s posts than typing. You may eventually understand where they are coming from unless you are one of these people who are not open to any perspective that doesn’t suit their agenda. 
EDIT: Technically, your brother is still allowed to play conan using your account, just not on the server you are playing. Either way, Funcom reverted the change while they are evaluating the feedback. You were heard if that makes you feel better.
Thanks funcom, you somehow fixed your mistake (in my view). At least you listened to the reasonable voices speaking here. The straw is there again for me, a little longer until the next mishap?.
Now, what will be next?. What kind of confidence you build on your customers with this kind of decisions?. Time for a meeting somewhere… and take notes.
Never said otherwise. I am saying using Family Sharing to run a secondary character is in no way, shape or form the same as abusing that (otherwise generous) system to hack, cheat and make a nuisance of oneself. Or avoiding a ban (which truthfully shouldn’t be possible in the first place, see below)
As per Steam’s rules, the system (family sharing) allows for banning the original account even if an offense is committed from a throwaway “shared” account - so I would think that would be the solution to that issue. It would seem that hasn’t happened so far, which may be part of the reason why the griefers have returned with impunity even if caught red-handed: there have been no consequence to their actions.
Okay, take away the obvious cheaters etc, obviously they’re not worth arguing over, they’re scum plain and simple. Why do you have a problem with players using the Family Sharing system to, say, keep their Admin and Player accounts separate?
Thankfully, the whole discussion is now fairly academic as Funcom has done the right thing, and re-enabled the system (for now, at least).
That should really be a built in feature of the game in my opinion. I want to be able to play the offline single player that way.
Good decission to undo the ban of family sharing.
Thank you, that restores my trust in Funcom, indeed!
As of now Steam hasn’t re-enabled the feature. Interesting that they can disable it from one moment to the next but then need more than one day to re-enable it.
Next time, Funcom, really, couldn’t you please address to the community first and get a picture of the implications such a decision of yours would have?
And if you have to implement such a solution, why not add a blacklist or whitelist to your official servers. But please do not mess with people who pay money for their private servers!
For real. Just talk to us and even if you have to do something that’s necessary but unpleasant for the game’s health at least we’ll be forewarned, and many players will be able to offer valuable input and solutions. We love this game and we want it to be healthy and successful. Talk to your playerbase - all of your playerbase, not just the official server players - and you can avoid stuff like this in the future.
Thank you very much Funcom.
I know we’ve been upset, and admittedly a little harsh but for whatever it’s worth We’re passionate about the little worlds we build in your game. THANKYOU for listening. That actually means a great deal more than you may realize. The fact your company is willing to admit a mistake and redact it gives you folks all sorts of credibility. I genuinely hope you can find a way to stop the cheaters without disabling family sharing, or work with steam to disable family sharing for your game on accounts that have been specifically banned. - Add something that flags that account as being a problem and disables the feature for your game on an individual bases rather than on a sweeping basis. Thank you for quelling some of our fears, and thank you for getting back to us as soon as you could.
As to this sort of thing. Ask us! We’ll tell you and show you how we use things in the game, and we’ll help you come up with ideas on how to improve. There are lots of talented people who will offer their ideas, and probably do so for free in forums. We love this game enough to be this passionate about it, we definitely want to help you make it even better. -
Thank you for hearing us.