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How to use steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary in your game

steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary is a function provided by the Steamworks API that allows you to check if your game was launched through Steam and relaunch it through Steam if it wasn’t. This is useful for ensuring that your game has access to all the features and services that Steam provides, such as achievements, leaderboards, cloud saves, etc.

In this article, we will explain how to use steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary in your game and what are the benefits and drawbacks of doing so.

How to use steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary

To use steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary, you need to do the following steps:

1. Download the Steamworks SDK and unzip it.
2. Copy the Steamworks API headers folder public/steam into an appropriate place in your applications source tree.
3. Copy the relevant redistributable files from redistributable_bin into an appropriate place in your project folder.
4. Link your project with the appropriate library file (steam_api [64].lib on Windows, libsteam_api.dylib on macOS, libsteam_api.so on Linux).
5. Call steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary with your own App ID as a parameter at the beginning of your main function.
6. If steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary returns true, then quit your process as soon as possible.

Here is an example of how to use steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary in C++:

#include "steam/steam_api.h"

int main()
{
    // Replace with your App ID
    if (SteamAPI_RestartAppIfNecessary((uint32)480))
    {
        return 1;
    }

    // Initialize the Steamworks API
    if (!SteamAPI_Init())
    {
        printf("Fatal Error - Steam must be running to play this game (SteamAPI_Init() failed).\n");
        return 1;
    }

    // Your game logic goes here

    // Shutdown the Steamworks API
    SteamAPI_Shutdown();

    return 0;
}

Benefits of using steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary

Using steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary has some benefits for your game, such as:

• It ensures that your game is always launched through Steam, which means that it will have access to all the features and services that Steam provides, such as achievements, leaderboards, cloud saves, etc.
• It simplifies the distribution of your game, as you don’t need to worry about creating separate launchers or executables for different platforms or distribution channels.
• It makes it easier for users to find and play your game, as they can just launch it from their Steam library or from a desktop shortcut.

Drawbacks of using steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary

Using steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary also has some drawbacks for your game, such as:

• It adds a dependency on the Steam client and the Steamworks API, which means that your game will not work if the user does not have Steam installed or running on their system.
• It may cause some confusion or frustration for users who want to launch your game directly from the executable or from a different launcher or platform.
• It may interfere with some debugging or testing tools or scenarios that require launching your game without Steam.

Conclusion

In this article, we have explained how to use steamAPI RestartAppIfNecessary in your game and what are the benefits and drawbacks of doing so. We hope that this article has been helpful and informative for you. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us.