Introducing Crackpipe - your decentralized, self-hosted gaming solution!
Hey folks,
our team has worked tirelessly for a year to bring you Crackpipe, the open-source, decentralized, and liberal alternative to conventional cloud-based game platforms like Steam and Origin. We're thrilled to announce that Crackpipe is now available for everyone, and we're delighted to share it with the community as an open-source project.
With Crackpipe, you and your friends can enjoy playing and tracking games on a shared file server, free from the restrictions of traditional platforms. Embracing "alternatively obtained" games, including DRM-free titles, Crackpipe offers a flexible and open approach to gaming - think Jellyfin, but for Videogames.
Take full control of your gaming experience with Crackpipe's self-hosted approach. Explore your server's game collection, securely download, launch, and play games, and monitor your playtimes and progress - all even when the server is offline. Compare stats and play states with other users on the server for added fun.
Our server features include automatic indexing of games, metadata enrichment with RAWG API, multi-user authentication, configurable logging, health monitoring, full-text search, filters, sorting, pagination, and a fully documented API. Crackpipe's high configurability ensures it fits your specific needs.
Join us on this journey to embrace a more open, flexible, and enjoyable gaming experience for all. Try Crackpipe today and share your contributions, feedback, bug reports, and feature requests.
Link: https://crackpipe.de
You can also check out our launch at producthunt: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/crackpipe
UPDATE: here
Cool idea, problematic name. Have you considered any others? There’s a ton of racist/problematic connotations in the US with this name that probably wouldn’t be well understood in DE/EU…
Agreed. As an American, cool concept, rough name. There is no way I’m recommending a software called crackpipe at work.
And let’s say I wanted to use it, I’m going to install this and instruct my kids how to use crackpipe? I’m sure that will go over great with little Timmy’s school when he tells his teacher and friends.
I’d strongly consider changing it.
And it's not like you can even abbreviate it since cp has its own problematic connotations when it comes to the Internet
LMAO. Also are you excited for the LoD remake? I got some sources that say it's happening
And when we are troubleshooting, we'll be searching "crackpipe _____"... I can definitely think of a few scenarios where that'll return very different results than expected.
Would be kind of funny to skew Google results for crackpipe towards a game platform though.
I mean I get your point, but if you instruct your kids how to use a tool for managing pirated games, they are probably going to see a lot harsher stuff than the word "crack pipe"..
It's actually more racist to be afraid to bring up crack pipes when Breaking Bad counts as totally tame watercooler talk.
This is a tool for hosting pirated games. It's not meant to be safe for work or kids.
I get that the name is offensive, but it doesn't really matter. They're not going to hire a marketing team and do an IPO.
Also, the name makes sense. It's a pipe to transport cracked games.
Crack pipe isn't racist. People of all Skin tones can enjoy that sweet sweet crack.
In the US specifically there’s some historical connotations back to the 80’s and how the US government fucked over black communities by flooding them with crack. I’m sure you all didn’t mean anything racist/negative with this, but wanted to flag this to y’all since you were based in the EU and likely wouldn’t have the same connotations with the term :)
Anyways, best of luck with this! It’s a cool idea.
tthat's why it's always best to say fuck the fascist pigs that poured crack into the streets of minority populations as a form of cynical political maneuvering at the end of every comment, just in case.
Agreed. Not doing the least bit of research and choosing an edgy name makes this seem extremely amateurish.
well, you can't keep every weird american racist issue in mind, there are too many
“Amateurish”? This is literally a server for hosting pirated games, who gives a fuck.
Also, if your first thought after reading the word crackpipe is black people, maybe you’re the racist one.
And even if in the US it does have this connotation (IDK I’m not American), why should Europeans care?
It's absolutely hilarious, for me as a European the first image that comes to mind when i hear crackpipe is some skeletal looking white dude with half his teeth missing jittering in a bush somewhere.
really shows how internalized racism is for them, and it's sad - rather than try and use Lemmy to break that pattern they just move it over from reddit...
I'm from the US and have never heard crackpipe used as a racial term...certainly doesn't immediately bring black people to mind.
Are you trolling? If you think of a white person, why would an American, with an entirely different set of experiences and culture not think of something else? How is acknowledging an atrocity by our own government against poor blacks a bad thing? Is the goal of this project to have people use it? If so, they should reconsider the name.
Ok? acknowledge it to yourself all you want, don't impose it on others who have nothing to do with it, and ESPECIALLY do not try to guilt trip them, what do you not understand?
It's this kind of shit that killed reddit, assholes just scanning their feeds all day long trying to find some word or sentence they might find offensive hoping someone else will care too and join their "grand crusade".
Meanwhile actual content got drowned out in the noise.
Like holy fuck this thread is a prime example of this, instead of discussing the featureset, functionalities or tips&tricks it turned into a shitty ass redditlike offtopic racism rant arena.
Reddit isnt dead, and what "killed" it was API changes and a greedy CEO. Astounding that you think "Hey this name could be offensive in a large english speaking market" is a crusade when it is in fact a discussion about the actual content lol.
Dude, We're trying to be helpful. Calling your program CrackPipe is just going to smother it in the crib. Words and phrases have connotations and associations. We're just saying that naming your program this particular name is going to turn people off to it before they even see what it is. I know, I've seen it happen. It's literally happening right now.
Even as an american, my mind went to cracked (as in /c/crackwatch, cracked games, etc) as the piracy term, and pipe, as in pipeline (like newpipe, etc)
The same reason you'd probably care if an American said something ignorant about Europeans. I feel like this is like saying "The N word wasn't used in my country, it doesn't mean to us what it means to you, so why do you care if I use the word?"
Obviously that's taking the example to an extreme, but I think you get the gist.
I’m actually not European (I mentioned it because others did in this thread, I think the developers are?).
In any case, I do “get the gist” but I disagree with it - why should the mainstream culture of a foreign country dictate what I can or can’t say (or name my project)?
And even if I did agree with you on that point, I would disagree with applying that logic to a term like “crackpipe” which isn’t considered a slur at all.
If you think the name is offensive, don’t use it. Once again, this project is a server for hosting pirated games, it’s not like they need to be advertiser friendly or whatever.
I don't believe that anybody is suggesting this. Obviously you can name your project whatever you wanna name it and use whatever words you wanna use. Nobody is taking that from you.
But just know that there world is a big place, and not everybody shares your viewpoints, and some of them are going to tell you why they disagree with you.
You'll have a choice in that situation. Either you change yourself to fit in with others, or you stay true to your beliefs and stick to your guns. There isn't an inherently wrong answer here. Whichever you go with is a personal choice that nobody can make for you, but you'll need to own your choice, whichever it ends up being. If you change your ways, you need to accept that you changed yourself, and that nobody else changed you. If you remain undeterred and choose not to change, then that's also on you. Nobody chooses your thoughts for you.
Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent, I know. It just irks me when I see people suggest that they can't say what they want to say and suggest that it's anybody else's fault, so I wanted to point that out.
I didn’t mean “dictate” literally, but whatever, I agree with everything you wrote pretty much.
I mostly went into this discussion in the first place because I was annoyed that like half the replies were about the name and not the software - when the name really isn’t that extreme. But at this point I’m part of the problem, so I’ll stop now.
Crack is smoked regardless of skin tone. As a US resident even the backwoods hicks around here smoke crack. Just because something happened to a certain race in the past doesn't make that thing racist.
Crack is bad regardless
i'll take one please
Exactly. Probably the most famous crack user is the white son of the current US president.
HAHAHA They didn't like that one
Even without the racist connotations in the US it's a weird name.
Obviously not as bad though
In the US they can change it to MethPipe
HeroinNeedle
The name is fitting because it's for cracked games, which are piped in a single programme. I don't think it needs changing.
You can rationalize it all you want, at the end of the day when you say crackpipe there’s only one thing that comes to mind.
I’m just imaging a conversation at work talking about a new game, and someone saying they haven’t picked it up yet and a colleague overhearing their co-worker say “just hit the crackpipe”.
Honestly even calling it CrackedPipe would be better than straight up crackpipe, lmao
I'm envisioning the possible reverse scenario where you get someone wanting some crack and won't take "Uhhh, I was just talking about a video game thing" as an answer
i know right? It's so awkward for me to talk about blasting folks heads off with my assault weapons in the latest gore simulator. If the word crack even enters the conversation you better believe it'll cause some stares
I had the same thought, but honestly it's software for pirated games. Pretty tame in the context of that landscape...
Everyone gets that. It's just that sometimes things can be clever and stupid, unwise, and an automatic NO
@starstough @LoafyLemon @alfagun74 this naming thing reminds me again of DeepCreamPy, which was a version of Deep Dream (written in Python) that fills in gaps in hentai
lmao that's fucking brilliant. Might get some glances on your resume until your next future boss hires you because he is a dedicated deep cream py user
I like to commit crimes while screaming that I'm committing crimes.
It makes the crimes more obvious so that everyone knows I'm committing crimes.
CRIMES
As a European, I honestly don't get what you're saying. Maybe it's worth thinking about not forcing your opinions and societal problems onto other people?
It's okay to not know what something is. Crack pipes are WIDELY known to be drug delivery devices. That's not unique to the United States.
Furthermore, advertising your product as being used to pipe "cracked" (otherwise known as ... stolen) games RIGHT there in the name of your product is like daring law enforcement to shut you down in actual record breaking time.
If you want your company to survive such things, you pick a name that is even more clever in that it isn't.... moronic.
I hope you realize this is the purpose of the application? Moreover, piracy is not stealing because it involves copying or distribution of digital content, while stealing refers to the act of taking someone's property without permission, depriving them of its use.
Ah well, maybe that IS uniquely American, the concept that depriving a company that makes digital content of their sales, depriving them of the use of that money they'd otherwise have, IS stealing.
I'm not defending those poor digital content creators, mind you. But your words here tell me you are both European and young. Be careful out there, ok. The people that make the laws don't agree with your definitions, and that means you gotta be ready to explain to them why what you did was totally allowed and decent.
You're assuming again, mate, and this time you're completely off the mark.
Not only that, but you also keep reducing my post counts while upvoting yourself. Everyone can see it mate, this isn't reddit...
Care to explain? I'm curious.
Here’s a wiki article about the incident they are talking about. Basically it’s believed that in order to get money to arm rebels in Nicaragua the CIA assisted with importing cocaine to the US and specifically primarily black neighborhoods fueling the crack epidemic.
They tried. It's just your standard case of everything is racist
you're almost there bud
Ah, nothing fancy then.
Check the Edit :)
Much better name!! Nice job responding constructively to feedback, wish more devs had the same level of grace with these types of situations. Wishing you all the best of success with this project!
It's just a name. You don't have to be mad. Not everything is gentrified to US, and there are other issues in the world significantly bigger than "racism".
I'm not going to talk with my friends about using something called crackpipe. Might be cool software, but I can't take it seriously. This would be like if Plex called themselves bootlegpimp.
Completely agree, having a memorable name is important but that doesn't mean the name should be a joke.
Still less embarrassing than recommending GIMP.
I can see your point but in my native language nobody has heard of gimp compared to crackpipe
Gonna contribute to the project just to keep the name as is
Terrible name. Call it something like Gamepipe instead.
As others have said, cool concept, awful name.
Bad name aside Windows only client support is a big letdown and makes the application useless to me.
My favourite part is 100% the name never change it
I for one will not be using this to introduce my kids to gore simulators where you can see chunks of peoples' heads blown off at your own hands, because it's called crack pipe, and that is where I draw the line
I just think it's a dumb name is all
This is so fucking hilarious to me. Your logo is a pirate, and your app name is "crack"pipe (which is dumb for many reasons), and you use 'alternatively sourced' in the language instead of just talking about DRM-free games.
Cool software, but if you don't want to get shut down you certainly should reconsider your approach.
Start with the fucking name. Yikes.
Cool software.
Even as someone sympathetic to 'privateers' though...you gotta have more plausible deniability bro, workshop that name lmao
I love the chutzpah of it.
Creative commons isn't a licence designed for code though, consider using the AGPL instead.
If you guys want this to take off in the US (and probably Canada too) you gotta rethink the name. If it doesn't come off as vaguely racist it will come off as edgy for edgy's sake. Low-brow and amateurish. Otherwise, it looks cool. Best of luck to you.
How tf is this racist?
Due to racist propaganda in the US during the 80s and 90s. Crack cocaine was portrayed in the media as a "black" drug, and many of the news stories about crack were specifically about it's effects on black communities.
While the name isn't inherently racist, in and of itself, it does still carry some racial connotations behind it. Maybe it's different these days for zoomers, but growing up during the "crack epidemic", as it was called, and seeing the way it was covered in the news, I can understand why some people are resistant to the name.
I didnt say it was racist. I said it could come off (i.e. perceived) as racist. Mainly due to cracks stereotypical association with poor African Americans. But I think you knew that.
I thought it was satire at first 😂
I'd be interested if there's any plans for a Linux client
Same here. My current method is a self hosted website on my home network which showcases all available games, followed by a bash script download that will automatically generate the yml file for Lutris to fully install any of my 200+ games.
Whilst this is currently the best way I've found for my setup this app seems like the perfect thing to potentially swap to, if Linux was supported.
There are no plans for a native linux client right now, but there is an awesome community-driven approach to run it on linxu in our docs here
cool stuff but what about packaging the games? only transfering files is most of the time not enough and games need registry stuff and what not and on games that need a setup.exe to be run, is that unattended like on steam or do users need to click "next, next, finish"?
Nah, you can often move around games on external drives from computer to computer just fine and they'll typically work.
Often, sure. But not guaranteed.
So it's like game streaming with Geforce Game Streaming and Moonlight?
But like others already said: Reconsider that name...
I thought so too, but it isn't - it's a server that hosts your pirated games and a client that downloads from the server and installs them. It's like Steam or Epic games, but for pirated games.
This looks more like Steam where users actually download and install the games.
dude why would you name it that
People, come on.
First of all the name, the logo of a pirate, using the terminology "alternatively obtained" - this is clearly for sharing cracked/pirated games. Any plausible deniability is out the window. Especially with using copyrighted game box arts in the screenshots.
If you changed the language to be something like:
Then you'd be able to say "this is meant for sharing freeware/shareware easily and making it a social experience."
Also change the name and logo, and get those copyrighted box arts out of the screenshots and just use art from open source games SuperTaxKart, OpenRA, etc. (Technically those may be copyrighted, depends on each game, but at least you're not dealing with fucking Sony by showing a Spider-Man game).
Maybe if he tagged on the line "....for novelty purposes only" ? ;)
Lol, gonna be honest, it would be pretty hard telling my friends about this awesome thing I learned about called Crackpipe.
That said, it's not really something I could do anyway. My ISP doesn't let me host servers, and they're the only ISP in my area without disgustingly draconian data limits.
I've always wanted something like that, very cool!
Any plans to incorporate customizable cloud saves? I'm envisioning listing files and registry keys, maybe fetch a starting point off PCGW to give users an idea of what to expect and whatnot.
Linux client support would be great too, the Steam Deck could make great use of this.
A product's name should reflect what it does, not what you were smoking when you came up with the idea.
on crack of rock please. is.. is that enough?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong since I'm not familiar with all this, but would I be able to "upload and share" a game that I bought from GoG since GoG games are DRM free?
Yes. Just keep in mind that will likely break licensing for virtually any game you’ve legally purchased.
This seems cool, but damn I wish there was something like this for Steam games or something. That's the biggest thing I miss from Sony's ecosystem, and Steam's "Family Share" is pretty bad in comparison.
This looks nice!
For god sakes, change the damn name.
How about buttcrack? Jk that would be terrible. CriticalPoint would keep the two letter combo and be a dig at steam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_point_(thermodynamics)
CP is the second reason the name is terrible. “Let me connect to your CP server” is going to get so many people onto so many lists, unless they specify CP == CrackPipe.
There are just some names and abbreviations you do not use. And this is both of those.
I love the idea. I think the UI can use improvement.
Is this like a sonarr/radarr for games?
gamerr
Would have been a better name
A bit useless if it only supports a legacy OS that doesn't run games very well.
Which OS are you referring to?
Apart from the fact that Windows is still the number one gaming OS… sure.
Do you even know what crack-pipe is? I suggest changing the name.
Oh dear...
First that name. Oh my word. Just no.
Second, pretty much directly encouraging piracy. Just... That's also a hard no.
Sorry, while the technological concept is interesting for games that don't have a restrictive license, between a lack of forethought regarding the name and the outright condonment of piracy, I'm gonna have to stay away. If these issues are readdressed in the future, it my be worth re-examining