How to include an overlay in "Steam" and why is it needed?

Previously, computer games could be purchased only on physical media, and it was not very convenient. Each game had to be looked for independently in all stores, buying it, storing discs at home and so on. With the advent of platforms for the electronic distribution of computer games, the life of gamers has become much easier - now you can install "Steam" and buy through it all your games, store them in a shared library, and also use a huge number of other useful functions. One of them is the "Overlay" - a special function, which will be discussed in more detail in this article. You can learn not only how to include the Overlay in "Steam", but also how to use it, and how to cope with some common problems.

What is Overlay?

Before you figure out how to include the "Overlay" in "Steam", it is worthwhile to figure out what it is. If you use Steam, then you launch all games through this platform - you do not need to store dozens of shortcuts and choose the game you want from them - moreover, all files are stored in one place, and the save in most games are duplicated in the cloud, so That even if your game is deleted, you will fly "Windows" or there will be some other unpleasant incident, you can then start your game from the place where you finished. When you find yourself in the game, you naturally pay all your time to the process, but you have the opportunity to use the Overlay. This is a special feature that opens the main functionality of "Steam" on top of the game so that you do not need to close it or fold it. You can write a chat to a friend, go to the community of a particular game, spy on the passage, evaluate your statistics or look at what achievements you have achieved. This is an incredibly useful opportunity, so it is quite natural that everyone wants to learn how to include the "Overlay" in "Steam".

Enabling Overlay

The answer to the question about how to include the Overlay in Steam is not that simple, but it does not mean that you will have problems with this function. The thing is that "Overlay" is active in "Stim" by default, that is, if you enter the game through this platform, you can at any time bring up the necessary screen. By default, this is done by pressing the Shift and Tab keys , but you can change it at any time in your client's settings. Thus, if you do not have the Overlay in the Steam, it only means that you have an error that you need to deal with privately.

Malfunctions with "Overlay"

First of all, you should understand that the only platform on which "Overlay" functions is "Steam". How to open "Overlay" in games not from "Steam"? This question is asked by many gamers, but it does not make any sense. "Overlay" is a function of "Steam", accordingly, it will work only if you start the game through this platform. However, there is another common problem, because of which the Overlay may not work. In modern PCs there is a Hardware Acceleration function, which by default may not be activated. And if it does not work for you, then the "Overlay" will not be launched. The simplest way to activate this function is to open any video on the Internet and set the checkbox in the settings of the built-in player. After that, the problems should disappear.

Games without "Overlay"

"Steam" is committed to improvement, this platform is constantly growing and improving. However, it should be noted that in some games "Overlay" simply does not work - it is not supported. For example, the recent post-apocalyptic release of Wasteland 2 does not support overlay features, but the game developers and creators of Steam are actively working on solving this problem.