The relation with Steam

[Xiplogshet]

Hi, I am brand new to the game. I have read the FAQ, and have bought the GrimDawn, via HumbleBundle.
Would somebody clarify, in a couple of words, the relation between Steam (client) and this game?

The FAQ mentioned that “Internet is only required for the initial download and installation or for internet multiplayer matchmaking”. So I anticipated similar relation to Steam.
But… does Steam “wrap” the whole game? Is the game running “inside” the Steam client? It is the Steam what runs the game? For example, if I check or uncheck audio quality settings in Steam, that determines what sounds will I hear in the game? And, a post (which I found during a search) mentioned that there is a “Steam cloud” storage location, and all my characterss, stash, crafting recipes etc. are saved to that?

[eisprinzessin]

If you download the game from Steam, then the Steam client will always run, when you play GD. It basically verifies you are licensed and downloads / installs the game and updates. If you have no internet connection, you can play offline. Or you can set Steam to offline manually, even if you are connected.

GD settings are usually managed within the game. Steam offers a lot of stuff, which I have mostly ignored in all these years - things like community, trade, Big Picture.

My Steam properties for GD:

• By default GD saves your characters in the Steam Cloud. Disable it in GD or Steam, if you want to store your save files locally.
• Originally GD was only an x86 (32-bit) application. If you add /x64 to the launch options, your desktop shortcut will start the x64 version.
• If you want to play with a controller, you can either configure it via Steam or GD’s keybindings.

[medea_fleecestealer]

If you want to play offline then go here

You’ll then see this message. Click on it to go into offline mode.

To go back online then go back to the first picture area and click on Go Online.

When the game receives a patch then you’ll need to go online again to update the game to the latest version.

If you’ve started playing then to move your saves from the cloud to local you need to follow the instructions here

How to - Move your saves from Steam cloud to Grim Dawn's default location.

A quick guide to moving your chars, shared stash and all known crafting recipes from Steam cloud saving to the default Grim Dawn save location. NOTE… This is ONLY for moving char saves in the same game mode, e.g. Main Campaign or a modded game. It is NOT possible to move a char save from Main to a modded game or from a modded game to Main with this method. This will overwrite all data in your default save location, so if you have been playing with chars after disabling steam cloud saving, plea…

and make sure cloud saving is turned off in both the Steam settings that eisprinzessin shows and also in the ingame Options menu.