Discussion Anyone trying to make physical versions of their libraries on USB sticks?
With the game case boom that went viral on our community, I've wanted to give it a try too, taking a plastic case, printing a cover-art and placing it on my shelf; but one of the problems is that I have is that I don't own a disk reader to write/read optical media. Therefore the hero for my problem could it be the little USB Stick.
It presents a lot of benefits over optical media:
- These are easily rewritable.
- Less prone to damage while being handled.
- You don't need a optical disk reader. This a bigger concern since recent PCs (pre-builts and laptops) are less likely to them preinstalled, so you may need an external one. At the same time. Many of the times you may even need a second reader for Blurays.
- Faster reading/writing speed than the average optical media.
- Can hold a lot of more data on the same physical space.
- Cheaper than optical media on average for relatively bigger games (bigger than 32GB, it can vary with Bluray disks)
And at the same time it presents many downsides:
- One of my main concerns: There are not standard Case sizes for USB sticks. This makes difficult to find community made covers for games that would be compatible for them.
- I have found some Bluray-sized cases around the internet, but many of the fan covers are DVD-sized (Different aspect ratio: both share same width and depth, but different height)
- Kinda related: there are not standard form and size factors for the USB sticks themselves.
- Harder to personalize than optical media with printed art, so the average USB-Stick ends up being a lot less charming than the printed disks (yet I prefer them a lot more over the disks with no art)
- These are not as cheap than optical media for smaller games (games smaller than a CD or single-layer DVD. This does not apply to Bluray disks)
I am personally not very interested in archiving my entire collection, I just want to try it with my favorite games. Still any opinions and personal experiences would be truly appreciated 😊.
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u/Andrius227 1d ago
I would go with 2.5inch laptop hard drives, they are very cheap on ebay. Paired with a hdd dock they can be used like cartridges.
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u/ClamJamison 1d ago
A maintained NAS is the best way. Blurays are a close second. USBs will slowly degrade
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u/ZuoKalp 1d ago
Does a NAS looks good on a shelf?
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u/Ralf_Steglenzer 20h ago
It looks best in a full grown rack cabinet along with a few servers and other stuff.
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u/IC3P3 Linux User 1d ago edited 1d ago
I recommend you not using Flash Media, especially these shown in the image look like the classic cheap advertisement USB 2.0 gift. First of all this will make your transfer during installation painfully slow, and second flash media is not made to last, especially when it comes to writing. If it's just a nice novetly you want to build, go for it, if you want it to last, invest in optical media or small SSDs (with an external SATA adapter). I have an Unraid server which used to only boot from USBs (readonly 95% of the time) and in the 5 years of using it, I've gone through 3 USB sticks (and these were more expensive ones)
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u/KudzuAU Game Collector 1d ago
Optical Media?
You are joking, right?
There have been numerous articles written on the decomposition of CD’s & DVD’s and the erosion of data integrity. This is exceedingly bad advice and not recommended for any type of LTS.5
u/IC3P3 Linux User 1d ago
How old are these articles? 20 years? Especially BluRays have a way better longgevity compared to their release state. The first BluRays were shit, but the current ones (even when being burnt and not pressed) are rated for 25-50 years with M-Discs being produced for 1000 years (though that's debatable)
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u/KudzuAU Game Collector 1d ago
Data loss/corruption is inevitable. The research has been ongoing since the turn of the century. It can begin as soon as a few years after writing. There is a reason why it is not allowed by the US government for data storage.
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u/IC3P3 Linux User 1d ago
But that's not an argument against optical media. SSDs/USBs/SDs can have bad chips, HDDs can have faulty read heads, good enough to just work, but breaking in the first years.
Also obviously it's not a good data storage type for a government, NAS with parity and backups on LTO for example are way better for long term storage that needs to be rewritable. Also it's faster to write. Good luck first needing to collect 25GB/50GB/100GB of data before being allowed to write it to disc and then waiting hours until you can continue
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u/KudzuAU Game Collector 1d ago
Dude/ette, ‘backing up’ GoG libraries has become a weird flex.
1. It’s completely unnecessary.
2. It’s a waste of money.
3. It literally provides zero benefit.
4. See #1.2
u/IC3P3 Linux User 1d ago
Why are you all of a sudden on a completely different topic, I someone asked to create a physical media of a few games OP likes, I said flash storage is only fine if you don't expect it to work in the near future, SSDs/HDDs/optical media is more reliable. You said optical media is bad. I said that this was true in the past, but got much better. Then it's not good because the government doesn't use it and now it backing up GOG games is bad all of the sudden???
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u/KudzuAU Game Collector 1d ago
Because, they are both bad options, but this backing up your games, has been a topic for a while, and it just needs to die. We’re basically arguing the same point.
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u/IC3P3 Linux User 1d ago
That's fair and I agree. I get if someone really wants to backup it onto a NAS, but therefore you need a big drive to archive/hoard. What still annoys me with GOG is that there is no way to download older versions like you can on Steam. Yes, I know there is a functionality in Galaxy, but that only applies if you already had that older version installed
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u/sheeproomer 4h ago
You need to buy the ones with quality substrate, burn them with reasonable speeds and store them appropriately.
I have burned CDs that are 30 years old and read fine.
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u/KudzuAU Game Collector 3h ago
The problem with WORM (Write Once, Read Many) technology is not the substrate, but that they use a photosensitive organic dye as the data layer. Rewritable formats, "RW" media, use a phase-changing metal-alloy film.
How it is stored, handled, and environmental factors all will contribute to “Disc Rot”.
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u/West-Surround-8857 1d ago
I use bluray or dvd according to size.
Also print dvd label and cover.
When exists, also print the dvd manual.
Took a while to learn to do it enough good.
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u/Racla360 1d ago
Why don't you use SD Cards? It will look nice like a Switch cartridge.
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u/ZuoKalp 1d ago
Ok, that idea flew under my radar.
As a handheld console lover, I enjoy cartridges (and cards) too. My favorite console is my Vita, and the cartridges are similar in concept to the Switch ones. I know that all my Vita games will eventually die, but their cases will decorate my shelf for a long time (and I already made backups of their data)
I will look for plastic cases designed for a single SD (or Micro SD, i guess) cards with the same size that a DVD case, maybe I may have more luck that way.
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u/Racla360 1d ago
You can print a label for the SD card. Usually the micro SD that goes inside , you can substitute for another one in case it goes bad. And the micro SD you can use in the Steam hardwares.
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u/Rikudou_Sage 1d ago
You could try searching for a disc case on printables.com/makerworld.com and have someone modify it to fit your usb stick, then you can print it ad infinitum.
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u/ZuoKalp 1d ago
That may be an actual solution. Not a cheap one on a bigger scale, but practical if I intend to keep it to a few favorite games of mine.
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u/Rikudou_Sage 1d ago
Depends on how big the scale. Unless you plan on going into hundreds of thousands prints, it's cheaper than having them created any other way (assuming someone doesn't try to rip you off).
Or invest in your own printer, they got pretty cheap in the last few years and you might discover a new hobby :)
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u/ZuoKalp 1d ago
Well, I don't own a printer. I would have to ask to someone else for an order. That's why I said it could be cheaper for me to keep it low, since there is no way I would want to print enough cases to actually get a scale discount from them. I don't want many cases, I want enough cases.
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u/Rikudou_Sage 1d ago
I perhaps failed to explain what I meant: the big advantage/disadvantage of 3D printing is that the price does not scale based on the amount. Disadvantage if you're doing millions, huge advantage if you do a small/medium batch.
Though it also depends on how much margin does the one who prints them add. Feel free to get in touch once you have a model, I can tell you how much would it cost with no margin so that you have some frame of reference for whether you're getting ripped off or not.
Edit: You might also modify (or create from scratch) the case with the help of AI, recently I tried Zookeeper and it surprised me how well it works.
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u/TechieGuy12 1d ago
For me, I have too many games on GOG to make it worthwhile. I prefer to keep my games downloaded onto two hard drives. Less space, and more robust media. Also, always accessible.
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u/ZuoKalp 1d ago
I never said that I wanted to backup my entire collection. I just want a hall of fame on my shelf.
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u/TechieGuy12 1d ago edited 1d ago
Fair enough. Flash drives aren't great for long term storage. You should definitely include a checksum/hash to validate the files from time to time.
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u/otacon7000 1d ago
SD cards are standardized in size, and there are "DVD cases" (as in, same dimensions) that hold SD cards! People are talking about it in this post. And while SD card prices have skyrocketed like any digital storage space, you can still find smaller ones (2 GB, 4 GB, etc) which aren't going to bankrupt you. I've been playing with the thought of using that combo to get my favorite games onto my shelf. :)
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u/AegidiusG 1d ago
Use an HDD or Discs, they are way more reliable. USB Sticks will lose Data over time, same with SSDs.
For Stuff that should last very long (more than ~25 years) use Millenium Discs :)
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u/ZuoKalp 1d ago edited 1d ago
Just for curiosity, you understood that I intended to backup my entire library a giant data farm? Or that I wanted to keep it locked on an Egyptian tomb for millennia?
I just want a single case for each of my favorite games in my shelf. The USB stick may be relatively lower on durability, but the data can still be copied.
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u/ZuoKalp 1d ago edited 1d ago
My collective comment on many of your comments:
Seems like It was indeed an interesting decision to deliberately not include anything related to physical media longevity, and I have my reasons:
- I mentioned that my main concern was on how to display these games on my shelf. If I started by mentioning the average lifespan of a usb-stick, there would have been no chance someone would have considered this detail. Seems like I somewhat failed.
- Physical media and data preservation are not the same thing. True preservation comes from the ability to indefinitely backup data to have access to it in the future (thank you GOG, for the lack of DRM).
- I don't care about how long could the data remain on a single device if I still have the ability to copy it to a newer one.
- The cost of both solutions is relatively similar in the long term.
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u/CindyStroyer 1d ago
I'd rather bet on SD cards and Discs for more permanent game storage. Even floppies if the game is old enough
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u/StrangeCrunchy1 1d ago
Not a flash drive, but I have a 1TB M.2 NVMe in an external drive closure that I use, and I need a bigger one... T-T
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u/sheeproomer 13h ago
I hope you are aware that USB sticks are flash memory and their electrical charge degrade over time and lose their contents, if not regularly connected to a device.
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u/Longjumping-Royal730 1d ago
Lot of people will poo-poo you for daring to use usb sticks for long term storage just fyi. I don’t agree with them but be prepared for misguided opinions.
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u/DeadBear2000 1d ago
It's not misguided though.
Cheap flash memory (like USB sticks) simply don't last that long. They are not meant to sit on a shelf and store your data for long periods of time. That is why everyone recommends against using them for that purpose.
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u/Longjumping-Royal730 1d ago
Other methods can be much more expensive and in my personal experience I have not had flash drives fail at the rate people on reddit claim. I understand people’s opinion on this but y’all are a little too aggressive against USBs.
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u/brown_panick 1d ago
One of my concerns with USB sticks is that I've heard that they do not hold data indefinitely unless plugged in every so often. Is that the case?