[Raziel]

I've been seeing some questions around steam and how it works, so I though it's worth creating a thread about it and hopefully yatta will sticky it for people .

So let's get straight into it.
• there is no 7gb download, the game is installed from DVD
• during the install it will also put the Steam client software on your computer
• you will need to create an account in steam and enter the code provided with the game
• you can't transfer the game to someone else since it is locked to your account
• after the install, it will force you to update the game to the latest version
• during the install you will require an Internet connection to activate and update the game
• once installed it does not require the original disc to be in the drive, you also don't need an Internet connection again with a few caveats.
• if you don't care about multiplayer, don't want to take any other updates, need to play the game on a laptop or just don't want to log into the steam servers you can set steam to offline mode from the steam dropdown menu
• if you are playing in online mode, it will always force you to update if there are updates available, the game will basically be deactivated until you update (even if you switch to offline mode)
• playing in online mode is required for multiplayer
• if you ever lose the original disc or you're on something like a MacBook air running windows (no DVD drive), you can download the game using your Steam account to any other computer
• if you lose your steam account login/password, you're pretty much screwed, even if you still have the original disc

I'll update my bullet points if I can think of anything else that's important.

[DN4EVR]

Raziel, on 05 June 2011 - 02:20 PM, said:

I've been seeing some questions around steam and how it works, so I though it's worth creating a thread about it and hopefully yatta will sticky it for people .

I'll update my bullet points if I can think of anything else that's important.

Good points, but most can be avoided(After activation and initial install/upgrade) by just "tearing"(or something similar ) it later on.

[Alithinos]

Steam is bullshit and is killing pc gaming.

[Mr.Deviance]

Alithinos, on 05 June 2011 - 02:55 PM, said:

Steam is bullshit and is killing pc gaming.

Last I checked, steam was keeping pc gaming alive but maybe you know something that I don't...

[OpenMaw]

Alithinos, on 05 June 2011 - 02:55 PM, said:

Steam is bullshit and is killing pc gaming.

In what way exactly is STEAM killing pc gaming?

It offers a lot of indi PC games that wouldn't have a shot on store shelves, it does choke up Piracy a bit with some of its security, it's portable, it offers great deals on new releases... I'm not sure where its killing PC gaming at all. As Deviance said, i'd say its doing the opposite.

[Alithinos]

Mr.Deviance, on 05 June 2011 - 02:57 PM, said:

Last I checked, steam was keeping pc gaming alive but maybe you know something that I don't...

Because pc gaming is all about freedom and independence.
We need no 3rd party watchers to watch and demand from us crazy things like Steam does.

It should be as simple as that:

I buy game,I install game,I play game.

It's causing a mess.
I hate it.

[DN4EVR]

Alithinos, on 05 June 2011 - 03:14 PM, said:

Because pc gaming is all about freedom and independence.
We need no 3rd party watchers to watch and demand from us crazy things like Steam does.

It should be as simple as that:

I buy game,I install game,I play game.

It's causing a mess.
I hate it.

Just because you hate it doesn't mean it's killing PC gaming.

[Sebastian]

Alithinos, on 05 June 2011 - 03:14 PM, said:

Because pc gaming is all about freedom and independence.

[Hank]

A Steam account costs $0 and I think €0. Steam actively fights for the Indie Developers right now, because 50% of their games are illegally played. They are very helpful and supportive on IndieDB. This is just one aspects showing Steam/Valve is pro PC gaming. And to buy a CD and play it, well, those days are gone like you can't get a game on floppies.


@ first post - thanks, but no issues noted so far from where I standing.

[Alithinos]

DN4EVR, on 05 June 2011 - 03:15 PM, said:

Just because you hate it doesn't mean it's killing PC gaming.

You are right.
It kills the joy of going to buy a game from your local store,and then the easiness of just putting it in your pc and playing it.
Now you have to have usernames and passwords to remember,go online and make account and stuff,have a credit card and blah blah blah...
I'm an old-fashioner,I know.

But they just add us such a hassle when things could be simpler.

[DN4EVR]

Alithinos, on 05 June 2011 - 03:37 PM, said:

You are right.
It kills the joy of going to buy a game from your local store,and then the easiness of just putting it in your pc and playing it.
Now you have to have usernames and passwords to remember,go online and make account and stuff,have a credit card and blah blah blah...
I'm an old-fashioner,I know.

But they just add us such a hassle when things could be simpler.

1. Going to a store is fun, but buying digital can be fun too, with many communities surrounding some DD sites talking about sales & games people like/etc.

2. Also this is simple as well....buy the game, then download it to your steam account....no need to waste gas or time standing in store lines all day. Some would consider the tradeoffs to be wrothwhile in those regards.

3. As for passwords....well it's to keep people from stealing your games...among other things. You seriously tell me you can't remember a few passwords or write them down somewhere?

4. And credit cards? Dude, where have you been? In a cave? Most people have them nowadays, and many other DD sites use them as well...plus how else do you expect to pay for games online besides paypal/CC? Cash?

[Mark]

Piracy is giving birth to all these added precautions and hassles. I am also an old "fuddy duddy" that probably will not sign up for a Steam account unless there is something I really, really got to have. I hate being penalised for the acts of others but that's the way it is these days.

[DN4EVR]

Marked, on 05 June 2011 - 03:52 PM, said:

Piracy is giving birth to all these added precautions and hassles. I am also an old "fuddy duddy" that probably will not sign up for a Steam account unless there is something I really, really got to have. I hate being penalised for the acts of others but that's the way it is these days.

By not signing up you're missing out, and it's not like you're going to change anything.

[Honza]

Mr.Deviance, on 05 June 2011 - 02:57 PM, said:

Last I checked, steam was keeping pc gaming alive but maybe you know something that I don't...

I can't agree more - thank god that those "good old times" with CD checks are long gone... So basically everyone ended up with fixed executable.
This is the thing which Steam ended and I'm glad for it.

[Madmaxwell]

Mr.Deviance, on 05 June 2011 - 02:57 PM, said:

Last I checked, steam was keeping pc gaming alive but maybe you know something that I don't...

direct to drive is 1 billion times better :3 same with Good Old Games, steam is just fail tech support sucks takes like a week for them to have a bot reply to you.

[WedgeBob]

Madmaxwell, on 05 June 2011 - 04:20 PM, said:

direct to drive is 1 billion times better :3 same with Good Old Games, steam is just fail tech support sucks takes like a week for them to have a bot reply to you.

Not to mention Impulse, there's another one that seems to be gaining a little steam influence. LOL.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that everyone around here seems to know how Steam works already. Hell, I've been practically used to how Steam works ever since it was in beta (when it was included as an optional addon for CS: CZ back in 2003).
So, thanks, I'll take that to heart, and I've been a long time Steam customer and user, so thanks for that reiteration.

[Mad Max RW]

With the size of games dramatically increasing every year the format of installing a game with a physical disk is pretty much done. On top of that publishers are getting screwed by the skyrocketing cost of shipping boxed copies worldwide. We're all gonna be stuck using Steam or some other service. I personally love it because of how easy it is versus swapping multiple CDs/DVDs then tracking down patches on some random websites. Plus it has a larger library than any brick and mortar store with the bonus of daily sales. But when I can I prefer a box with a manual and jewel case over a digital copy.

[MrBlackCat]

We talked about Steam a lot over at 2K.
I never used it and read about it a lot and asked a lot of questions. I actually bought DNF BOS for the PS3 for myself partially because of lack of desire to use Steam. (Still have not got my PS3 actually.)

IF the game is good in Multiplayer, I will get a few copies and build some modern PC's for the LAN. If not, this will be a one shot PS3 game. I would have to tolerate Steam for the registration and that would be it. I don't play on-line since Quake II.

I can see one thing though... a lot of people HATE most any DRM and services like Steam.
If Steam was my only option for playing DNF, I would probably tolerate it... but not for any other game.

MrBlackCat

[MusicallyInspired]

Alithinos, on 05 June 2011 - 02:55 PM, said:

Steam is bullshit and is killing pc gaming.

Everything you say is completely not based on fact.

[DN4EVR]

MusicallyInspired, on 05 June 2011 - 06:53 PM, said:

Everything you say is completely not based on fact.

When will people realize that a future that's increasingly DD oriented will REQUIRE clients like these or some other sort of control system in place in order to be allowed(by shareholders/execs) & for us to be able to use them?

[Person of Color]

Alithinos, on 05 June 2011 - 02:55 PM, said:

Steam is bullshit and is killing pc gaming.

Every single post I read from you is crap. You come into threads and disagree 90% of the time just to "sound smart." It's never anything constructive, you make a snide comment and get pinned in the corner whenever people ask you to elaborate.

Then you stand by it after you are called out. The cycle repeats like clockwork.

That's exactly what Duke4 needs. More fake drama and superficial discussion.

DN4EVR, on 05 June 2011 - 07:05 PM, said:

When will people realize that a future that's increasingly DD oriented will REQUIRE clients like these or some other sort of control system in place to be allowed(by shareholders/execs)?

When will people realize that most developers are too cheap to give a shit about decent anti piracy measures? Worse, when will they realize that the overwhelming majority of gamers like having actual physical boxes and media?

OH SHIT THE TIME HAS COME. WE ARE SO FUCKED.

[DN4EVR]

Descent, on 05 June 2011 - 07:06 PM, said:

When will people realize that most developers are too cheap to give a shit about decent anti piracy measures? Worse, when will they realize that the overwhelming majority of gamers like having actual physical boxes and media?

OH SHIT THE TIME HAS COME. WE ARE SO FUCKED.

Oh stop being so seemingly obtuse.......thing is, games can barely fit on dual layer DVDs as is. Or do you expect future games to come on multiple DVDs and for people to accept it as an easy thing to have to do to play a game?

[Person of Color]

DN4EVR, on 05 June 2011 - 07:13 PM, said:

Oh stop being so seemingly obtuse.......thing is, games can barely fit on dual layer DVDs as is. Or do you expect future games to come on multiple DVDs and for people to accept it as an easy thing to have to do to play a game?

...And you honestly don't think Blu-Ray will be cheap as hell by then?

And yes, it will eventually be DD only. It's inevitable. In the meantime I'll enjoy my convenience.

[DN4EVR]

Descent, on 05 June 2011 - 07:16 PM, said:

...And you honestly don't think Blu-Ray will be cheap as hell by then?

And yes, it will eventually be DD only. It's inevitable. In the meantime I'll enjoy my convenience.

So not having to put a fragile disc in a drive to install a game & having to keep a bunch of discs around is convenient, while Dling a game is inconvenient?

[GothicBunny]

i have used steam since November 2, 2006, never had any problems and have enjoyed it ever since, trying somthing new is hard at first, but with time you just live with it.

[MusicallyInspired]

Screw DD. 50 years down the road Cloud Gaming will be the way everyone goes. Nobody will own anything anymore and they won't even have to buy hardware for their systems. Just pay a monthly subscription fee or something to play the game over a network streamed to your computer. This technology is already here. It just needs to be refined.

That is scary. I don't mind DD. At least you own something.

[DN4EVR]

MusicallyInspired, on 05 June 2011 - 08:53 PM, said:

Screw DD. 50 years down the road Cloud Gaming will be the way everyone goes. Nobody will own anything anymore and they won't even have to buy hardware for their systems. Just pay a monthly subscription fee or something to play the game over a network streamed to your computer. This technology is already here. It just needs to be refined.

That is scary. I don't mind DD. At least you own something.

Dude, don't be so worried...people will find a way to keep regular DD viable and desirable for companies to implement via their dollars/euros/etc, most likely. Plus cloud gaming's crap options adjustment/zero modding capability/dumbed down graphics will keep DD alive as well.

[Martin]

Commando Nukem, on 05 June 2011 - 03:01 PM, said:

In what way exactly is STEAM killing pc gaming?

It offers a lot of indi PC games that wouldn't have a shot on store shelves, it does choke up Piracy a bit with some of its security, it's portable, it offers great deals on new releases... I'm not sure where its killing PC gaming at all. As Deviance said, i'd say its doing the opposite.

I think the guy was just venting. Although there's nothing particularly wrong with Steam (other PC DRM protocols make Steam look like piracy heaven), it does still essentially mean that people who pay for the software are penalized with extra checks and verifications passwords, blah blah. Whereas if he pirates it, he doesn't have to do anything but play the game. No codes.

[The Commander]

Wtf is going on in here. This has turned into a Steam hate thread.

I can tell you know from being a long term user of Steam (Since HL2 came out) and being on dial up back then that, yes I didn't like Steam at all.
But then it grew on me and now I think it is one of the best gaming shell handlers out there.
The fact I can run/install games without a disk is one of best things it has going for it.
I do not purchase all my games on Steam though, I most likely will end up buying DNF locally retail as the price on steam is jacked due to the way 2K handles there prices. (Anyone else in New Zealand or Australia will know exactly what I mean)

There are only two negative things that I do not like with Steam.
1. I could get rid of my MSN etc if Steam chat allowed file transfers. (I am sure it will happen one day)
2. You can not specify which HD/location to install Steam games to.
There are ways around this though but can be quite confusing for a n00b. Junction Link Magic

In the end, I think most of the Steam haters are people that got VAC banned in games such as Counter Strike etc or are people that have read bad reviews from those people and have the wrong idea about the program.

[flarty]

DN4EVR, on 05 June 2011 - 03:44 PM, said:

4. And credit cards? Dude, where have you been? In a cave? Most people have them nowadays, and many other DD sites use them as well...plus how else do you expect to pay for games online besides paypal/CC? Cash?

FAX?