Author Topic: ***** about Steam if you will...  (Read 6962 times)

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Offline Cyker

  • 28
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
It's also why I really REALLY hate StarDock for tricking people saying they don't have copy protection, when in fact they do in the form of their forced-registration crap (If you want a non-buggy game!).
If you hate Stardock, you're a dumbass. They're one of the good guys.
Explain.

  

Offline ZylonBane

  • The Infamous
  • 29
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Well gee, how about their practice of releasing games that have absolutely no copy-protection on the disc, and don't even require the disc to be in the drive when you're playing? On top of that, they create massive updates for their games, then release them for free. And I've heard nothing but praise for their digital distribution system.

Quote
"Gamers want to know that when they purchase a game, it's theirs - forever," according to Stardock president and CEO Brad Wardell. "They don't want to have to worry whether the company they purchased from is still around three years from now. They don't want to have to worry about losing serial numbers or whether they can install it on their new computer."
And you whine about having to register. Yeesh.
ZylonBane's opinions do not represent those of the management.

 

Offline Nix

  • 28
  • In the morning!
    • Minecraft
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
So yeah, all you people complaining about not backing up your games, in Steam, there's a backup function that pukes out a compressed "image" of whatever game you chose to back up.  I haven't done it yet as I've barely gotten broadband for the first time, and have been messing around with it, but couldn't you just burn the backup to CD/DVD and when you want to do your nostalgic runthrough, have a standalone installer of Steam in your archive and restore the backup?

 

Offline Ulala

  • 29
  • Groooove Evening, viewers!
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
But what happens when Steam/Valve/Whoever unlocks or activates your game no longer exists? I guess down the road when I'm looking for something nostalgic to play, it probably won't be HL2, but it's still the thought. I think the Stardock president guy hit the nail on the head:

"Gamers want to know that when they purchase a game, it's theirs - forever,"

Indeed.
I am a revolutionary.

 

Offline Cyker

  • 28
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Well gee, how about their practice of releasing games that have absolutely no copy-protection on the disc, and don't even require the disc to be in the drive when you're playing? On top of that, they create massive updates for their games, then release them for free. And I've heard nothing but praise for their digital distribution system.

Quote
"Gamers want to know that when they purchase a game, it's theirs - forever," according to Stardock president and CEO Brad Wardell. "They don't want to have to worry whether the company they purchased from is still around three years from now. They don't want to have to worry about losing serial numbers or whether they can install it on their new computer."
And you whine about having to register. Yeesh.

Ahh, I see, you bought into the hype about the lack of copy protection too?
That's why I went and bought GalCiv, but then I discovered you had to enter some ridiculously long key AND register AND activate it to get any patches, which you need if you want a non-buggy game - To *me*, this is even more intrusive than CD-based copy protections, which can at least be bypassed, and only slightly better than Steam.
That's what hacked me off about them; I consider their claims about no copy protection deceptive at best.
I suppose its true in a sense - There is no copy protection on the CD - but you can probably say that about the Half-Life 2 Retail DVD, and Valve don't go around claiming that!

But what happens when Steam/Valve/Whoever unlocks or activates your game no longer exists? I guess down the road when I'm looking for something nostalgic to play, it probably won't be HL2, but it's still the thought. I think the Stardock president guy hit the nail on the head:

"Gamers want to know that when they purchase a game, it's theirs - forever,"

Indeed.

But that's the irony - With GalCiv2 it *isn't* - If you ever need to re-install the game, esp. on different hardware, you NEED to activate it across the 'net again to patch the game. Again, the needless third-party interaction which is my main gripe with Steam, WinXP, Serif etc.
Now, to be fair, if you're just re-installing on the EXACT SAME machine, you can just copy the encrypted keyfile over, but like XP, you change stuff and BLAM you have to type in the key again!

My favourite developers right now are Introversion and Rake in Grass - I can buy Darwinia in a store and it has NO copy protection at all. I DON'T need to register and activate the game and I DON'T need to activate patches before I can install them (Which is what I hate about GalCiv2.). Unfortunately they moved their digital distribution to Steam, but I guess you can't win them all...
But it's the same deal with Jets'n'Guns - I bought it from RiG online, and that's it! No registration, not even a CD key and nothing that would get in the way of me re-installing it at a later date.

I guess those two companies have spoiled me, but that's the current yard stick by which I measure these things. I figure, if my DSL router died, would I still be able to re-install the stuff on my machine and patch it up?

(GalCiv2 is a good game 'tho so I don't hate them that much :D  I just wish they hadn't been so deceptive about the copy protection part...  :hopping:)

 

Offline ZylonBane

  • The Infamous
  • 29
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Why would you have to re-download the patches? Seems like you'd just hang on to them.
ZylonBane's opinions do not represent those of the management.

 

Offline Ulala

  • 29
  • Groooove Evening, viewers!
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Wait, for that GalCiv game you have to register or something to download patches??
I am a revolutionary.

 

Offline Cyker

  • 28
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Why would you have to re-download the patches? Seems like you'd just hang on to them.

That's correct - You can re-use a downloaded patch file, assuming you download the proper patch (I never did find where on the GalCiv site they were so I usually get them via P2P ;)).

However, in order to use that patch on a fresh install or on a changed hardware set, you HAVE to ACTIVATE it with your KEY and EMAIL address before you can actually run it.
It also appears you need to have registered before-hand, and if the key/e-mail combo don't match the ones on their database, you have to send what appears to be a hash to StarDock via e-mail to get the binary unlock file that lets you run the game.

It's possible to force the patch to run without entering that stuff, but then when you run GalCiv2 after it won't work at all until you register and activate it :(

I only know this because I've been trying my damned hardest to install and patch it without it needing to connect back. I'm currently in the amusing situation where I'm having to find cracks for the patches! :lol:

 

Offline Unknown Target

  • Get off my lawn!
  • 212
  • Push.Pull?
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
For the record, random headshots in CS: S = the most bull****ty part of the game.

But yea, Steam sucks.

 
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Please god, someone tell me there is a way to disable automatic updating on first install.  I bought Red Orchestra on a whim, figuring it would be at least a little bomatch time killer.

I didn't expect a ****ing 2 gig FORCED download before I could even play it in single player mode, with no way to opt out.  I'm on 56k.  2 gig download isn't happening.

If there's not a way to skip this and just go play single player, I'm simply not buying anything by Valve or involving Steam ever again.  This is insane.  The game only came on 2 cds.  That's less then 2 gigs.  A 2 gig download for an 'update' should not merely be unrequired, it should be impossible.

 
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Short of a crack or less-than-legal version of Steam, there isn't.

 

Offline Iron Wolf

  • 26
  • Shzam!
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
 WTF is Stream?
Come on now, be honest. Wouldn't you all rather listen to your hairdressers than Hercules? Or Horatius? Or Orpheus? All those old bores! people so lofty they sound as if they s**t marble! - Mozart, Amadeus

 
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
Short of a crack or less-than-legal version of Steam, there isn't.

Well then, I'm simply never buying anything Valve or Steam related again.

 
 

Offline Iron Wolf

  • 26
  • Shzam!
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...

Wow, you are really out of it.


No, I just play my games on the XBox most of the time.
Come on now, be honest. Wouldn't you all rather listen to your hairdressers than Hercules? Or Horatius? Or Orpheus? All those old bores! people so lofty they sound as if they s**t marble! - Mozart, Amadeus

 

Offline Mefustae

  • 210
  • Chevron locked...
Re: ***** about Steam if you will...
No, I just play my games on the XBox most of the time.
Unknown Target's statement still applies.