Thoughts On Steam?

seems like a lot of whining over something you still use, if it was that bad you wouldnt use it, i especially like not having to have a billion discs and go to anywhere download the game and play w/cloud system. And with the deals on it ive snagged several deals on games such as cs 1.6 and dod 1.3 for 5 bucks and tf2 the first year it came out for 2.50. I will also be getting dota 2 which with steam i will be able to play beta so i like steam :P
 
I understand that for online games that is how it works, its just that for single player only games, or games that only have a small portion of online gaming it is ridiculous, and you can buy games second hand in high street shops a hell of a lot cheaper than if you you buy them new, for example metro 2033 is 24.99 at game station and game but only 8.00 at cex and although you can get some pretty good deals on new pc games, in actuality some are cheaper than in cex new , no where sells them any more i have now been in countless gamestation, games, other games shops, HMV (who dont even sell them now) and they have like no choice, cex is the only place I find that consistently has a good selection of games, but they dont sell new stuff, even shops like game station there main selection of pc games is preowned. Although I dont mind getting stuff online I hate to wait for it and I like to browse in shops, plus buying them new is really out of the question for me as a couple of quid here and there is about all can spare.

Besides that is not really my point, my point is that it just shouldn't be this way.

What is the gfwl limit? So i assume you are telling me that even if i buy new games then i can only install them a set number of times before I am no longer allowed to use them? I had to uninstall and reinstall batman like 3 or 4 times since I got the 260 aasti just because the thing wouldn't launch due to an error with the 260 and the game, that after much trial and error I fixed, tried a load of fixes and it turned out all I needed to do was patch, obvious really,but this was a problem that the devs were aware of and i have to pay for their mistake?
Turns out the batman aa retail disc hasnt got a limit but you see my point.
Surely if you re-install then login to the same gfwl account you can still use the same keys forever? or are the accounts not link with install like steam?

I've gone full circle now Im thinking steam is the lesser of two evils.


Jayson said:
seems like a lot of whining over something you still use, if it was that bad you wouldnt use it, i especially like not having to have a billion discs and go to anywhere download the game and play w/cloud system. And with the deals on it ive snagged several deals on games such as cs 1.6 and dod 1.3 for 5 bucks and tf2 the first year it came out for 2.50. I will also be getting dota 2 which with steam i will be able to play beta so i like steam :P
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I much prefer to have discs, not only is it nice to have a collection especially when it comes to special editions like the enhance witcher edition and deus ex augmented, apart from that in the uk our internet coverage is inconsistent i just moved and it is 6.8Mbs here but back where my mum lives it is 800Kbs, it would take a long time to DL a game like that. And there are still several spots where you cant get on the internet in the UK, so does that just render some new games useless?
 
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CrayonMuncher said:
I understand that for online games that is how it works, its just that for single player only games, or games that only have a small portion of online gaming it is ridiculous, and you can buy games second hand in high street shops a hell of a lot cheaper than if you you buy them new, for example metro 2033 is 24.99 at game station and game but only 8.00 at cex and although you can get some pretty good deals on new pc games, in actuality some are cheaper than in cex new , no where sells them any more i have now been in countless gamestation, games, other games shops, HMV (who dont even sell them now) and they have like no choice, cex is the only place I find that consistently has a good selection of games, but they dont sell new stuff, even shops like game station there main selection of pc games is preowned. Although I dont mind getting stuff online I hate to wait for it and I like to browse in shops, plus buying them new is really out of the question for me as a couple of quid here and there is about all can spare.

Besides that is not really my point, my point is that it just shouldn't be this way.

What is the gfwl limit? So i assume you are telling me that even if i buy new games then i can only install them a set number of times before I am no longer allowed to use them? I had to uninstall and reinstall batman like 3 or 4 times since I got the 260 aasti just because the thing wouldn't launch due to an error with the 260 and the game, that after much trial and error I fixed, tried a load of fixes and it turned out all I needed to do was patch, obvious really,but this was a problem that the devs were aware of and i have to pay for their mistake?
Turns out the batman aa retail disc hasnt got a limit but you see my point.
Surely if you re-install then login to the same gfwl account you can still use the same keys forever? or are the accounts not link with install like steam?

I've gone full circle now Im thinking steam is the lesser of two evils.




I much prefer to have discs, not only is it nice to have a collection especially when it comes to special editions like the enhance witcher edition and deus ex augmented, apart from that in the uk our internet coverage is inconsistent i just moved and it is 6.8Mbs here but back where my mum lives it is 800Kbs, it would take a long time to DL a game like that. And there are still several spots where you cant get on the internet in the UK, so does that just render some new games useless?
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To be fair even disks have the whole DL problem, i bought homefront the week it came out and i only get 15gb downloads a month, turned ou tthat i had to download 6gb after the inital install as only half the game came on the disk.

This was a steam game, and is probably the only time iv been truly miffed with steam, thats not to say i prefer steam and DL's but i prefer solid copies.
 
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The install limit is on the GFWL key. You can only use it 10 times (I think it is 10) before it will no longer work. Your options then are buy another cheap GFWL game, as the keys are, mostly, backwards compatible with all games, or get in touch with Microsoft and wait a few months for them to resolve it.

You mentioned Metro, which just so happened to be on a deal on Steam a wek or two ago for £2.50. It was last on deal about a month before that...

And with the download problem, welcome to gaming in general, all games have patches now, and either way, you will be waiting for a patch to download, else buying the game all over again a couple of months after the patch just so you get the later version on the install disc
 
Aastii said:
The install limit is on the GFWL key. You can only use it 10 times (I think it is 10) before it will no longer work. Your options then are buy another cheap GFWL game, as the keys are, mostly, backwards compatible with all games, or get in touch with Microsoft and wait a few months for them to resolve it.

You mentioned Metro, which just so happened to be on a deal on Steam a wek or two ago for £2.50. It was last on deal about a month before that...

And with the download problem, welcome to gaming in general, all games have patches now, and either way, you will be waiting for a patch to download, else buying the game all over again a couple of months after the patch just so you get the later version on the install disc
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I was talking about differences in high street prices, I really do no like waiting for something to download when in a small portion of that time I could go buy buy it and be playing it.

I heard it was 15 activations on GFWL.

I dont mind downloading a patch, the biggest patch i ahve ever seen was for bf2 which was 1.5 gb or something which took about hour and a half to DL, most patches are only a few hundred MB, and you can, for the most part, just DL the patch and update the game rather than buy the update disc.

Best example of this is the withcer, they re-released it with the enhanced version with the most up to date patch but you could just go online and patch the game bought on release with all the same features for free.
I really don't mind dling patches but i dont like having to DL the entire game, once you take into account monthly use allowances, time taken etc it really is just easier to buy the disc.
 
I am another that dislikes steam for many reasons,

One big reason for me is that all your games are stored on your hard drive and not on data disc/dvd (unless you choose to backup all your games to disc) this would be a big problem if your hard drive fails and you are made to download all your games again from your steam account.

Another reason for my dislike of steam is indeed the updates that must be downloaded and applied before starting or playing a game. Come on this is ridiculous you get home with a new game start it up and you have to wait until all the updates patch you up to for example V 1.10. This is especially a problem for my mate who doesn't live that far from me who is stuck on dial-up because he can't get broadband.

These are just 2 reasons (i can list many more) why i do not like steam and why something needs to be done do address these problems.

I say return to the good olde days of games that were purchased in stores on Data Discs.
 
Hsv_Man said:
I am another that dislikes steam for many reasons,

One big reason for me is that all your games are stored on your hard drive and not on data disc/dvd (unless you choose to backup all your games to disc) this would be a big problem if your hard drive fails and you are made to download all your games again from your steam account.

Another reason for my dislike of steam is indeed the updates that must be downloaded and applied before starting or playing a game. Come on this is ridiculous you get home with a new game start it up and you have to wait until all the updates patch you up to for example V 1.10. This is especially a problem for my mate who doesn't live that far from me who is stuck on dial-up because he can't get broadband.

These are just 2 reasons (i can list many more) why i do not like steam and why something needs to be done do address these problems.

I say return to the good olde days of games that were purchased in stores on Data Discs.
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Yea see thats what i stated, I don't really hate steam except for the fact that patches have to be applied to games and its mandatory. I know someone will say that "oh why would you not want to have an update?" Well for CoD2, I like to play on v1.2 not 1.3. On steam, i cant go back to v1.2. Same thing with GTA Vice City. I want v1.0 so that i can install the multiplayer software but unfortunately with steam, it updates to the highest patch.
 
Midnight_fox1 said:
Yea see thats what i stated, I don't really hate steam except for the fact that patches have to be applied to games and its mandatory. I know someone will say that "oh why would you not want to have an update?" Well for CoD2, I like to play on v1.2 not 1.3. On steam, i cant go back to v1.2. Same thing with GTA Vice City. I want v1.0 so that i can install the multiplayer software but unfortunately with steam, it updates to the highest patch.
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yeah i completely can't understand why steam do this and make you play the most up to date patch/update for every game.

On GTA Vice City (love that game) I have the original disc from 2003 when steam wasn't even thought of maybe check around and see if you can pick up an original without Steam Activation. It should be pretty cheap to do so.
 
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i honestly used to depise steam with a passion, it was just annoying and got in the way of games it also had a poor selection of games for sale. But now I think its pretty good, theyve cleaned it up a lot and its streamlined and now it has tons of games. It would be better if they had more old games like GOG though
 
Valve/Steam got in very early and have pretty much mastered the trade. They aren't perfect but they are above EA and their Origin service. I have used it, I activated my copy of MoH 2010 on there in hope of getting BF3 Alpha access...guess I'll have to settle for beta access.

Until someone comes and creates a better version of steam, that one ups them in price, features, and regional pricing (again... see on steam. MW3 is $59.99 in USA and they want $99.99 in AUS... still in USD!) steam is here to stay as the leader of the pack.

In an ideal world, all your games would be interchangeable with each download client/service... But alas, I should stop getting ideas.
 
linkin said:
Valve/Steam got in very early and have pretty much mastered the trade. They aren't perfect but they are above EA and their Origin service. I have used it, I activated my copy of MoH 2010 on there in hope of getting BF3 Alpha access...guess I'll have to settle for beta access.

Until someone comes and creates a better version of steam, that one ups them in price, features, and regional pricing (again... see on steam. MW3 is $59.99 in USA and they want $99.99 in AUS... still in USD!) steam is here to stay as the leader of the pack.

In an ideal world, all your games would be interchangeable with each download client/service... But alas, I should stop getting ideas.
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yeah i agree about the pricing, some of the games are absurdly priced. MW3 is £40 in UK, 40 for a pc game? its a pisstake normally xbox and ps3 games are about 40 when they come out and 30 for pc, you wouldnt catch me paying 40 quid for a pc game
 
Turbo10 said:
yeah i agree about the pricing, some of the games are absurdly priced. MW3 is £40 in UK, 40 for a pc game? its a pisstake normally xbox and ps3 games are about 40 when they come out and 30 for pc, you wouldnt catch me paying 40 quid for a pc game
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Fair enough too I say. Too often game stores online or brick and mortar stores will ripp their customers off. Last time I was at a games store (won't say who) they didn't give me extra's that had been promised originally. I haven't been back since.
 
claptonman said:
I don't really like it, but I have nothing big against it. I like that it has a friend's system, but then again, I don't like that I have to use it to play certain games. And I never download games. Kind of like MP3s. I would never buy MP3s. I wouldn't feel like I own the music. I want a nice CD or vinyl with the awesome cover art.
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I like having the box for the game too, besides, its a little insurance if your account gets banned because of some other game, then what? your gonna lose all your other games? That's a big thing I hate about steam. Why should my whole steam library be banned just for one game? I don't like it at all.
 
Jayson said:
seems like a lot of whining over something you still use, if it was that bad you wouldnt use it, i especially like not having to have a billion discs and go to anywhere download the game and play w/cloud system. And with the deals on it ive snagged several deals on games such as cs 1.6 and dod 1.3 for 5 bucks and tf2 the first year it came out for 2.50. I will also be getting dota 2 which with steam i will be able to play beta so i like steam :P
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But if I do that, I wouldn't be able to play MW2 or black ops. It should be an option to have it or not. That's the reason I keep going back to CoD4.
 
claptonman said:
But if I do that, I wouldn't be able to play MW2 or black ops. It should be an option to have it or not. That's the reason I keep going back to CoD4.
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Yeah I think that guy missed the point, as we are only using steam because we are forced to rather than a choice.
 
Turbo10 said:
yeah i agree about the pricing, some of the games are absurdly priced. MW3 is £40 in UK, 40 for a pc game? its a pisstake normally xbox and ps3 games are about 40 when they come out and 30 for pc, you wouldnt catch me paying 40 quid for a pc game
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To be fair though, the developer/publisher (in this case, both of them) set the price for each reason... I guess they think they can gouge as many people as possible :(
 
linkin said:
To be fair though, the developer/publisher (in this case, both of them) set the price for each reason... I guess they think they can gouge as many people as possible :(
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And people will always continue to buy 'em. I mean if you look at the charts, CoD topped the chart like twice recently for most sold video game in 24hours or something like that.
 
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