Some thoughts about Steam

[Demonslayer]

Personally i don't like steam.
I hated the idea to leave 1.5 behind and start playing CS1.6 with a program on the background. I hate even more now that you have like a community system like those meetApartnerTOhaveSEKS.site.com with a fancy friends system and stuff.

1. How exactly does Steam work? The general idea I have about it is the above said: pay, download. No box, no disc, no manual.

You buy it, you get a registry in you account that you own the game. Everytime you start steam you'll have the game avaiable there. If it is on your pc, better, if not it starts downloading it.

2. Is there the risk of losing precious money due to, for example, a forced formatting without having the chance to burn the game downloaded from Steam into a disc? Or can one download it more than once after paying?

No. Read above.

3. Is there a considerable price difference between buying via Steam and buying on a store? There should be, as the game company is not wasting with plastic, paper, ink, etc, etc to burn discs and put them into fancy boxes. At least I think so...

They have many discounts and packs. You should see for yourself.

3. What's the general fell about Steam and the whole idea of paying for a game and not having it physically? I'm I the only one missing the good old " buy disc+manual in a box on a store"?

I bought HL1, Counter Strike Anthology and Counter Strike source. I have them all physically. I didn't buy anything on steam because if i have to pay for something i rather have it with me, something i can say "Hey look that cost me XXX and i'm proud".

4. Is there a chance that this way of selling games will someday be standard, and the good old " buy disc+manual in a box on a store" will be gone? Or that, while both will ever coexist, some companies will favor Steam like services to the point of launching some games exclusively this way?

Many people still don't have internets and steam isn't only about online games.

 

[xdarkyrex]

My gripe with steam is that it is a bloated piece of software with poor functionality. It needs to completely remove the communication features of it and needs to instead offer pidgin with a plugin to work better with gaming, and also it needs to be better organized into a more intruitive interface with less clutter and more control over how it looks visually. And lastly, it needs a more open format that would allow it to make itself into a marketplace of sorts. Also, it needs to allow people to update of their own volition, and consume less bandwidth.

 

[myzko]

Steam is made of pure win, I can access my games fast anywhere anytime, and who needs manuals when you got teh internets?


I have bought many games on Steam, and I enjoy them LOTS.

I especially like that indepedant gaming companies can make a swift & easy release of their games, without the hassle of having some distributors at your throat, going on about how you should change your game (to make it more child friendly)
Or pushing you with a whip for a early release


With steam ...well you know that Steam is made of win, and so is Valve.


I often find out that those who dislike steam very much, are those that has not bought a single game on it, or used it very frequently (or just have a computer that can't run any of the new games, which is why they stick to playing Fallout & CS 1.6....) It's pure jealousy I tell you!

 

[Mord_Sith]

*points to earlier stuffs said*

I'm not going to repeat my reasons, but I can safely say that my issues with steam are not driven by jealousy, rather paranoia, and I'm proud of it!

 

[xdarkyrex]

Steam is made of pure win, I can access my games fast anywhere anytime, and who needs manuals when you got teh internets?


I have bought many games on Steam, and I enjoy them LOTS.

I especially like that indepedant gaming companies can make a swift & easy release of their games, without the hassle of having some distributors at your throat, going on about how you should change your game (to make it more child friendly)
Or pushing you with a whip for a early release


With steam ...well you know that Steam is made of win, and so is Valve.


I often find out that those who dislike steam very much, are those that has not bought a single game on it, or used it very frequently (or just have a computer that can't run any of the new games, which is why they stick to playing Fallout & CS 1.6....) It's pure jealousy I tell you!

It may be the only succesful thing of its kind, but it is really very poorly written. It is not a stable piece of software in many ways.

Many of the controls and buttons and features are counterintuitive. Steam is a good idea, but the actual software needs a ton of fucking work before I will use it again. It is more than possible to make a much slimmer and faster piece of software that can do everything useful that steam does.

 

[FeelTheRads]

I can access my games fast anywhere anytime

Yeah, and that's like so incredibly useful for.. I don't know... 99.9% of us who don't use a different computer in a different country every day.
Oh, wait... it's not.
Did you ever actually used this "feature" or are you just parroting Valve's PR bullshit like every other Steam drone out there?
And fast? Are you fucking kidding me? It's faster to download AND install dozens of gigabytes of games than just.. you know, installing them?
Plus, now games come in those fugly, but oh so convenient, DVD cases that don't take as much space and you can carry them around with you if the need would arise.
I don't think you need more than, let's say 2 games for any of your "trips", do you? And even if you do, again, conveniently DVDs are the same size as CDs and can be stuck in the same places: jewel cases, sleeves etc.

and who needs manuals when you got teh internets?

That's so stupid I won't even bother to debunk it.

I have bought many games on Steam, and I enjoy them LOTS.

By any chance you wouldn't have enjoyed them if they weren't from Steam? Does Steam make them better?


The only redeeming aspect I can see in Steam is that it's an easy way for independent companies to publish their games. Otherwise, it's a piece of utterly useless crap.

P.S. Change your avatar, please? It's neither funny nor respectful.
Hint: Use the one with Bethesda you had before and bash on Fallout 3. Fun guaranteed!

 

[Mord_Sith]

Did I miss a beat? what's disrespectful about his avatar? it's just the Troika games logo?

 

[Ashmo]

I often find out that those who dislike steam very much, are those that has not bought a single game on it, or used it very frequently

Oh, so you mean that those who hate it don't use it much?

...

I think you were trying to explain that they hate it because they never gave it a chance, but maybe you'd like to reconsider the causality you were trying to prove.

 

[myzko]

I can access my games fast anywhere anytime

Yeah, and that's like so incredibly useful for.. I don't know... 99.9% of us who don't use a different computer in a different country every day.
Oh, wait... it's not.
Did you ever actually used this "feature" or are you just parroting Valve's PR bullshit like every other Steam drone out there?
And fast? Are you fucking kidding me? It's faster to download AND install dozens of gigabytes of games than just.. you know, installing them?
Plus, now games come in those fugly, but oh so convenient, DVD cases that don't take as much space and you can carry them around with you if the need would arise.
I don't think you need more than, let's say 2 games for any of your "trips", do you? And even if you do, again, conveniently DVDs are the same size as CDs and can be stuck in the same places: jewel cases, sleeves etc.

and who needs manuals when you got teh internets?

That's so stupid I won't even bother to debunk it.

I have bought many games on Steam, and I enjoy them LOTS.

By any chance you wouldn't have enjoyed them if they weren't from Steam? Does Steam make them better?


The only redeeming aspect I can see in Steam is that it's an easy way for independent companies to publish their games. Otherwise, it's a piece of utterly useless crap.

P.S. Change your avatar, please? It's neither funny nor respectful.
Hint: Use the one with Bethesda you had before and bash on Fallout 3. Fun guaranteed!

Well, thing is, sure I may have bought them in a store, but .. you see, that would never have happened! I can't arse myself to go out and buy a game, I did that before, not anymore
I mean, I could go to a computer store without knowing what to buy, just to check what's in and then maybe buy something (That's how I got to buy Arcanum without any prior knowledge of it's existance!)


Now, I just ilegally download most mainstream games (oh my!), and sometimes when they have a REALLY GOOD online component that may or may not require frequent updates, I can arse myself to buy it (useally online)
That's really why Steam is so good for me, because I can buy these games easier..

The only thing that bothered me is when I switched to my laptop is that some neighbours had slow internet (which I connected to..) which resulted in some wait to get the games down that I wanted to play (Could always make a CD-backup..oh well)



I noticed someone said they where paranoid about Steam, yes, oh yes!.. Unless we wear tinfoil hats the IANA will spy on us and see everything we do on the Internets!




And about my Bethesda avatar, someone suggested I change it or he'd slit my throat unless I showed Bethesda credentials




(I would also like to say that I too hated Steam at first, and was mad at the fact I had to have a extra program just to run my fucking Counter-Strike, but those days are long past!)

 

[Deleted member 53669]

Let me just say this in neaderthal tounge for a simple explanation of STEAM.


Fast Computer = STEAM GOOD...


Slow Computer = STEAM BAD...

 

[Mord_Sith]

Funny because I enjoy going to the local EB and seeing what's in stock rather than search online for something...

 

[Tagaziel]

Yeah, and that's like so incredibly useful for.. I don't know... 99.9% of us who don't use a different computer in a different country every day.

I see you have polled the 13 milion Steam users and came up with this conclusion.

Oh wait... you didn't.

Did you ever actually used this "feature" or are you just parroting Valve's PR bullshit like every other Steam drone out there?

I used it, frequently. Downloading an up-to-date version of the game instead of installing and THEN downloading tons of updates is, for the lack of a better term, good.

And fast? Are you fucking kidding me? It's faster to download AND install dozens of gigabytes of games than just.. you know, installing them?

Bioshock Demo downloaded from game websites gave me c.a. 10 - 30 kb/s transfer.

Steam gave me 100 - 300 kb/s.

Do your math.

Plus, now games come in those fugly, but oh so convenient, DVD cases that don't take as much space and you can carry them around with you if the need would arise.

Yes, everyone has the bag of limitless holding like you do.

Would you like cheese with that whine?

I don't think you need more than, let's say 2 games for any of your "trips", do you? And even if you do, again, conveniently DVDs are the same size as CDs and can be stuck in the same places: jewel cases, sleeves etc.

I see you love juggling discs and wondering where you stuffed them.

That's so stupid I won't even bother to debunk it.

Let me clarify: you didn't debunk shit so far.

By any chance you wouldn't have enjoyed them if they weren't from Steam? Does Steam make them better?

Yes, up to date and more accessible.

The only redeeming aspect I can see in Steam is that it's an easy way for independent companies to publish their games. Otherwise, it's a piece of utterly useless crap.

Please stop failing.

P.S. Change your avatar, please? It's neither funny nor respectful.
Hint: Use the one with Bethesda you had before and bash on Fallout 3. Fun guaranteed!

I see you really want a strike. Corporate logos are reserved for devs.