A question about Steam

[KitAlexHarrison]

If you purchase a hard copy of a game that is available on Steam, you will also enter the disc's product key into Steam, assigning that game permanently to your Steam account. From then on, as far as Steam is concerned, you own The Orange Box, and you can use any game disc as many times as you like to "accelerate" the game installation process by (obviously) bypassing the download process. If that doesn't work, log into your Steam account there and install your games from disc on his computer - then he will have the locked files on his account when he logs in and can buy the Orange Box from the Steam Store to gain access.

However, any updates (and, in the case of The Orange Box, there'll be a lot) will still have to download and install - and he won't be allowed to play Team Fortress 2, for example, until Steam's done.

 

[KitAlexHarrison]

Alternatively, your mate may just have to put up with having to leave his PC on overnight. I had to do it with mine and I continue to constantly reap the rewards with the Orange Box games.

 

[Outright Villainy]

-Snip-

But what happens when I put in my disc is it shows the splash screen, then the install option, which I click on, and it takes me straight to the "enter your CD key" page. What to do...

Hmm, really? Well I was able to reinstall it like that on a different computer using my account, and I didn't use the key.
At least I think I didn't... Well certainly, if you use the same key again, it'd be on your account on his computer. Log out and sign in as him and you should be okay then.

 

[Irridium]

Yeah. Sign onto his Steam profile, buy it so its linked to him, sign out and sign into your profile, and install using the disks.

Thats what I did for my brother.

Oh, but you'll still need to download the updates.

Sorry to be annoying, but could you go into a bit more detail? Why do I need to go back into my profile?

If you installed using the disks on your profile, the activation key is now tied to you, and can only be activated on your profile.

But if I install it using my key on his computer, does he not have to use my account?

Not at all.

If he buys it off Steam, he'll have to download it. But you can still install it from the disks using your profile and shave off some downloading time.

After he buys it and you install it using the disks, just sign back into his profile, right click on the games installed, for example lets say Team Fortress 2, right click, choose "properties", click the "local files" tab, and choose "verify integrity of game cache".

It should check through the Steam files, see you already have a chunk of the games installed, and just download the updates instead of all the games + the updates.

 

[Flying-Emu]

I think that if his internet is really that bad, he has no business playing an online only game.

The Orange Box is over 20 GB of data. Figure you download at a VERY low DSL speed of about 500 kb/s, and it's perfectly reasonable for it to take and I quote "days" to install. And you can play online games on a 500 kb/s connection: I played World of Warcraft and CS 1.6 for years on a dial-up.

 

[Mister Awesome]

i know what you mean, my games on steam usually download around 100 kb/s

i think you might as well buy it on steam, because your going to end up taking longer finding it in stores anyway. and if you order it anywhere else online its gonna take a few days to come in.

 

[DoctorWhat]

Not at all.

If he buys it off Steam, he'll have to download it. But you can still install it from the disks using your profile and shave off some downloading time.

After he buys it and you install it using the disks, just sign back into his profile, right click on the games installed, for example lets say Team Fortress 2, right click, choose "properties", click the "local files" tab, and choose "verify integrity of game cache".

It should check through the Steam files, see you already have a chunk of the games installed, and just download the updates instead of all the games + the updates.

That's brilliant. I'll go tell him the good news. Thanks a million.

 

[Hiphophippo]

Not sure, I got banned... for no reason.

There is always a reason. You just don't know the reason and apparently haven't bothered taking the steps to figure it out.

 

[TimeLord]

Even if you buy the game in disc form it still requires installation and update downloads via Steam.

Same thing happens if you buy Dawn Of War 2 on disc

 

[Hiphophippo]

Not sure, I got banned... for no reason.

There is always a reason. You just don't know the reason and apparently haven't bothered taking the steps to figure it out.

All it said was that my account was disabled, and I am sick of arguing about this.

Listen, I'm not arguing with you, but you're aware you go find out why, right? It could have been a clerical error or something you could appeal and get your games back.