Is Steam okay for you?

[Reyalsfeihc]

I don't think so. After all, when a user specifically connects to Steam to access offline mode, it likely sends the file needed specifically instead of all Steam general network traffic.

Yes, at which point the file would have already been created, and so usable in the future when off-line was needed.
And what about when the connection is lost suddenly while on-line, surely the file would be incomplete then, and so off-line mode wouldn't work?

Yep, in fact I've had problems with disconnects related to Steam that have caused BSOD's. But if you somehow lost internet connection there's a chance the file wouldn't work. I believe that Steam records user information while you're logged in (hence why you need to have auto-log in checked to get offline mode to work) which it compiles when you enter offline mode.

 

[SpaceBat]

On the other hand, compared to install limits and having to have an always on internet connection, steam is a pretty friendly method of DRM and all the bad parts of steam are entirely countered by the ability to download the game as many times as I want on as many PCs as I want, the cloud thing is handy, free space to store and share screenshots? name any other service that does that.

Those are the reasons why I love steam. It provides a lot of things that no one else does, is usually very cheap, has tons of regular discounts and is overall very helpful. But as you said, even if its a very light DRM, it is still DRM. If you become a victim of an account hi-jack or if Steam ever malfunctions or simply refuses to work on your PC for whatever reason (Have a friend that suffers from this. Has yet to find a solution), you can usually kiss your account/games goodbye. You never own the games and this is also the reason why I lost a couple of them (Activated CS on a very old account, became inactive for a long time, wanted to log back in only to find it was hijacked. So now I can't play a store-bought game because I can't get my hands on my old account due to a lack of assistance and the lack of a receipt.). I know it's absolutely necessary for such DRM and I am incredibly glad that it's so friendly, but I still hate DRM.

As for the whole offline mode - I have to say, I picked up my laptop, took it on holiday and got on steam offline mode no problem with no preparation whatsoever. So I don't know what troubles other people are having.

I've had some games give me the message that the game isn't available or ready for offline-mode gaming. I have no idea why that keeps happening.

But now that you mention offline mode, I also hate how Steam sometimes automatically updates your game the moment you go online, even if you specifically put a game into the "Do not automatically download updates" group. Seriously, it is a pain in the ass when you download an old game that doesn't support Windows 7 from steam and have to mod it in order to make it work, only for steam to put randomly turn on the update option and ruin your installation. It seems I'm not the only one who occasionally suffers from this either.

I would love for Steam to somehow upgrade their games to be windows 7 compatible, but I understand that it's not in their power to do so.

 

[Rad Party God]

Welcome to the 21st century, if you don't like it, play it on your console of choice. Or don't play it at all.

Serisouly though, Steam is brilliant, something I can't say about the travesty that is Origin. It has an offline mode, though it has it's excentricities, but it generally works like a charm. Having to register yourself to use Steam... well, that's a silly complaint, don't you think?.

 

[illas]

Critically, Steam is vastly superior to all it's competitors.

Furthermore, Valve are one of the few companies in gaming who have actually earned their users' trust through consistent high-quality releases, solid pricing strategies and cross-promotion, and excellent customer service.

When you then add in the friends list, screenshot/video sharing, community groups, and the knowledge that all I require to access my entire games collection is an internet connection... well, cased closed, for me.

 

[ntw3001]

I"m with you OP. Steam sucks.

I buy Civ V. To play it, I have to install it, register it with Steam, and then load up Steam every time I want to play it. Steam has to be up, even if in offline mode. It takes longer to load up than any other process on my PC, and I don't like waiting around for some bumbling piece of crap to load up something that should load on its own. I don't like that Steam forces you to update before playing, I don't like that it throws adds in your face every freaking time you close a game, so that if I'm testing out different settings that require me to close the game to take effect, I keep getting an add shoved in my face as I try to restart it, I hate the blooming overlay that glitches and pops up every time I alt tab (Well, that's a lie. Any time I press shift after alt tabbing back to the game. No, I am not holding down the tab key) back into a game. It is a useless service that should be 100% optional.

Now, for others, I understand it is a good place to digitally buy games cheap. As a service, there are others better (Hell, Origin Loads faster and has better connection speeds, and few of the games in my library require it).

It's been mentioned that you can disable both the ads and the overlay, but you can also disable the updates.

I like Steam for the same reasons as everyone else: It's a form of DRM that doesn't actively punish me, I like having my games tucked away in that little library rather than scattered around making a mess of my desktop, it gives me access to all sorts of indie games I'd never otherwise have played, and it has excellent sales. It did bug me that HL2 required an internet connection in 2005, but it's no longer an issue (although of course I can see thhat it would be for some people). It's true that I've had the occasional 'the Steam servers are tooo busy to handle your request', which is annoying, but it doesn't outweigh the fact that I also got Bioshock and Psychonauts for less than £5 btween them.

 

[Lunar Templar]

GFWL sucks, i've been playing games on it, lost connection and been booted out of the game, then there's the other issues i've had with the codes i got from them not working at first, the fact i have to register or i can't save on the single player in Batman: AA and so on.

Steam, doesn't give me these head aches, it dose what it's supposed to and doesn't get in the way of my gaming.

but if you don't like it, there's always Origin ....

 

[fenrizz]

I agree with you. Steam is definitely the best form of DRM out there, but it's still DRM. The store is good, I guess... but then you compare to, say, GOG.com - which has no DRM - and it starts to falter again.

And no, it doesn't have an offline mode. It does not count if you have to be online first.

You can connect in offline mode if you have some connection problems. Thus there is an offline mode. I have used this a lot and I have played numerous games form Steam on my laptop while not having an internet connection.

OT: Steam doesn't offer me any problems, it lets me play games without thinking about inserting a disc or getting a no CD crack in order to do so. I also get good download speed (11mb/s on record), decent deals though I can usually get games cheaper from online retailers. However Steam let's me communicate, play games, buy games, authenticate games, auto-install games let me copy paste product registration codes. It does what I like thus I like it.

Try telling that to my brother. His university blocks Steam. He can't play any of his games.

And that is the single greatest sin of DRM.

He could always get mobile broadband?
It's not very speedy compared to landlines but he will be able to browse and use steam.

 

[Woodsey]

"What I think? Why do I need a stable high speed internet connection, forced registration and membership to a site that I don't want, in order to play an offline SINGLE-PLAYER game that for my bad luck is linked with Steam?"

Steam has an offline mode, and your connection only needs to be on for the 30 seconds or so it takes to register the game on Steam.

And people like it compared to GfWL because, a) it works the vast majority of the time for most people, and b) it continues to add functionality for us, when we've still only had to sacrifice that one activation per game.

Don't like steam one bit. It annoys me that I have to face some pop-up box with commercials about games before I can actually just play a game I paid for!!! So that's the 'thanks' you get for your purchase "here, have some more of where that came from!!!".... yeah...>_<

You can turn that off in the settings menu. It took me 15 seconds of top-notch investigation to find that option.

 

[Yopaz]

I agree with you. Steam is definitely the best form of DRM out there, but it's still DRM. The store is good, I guess... but then you compare to, say, GOG.com - which has no DRM - and it starts to falter again.

And no, it doesn't have an offline mode. It does not count if you have to be online first.

You can connect in offline mode if you have some connection problems. Thus there is an offline mode. I have used this a lot and I have played numerous games form Steam on my laptop while not having an internet connection.

OT: Steam doesn't offer me any problems, it lets me play games without thinking about inserting a disc or getting a no CD crack in order to do so. I also get good download speed (11mb/s on record), decent deals though I can usually get games cheaper from online retailers. However Steam let's me communicate, play games, buy games, authenticate games, auto-install games let me copy paste product registration codes. It does what I like thus I like it.

Try telling that to my brother. His university blocks Steam. He can't play any of his games.

And that is the single greatest sin of DRM.

I have had the same problem when I tried playing games when I was in school. I simply disconnected the internet connection completely then I was able to log in to offline mode. If I tried to log in while I was connected to the internet the school network would restrict me from it. It might require that he goes online at some point for verification though. I can't tell for sure since that never was an issue for me.

 

[Risingblade]

The only thing I hate about steam is that if my internet goes down I can't play any of my games. It doesn't let you change to offline mode unless your online first

 

[Polarni]

As someone who lives in a country where PC games are ridicously over-priced, I would have to say that Steam is amazing.
Most of the games in the retail store cost somewhere around 50?, while those same games cost around 37.5? on Steam.

So yeah, I think Steam is kind of a blessing for us in the second-world countries.

 

[BishopofAges]

3 pages and 12+ hours since first post and not a single reply from the OP. Me thinks he threw down a topic with no intention of discussing it or the first reply shut his pie-hole quickly enough.

OT: I like steam, it's neat, and I have to admit that the whole connection vs offline mode thing is pretty moot at this point, and buying online isn't so different for us old folks who bought computer games physically and had to register them to get all the updates and junk.

However, I hate GFWL, it's update process for both it and the game I am trying to play is so slow and shows me almost no progess, as if it expects me just to get up and leave my computer going 'Oh well, I guess I'll come back in an hour...' If it just got more user friendly I wouldn't mind it so much.

 

[Dandark]

It's because steam has treated most gamers well and been more positive than negative. Most PC gamers have grown accustomed to steam and will trust and support it(Me included).

 

[Evill_Bob]

Steam has good points and bad points. As a modder, no hacking mods for online, more like adding user made content like new characters and only modifing gameplay if it does not effect online mod (you'd be surprised how many console gamers I have to explain that to), Steam usually gives you a great service. Corrupted file and you forgot to back up this critical file? Delete it! Steam will automatically replace it next time you try to play the game. Also phsyical copies only exist for me on Steam as a way to prove ownership of my account if ever hacked. The CD's for Fallout New Vegas, The Orange Box, and a handful of other games have not left the case since I installed them the first time. Never have to worry ever again about a disk getting scrached, all that is important is the code and since that is already tied to my account all that matters is at least one code for a game survives. And as far as DRM is concerned Steam's is much less sadistic than others *cough* Maxis, Ubisoft *cough*. I remember that virus that disabled CD drives that was supposed to a anti-piracy program that automatically installed on some games from the 90s, Steam is by far not the worst step taken in anti-piracy especially since Gabe Newell himself said that piracy can be fought by giving a better service than the pirates. And great games often go on sale or go free to play for a weekend giving you two days to play the full game, not a demo, as it would be if you had bought it (not all games mind you, like the ones you could milk for all their content in a weekend). And unlike Games for Windows Live the games are not as restricted allowing more freedom from small things like custom emblems that appear on your character/army to major things mods (you had to break Windows Live to mod Fallout 3, but then again the Steam version was a bigger *****). Now on to the bad notes:

Steam, as far as I know, CANNOT be started in online mode if your internet suddenly and unexpectedly craps out. This has angered me more than once, though it doesn't happen often when it does happen it is infuriating. Also not all games can be modded on Steam, even if their non-Steam version was completely moddable. Sometimes they fix this but a lot of times they don't. Bethesda (for a short time) and Lucas Arts have been some of the worst offenders. Either most mods didn't work (due to encription in the .exe file that was illegal to change) or the game was completely incompatable with mods.

In the end people disagree on Steam because they prefer different services. Some like the features Steam brings, others hate the limitations you must put up with to enjoy those features.

 

[CCountZero]

And no, it doesn't have an offline mode. It does not count if you have to be online first.

I don't.

If I try to log into Steam in on-line mode, and it can't find a connection, it asks me if I want to exit, or restart it in off-line mode.

Once in off-line mode, if I shut it down, it'll start off-line the next time I run it.

I know there's an option somewhere to toggle that on and off, because having off-line mode requires it to store some details on the PC being used, which means you don't want that function on public PCs.

As for me, I like their sales, but their release-day prices are bullshit. I haven't bought a game off Steam on release day for a long time, and I only ever do it when there's no other option.

Most of the games still want to attach themselves to my Steam account once I've bought them from Direct2Drive or somewhere else anyway.

Hell, in Denmark, Europe, ordering a physical copy is often cheaper than Steam.

All that said though, I like Steam for what it is. Not perfect, but certainly the best option I've seen so far, and as has been said by others, the benefits greatly outweigh their, to me, 100% unobtrusive form of DRM.

 

[OneOfTheMichael's]

I have a steam account just never used it for anything but downloading bought in store games.
I mostly use the x-box for gaming.

 

[TehCookie]

Steam is the best for what it does, but I still hate for what it does. I want to play my fucking games with no internet connection! I bought a hard copy of Portal 2 but couldn't install it because my internet was down. I BOUGHT THE GODDAMN PHYSICAL GAME NOW LET ME PLAY IT YOU PIECE OF SHIT! It's not even like I could pirate it or download a hack because I had no internet! Not to mention it's now a pain in the ass to lend friends games. You can't just give them the game, you have to give them your username and password, and I keep forgetting my steam password since it's some generic thing I can tell everyone. You still have to give them the CDs since it takes forever to download them. Then they added that horrible key shit in there that just adds another step. If they think making it harder to share games will make people stop, it's just going to make people pirate them since it's easier than doing it the legal way. Oh and if you want to sign on the steam site you have to do the same bullshit. During the December wishlist thing I couldn't log in from my phone because of that tripe. Also I better damn well be able to play the game I bought 10 years from now or I will sue someone.

I bought a few games through steam and it made me support piracy. I never did anything of the sort until I had to deal with that shit.

 

[SUPA FRANKY]

What I like about Steam

The Deals
All of my games are in one place to be played whenever I feel like
The deals
The Trading is easy and hassle free
The Deals
The Deals
The Deals
They have a wide variety of games, when I previously thought all PC games were wither porn or strategy games
and finally, THE DEALS

Steam is the main reason why I want to build a gaming computer ( Besides college next year).

The downside
The customer service is shit ( Seriousley, screw you Yoshi. It took me like a Week and a half just to change an the email account on my brother's account. All of this was because he took so damn long to reply.

After that, its nirvana.

 

[Alssadar]

I do like Steam, as it is a reliable and maneuverable service that provides connectivity and a base platform while additionally providing sales and game storage. (Providing that the rise in PC gaming stays, as well as Steam staying operational) It's great having a bunch of games I can play/want to play without having to scrimmage around for some disk.
I've got at least 5 games that I can't run now, but got them all sale for 75% off--an endeavor Steam will help me await in the coming years.

Random question: If steam servers do get shut down (AKA, Valve's cash flow from hats is stopped), what would happen? Would we be refunded for our purchases or would they try and find a way to keep our accounts available?

 

[brainslurper]

In my opinion, we must stop a gaben, by taking control, and pressing the gaben.