Is Steam okay for you?
- Thread starter Rheinmetall
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Steam is good... once you put it in the same category as facebook, google or twitter. It's a service that helps you keep your game collection in an orderly fashion, meet other players and play with them, get pretty much the best customer support via their game specific forums, and install and uninstall without dvds involved. Not to mention pretty good deals on recent and not so recent games. All you have to give to it is a permanent internet connection.
Not a bad trade, in my opinion.
Not a bad trade, in my opinion.
I really like Steam. Sure, when I first heard that I had to use it to play css and hl2 years ago, I reacted like this: "Why do I have to use shitty program to play games?! WTH I hate Valve!" but that that was before I had even used it. Granted, it wasn't really good at the beginning but Valve has learned over the years and I've learned to love it.
Now, I'm always online on Steam when I'm on my PC. I even start games through Steam which don't require it because of the chat and browser. I'm sure it has helped PC gaming in the last few years, especially indie games. I've got some indie games on my Steam library which I wouldn't have known that they exist without Steam.
It just makes my gaming life easier with the automated patches and convenience, and the low prices, friends etc. And Valve is constantly adding stuff and trying to make it better even though they're the clear leader in the digital distribution market.
I've read many horror stories about Steam here, maybe I'm lucky but I've never had any real problems with Steam and neither have my friends. The few small problems I've had, like erroneously downloading the censored version of a game, had been resolved quickly with the help of Steamsupport.
So yeah, Steam is more than okay for me.
Now, I'm always online on Steam when I'm on my PC. I even start games through Steam which don't require it because of the chat and browser. I'm sure it has helped PC gaming in the last few years, especially indie games. I've got some indie games on my Steam library which I wouldn't have known that they exist without Steam.
It just makes my gaming life easier with the automated patches and convenience, and the low prices, friends etc. And Valve is constantly adding stuff and trying to make it better even though they're the clear leader in the digital distribution market.
I've read many horror stories about Steam here, maybe I'm lucky but I've never had any real problems with Steam and neither have my friends. The few small problems I've had, like erroneously downloading the censored version of a game, had been resolved quickly with the help of Steamsupport.
So yeah, Steam is more than okay for me.
Steam is not perfect, but it strikes a fantastic balance between customer convenience and publisher security. You need to go online to register your game before playing - a definite annoyance - and the service needs to run whilst the game is played - not so much an issue, really - and both these things are more than GoG asks of its customers. However, these things allow Steam to guarantee its publishers security and a strong, well publicised market place. Think of all the indie games that have benefited from Steam, from the security and convenience it provides. Now try to think of all those who have benefited from any of the rival services.Rheinmetall said:
Shamus' article slamming Origin was spot on in that these other services aren't stumbling around in the empty black, like the Steam of HL1 years was, able to get away with being obnoxious and slow simply because there wasn't anything else to compare with; Steam is here, it offers the best consistent service, the most ridiculous sales and a huge variety of convenient choice to its customers. When you compare it to the competition - GfWL and Origin, you realise just how well it works as a cohesive package. GoG and D2D I must confess to not having as much knowledge of, but as a publisher the security that Steam's DRM offers - security that it largely unobtrusive and accepted by the community - I imagine would make the service a very attractive choice when thinking how best to protect their product.
I believe that they are on record promising that in the event of Steam being shut down they had patches ready for their programs (Maybe only Valve-published ones) that removed the Steam DRM. I know that I've read it, though of course you have to hope that they remember that they wrote it, hehcursedseishi said:
I like Steam, heck i LOVE steam. You can get pretty solid deals, you can organise your game library well, you can interact easily with the community back and forth, and even sometimes with the moderators (wich is awesome for me when that happens).
The thing that i hate is that you NEED a internet connection and beeing logged on Steam to play some of your games, wich at times i'm away from internet (on trips or so), it kinda sucks and im left with nothing to do in the dull moments (so i pack my old ps2 and it's classic games xD).
But the engine itself works, it's user-friendly, i got so many friends and fun moments through that, i could build/ play with other people (garrys mod, and half-life2 mods), and get so many sweet deals (for games i ended not yet playing... i bought far more then i needed xD).
So yeah. I like Steam
The thing that i hate is that you NEED a internet connection and beeing logged on Steam to play some of your games, wich at times i'm away from internet (on trips or so), it kinda sucks and im left with nothing to do in the dull moments (so i pack my old ps2 and it's classic games xD).
But the engine itself works, it's user-friendly, i got so many friends and fun moments through that, i could build/ play with other people (garrys mod, and half-life2 mods), and get so many sweet deals (for games i ended not yet playing... i bought far more then i needed xD).
So yeah. I like Steam
The reason people disagree with you is probably because you're wrong about some things. You don't need an internet connection to play a singleplayer game. Hell, you don't need one to play a lot of multiplayer games as well. I've always thought LAN play would work rather fine. It's called offline mode, it fixes that problem.
Regarding your comparison to GFWL, you're not taking into account what makes Steam better than GFWL. Namely, awesome prices, insane sales, Mac compatibility and a tonne of indie games.
Regarding your comparison to GFWL, you're not taking into account what makes Steam better than GFWL. Namely, awesome prices, insane sales, Mac compatibility and a tonne of indie games.
i like owning hard copys of games, i actually owning a copy of a game instead of a license to download one, i like having to hunt down patches (im not joking i find this fun), i like being able to use fan patches for old games, i like not being forced to have an account to just play a single player game aka i dislike steam.
I mean seriously come on now who wouldnt prefer to have a huge collection of games just sitting in the corner of there room. I know its impractical when it could be done digitally, but it just doesnt seem the same to me, it just feels somewhat hollow just seeing a line of text instead of a cool looking box with awesome artwork on the front, but then again i miss the big boxed games.
I do see the appeal but....
I mean seriously come on now who wouldnt prefer to have a huge collection of games just sitting in the corner of there room. I know its impractical when it could be done digitally, but it just doesnt seem the same to me, it just feels somewhat hollow just seeing a line of text instead of a cool looking box with awesome artwork on the front, but then again i miss the big boxed games.
I do see the appeal but....
Yay!, someone else on the escapist whose internet isn't a temperamental thingFarleShadow said:
OT: I actually Quite enjoy steam, It keeps all my games together without cluttering up my desktop and also updates them in the background
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I fulfill all the recommended specs, have it running on the time, and fought Offline Mode into submission. It's great.
Not as mind-blowing as GOG, but still great.
Not as mind-blowing as GOG, but still great.
Overall I like Steam. There are some niggling issues in the back of my mind... what if Valve goes belly up? I don't really own these games, what's preventing them from cutting me off?
But, really, I've discovered way more PC games, be they AAA or indie titles because of Steam. Most of the games on my account were 5-10 bucks, which is just awesome. Overall, Steam nets a positive experience for me.
I have but one major complaint about Steam: The interface itself is a buggy mess.
But, really, I've discovered way more PC games, be they AAA or indie titles because of Steam. Most of the games on my account were 5-10 bucks, which is just awesome. Overall, Steam nets a positive experience for me.
I have but one major complaint about Steam: The interface itself is a buggy mess.
Can't tell if it was on purpose, but this line combined with your avatar made me laugh for awhile.Acrisius said:
The fact that that would be even more of an inconvenience every time I want to play a game that isn't on Steam, as I shut down all processes not in use. Clears up my task bar a lot. I don't want to have to open task manager and kill every process as my PC loads up.Angry Juju said:
I don't use an Xbox. If you refer to games linked to GFWL, that is another stupid service that gets on my nerves. Many good games give you the option to update, but you don't have to to play.
I define a large window popping up every time I close a game as throwing them at me. I have been informed I can turn it off, why is it not off by default?
It is glitching. Press alt tab, go into game. release alt tab. Five minutes later need to press shift to sprint or do something or other, Steam overlay pops up. I have pressed numerous buttons in the meantime that, if either alt or tab were down, would have activated hotkeys in windows or in the game. Nothing. Steam overlay, however, will pop up the moment I hit shift.
I do get why some people like Steam. It is not a practical program for me, and just gets in the way.
I find that, for the most part, the best Steam offers is extra hoops to jump through, and less access to the game content I bought and own.
I am, realistically, a pc gamer through and through, but Steam enrages me.
I prefer physical copies in the first place, and just cannot see the apparent shining appeal of having to have access to an internet connection to use the games that, by rights, I should be able to play without all the hassle.
An added element of this is that I don't play online games with people I don't know, so I find virtually no use for Steam beyond a chat system to speak with my friends.
Nigh all the games I possess on Steam are single-player, and those few that have I multi-play I only play with friends.
Not to mention that, to access a Steam game, Steam needs to be open, and running the whole time.
Personally, I don't see the point, and miss the tried-and-true CD Key system.
Essentially, Steam is a waste of time. There. I said it.
IF you want to play online shooters like TF2, I see no reason that you can't join a server yourself, like the old days, without 'online stores' like Steam holding your hand.
I am, realistically, a pc gamer through and through, but Steam enrages me.
I prefer physical copies in the first place, and just cannot see the apparent shining appeal of having to have access to an internet connection to use the games that, by rights, I should be able to play without all the hassle.
An added element of this is that I don't play online games with people I don't know, so I find virtually no use for Steam beyond a chat system to speak with my friends.
Nigh all the games I possess on Steam are single-player, and those few that have I multi-play I only play with friends.
Not to mention that, to access a Steam game, Steam needs to be open, and running the whole time.
Personally, I don't see the point, and miss the tried-and-true CD Key system.
Essentially, Steam is a waste of time. There. I said it.
IF you want to play online shooters like TF2, I see no reason that you can't join a server yourself, like the old days, without 'online stores' like Steam holding your hand.
Now THAT is annoying, I haven't hit any with w7 compatability issues yet however I do occasionally use a mobile internet connection on my laptop. Always good to use half your months allowance in a day before you realise steam is downloading updates.SpaceBat said:
Steam is great.
sure it's not perfect but over the years Valve has build up enough goodwill with me so i am not too bothered by the shortcomings.
besides most of the stuff that annoyed me can be turned off, like the auto-updating, the ads on quitting it has a working offline mode.
sure it's not perfect but over the years Valve has build up enough goodwill with me so i am not too bothered by the shortcomings.
besides most of the stuff that annoyed me can be turned off, like the auto-updating, the ads on quitting it has a working offline mode.
