Is Steam okay for you?

[Maze1125]

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?

Er... Perhaps because they want you to see the ads...
The fact you can turn them off at all is incredible, I don't know of any other service that does that. Whenever I go to GOG.com, for example, they give me ads about their games, and I can't switch those off, and on the Escapist, I have to pay if I want to turn the ads off.

 

[ReinWeisserRitter]

I don't like it, but I tolerate it more than I used to. Otherwise I find it's not terribly user friendly and features a few baffling design decisions. It also features some appreciated ones, though, like the gifting and chat functions; not having to alt-tab out of supported games is very convenient. I also found the fact that you can add non-Steam games to your game list cute, and depending on how they were developed, they too can be used with the Shift+Tab chat function.

 

[Aprilgold]

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.

Want to know why? To stop people from logging on as anyone they want, the online mode is there so that you can log in, and is to stop people from accessing your account on another computer. If I want to log in as my friend, then I can do so from a different computer, however, they will verify that you want to use Steam on another computer VIA E-mail. Its a form of DRM for your account to keep your account safe. However, it will some...

What's with all these people saying you have to be online to go into offline mode? My internet had a little hiccup when I turned the computer on and then Steam popped up with a failed to connect message and gave me the option of either retrying the connection or starting in offline mode.

This is true also. As I was saying, Steam will allow you to go into Offline mode if you can't connect to the internet, it may have something to do with having it used on the same computer.

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 them off in the options. It says right there. In fact, it only ads you AFTER you start and exit a game. And only once per session. "HOLY SHIT, ITS SHOVING IT DOWN MY THROAT ONCE THEREFORE THE SERVICE IS BAD!" Is what you sound like to me.


Steam is the single handed leader of Digital Distribution because it is a very good service, and gives the user plenty of options on things within the service. Quite honestly, if you hate it because you can't play offline, then why in the hell are you downloading games for a service that requires you to download the games before play. You can also go into the Steam folder and click on a file named after the game and you can usually find a way to boot the game through that.

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.

You have the right to think what you want, I'm not here to shove my opinion down your throat, but I feel like your argument is weak as hell. You can mainly start many games through the Steam folder, I know that I've done so with things like Left 4 Dead before.

Next, having a plastic disk that has a chance of breaking is the appeal of not having a disk. If I buy a game through Steam, it will forever be bound to my account, and can't really break until the service itself is dead.

So, on your TF2 thing. I'd like to point out that is the whole point of multiplayer, playing with others. Either friends or strangers. Then you must hate Shooters in general because lets face it, if you want a full game on certain ones, you need a total of 60 friends to play with for a full lobby, in some.

I'd also like to ask, if your disk breaks, what do you do, you go buy another? Don't you. Unless you catalogue and store all of your receipts in one place, even then that only gets you so far. Online Stores being more convenient is no the same as holding your hand. Thats like saying Fast Food joints are stupid because they get you your food in under 5 minutes. Its really the same concept at works, are fast food joints holding peoples hands because it is faster then waiting 2 hours at a restaurant to get your food?

3. It doesn't throw the ads at you.

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?

4. It's not glitching, you're just pressing shift, alt and tab at the same time for some reason.

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.

On number three. They have to have money to hire and support employee's. Thats the reason you have ads popping up, and for the sake of simplicity, it only appears once. Throwing them at you would be forcing them to appear every single time you exit and start a game.

On four. You can change the hot keys, so if your bothered because you'd rather have the system automatically know you and your preferences that it possibly can not know until you tell it, then why not be mad at your computer for not realizing that you wanted to press M instead of N. Its a program, not a mind reader.

 

[Maze1125]

My problem with it is that it is DRM.

Then you're not thinking rationally.
DRM is just Digital Rights Managment. It could be any digital method that a publisher uses to ensure people do not misuse the software licence. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that concept, a perfect DRM method would stop all piracy without inconveniencing legitimate customers in any way, and such DRM would be 100% a good thing, unless you were a pirate.

The problems with DRM today, is not that they're DRM, but that the methods most of them use do inconvenience legitimate customers. If DRM doesn't inconvenience customers, or provides advantages that compensate for any inconvenience, then that DRM is good, not bad.

Now, you may personally believe that the advantages of Steam fail to outweigh the inconveniences, but that just means that you have an issue with the way that particular DRM works, not that you have an issue with the fact it is DRM.

Edit: Unless you're a pirate of course, then I could certainly see why you'd have an issue with it simply being DRM.

 

[Alma Mare]

While I have given Steam money for a handful of cheap games here and there (Torchlight for 9 bucks for example) if I'm spending more than 10 bucks on a game it won't be on Steam. I have this weird quirk where I insist on actually OWNING games I pay any meaningful amount for. Say what you will about Steam but you no more own those games in your account than you do the fucking moon.

Pretty much how I feel about it. I love steam for what it does and it's awesome for getting indie games. For the the big, +40EUR investments I can't bring myself to do it on steam. Specially because euro costumers can get a better deal for a boxed version on amazon without it being tied to a potential volatile account.

 

[The Name's Bond]

I think Steam is good, but I have to point out that it has major flaws that make me at times drill holes in my forehead to help cool of my brain from the sheer annoyance of it. Yes it is brilliant with helping me bundle up and not have to worry about CD's boxes or security keys, but I find that even on my really powerful computer, it crashes and fails and I have to validate the cache files every week to make the games actually work. I think it works so much better that Origin, who believes that the best way for me to play my game is to go through the program, then a we browser, the search for servers, the connect to the servers, go get Origin a grilled cheese sandwich, then stand in line 32 and file pout form 95b and mail 95B then mail it to my nearest EA outlet and after 4-6 weeks finally play my game, hopefully they'll fix this. Wait....what was I talking about?

 

[Jack_Uzi]

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 them off in the options. It says right there. In fact, it only ads you AFTER you start and exit a game. And only once per session. "HOLY SHIT, ITS SHOVING IT DOWN MY THROAT ONCE THEREFORE THE SERVICE IS BAD!" Is what you sound like to me.


Steam is the single handed leader of Digital Distribution because it is a very good service, and gives the user plenty of options on things within the service. Quite honestly, if you hate it because you can't play offline, then why in the hell are you downloading games for a service that requires you to download the games before play. You can also go into the Steam folder and click on a file named after the game and you can usually find a way to boot the game through that.

First of, sir, I HAVE NOT, I repaet, HAVE NOT complained about their 'services' provided for my ownd damned bought game... (DID I NAG AGAIN?!) Second, what you sound like to me is offensive, I do not like that one bit. But you just go and do whatever it is you do when no one is around you and steam and I'll be on my marry way too.

*Edit: like you said yourself, the commercials won't leave you alone so... that renders the intent of 'turning them off' obsolete.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Minor inconviences countered by fantastic deals and a relatively pain-free user experience?

Yeah I know which side of the fence I'm on. I really don't know why people are complaining Steam has to run in one way or another to play a game.

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

I wondered whether this was true, so I closed Steam, closed my internet connection and tried to log in. It gave me an offline option straight away, so I'm not sure what you're talking about.

 

[Rheinmetall]

snip

Steam has an offline mode. I have internet that is usually about 3mbps, but goes as low as 30kbps. Yet, downloading a game from Steam takes a much shorter amount of time then ordering one online, and there aren't any gaming stores nearby.

I never managed to play a game without first connecting to my Steam account, which does require to have internet connection. So without internet, no game (that i paid for). My other problem is the deception on the cover box. It reads: "Internet connection is required to activate the game". That's a fat lie from Steam. You need internet connection to both activate your game AND play it.

 

[Rheinmetall]

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

YOU. FUCKING. DON'T.

Jesus christ how many times do we have to say this before it gets through to you Steam naysayers?

Anyway, for me on all the other points, it's my personal preference, Valve have a track history of releasing decent to great games, they treat their customers with a bit of dignity and respect and they run ridiculously good sales and events and the developers who put their products on Steam get a better cut on the profits than they would with anyone else.

Please explain to me, without using strong language and insulting me, how can I play a game without internet connection, since every time that I start the game I must first connect to my Steam account?

 

[KiloFox]

only thing i dislike about Steam: Steam-game disks... seriously my mate ordered Skyrim (at Gamestop) for his PC and EXPECTED it to be like Oblivion... all the data on the disk. Skyrim has absolutely no need to be connected to Online (other than patches but you can download those yourself) yet the Skyrim DISK only had a voucher for it for free on Steam. my mate didn't buy the disk for a digital copy! he wanted a hard copy! and I can't help but imagine that somewhere there's some poor gamer who bought the Steam-Disk for Skyrim thinking it was a hard copy who dosn't have internet and now can't play the game he rightfully paid for because there are no hard PC copies of Skyrim, and he (or she) happens to not have access to the internet. or really slow internet... granted it says it's a Steam-disk on the box, but if you've never seen said box (pre-order) you don't know that

 

[Murahk]

I agree with OP entirely.
Sure, Steam has its place in the world. If you want to use the product because it works for you, then be my guest. But I personally think it's just a disguised way of gaining more control over people on the internet.
I don't inherently hate Steam, but what I do hate is when Steam becomes a necessity. I shouldn't NEED Steam for any game that isn't made by Valve under any circumstances.
Steam fans often cite all the benefits that come with Steam and claim that it's a good compromise for DRM. What bullshit is this?!
I don't WANT the benefits that Steam provides. I don't want this huge network of all my friends, games, saves and achievements. Screw all that, crap! Just give me my game!
And the DRM compromise? This extends far beyond Steam, but just stop with the DRM... "Yeah, let's create an exclusive club with mediocre benefits and massive obstacles to get in and charge them for it! Let's put it right next to that non-exclusive club that has no obstacles and is entirely free."
I pay for all my games and I feel ripped off for it. I pay for every game that I want and I have to jump through freaking hurdles to play it! My friends pirate every game they want and they get a highly superior product. DRM DOESN'T WORK! So just stop...

 

[zumbledum]

for me steam is just great, none of the issues with it are a problem for me , my pc is always on and always connected anyway, i find its friend list useful and the sales keep me stocked int op quality games to play infact looking down my list ive got about a dozen i havent even got around to yet.

i wouldnt have a quarter of the library i do if it werent for steam so how can i not love it.

i can understand people not liking buying a licence rather than actual product but heck i have bought hard copies of games and lost/destroyed the discs since i got steam less of an issue for those tidy/organised folks i guess but for me licence lasts longer than physcal anyway

 

[Da Orky Man]

snip

Steam has an offline mode. I have internet that is usually about 3mbps, but goes as low as 30kbps. Yet, downloading a game from Steam takes a much shorter amount of time then ordering one online, and there aren't any gaming stores nearby.

I never managed to play a game without first connecting to my Steam account, which does require to have internet connection. So without internet, no game (that i paid for). My other problem is the deception on the cover box. It reads: "Internet connection is required to activate the game". That's a fat lie from Steam. You need internet connection to both activate your game AND play it.

You sure? My netbook runs Steam fine with no problem when there's no internet. It worked fine when I was in Ireland for a fortnight, despite never connecting to the internet. I could still play everything.

 

[Duskflamer]

1) For a company that is so big...

I hope you're just talking in terms of Steam turning a huge profit, because in terms of employees, Valve is a rather small company. this interview [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/226723/interviews/valves-chet-faliszek-part-2/?page=3] from 2009 indicates that, at the time, 250 people worked for Valve. In the United States, a "small business" is partly defined by having fewer than 500 employees.

Compare that to what you'd normally think of as a big company, for sake of extremes let's go with EA. I couldn't find any exact figures of how many people work for EA, but this article [http://news.cnet.com/8301-10797_3-10155854-235.html], also from 2009, suggests that, at the time, 1,100 was 11% of their workforce, meaning there were a good 10,000 people working for them.

It can be easy to overlook this fact given how popular and successful Steam is, but Valve is nowhere near being a big company.

2) They sell products that don't work and they don't accept returns. This is a problem especially with older games, steam throws them up for sale in a bundle and whatnot, lo and behold they don't work with anything besides windows XP.

In what area do you live where a retail store will allow you to return a PC game? Where I live, no brick-and-mortar retail store will allow you to return PC games for various reasons. (they can't check if you used the CD key, fear that you just downloaded everything you need for he game and want to screw them out of a sale, etc.) As such, you're just as out of luck if you want to return a PC game that doesn't work to a physical store as you are with Steam.

Protip: if the OS you're using isn't listed in the game's system requirements (be that Vista, 7, whatever), be prepared for the possibility that it won't work. Also, if you're using 7, be aware of the compatibility mode feature that can sometimes allow you to play older games that don't work right away.

 

[Maze1125]

Please explain to me, without using strong language and insulting me, how can I play a game without internet connection, since every time that I start the game I must first connect to my Steam account?

Top left corner:
Steam -> Go Offline...

 

[Maze1125]

I shouldn't NEED Steam for any game that isn't made by Valve under any circumstances.

Why does Valve get a free pass?
Just because they own the system, doesn't mean they're required to make every game they make require the system. Valve are just as capable of making both a Steam version and a non-steam version as any other company is.

Valve make Steam exclusive games because there are many benefits to the company in having their games require Steam, that is the exact same reason the other developers and publishers make Steam exclusive games.

Either it's okay for anyone to exploit Steam exclusivity, or Valve are just as wrong in doing so.

 

[Duskflamer]

Please explain to me, without using strong language and insulting me, how can I play a game without internet connection, since every time that I start the game I must first connect to my Steam account?

Top left corner:
Steam -> Go Offline...

*facepalm* Dude, you only get that far if you're connected normally or already in offline mode.

When you log into Steam, make sure that you have it checked to remember your info. If you never get a login screen when you start up Steam, you have this covered.

Just to be sure, go into Steam settings and make sure that "Don't save account credentials to this computer" is NOT checked.

If all this is done, then if you start up Steam in a situation where your computer does not have internet connection, you should get a popup window with choices "go offline" or "quit"

 

[NoNameMcgee]

I've been with Steam since near the beginning (signed up the day Half-Life 2 was released, 16th November 2004) and for a long time I hated it. It was an intrusive, buggy, pointless piece of crap software. I actually went as far as to download a pirated version of Half-Life 2, even when I already owned the game, JUST so I could play it without Steam. That's how much I hated it.

Since then, they've somehow turned something that I considered the worst decision Valve could have made, into the best thing they have ever made, something incredible with some amazing benefits to anyone using it. I never thought that I would have bought 283 games over Steam over the next 7 years, but somehow it happened.

All the problems you listed are fixed by simply messing around in the options. There are very few remaining bugs with steam, besides a few regular ones I get (which to be honest really should have been ironed out by now) but I think I'm just unlucky in that regard, and they're nothing serious.

Anyone clinging to the "its DRM, I don't really own my games, I want physical copies, waaAAAAAaahh" can go cry in the corner and continue living in the past while the rest of us move on, because the physical copy is beginning to die, already on PC Steam has taken over, it wont be long until consoles follow suit with being almost entirely digital distribution too. I say good riddance. Steam is fucking brilliant and the only time I ever buy physical now is if its considerably cheaper than on Steam. Digital distribution is more convenient in every single way.

 

[Maze1125]

Please explain to me, without using strong language and insulting me, how can I play a game without internet connection, since every time that I start the game I must first connect to my Steam account?

Top left corner:
Steam -> Go Offline...

*facepalm* Dude, you only get that far if you're connected normally or already in offline mode.

So?
I answered his question exactly "how can I play a game without internet connection?"
Yes, he still would have had to have gotten on to Steam first, but once he was on there, he could have used my method to play a game entirely without the internet. Which is precisely what he asked.

Yes, my answer could have been more inclusive, but I felt no need to make it so given that it had all already been explained earlier in the thread.