Is Steam okay for you?

[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

 

[TomLikesGuitar]

Why do I need a stable high speed internet connection,

Quick question... do you have one? Because I find that a lot of people who complain about this actually have high speed internet. Also, see the comment about offline mode.

forced registration

This has become standard... sorry.

and membership to a site that I don't want

What site? You don't really need any extra registration other than the Steam one.

I would say the exact same things for Games For Windows Live service, but all gamers seem to dismiss GFWL, but are tolerant, or positive with Steam.

There are a LOT of legitimate reasons for this (Steam really does LOVE its customers, where Windows treats them like cash cows). However, GFWL does get some unnecessary hate, but it's Windows, so it'll always get hate.

I only want to play the game that I already paid for, and that the price stickers and the wrapping didn't let me read clearly the small letters on the back of the case, saying that the game is essentially property of Steam. At least GFWL have a big logo on the front to warn you.

That actually has nothing to do with Steam. Blame the distributor and publisher for not including those "warnings".

 

[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.

 

[J Tyran]

I would say the exact same things for Games For Windows Live service, but all gamers seem to dismiss GFWL, but are tolerant, or positive with Steam.

GFWL varies from being useless to being a PITA, Steam however is good for the consumer and good for the industry.

 

[Aisaku]

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.

 

[Beryl77]

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.

 

[Wicky_42]

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 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.

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.

 

[Wicky_42]

As for the service ever shutting down? I would imagine they'd just auto-update all profiles with a permanent "offline mode" access. Since it can be done now when people switch from Online to Offline, I don't see why it couldn't be done in that scenario. Of course IF they do it is another question entirely.

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, heh