Why is Steam so broken and buggy?

[Nikolaz72]

because they tricked the masses into liking it.

they release the worst and most restrictive DRM of it's time, slap on some buggy social gimmicks like a friendlist, and tell people it's the greatest thing ever for them.
and we sheep believe it and don't mind the most agressive copy protection in the history of ever on our pc's.

/ragefueled rant

If you think it's bad or in any way restrictive, try any other DRM. It doesn't have install limits, it doesn't put a rootkit in your system, it doesn't stop you having some other legitimate programs installed. It doesn't require the original CD in the drive, which may or may not work depending on your hardware. It doesn't need massively long CD or Activation Keys (yes I know some Steam games do have keys, but that's not a fundamental part of Steam).

It also doesn't even need you to be online constantly to play games (looking at you Ubisoft), and doesn't force you to upgrade to the latest version if you don't want to.

If you can think of a less restrictive DRM system short of a label on the box saying "Please don't pirate this game, thanks!" I'd like to hear about it

you are right of course, it is still just a slightly less stinking lump of crap in the ocean of feces that are all the other DRM's. but the thing is: it doesn't prevent piracy in the slightest. i dare to say that due to the restrictions of steam not a single extra copy of any game was sold. ye olde offline stuff (laserlock, starforce or whatever) were just as effective.

but steam doesn't let me play certain games if i'm not online (not all, just certain). it enforces languages i don't want on some games. (i want to play mw2 and blackops in the english original language, not some crappy dub. but no can do says steam(ing pile of shit). i can't sell my used games. i can't lend my games to my friend to play them. for some regions, steam enforces content cuts (like censoring black ops when i connect from germany). and when i try to start portal2, which i have bought from my own hard earned money at home in eastern europe, while being somewhere in any central european country, steam says that i should please buy a second copy of the game for this region i'm currently in. what. the FUCK?

so yeah, it is still cholera instead of of the plague, but that doesn't mean i will enjoy my cholera.

First of: Want english? Install English steam.

Steam sold many an extra copy. Not by being steam. But by the awesome sales they have EVERY SINGLE DAY. Just ask around, its widely regarded as the reason a lot of new people have installed it.

Valve has a pretty low piracyrate on their stuff compared to others. Well known Pirates I frequently talk with still bought Portal 2. DESPITE. Being mostly singleplayer. And L4D/L4D2/TF2 aswell. Also, Steam is pretty good at preventing piracy of games that are utterly bound to steam. Not those that arent like say, Dawn of War 2. Or Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. But something like Team-Fortress 2. Usually playing multiplayer with a pirated copy requires you to set up a fake steam-copy. This extra-effort required has generally discouraged the lazy pirates (There are probably a lot more than I myself think)

I've never heard of the problem with countries.. I travelled to Sweeden once and my games worked just fine. Must be you.

 

[DrOswald]

well it doesnt. because the fact still remains: i can not play the game i legally purchased, because..'fuck me' i guess?
is it really such an outlandish demand, that i can please maybe play the game i payed moneyz for? when and where i want, and not when and where my steam-overlords decide to mercyfully let me?

And I can do... what about that? You've demonstrated that your complaints are legit, rather than made up fanboy rantings, but they don't apply to all people, so they don't invalidate my position; we might as well be talking about two different companies.

i'm not asking you to do anything. but just because they decided to screw certain people over harder than others doesn't make them nice.

it's fascinating to see though how they seriously got people defending their crap..how they managed to pull this twisted stunt, i will never ever understand. i actually had some faith in humanity in general and gamerkind particular left before that.

Sounds like your area just likes to screw gamers on pricing to me. The fact remains that Steam is one of the least intrusive methods of DRM and one of the most free content-rich distribution platforms out there. So based on those merits, of course we'll defend Valve. That doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend another method of digital purchase if you can find a cheaper and less restrictive one in your area, but in general Steam will still be something I recommend to others.

how is it "my areas" fault if steam enforces unreasonable restrictions on customers?
i get it if you like the whole thing, but that doesn't make all the bad things magickly go away, no matter how hard one tries to shift the blame.

For example, you said earlier that you could not get an English version of MW2 through steam. That is because the game was edited for Germany and Steam cannot legally sell the English version in Germany. It is not Valves fault because they are a distribution service, they didn't make that rule. They only follow it.

i never attempted to get a german version of mw2, i was refering to the czech version, or more specificly, that steam won't let me get an english version from the czech republic. content-wise, czech and english are completely identical.

but it's not true that steam is not allowed to sell the english version of mw2 in germany btw. they just chose not to. the english version (boxed obviously) can perfectly and legally be obtained in for example amazone germany. the german version just got a slightly lower rating than the english one. both are officially and legaly for sale.

Sorry, I was unclear. Steam does not sell MW2 in Germany because Valve has an agreement with Activision to not sell it in germany because Germany wanted it censored. To be clear, here is the sequence of events:

1. Germany told Activision to censor the game. Activision did so.
2. Activision made an agreement with valve to not sell the uncut version in Germany.
3. Valve is bound to not sell the uncut version in Germany.

But that is only in that specific case. There are other reasons things are region locked, mostly to combat piracy and to keep the cost of the game identical across a single region. If the content is the same but English is simply not an option that is crappy localization. More Activision's fault than steams, but I will give it to you that digital distribution makes it possible.

To me it sounds like your specific case is a bad match for Steam, and I would recommend not using it if it is so inconvenient. Just because your situation makes steam a bad choice doesn't mean it is a bad service.

 

[HassEsser]

snip

well, i have listed all issues i have with steam, and so far no one was able to explain to me how it's not steams fault. and it's NOT a restriction put in place by my country, when will people get this into their skulls...it is a decision made by the software companies and steam! the countries in question have NOTHING to do with it. company X says "naw, you can't play game y in place z, sorry 'bout that." and steam, allthough it might not be their thing, willingly enforces this preposterous restriction willingly and eagerly (they are financially interested in people buying the more expensive version of a game too, after all.). allthough they did not think up this redicolous scheme, they still like it and are the publishers willing henchman. that doesn't make it any less questionable.

once again: the publishers and steam want and do that, NOT the country! got it? ok, nice, moving on.
jeeze..

though i kind of see that this is going nowhere, arguning against reality-defying fanboyism is doomed from the start..and yes, reality defying levels are reached when instead of admitting that maybe, just maybe, the beloved steam corp. has a tiny bit of fault in the whole issue, some governement conspiracies are thought up.

You literally have no idea what the fuck you're talking about. 1) I was never arguing. 2) I am not a fanboy, I pointed out that I hate STEAM as well, but for legitimate godamn reasons instead of make-believe bullshit I tricked myself into believing. There is NO reason to restrict content from countries, and it is ENTIRELY the countries fault. There is no "scheme", and the publishers don't give a fuck. The fact that you are arguing this points out your idiocracy. Germany and Australia do not want the gore from Left 4 Dead 2 to be shown to their citizens, so they force VALVe to restrict it. This is a fact and can not be argued.

 

[NLS]

Problems and buggy Steam? Are you sure you didn't time-travel back to 2004?

 

[Kathinka]

then why the fuck do they do it? please tell me. please share your wisdom and insight.

Because the country tells them to. VALVe has no reason to do it, other than the countries force them to. And if they don't, they are barred from doing any sort of business with their citizens. Bottom line.

but sure, it's all make-believe-bullshit. even though no one can tackle a single one of the issues i brought up. who's knee-deep in make-believe-bs i ask.

Everybody is literally destroying all your points, you're just too thick and ignorant to see that.

you mean destroying, like you just did? by entirely failing to read my post? i will rephrase the last post, so maybe even you will be able to understand it.

1: i am NOT german.
2: i am from the CZECH REPUBLIC
3: the czech republic, unlike f.e. germany, does NOT ENFORCE ANY LIMITATIONS on games or how they are sold. they do not, in any way, tell anyone what to do with games.
4: steam STILL enforces restrictions on czech customers

i know that these four steps probably brought you to the utter limits of what you are able to comprehend, but i need you to stay with me through this, you can do it. reread it if you need to.

you got that? you finally understood that? after only three post? ok, good. carry on.

jeeze, if all my points are "destroyed" like that then that's a great weight of my mind.

 

[Kathinka]

how is it "my areas" fault if steam enforces unreasonable restrictions on customers?
i get it if you like the whole thing, but that doesn't make all the bad things magickly go away, no matter how hard one tries to shift the blame.

Perhaps a different form of currency than the standard for other countries near you? I don't know. All I'm suggesting is that other digital distribution sites probably charge higher than normal rates for you as well, and thus probably also include some form of DRM to keep you from buying games in areas where they are cheaper.

Just saying you can't blame ONLY Steam for this.

no, nothing like that, euro is currency for everyone (we run our old currency we are currently phasing out parralel to the euro). it's just the publishers and steam not wanting people to buy games in places where they are cheaper.
i can somewhat understand their desire to get as much money out of it as possible, sure. but restricting where i can play the games i bought from my cash is not the way they should go. and as long as they do, i will call them out on this shit, no matter how many crying fanboys try to blame several neighboring countries, aliens, crab people or who knows what next.

 

[HassEsser]

1: i am NOT german.
2: i am from the CZECH REPUBLIC
3: the czech republic, unlike f.e. germany, does NOT ENFORCE ANY LIMITATIONS on games or how they are sold. they do not, in any way, tell anyone what to do with games.
4: steam STILL enforces restrictions on czech customers

I never once said you were German. Never once. I merely stated countries like Germany and Australia force VALVe to restrict their shit. Learn to read.

i know that these four steps probably brought you to the utter limits of what you are able to comprehend, but i need you to stay with me through this, you can do it. reread it if you need to.

you got that? you finally understood that? after only three post? ok, good. carry on.

jeeze, if all my points are "destroyed" like that then that's a great weight of my mind.

It is impossible for you to be any more inane than you're currently being.

 

[Kathinka]

snip

aaand again you fail to show me where it is my countries and not steams/the publishers fault that pointles restrictions are forced on me. so i have to assume you saw it yourself and just decided to avoid the whole point to not have to admit you were wrong.

 

[DrOswald]

Anyone have a clue as to what the problem is?

Yeah. The problem is that Valve has so many fansheep that will hail Steam as the best thing since the wheel and will never acknowledge that anything could ever be wrong with Valve's money machine.

Also it's practically a monopoly in digital distribution.

In such a scenario, why would they bother fixing their shit, when they can just push out more hats a few dollars a piece? Look up the meaning of 'monopoly' in any economy book

Valve does not have a monopoly. A monopoly can only exist when there is no viable substitute of goods in a market. In this case, the viable substitute is non digital distribution. They are the most powerful digital distribution service, but that does not mean they have a monopoly.

If digital distribution becomes the only major retail outlet of games, then they probably will have a monopoly.

Also, have you ever asked yourself why valve has such loyal customers? I would venture a bet that it is because valve provides a quality service at a competitive price. Their model is certainly not perfect, but it is better than any other model I know of in the game industry. Can you point me to something better?

 

[Hyperactiveman]

Steam is WIN!

Try GfWL or Impulse if you think it's broken and buggy...

 

[mavkiel]

I have, I actually prefer gfwl over steam, for certain things. For example fallout, I hate that steam got their grubby claws on it. Its been nothing but a bloody nightmare with them. Say what you will about gfwl, but they allowed you to pick and choose what patch you wanted to play with.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

The worst thing about Steam is that you cannot specify a disk to install to!
I don't want every game on my sweet SSD you know, Valve! :\

I did it; I installed Steam to "D:\Steam" instead of "C:\Program Files\Steam". Easy.

That's hardly the same as THEM giving you an option to install some games on C:\, and some on other disks, now is it?

 

[UNHchabo]

The worst thing about Steam is that you cannot specify a disk to install to!
I don't want every game on my sweet SSD you know, Valve! :\

I did it; I installed Steam to "D:\Steam" instead of "C:\Program Files\Steam". Easy.

That's hardly the same as THEM giving you an option to install some games on C:\, and some on other disks, now is it?

Fair enough. There is a way to do it, but it requires a bit more effort. If you have Vista or later, you can use symbolic links.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1138731