Why is Steam so broken and buggy?

[Daedalus1942]

Okay, so everytime I go to play Left 4 dead 2, it's updating.
This can't be normal, right?
It's usually a 6 to 12 gb update, every single time I play the freaking game.

I have tried cleaning out the .blob file, uninstalling the game and reinstalling.
I'm considering reinstalling steam, but that's annoying to do with so many save files lying around.

I'm trying to find an answer to this problem and I can't.
I appear to be the only one having experienced this issue.
I don't know what is wrong, it's driving me insane and really destroying my L4D2 experience.
Anyone have a clue as to what the problem is?
-Tabs<3-

 

[Tokeism]

Its a known glitch in steam games, the update deletes part/parts/all the game and needs to redownload it, as far a I know there is no fix.

Also is there any chace your using a laptop? Because in my expierences it seems to proliferate on laptops compared to desktop PC

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Have you sent a ticket? Because you can't really complain until you've gone through the process.

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

I had a bug yesterday where it was saying I was still playing the Sims 3 after I exited the game. It did this until I restarted my PC for an update. When I went back on Steam my playtime for the Sims 3 has been bumped up 10 hours.

 

[Eleima]

I haven't had a single issue in months. Have you tried explaining your issue on the Steam forums? They're usually a helpful bunch there, and they might have more bright ideas. Hopefully, you'll be able to get a fix soon, I understand how incredibly frustrating that must be.
Good luck!

 

[Pumpkin_Eater]

On the library tab right click the problem game and go into properties. Go to the local files tab and select 'verify integrity of game cache.' In the 4 years I've been using Steam that's failed to fix only one problem for me.

 

[Thaliur]

Is L4D cloud-enabled? I think the cloud-syncing shows up as update progress.

 

[Kathinka]

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

 

[SkinyJim]

Right click game > Properties > "Local Files" tab > "verify integrity of game cache" button.

I think this might prevent the redownloading of the entire game. Or it might not help at all. Worth a shot though.

 

[Alfador_VII]

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

 

[Kathinka]

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.

 

[Daedalus1942]

Its a known glitch in steam games, the update deletes part/parts/all the game and needs to redownload it, as far a I know there is no fix.

Also is there any chace your using a laptop? Because in my expierences it seems to proliferate on laptops compared to desktop PC

I am using a desktop computer. My mini-god to be precise.
-Tabs<3-

 

[DrOswald]

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.

In response to your list of why steam sucks, I see nothing on that list that is not how it works without steam, except for the used game thing. All the other stuff is the exact same without steam. Most of it has to do with region locking content and region specific censorship. Steam sells the version of MW2 and blackops the producer told them to. Don't get your panties in a twist, this is how the industry works. It is not steam's job to revolutionize region locking in the industry, and criticizing them for not doing so is asinine.

I use steam because it is convenient. I don't have to think about keeping track of crap, I don't have to have a library of CD's and DVD's for my game, and I don't even have to store the games locally. If I want to play one of my games I press a button and it automatically installs in the background. If I want to delete a game I don't even have to think about it because I know when I want it again all it takes in a few button presses and I will be back in business. Steam's power is in it's user friendly nature. There are a few problems, but I have never had a problem that was not resolved easily by contacting steam support. A bit of non intrusive DRM and the inability to lend games is hardly a price to pay for the level of usability I get from steam, not to mention the great discounts steam is always having.

 

[DrOswald]

Okay, so everytime I go to play Left 4 dead 2, it's updating.
This can't be normal, right?
It's usually a 6 to 12 gb update, every single time I play the freaking game.

I have tried cleaning out the .blob file, uninstalling the game and reinstalling.
I'm considering reinstalling steam, but that's annoying to do with so many save files lying around.

I'm trying to find an answer to this problem and I can't.
I appear to be the only one having experienced this issue.
I don't know what is wrong, it's driving me insane and really destroying my L4D2 experience.
Anyone have a clue as to what the problem is?
-Tabs<3-

Have you opened a steam support ticket?

 

[DustyDrB]

I get the "servers are too busy" problem when installing games a good bit. This is why I'm still hesitant about getting more into PC gaming (I play what I can on my Macbook Pro and also play some older games on an older desktop. Most of those games come from GOG). Between updates and having have this piece of hardware or that program installed, or this error that means who knows what (whatever the error message says, that usually isn't actually the problem), it's a hassle. That's the one real downside of PC gaming, but it is a big one for me (especially since I know jack-shit about computers).

 

[Tohuvabohu]

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.

In all fairness, you don't have to use steam. Except in the cases of games which require it to play online, mostly valve games and a few others (Killing Floor, Magicka.)

Steam isn't perfect, and there sure are plenty of legitimate complaints about it. But you can always just choose not to use it and buy your games elsewhere. I've had my steam account for a few years and have over 100 games on it. Yeah it's a pain in the ass sometimes when it says "Game is currently unavailable" or my game downloads/installs inexplicably halt themselves. I was aware of these things possibly happening while I used steam, but I chose to make an account and still buy games over it.

Still, I've made plenty of other purchases from other websites/services that are not Steam. Direct2Drive, Gamersgate, GoG, etc. In those cases I don't need steam at all to run those games.

So the way I see it, if you don't enjoy your cholera you can just choose not to have it

 

[SammiYin]

Well it is run by Valve

Hehehe. *Runs away*

 

[DrMetal]

Well it is run by Valve

Hehehe. *Runs away*

*thumbs up*

It makes matters worse when a game requires bot Steam AND games for windows live....

 

[Zipa]

Sooner Steam than having to put up with bullshit DRM like Starforce. It assumed you were a pirate and a criminal if you had more than one disk drive or certain software programs which have perfectly legit uses.

Plus id sooner support Valve as a company since they actually have supported PC gaming over the years unlike certain other companies who basically said the PC is dead but came back after a slice of the digital distribution market once they realized that steam makes a massive amount of money.

That and Steam sales are just epic.

Don't get me wrong though it has its flaws as does every piece of software, friends system randomly crashing out as well as the whole ''the servers are too busy '' stuff annoys me but there really is no comparison right now, and impulse is off the list now as I refuse to support gamestop when they have been so anti PC for the longest time.