Is Steam just as good as buying the actual game?

liamcrane said:
Can you back them up to an external HD is there an option for that? I dont see how i can backup a game thats 15gb it would have to be spilt across 4 dvds!
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You can either use the backup function (which is terrible) or just copy the steam folder.

So you can copy the whole steam folder( or just specific games) to an external hdd.


but also you could just chop the folder up into 4/9gb pieces and then put it o disks and just put it back together again when you want it back.
 
liamcrane said:
I know there is an option to backup your steam games to dvd but how would i back this game up its 15gb? can you do it across mulitple dvd's
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Like others have said, steam is portable, you can just plonk it on another HD. But if that isn't an option then yes, you can tell steam to fragment the game into CD or DVD sized chunks. you then just install the game like any retail game, insert disc one, wait, insert disc two...
 
Steam is just easier, friends list there for every game, all games and CD-keys stored in 1 little program, no need to lug physical disks about or **** about taking them out and putting them back in, also the sales are amazing sometimes. Just for convenience sake, i'd rather use steam even if games come out £5 more expensive.
 
HangTime said:
-Timelag for patches making it onto Steam for some games relative to manually patching a retail copy (nothing too serious mind), also can't avoid patches you don't want
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I believe you can actually. You just tell steam to never check for updates for a game, though patches are there to fix things so really the only reason why you wouldn't want to update is because it fixes something broken that you could exploit previously.
Really not a good reason to make it a con, if anything it should be a positive point because it updates without wasting your time. There are exceptions but to my knowledge the only time patches break the game more are on online games, where if you weren't fully update you couldn't play anyway.
 
The BIG negative about steam purchased games for me is that the games can never be sold on or transferred to someone else (even as a gift it to a friend for free).

I like to have the option to sell a game on especially with many games having no replay value or taking little time to complete.

So with steam often being more expensive than buying the physical copy and then combined with losing the re-sale option (which could recoup 50-75% of the initial purchase price if you end up not liking it) means that I only ever purchase off steam when they are doing special sales promotions.
 
Tefal said:
You can either use the backup function (which is terrible) or just copy the steam folder.

So you can copy the whole steam folder( or just specific games) to an external hdd.


but also you could just chop the folder up into 4/9gb pieces and then put it o disks and just put it back together again when you want it back.
Click to expand...

O right i see, will there not be any missing files that were installed by steam if i just copy the GTA folder from my steam dir? I take it i just need to reinstall it from the exe in the folder right?
 
Steam is excellent, for the sheer simplicity of the whole thing! Also, the sales are amazing! Something good value every weekend (may not always be something you want of course), then special sales at Easter/Summer/Christmas, and other times of year. Plus, no disks, and no having to wait for games to come in the post. Fancy a game at 2am? You can start the download then!

Yes, the prices are usually more expensive, but that isn't Valve's fault, that is the publisher, who to be fair to them, know they can make more money on Steam, as they don't have to pay for physical manufacture and distribution.
 
I have just backed up my GTA 4 steam folder on to my external HD, one thing tho in the root of the steam apps folder the are NCF files for GTA 4 & Just Cause 2 (as these are the only 2 steam games i have installed) do i need to copy these NCF files to? and what are they for as they are not in the actual folders for there respective games?

thanks again
 
liamcrane said:
O right i see, will there not be any missing files that were installed by steam if i just copy the GTA folder from my steam dir? I take it i just need to reinstall it from the exe in the folder right?
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nope just copy the game folder/steam folder then run steam once, it wil ldo a little few minute install to set it'self up on a new pc and then all your games will work straight away.

but remember none steam games still put their saves where they normally go (ie my documents/my games). So copy that folder too.
 
liamcrane said:
I have just backed up my GTA 4 steam folder on to my external HD, one thing tho in the root of the steam apps folder the are NCF files for GTA 4 & Just Cause 2 (as these are the only 2 steam games i have installed) do i need to copy these NCF files to? and what are they for as they are not in the actual folders for there respective games?

thanks again
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not entirely sure what they are but they're tiny steam will probably install/re dl them in a second or two when needed :p


normally i just copy the whole steam folder.
 
90% of my steam games are from their sales, I still prefer a boxed retail copy buying new releases though. But steam is a great alternative, download is always fast for me and there's the community bonus too.

If only all PC games could be used with steams community functions...
 
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