Where is STEAM headed?

twistedfaith · 17 Aug 2007 at 11:14

At first...

I wasn't a huge fan of STEAM when it came out - I got HL2 collectors edition for x-mas close to when it was released...at the time I was on dial-up, due to the fact that I lived in the middle of nowhere and couldn't get broadband. It took me approx 4-5 hours just to download the updates to play single player. Annoyed didn't come close to how I felt about that, as I had been looking forward to playing it for a few weeks.

Now that I have moved house (and got broadband!) I find STEAM to be a very useful program, I use it more than I use MSN or Yahoo to keep in touch with my friends and the ability to download games, demos, videos etc is very handy. So yeah, a big fan of it now!

Gimpymoo · 17 Aug 2007 at 11:21

CLAIMED

bledd · 17 Aug 2007 at 11:24

with the new(ish) offline mode, it's perfect imo

wish all my games were on steam

peetee · 19 Aug 2007 at 01:17

Gimpymoo said:
I understand that competition would be good, but I envision a time when we will need to have 5 or 6 STEAM "Spawns" on our desktops from different developers which I personally would find annoying.

like EA stink, damn that thing smells so bad

HangTime · 19 Aug 2007 at 10:39

Gimpymoo said:
Buy a new dial up modem for 50 pence?

It's annoying to have to buy and install a modem to play a game, and then have to shell out for the phonecall on top of that.

Contact the Admin of the computer to adjust the firewall settings.

I doubt letting people play games is the number one priority of a uni network admin. It would likely take days to get any kind of decent response in any case.

The only ones I do hear are simply from "nOOb" PIRATES who see their leeching days as coming to an end.

I'm not making 'complaints' about Steam, merely responding to your comment "if you dont have an internet connection, why the hell do you have a PC with the intention of playing games?"

Smurfy · 19 Aug 2007 at 11:51

I think its an intresting concept, just yesterday i bought the id Mega pack with loads of retro games within 2 hours id downloaded all the games and was rdy to play. I do however have my concerns.

Having all my games on one steam account makes that steam account potentially very valuable and perhaps worth targeting by thief's and hackers. I can see that situation with the account become closed and me being left with a huge headache trying to convince valve that i am the true legal owner and that i didn't give out my login details. With the route they are taking they require serious amount of employees for tech support if the system is to work well.

However i do believe this is the natural evolution, these problems are inevitable and will have to be faced and solved. With modern Internet connections and becoming silly fast its only going to be become more attractive, i recently reformatted and downloaded all my steam games currently standing at 21GB within 10 hours. Most of them mods i would have to download anyway.

My one big gripe with steam, well actually more valve than steam is that they keep stealing all the good free mods and making you pay for them. I have no problem with an established mod such as CSS charging to download and play but for new mods its a really bad idea it kills the user base before its even released unless its really high profile release. Without STEAM this wouldn't be able to happen.

HangTime · 19 Aug 2007 at 11:59

Smurfy said:
My one big gripe with steam, well actually more valve than steam is that they keep stealing all the good free mods and making you pay for them. I have no problem with an established mod such as CSS charging to download and play but for new mods its a really bad idea it kills the user base before its even released unless its really high profile release. Without STEAM this wouldn't be able to happen.

It happened way back when STEAM was just a twinkle in Gabe's eye - Counterstrike was a mod 'stolen' by Valve so I don't think it is fair to say it wouldn't be able to happen without STEAM.

KNiVES · 19 Aug 2007 at 12:09

It's good, it's a huge boon to developers who really don't want to waste money on publishers. 2k Boston will save a fair bit of money by having Bioshock on Steam. I like having a place to download games from legally as well, especially as you can preload them. It's all very easy to use, and intuitive. Especially the Communities section

peetee · 19 Aug 2007 at 13:41

KNiVES said:
It's good, it's a huge boon to developers who really don't want to waste money on publishers

You do know if a dev's games are on steam then valve is then classed as the publisher?

Im sure they offer a better deal than most pubs tho, just to try and bolster the library of avail games.

KNiVES · 19 Aug 2007 at 13:58

Well yes, on a technical standing, Valve is the publisher, but many of the costs and efforts associated with publishing is reduced when digital distribution (this being Steam) is used.

peetee · 19 Aug 2007 at 15:37

KNiVES said:
Well yes, on a technical standing, Valve is the publisher, but many of the costs and efforts associated with publishing is reduced when digital distribution (this being Steam) is used.

Yeah, but they still have there profit bolted ontop, which is probably a bigger profit than a lot of publishers make, but results in a lower publishing fee to developers

Smurfy · 19 Aug 2007 at 18:45

HangTime said:
It happened way back when STEAM was just a twinkle in Gabe's eye - Counterstrike was a mod 'stolen' by Valve so I don't think it is fair to say it wouldn't be able to happen without STEAM.

While it is true that valve did do a retail version of CS you could still download CS for free, the only reason they did that was due to the fact it was outragously popular with a playerbase much higher than any online game at the time.

I have no problem with them charging for mods like CSS or CS my problem is with them charging for new mods which dont have a reliable playerbase. At the end of the day a choice that has to be made by the development team creating the mod.

It is a good way for talent to be showcased and i hope they start distibuting free mods as well.

Hxc · 19 Aug 2007 at 18:52

I love Steam, partially because it allows everything to be auto patched and launched from one location, and partially cause of my almost everything free press account

Tombo · 20 Aug 2007 at 05:02

Smurfy said:
It is a good way for talent to be showcased and i hope they start distibuting free mods as well.

Don't count on it, it would cost them money.

z0mbi3 · 20 Aug 2007 at 08:28

Gimpymoo said:
Buy a new dial up modem for 50 pence?

Contact the Admin of the computer to adjust the firewall settings. If its not your PC to be installing games on in the first place, thats hardly VALVES fault is it?

Im not trying to be argumentative, but ive not heard ONE valid complaint about STEAM yet.

The only ones I do hear are simply from "nOOb" PIRATES who see their leeching days as coming to an end.

STEAM doesnt require you to be online to play the game EVERY time you play.

This is apart of the problem that soo many people misunderstand STEAM.

When Half Life 2 was released, I heard many people say:

"You cant play Half Life 2 unless you have a broadband internet connection which is allways on"

Thats just WRONG.

There is an "Offline" mode in STEAM which works VERY well.

http://support.steampowered.com/cgi...2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9b2ZmbGluZQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1

Its never failed me yet.

Typing in capitals doesn't help your argument.

Whilst offline mode has always worked well for you it was not the case for everyone.

Hxc said:
I love Steam, partially because it allows everything to be auto patched and launched from one location, and partially cause of my almost everything free press account

Any excuse to mention it!

555BUK · 20 Aug 2007 at 14:38

I have never bought a steam game and probably never will. I like to play with things I purchase under my own conditions, and not be subject to havaing to have a working internet connection (not easy when subscribed to talk talk), or installing steam adware. Registering a game should be enough.

peetee · 20 Aug 2007 at 15:03

555BUK said:
I have never bought a steam game and probably never will. I like to play with things I purchase under my own conditions, and not be subject to havaing to have a working internet connection (not easy when subscribed to talk talk), or installing steam adware. Registering a game should be enough.

Did you write the EULA yourself?
Games are subject to requirements still, an internet connection is hardly a big deal in this day and age. Steam adware? Have you ever installed steam?
Fair enough it advertises games, but im sure its just like your favourite website advertises things to you while you browse it, right? Its not really all that bloated, well if you have a PC that meets todays general minimum specs..

Hxc · 20 Aug 2007 at 15:29

z0mbi3 said:
Any excuse to mention it!

Feels nice to say it, tbh

alexakasloth · 20 Aug 2007 at 20:49

I like steam myself, I don't find it annoying to use. Fair do's to the creators, it's a very smart thing to have intergrated, and it seems to be paying off.

Ol!ver · 21 Aug 2007 at 00:00

Related question, I've just installed steam for the first time in 12 months, and everything's priced in USD. Don't remember it being like that when I bought HL2. Am I missing a setting somewhere?