Another "I hate steam" thread

Gone Drinking

I tried to login to steam for the first time in a few years this morning. Was told my account was suspended, and the reason behind it was emailed to my account email address. That address as since stopped working, so i've emailed them telling them this.

Id think they're going to ask for my CDKey, which i don't have anymore. What aload of ghey.

Genghiz Cohen

Gone Drinking wrote: »

I tried to login to steam for the first time in a few years this morning. Was told my account was suspended, and the reason behind it was emailed to my account email address. That address as since stopped working, so i've emailed them telling them this.

Id think they're going to ask for my CDKey, which i don't have anymore. What aload of ghey.

How is any of that Valves fault?

ronkmonster

Stardock have their own distribution system like steam now.
It's not required to logon to it to play single player part of game ( i bought demigod)

For online have to have an impulse account and register cd key. then it offers updates so you are up to date for online games.

Steam shouldn't be forced on people that don't want the online part of games and updates should only be compulsory for online.

Overheal

stardock games incidentally are also incredibly easy to crack. but tbh thats not really very good money sense.

ronkmonster

crack? there is no copy protection on stardock games.

games are cracked anyway. and some people will always pirate games regardless.

drm just inconveniences those of us that buy games.

Kinetic^

ronkmonster wrote: »

crack? there is no copy protection on stardock games.

games are cracked anyway. and some people will always pirate games regardless.

drm just inconveniences those of us that buy games.

Yes games can be cracked but Steam does not want to contribute to the illegal copies out there by just giving you a copy of the game with seeking further validation that it's yours. If you don't like how they operate, send them a strongly worded letter or buy the games in the shop.

ronkmonster

but steam games can be cracked too. i have my legal copy of half-life 2 working with a steam emulator.

i do buy my games in shop but they do sell games there that require steam too.

so if i really want them, only way I can get is to buy and then get a pirate copy. if i am buying in shop at least give me the choice of not using steam until I want to play online (which I don't do).

Mantel

Lets face it, Steam is least invasive and least broken of all the DRM stuff out there for games. At least now, it's had to evolve quite a bit from where it started but

It's not starforce breaking your system,
It's not sony drm installing root kits
It's not SecureROM that Bioshock had where they just patched it out anyway and people that cracked the game where better off anyway. A nice waste of money for them!

If you forget your username and password it's hardly steam or valves fault, that's like throwing away your codebook from game in the 80's/90's and then trying to find a friend with the game so you can photocopy (or more likely write down) all the pages only to discover that black shiney letters on black paper doesn't photocopy very well or your hand cramps up on page 15 of the manual. Sure what happens if you lose the case/manual with a serial key printed on it from a game? Damn them and their serial keys!

True, Stardock don't use DRM for their games but you have to connect to their servers for updates and online-play. Sins of a solar empire is a great game and got more press coverage because of it's lack of DRM, same with Galciv. They where a fresh and new concept in a sea of lots of different DRM systems. Demigod is the same but the press isn't as positive for it atm and I have the feeling the DRM-free wave is starting to loose steam for them, we'll get a better picture with their next release,.... if only they had more great games on their system!

5uspect

Steam has become more than just a DRM app. To a certain extent it's becoming a gaming itunes. This is what I think makes it popular. The anti-piracy aspect of it is in the background now and looking at the broadband stats in the Steam hardware survey the mass availability of fast internet is quite widespread:

Network Speed|%
Unspecified|(-1.43%) 25.48%
33.6 Kbps|(-0.02%) 0.52%
56.0 Kbps|(+0.08%) 2.27%
112.0 Kbps|(-0.09%) 1.06%
256.0 Kbps|(-0.05%) 9.32%
768.0 Kbps|(+0.07%) 11.75%
1,024.0 Kbps|(-0.06%) 5.05%
2,048.0 Kbps|(+1.77%) 31.12%
10,000.0 Kbps|(-0.29%) 13.42%

ronkmonster

in this country broadband is nowhere near widespread though.

all i want is the choice of installing from a disc for games that I don't intend to play online.

Jazzy

kaimera wrote: »

you want to install the game via a download from steam without logging into an account?

please tell how exactly that would work?

amazingly some ppl actually bought an orange coloured dvd box

steam is one of those distribution services which will be rammed down our throat whether we like it or not. i stay away from the thing altogether unless i wanna play through Half-Life 2 again

thebman

ronkmonster wrote: »

in this country broadband is nowhere near widespread though.

all i want is the choice of installing from a disc for games that I don't intend to play online.

But you can play from the hard drive without validating with Steam by just starting steam in off line mode and launching the game.

ronkmonster

steam is multi megabyte download to get installed in first place. then it insists on updating the game. over dialup...
the verifying later isn't a problem with the offline mode i agree but dialup updates without a choice is just stupid.



and there are many games on the shelves that require steam to be used. there isn't a non-steam version in many cases. all go back on shelf for me.

Jazzy

after reading this thread a bit more it seems that steam actually has fanboys. i thought fanboys died the moment mothers started buying wiis for themselves. ah well, we'll always have our sega saturns

thebman

Jazzy wrote: »

after reading this thread a bit more it seems that steam actually has fanboys. i thought fanboys died the moment mothers started buying wiis for themselves. ah well, we'll always have our sega saturns

Its not faboyism to state that an accusation is false.

Steam is more of a pain to use if you have dial up but it isn't designed for those users.

The reality is most people do have high speed broadband in most developed nations.

If people have issue with their lack of broadband they would be better served by emailing their local representatives about their frustrations and elect people who have broadband expansion and high speed upgrades for networks high on their list of agendas as it is important for business and local residents throughout the country and the current government don't take it seriously as evidenced by their awarding of the National Broadband Scheme contract to a mobile provider with a terrible customer service record.

What can Valve do about that?

dreamers75

Overheal wrote: »

Steam has no bearing on what its 3rd party's charge via the service.

You only need to run the game once, then exit the program, and tell Steam to go in Offline mode. Then that game will no longer check for updates, unless of course, you go back online at some point.

Its same for their own games, orange box was 20 quid in shops yet 50 on steam for well over a year.

It removes "costs" to the developer but yet those costs are not passed onto the consumer, almost all my steam games are either valve via the cheapest way or cheap ass weekend specials.

Tbh there is no way anyone can defend the pricing system on steam even after you take away the currency rate they use.

5uspect

I paid €30 for the Orange Box on Steam when it came out. Where are you getting 50 from?

ronkmonster

steam has its place. for ensuring that games are up to date for online gaming.
not for everything to do with running a game.

dreamers75

5uspect wrote: »

I paid €30 for the Orange Box on Steam when it came out. Where are you getting 50 from?

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34289/98/


it was $50 when it came out as it didnt do euros at the time.

google it etc:

ronkmonster

thebman wrote: »

The reality is most people do have high speed broadband in most developed nations.

this is ireland. where i was living we were told the exchange was never being turned on. not economic enough. and there was at least one other exchange in the county told the same.

if its not designed for people for no internet/slow internet then where is the alternative. piracy....

wayne040576

ronkmonster wrote: »

this is ireland. where i was living we were told the exchange was never being turned on. not economic enough. and there was at least one other exchange in the county told the same.

if its not designed for people for no internet/slow internet then where is the alternative. piracy....

They won't be pirating much on a dialup. At least not with torrents anyways.

ronkmonster

friends can pirate and pass on. and i somehow managed to get half-life 2 to play without internet(and steam) back when it was released. cracks and guides all mixed together and worked. could never do it again though

point is i can get it somewhere else to play without net at home. steam requires net at least once per game which isn't so bad except for the updates. most new games these days have online checks which do a quick online activation and that's it. doesn't force you to update in the change you might play online.

wayne040576

If your friend has a broadband connection they can install steam you can log on with your details and download the game and\or updates. Then burn the binary files to dvd and bring them home. They'll work perfectly on your system. It may need to do a small online check to verify , but that usually takes a couple of mins even on dialup.

I got Half Life 2 when I still had dialup and it didn't cause me many issues.

The biggest issue I have with steam is its euro prices at the moment which I consider a rip off. So I only buy games on sale or buy the disc version on the cheap from a shop and transfer the serial key to my steam account.

I've installed steam under linux and ran most of the Source games just by copying the bin files from my Windows partition as well.

ronkmonster

i had no net access when i got hl2. college

and having to go to friends house each time i buy game/reinstall is bit much to play what i legally bought.

heard that about steam prices. seems to be cheaper to pickup games in shops than direct from steam. crazy

thebman

ronkmonster wrote: »

this is ireland. where i was living we were told the exchange was never being turned on. not economic enough. and there was at least one other exchange in the county told the same.

if its not designed for people for no internet/slow internet then where is the alternative. piracy....

Dial up isn't an excuse to pirate. Complain to politicians to push the agenda.

The government have many alternatives to exchanges on a network that is falling apart due to lack of investment even for users current receiving broadband.

I don't think people should blame Steam and give up but rather push for broadband in their area. It isn't going to go away. What will you do with the next round of consoles when they all over downloadable games and buying in shops starts to be the way a minority buy games?

ronkmonster

i'm not really a console user so that won't affect me so much.
and pc games are crackable - i but my games even if i have to use a pirate copy to play it.

the government appointed a mobile broadband provider to supply broadband to rural areas. shows how little they understand the area. it's not reliable, probably couldn't play games on it due to lag (correct me if i'm wrong) and is slow. Yes it's better than dialup but there are plenty of places where mobile signal is bad anyway.

5uspect

So... anyone that buys a game is a fanboy?
What's the point of going to all the trouble (and security risk) to pirate a game because you don't like the dev's distribution service.
I was also behind a university firewall when HL2 came out. I brought my PC to an Internet Cafe and set up offline mode. Yes it was a royal pain that my internet connection was restricted, but that isn't Valve's fault. I eventually set up a port tunnel to get updates at a painful trickle of 5 kb/s.

I don't need to google the price, I can just check my CC statement. (Tho I did preorder and got a 10% discount saving €4)

ronkmonster

5uspect wrote: »

So... anyone that buys a game is a fanboy?

not sure if that's aimed towards me but no. I buy all my games.

i pirate if i have to because i want to play the game. and support developers by buying it in shops but never use the disc.

i just want the choice to play without having to go online. i only play single player parts anyway

5uspect

No it wasn't aimed at you really. Another poster reared the fanboy allegation.

I have no problem with using fixes on games you've bought (EULA be damned)
That of course is very different from piracy. I doubt anyone here is innocent of piracy.
One of the things I like about Steam is that as well as being an anti-piracy measure it is also an alternative to piracy. The prices on steam are, often but not always, attractive.

Jazzy

thebman wrote: »

What can Valve do about that?

not require you to have an internet connection to play half life 2.
anti-piracy is nonsense as hl2 can be pirated anyway. they want to ram it down our throats cos its $$$ to them