Civ 5 digital deluxe coming exclusively to Steam! Steamworks confirmed!

Samus_au said:

Steam doesn't worry me, I would have bought it on Steam regardless so having full Steamworks support is just icing on the cake.

What does worry me is how this exclusive civ will work in multiplayer and its cost. $10 for a civ?! That's what the rage should be over, not steam.

Click to expand...

To be fair, it stated that all other versions of ciV will be available on steam as well.

So for $10 extra you get the extra leader, a map and some new music. Maybe it's still not worth the extra money but you don't have to buy it if you don't want to. You can just buy the vanilla no-frills version.

Thormodr said:

So for $10 extra you get the extra leader, a map and some new music. Maybe it's still not worth the extra money but you don't have to buy it if you don't want to. You can just buy the vanilla no-frills version.

Click to expand...

Yeah that's the theory, though I'm fairly sure the collector in me will limit my choices

And I was more leaning towards hoping that they don't either limit you to playing as Babylon only with people that have Babylon as well, thus either segregating the community or making a Civ somewhat useless (for multiplayer).

My guess is it will work more how the extra factions in Company of Heroes worked, where you can play against anyone/faction but you can only use the ones you own, but id like to know for sure.

/offtopic

So for 10 bucks you get a new leader. Just wait and see what happens when the modders try to upload an imitation of that leader to create a balanced game for the basic version.

I'd bet an easy 10 bucks that 2K strips the leader from the online modding/sharing area, threatens the modders, and scares the customers.

And I can't see how you can expect players with a Duluxe version of the game to play MP with a player that has the basic version of the game, or for SP games posted online for players to help each other learn.

2K are either fragmenting the player base with this, or fleecing the stupid buyers who fork over the extra cash. Either way, they are ******ed and taking a very short term view.

I'll buy the delux version as a thanks to one of my favorite companies.

Samus_au said:

Yeah that's the theory, though I'm fairly sure the collector in me will limit my choices

And I was more leaning towards hoping that they don't either limit you to playing as Babylon only with people that have Babylon as well, thus either segregating the community or making a Civ somewhat useless (for multiplayer).

My guess is it will work more how the extra factions in Company of Heroes worked, where you can play against anyone/faction but you can only use the ones you own, but id like to know for sure.

/offtopic

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm the same way. I'll be forking over the extra $$$. I'm a collector too.

I do hope they have foreseen any potential problems with MP.

Thormodr said:

Yeah, I'm the same way. I'll be forking over the extra $$$. I'm a collector too.

I do hope they have foreseen any potential problems with MP.

Click to expand...

I got a CIV box signed by Meier and Johnson as a thank you...some collectors work for the rewards, others

And I don't really see how you can balance the game fairly, giving some players Babylon, and others not. It really doesn't bode well for the future.

Tamed said:

Resource hogging: Steam uses 40mb of System RAM, less than 1\4th of what Firefox uses.

Click to expand...

resources I could use elsewhere. I generally shut down all unnessesary applications, including firewall/virus protections (so no internet while playing, I don't need it then anyway) when playing games that require lot of resources to squeese every bit of performance I can get.

Steam does not provide any feature for single player offline gamer so why would I ever want it in my computer in the first place. I never play multiplayer, haven't been playing for years (funny thing is, I think the last serious multiplayer sessions were on Half-Life/CounterStike. Another funny fact: Half-Life anthology was last game I ever bought from Valve).

DRM Laden Bloatware: Steam is barebones and uses completely non-intrusive DRM that features an offline mode if you so desire.

Click to expand...

DRM by it's very nature is intrusive, it very purpose is to restrict how I use the games I buy. Thankfully I can usually crack the games with all the problems it entails, but meh, as long as I can play the game the way I want I'm happy (And before you call me pirate, I own ~200 retail games and around 50 games from DD services, mostly from GOG. It's up to me what I do with them as long as I don't distribute copies of them.).

Fortunately thanks to GOG.com, where I buy most of my games these days, I don't have to do that much anymore. Gamersgate is another DD service I use but mostly to buy Paradox's own games. Thankfully there is pretty widely known workaround allowing users to make fully functional non internet requiring backups of their games but unfortunatlely as far as I've heard it does not work on all 3rd party games there.

Spyware: Valve is a video game company, not market research -- no spyware in Steam.

Click to expand...

You do know that it gathers your system infomation = spyware. I do not know if you can opt out of it (if you can, it should be off by default) but it should not need to gather any data, period. If someone needs information of my system (or anything else for that matter), it's my choise wether or not I provide them. Only police has right to monitor my activities without my knowledge and even they need to suspect me of serious crime and get court permission in order to do it.

You're just being ignorant and trolling because you are living in the past, please stop.

Click to expand...

And you are the only one entiled to have opinion? Bear in mind that I and most others pissed by Firaxis decision to use steamworks would not mind if installing it was optional or we if could buy the game from retail or DD service of our choise without having to install Steam. One vendor/system/DD service exlusive games should not exist in this day and age anyway.

But anyway, I'll vote with my wallet and skip it. It's a shame as I've bought, played and loved all Civ games and most of spin-offs since Civ 1 came out (Civ I - IV with all expansions (even the test of time thingie), Colonization, Civ IV:Col, Alpha Centauri (no expansion unfortunately), CTP 1&2, MoO 1-3, Galciv 1-2 with all expansions and Master of Magic.)

Civ 5 is already #3 on the Steam top seller's list only 5 hours after being available. Civ 4 is also the weekend deal and is the #1 seller.

Toni1 said:

AFAIC it will still be available in retail stores. The problem is, you'll be forced to use Valve's crapware no wether you want to play whether you want or not. No matter where you buy it steamworks will be mandatory to play the game.

Click to expand...

The normal version will be available in retail stores, but the Collector's Edition is advertised as being Steam exclusive. Which means you can't buy it anywhere else.
And as long as digitally distributed games cost as much or most of the time more money than what retailers are taking, I see no advantage in having a purely digital version of a game.

I would have considered buying a Collector's Edition of Civ5, but I won't buy a digital CE!

Chalks said:

Fantastic news.

Click to expand...

Yeah, this news saves a lot of money, for a new computer and the game, and saves a lot of my time .

Steamworks is great news. Means I won't have to copy my saved games when I'm travelling and they're all be right there waiting for me on my laptop and desktop.

Can't wait to play civ5.

Jarvi said:

Steamworks is great news. Means I won't have to copy my saved games when I'm travelling and they're all be right there waiting for me on my laptop and desktop.

Can't wait to play civ5.

Click to expand...

If they utilize Steam Cloud, you'll be able to access saves online. I'm not entirely sure if Civ V will utilize Steam Cloud or not...

I hope they do though. Everything's in place Steam-side, it's just depends on whether the developers get round to implementing it.

Do not want.

I've got all my Civ versions boxed, and I fully intend to continue that.

EDIT: Also yay, I love seeing the incredible levels of INGORANCE about steam every time a new game uses it /sarcasm

I like steam, and I don't have a problem with it (although to be honest I wasn't expecting Civ5 to require it and am slightly disappointed).

VALVe only gathers data through steam for one reason: To improve their service. They ASK if they can record your computer hard ware, that way they know what kind of hardware and drivers their customers use so they can develop their games and services so they work for all of their customers. They record ingame statistics for their games like TF2, but so doe many other FPS games (even the halo games), and they use these statistics to further revise maps and tweaks to the game (although they do screw up occaisionally), they, however, won't be recording any of that for Civ5, that would be Firaxis's job if they choose to do so.

EDIT: I really don't like how this reads:
Pre-Purchase now to receive the Cradle of Civilization Map Pack: Mesopotamia
- Plus also get the bonus Babylon Civilization with leader "Nebuchadnezzar II"

That just stinks of money gouging of content that should be in the full game. This is a pretty lousy collector's edition, that is a problem with digital special editions.

Woo, just preordered.

Pretty decent prices for the SE here in the UK certainly.

Actually, I am very, very happy with Steam. My experience with Portal, L4D1 and L4D2 via Steam has been great, especially the part about being able to install it on more than one machine at the same time and not having to keep remembering which computer the CD/DVD is in. I haven't had Steam itself crash (L4D2 itself is a different story, it was rushed), the automatic updates are nice, and with Mac support coming up in six days, I'll feel even better about it.

Now, about that Mac version of Civ V again ... sorry. That is sort of the only thing missing to perfection now.

Tamed said:

Oh come on, stop trolling. I'll address each point on a new line that's easy for you to read.

Resource hogging: Steam uses 40mb of System RAM, less than 1\4th of what Firefox uses.
System crashing: Excuse me? Steam cannot crash your system, it's not possible. The games on it can, but not the platform itself.
DRM Laden Bloatware: Steam is barebones and uses completely non-intrusive DRM that features an offline mode if you so desire.
Spyware: Valve is a video game company, not market research -- no spyware in Steam.

You're just being ignorant and trolling because you are living in the past, please stop.

Click to expand...

I have my own concerns about using Steam. So I went to their site to learn how founded my concerns were.

Here's what they have to say in their "About Steam" info....

System Requirements

Windows XP, Vista, or 7
512 MB RAM
1 Ghz or faster processor
1GB HD space (recommended)
Internet connection (broadband recommended)

Click to expand...

Resource hogging:
Going by my experience with Civ4's understated system reqs (to mention just one example).... I'm tending towards doubting that Steam has overstated theirs. 512 MB of RAM is much higher than your stated 40 MB. Why do they list it at 512 if only 40 is used? Will Steam be using a little RAM even in offline mode? Other programs run/monitor silently. Will Steam be eating up system resources everytime Civ is played? And 1 GB of memory??? Are you kidding me? Why must I tack that gig onto what I already need for Civ? I've a 60GB HD on the machine I would have used for Civ5. I'm not buying a bigger HD. I've an Optiplex Small Form Factor which suits me fine. Steam taking up 1/60th of that drive is ridiculous. Am I missing something, or is that really ridiculous?

System crashing:
Of course Steam can cause a system crash! It's software isn't it? It's one more level of complication. One more thing to go wrong. One more way to encounter system incompatibilities. For some reason windows defender comes to mind (running silent, competing for resources, until it runs into a system incompatibility and totally hangs my machine).

DRM Laden Bloatware:
Like the poster you quoted, I also don't like DRM and passed on Spore for it. Its something on my system which I have no power over. It sits there taking up storage space and competing for proccesing power. And if I should decide to delete the game, there is nothing short of reformating my harddrive that I can do to get rid of the DRM. And if Steam should go out of business, or I should stop paying comcast for the sporadically worse than dial-up broadband they offer me (the only broadband provider in my region).... then what happens? I lose the right to play the game I paid for. What if I reformat the drive? I could lose some purchased music this way. Company is out of business so no option to move it off this computer. Can't even reformat the harddrive after a nasty virus infection without losing the music. It's been paid for, but its not owned. I want to outright own the stuff I buy. And I don't want to be hassled to prove that I own what I bought. Next PC I get will likely be a Mac due in part to dealing with windows validation garbage.

Spyware:
Steam does have motivation to monitor gamers habits. Not saying they do, just saying their is motivation because there is something to gain. But for me personally it's not a spy concern, but rather a privacy concern. And not a concern about Steam per se, but about those who would game the Steam system to gain access to my personal information, or gain access to my system via Steams doorway. From what I gather from incidents like the recent facebook fiascoS and other incidents, I think my concerns are founded.



These things and others make me unhappy that firaxis has chosen this route. I don't know how offline play works, but from what I gather, one must have internet access (broadband recomended) to be able to register for the right to play the game. That alone irks me. I will learn more before I make a lasting judgement on this. But one thing for certain, I am considering waiting a month or more past release date before deciding if I will buy the game. And I see potential that I will pass on this game like I did with Colonization. This from a Civ fanatic who plays few games outside of Civ. Civ fits me (patch frustration etc aside). I was set to pre-order it and have begun setting aside the money for its purchase. I liked the silly, yet still somehow cool, bonus paraphernalia that I got with Civ4's pre-order package. I liked the idea of liking something so much that it made me happy to reserve my copy before release. Now not so much.

Good posting, White Elk!

White Elk said:

Resource hogging:
Going by my experience with Civ4's understated system reqs (to mention just one example).... I'm tending towards doubting that Steam has overstated theirs. 512 MB of RAM is much higher than your stated 40 MB. Why do they list it at 512 if only 40 is used? Will Steam be using a little RAM even in offline mode? Other programs run/monitor silently. Will Steam be eating up system resources everytime Civ is played? And 1 GB of memory??? Are you kidding me? Why must I tack that gig onto what I already need for Civ? I've a 60GB HD on the machine I would have used for Civ5. I'm not buying a bigger HD. I've an Optiplex Small Form Factor which suits me fine. Steam taking up 1/60th of that drive is ridiculous. Am I missing something, or is that really ridiculous?

Click to expand...

Steam is currently running on my system and is using 16mb of ram.
The steam platform uses up ~200mb hard disk space on my system.

Why don't you just download steam to check it out? It's not like it costs money.

White Elk said:

System crashing:
Of course Steam can cause a system crash! It's software isn't it? It's one more level of complication. One more thing to go wrong. One more way to encounter system incompatibilities. For some reason windows defender comes to mind (running silent, competing for resources, until it runs into a system incompatibility and totally hangs my machine).

Click to expand...

Erm, I've never had Steam crash on me, I've been using it for 5 years and I've opted into their beta testing system.

Again, feel free to download it instead of just making things up as you go along. It probably took you longer to make this post than it would take you to download it and just try it for yourself.

White Elk said:

DRM Laden Bloatware:
Like the poster you quoted, I also don't like DRM and passed on Spore for it. Its something on my system which I have no power over. It sits there taking up storage space and competing for proccesing power. And if I should decide to delete the game, there is nothing short of reformating my harddrive that I can do to get rid of the DRM. And if Steam should go out of business, or I should stop paying comcast for the sporadically worse than dial-up broadband they offer me (the only broadband provider in my region).... then what happens? I lose the right to play the game I paid for. What if I reformat the drive? I could lose some purchased music this way. Company is out of business so no option to move it off this computer. Can't even reformat the harddrive after a nasty virus infection without losing the music. It's been paid for, but its not owned. I want to outright own the stuff I buy. And I don't want to be hassled to prove that I own what I bought. Next PC I get will likely be a Mac due in part to dealing with windows validation garbage.

Click to expand...

You have no idea how Steam works. It does not limit installs, it allows you to instantly redownload the game as many times as you like on as many machines as you like. It has the facility to burn the game to a DVD or another drive as a backup.

All you can't do is log into steam on the same user from two different locations at once - and even then you can do it with "offline mode".

Again, that's a very long paragraph to basically tell us you don't know anything about steam.

White Elk said:

Spyware:
Steam does have motivation to monitor gamers habits. Not saying they do, just saying their is motivation because there is something to gain. But for me personally it's not a spy concern, but rather a privacy concern. And not a concern about Steam per se, but about those who would game the Steam system to gain access to my personal information, or gain access to my system via Steams doorway. From what I gather from incidents like the recent facebook fiascoS and other incidents, I think my concerns are founded.

Click to expand...

Tin foil hat time here. Not sure what you expect anyone to say about that other than welcome to the internet.

As far as the spying on thing concern, Steam DOES actually record your operating system along with all your computers specs, but you are free to opt out of this and refuse to allow them to do so when they ask. This is actually a good thing, as it collects data about peoples machines who play developers games and let them know exactly what sort of specs they have and helps with game design and patching.

To add to the hardware requirements, the 512 is listed as the minimum amount of memory your computer needs to have, not what steam itself will consume. Think of it as saying "For Windows and Steam to run, you need to have at least 512mb of memory installed in your pc." The program itself has a fairly small memory footprint when running.

As for hard drive space, I have no idea what its minimum really is. Most of the time the numbers quoted are what the program requires during installation, to unpack itself, installed and cleanup without running out of space. Once that is done its total taken size may well be smaller then 1 gig. Like I said though, I have no idea, my steam folder is just over 80gig now days.