Civilization 5 Steamworks questions/concerns for inclusion in the FAQ

[moopoo]

Any complaints about modding are unfounded given the existence of the trillions* of Half Life 2, Garry's Mod, Mount and Blade, HOI3, EUIII, and more mods that I've played through Steam. It's just about putting it in the right folder which is pretty much how it's always been.

Exaggeration. Probably only a few dozen. Oh, and a huge Total War mod.

I don't think you are understanding the concerns at all. the concerns posted here have mostly been to do with making mods - whether we'd be able to use DLC assets, and if so, who can download mods based on these assets, as at present, it is unclear regarding both legality and 2k/firaxis' POV.

 

[Mercade]

I'm a Curious George (Peter actually), and what if I'd go to US, buy game there, get it to play on 21st of September and a day later I would travel to Helsinki for instance wanting to play? Something tells me that Steam will say (which is stupid), but can anyone confirm/deny this?

If you install on a laptop and take the laptop with you, then there's no problem because you can simply go into offline mode and take your laptop anywhere and play without ever having to authenticate again.

And if you're talking about installing on a PC in the US and then going to Helsinki to install it on another PC a day later (that is, before 24 September), well, then I suppose you're just trying to construct a borderling scenario for the purpose of creating a borderline scenario.

 

[Guardian_PL]

Thank you once again. I'm hooked and I'm loving it. Nothing will stop me from buying that game, it's somehow sad that I'm not in control of my emotions on this one, but it's also liberating in a way. Right now I wouldn't mind sending to Firaxis a sample of my blood and all personal details in order to play the game. I guess that makes me a true civfanatic, heh heh...

 

[argus05]

Call me an old fart, but I bought Sonar instead of Cubase because of the dongle.
Stream is a game killer for me.
But thanks for all the posts - now I know something about Stream.

 

[Senethro]

Sakhunder, if you read my post you'll get your probable answer. Unless you live in Russia or Thailand its extremely unlikely that you'll get a territory restricted version of the game.

 

[Sahkuhnder]

Sakhunder, if you read my post you'll get your probable answer. Unless you live in Russia or Thailand its extremely unlikely that you'll get a territory restricted version of the game.

Thank you for your response and no offense, but probable answer isn't what I was seeking, especially considering there are 2K corporate PR reps here who volunteered to answer our questions for the FAQ. I'm from the US but do travel and sometimes end up stuck waiting in Hotels and would like to know if Steam restricts my ability to fully play Civ5, including play online/get patches from Steam/add mods/etc.

2K Greg answered other questions since my question was posted so I am disappointed that this question has not been officially addressed by now too.

Can we please get someone official to simply confirm that there are either no regional restrictions of any kind or to tell us what regional restrictions Steam will impose?

 

[12agnar0k]

No you don't, because its Steam not Stream,

 

[Stilgar08]

You can still buy a physical copy of the game if you like - either in a store or on Amazon, etc.

Yes, I can! And IF I will buy the game I will buy a physical copy, not being able to play it without steam.
So nevertheless I need Steam, (would have to) install the bloody client and let my data flow freely to them. And when I'm buying the game and the steam server is down, I just have to wait because gamers are so patient.

You do realise that with Steam you can load the game onto as many PCs as you like?...Rather than having to buy it 3 times for €150, just buy it once - Steam will save you €100!

Yep, I do. And it wasn't all THAT bad. Talking about BTS means, it was just the add-on (not 50 Bucks) and it took me quite a while to get to copy no. 3 (back then it was merely 15 bucks or something...)
I just WANTED to be able to play the game wherever I want WITHOUT being connected to the internet, without having to dl steam on my Mom's old PC and without being spied on...
Oh, by the way:

Oh no! Steam records my user data, big deal.
Google records user data as well, lets using something else! But wait, Yahoo does it, Microsoft does it, Ask does it. The list goes on.

I see. So everybody does it and that's fine, correct?
As I mentioned in my previous post: I'm not paranoid, but here are a few movie and booktips for you: minority report, 1984, The Truman Show - that's where it leads to in the long run... We should try to stop that datamining as much as we can, IMHO. We should try to nip things in the bud.. Dunno if you have that term in english but I just don't want to be transparent citizen for anybody, neither for states or institutions, nor for companies. Why? Cause it's none of their business - And it's bad treatment of me and my personal rights!

And: YES: It is a big deal I'm trying to avoid it wherever I can. I'm buying stuff from amazon and use google and I think it shouldn't be normal that they offer me stuff connected to my previous buys... Remembering stuff I bought longer than I do remember or possessed them. Think about it - SCARY!

Why do people want to be so protective about their playing time being recorded? It's not like Valve wants to sell it.

I don't want to be protective about my playing behaviour. I want TO BE ABLE to be protective about it. And when Steam is involved, I'm not!

To quote Valve:
'Our on-going goal with Steam is to improve the service we offer customers. We believe that by sharing this data, we'll be able to spot problems earlier, improve the Steam service more efficiently, and ultimately build better products and experiences.'

that's not an argument - that's marketing!

For those who had trouble with Steam in the past, esp. with HL2 I have some rebuttals: 1. HL2 was a big game 2. Steam was relatively new 3. Nothing on this scale was ever tried before 4. Ergo, problems were to be expected.

Here's my rebuttal: Steam is a service and as a service it is sold to customers. If the products not working I'm rightfully angry about that! Problems were to be expected? I never read such a note from steam, if they would have informed the customer beforehand, ok. But they didn't... Why? Because it would have been bad publicity!
If you like steam, go ahead and get everything there, that's fine with me, I'm not a missionary. Why are you a missionary? I just want to have the freedom of choice and I don't have it!

Would you rather mess around with CD keys and having the disk in the drive at all times (easily cracked), having 2K enforce something stupidly strict a la Ubisoft or go for the best option, Steam.

1.) Yes I'd rather mess around with CD keys and having the disk in all the time! Seriously: May I please!?
2.) maybe steam is the best option for you, but not for me.

P.S.: @pawelo:

it's, like Stilgar said, about free choice.

You got my point! Thank you!

 

[Senethro]

So what information do you know that Steam is spying on you for?

 

[failhorse]

A funny side story, that relates to world regions/ countries with Steam. Generally when there are major updates, to Steam games, their servers take a nose dive. They never crash, but you download at 1/20th of the normal speed. You can switch your download region out of the US and, to say, Romania or Greenland and be among the first back up. (Referencing this years TF2 updates which were all HUGE.)

 

[Wezqu]

If you like steam, go ahead and get everything there, that's fine with me, I'm not a missionary. Why are you a missionary? I just want to have the freedom of choice and I don't have it!

What? You do have the freedom of choice but there is just two options either play the game with steam or don't buy it. As you see there is choices but you just don't like the choices. So you decide there is no options.

 

[12agnar0k]

Yeah, got to love those opinions.

 

[Omega124]

Alright, why exactly did you guys take out a major, popular, core civ, say "DUR, LET'S MAKE THIS STEAM ONLY", and made it so? I mean, its bad enough that we need Steam to even run this game, but why did you take out a COMPLETED, READY BEFORE RELEASE civ out of the game and made it download only. Do not sidestep with "Oh, the retail has trinkets and a CD" crap. I want a definite answer why I must pre-own Steam in order to get Babylon.

Also, why does Steam have a complete monopoly over DL, and now, retail versions. I want a definite value of the bribe taken and/or the definite legal threat that convinced you guys to make a deal with the devil, because there was no way you guys would stoop down to the level of you contacting them because you thought this was a good idea. You're better than this. I mean, I thought you were the one company that could fight the power, but I guess I was wrong.

Finally, seeing the MASSIVE hatred over this move, and little support of it, do you see 2K doing this again with Steam for Civ 6 as of right now. (And don't sidestep the question with "We do not know at this moment", at least give me a Yes or a No in a personal level)

 

[StStutter]

Alright, why exactly did you guys take out a major, popular, core civ, say "DUR, LET'S MAKE THIS STEAM ONLY", and made it so? I mean, its bad enough that we need Steam to even run this game, but why did you take out a COMPLETED, READY BEFORE RELEASE civ out of the game and made it download only. Do not sidestep with "Oh, the retail has trinkets and a CD" crap. I want a definite answer why I must pre-own Steam in order to get Babylon.

Also, why does Steam have a complete monopoly over DL, and now, retail versions. I want a definite value of the bribe taken and/or the definite legal threat that convinced you guys to make a deal with the devil, because there was no way you guys would stoop down to the level of you contacting them because you thought this was a good idea. You're better than this. I mean, I thought you were the one company that could fight the power, but I guess I was wrong.

Finally, seeing the MASSIVE hatred over this move, and little support of it, do you see 2K doing this again with Steam for Civ 6 as of right now. (And don't sidestep the question with "We do not know at this moment", at least give me a Yes or a No in a personal level)

Yes I see 2k choosing Steam again. The "MASSIVE hatred" you claim is present among only a small portion of the hardcore fanbase whereas Steam will help the game reach a much wider audience than it would otherwise, providing both marketing and advertising.

Secondly, Firaxis did not remove Babylon. Vanilla civ4 had 18 civs, vanilla civ5 has 18. Nothing's changed.They built an extra civ from the ground up to offer to those customers who wish to support Firaxis/2k or believes it is worth their 10$.

If you do not fall in one of those two categories, nothing has changed for you.

 

[12agnar0k]

Steam bashing, oh what a joy to read.

 

[Omega124]

Yes I see 2k choosing Steam again. The "MASSIVE hatred" you claim is present among only a small portion of the hardcore fanbase whereas Steam will help the game reach a much wider audience than it would otherwise, providing both marketing and advertising.

Secondly, Firaxis did not remove Babylon. Vanilla civ4 had 18 civs, vanilla civ5 has 18. Nothing's changed.They built an extra civ from the ground up to offer to those customers who wish to support Firaxis/2k or believes it is worth their 10$.

If you do not fall in one of those two categories, nothing has changed for you.

I can see your point in first part. However, didn't they say one of the major customers they were catering to was the modders? And while yes, Steam does helps rapid sharing of it, but it really hurts modding in the wrong run, with the automatic patches (and even turning it off doesn't work, it will refuse to work the moment you try online play, and once it recognizes it and you don't patch up, offline won't work until you do patch it), and the possibility of getting banned/legal troubles if they make content too similar to DLC, etc. So, if the modding is made harder with Steam, then didn't they just fail one of their goals without even trying?

Also, Babylon is not an extra when you have it COMPLETE BEFORE THE GAME IS EVEN RELEASED. They intentionally removed it, plain and simple. And enough with this "18 is the amount in Civ 4" bullcrap. Ever since the beginning of the series, each release added more civs in the vanilla. Meaning that they very well could had continued the trend by adding the 19th civ along with the 18 others (While its not a big jump, I'll give you that, it still is one). Instead, they chose the route of EA and decided to profit on it. What the hell, 2K?

 

[StStutter]

I can see your point in first part. However, didn't they say one of the major customers they were catering to was the modders? And while yes, Steam does helps rapid sharing of it, but it really hurts modding in the wrong run, with the automatic patches (and even turning it off doesn't work, it will refuse to work the moment you try online play, and once it recognizes it and you don't patch up, offline won't work until you do patch it), and the possibility of getting banned/legal troubles if they make content too similar to DLC, etc. So, if the modding is made harder with Steam, then didn't they just fail one of their goals without even trying?

Also, Babylon is not an extra when you have it COMPLETE BEFORE THE GAME IS EVEN RELEASED. They intentionally removed it, plain and simple. And enough with this "18 is the amount in Civ 4" bullcrap. Ever since the beginning of the series, each release added more civs in the vanilla. Meaning that they very well could had continued the trend by adding the 19th civ along with the 18 others (While its not a big jump, I'll give you that, it still is one). Instead, they chose the route of EA and decided to profit on it. What the hell, 2K?

I agree I am a little worried with regards to mod compatibility. They did say they would try to make most patches backwards compatible though, so hopefully patches won't affect most mods (I have my doubts regarding this however).

With regards to Babylon, I'm sure Firaxis was given a budget to complete the civs (including leader art, balancing, etc.). They decided they would do the most they could with that budget, producing the traditional 18 vanilla civs to the utmost of their capability.

When they decided to include a 19th, whether the decision be made right at the start or mid development, this would obviously increase the cost of production. To offset this, they are selling a deluxe edition which for $10 more, you gain access to that civ.

Should they have made all versions contain 19 civs and cost $5 more? Maybe.

But in the end, they are providing the customer with more options.

 

[12agnar0k]

1. Thier is no possibility that modding "too close to DLC" will result in bans on Steam or legal trouble from Steam, Greg had already confirmed that "Steam will have nothing to do with mods" which would include looking to see if its like any DLC. That's not to say you will be allowed to Mod DLC content, a "moderator" paid by 2k might remove any mod that's like DLC from the Mod Browser, but one thing that is clear, is that Steam will have nothing to do with it. As the Mod browser will not be hosted on Steam, it is seperate from the application, strictly in-game, not in-app.

2. How can you say "Bablyon was made for the core game and then removed it" What proof do you have, The intergration with Steam works was made long ago, the entire game has been designed around and to work with the application, Babylon for all we know may never of been planned to be made, but when they decided to make a deluexe version then BOOM lets make Babylon for it. How do you know that's not what happend. Besides the fact is their is nothing wrong with having a civ exclusive to the Deluexe Edition, nor is thier anything wrong with making this decision after already designing it, perhaps they have already designed 23 civ's fully, we know for a fact Greg said the maximum number of civs is 23 in the latest build, which would probably mean they have already developed 23 unique civ's, are you going to complain they have made these and are deliberatly holding them back intentionally for DLC content, what am I saying, ofcourse you are, your a bunch of Haters.

Moderator Action: Warned - Using labels like "haters" to attack other posters is not tolerated in this forum.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[thirdgeek]

When they decided to include a 19th, whether the decision be made right at the start or mid development, this would obviously increase the cost of production. To offset this, they are selling a deluxe edition which for $10 more, you gain access to that civ.

$10? The Special Edition (the boxed one) with Babylon costs $60 more than the Special Edition without Babylon.

 

[12agnar0k]

Their is no boxed edition with babylon, the special boxed edition contains some cool little miniatures and an art book, or as someone lovingly named them, "dust collectors & fly swatter" a perfect gift for any loved one.