Steam - love or hate?

[Namel]

How would you prove that DRM doesn't reduce piracy?

Of course it is impossible to prove.

I just don't see why it would reduce piracy. If I had wanted to pirate game before DRM was common I would have done it exactly same way I would do it now that DRM is common.

DRM is totally invisible to common pirate who just searches the game from web. It only bothers those who buy the game like me.

 

[LegioCorvus]

I love Steam.

Great gaming sales, unobtrusive software, and I don't need discs on my computer. Heck, if I've even been able to download one of my games w/saves at a relatives house for a particularly boring visit.

 

[milk steak]

I also love Steam.

• Great distribution platform. Single user account to purchase any number of games from any number of publishers.
• Because of the unified platform, patches are easy to roll out. This leads to quicker and frequent patches (and CiV is a great example -- 2 patches in a week).
• Great online community and social tools. I can see what my friends are playing, how long they've played it, what achievements they've received, and I can join their game any time through the buddy list. Very easy to setup gaming groups and meet some new people to game with too.
• Great sales. It's how I got into Civ ($20 for Civ IV Complete).
• Small footprint. Very small memory usage.
• Good fit and finish of the UI.
• In-game web browser. You can surf while waiting for your turns!
• Lots of indie games that you won't find at B&M retailers. Torchlight, etc. This is probably my favorite thing about Steam.
• Tons of old games! I bought Titan Quest and SimCity 4 through Steam for dirt-cheap. Purchased and downloaded the game within hours. Sure beats trying to track down a physical copy.
• Reinstalling my games is as easy as opening Steam and clicking a few links.

 

[BjornSwe]

This is why you need to buy the actual games, and not a permission to play from steam. You are their gameslave once you buy games from them, and as shown above they are not afraid to pull your leech if you "misbehave".

Thank you for telling me this about steam. I will make sure not to buy from them. I also think you should press charges against them for fraud and blackmail. (stealing back the games you paid for, as well as blackmailing you for $100).

 

[dorn]

Steam is awesome for me.

That said though I can definitely feel many people have justified complaints against it. Anyone who won't accept those complaints is just being closed minded and selfish.

You can't really blame Valve for the DRM aka "you must login" bit though. That's just plain flat out the publishers fault. If Valve didn't offer such a thing someone else would and we'd just be using a different service. The lockin though leaves even me a bit weary and I wish someone would start regulating this retail space pronto.

 

[Maniacal]

This is why you need to buy the actual games, and not a permission to play from steam. You are their gameslave once you buy games from them, and as shown above they are not afraid to pull your leech if you "misbehave".

Thank you for telling me this about steam. I will make sure not to buy from them. I also think you should press charges against them for fraud and blackmail. (stealing back the games you paid for, as well as blackmailing you for $100).

You get the same license (yes, license, you do NOT own the software you buy and yes this has recently been held up by an American court) whether you buy the game from brick and mortar retailer or from a digital retailer (that is what VALVe uses Steam for, delivering, updating, protecting (they are wise enough to admit no lock is unbreakable) and giving sweet in and out of game features). That guy got screwed over by Real Time Worlds and APB and whatever it is he did to trigger VALVe to automatically lock his account. That was a bad case, and certainly is nowhere near the norm. I have nearly 100 games on Steam (most of which I do not have a physical copy of) and have never had a problem with my account or payment, and neither have most of the people I know and certainly none of them to the extent of that APB issue. Of course, I also don't buy failed games and expect a refund.

 

[Songkok]

For anyone who has to use Steam for a game, your best bet is to open a different email account for each game you order. This way, if a game doesn't work and Steam will not give you a refund or a replacement, you can do a chargeback and not lose everything else you have paid for.

This is the way to go. i will have to keep a list of games and accounts though.

 

[WRL07]

So...being a die hard Civ fan (including Alpha Centauri, Civ: Revolutions, etc etc) -- does anyone hate this move to Steam? I've read all the pro's & con's. As a person working in Software Development I understand the need for copyright & IP protection but god I hate Steam. Yes, I hate it so much I finally created an account to open this thread. Hate or love Steam? Discuss.

I Hate STEAM, hate it, I'm tired of installing software on my computer that I don't want. I don't want steam having access to my computer, just to play a single player game.

Secondly, it took one day for steam to get cracked, it's not effective DRM, and it's pissing people off.

 

[Maniacal]

I Hate STEAM, hate it, I'm tired of installing software on my computer that I don't want. I don't want steam having access to my computer, just to play a single player game.

Secondly, it took one day for steam to get cracked, it's not effective DRM, and it's pissing people off.

The DRM is just one aspect, and nobody (not even Firaxis or VALVe) expects it to hold for long. They used it for other features, namely Steam Cloud and other Steamworks stuff.

 

[Namel]

The DRM is just one aspect, and nobody (not even Firaxis or VALVe) expects it to hold for long. They used it for other features, namely Steam Cloud and other Steamworks stuff.

Optional Steam would be great. What sucks is forcing it to me when I buy game DVD.

 

[milk steak]

Optional Steam would be great. What sucks is forcing it to me when I buy game DVD.

Agreed. I love Steam, but being forced to use it sucks. Everyone has their opinion about Steam, good or bad, but it shouldn't become a burden to those that don't prefer it.

But what would be the alternatives? Bioshock-like DRM? That would be f'in awful. In a sense, Steam is the lesser of evils when it comes to DRM (and I read that Steam is very easy to crack and it's more or less universal for any Steam game), but the shareholders and execs probably wouldn't have let the game be released DRM-free.

 

[Venereus]

Agreed. I love Steam, but being forced to use it sucks. Everyone has their opinion about Steam, good or bad, but it shouldn't become a burden to those that don't prefer it.

But what would be the alternatives? Bioshock-like DRM? That would be f'in awful. In a sense, Steam is the lesser of evils when it comes to DRM (and I read that Steam is very easy to crack and it's more or less universal for any Steam game), but the shareholders and execs probably wouldn't have let the game be released DRM-free.

No DRM is the alternative. It's not like it's useful.

 

[Vertico]

No, you're just wrong. In the US, at least, if you buy with a credit card and you don't get the product you purchased, you can just tell your credit card company to refuse to pay on your behalf, and they will credit your account and debit the vendor's account. This is the "chargeback" that people are talking about.

Yes true, I know - just wanted to use the same example Let's say you paid for your ticket with cash at the desk in the airport.

 

[mjamie14]

Steam just gets better and better for me...

I uninstalled it today since I don't really like Civ 5. No big deal, right? WRONG! All of the other games that Steam locked were uninstalled, as I assumed they would be. However, Guild Wars was also uninstalled. At no point was that game EVER linked to Steam on my system. EVER. I had every xpack. It's going to take me forever to reinstall with all of the updates and patches, not even including the time it's going to take me to find all of the disks. I'm absolutely livid right now...

 

[Maniacal]

There is absolutely no way Steam should have uninstalled Guild Wars if it wasn't a steam download or if was installed somewhere other than steamapps. When Steam is uninstalled it deletes everything in the Steam folder, and nowhere else.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9609-OBMP-2526

 

[DaviddesJ]

There is absolutely no way Steam should have uninstalled Guild Wars if it wasn't a steam download or if was installed somewhere other than steamapps. When Steam is uninstalled it deletes everything in the Steam folder, and nowhere else.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9609-OBMP-2526

Actually, that link says something slightly different:

The uninstallation process deletes the folder Steam was installed to to ensure it is fully uninstalled. If you accidentally installed Steam to a folder containing other data, for example C:\Program Files\ instead of C:\Program Files\Steam\, STOP!

 

[mjamie14]

There is absolutely no way Steam should have uninstalled Guild Wars if it wasn't a steam download or if was installed somewhere other than steamapps. When Steam is uninstalled it deletes everything in the Steam folder, and nowhere else.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9609-OBMP-2526

It absolutely did uninstall GW. I reinstalled and still have access to my account though, so that should be enough of an indication that it was not a Steam download as they were pretty good about removing my access to everything that was linked.

 

[tom2050]

Those who love Steam, should state what they love about it. Do you love the digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer or communications aspect of it?

Valve is smart, because by forcing users of Steam games to sign up in order to install the game, they are able to advertise immediately with their digital distribution, and are able to enforce their DRM at that moment. This is the reason why they probably won't ever go to 'sign up for Steam only to get updates' method.

So the only real things to like are MP and communications. MP is a positive; communications is somewhat irrelevant, given the amount of alternative communications services.

If you don't play online, MP is irrelevant... therefore, for those players, only communications is the plus here. DigDis is nice if you don't like actually having a tangible product.

 

[Moss]

Those who love Steam, should state what they love about it. Do you love the digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer or communications aspect of it?

I don't love steam, but I don't mind it either. And I say this with complete recognition that steam isn't the only one of its kind, but I find simple to use, easy to find games and to download them, and they run some great deals.

 

[Maniacal]

answered on next page.