commie said:
@ AlaCarcuss
1 .The $5 Batman is here in Romania so I kind of 'cheated' with the comparison. Of course it doesn't change the fact that for me at least, Steam is not cheaper for many things. Got a lot of new boxed shit for peanuts. Got Two Worlds 2 when new for $15 along with Divinity II DKS for about the same price.
The key phrase here is "... for me at least...". For me and millions of others it most certainly is.
commie said:
2.I see what you mean with PC being viable again.. There HAS indeed been a resurgence in strategy titles for example, particularly 4X(for better or worse) and it does suggest that digital distribution has helped the smaller dev to release and promote niche titles.
Exactly what I meant.
commie said:
3. The price expectation DOES have an effect on whether a 'niche' title sells. I've been on many forums talking about Panzer Corps and I've read a shitload of comments from people that would be interested in the game, but the $50 dollars they ask for is too much when Steam has AAA titles for a few dollars in comparison. They actually wrote this.
I'm sorry commie, but do you realise how ridiculous this sounds? You're suggesting that a company offering cheap discounted products in a free market is a bad thing? You'd be happier if there were not steam sales and they just offered RRP?
commie said:
4. By patching I mean the way Steam often re-downloads the entire newer version of a game rather than offering just the patched files. If you're on a capped internet then every wasted MB really hurts.
Never seen this happen... ever... and my steam library stands at 200+ games.
commie said:
5. Yeah, in the sticks where I have a permanent presence when in Australia, internet costs are daylight robbery. It's just not worth getting Steam games as two or three games take up a months cap! It's not Valve's fault indeed, but it's a limitation of the system and it certainly is a fault of developers to use Steam for retail boxed versions of games. There is absolutely no reason that there should be Steam in a boxed game except as some optional thing. I remember when I bought Half Life 2 back in 2004, it took me 6 hours to activate the game, decrypt all the shit, then it crashed and I had to reinstall and wait another 6 hours. Turned me off from Steam forever after that.
Ok, we've established that steam may not be a viable option for people who choose to live in the middle of nowhere.
There definately is a reason for developers to use steam for boxed copies -> DRM, and as I mentioned, as much as I hate DRM as much as the next guy, steam is nothing but a call home once system. You mean boxed copies of non-steam games give you a choice of which DRM you'd like them to use??
As for HL2, I had it pre-loaded and clicked the play button on the stroke of midnight (actually, I think it was 4PM aussie time) and was playing it a minute later. It was a special case though as millions were doing exactly the same thing at exactly the same time and steam was in it's infancy.
commie said:
6. If we have to have DRM I'd rather a unique serial number tied to patches and other post-purchase support. Stardock games and Matrix games have their patches rarely cracked by pirates who tend to lose interest after a while, and these patches are usually so comprehensive and add so much that playing vanilla is like playing half a game.
Yes, so would I. I've been a great advocate of the way Stardock and others handle their DRM (none at all on the main game) and even greater for companies like CDP (none at all period).
In fact I believe we don't need DRM at all...ever. Unfortunately, most publisher's just don't see it that way and that's not going to change anytime soon.
Shannow said:
AlaCarcuss said:
What I meant was many more people now view the PC as a viable gaming platform because of steam.
WTF?
Reading comprehension is teh hard? This is a fact even commie recognises... see above.
commie said:
Thirdly, being online and having to download the game over and over again just to get a patched version is a complete and utter bullshit, particularly if I bought a boxed version.
Not really sure what you mean by this - it's just patching, you'd have to download the patches anyway no matter how you bought the original game, and if you don't want to, just disable the auto-update in steam.
commie said:
The issue seems to be that steam supposedly downloads a whole patched version of the game instead of simply downloading the patch. Can't believ steam is that derp. Must be an issue only with some games...?
And no, you don't have to download the patch "anyway". You can decide whether you want it or not. Some patches change stuff you might not want change, some introduce more bugs than they squash...
From what I gather turning off the auto-patcher (an issue one doesn't even have without steam) is not as trivial as it should be.
As I said to commie - never seen steam download a fully patched game instead of just patching the existing one. As for turning off auto-patching - Game->properties->"keep this game up to date" = off. How hard can it be? Works for me.
commie said:
Also, you usually only have to be online once to activate the game - most games play just fine in offline mode.
And without steam you don't have to be online at all. Your point
WTF? It depends on the DRM being used. Therer's pleanty of non-steam games that require you to be online to activate them. That's the DRM. If in the rare case that someone can't access the net at all just to activate the damn game - then no, steam is not for them.
Besides, it sure as hell's not Valve's fault you got shitty internet.
Shannow said:
commie said:
You're a cool enough guy Alacaruss, but your post is derp pesonified.
Again, perhaps (that my post is derp, not that I'm cool
). But the vitriole comming from the haters is just as derp the other way and most of it is just plain crap. I used to have reservations about steam (and most other DD providers), but I've been turned around. It's convienient, cheap, reliable and unobtrusive. Like I said, if we have to have DRM, I'll take steam anyday.
Shannow said:
What vitriol? "Derp"? Considering how many points I had to recycle from my first post "derp" is a kind description.
I wasn't refering to you in particular, some just go completely ape shit whenever steam is mentioned.
Shannow said:
(Dunno about "cool", though...
)
Well you wouldn't... you have to have the ability to actually recognise "cool"
Shannow said:
"Cheap"? Do you guys have "stores"? Do they have "bargain bins"?
Yes. Yes and Yes. But they are never as cheap as steam sales and I also can't be assed hunting through them anymore.
Shannow said:
"Convenient, reliable, unobstrusive"
: No.
:Yes.
Shannow said:
You don't have to have DRM. And I still don't get why so many people are bothered by that.
I agree, unfortunately most publisher's do not.
Fuck, took me half an hour to get all the quote tags right. :shock:
