Steam - Slowly Turning into an Inconvenience?

[VOP2288]

When Steam first came out it was pretty helpful...it was a nice app that allowed us to join online games with ease and after awhile provided fast and easy ways to download and buy our favorite and new games, patches, updates, and modifications.

Then...everything seemed to have gone down hill.

Now we have retail games needing to connect to Steam in order to even install...and half the time the game won't install correctly. Other games require a constant and working connection to the internet through Steam in order to even play...what the hell?

Sure, it may be a move in order to fight piracy on the newest and latest games but here's the big surprise...it DOESN'T. Games like Dawn of War II and Empire: Total War are out there for free from the right websites and people...and it seems like those versions are easier to get working than the actual retail or off-Steam versions!

What ticks me off the most is the fact that now suddenly games that I actually purchase via the video game store and have the physical CDs for sitting in front of me NEED to be authenticated via the internet and NEED the internet to install and play. What about people who don't have internet access? Someone who doesn't have internet access can damn sure play a video game can they not? And what happens to people who buy the game and may have such applications like Steam blocked? Like on a university or such network? Are they just out of luck? Do the game companies just tell them "oh well, thanks for buying our game anyway even though you can't actually use it..." no wonder people crack video games...especially ones like these where their cracked versions DONT need the internet or Steam to use.

I used to like Steam...now...I'm slowly losing faith in its ability to work effectively and for the better of the gamers.

Thoughts?

[Kamos]

I pretty much have to agree with you, hence why I haven't bought a single game that requires such measures.

[snuggans]

i think Valve is basically pointing people with no internet connections towards consoles. although having a computer without any internet access is plain crazy for me, i could see it happening under certain circumstances.

[Carach]

I pretty much have to agree with you, hence why I haven't bought a single game that requires such measures.

w0rd.

dont even get me started on the cluster that was the etw demo download with steam...

i try to avoid the use of steam if it is at all possible. and yea, these anti piracy measures arent working for . just pissing off the people that actually buy the game (and that doesnt just go for steam but for other games too that have their own versions)

the theory is great for steam dont get me wrong, and like mentioned in the OP when it first came out i thought it was alright.. but now.. meh.

[Larry Blackmon's Codpiece]

What about people who don't have internet access? Someone who doesn't have internet access can damn sure play a video game can they not? And what happens to people who buy the game and may have such applications like Steam blocked? Like on a university or such network? Are they just out of luck?
Thoughts?

And how many people don't have the Internet, or how many people go to those select few universities that block Steam? Not too many I'm guessing. Does this small number have to be accommodated at the expense of everyone else? Saying you don't have Internet is such a weak complaint. Because honestly, who doesn't have even a basic Internet connection? If you don't have the Internet you shouldn't even be gaming.

Sure, it may be a move in order to fight piracy on the newest and latest games but here's the big surprise...it DOESN'T. Games like Dawn of War II and Empire: Total War are out there for free from the right websites and people...and it seems like those versions are easier to get working than the actual retail or off-Steam versions!

Alright then, we shouldn't do anything at all to fight piracy because it's going to happen anyway, right?

Steam isn't going anywhere soon, it's only expanding, so we're all going to have to get used to it.

[VOP2288]

And how many people don't have the Internet, or how many people go to those select few universities that block Steam? Not too many I'm guessing. Does this small number have to be accommodated at the expense of everyone else? Saying you don't have Internet is such a weak complaint. Because honestly, who doesn't have even a basic Internet connection? If you don't have the Internet you shouldn't even be gaming.


Alright then, we shouldn't do anything at all to fight piracy because it's going to happen anyway, right?

Steam isn't going anywhere soon, it's only expanding, so we're all going to have to get used to it.

True...most people who own PCs do have internet access but what about those then have really slow speeds? It takes forever then to get a game installed and working properly through Steam rather than off a disk.

Saying that you shouldn't be gaming if you don't have an internet connection is just as bogus as me saying that people who have PCs might not have internet access. Internet access for games only really matters to those that want to play multiplayer...I for one, who am probably not alone, don't care for multiplayer...I've played maybe a grand total of 3 games in my life online: Warcraft III, Call of Duty, and Day of Defeat. Yet I own over 100 games for both the PC and consoles that I only play singleplayer on...so...despite all this...according to you I shouldn't be a gamer huh? Ridiculous...

Also, I think you'd be surprised about the whole university thing...I go to a smaller liberal arts school (which there are PLENTY of around the US) and they manage their network well, and for some reason they decided to block Steam...we've been trying to convince them to unblock it but have seen no results thus far. I would not be surprised if other institutions like mine had it blocked.

Look, I'm mostly miffed at Steam's unreliability to having things download, install, and work properly half the time. I'm also pissed off at the fact that now game companies are making loyal customers jump through 27 hoops dealing with Steam and similiar apps just to install or play a game.

And you know what? Music, Video Games, and Movies will ALWAYS be pirated...someone will ALWAYS find out how to do it and I really believe that it will NEVER be stopped no matter what. Alienating and pissing off your customers is not a good way to go about making people stop pirating...it actually has a reverse effect.

[Ishoss]

And how many people don't have the Internet, or how many people go to those select few universities that block Steam? Not too many I'm guessing. Does this small number have to be accommodated at the expense of everyone else? Saying you don't have Internet is such a weak complaint. Because honestly, who doesn't have even a basic Internet connection? If you don't have the Internet you shouldn't even be gaming.

I'm often without internet connection. For example at the cabin.

And my school blocks steam.

[SonOfCrusader76]

And how many people don't have the Internet, or how many people go to those select few universities that block Steam? Not too many I'm guessing. Does this small number have to be accommodated at the expense of everyone else? Saying you don't have Internet is such a weak complaint. Because honestly, who doesn't have even a basic Internet connection? If you don't have the Internet you shouldn't even be gaming.

Rubbish! I gamed for years and years before I got hold of the internet. If you've paid your money, as long as your PC can handle it, you should be able to play the game. End of!

[Larry Blackmon's Codpiece]

Rubbish! I gamed for years and years before I got hold of the internet. If you've paid your money, as long as your PC can handle it, you should be able to play the game. End of!

Gaming today isn't the same as gaming years and years ago, what with patches and such. If you invest in a rig to play today's video games it definitely should have the Internet. You spent all that money on a gaming rig with all the latest bells and whistles and it doesn't have even a basic Internet connection? There is no reason why a gamer shouldn't have an Internet connection.

Steam is worse than SecuROM? :hmmm:

Yeah I want to know where he is coming from with that statement too.

[SonOfCrusader76]

Gaming today isn't the same as gaming years and years ago, what with patches and such. If you invest in a rig to play today's video games it definitely should have the Internet. You spent all that money on a gaming rig with all the latest bells and whistles and it doesn't have even a basic Internet connection? There is no reason why a gamer shouldn't have an Internet connection.

Of course I have the internet now!! It's just my point of view that you shouldn't have to own the internet in order to play a game. I know some people without the net who come to me or go to a 'net cafe when they want to get patches.

[Wheelchair]

I tried to patch Dawn of War II, It must have error'd 8 or 9 times before I could finally finished it, omfg.

[Ältester der Motten]

My problem with Steam is its personal boundness. You can't just create several profiles for the whole household in a game anymore with Steam and are restricted to one profile/ person per game.
I find it weird how everyone threw a hissyfit at EA Games for Spore and yet nobody seems to care about it concerning Steam.

Otherwise I don't see the grand issue, even though being forced to have a connection to the internet going is far from perfection, since it could break down for whatever reasons for a good time.

[Magic Man]

My problem with Steam is its personal boundness. You can't just create several profiles for the whole household in a game anymore with Steam and are restricted to one profile/ person per game.

Yeah, me and my Dad are both having to use the same account so we can play ETW.

We both went halves on buying it, so it'd be rather dumb if only one of us could install it on our computer.

[edders]

I don't mind it as much as I used to since quite a few non-Valve games require you to install Steam, hence it's not much trouble. What pisses me off is a game like DoW2, where I bought the game from a retail store and had to install Steam (ok) AND Games for Windows Live...or I couldn't save the frickin' game. I don't want to have to keep multiple online services on my PC every time a major publisher wants to get in on what the cool kids are doing. Can you imagine multiple services equivalent to Steam being mandatory for every Ubi game, or Ea game, or Blizzard game etc etc.?

[Ältester der Motten]

Also a big minus is that you're forced to put it in your Steam-folder.

I would like to be able to ing decide myself on which ing partition/HDD I want to install a game.

[Magic Man]

I would like to be able to ing decide myself on which ing partition/HDD I want to install a game.

ing this.

[Larry Blackmon's Codpiece]

Also a big minus is that you're forced to put it in your Steam-folder.

Oh noes!

[Magic Man]

Oh noes!

It can be a pain.


I have multiple drives on my computer, and had to uninstall programs on D Drive where steam is located to fit Empire on, when i had 60 gigs free space on E drive.

[Arakorn]

It can be a pain.


I have multiple drives on my computer, and had to uninstall programs on D Drive where steam is located to fit Empire on, when i had 60 gigs free space on E drive.

, I'm going to be facing this too when I buy Empire.

Makes you wanna download the game instead...

[Mangerman]

It can be a pain.


I have multiple drives on my computer, and had to uninstall programs on D Drive where steam is located to fit Empire on, when i had 60 gigs free space on E drive.

Yeah this is my biggest (and maybe only) grievance with Steam, I'll need starting to empty my D drive soon if I get any more Steam games.