ArmA 3 on Steamworks?

[Shatter3D_S0uL 1]

No.Just no.

Keep it optional.

[Kamov 1]

God damnit Bohemia.

[aviatormoser 6]

I don't think people should be required to have Steam to play Arma 3. The server browser issues in Arma II are annoying at worst, but surely can be fixed with an in-house solution.

As for Steam, I don't know where people get these ideas that its horrible DRM and a resource hog, and that its a clusterf--k with mods. That's all a bunch of crap. I use Steam with Arma and loads of mods, and I have no troubles whatsoever. It's no different now than it was when I started playing in '10.

People are just afraid of the weirdest things.

[onlyrazor 11]

You know, they might just need one to implement the functionality with the Steam version of Arma III or possibly CC:GM. You're going overboard with expecting it to be forced, especially since achievements and stats hardly matter in a game like Arma :p The Friends feature might be useful, but that's another story

I fully expect this to come bite me in the ass later

[Kamov 1]

I don't want it integrated at all. It does not fit.

[BobcatBob 10]

Steam should be properly integrated for steam copies, nothing else.

[metalcraze 290]

The Friends feature might be useful, but that's another story

It will be mostly useless in a game like ArmA as well.

This is a game where you gather with people that you are already bros with in some community and play at set times. Unless of course you want to experience the dark abyss that is public gaming on random servers which are often badly administered - and why would anyone want that?

What BIS needs to do is add a proper favorite server list and it will be enough. Since you and your bros will be playing on select few servers you came to like anyway.

[onlyrazor 11]

It will be mostly useless in a game like ArmA as well.

This is a game where you gather with people that you are already bros with in some community and play at set times. Unless of course you want to experience the dark abyss that is public gaming on random servers which are often badly administered - and why would anyone want that?

What BIS needs to do is add a proper favorite server list and it will be enough. Since you and your bros will be playing on select few servers you came to like anyway.

Upon retrospect, I agree. All the coop games I've played were set up in advance. It'd probably go unused by the more dedicated clannies.

[Ekko 1]

It will be mostly useless in a game like ArmA as well.

This is a game where you gather with people that you are already bros with in some community and play at set times. Unless of course you want to experience the dark abyss that is public gaming on random servers which are often badly administered - and why would anyone want that?

Well, ArmA 3 might just become a little different than the old ones so maybe there wont be a dark abyss anymore, there are many games who dont have these dark abysses.

All my quality games were purchased in steam, so I think ArmA 3 should also be in steam with steamworks added in, but it should be optional. Choosing whats best ins't so bad anyway nowadays. There is no actual problem with having steamworks, you just donwload steam and buy your game there or activate it in steam if you bought it at a store and you are ready to play. But some kids these days just like to stay so oldschool so too bad for them(they feel so cool). And in the end its not like buying a touch screen to be able to enjoy the most of windows 8...

[Kamov 1]

Well, ArmA 3 might just become a little different than the old ones so maybe there wont be a dark abyss anymore, there are many games who dont have these dark abysses.

All my quality games were purchased in steam, so I think ArmA 3 should also be in steam with steamworks added in, but it should be optional. Choosing whats best ins't so bad anyway nowadays. There is no actual problem with having steamworks, you just donwload steam and buy your game there or activate it in steam if you bought it at a store and you are ready to play. But some kids these days just like to stay so oldschool so too bad for them(they feel so cool). And in the end its not like buying a touch screen to be able to enjoy the most of windows 8...

I don't like monopolies.

[Ekko 1]

Yeah, they are scary, aren't they. Companies that grow strong should be stopped as soon as they have reached a certain limit known as: "made a whole lot of good games and then decided to have a digital gamestore." or else we are all screwed.

[LordLobs 10]

Steamworks is a lot better than Gamespy IMO... So I would appreciate the change if Bohemia implemented it for ArmA 3.

Also, Steam Workshop would be awesome to download mods! :O

[Deadfast 43]

"made a whole lot of good games and then decided to have a digital gamestore."

"...that has the monopoly in digital sales of games and lately has been trying to blur the line between digital and physical copies via the means of Steamworks which forcibly ties your physical copy to your digital Steam account turning your DVD into a glorified Steam download backup."

I believe that could be the part Kamov is concerned about.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Deadfast

[chortles 263]

the means of Steamworks which forcibly ties your physical copy to your digital Steam account giving you a glorified Steam download backup."

Alternate interpretation: "I don't have to download most of this stuff again to reinstall AND the backup (albeit with subsequent patch data needing download of course) is already on a disc? Sweet."

I'd actually prefer to see Steam Workshop (that is, moreso than the rest of "what else does Steam bring to the table") but not wanting to be tied to "a particular distribution network" is a perfectly fair reason to not use Steamworks, which I can respect as a motivation of BI's employees. (Certainly moreso than "the technical solution is rather different from what both we and our modding community are accustomed to", that reason just made me facepalm.)

Then again, unlike Kamov as a player I don't mind Steam being my sole digital download solution (at least after BF3 anyway... not coincidentally it's my only Origin purchase) and the fact that Steamworks allows me to buy a game from a different outlet such as the BI store and receive a Steam key I actually consider a plus.

[Deadfast 43]

Alternate interpretation: "I don't have to download most of this stuff again to reinstall AND the backup (albeit with subsequent patch data needing download of course) is already on a disc? Sweet."

If I wanted to have a backup of Steam content I could buy a DVD for 1 Euro and use a functionality present within Steam itself to burn a backup to it. I prefer my physical copies to stay physical copies.

[Hicks_09 10]

If steam was a forced requirement then I'd quite likely ignore Arma 3 and any future BIS products that force it as a requirement. Probably advise others to think very carefully about supporting such behaviour as well.

See no reason as a customer to support the restrictions of drm. Particularly when the disc requirements for Arma 2 were removed in a patch - much the same was as with CD Projekt and The Witcher 2.

I encourage others to check out and buy on gog due to their mindset. It's great to see BIS titles up on gog. As an optional retailer there's no reason to not sell your product on as many platforms as you can be it retail, gog, sprocket, origin or steam. It gives the customer choices.

Forcing steam via steamworks though?

Might not mean much in the grand scale of things but it'd loose me as a customer.

[Herbal Influence 10]

If steam was a forced requirement then I'd quite likely ignore Arma 3 and any future BIS products that force it as a requirement. Probably advise others to think very carefully about supporting such behaviour as well.

See no reason as a customer to support the restrictions of drm. Particularly when the disc requirements for Arma 2 were removed in a patch - much the same was as with CD Projekt and The Witcher 2.

I encourage others to check out and buy on gog due to their mindset. It's great to see BIS titles up on gog. As an optional retailer there's no reason to not sell your product on as many platforms as you can be it retail, gog, sprocket, origin or steam. It gives the customer choices.

Forcing steam via steamworks though?

Might not mean much in the grand scale of things but it'd loose me as a customer.

+1, being a gamer and All-BIS-games-buyer since 2001.

[Smurf 12]

Steamworks games can also be purchased in other websites.

[onlyrazor 11]

Technically, the main difference between a Steamworks-enabled and regular game is that you must install the game on Steam when you install it.

[chortles 263]

If I wanted to have a backup of Steam content I could buy a DVD for 1 Euro and use a functionality present within Steam itself to burn a backup to it. I prefer my physical copies to stay physical copies.

Whereas I see a retail Steamworks disc as "that backup was already done for me".

Then again, I've also seen a guy who insisted on buying BF3 for PC as a retail disc even after being told that it would be (relatively) cheaper as a download... and I believe even after being told that it would require Origin anyway.

Technically, the main difference between a Steamworks-enabled and regular game is that you must install the game on Steam when you install it.

More specifically, you receive a Steam key; that's how I bought XCOM: Enemy Unknown through Green Man Gaming (hey, an upfront $5 discount and $10 store credit or TF2 "hats"?) and redeemed the key through the Steam client, I understand that Amazon sales of Steamworks game downloads work the same way (as opposed to sales of the retail disc, even if it's Steamworks) and I understand that that's how the BI store's ARMA-on-Steam sales work as well.

As an optional retailer there's no reason to not sell your product on as many platforms as you can be it retail, gog, sprocket, origin or steam.

Considering what I quoted from Ivan above, you have no reason to worry about BI going down this road... for ARMA 3 anyway, though to me it seemed less flattering that the other reason seemed to be "we at BI have no idea how to make our stuff compatible with Steam Workshop anyway and neither does our modding community"... considering how CO "gets along" with Steam (ahahaha) I wouldn't be surprised if this unfamiliarity extended to other aspects of Steam.

[Rebel44 10]

Because steam is total corporatism within your video game product.

...

Its standart licence - almost identical to any other digital distribution service.

[Kaeptn_Blaubaer 10]

Its standart licence - almost identical to any other digital distribution service.

But it needs to run a client on your local machine. And whatever this client does, collecting any information or maybee changing something or something else, you allowed it. You don't have control in what they doing with it. This may break laws in some countries btw.

A lot of people claim about data protection when the goverment, police, secret service or whoever come with an idea about data collection, but easy give away the right of the information about themselves to steam, facebook and a lot of other so called "cool, must have (social) networks" (in this case let count steam as a network). This is crazy and stupid in my opinion.

And why the hell i have to run a (online) client for beeing allowed to play a single-player game? Makes no sense. That talking about illegal copies is only blabla and not a reason to do so.

That may not count only for steam there are others (origin for example). And the only reason is to make big money with it and doing it into that "big brother is watching you" direction.

The bad thing is, a lot of new games force you to install steam or similar clients and create an account. I might want to play such a game, but i dont bought and will never buy such a game.

[NoRailgunner 0]

Question is imo more about alternatives which aren't putting the user/player on a leash for whatever fancy reasons. Of course many people will always like the lowest pricetag/sale offers and cheer + protect their dealers/middleman/discounters - no matter what. As long as people can get what they need or "must have played" - everything is nice and sweet.... No need to read + understand those "terms and conditions", "licenses" or other similar "boring-stoopid" stuff - just clicky "YES, I agree!" and enjoy all the new entertaining drugs. DealerWin-ConsumerWin ;)

[Amra 10]

I would like to pay my money to BIS for a game. Why should I be forced to pay additional money to some lamers who give me "achivements" and "ingame chat" (or whatever lame function they have there)?!

[Ekko 1]

Question is imo more about alternatives which aren't putting the user/player on a leash for whatever fancy reasons. Of course many people will always like the lowest pricetag/sale offers and cheer + protect their dealers/middleman/discounters - no matter what. As long as people can get what they need or "must have played" - everything is nice and sweet.... No need to read + understand those "terms and conditions", "licenses" or other similar "boring-stoopid" stuff - just clicky "YES, I agree!" and enjoy all the new entertaining drugs. DealerWin-ConsumerWin ;)

++ This

I would like to pay my money to BIS for a game. Why should I be forced to pay additional money to some lamers who give me "achivements" and "ingame chat" (or whatever lame function they have there)?!

Hehe, you can get many games at lower prices on steam sometimes, in my case a lot lower. And paying less for additional features isn't all that bad nowadays. hihi, lamers? really? these "lamers" must feel offended.

Edited November 7, 2012 by Ekko