release over steam

[ryankaplan 1]

i have had pretty much no problem with steam. I dont want to wait another month just so you people can a plastic fucking box which is going to get lost/torn apart by your kids/ chucked in the bin by your mum/ etc. Boxes are a no-no for me (personally speaking and thinking of oneself selfishly) as all they do for me is increase the price of the game.

[Journeyman 0]

Gnat @ Sep. 12 2006,11:48)]"an online distribution system" could well mean "existing" or "new".

New please!  

[CameronMcDonald 146]

Christ, I just noticed Nephilim's little explosion a page back. Poor thing.

My gaming computer isn't connected to the internet, so any crappy-ass-dodgy-Microsoft-RiseofLegends-style-autoupdating-without-an-option-to-copy-a-pa

tch-file-separately bullsh*t will end in my waltzing into the BIS Prague offices toting one of the following:

- Protesting sign.

- Steyr.

- Motor vehicle.

- Pained expression.

Or any combination of the above.

[DarkOmen 0]

I would have no problem buying it off of steam. I think Valve is doing a great job, they are improving a lot.

I don't really mind, as long as I have the game I can always go back to and install. I understand some people might have a preference for boxed versions but blatantly rejecting Steam/DigitalD like it's a curse is beyond me.

[Journeyman 0]

I would have no problem buying it off of steam. I think Valve is doing a great job, they are improving a lot.

I don't really mind, as long as I have the game I can always go back to and install. I understand some people might have a preference for boxed versions but blatantly rejecting Steam/DigitalD like it's a curse is beyond me.

Not rejecting DigitalD just Steam! Or at least Steam as I remember it a year ago!  

[Armalite666 0]

My only connection with steam was HL2. It was murder when I first used it. I recently reloaded HL2 and it has improved a great deal. Once you knock the automatic updates and downloads on the head its fine.

[el_muerko 0]

Steam was pap when it first came out but now its fine.

TBH I'd prefare something like Direct2Drive which doesnt restrict access to the files in any way

[evilnate 0]

If BIS can't find a US/UK publisher that suits their terms, i'm all for online distro until they can.

Point is.. I just saw some new screens and now I just wish I could sleep until it's released...

[Big Boss 0]

Steam is a great tool for people who have internet.But for those who dont is a pos.

I would relly like an Online Option , since where i live we dont get those new games or We get at a Uber price , Right now where i live HL2 cost 100 us (plain edition) , i got the same edition for 30 US.

IMO a game should be release in a "Real" way and in an Online way , and ofcourse no Online validation for those w/o internet

[_IrřnMan_™ 0]

That would be great

[Eurofighter 0]

I just want the game. I'd prefer to get it from the shops though I'll settle for steam if I have to.

[Dangerdog 0]

Dir Sirs,

I’ve been looking forward to this games release for a long time now, reading news sights and postings on other forums, the news that Starforce protection was used on the E3 press demo and now the beta version concerns me greatly.

There’s no amount of PR that could rectify the negative image that surrounds games which use Starforce for copy protection. I appreciate the need to protect your investment and as a small studio any amount of revenue lost due to piracy is too great; however, accepting the use of this form of copy protection ultimately assures you will have extremely low return on your investment, please reconsider before seriously damaging the relations with the community of fans and perspective new ones too.

Thank You,

Aaron Smith

[Balschoiw 0]

Morphicon, the german publisher has already confirmed that Arma will not be accompanied by Starforce.

Copy protection is publisher issue, not software studio issue, while I do think that BIS have a word on such issues before they sign deals.

[JdB 151]

Dir Sirs,

I’ve been looking forward to this games release for a long time now, reading news sights and postings on other forums, the news that Starforce protection was used on the E3 press demo and now the beta version concerns me greatly.

There’s no amount of PR that could rectify the negative image that surrounds games which use Starforce for copy protection. I appreciate the need to protect your investment and as a small studio any amount of revenue lost due to piracy is too great; however, accepting the use of this form of copy protection ultimately assures you will have extremely low return on your investment, please reconsider before seriously damaging the relations with the community of fans and perspective new ones too.

Thank You,

Aaron Smith

I'm pretty sure you didn't search for "Starforce" on this forum. Otherwise you would have noticed that there have been alot of threads about it, and that they were all closed. That most likely means that the forum rules forbid discussions about copy protection

[Baff2 0]

If they released it over Steam, then they should have a option of playing single player offline unlike HL-2.  You do not need a constant Internet connection to make missions on your mission editor.

what You speak about?

-unplug Network cable.

-start Steam

-You will be informed about Steam unable connect and asked to continue in offline mode or re-try

- choose continue in offline mode

- start HL2

- play HL2 singleplayer

simple ....

Sounds like a total nightmare. How about the software only logs on if I choose to use it online?

No cable unplugging, no waiting for time out. Just works.

[PainDealer 0]

i have had pretty much no problem with steam.

my only experiences with steam are solving my friends' problems with it.

[GBee 0]

Even if Steam did work perfectly and 100% of the time I still wouldn't want to use it. It's a heavy handed and intrusive approach to online distribution. The fact that it doesn't work 100% of the time just makes the situation worse.

If the steam system were applied to the real world, no-one would put up with it. Imagine walking into a store, purchasing a game and then being followed everywhere by two big security men as long as you own that game. They'd take up room in your home, report on your actions to their boss, occassionally prevent you playing your game until they had 'upgraded' it .... You never wanted these idiots, yet you can't use what is lawfully yours without them around.

[kegetys 2]

Imagine walking into a store, purchasing a game and then being followed everywhere by two big security men as long as you own that game.

And, if those security men would find you something they dont allow you doing ("cheating") they would not only take away your legally purchased game, they would also take your TV, audio system, bed and fridge that you just happened to purchase from the same store you bought the game from. And of course you would have no way to complain about this action and they would not provide you with any details why it was done.

[Baff2 0]

Imagine walking into a store, purchasing a game and then being followed everywhere by two big security men as long as you own that game.

And, if those security men would find you something they dont allow you doing ("cheating") they would not only take away your legally purchased game, they would also take your TV, audio system, bed and fridge that you just happened to purchase from the same store you bought the game from. And of course you would have no way to complain about this action and they would not provide you with any details why it was done.

I feel at home amongst cynics.

For consumers Steam is definitely a big step in the wrong direction.

I used to by off of Direct2Drive along time ago, but I notice that apart from the incompatable patching, they also charge highstreet prices now.

I don't like the idea of paying the same price for downloading as I do for printing, pressing, designing the box and manuals, distributing and retailing in a rented shop on an expensive high street with full time staff etc.

I do feel that downloaded distribution will be able to offer both the developer a larger share of the proceeds and the end user a cheaper product.

If the price is the same, I will mail order the disc everytime.

Like a previous poster I found the Joint Operations software extremely user friendly. I highly recommend that system.

N.B. was almost exclusively an internet game. It doesn't provide much protection for singleplayer developments.

[Straw Dog 0]

It's DVD from the local radioshack for me. Hardware packages still goes a long way. And i don't refer to my nether regions but thank you for noticing.

[Dangerdog 0]

Morphicon, the german publisher has already confirmed that Arma will not be accompanied by Starforce.

Copy protection is publisher issue, not software studio issue, while I do think that BIS have a word on such issues before they sign deals.

That's good news, I searched but didn't come up with anything regarding if they were going to use it in the final product or not.

If others don't follow suit I guess I'll have to get the german version and learn german.

I read the rules and it said nothing about discussing ArmA's copy protection, just Operation Flashpoint's

[Dwarden 1124]

GBee keeping ur game always forced to last version got both negative and positive points. One of strong positive is, any techsuppport done is always oriented on "GOLD" build and latest build, not tons of mid versions ...

Gbee. may i ask what actions Steam reports me doing ?

i guess You was simple lazy to do some packet analyze of what's and when being sent at all ... these myths are funny ...

or You got problem with EP2 reporting via Source extension where users got stuck (died etc.), if they finished level or game, how long it took them for each and so on ? ...

details on stats page http://www.steampowered.com/stats/ep1/

that's from developer point of view excellent feature of Source engine combined with Steam ...

Keygetys ... hardly take away hardware VAC bans by engine so cheater gets banned only in HL1 engine games or Source games or Unreal engine games (due fact there is only 1 UE2.5 game on steam and one UE3 (Roboblitz) upcoming i can't say if UE ban cover all or get split by major builds)...

there were some complete account bans for huge violations (mainly frauds etc) yet hardly to compare with equipment confiscation (wish cheaters deserve that

i know Steam is far from perfect and D2D is even worse in that term , TG and GG are way too small ... still

why people cry here about Steam/DD/TG/GG online distribution ... in most cases it's additional option (especially for games already in retail channels) ...

[Baff2 0]

http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep1/

It seems pretty harmless to me, although there is a lot of it, ostensibly beneficial even.

It does of course leave the door wide open for abuse and it is an invasion of privacy.

I strongly disagree with global bans for cheaters.

I know of numerous occaisons when for example peoples children have used cheats resulting in them getting banned from their favourite servers. I wouldn't consider this reasonable if it disabled their software completely.

I far prefer Punkbusters method of simply disconnecting you anytime a cheat is detected. What more is needed?

[GBee 0]

What seems harmless to one is invasive to another.

I personally deeply dislike the idea that they know how long I spend playing games, the time of day I play games the type of games I play. Combined with the other data they collect - such as my real name/address, bank details, my online nicknames, chat logs, forum posts etc They can build up a quite a picture of me as an individual. Whether they say they wouldn't abuse that information is immaterial - if that should ever happen, it will be too late.

My main point is this, if people want to use steam knowing that this information is being collected then that's fine by me. I don't care how little information they collect on me or how little space Steam takes up on my HDD - it's still more than is necessary and I don't want it!

I'm not anti online distribution, but I want an ISO with none of the extra crap.

[GBee 0]

I strongly disagree with global bans for cheaters.

I know of numerous occaisons when for example peoples children have used cheats resulting in them getting banned from their favourite servers.

Well I advocate global bans for cheaters. If your kids use cheats, then punish the kids and take responsibility for their actions.

The punkbuster approach is flawed in that you can't detect all cheats, all of the time. If someone cheats once, then they will almost certainly cheat again. Kicking them just means they go off and upgrade to the newest, undetectable version.