spongbo 0 Posted July 22, 2006 Hell, I used to hate Steam too, but it's gotten much, much better over the years. I'm trying to think of a viable online distribution competitor - maybe EA? Do they only publish first-party stuff? (I haven't used any EA online purchased stuff, so don't know). ("secure") Online distribution is the future, it's just the providers that are getting sorted out. I wonder how many of the 270 non-Steamers would actively not buy the game if it were available via Steam, as opposed to, say, the number of people that wouldn't buy the game due to copy protection concerns (for eg, Starforce)... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Journeyman 0 Posted July 22, 2006 Hell, I used to hate Steam too, but it's gotten much, much better over the years. I assume that you have the latest version of Steam on your system then? OK, tell me a few things and I will decide whether it has changed enough to reconsider. 1) How much HD space does your 'current' version of Steam take up on your comp? (Mine took up over 4GB) 2) Each time you reboot your comp how long does it take for Steam to connect itself to the internet and decide what the latest uninteresting news it is gonna feed you via an annoying window after it has downloaded it? (Yes I have broadband! 3) Can this annoying feature be turned off? 4) How easy is it to exit the program and or uninstall it completely if required? 5) Can I still only register one computer to an account or do I still need to buy a game twice just to play coop with my wife? 6) If I decide that I don’t want Steam on my system can I still play a game that was downloaded by it? 7) Some of us use our computers for multiple tasks and not just for playing games. Does Steam now take these people into consideration in terms of wasted time on rebooting and HD space? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
h - 169 Posted July 22, 2006 I've got a couple too 8) What about people with 56k modem? 9) What about people with no credit card? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spongbo 0 Posted July 22, 2006 I'm not exactly a Steam lover, but I'd say it's the best of a mediocre bunch at the moment, and *guess* it has the largest penetration. It sounds like you had a really bad time with Steam - I basically started using it when HL2 was released; I'd got bored of Counterstrike by the time the first Steam version appeared, so never saw really early Steam, it was always fairly polished. It never killed my dog, if that's what you're asking... Quessies: 1) How much HD space does your 'current' version of Steam take up on your comp? (Mine took up over 4GB) >> Steam itself is very small. (I think you're thinking of the Source Engine). It's the games that take up all the space, and you can either delete them or better yet, not download them in the first place if you're not using them. 2) Each time you reboot your comp how long does it take for Steam to connect itself to the internet and decide what the latest uninteresting news it is gonna feed you via an annoying window after it has downloaded it? (Yes I have broadband! >> I find that an odd question - I can do other things while Steam does whatever it's doing. While I'm typing this, Steam is updating itself (been a while since I used it). Next, yes, there's a period during which it seems to do nothing - but at least on this PC, it uses virtually no CPU time while doing it. It hasn't stopped me typing this, or browsing other sites, or so on. 3) Can this annoying feature be turned off? >> Think so - untick the "show news about blah" thing in the settings menu. It didn't display since I did that just then, anyway, though it calls it an "instant message". 4) How easy is it to exit the program and or uninstall it completely if required? >> Exit the program - yes, of course - Right click the tray icon and choose Exit. Was this not always there? (if not, wow, that must have sucked! There's always Task Manager...) To uninstall, you can use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to do this. It has options for whether to run at startup. Each game can also be deleted, so if one's taking space, just fire up Steam, right-click the game and choose Delete Local Content. It can be set to not-run on Windows Startup through the options too, or using regular Windows methods. 5) Can I still only register one computer to an account or do I still need to buy a game twice just to play coop with my wife? >> Steam FAQ says you can have it installed on multiple PCs, but not use the same account on two PCs at once. Not sure if that's game-specific or a Steam thing. (Most commercial software licenses don't permit concurrent use, afaik) 6) If I decide that I don’t want Steam on my system can I still play a game that was downloaded by it? >> No - think of Steam as a meta-game that has content distribution and copy protection combined. You can play offline (I played all of Darwinia without an Internet connection, after it was downloaded). Steam provides the authorization framework for the game, so you need to use it to get in. No Steam= no Steam-based game. 7) Some of us use our computers for multiple tasks and not just for playing games. Does Steam now take these people into consideration in terms of wasted time on rebooting and HD space? >> That's a pretty interesting statement - again, Steam itself is small (the bin folder for both x86 and x64 versions *totals* 1MB - expect UI graphics to be another 10MB or so?), it's the *games* that are huge. Don't install the huge games - or delete them once you've played them - and you don't have a space problem. Not hugely different from other games. I use this computer primarily for *everything* - about 20% for games, if that - and Steam hasn't gotten in my way before, except when it's downloading content and I need every scrap of my teeny 1.5/256 connection to play a non-Steam game online! >> It sounds like you spend a lot of time rebooting. I haven't - to my knowledge - had to reboot because of anything happening in Steam. Ah! I just had a brainwave - are you using an older OS, like Win98? That might explain some of the symptoms you're describing... >> And to anticipate the next question - each game has a right-click and "delete local content" item. >> each game can be backed up (encrypted) so it never* has to be downloaded again (Steam must be present to play, though, as it contains your decryption key). Most of the tech/account stuff you're interested in can be found here (another dodgy search, which is why I took the time to answer...) http://support.steampowered.com/ I just noticed X3 is available on Steam, which I might now have to get... wonder if it still has Starforce in it... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spongbo 0 Posted July 22, 2006 9 and sorta 8: What forms of payment are accepted on Steam? We accept the following credit cards for purchases of Steam games: Visa Mastercard Discover American Express JCB In addition to the credit cards listed above, we do accept debit cards which bear the Visa or Mastercard logo. So, don't know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Average Joe 0 Posted July 22, 2006 I want my pc to die on me knowing that arma sleeps soundly in a case next to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spongbo 0 Posted July 22, 2006 Well, I've used Steam to recover from a rebuild without needing to find media, or CD keys, or anything else again. I'm a bit over the whole CD thing, I have too many of them already. Boxes, cases, all that crud, just get thrown out, the CD sleeved, and the key written down somewhere... sigh. Remember one username and password, and that's another... 16-ish games I don't have to actively worry about reinstalling. That's why it's cool to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Average Joe 0 Posted July 22, 2006 Thats news to me Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ralphwiggum 6 Posted July 22, 2006 spongbo, Search before posting. Whether you like it or not, most of the ideas have been already posted somewhere. no need to make new thread. Use this thread http://www.flashpoint1985.com/cgi-bin....;st=180 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
