Benfits of Steam?

Hey ive never tried steam b4 and all my friends say get all of ur games there but whats so good about steam???

Pros: No worrying about game discs being lost or scratched or even in the disc tray Unlimited installs across any number of PC's You can't play Valve games (and a select few other titles) without it You're alerted of any updates to your games Cons: You MUST be online to play any game, even single-player ones Your game updates sometimes arrive later than they would if you downloaded them yourself One company controls all of your games I personally feel that the pros outweigh the cons in most cases.RayvinAzn

Hey ive never tried steam b4 and all my friends say get all of ur games there but whats so good about steam???

iliatay

[QUOTE="iliatay"]

Hey ive never tried steam b4 and all my friends say get all of ur games there but whats so good about steam???

Lockedge

I've loved steam so far except for one thing.....they implemented activation limits on the steam version of crysis and not on the disk version. I was running XP, then was able to purchase a copy of Vista 32 ( couldn't get a 64 bit at the time, I was getting half off so couldn't pass up) then joined the MSDN-AA and got vista 64. Once 7 Came Out I upgraded. Now this is a bit extreme as it all happened over just under 2 years, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Now once I get Windows 7 up and running what do I find out?? I've EXCEEDED THE ACTIVATIONS and can't play until I buy it again....

This wouldn't have been such a big deal if I had known that it had an activation limit ahead of time, but since they snuck that one in the steam version I just installed and uninstalled to my hearts content. Yeah bad move by me.

[QUOTE="iliatay"]

[QUOTE="Lockedge"][QUOTE="iliatay"]

Hey ive never tried steam b4 and all my friends say get all of ur games there but whats so good about steam???

bunny569

Again if you dont like it, we understand but you shouldnt go bashing and saying lies, ive used the offline mode, and i do rememebr abck in the day you did need to be online before you could get to offline, but that is changed, because valve listened to its consumer unlike other Devs, to me, my experience is perfect with valve, i have too many games to keep track of to manually update, too many to keep physical discs of, so i am thankful for that, if their servers were to die out, why should we worry? it has before due to an outtage but they have a colo, so you should be up soon if it happends again, maybe you should worry if your ISP servers ever go down and your internet service is out for a week because your paying for the service.

I've loved steam so far except for one thing.....they implemented activation limits on the steam version of crysis and not on the disk version. I was running XP, then was able to purchase a copy of Vista 32 ( couldn't get a 64 bit at the time, I was getting half off so couldn't pass up) then joined the MSDN-AA and got vista 64. Once 7 Came Out I upgraded. Now this is a bit extreme as it all happened over just under 2 years, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Now once I get Windows 7 up and running what do I find out?? I've EXCEEDED THE ACTIVATIONS and can't play until I buy it again....

This wouldn't have been such a big deal if I had known that it had an activation limit ahead of time, but since they snuck that one in the steam version I just installed and uninstalled to my hearts content. Yeah bad move by me.

Wow, a lot of hate for STEAM in here. The comment about it eating 200mb is odd, because on my machine it only eats up 15. You must have not used STEAM in awhile, it's much better than when it came out.

You can play games offline as long as they are updated. I know from experience cause I went without Internet for a month once and all my games worked fine, so no idea where you're getting this info. Yes you do have to be online first to activate offline mode, but really, how many times have you found yourself without Internet? These days internet is as standard as having running water and electricity.

Most games don't have activation limits, but if they do it will tell you on their store page before you buy it. Overtime most activation limits get removed, as proved in the past.

STEAM is great, don't let the haters talk you out of it. It automatically updates your games with latest patches/DLC and offers a whole community aspect behind it. It's a great service.

Wow, a lot of hate for STEAM in here. The comment about it eating 200mb is odd, because on my machine it only eats up 15. You must have not used STEAM in awhile, it's much better than when it came out.

You can play games offline as long as they are updated. I know from experience cause I went without Internet for a month once and all my games worked fine, so no idea where you're getting this info. Yes you do have to be online first to activate offline mode, but really, how many times have you found yourself without Internet? These days internet is as standard as having running water and electricity.

Most games don't have activation limits, but if they do it will tell you on their store page before you buy it. Overtime most activation limits get removed, as proved in the past.

STEAM is great, don't let the haters talk you out of it. It automatically updates your games with latest patches/DLC and offers a whole community aspect behind it. It's a great service.

You need to be online to download the game in the first place, so i dont see how that is a con, once online download the game and if u got no internet u can play offline.bunny569

If you plan on not having Internet I dunno why anyone would consider STEAM in the first place...after all it is Digital Distribution.

Steam is good.At first I was a little apprehensive allowing one company have so much control. But after loosing or damaging hundreds of dollars worth of game discs I decided to go the digital route, that way I never have had to worry about another disc again.Butter

[QUOTE="Sparticus247"]

I've loved steam so far except for one thing.....they implemented activation limits on the steam version of crysis and not on the disk version. I was running XP, then was able to purchase a copy of Vista 32 ( couldn't get a 64 bit at the time, I was getting half off so couldn't pass up) then joined the MSDN-AA and got vista 64. Once 7 Came Out I upgraded. Now this is a bit extreme as it all happened over just under 2 years, but that's just how it goes sometimes. Now once I get Windows 7 up and running what do I find out?? I've EXCEEDED THE ACTIVATIONS and can't play until I buy it again....

This wouldn't have been such a big deal if I had known that it had an activation limit ahead of time, but since they snuck that one in the steam version I just installed and uninstalled to my hearts content. Yeah bad move by me.

bunny569

Don't get me wrong, other than that little issue I've had a great experiance with steam thus far. I just wanted to at least give the guy a fair heads up on some possible issues that could arrise. I've got a pretty healthy mix of CD and DD games in my library. As I said it was more of a bad move on me for not loking into things like this ahead of time. None of my other games have a activation limit, just that one on steam. I'm more careful now and look out for it just in case.

[QUOTE="bunny569"][QUOTE="iliatay"] It poops down your throat, so you get in the habit of taking mints to freshen your breath. Honestly, though, there's nothing good about Steam at all. It's a gateway to connect to games that are installed on your computer that you need to be connected to the internet to in order to access them. If you ever forget to put yourself in offline mode once you connect online to Steam, and you're away somewhere without a connection(or whatnot), then congrats, you won't be able to play the games you own. Fantastic. Imagine moving out on your own, you can't arrange for internet to be run into your new place for a month, and you forgot to put your steam account in offline mode. You now can't play any steam games until you get an internet connection. I know I'm just repeating what I already said, but in no way shape or form is this kind of programming excusable. Ever. 'Tis why I boycott Valve on the PC. Now, I haven't used Steam for a year and a half, so maybe it's a bit different(I bet that dumb offline mode is still there though), but it also used to be a resource hog. Of course, with machines the way they are today, it's ok for Steam to eat up 200MB of RAM, just idling about, but on a machine with 1GB of RAM it nearly cripples it since it is requireed to run in the background while you play your games. It's like that annoying school monitor that stood behind you as you ate, waiting for you to drop something on the floor so he could nag on you for the next 20 minutes. Also, with Steam, there's no physical copies of things you purchase, which is a deterrent for me, as I require Internet too gain access to my games, and if something catastrophic were to happen to Valve's servers, and data was lost, I'd have nothing to show for it. At least, until the issue was fixed, but it puts the games you purchased in their hands, and if something emsses up, they're probably not liable so long as you eventually get back what you purchased. Considering their poor customer service, I wouldn't put it past them not compensating people, or at most giving people hats in TF2 or some crap like that, like that matters at all. It's a piss-poor gateway service that offers slightly lower prices with lots of negative aspects to it, that can make you feel like you're playing Superman 64 by the amount of hoops your flying through just to get something that's located on your hard-drive running.bunny569

Again if you dont like it, we understand but you shouldnt go bashing and saying lies, ive used the offline mode, and i do rememebr abck in the day you did need to be online before you could get to offline, but that is changed, because valve listened to its consumer unlike other Devs, to me, my experience is perfect with valve, i have too many games to keep track of to manually update, too many to keep physical discs of, so i am thankful for that, if their servers were to die out, why should we worry? it has before due to an outtage but they have a colo, so you should be up soon if it happends again, maybe you should worry if your ISP servers ever go down and your internet service is out for a week because your paying for the service.

Like I said in my post, it's been about a year and a half or more since I last used Steam, so mayhaps they've changed how it works and how efficient it runs. I don't know, because I don't use it anymore. Every word I've given here is the truth, to my recollection, barring the 200MB exaggeration(probably more like 130MB, but still)

The 200MB was an exaggeration, but it used to be a memory hog back when I used it, and when you're trying to play Half-Life 2 , it would be real cool if Steam would stop running altogether and save me the RAM for the game. Maybe they fixed this, I don't know, I'm using old knowledge, because Steam was a pile of donkey crap when I used it. I'm glad to hear they changed the offline mode issue, because that caused me a lot of problems back in the day.

Installing by disc saves internet usage. Maybe you don't live in Canada, but here we tend to have limits to how much we can download. My current limit is 80GB which is rocking awesome, but if your cap is half that number, a reformat with downloading all your steam games could cripple your month's usage. *shrug* That goes without saying though, as it's digital download, so I can't blame Steam for that. I suppose if you have no download limit, then leaving your client on while it downloads everything would be relatively handy. Upkeeping discs isn't hard, though. My old demo disc from when I first got my Pentium 1 machine still works without a hitch and is unscathed. Fury 3 ftw :P

It won't change my stance on Steam(due to my dislike for DD and it being an unnecessary gateway program), but it does change my respect level for Valve. At least they improved it, from what you've typed out.

[QUOTE="bunny569"]

[QUOTE="bunny569"] my friends are liers...

Lockedge

Again if you dont like it, we understand but you shouldnt go bashing and saying lies, ive used the offline mode, and i do rememebr abck in the day you did need to be online before you could get to offline, but that is changed, because valve listened to its consumer unlike other Devs, to me, my experience is perfect with valve, i have too many games to keep track of to manually update, too many to keep physical discs of, so i am thankful for that, if their servers were to die out, why should we worry? it has before due to an outtage but they have a colo, so you should be up soon if it happends again, maybe you should worry if your ISP servers ever go down and your internet service is out for a week because your paying for the service.

Like I said in my post, it's been about a year and a half or more since I last used Steam, so mayhaps they've changed how it works and how efficient it runs. I don't know, because I don't use it anymore. Every word I've given here is the truth, to my recollection, barring the 200MB exaggeration(probably more like 130MB, but still)

The 200MB was an exaggeration, but it used to be a memory hog back when I used it, and when you're trying to play Half-Life 2 , it would be real cool if Steam would stop running altogether and save me the RAM for the game. Maybe they fixed this, I don't know, I'm using old knowledge, because Steam was a pile of donkey crap when I used it. I'm glad to hear they changed the offline mode issue, because that caused me a lot of problems back in the day.

Installing by disc saves internet usage. Maybe you don't live in Canada, but here we tend to have limits to how much we can download. My current limit is 80GB which is rocking awesome, but if your cap is half that number, a reformat with downloading all your steam games could cripple your month's usage. *shrug* That goes without saying though, as it's digital download, so I can't blame Steam for that. I suppose if you have no download limit, then leaving your client on while it downloads everything would be relatively handy. Upkeeping discs isn't hard, though. My old demo disc from when I first got my Pentium 1 machine still works without a hitch and is unscathed. Fury 3 ftw :P

It won't change my stance on Steam(due to my dislike for DD and it being an unnecessary gateway program), but it does change my respect level for Valve. At least they improved it, from what you've typed out.

[QUOTE="bunny569"]

[QUOTE="bunny569"] my friends are liers...

Lockedge

Again if you dont like it, we understand but you shouldnt go bashing and saying lies, ive used the offline mode, and i do rememebr abck in the day you did need to be online before you could get to offline, but that is changed, because valve listened to its consumer unlike other Devs, to me, my experience is perfect with valve, i have too many games to keep track of to manually update, too many to keep physical discs of, so i am thankful for that, if their servers were to die out, why should we worry? it has before due to an outtage but they have a colo, so you should be up soon if it happends again, maybe you should worry if your ISP servers ever go down and your internet service is out for a week because your paying for the service.

Like I said in my post, it's been about a year and a half or more since I last used Steam, so mayhaps they've changed how it works and how efficient it runs. I don't know, because I don't use it anymore. Every word I've given here is the truth, to my recollection, barring the 200MB exaggeration(probably more like 130MB, but still)

The 200MB was an exaggeration, but it used to be a memory hog back when I used it, and when you're trying to play Half-Life 2 , it would be real cool if Steam would stop running altogether and save me the RAM for the game. Maybe they fixed this, I don't know, I'm using old knowledge, because Steam was a pile of donkey crap when I used it. I'm glad to hear they changed the offline mode issue, because that caused me a lot of problems back in the day.

Installing by disc saves internet usage. Maybe you don't live in Canada, but here we tend to have limits to how much we can download. My current limit is 80GB which is rocking awesome, but if your cap is half that number, a reformat with downloading all your steam games could cripple your month's usage. *shrug* That goes without saying though, as it's digital download, so I can't blame Steam for that. I suppose if you have no download limit, then leaving your client on while it downloads everything would be relatively handy. Upkeeping discs isn't hard, though. My old demo disc from when I first got my Pentium 1 machine still works without a hitch and is unscathed. Fury 3 ftw :P

It won't change my stance on Steam(due to my dislike for DD and it being an unnecessary gateway program), but it does change my respect level for Valve. At least they improved it, from what you've typed out.

Steam = DRM!

I has its good points and its bad points. I like to sell my games when iam done with them.

I am a huge steam fan. Have dl'd my games to my desktop and two laptops without incident. I play without being online all the time so not sure whats up with those comments? Steam does all my updates for me like a console.Even though I can not sell them,I pay alot less then buying from bestbuy or for a console. Plus I dont need the disk so I can play my game wherever I have it downloaded.