I wonder if Steam hitting the Mac will make more developers look into porting their existing games to the platform like DICE is? If so, I guess that would be good news for Mac users.
Congrats guys, come sit with us at the videogames table.
I wonder if Steam hitting the Mac will make more developers look into porting their existing games to the platform like DICE is? If so, I guess that would be good news for Mac users.
Congrats guys, come sit with us at the videogames table.
I just hope it leads to more games being coded with OpenGL. Start doing that.. all the sudden a whole bunch of porting problems go away.
DirectX has been good to gamers, but it's still proprietary, and it creates a lot of platform lock-in.
Course, not even John Carmack could stop DirectX, so maybe it'll never happen. But maybe Valve can have some impact.
Good on DICE. To encourage them I purchased BFBC2 on Steam and sent them a note that I would also buy a Mac version if they offered a competitive cross-grade price.
I figure positive fan feedback is as good a method as any.
I should really beat Dawn of War II's campaign at some point soon...I've owned it since Day 1.
I stopped right before the final mission or at least what I think is the final mission, because I didn't want it to end.
I completed it after hitting the 90k campaign score or whatever is needed for an achievement. I definitely had my fill of the game at that point. I think some of the optional missions that were popping up even stopped awarding me with loot as a completion award.
I really want Silent Hunter V. But I really don't want to deal with that Ubisoft bullshit.
Silent Hunter is one of my favourite series, but I will probably not get this until they decide to admit that they fucked up and remove the drm.
Agreed. I love playing 3 & 4, but it looks like this one takes the series to the next level (graphically and gameplay wise). If we're lucky we'll see that the drm hurts the sales, causing them to remove it and drop the price.
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HonkHonk is this poster.Registered User, __BANNED USERSregular
edited March 2010
I'm pretty sure it'll happen, but it could take a while.
I should really beat Dawn of War II's campaign at some point soon...I've owned it since Day 1.
I stopped right before the final mission or at least what I think is the final mission, because I didn't want it to end.
I completed it after hitting the 90k campaign score or whatever is needed for an achievement. I definitely had my fill of the game at that point. I think some of the optional missions that were popping up even stopped awarding me with loot as a completion award.
I wish there was some sort of New Game+ or endless mode for the loot aspect of the SP, was really intriguing.
I encountered Steam when Half Life 2 was released, and for about two weeks it prevented me from playing the game because of server issues or whatever the hell it was. After I finished HL2 I promptly uninstalled it and Steam and have never touched it ever since.
But today, I encountered it again, and it seems as nothing has changed. I bought Supreme Commander 2 from a shop on a DVD. I installed it, and for whatever fucking reason it installed Steam. Screw it, I thought, perhaps I can ignore it. But no...
After the installer completes, it takes me to a "my games" window in Steam. For some reason, an update for Supreme Commander 2 is downloading at 200k/s. It doesn't say how large it is, or why it is doing that, but I don't care, I click to launch the game... only to find a window telling me that sure, you can launch the game... in THREE FUCKING HOURS when the update completes. Unless Gas Powered Games released a horribly broken game, I don't want to apply a fucking patch the first thing I do. And what fucking patch takes three fucking hours to download at 200k/s? They seriously released a 2gb patch that MUST be applied first?
Well, I thought, this must be a Steam thing, so I close all the windows, and right click on the tray icon and select "Exit". Then double click the Supreme Commander 2 icon on my desktop to launch the game. What happens? "There already is an instance of Steam running, you can't launch another one", the game tells me.
FUCK STEAM!
I'm mainly a Mac user, and it absolutely fucking pains me that I probably have to buy a few games through Steam on Mac to support gaming on the Mac side, as I absolutely do not want to support this broken ass piece of fucking excuse for a digital delivery platform.
I hope Stardock releases Impulse on the Mac. At least they're not as intrusive.
EDIT: I checked the task manager for steam processes just now, and couldn't find one. So I clicked on the Supreme Commander 2 icon again, and was asked to log into Steam this time. How the fuck is this not just as bad as the shit Ubisoft just pulled? I seriously want to return my copy of the game, but I guess Squenix doesn't give two shits.
Someone said I could put Steam in "offline mode" and play it without patching, but if I try, all I get is a box telling me that it can't connect to the steam network and then it bloody quits.
Fuck me if they pull this shit on the Mac.
iTunes DRM is like heaven compared to this.
eobet on
Heard the proposition that RIAA and MPAA should join forces and form "Music And Film Industry Association"?
When you exit steam it closes all the windows and removes all the tray icons but it's actually still winding down in the background. If you try to open steam (or run a steam game) during this, you get that error message.
RandomEngy on
Profile -> Signature Settings -> Hide signatures always. Then you don't have to read this worthless text anymore.
When you exit steam it closes all the windows and removes all the tray icons but it's actually still winding down in the background. If you try to open steam (or run a steam game) during this, you get that error message.
And it used to be pretty common for it to actually leave steam.exe running indefinitely. Think they fixed most of that though.
Steam still flails wildly without a fast internet connection, yes, and Offline Mode works less well than its apologists would have it (since you've started the patch process, Offline Mode will not work until it has completed. To prevent this from happening you would need to disable the automatic update before a particularly large patch comes down the line). In essence it only works acceptably when you're set up well in advance - when you anticipate going on a holiday or something - and not when you're swapping frequently between connected and unconnected areas).
It's improved a lot since HL2 was first released but yeah there are still issues, albeit ones that most customers now do not face. But if you do, well, you're fucked. I'd had issues over the past year where the Steam client would simply ignore any attempt to pause, stop, or restart downloads, display the wrong information entirely, etc. - things which simply should not happen in 2010 (or 2009).
e: and I had the "stealth steam.exe running in the background after Steam->Exit" thing happen today, too. And it was downloading the huge DoW II update whilst doing so, after being set to pause (and displaying its status as such - I only found out when I checked task manager's network tab). wtf, steam?
Dude, first you need to patch the game, then you can take Steam offline. What happened is that you started updating the game and then wanted to go offline, of course that it won't let you do it because that's the same as trying to pause an installation and then trying to use the program.
I also don't get the great love affair much of the internet seems to have going on with steam. You all bitch and moan about drm and online activation, but when it's Valve doing it, suddenly its okay. You complain about how game X will no longer work if their publisher goes under due to online activation, but don't seem at all concerned about all the games which you bought via steam and that you don't even own physical media for if steam shuts down.
Similarly all the bitching about other online distributors is bizarre. Impulse is apparently evil because sometimes it's client displays a bug or two, as opposed to steam which will lock you completely out from playing games for extended periods of time if it decides to update a game (without prompting you) or goes offline is some kind of unexpected way. And the complaints about gamersgate are even more confusing... suddenly not having some kind of intrusive management interface for your games is a bad thing? So no interface is bad (gamersgate), a simple if occasionally buggy interface is bad (impulse), but an intrusive interface which periodically prevents you from playing games (steam) is ok?
Don't get me wrong, I love steam and buy most of my games through it these days, but I just don't get how irrational some people can get about it.
Steam's DRM and Online activation are generally pretty mellow compared to the alternative. I'd take automatic patches and proven support over StarForce or SecuROM or Ubisoft's shit any day of the week.
Some developers add additional DRM to their games when they release them on Steam (which is fairly retarded), but for the most part the only time you ever have to worry about Steam's DRM is when you install the game.
The reason we like the Steam interface is because it is a store, game launcher, friends list, chat application, and group website all in one. Gamer's Gate and Impulse are nowhere near as streamlined as Steam is.
As for shutdowns, Valve has made it pretty clear that if the service was ever to be shut off that they wouldn't leave everyone hanging and locked out of their purchases.
This has been Why I Like Steam.
Gabe please PM me and I will give you the address I would like the check mailed to kthnx
So no interface is bad (gamersgate), a simple if occasionally buggy interface is bad (impulse), but an intrusive interface which periodically prevents you from playing games (steam) is ok?
We're all masochists at heart.
But as it stands, if the GameSpy network can still exist to this day, I'm pretty confident in Valve and Steam's stability.
I also don't get the great love affair much of the internet seems to have going on with steam... Don't get me wrong, I love steam and buy most of my games through it...
I see, you love Steam, you're just not in love with it.
Someone was talking about this in a previous thread, but the reason people are okay with Valve's DRM is because it also offers utility. Yes you need a Steam account to play the game, but Steam doesn't give you a limit of how many times you can download a game, how many computers it can be installed on, or anything like that. In fact, Steam Cloud (Save games and preferences can be stored on the server) and Steam Play (You get both the Mac and PC versions of a game) actually ENCOURAGE you to put it on multiple machines. Most DRM makes it a hassle to even put it onto ONE machine.
As far as the whole "going under" thing, Valve is loaded beyond belief. Steam is pretty self-perpetuating at this point. And typically it isn't the company going under that's an issue, it's when the company decides to shut down a server for an older game to save a few bucks. Since all games use the same service on Steam, they don't have any incentive to do so (and haven't, as there's games that are almost two decades old on Steam). Also, you can backup anything you download on Steam onto physical media. Steam will compress the files into installer, and can even split them up into DVD or CD sized chunks for easy burning to disc.
I also don't get the great love affair much of the internet seems to have going on with steam.
[....]
I love steam and buy most of my games through it these days
One of these things don't belong.
At point, though, I actually don't like retail boxed games that force you to Steam up or go home, because that just goes in line with my opinion of DRM at large. Steamworks-based games get a hesitant, begrudging pass, but then you have shit like Dawn of War 2 and FEAR 2 requiring Steam and utilizing none of the platform's features. Hell, DoW2 supposedly uses Steam because of its autoupdate capabilities, and last I heard, even it couldn't even get that right.
There is a difference between loving something and being in love with it. I love my mother, but I wouldn't contemplate a love affair with her.
So from what I can tell people like steam because they don't believe Valve would ever do the wrong thing by them? Seems like a pretty naive attitude, but maybe I'm just a pessimist
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Congrats guys, come sit with us at the videogames table.
I just hope it leads to more games being coded with OpenGL. Start doing that.. all the sudden a whole bunch of porting problems go away.
DirectX has been good to gamers, but it's still proprietary, and it creates a lot of platform lock-in.
Course, not even John Carmack could stop DirectX, so maybe it'll never happen. But maybe Valve can have some impact.
I figure positive fan feedback is as good a method as any.
I stopped right before the final mission or at least what I think is the final mission, because I didn't want it to end.
Mine will look nicer.
I completed it after hitting the 90k campaign score or whatever is needed for an achievement. I definitely had my fill of the game at that point. I think some of the optional missions that were popping up even stopped awarding me with loot as a completion award.
My Backloggery
Silent Hunter is one of my favourite series, but I will probably not get this until they decide to admit that they fucked up and remove the drm.
Agreed. I love playing 3 & 4, but it looks like this one takes the series to the next level (graphically and gameplay wise). If we're lucky we'll see that the drm hurts the sales, causing them to remove it and drop the price.
When it does though, we'll kill people with math.
I wish there was some sort of New Game+ or endless mode for the loot aspect of the SP, was really intriguing.
Indeed, I always appreciate a game that requires a TI-86 and notepad. (probably why I played EVE for so long)
I have 30gb free. It needs 7.30gb. Apparently I don't have enough HD space.
Ok. Sure. That makes sense. If my computer is a bloody reverse TARDIS!
Does D2D require it's own program? Can I d/l it more than once/infinate times? I reallllllly want to play SupCom1.
I use the excuse that someone in the submarine had better be good at math to justify using the calculator.
Direct2Drive uses the GameSpy download manager thing, but I think you can opt to use your browser downloader instead.
Unlimited downloads, though.
Someone said I could put Steam in "offline mode" and play it without patching, but if I try, all I get is a box telling me that it can't connect to the steam network and then it bloody quits.
Fuck me if they pull this shit on the Mac.
iTunes DRM is like heaven compared to this.
While not quite that stupidly fast I often get near triple the download speeds in Steam that I get with normal downloads.
And it used to be pretty common for it to actually leave steam.exe running indefinitely. Think they fixed most of that though.
It's improved a lot since HL2 was first released but yeah there are still issues, albeit ones that most customers now do not face. But if you do, well, you're fucked. I'd had issues over the past year where the Steam client would simply ignore any attempt to pause, stop, or restart downloads, display the wrong information entirely, etc. - things which simply should not happen in 2010 (or 2009).
e: and I had the "stealth steam.exe running in the background after Steam->Exit" thing happen today, too. And it was downloading the huge DoW II update whilst doing so, after being set to pause (and displaying its status as such - I only found out when I checked task manager's network tab). wtf, steam?
Dude, first you need to patch the game, then you can take Steam offline. What happened is that you started updating the game and then wanted to go offline, of course that it won't let you do it because that's the same as trying to pause an installation and then trying to use the program.
I know this is nothing for some of you, but I just hit 40GB and my first reaction was damn.
I remember owning a computer with a 20MB hard drive.
Fuck.
Fun while it lasted I guess.
Similarly all the bitching about other online distributors is bizarre. Impulse is apparently evil because sometimes it's client displays a bug or two, as opposed to steam which will lock you completely out from playing games for extended periods of time if it decides to update a game (without prompting you) or goes offline is some kind of unexpected way. And the complaints about gamersgate are even more confusing... suddenly not having some kind of intrusive management interface for your games is a bad thing? So no interface is bad (gamersgate), a simple if occasionally buggy interface is bad (impulse), but an intrusive interface which periodically prevents you from playing games (steam) is ok?
Don't get me wrong, I love steam and buy most of my games through it these days, but I just don't get how irrational some people can get about it.
Some developers add additional DRM to their games when they release them on Steam (which is fairly retarded), but for the most part the only time you ever have to worry about Steam's DRM is when you install the game.
The reason we like the Steam interface is because it is a store, game launcher, friends list, chat application, and group website all in one. Gamer's Gate and Impulse are nowhere near as streamlined as Steam is.
As for shutdowns, Valve has made it pretty clear that if the service was ever to be shut off that they wouldn't leave everyone hanging and locked out of their purchases.
This has been Why I Like Steam.
But as it stands, if the GameSpy network can still exist to this day, I'm pretty confident in Valve and Steam's stability.
I see, you love Steam, you're just not in love with it.
Twitter 3DS: 0860 - 3257 - 2516
As far as the whole "going under" thing, Valve is loaded beyond belief. Steam is pretty self-perpetuating at this point. And typically it isn't the company going under that's an issue, it's when the company decides to shut down a server for an older game to save a few bucks. Since all games use the same service on Steam, they don't have any incentive to do so (and haven't, as there's games that are almost two decades old on Steam). Also, you can backup anything you download on Steam onto physical media. Steam will compress the files into installer, and can even split them up into DVD or CD sized chunks for easy burning to disc.
Mine is sitting at 98GB right now. Once the DOW2 patch finishes, I should hit 100GB.
One of these things don't belong.
At point, though, I actually don't like retail boxed games that force you to Steam up or go home, because that just goes in line with my opinion of DRM at large. Steamworks-based games get a hesitant, begrudging pass, but then you have shit like Dawn of War 2 and FEAR 2 requiring Steam and utilizing none of the platform's features. Hell, DoW2 supposedly uses Steam because of its autoupdate capabilities, and last I heard, even it couldn't even get that right.
So from what I can tell people like steam because they don't believe Valve would ever do the wrong thing by them? Seems like a pretty naive attitude, but maybe I'm just a pessimist