Steam problem

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"Chadwick" <chadwick110@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1107253458.327407.233230@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
>
> Nada wrote:
>> Peter Lykkegaard wrote:
>>
>> > "John Lewis" wrote
>> >
>> >
>> >>You missed the whole point. HL2 is a SINGLE-PLAYER game.
>> >>Just like Halo 2 <<single-player>>.... no need for Xbox Live,
> except
>> >>if you need to download a patch.
>> >>
>> >
>> > And you don't think games eventually will be distributed through
> this canal?
>> > You have some reading to do
>> >
>> > - Peter
>>
>> And you have some downloading to do. I object this distribution
> method.
>> I need something concrete to put under my pillow at night, so that
>
>> the game-fairy will bring me more stand-alone patches burned into a
> CD-rom.
>
> You really need to have standalone patches on a CD? Why? You can't
> remove them afterwards, so what do you gain? I spose it saves
> downloading them again if you ever need to reinstall the program, but
> in that case wouldn't you be checking for the latest patch anyway?

If I wasn't interested in updating something that wasn't broken on my
machine before the HD crash/machine replacement, why would I want to do so
just because an HD crash/machine replacement occurred?

Reinstalling and updating are COMPLETELY separate decisions.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"riku" wrote

> The discussion was about single-player games, not online multiplayer
> games.
>
And who says that SP's won't be distributed through XBox-Live?

- Peter

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 14:38:51 +0100, "Peter Lykkegaard"
<polonline@hotmail.com> wrote:

>> The discussion was about single-player games, not online multiplayer
>> games.

>And who says that SP's won't be distributed through XBox-Live?

I say that they (commercial single-player games) aren't currently
distributed through XBox-live. So your point was supposed to be...
what?

Come back when XBox requires you to connect to XBox Live when you
bring a new single-player XBox DVD game from a store and try to play
it for the first time. Because that is what Steam does with retail DVD
version of Half-life 2.

Can't you really comprehend the difference, or are you just
argumentative?

 

[jeff]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

In article <367dibF4t0vl7U1@individual.net>, "Peter Lykkegaard" <polonline@hotmail.com> wrote:

>The automobile, the aeroplance, the helicopter, the rocket etc had their
>tiny problems (and still have)
>Anyone wish to stop spaceflights due to the ocassionally backsteps

Comparing Steam to those ground-breaking inventions is, IMHO, ridiculous.
One could just as easily (and more justifiably) compare Steam to DivX... or
the beer-hat.


>I find it interesting and appealing to get a glimpse of the future for
>onlinegaming

A lot of people don't care one whit for online gaming. I find Steam appalling
for the single-player gamer who just wants to be able to go to a store, buy a
game, install and play it, without any interference from the developer.


>To hell with fileplanet and their queuing system
>Or is it fileplanet you prefer above Steam?

I don't know what you're talking about. I've never downloaded a game patch
via file-planet. Historically, there have been plenty of free and easy
sources to retrieve game patches, from fan sites to the
developer/distributor's own web site.


>And trust me in ten years from now noone will even be able remember Steam

I certainly hope that's true.


>Fusion - the new Always Online (TM) Gaming System is the future!!

bleh.

 

[jeff]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

In article <3697mlF4oi48gU2@individual.net>, "EvilBill" <quake2lives@gmail.com> wrote:
>Chadwick <chadwick110@hotmail.com> typed as if devouring a plate of
>spoo:
>>
>> You really need to have standalone patches on a CD? Why? You can't
>> remove them afterwards, so what do you gain? I spose it saves
>> downloading them again if you ever need to reinstall the program, but
>> in that case wouldn't you be checking for the latest patch anyway?
>
>Personally I like to burn fresh CDs for my older games which include the
>latest patch and my favourite mods etc. Most games over 2 years old aren't
>being patched any more, so there's no need to go hunting for the latest one
>

Not to mention that "checking for" takes a heck of a lot less time than
"downloading."

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 14:52:18 GMT, jeff@work.com (Jeff) wrote:

>>To hell with fileplanet and their queuing system
>>Or is it fileplanet you prefer above Steam?
>
>I don't know what you're talking about. I've never downloaded a game patch
>via file-planet. Historically, there have been plenty of free and easy
>sources to retrieve game patches, from fan sites to the
>developer/distributor's own web site.

www.patches-scrolls.de is your friend. No queuing etc.

And I haven't found most of the queue systems that bad either. You
wait one minute for a download to start? That's about what it takes to
launch Steam + HL2 single-player anyway, even without patching.

And Peter seems to also forget that having "offline" versions of
updates does not mean that you can't also have automatically
downloadable updates. I understand you can download the patches either
through Stardock Central, OR as stand-alone files.

Why are some people against CHOICE?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

"riku" wrote

> Come back when XBox requires you to connect to XBox Live when you
> bring a new single-player XBox DVD game from a store and try to play
> it for the first time.

Ok

> Because that is what Steam does with retail DVD
> version of Half-life 2.

Hmm right
Can you mention other SP games of today that does not require the CD or DVD
in drive while playing?
Can you mention other SP games of today which does not include a MP
version - or several
Can you grasp that some people don't buy HL2 for the SP only?

> Can't you really comprehend the difference, or are you just
> argumentative?
>
Well I am just bit tired of this antisteam campaign that's all
I have been playing HL and it's mods for the last four years
With steam it's easier than ever dealing with the game and it's numerous
patches
No more waiting in queue on fileplanet
No more browsing the internet to get patches to patch patches

No I just get the latest client login and download the content to my
harddrive
And I can hazzle all I want with the content
Delete the game content and restart and you're on from scratch
No other system offers such an ease of management than Steam does
Mess with windows and you're up to a complete reinstall
Mess with steam and you can just delete the content and restart/revalidate
the game
Whatever it takes

Oh YES it comes with a cost - but it's nada in comparison with the benefits
it offers
And YES it is buggy and YES it has it flaws
And YES a large number of people can't benefit from Steam
Lack if internet, lak of broadband, lack of decent HW, hell even lack of
knowledge

Compare a pre 1900 automobile with the car you can have today
It takes time to get it perfect, but it is on the right tracks

- Peter

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

On Tue, 1 Feb 2005 16:44:54 +0100, "Peter Lykkegaard"
<polonline@hotmail.com> wrote:

>> Come back when XBox requires you to connect to XBox Live when you
>> bring a new single-player XBox DVD game from a store and try to play
>> it for the first time.
>
>Ok

I'll be waiting. Let's see how console gamers react if and when that
becomes reality.

>> Because that is what Steam does with retail DVD
>> version of Half-life 2.
>
>Hmm right
>Can you mention other SP games of today that does not require the CD or DVD
>in drive while playing?

Completely irrelevant to this discussion, which was about the need of
online activation for retail CD/DVD version of HL2 single-player.

But anyway, I think UT2003 or UT2004 didn't (after a patch) even if
you played offline against the bots. And there were other games too
where a patch removed the CD checks that didn't work on some DVD-R
drives. Yet, those games don't require online activation for
single-player, either.

>Can you mention other SP games of today which does not include a MP
>version - or several
>Can you grasp that some people don't buy HL2 for the SP only?

Completely irrelevant to this discussion, which was about the need of
online activation for retail CD/DVD version of HL2 single-player. Why
do you keep dragging the multiplayer aspect here too? Are you really
saying it is ok to require online activation for single-player,
because there are multiplayer games that also require online
activation? What kind of weird logic is that?

>> Can't you really comprehend the difference, or are you just
>> argumentative?
>>
>Well I am just bit tired of this antisteam campaign that's all
>I have been playing HL and it's mods for the last four years
>With steam it's easier than ever dealing with the game and it's numerous
>patches
>No more waiting in queue on fileplanet
>No more browsing the internet to get patches to patch patches

Etc.

None of those points still don't explain why there has to be online
activation for installing the DVD version of a SINGLE-PLAYER game.
Some people seem to have a misconception that you couldn't possibly
have the advantages of Steam without the current drawbacks. Why do you
feel that way?

>Oh YES it comes with a cost - but it's nada in comparison with the benefits
>it offers

See above. You could have the benefits WITHOUT the drawbacks. Stardock
Central proves this. Why is this so hard for some people to
comprehend?

Furthermore, your opinion that the benefits far outweight the
drawbacks is just that, your personal opinion. I have a different
opinion, the current drawbacks outweight the benefits for its
single-player games.

>Compare a pre 1900 automobile with the car you can have today
>It takes time to get it perfect, but it is on the right tracks

Completely irrelevant. Do modern cars require online activation,
unlike the 1900 automobiles? No.

 

[NaDa]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

Chadwick wrote:

> Nada wrote:
>
>>Peter Lykkegaard wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"John Lewis" wrote
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>You missed the whole point. HL2 is a SINGLE-PLAYER game.
>>>>Just like Halo 2 <<single-player>>.... no need for Xbox Live,
>
> except
>
>>>>if you need to download a patch.
>>>>
>>>
>>>And you don't think games eventually will be distributed through
>
> this canal?
>
>>>You have some reading to do
>>>
>>>- Peter
>>
>>And you have some downloading to do. I object this distribution
>
> method.
>
>> I need something concrete to put under my pillow at night, so that
>
>
>>the game-fairy will bring me more stand-alone patches burned into a
>
> CD-rom.
>
> You really need to have standalone patches on a CD? Why?

It's how I've done it for the past few years. I'd like to see games
working without patching, but one of my all-time favorites "Start Trek -
The Fallen" doesen't work without the mega patch, and it's conveniently
stored in one of my update/patch CD-R's if I ever need to install the
game again.

> You can't
> remove them afterwards, so what do you gain? I spose it saves
> downloading them again if you ever need to reinstall the program, but
> in that case wouldn't you be checking for the latest patch anyway?

Not really, if the first released patch works fine, why look for another?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

difool wrote:
> On Mon, 31 Jan 2005, John Lewis wrote:
>
>> Read (and understand) the whole paragraph above, PLEASE !!
>> See the bit about loading (installing) ??
>>
>> BTW, Steam's off-line mode is one of Valve's control-freak kludges.
>> It had a deliberately-inserted one month expiry date, until somebody
>> discovered it (with lots of consequent user-heat), and Valve hurridly
>> (er) fixed it -- it is probably 3 or 6 months now 🙂 🙂 With
>> Steam, the paying customers are forced to dance to Valve's tune.
>>
>> John Lewis
>
> right on John!
> and i go even further... i believe off-line as a feature will be fazed
> out in future steam versions

don't flame me or anything this is just a simple question

why do you believe this? apart from the evil valve shite, what makes you
believe this? what is your proof or at least some hint of this?



--


You're not a God, you're a birthday cake!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

On Mon, 31 Jan 2005 22:42:15 +0100, "Peter Lykkegaard"
<polonline@hotmail.com> wrote:

>"John Lewis" wrote
>
>> You missed the whole point. HL2 is a SINGLE-PLAYER game.
>> Just like Halo 2 <<single-player>>.... no need for Xbox Live, except
>> if you need to download a patch.
>>
>And you don't think games eventually will be distributed through this canal?

Yeah, canals have sluice-gates that sometimes don't work...like Steam.
..
Delivery is not the issue....it's paranoid developer-control after
delivery is the problem. Acceptable in the case of a MMORG
-- unique account and key. Not acceptable at all in the case of a
<single-player> game. In this case, the user should have full control
of his/her purchase at all times, with copy-protection and single-use
restriction build entirely INTO the product, NEVER EVER 3rd-party
administered by the developer.

John Lewis

>You have some reading to do
>
>- Peter
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

On 1 Feb 2005 02:24:18 -0800, "Chadwick" <chadwick110@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>
>Nada wrote:
>> Peter Lykkegaard wrote:
>>
>> > "John Lewis" wrote
>> >
>> >
>> >>You missed the whole point. HL2 is a SINGLE-PLAYER game.
>> >>Just like Halo 2 <<single-player>>.... no need for Xbox Live,
>except
>> >>if you need to download a patch.
>> >>
>> >
>> > And you don't think games eventually will be distributed through
>this canal?
>> > You have some reading to do
>> >
>> > - Peter
>>
>> And you have some downloading to do. I object this distribution
>method.
>> I need something concrete to put under my pillow at night, so that
>
>> the game-fairy will bring me more stand-alone patches burned into a
>CD-rom.
>
>You really need to have standalone patches on a CD? Why? You can't
>remove them afterwards, so what do you gain? I spose it saves
>downloading them again if you ever need to reinstall the program, but
>in that case wouldn't you be checking for the latest patch anyway?
>

Er.... I have ~ 10Gbytes of patches for my collection of PC games
going back to ~1995 instantly available, on HD partitions
in two different-vintage computer ( and archived elsewhere ).
Some of the patches are no longer publicly available.

For my legacy single-player games, no need for any internet
connection whatsoever.

John Lewis

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

On Wed, 2 Feb 2005, "Stoned Monkey" wrote:

> don't flame me or anything this is just a simple question

you're very funny!
you flame me but you ask me not to do the same
do you find it reasonable your request?

> why do you believe this? apart from the evil valve shite, what makes you
> believe this? what is your proof or at least some hint of this?

if you weren't so blind and tried to read carefully what posters like
John Lewis and Spalls Hurgenson have been writing since the beginning
about what steam really means in the long run and what is really behind
it, you would learn something useful which is, steam is just the first
step and the beginning of software developers trying to force a paradigm
shift into pc games turning it into a "service" system were you pay as
you use versus the now traditional pay once use forever

its really so sad seeing all you steam lovers not getting from this group
what really is important!
stop reading those worthless threads about the usual futile hl2 fan talk
and read the extremely interesting analyses about what valve is trying to
accomplish with steam!
try to once in your life expand your horizons!

--
post made in a steam-free computer
i said "NO" to valve and steam

please sign petition "Say NO! to Steam!" available at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/nosteam/petition.html

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,alt.games.half-life (More info?)

difool wrote:
> On Wed, 2 Feb 2005, "Stoned Monkey" wrote:
>
>> don't flame me or anything this is just a simple question
>
> you're very funny!
> you flame me but you ask me not to do the same
> do you find it reasonable your request?

where did I flame you?
the only times I might have flamed you is when you were calling everyone who
uses steam "ignorant, cowardly, weak and submissive, so you, strictly
speaking started the flaming

>> why do you believe this? apart from the evil valve shite, what makes
>> you believe this? what is your proof or at least some hint of this?
>
> if you weren't so blind and tried to read carefully what posters like
> John Lewis and Spalls Hurgenson have been writing since the beginning
> about what steam really means in the long run and what is really
> behind it, you would learn something useful which is, steam is just
> the first step and the beginning of software developers trying to
> force a paradigm shift into pc games turning it into a "service"
> system were you pay as you use versus the now traditional pay once
> use forever
>
> its really so sad seeing all you steam lovers not getting from this
> group what really is important!
> stop reading those worthless threads about the usual futile hl2 fan
> talk and read the extremely interesting analyses about what valve is
> trying to accomplish with steam!
> try to once in your life expand your horizons!

ah, so you mean there is no proof except that from posts by people who are
entirely unconnected to Vavle or any other source of insider info

--


You're not a God, you're a birthday cake!