Why so many objections to Steam?

[Guest]

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

On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 21:53:36 -0600, "NightSky 421" <nightsky421@yahoo.ca>
wrote:

>7. Buy and download a game and where is your printed manual? If you're
>paying premium dollars for a game, shouldn't you get some printed
>documentation with it?

When was the last time a game included a real manual? The latest batch
seemed to only include PDFs or flimsy papers.

It's most severe with action games. The last two I purchased:

- Fair strike: a flimsy manual that didn't tell you how to properly
sand/take off in a helicopter. (This is a helicopter sim, with "realistic"
physics. )
- Doom 3. Don't remember any real manual printed out.

 

[Hulk]

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

"Andrew" <spamtrap@localhost.> wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 14:27:44 +0300, Hulk <Hulk@100TONS.spam> wrote:
>
>>There's a reason why they call them troijans, they may be hidden in
>>files and sometimes your Antivirus software won't spot them in time.
>>And there weren't any Brad Pitt's banging with wooden horses in front of
>>the castle either.
>
> I don't run any anti-virus software and have never suffered from a
> virus or trojan. Common sense is a lot more useful than any AV
> product.

If I had listened to common sense, I would had not plugged into the internet
at all in 1997.

>>DVD-drive is working just fine. In fact it's a test winner and has
>>installed all my other game DVDs and CD-roms just fine. I believe there
>>may be a fault with the game DVD itself.
>
>
> So your problem is with the disk provided by the retail channel. If
> you had installed it via Steam you would not have had that problem.

Really? Have you ever been in a situation where the download file has been
corrupted?

>>You assume wrong. My copy was on the d: drive and I expected it to work
>>after Windows reinstall, but it didn't. Steam is far from flawless, and
>>the interface is not clear enough.
>
> What is wrong with the interface?

It looks like a popup window, and it's not really clear whether it's an
advertisement for Valve's products or an extra menu for the game you're
supposedly have installed, registered and authenticated.

 

[Guest]

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

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 23:52:54 -0400, bk039@ncf.ca (Raymond Martineau)
wrote:

>On Tue, 12 Jul 2005 21:53:36 -0600, "NightSky 421" <nightsky421@yahoo.ca>
>wrote:
>
>>7. Buy and download a game and where is your printed manual? If you're
>>paying premium dollars for a game, shouldn't you get some printed
>>documentation with it?
>
>When was the last time a game included a real manual?

Almost any RPG you care to name, or action games
involving RPG elements.

GTA: San Andreas
etc.

> The latest batch
>seemed to only include PDFs or flimsy papers.
>
>It's most severe with action games.

Of course. You seldom need a brain to play them ( HL2, Doom3 etc.)
let alone a manual.

John Lewis


> The last two I purchased:
>
>- Fair strike: a flimsy manual that didn't tell you how to properly
>sand/take off in a helicopter. (This is a helicopter sim, with "realistic"
>physics. )
>- Doom 3. Don't remember any real manual printed out.

 

[Andrew]

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

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 00:45:52 +0300, "Hulk" <Hulk@100TONS.spam> wrote:

>> So your problem is with the disk provided by the retail channel. If
>> you had installed it via Steam you would not have had that problem.
>
>Really? Have you ever been in a situation where the download file has been
>corrupted?

Using less sophisticated transfer methods, yes. Not yet with Steam,
and I have 14 games on it at the moment.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Guest]

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

John Lewis wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 09:37:17 +0930, GFree <gfree678@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>>Well, I can trap you there with a simple fact: most games force you to
>>keep the CD/DVD in the drive as part of the copy-protection code. The
>>company is therefore *forcing* you to keep the disc there otherwise you
>>can't play (short of using cracks of course). You want to play something
>>different? Hunt down the disc, hope it can be read by the drive and hope
>>that SecuROM or whatever's being used does not trip up and prevent you
>
>>from playing the game.
>
>>My point is, if you're not gonna play Steam-based games because of how
>>Valve want you to play, then you have to admit to not playing the vast
>>majority of games based on the annoying CD/DVD checking copy-protection
>>schemes currently available.
>
>
> Annoying ?
>
> I have many PC games. Not one has failed because of the CD/DVD
> copy-protection. But again, I run first-class CD/DVD roms and burners
> ( all acquired at a far less than first-class price..no retail, all
> OEM versions... ).
>
> John Lewis

And likewise, I haven't had any problems with Steam. Yet some people
will have problems with the copy-protection used on CD/DVDs and some
will not. Hence, do we criticise copy-protection on CD/DVDs because it
doesn't work for some people? No, overall we don't. The same line of
thinking for Steam should apply.

Also, no CD-swapping is needed for Steam games.

 

[Guest]

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

"Raymond Martineau" <bk039@ncf.ca> wrote in message
news:s0obd153tgldrvc8b78nf6ioidmq92b59i@4ax.com...
>
> When was the last time a game included a real manual? The latest batch
> seemed to only include PDFs or flimsy papers.
>
> It's most severe with action games. The last two I purchased:
>
> - Fair strike: a flimsy manual that didn't tell you how to properly
> sand/take off in a helicopter. (This is a helicopter sim, with
> "realistic"
> physics. )
> - Doom 3. Don't remember any real manual printed out.


In all fairness, there are some games that really don't need a manual at
all, while others scream for one. My point was simply that in consideration
of the amount of money being charged for games delivered through Steam,
Valve is getting a heck of a deal for themselves. No middleman, no printed
materials (or any other physical materials for that matter), and no shipping
costs involved in getting the games to the stores. Heck, you even have to
burn the game yourself to your own store-bought media if you want a physical
copy.

 

[Guest]

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

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 12:37:13 -0400, cccc@home.net wrote:

>On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 09:36:15 GMT, riku <riku@none.invalid.com> wrote:
>
>>Sorry, but that is not all there is to it. First, about the risks. The
>>risk of getting trojans or viruses from game cracks is very real. I
>>don't know why you try to dismiss that.
>
>Can you point me to a single case of a crack that was infected .

Usually, they're infected if distributed through Kazaa or other
first-generation P2P software. That's how publishers and developers can
make plausable claims of viruses - even if they are ultimatly rare.

You will not see it on things like torrent or websites (or if you do, it
would be rare). Most warez sites cannot afford to lose fame because they
knowingly distribute an infected crack.

 

[Guest]

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

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 21:21:42 -0600, "NightSky 421"
<nightsky421@yahoo.ca> wrote:

>"Raymond Martineau" <bk039@ncf.ca> wrote in message
>news:s0obd153tgldrvc8b78nf6ioidmq92b59i@4ax.com...
>>
>> When was the last time a game included a real manual? The latest batch
>> seemed to only include PDFs or flimsy papers.
>>
>> It's most severe with action games. The last two I purchased:
>>
>> - Fair strike: a flimsy manual that didn't tell you how to properly
>> sand/take off in a helicopter. (This is a helicopter sim, with
>> "realistic"
>> physics. )
>> - Doom 3. Don't remember any real manual printed out.
>
>
>In all fairness, there are some games that really don't need a manual at
>all, while others scream for one. My point was simply that in consideration
>of the amount of money being charged for games delivered through Steam,
>Valve is getting a heck of a deal for themselves. No middleman, no printed
>materials (or any other physical materials for that matter), and no shipping
>costs involved in getting the games to the stores. Heck, you even have to
>burn the game yourself to your own store-bought media if you want a physical
>copy.
>
>

Steam:-

Convenience to Valve: 100% ( especially with respect to $$$ )
Convenience to user: 0%

Please don't count auto-updating.. lots of games have that built-in.
NWN, WoW etc...

John Lewis


- Technology early-birds are flying guinea-pigs.

 

[Andrew]

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

On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 21:21:42 -0600, "NightSky 421"
<nightsky421@yahoo.ca> wrote:

>In all fairness, there are some games that really don't need a manual at
>all, while others scream for one. My point was simply that in consideration
>of the amount of money being charged for games delivered through Steam,
>Valve is getting a heck of a deal for themselves. No middleman, no printed
>materials (or any other physical materials for that matter), and no shipping
>costs involved in getting the games to the stores. Heck, you even have to
>burn the game yourself to your own store-bought media if you want a physical
>copy.

And us gamers benefit from the developer getting a much larger slice
of the game cost so they can invest it further down the line into
bigger and better games. Personally I couldn't give a hoot about
printed manuals. GTA:VC has the most over produced manual I have ever
seen, but the amount of useful information in it is minimal.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Hulk]

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

NightSky 421 wrote:

> "Raymond Martineau" <bk039@ncf.ca> wrote:
>
>>When was the last time a game included a real manual? The latest batch
>>seemed to only include PDFs or flimsy papers.
>>
>>It's most severe with action games. The last two I purchased:
>>
>>- Fair strike: a flimsy manual that didn't tell you how to properly
>>sand/take off in a helicopter. (This is a helicopter sim, with
>>"realistic"
>>physics. )
>>- Doom 3. Don't remember any real manual printed out.
>
>
>
> In all fairness, there are some games that really don't need a manual at
> all, while others scream for one. My point was simply that in consideration
> of the amount of money being charged for games delivered through Steam,
> Valve is getting a heck of a deal for themselves. No middleman, no printed
> materials (or any other physical materials for that matter), and no shipping
> costs involved in getting the games to the stores. Heck, you even have to
> burn the game yourself to your own store-bought media if you want a physical
> copy.

As far as I'm concerned, it would be most helpful if there would be some
sort of manual for Steam itself, since the damn thing isn't always self
explanatory.

 

[Guest]

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

On Fri, 15 Jul 2005 06:02:59 GMT, john.dsl@verizon.net (John Lewis) wrote:

>On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 21:21:42 -0600, "NightSky 421"
><nightsky421@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>
>>"Raymond Martineau" <bk039@ncf.ca> wrote in message
>>news:s0obd153tgldrvc8b78nf6ioidmq92b59i@4ax.com...
>>>
>>> When was the last time a game included a real manual? The latest batch
>>> seemed to only include PDFs or flimsy papers.
>>>
>>> It's most severe with action games. The last two I purchased:
>>>
>>> - Fair strike: a flimsy manual that didn't tell you how to properly
>>> sand/take off in a helicopter. (This is a helicopter sim, with
>>> "realistic"
>>> physics. )
>>> - Doom 3. Don't remember any real manual printed out.
>>
>>
>>In all fairness, there are some games that really don't need a manual at
>>all, while others scream for one. My point was simply that in consideration
>>of the amount of money being charged for games delivered through Steam,
>>Valve is getting a heck of a deal for themselves. No middleman, no printed
>>materials (or any other physical materials for that matter), and no shipping
>>costs involved in getting the games to the stores. Heck, you even have to
>>burn the game yourself to your own store-bought media if you want a physical
>>copy.
>>
>>
>
>Steam:-
>
>Convenience to Valve: 100% ( especially with respect to $$$ )
>Convenience to user: 0%
>
>Please don't count auto-updating.. lots of games have that built-in.
>NWN, WoW etc...

I have no experience of the WoW update procedure but the NWN one works really
well.