A few things I hate about Steam.

RobertPters77

Senior member
Feb 11, 2011
480
0
0
1. When you buy games that require steam, like; Fallout: New Vegas or Black Ops. Even valve made games like Portal 2. You can't install from the disc and have to download all files from steam servers'. It pisses me off because sometimes it can take hours just to play a game.

2. You can't buy more than one multi-pack, ever... If I buy say a L4D(2) 4-pack, I can't buy another 4-pack. Even though I may have 7 friends that want to play with me. Also I hate that I can't buy multi-packs a game that I don't own nor want, for gifting purposes without receiving a copy for my account.

3. Lastly. Compatibility Issues. I have about 10 or so games that wont run or will run with severe issues in Win 7. Max Payne 1 has no audio. Deus Ex is stuck on 16 bit color and 800x600 res. BF2 won't run with steam overlay. Etc etc. If I buy a steam game I expect it work on my system with zero issues.


But goddamn is steam convenient.

End Rant.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
1. You can install from the disc https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=5357-FSQM-0382

2. Understandable

3. Not Steams fault. Max Payne on the store page says for requirements win 2000/XP only and Deus Ex win 95/98. You are complaining about a 9-10 year old games not working on a modern OS especially when the requirements don't list it. I don't know about your specific issues, but anytime I've had a problem with a game the Steam forums for that game usually had the fix for it in there if there is a way to fix it. I dunno about BF2, I do know some games simply don't play nice with the overlay for whatever reason.
 

Obsy

Senior member
Apr 28, 2009
389
0
0
1. When you buy games that require steam, like; Fallout: New Vegas or Black Ops. Even valve made games like Portal 2. You can't install from the disc and have to download all files from steam servers'. It pisses me off because sometimes it can take hours just to play a game.
What? I installed Blops and MW2 from my discs just fine.

3. Lastly. Compatibility Issues. I have about 10 or so games that wont run or will run with severe issues in Win 7. Max Payne 1 has no audio. Deus Ex is stuck on 16 bit color and 800x600 res. BF2 won't run with steam overlay. Etc etc. If I buy a steam game I expect it work on my system with zero issues.
Are you sure those aren't compatibility issues with Windows 7? And you can disable the Steam overlay, no?
 

RobertPters77

Senior member
Feb 11, 2011
480
0
0
1. Luck must be smiling upon you in your game installs. Mine never allows me to install from disc.

3. Want to know something funny? I have BF1942, Half-Life 1(Non steam original disc version from 98), and Red Alert 1 installed on my win 7 pc with no issues. I don't even have to force compatibility mode on for any of them.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
1. Luck must be smiling upon you in your game installs. Mine never allows me to install from disc.

3. Want to know something funny? I have BF1942, Half-Life 1(Non steam original disc version from 98), and Red Alert 1 installed on my win 7 pc with no issues. I don't even have to force compatibility mode on for any of them.

Want to know something funny? Every game is different. Just cause one game works fine doesn't mean another will. If all old games worked fine on modern OS's Good Old Games wouldn't exist.
 

NoSoup4You

Golden Member
Feb 12, 2007
1,253
6
81
"If I buy a steam game I expect it work on my system with zero issues."

Failed logic. It isn't Steam's responsibility to play tech support for every game in their library, yet like someone mentioned you can usually find the answer on the Steam forums.
 

Obsy

Senior member
Apr 28, 2009
389
0
0
1. Luck must be smiling upon you in your game installs. Mine never allows me to install from disc.

3. Want to know something funny? I have BF1942, Half-Life 1(Non steam original disc version from 98), and Red Alert 1 installed on my win 7 pc with no issues. I don't even have to force compatibility mode on for any of them.
You think you get two jam-packed DVDs just to install Steam, or something, then?
 

motsm

Golden Member
Jan 20, 2010
1,822
2
76
Deus Ex works on Windows 7 without issues from my CD copy, though I know the Steam version works without issues on modern systems as well, so your issue isn't Steam or the games fault.
 

stahlhart

Super Moderator Graphics Cards
Dec 21, 2010
4,273
77
91
Deus Ex (again, original CD installation) works fine at 1600x1200 and 32-bit color here. Patched to v1.014.
 

zerocool84

Lifer
Nov 11, 2004
36,041
472
126
1. When you buy games that require steam, like; Fallout: New Vegas or Black Ops. Even valve made games like Portal 2. You can't install from the disc and have to download all files from steam servers'. It pisses me off because sometimes it can take hours just to play a game.

2. You can't buy more than one multi-pack, ever... If I buy say a L4D(2) 4-pack, I can't buy another 4-pack. Even though I may have 7 friends that want to play with me. Also I hate that I can't buy multi-packs a game that I don't own nor want, for gifting purposes without receiving a copy for my account.

3. Lastly. Compatibility Issues. I have about 10 or so games that wont run or will run with severe issues in Win 7. Max Payne 1 has no audio. Deus Ex is stuck on 16 bit color and 800x600 res. BF2 won't run with steam overlay. Etc etc. If I buy a steam game I expect it work on my system with zero issues.


But goddamn is steam convenient.

End Rant.

I've played all those games on my current system and they work fine. Max Payne required some minor tweaking for the sound. Plus that's just how it is with PC gaming in general, Steam has nothing to do with it. If you want something to work all the time out of the box then PC gaming isn't for you.
 

oogabooga

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2003
7,806
3
81
My thoughts:

1) I think most games you can use the disc if you have it. Conversely though, lose the disc and it's there. That's kinda nice.

2) Understandable. I don't think this affects lots of people, but I can see this being annoying.

3) To be fair, Max Payne came out ten years ago - It's neat that it still works. But yea, Steam doesn't really do anything for compatibility, but this is more an overall computer gaming thing as mentioned. I can sorta see your point though, it'd be nice if the steam versions "worked".
 

toyota

Lifer
Apr 15, 2001
12,957
1
0
thats one thing that is nice about consoles. I can bust out the Gamecube and play any RE game whenever I want without issue. so many old pc games are a bitch to get going. you sometimes have to spend a lot of time searching to track down issues and install crap just to make some old games run properly.
 

Wyndru

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2009
7,318
4
76
I don't know about your specific issues, but anytime I've had a problem with a game the Steam forums for that game usually had the fix for it in there if there is a way to fix it. I dunno about BF2, I do know some games simply don't play nice with the overlay for whatever reason.

Max Payne 1 has a thread stickied in the steam forums with a download link to fix the audio for Win7 and Vista you run 1 file and it fixes it. Usually most other games have similar fixes, there are a few other games that I've fixed checking their forums from the steam link.

Overall you are right though, steam should incorporate fixes for all platforms, no one ever looks at system requirements, you just purchase, download and expect it to work.
 

darkewaffle

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2005
8,152
1
81
Overall you are right though, steam should incorporate fixes for all platforms, no one ever looks at system requirements, you just purchase, download and expect it to work.

I may not look at system requirements but I sure as hell don't expect everything to work right away on a Win7 64bit PC.
 

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
197
106
1. When you buy games that require steam, like; Fallout: New Vegas or Black Ops. Even valve made games like Portal 2. You can't install from the disc and have to download all files from steam servers'

???? You can install from disk, I do it all the time. My ISP has such a low cap that I will sometimes buy the disk, install, then steam just updates the game. This way I do not go over on my monthly usage.


2. You can't buy more than one multi-pack, ever... If I buy say a L4D(2) 4-pack, I can't buy another 4-pack.

Have you tried sending the second 4 pack as a gift?


3. Lastly. Compatibility Issues. I have about 10 or so games that wont run or will run with severe issues in Win 7.

That is not steams fault, that is the fault of the developer.

Steam is a content delivery system, not a game developer.
 

Wyndru

Diamond Member
Apr 9, 2009
7,318
4
76
I may not look at system requirements but I sure as hell don't expect everything to work right away on a Win7 64bit PC.

If steam is compatible with my OS, and it automatically allows you to purchase a game for download in the client, I would assume most people expect it to work. I know you can gift games, but IMO it's easy to detect the OS and warn people before they download.

Do they warn you if you try to download a mac game on a windows steam client? I've never tried this.
 

ibex333

Diamond Member
Mar 26, 2005
4,086
119
106
1. When you buy games that require steam, like; Fallout: New Vegas or Black Ops. Even valve made games like Portal 2. You can't install from the disc and have to download all files from steam servers'. It pisses me off because sometimes it can take hours just to play a game.

2. You can't buy more than one multi-pack, ever... If I buy say a L4D(2) 4-pack, I can't buy another 4-pack. Even though I may have 7 friends that want to play with me. Also I hate that I can't buy multi-packs a game that I don't own nor want, for gifting purposes without receiving a copy for my account.

3. Lastly. Compatibility Issues. I have about 10 or so games that wont run or will run with severe issues in Win 7. Max Payne 1 has no audio. Deus Ex is stuck on 16 bit color and 800x600 res. BF2 won't run with steam overlay. Etc etc. If I buy a steam game I expect it work on my system with zero issues.


But goddamn is steam convenient.

End Rant.

I don't understand how anyone can be so stupid as to dislike Steam. Steam is awesome. Steam is great. Steam is the best thing since sliced bread.

Now let us deal with failure of a post one step at a time...

1)You already know that you cant install games from a disk when you decide to download from steam. so why would you do it first and then bitch about it? If you dont like the distribution system, don't use it! It's not like you cant get these games through other means. Slow connection? Get a better one! In this day and age, even a loser like me with my tiny paycheck can afford to pay for a cable internet connection.

Even if you had DSL that would be plenty enough. My friend has DSL, and it takes him a day on average to download a game from Steam. So what? In the meantime he reads books about Eastern philosophy, plays GO, or sips green tea. And I'm not even trolling.. It's true! Activities such as this get his mind off of stressing about the fact that it takes a long time to download something. Oh, and off course he can always play the games he already has while waiting for his download. This friend of mine, is often an inspiration when I feel angry about something.

You gotta learn to CONTROL yourself, kid!

2)I seriously doubt you actually buy these multipacks, and even if you do, I doubt you buy them often. Are you some kind of a saint that constantly gifts multipacks to people? Can I have some games? Please? Pretty please?

Usually in the case of these multipacks, if you wait for a good sale, the price is so damn good that it's worth it even if you get a copy for yourself. And are you sure you're doing it right? A gift code shouldn't install anything on your account. Odd....

3)If you're gonna run such ancient games on Win7, you should be SMART enough to spend some time on google researching the various compatibility issues and finding solutions for those issues. That is what I do. Don't have the time or the desire? Then why would you bother in the 1st place?

Also, realize that steam is merely a distribution platform.. A store... Would you hold a car dealer personally responsible if the new car you bought had a break or an engine defect? No. It's not their fault. It's the manufacturers fault.

In the case of these games the devs are often not supporting this game anymore, or the company behind it has long disbanded. But no matter.. There is usually some kind of a fan website, community or a forum, that has a solution to run any ancient game you may want to play. Just GOOGLE it!

Dang, I cant believe I just wasted 5 minutes on this reply.. But then again.. I am bored at work.. so...
 

imaheadcase

Diamond Member
May 9, 2005
3,850
7
76
With my 60meg connection i can install games faster with steam than installing from a dvd drive. Hell i don't even have a DVD drive anymore in computer. lol

One time i installed win7 and steam and forgot to backup the game folders i had and installed all the games. I did not even know it was downloading them because i was playing bad company 2 when it was doing it. lol

Glad Charter does not enforce broadband caps like the other lame ISPs..
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
Overall you are right though, steam should incorporate fixes for all platforms, no one ever looks at system requirements, you just purchase, download and expect it to work.

??? That is like being mad at Best Buy the game you bought doesn't work on your PC.

Steam is a store, they sell and provide you with the game. They do support for their Steam client software. You expect them to put up support for every game they sell out of their pocket?

Just because you don't and others do not look at requirements doesn't mean that they aren't there and should be looked at to be sure something will work on your PC. It is your responsibility as a buyer to make sure you meet the requirements for something before you buy it.
 

GundamW

Golden Member
Feb 3, 2000
1,440
0
0
I love Steam. I bought more games from Steam than I would have from a retail store.
But there are things I wish Steam can do: (I am at work so I don't have Steam running. These are just from my memory)

- sell my games that I don't play any more or at least let me give it to a friend who don't have it

- allow me to install a game in any drive and/or any directory I want (without using any work around)

- if there is a bundle on sale and I own some of games in the bundle, allow me to give the duplicates to my friends

- is there an option to rate a game I own? (like how Amazon does it? Or how ebay rate a purchase? A few rating questions/stars and a optional comment field?)

- a way to see how many people own a game so that I can tell if a game is popular? Or have people still playing it? How many total hours people have play the game? Average total hours people spend in the game?

- allow me to organize my games (maybe into sublists like RPG, FPS, STR, etc)