I hate games for windows live

[blackened23]

I have the DVD / box to PC sf4 that I bought in 2009 that I now can't play because I lost the manual, and GFWL won't let me play online. No big deal, I can still play offline but i'm in awe that a game that I have the DVD for , and while the game *does* require the DVD to be in the drive to play - apparently thats not enough for GFWL. I can't play online because I lost my SF4 manual (which has the GFWL key)

GFWL has SF4 on my account with numerous achievements dating back to 2009, but apparently still wants my GFWL gamekey every time I try to play SF4 online. It forgot that I entered a key however long ago, and I have no means to retreive my GFWL key because I lost my manual. I know EVERY steam game would save my game key and this kind of crap would never be an issue. WAY TO STICK IT TO THE PAYING CUSTOMER, microsoft.

Whoever the team that created GFWL is, I hope they all get hit by a bus.

I hope there are many others out there that refuse to support any game using GFWL, and instead use games with STEAMWORKS.

 

[gorcorps]

All these people complaining about it and you don't see an issue because it worked ok with your ONE game that uses it? Just because it worked ok for you doesn't mean it works ok for everyone, which it evidently doesn't.

Yes. The point is I don't see an issue. That's because I've never had one. I'm not one to jump on the hate bandwagon because everybody else is. If I've never had a problem then that's my own experience. If you want me to conform to your lowly view of GFWL when my experience proves the opposite... well sir, then you can just piss right off.

I didn't say you're all wrong for hating it. All I said was I haven't experienced a problem so I don't see a reason for the hate. But then again I rarely get bothered by the piddling, insignificant little issues the general PC gamer crowd cries about, so maybe it's just my cheery demeanor.

I love GFWL so much I want to have sex with it. Our babies will be smart AND digital. Sometimes I wake up at night thrashing with passion and I just have to boot up Batman to get my fix.

 

[sandorski]

I've mentioned my experience with GFWL a few times in other threads and won't get into here. Despite the Suck, I won't refuse Games that use it, but will hate GFWL forever.

MS needs to simply stop with it. There is no Fix for this BS.

 

[blackened23]

I just found out that due to user complaints with Batman arkham asylum, Batman Arkham City will NOT use GFWL, and will use steamworks. Thank god, I was actually considering the 360 version istead....now its going to be PC gaming goodness.

Mwahaha. Thank god devs are realizing how much users HATE GFWL.

 

[titan131]

Yes. The point is I don't see an issue. That's because I've never had one. I'm not one to jump on the hate bandwagon because everybody else is. If I've never had a problem then that's my own experience. If you want me to conform to your lowly view of GFWL when my experience proves the opposite... well sir, then you can just piss right off.

I didn't say you're all wrong for hating it. All I said was I haven't experienced a problem so I don't see a reason for the hate. But then again I rarely get bothered by the piddling, insignificant little issues the general PC gamer crowd cries about, so maybe it's just my cheery demeanor.

I love GFWL so much I want to have sex with it. Our babies will be smart AND digital. Sometimes I wake up at night thrashing with passion and I just have to boot up Batman to get my fix.

You said sir that "you don't get the hate" when clearly people are experiencing problems with GFWL, what's not to get? Saying: "I have never had a problem with GFWL and I don't have a problem with it" is different from saying "I have had no problems with GFWL and I don't see any reason for anyone else to hate it" when clearly people are having serious problems with it, even preventing them from playing a game.

 

[you2]

What I find funny is MS has so much trouble making something (on the pc) 'just work'. Maybe they should let someone else develop windows

 

[apoppin]

You said sir that "you don't get the hate" when clearly people are experiencing problems with GFWL, what's not to get? Saying: "I have never had a problem with GFWL and I don't have a problem with it" is different from saying "I have had no problems with GFWL and I don't see any reason for anyone else to hate it" when clearly people are having serious problems with it, even preventing them from playing a game.

i even gave a partial solution - stay in OFFLINE mode for GFWL. It will solve most of the issues. However, i see the haters *want* to hate.
:whiste:

 

[blackened23]

i even gave a partial solution - stay in OFFLINE mode for GFWL. It will solve most of the issues. However, i see the haters *want* to hate.
:whiste:

Yes, the best solution for GFWL is to either disable it (lol) like you just mentioned, or NEVER BUY a game using GFWL. Or in my case, BOTH. Cy@ GFWL in fallout 3, thank god for the GFWL disabler. Wonder why someone would go through all the hassle to make a DISABLE mode for GFWL for nearly every game using it. Hmm?

The good news is that devs are listening and realizing their customers hate it. Just do a google search for game for windows live and you'll see hundreds of pages upon pages of people that despise it.

Haters gonna hate indeed, and most devs are listening.

 

[apoppin]

Yes, the best solution for GFWL is to either disable it (lol) like you just mentioned, or NEVER BUY a game using GFWL. Or in my case, BOTH. Cy@ GFWL in fallout 3, thank god for the GFWL disabler. Wonder why someone would go through all the hassle to make a DISABLE mode for GFWL for nearly every game using it. Hmm?

The good news is that devs are listening and realizing their customers hate it. Just do a google search for game for windows live and you'll see hundreds of pages upon pages of people that despise it.

Haters gonna hate indeed, and most devs are listening.

i used to hate Steam. Then it got tolerable.

Ubisoft has relented on the 'always on' connection. For their new games, you have to connect to the Internet each time you start a game. Then you can disconnect without being kicked out of the game.

EA authenticates Crysis 2 every time i change out a video card - maybe 5 times a week
:\

 

[Arglebargle]

i used to hate Steam. Then it got tolerable.

Ubisoft has relented on the 'always on' connection. For their new games, you have to connect to the Internet each time you start a game. Then you can disconnect without being kicked out of the game.

EA authenticates Crysis 2 every time i change out a video card - maybe 5 times a week
:\

That does sorta put you on the bleeding edge of video card exchange. ;-)

GFWL was tremendously irritating to me, causing similar issues to those already reported here. I now fix the problem by not getting GFWL games. Not even on sale at $5. Others may find other viable solutions, but I am pretty happy with mine.

 

[StinkyPinky]

It should be renamed Updates For Windows Live

All it ever wants to do is update.

 

[shortylickens]

It should be renamed Updates For Windows Live

All it ever wants to do is update.

Windows 7 is the same way. Assloads of miniupdates most of which I dont need. I try to disable the update program whenever I install fresh. Just check once every couple of months and thats all I need.

 

[apoppin]

That does sorta put you on the bleeding edge of video card exchange. ;-)

GFWL was tremendously irritating to me, causing similar issues to those already reported here. I now fix the problem by not getting GFWL games. Not even on sale at $5. Others may find other viable solutions, but I am pretty happy with mine.

i run a tech site; sometimes it is 5 times a day.

Just saying that we all have our pet peeves. i can handle GFWL in the offline mode.

 

[blackened23]

i run a tech site; sometimes it is 5 times a day.

Just saying that we all have our pet peeves. i can handle GFWL in the offline mode.

So there we have it, GFWL is tolerable when its disabled. News at 11.

In other news, we can all now agree that Steam is the superior solution that saves your game keys, allows unlimited reinstalls on new hardware, and doesn't prompt you for logging in / restarting windows / updating and crashing incessantly. F you microsoft. I just tried to play SF4 - GFWL logged me in even though I was supposed to be in offline mode, and promptly updated GFWL without asking me and restarted the computer without asking me. Upon trying to Play SF4 after the reboot, GFWL crashed. Good stuff.

 

[CuriousMike]

I just purchased retail disc of Dirt3.

GFWL is more of an annoyance than anything else... it's like an extra layer of stuff that I don't want to deal with, adds no value ( to me ), and if I had a checkbox I could tick-off that would allow me to not use it, I'd select that.

 

[apoppin]

So there we have it, GFWL is tolerable when its disabled. News at 11.

In other news, we can all now agree that Steam is the superior solution that saves your game keys, allows unlimited reinstalls on new hardware, and doesn't prompt you for logging in / restarting windows / updating and crashing incessantly. F you microsoft. I just tried to play SF4 - GFWL logged me in even though I was supposed to be in offline mode, and promptly updated GFWL without asking me and restarted the computer without asking me. Upon trying to Play SF4 after the reboot, GFWL crashed. Good stuff.

Steam was garbage just a couple of years ago. It was user unfriendly and positively hateful for dial-up. i still keep Steam in offline mode 99% of the time to prevent issues. And it goes double for GFWL; if you *must* use it, Offline works to ameliorate most of its issues; heck, i will even disconnect the cable if necessary.

News at 11:30 update:

Neither GFWL nor Steam are for us - they are DRM solutions for themselves. Neither are ideal but Steam is the lesser of the evils and it even has its fanboys thanks to clever marketing.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Windows 7 is the same way. Assloads of miniupdates most of which I dont need. I try to disable the update program whenever I install fresh. Just check once every couple of months and thats all I need.

YES! This is not a problem with WFGL, this is a problem with Windows. The damn thing wants to update every few hours. And is it just me or have we gone backwards with the reboot every update? XP and Vista could occassionally update with out rebooting, but recently Windows has wanted to reboot every time I sat down at it, and sometimes wants to reboot 5 minutes after I finish a reboot, and occasionally forces a reboot.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Steam was garbage just a couple of years ago. It was user unfriendly and positively hateful for dial-up.

News at 11:30 update:

Neither GFWL nor Steam are for us - they are DRM solutions for themselves. Neither are ideal but Steam is the lesser of the evils and it even has its fanboys thanks to clever marketing.

Steam might not be for us, but they have done a good job of adding value to it for us.

 

[blackened23]

YES! This is not a problem with WFGL, this is a problem with Windows. The damn thing wants to update every few hours. And is it just me or have we gone backwards with the reboot every update? XP and Vista could occassionally update with out rebooting, but recently Windows has wanted to reboot every time I sat down at it, and sometimes wants to reboot 5 minutes after I finish a reboot, and occasionally forces a reboot.

Here's where you are wrong. You can easily configure windows to not be intrusive, you can easily configure windows to NEVER PROMPT you for updates. You can configure it to NEVER update. Im surprised that you haven't done this.

This is NOT the case with GFWL. You have NO CHOICE in the matter. So this is not a windows problem, this is definitely a GFWL problem. You don't want to update GFWL while you're in the middle of a game? Too bad, you're updating and you're going to reboot as well.

Steamworks doesn't have any of these problems because its non instrusive, doesn't ask you for a log on *every single time* you run a game, it saves your gamekeys, and doesn't pester you with updates constantly IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME. And lastly, it doesn't crash or cause your game to stop halfway through just because it wants to update.

I don't mind DRM, thats why steamworks is fine - it is NOT intrusive and doesn't crash / have show stopping bugs while i'm in the middle of a game. It doesn't pester me for a login 27 times in the same game and then mysteriously stops working. Steam is hassle free. I wish I could say the same for GFWL.

edit: I just found out that Batman: Arkham city and Modern Warfare 3 will both use steamworks- and dump GFWL. Yay.

 

[apoppin]

Steam might not be for us, but they have done a good job of adding value to it for us.

Agreed. Compared to what it was when it launched, they have become the standard of DRM to aim for. And they have wisely improved their services for their users.

The problem is that MS simply doesn't care about service for PC gamers. They are a platform-centric company. And that goes double for the 800lb gorilla of gaming - EA.
:thumbsdown:

 

[greenhawk]

GFWL is a frustrating piece of software. What bothers me the most is games that you buy on Steam and have steam integration AND GFWL. I'm looking at you Warhammer. We only need one "Steam" like application.

+1

it was my experence with the free weekend/demo of that game that introduced me to GFWL.

I have basically ignored any games that have come out since that "boast" GFWL. I have also done the same with games that list it as being needed.

I play games to have fun and releax, not get agro because some online authentication system has a hickup and kicks me out of the game.

 

[DeadFred]

I hate Steam and all of these other Steamlike wannabes. Just sell me a disc, put your updates on your game's webpage and Ill get em when I need em. DRM is the devil, and DLC is its greedy evil twin!

 

[shortylickens]

Valve should force publishers to remove all their own DRM if they wanna sell on Steam.

 

[pugh]

I must be the only person in the world who hasn't had a single problem with GFWL.

That said, it's not necessarily a good piece of software.

Count me in. Never had an issue with it.

 

[apoppin]

Valve should force publishers to remove all their own DRM if they wanna sell on Steam.

You want Valve to force Microsoft to do something?

Good luck with that dream!

MS views Steam as a "drip under pressure"

:biggrin: