PC gaming VS STEAM gaming.

[inachu]

I'm still using steam the old way getting it installed using the steam client and I bought a game and totally forgot I had the game already on CD.

SO I let the steam version finnish installing and it never works.

But the retail cd version works like a champ.

Not sure why the steam version crashes on me.

Oh the game I own is SACRIFICE.

I loved that game since day 1.

 

[Patre]

I suppose if you got it work on Steam, the good thing would be getting all the updates/patches to "Sacrifice" would be automatic.

I've never had a game that crashed on Steam, but if I did, I'd look into getting some support from them (maybe give the error log(s) to them).

 

[DaveSimmons]

Did you check the Steam forums and Google? There might be a setting you need to toggle for >4GB RAM, Windows 64-bit, etc. that isn't needed for the older CD version.

 

[xantub]

Maybe the reason it's crashing is because you have it installed twice, and there may be some registry conflict or something? just guessing.

 

[Sattern]

I prefer PC Gaming rather than Steam because I don't like their interface.

I would much prefer to have the disc in my storage room because they hold value.

 

[Bateluer]

Hate to break this to people, but Steam is synonymous with PC gaming now. If you want to game on PC, you're going to be installing Steam as assuredly as you would install Chrome or Firefox.

My CD wallet from a decade ago had started getting a layer of dust; so its wrapped in a trash bag in the closet. I can't remember the last time I pulled a CD from it.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/digital-sales-make-up-92-of-global-game-revenues/034551

92% of all PC games are now digital downloads; thats why when you walk into a B&M store, you mostly see Steam and Origin gift cards(and WoW/Sims expansions) instead of PC games.

 

[thedosbox]

I would much prefer to have the disc in my storage room because they hold value.

That stopped being true years ago. Many of the old games people have fond memories of are available on Steam or GOG. And in the latter case, they've been configured to run on modern systems without the need for copy protection.

It's a rare game that isn't available via some form of digital download.

 

[Lyfer]

Hate to break this to people, but Steam is synonymous with PC gaming now. If you want to game on PC, you're going to be installing Steam as assuredly as you would install Chrome or Firefox.

My CD wallet from a decade ago had started getting a layer of dust; so its wrapped in a trash bag in the closet. I can't remember the last time I pulled a CD from it.

http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/digital-sales-make-up-92-of-global-game-revenues/034551

92% of all PC games are now digital downloads; thats why when you walk into a B&M store, you mostly see Steam and Origin gift cards(and WoW/Sims expansions) instead of PC games.

The truth hurts.

 

[tidy]

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[DaveSimmons]

Or not.

To me, "PC gaming" means a) gaming on a PC, b) better graphics, c) mouse + KB, d) mods.

Steam acts as DRM, but it also acts as a single unified source for fresh downloads, patches, DLC, user mods, cloud saves. It's a vast improvement from dealing with dozens of different patching schemes at different locations (many requiring logins) and with $15-25 media replacement costs if you lost or scratched your CD/DVD and couldn't do the initial install with it.

Steam's convenience and low prices makes me perfectly happy to put up with needing a network connection.

 

[jjjayb]

Steam seems to be doing it's utmost to make PC gaming as much resemble console gaming as it possibly can, with it's precious little quasi console dashboard interface, it's forced game updates (except, ironically, even my console let's me choose not to install an update), it's pushing of advertising down your throat etc. They try to make their client the jack of all trades, but it is the master of none, becoming unnecessarily bloated with half baked features that aren't worth using because of all the vastly superior alternatives.

A one-size-fits-all piece of glorified DRM that imposes interruptions and restrictions on how you install and use your games is the very antithesis of what PC gaming is supposed to be about.

You can turn off automatic updates.

 

[tidy]

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[Bateluer]

There seems to be a mismatch between the title and the body of the OP, but in response to the title, 'Steam gaming' is one of the cancers acting to destroy PC gaming . Steam seems to be doing it's utmost to make PC gaming as much resemble console gaming as it possibly can, with it's precious little quasi console dashboard interface, it's forced game updates (except, ironically, even my console let's me choose not to install an update), it's pushing of advertising down your throat etc. They try to make their client the jack of all trades, but it is the master of none, becoming unnecessarily bloated with half baked features that aren't worth using because of all the vastly superior alternatives.

A one-size-fits-all piece of glorified DRM that imposes interruptions and restrictions on how you install and use your games is the very antithesis of what PC gaming is supposed to be about.

Eh? Steam is the biggest force to save PC gaming. If you want to call something a cancer, look at the rise of the P2W genres and micro transactions infecting games with 60 dollar price tags. Thats a cancer.

Steam bypasses the power of the tradition publisher and shifts it back to the developer. A developer can self publish their game on Steam, and take the majority of the profits themselves. It is Steam that will ultimately spell the end of Electronic Arts, Ubi Soft, Activision, and other scum bags.

People just like to hate on Steam now that is no longer the under dog, but rather a MAJOR force to be reckoned with. Means the Internet group think must hate it, even as they benefit from it.

 

[desprado]

I really dont like digital DRM system.

 

[Bateluer]

I really dont like digital DRM system.

Buy from GoG then.

Or you could sit idle with SecuRom, StarForce, and be required to have a 24/7 uninterrupted Internet connection with a 3 machine activation limit.

 

[tidy]

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[xantub]

I love Steam. I remember with not much fondness the time when I had to find where the CD was so I had to put it in before I could start playing, I remember it with the same fondness (i.e. none) as how I remember having to change config.sys and autoexec.bat to free enough sub-640K RAM to play games.

And when I go visit my parents for the holidays I just install Steam, connect to my account, select any game in my library, get a coffee and when I'm finished I'm ready to play the game... oh, and with Steam cloud-saving I can even continue playing the game where I left it (though I typically prefer saving locally).

 

[sxr7171]

Buy from GoG then.

Or you could sit idle with SecuRom, StarForce, and be required to have a 24/7 uninterrupted Internet connection with a 3 machine activation limit.

Got a buddy who complains about Steam. This is my argument to him. Would you rather deal with umpteen different rootkits/DRM? Steam has done us a great service in having a unified, trusted DRM that pretty much all developers use or have used.

 

[ImpulsE69]

No you can't, and you never could. The game will be automatically updated if you try to launch it no matter how you configure that drop down menu. They just had one of the options worded deceptively and in the last update they changed the wording to more accurately reflect it's function (see for yourself).

And even if you could disable the forced patching of games post install, during installation steam will always force the version it wants, and it's not like you can roll back.

I don't understand how everyone ignores this egregious inadequacy in the way steam operates. Since when was it wise to assume that the latest version of any given software is always the best, and that it's a good policy to force everyone to install it? My favorite analogy is what would happen if you were always forced to use the absolute latest driver for your GPU?

You are badly misinformed and behind the times. It is true that whatever version it is on when you install it is the version you get, but after that you don't have to do any updates at all. I have lots of modded games that don't get updated at all, but for the most part the autopatching is actually a good thing because companies push out way more patches these days than they did 20 years ago, even though many tend to completely ignore the bugs "the collective you" want fixed.

I avoided Steam for years...not even sure what the first game I got that required it and I hated it when I got it, but it has come a long ways. It has pretty much made PC gaming something even idiots can do, and has made the prices more insanely affordable, and taken 99% of the hassle out of it. The only downside I've seen in the 5-6 years I've used it was the bandwidth it used to update games - but netimiter took care of that.

 

[Bateluer]

That's a very precarious straw man.

Not really. Steam has nearly completely overtaken retails of games everywhere, even gaining enough strength to pose a threat to the Windows monopoly.

The only downside I've seen in the 5-6 years I've used it was the bandwidth it used to update games - but netimiter took care of that.

NetLimiter is only going to make your games download and update slower.

I see a lot of complaining about game sizes these days at various sites. Omg! This game is 40-50GBs! Its so large! On noes! Not that some companies can't use some better compression or strip out non-local language files, or place prerendered cutscenes as a separate download, but games are going to continue to grow in size. We've finally moved past the Xbox 360's limit of the DVD, and finally got past the 256MB RAM limit. Games are going to get larger over the next few years. Just as we're seeing the spike in system requirements with the 8th gen consoles.

If Sony, MS and EA have their way, where you pay a monthly fee for a few hours of cloud streaming each month, you'll see your bandwidth use go even higher.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Not really. Steam has nearly completely overtaken retails of games everywhere, even gaining enough strength to pose a threat to the Windows monopoly.




NetLimiter is only going to make your games download and update slower.

Well yea, that's the idea...some of us don't have unlimited speeds so when Steam takes up 8mbit of bandwidth, it makes it hard to do anything else ;P Unless you have 1 game on Steam, i don't think a game taking longer to update is really an issue since they dont update while you are playing them, at least, it doesn't bother me.

 

[Sohaltang]

I love steam. Don't mind orgin or uplay either. Well the other two only because I forget what games I have where. Other than that they all work great. If I need disk space I can uninstall. They all install patched and updated games via my 75 mbs Fios in a respectable time. I can go play in my kids room and pick up where I left off. Prices are crazy cheap if you wait on new releases and buy bundles. More than happy to ditch the old CDROM collection, especially those that had drm requiring a disk to play. I don't use any of the other features outside a 360 controller for so e games. It's quick, easy, cheap, and plays my games.

 

[tidy]

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[thedosbox]

Which ties in nicely with what i was saying before about steam dumbing down PC gaming and making it more like console gaming.

For novice users or the very lazy this might be a good thing, but for power users it amounts to a net negative.

So your argument boils down to "I hate steam because it makes gaming easier for the great unwashed"?

OK then.

 

[KMFJD]

If you have decent internet connection there's nothing really wrong with Steam, if your speed isn't very good then you are going to have a bad time of it.

Install a new game from DVD, then Steam will make you dl the patch the first time you try and run it, that could take a while when your connection is < 50kB/s