Steam: Invasive crap software

[DeadFred]

I used to be able to sell a game after I was through with it............

 

[Nebor]

I used to be able to sell a game after I was through with it............

It doesn't belong to you to sell. You're licensed the use of it, and your license is limited.

 

[Dankk]

I used to be able to sell a game after I was through with it............

Not sure why you're blaming this on Steam. These days, most publishers don't let you "own" games anymore. You're simply licensed to play them.

 

[DeadFred]

Ahhh, see how they have brainwashed our youth already.

 

[A5]

Ahhh, see how they have brainwashed our youth already.

There hasn't been much of a resale market for PC games since they started requiring unique CD keys for multiplayer, which was several years before Steam existed. Steam also buys a lot of goodwill with their constant sales.

 

[ockky]

I used to be able to sell a game after I was through with it............

it's hard to be pissed off about this when i buy 99% of my games for less than $10

 

[Nebor]

Ahhh, see how they have brainwashed our youth already.

I played PC games that came on 5 1/2 inch floppy disks. I downloaded the Doom demo over Gopher.

You didn't have the right to resell games back then either. It was simply difficult to enforce the law.

 

[Aikouka]

I think that sometimes people tend to forget things when they just say, "Steam is DRM!" The thing is that most of the time, DRM provides absolutely no benefit to the consumer at all. The running joke is that typically the paying customer ends up with the hardship caused by DRM, and that the pirates get it easy since the DRM is removed.

While it is technically a DRM implementation, Steam actually provides tangible benefits to the end user such as easy access to download games, cloud saves, automatic updating and a combined friend system and they're all free. Other online services such as XBOX Live and the Playstation Network make you pay for some of those features.

 

[alent1234]

I used to be able to sell a game after I was through with it............

if you buy brand new for $60 then there is resale value. but if you mostly play older games that go for $20 or less on steam resale value is not a big deal since no one wants the old game

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Ahhh, see how they have brainwashed our youth already.

son, most of us have way more important shit going on. worrying about 'rights' when it comes to video games doesn't matter. steam lets us play games easily and cheaper than it used to be. you'll understand the importance of convenience soon enough without worrying about the couple of bucks you can get by re-selling a game.

 

[KMFJD]

The one thing i really wished Steam would let you do is not auto patch after installing a single player game, some people have limited bandwidth. I would not have any issues with Steam if i was able to get better speeds.

 

[DeadFred]

son, most of us have way more important shit going on. worrying about 'rights' when it comes to video games doesn't matter. steam lets us play games easily and cheaper than it used to be. you'll understand the importance of convenience soon enough without worrying about the couple of bucks you can get by re-selling a game.

I feel for you son....

.....sounds like you got 99 problems but games aint one.

 

[Dankk]

The one thing i really wished Steam would let you do is not auto patch after installing a single player game, some people have limited bandwidth. I would not have any issues with Steam if i was able to get better speeds.

Right-click on game > Properties > Updates tab > "Do not automatically update this game"

 

[DeadFred]

I confess I havent read this entire thread so this may have already been mentioned:

Steam cloud can cause a lot of problems with offline mode, disable it.

Go to top left corner, click on Steam/Settings/select Downloads+Cloud tab

 

[heavyiron8]

tl;dr

scanned through a wall of rage.

anyways, uninstall, stop playing. You won't be missed. kthxbai

 

[KMFJD]

Right-click on game > Properties > Updates tab > "Do not automatically update this game"

That is only possible after it was installed, activated and updated the first time.

 

[scannall]

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Check it here though:
http://www.amazon.com/Elder-Scrolls-...2677474&sr=8-1

I can't find it anywhere where it states that Steam is required - except of course in some of the reviews of the game, which are all buried completely and you'll only see if you're lucky.

I agree with you that requiring Steam is a pile of BS. But it does state, on the page you linked that a free Steam account is required. As well as an internet connection.

Product Features

Platform: PC | Edition: Standard

• Skyrim reimagines the open-world fantasy epic, pushing the game play and technology of a virtual world to new heights
• Play any type of character you can imagine, and do whatever you want; the legendary freedom of choice, storytelling
• Skyrim's new game engine brings to life a complete virtual world with rolling clouds, rugged mountains, bustling cities, lush fields
• Choose from hundreds of weapons, spells, and abilities; the new character system allows you to play any way you want
• Requires internet connection and free steam account to activate

 

[Red Hawk]

I used to be able to sell a game after I was through with it............

I used to be able to sell a game after I was through with it. Then I took an arrow to the knee. :whiste:

 

[BFG10K]

Steam is definitely invasive, especially with its plethora of issues relating to offline mode, cache integrity and wasting bandwidth.

Right-click on game > Properties > Updates tab > "Do not automatically update this game"

If Steam detects an update is available, the game won’t launch until you update it. So the setting’s only useful if no updates are available, in which case you don’t need the setting in the first place.

It’s one of the most useless things ever created in the history of computing.

 

[Pulsar]

I agree with you that requiring Steam is a pile of BS. But it does state, on the page you linked that a free Steam account is required. As well as an internet connection.

Product Features

Platform: PC | Edition: Standard

• Skyrim reimagines the open-world fantasy epic, pushing the game play and technology of a virtual world to new heights
• Play any type of character you can imagine, and do whatever you want; the legendary freedom of choice, storytelling
• Skyrim's new game engine brings to life a complete virtual world with rolling clouds, rugged mountains, bustling cities, lush fields
• Choose from hundreds of weapons, spells, and abilities; the new character system allows you to play any way you want
• Requires internet connection and free steam account to activate

Read the whole thread and you'll find that Amazon updated their Skyrim page to include mentioning steam only after someone raised a stink about it through official channels. They didn't have that notice up when everyone was pre-ordering it, so folks had no idea it was required if they ordered based on Amazon's info.

 

[Pulsar]

son, most of us have way more important shit going on. worrying about 'rights' when it comes to video games doesn't matter. steam lets us play games easily and cheaper than it used to be. you'll understand the importance of convenience soon enough without worrying about the couple of bucks you can get by re-selling a game.

Yeah, great convenience when you buy a game and can't play it. The irony fairly drips from your post.

 

[Anteaus]

I've given my stance on whether DRM should be used in earlier posts, so I'm not going to bother adding even more redundancy to this thread. For this I'll assume it is a permenant fixture. I think we all agree that gaming is a hobby (with rare professional exception of course), and by this measure every dollar we put into it is considered disposable. We each have authority to choose whether to buy software or not. DRM has been an integral part of software for many years now from the earliest code wheels to the latest persistant internet connections, but what hasn't changed is that regardless of the method of DRM, people (in general) haven't stopped buying games in all that time so by what measure would developers be expected to stop implimenting it?

While I believe gaming with continue to evolve as it always has, I'm certain that the glory days of weak DRM and treating software as a material purchase is over. It's easy to cite the old days and how DRM is such a PITA, but ultimately if we want to keep playing new games that is the price of admission. The only other option is to not buy games at all.

 

[N4g4rok]

Josh, thanks for the suggestions, but the question remains: why is it acceptable consumers that companies require this sort of jumping through hoops to play an offline game?

Software piracy, mostly.

But the way Steam's done things has its advantages, especially if you play the same games on multiple devices. And as long as you keep the account, you can uninstall and reinstall games at your leisure. Almost like an off-site backup.

 

[aigomorla]

Tin foil hat??? BAHAHAHA!

Thats for newbs.

I wear a foil suit while living in my foil lined bunker!

pish get with the 21st century... im wearing a carbon fiber unobtainian hat which was mined off planet X as it came close to the earth in 2012.

 

[astrosfan315]

I played PC games that came on 5 1/2 inch floppy disks

They were 5 1/4 inch floppies. I mean this is still a tech site right? So hope you don't mind the minor correction