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Steam: Invasive crap software

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I agree with you OP. Although I love steam, it really is an extra step that doesn't seem necessary if you don't want it. I guess it is better than other DRM out there though, either way it sucks. It almost seems like a marketing scheme to get you to see their ads/deals before you can actually play your game.

It is a useful app so I've learned to like steam, and their task bar right click function allows you to bypass all of the bullshit and just select a game which is better than it was.

What I don't like, (and I'm aware a lot of DRM methods are like this now) but what if you do not have internet connection to log into steam the first time (still required to set it to offline mode AFAIK), you can't play Skyrim? Isn't Skyrim a single player game? And on Xmas day when millions of people are hitting steam with their brand new games and their auth system goes down, what then...you can't play the game you just installed?

I think I'm just more upset with the reliance we have on "cloud" applications than steam specifically. It just sucks.
 
There's definitely a market for drm free software. GOG is expanding their library to include newer games to compete with the other digital distribution sites and they say all the games will be drm free. You probably wouldn't be able to get Skyrim on their service though because all the Bethesda games use Steamworks now.

There are games that are available drm free and in drm formats too (steamworks/impulse reactor/etc). Tropico 4 is a good example of this. There's a Steam edition which uses Steamworks and most of the other versions use their Kalypso DRM.

Ubisoft did have the always on DRM at first but their current drm is not bad at all. Personally I think their offline mode works better than Steam's.

That product description definitely says:
Requires internet connection and free steam account to activate

Not sure if they added that after the fact though. Amazon isn't always clear about the DRM a game uses. Usually I look at customer reviews and check to see if anyone mentions it requires Steam/GFWL. On GamersGate/D2D I think it usually says 3rd party software required, which is a little vague. Get Games/Green Man Gaming are pretty clear when a game requires Steam.

Steam is pretty good about listing any external DRM required. IE GFWL.
 
Wyndru said:
I agree with you OP. Although I love steam, it really is an extra step that doesn't seem necessary if you don't want it. I guess it is better than other DRM out there though, either way it sucks. It almost seems like a marketing scheme to get you to see their ads/deals before you can actually play your game.

It is a useful app so I've learned to like steam, and their task bar right click function allows you to bypass all of the bullshit and just select a game which is better than it was.

What I don't like, (and I'm aware a lot of DRM methods are like this now) but what if you do not have internet connection to log into steam the first time (still required to set it to offline mode AFAIK), you can't play Skyrim? Isn't Skyrim a single player game? And on Xmas day when millions of people are hitting steam with their brand new games and their auth system goes down, what then...you can't play the game you just installed?

I think I'm just more upset with the reliance we have on "cloud" applications than steam specifically. It just sucks.
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You need to activate the game via the internet...just like almost every other game. It takes one minutes and that's it. Then you can go offline and never worry about the internet ever again.

It is either that or go back to having a DVD in your DVD drive and we can party like it's 1999.
 
Lonyo said:
Better than the CD check retail Oblivion came with?
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Unforuantly that type of DRM is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Now you get the choice of being raped, beaten, robbed, or a combination of the 3 for your DRM choice generally. So if we have to deal with DRM (which in most cases we do), Steam is the lesser evil now and at least provides a lot of other benefits to offset it.

Sounds silly, but now that Steam auto updates all my games and when it is downloaded I don't have to do an install, it makes all other digital distributors feel so archaic having to manually download patches and go through the installation process. I've become spoiled by it.
 
OP, if you're getting this worked up over Steam, you should never, ever buy an EA game or Ubi-soft game. There DRM and intrusive BS will make you pull your hair out.
 
Barfo said:
Lol, you didn't read the product description and now you're bitching about Steam. You only have yourself to blame.
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That might be a recent addition. Amazon doesn't always list external DRM in their product description. I would know since I post their deals pretty regularly on my site.
 
As people have said above software is licensed. This has been the case for many many years and while the EULA has become a nuisance of sorts, the core license is the same now as it was 15 years ago. The only difference is that today technology exists that allows them to enforce the limitations of the license.

As someone who has been gaming since the XT days, I sympathize with those who wish things would just go back to the way they were, when you could get a couple disks in a box and never have to deal with the outside world in regards to how you operated your computer. Unfortunately, that time is long gone and the world of persistant connectivity and software license enforcment is upon us.

All I can say is that if you really don't want to deal with Steam or other software like it, I recommend you just get out of future PC gaming altogether and maybe gaming in total, because I can almost guarantee the next generation of consoles will be tied to the internet in the same way. Ultimately physical media will be just a courtesy to speed up file delivery.

We might not like the premise, but that changes nothing. As it goes now, companies have already shown a willingness to lose sales to people that lack accessable internet access in order to have more control.

We are in a connected world now. I recommend you either just embrace it fully or start reading books. Being disgruntled over it will just sentence you to electronic purgatory and just make you bitter and disappointed.

Sad but true.
 
PrincessFrosty said:
You can turn off steam news in the settings.
You can run in offline mode after your first activation.

I like steam, but I have to agree with OP that it's not acceptable for store bought games to require steam, gamers should always have a choice.
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better than SECUREROM DRM or any of the other ones..
id rather my software call home once in a while than have to deal with RESIDENT grayware programs designed to stop only the legitimate user from installing his or her software..

it sure dont stop the pirates either way.. cracks are out the same day the titles come out on steam or anywhere else..

Steam is by far the best service out there..
and yes it is YOUR connection..

Steam stays logged in for me and logs in in seconds with a 20MB/s line.
which is the BARGAIN package here.

so move out of the damn sticks and quit your whining.
 
Pulsar said:
Then I see it pop up that I've played for xx amount of time. WTF? So now valve is monitoring how long I'm playing my video game? Ok. That's pretty freaking intrusive. I don't remember giving them the "ok" for that, but I guess that's one of the features when I install the game.
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Logging your game time? That's TERRIBLE! Next thing you know, they'll start tracking your store browsing history too! God forbid, they MIGHT even give you recommendations based on what games you like to play!

Really though. I choose to have Steam for the following reasons:

  • All of my games can be downloaded in one handy client
  • Games are automatically patched and updated with absolutely 0 work on my part
  • If I mod a game, or something becomes corrupted, I can verify file integrity and fix the game within seconds
  • Can't remember the last time I had to fumble around with a disc
  • Browse online servers right on my desktop
  • Can connect with all of my friends

IMO, the conveniences far outweigh the "hassles" of Steam. Dare I say, without it, I wouldn't even be a PC gamer.
 
Pulsar said:
Perhaps someone should learn the definition of troll. You must have missed it somewhere.
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It was more of a prediction on the evolution of the thread.

Regardless, Steam is here to stay. You can either adapt or stick to GOG/CD Projekt.
 
Shitty internet connection causes issues... blames Steam. Seller was the one who may not have told him that it required steam (even though it's right on the box)... blames Steam. Doesn't read warnings during uninstall that game data is erased... blames steam.

On top of that, you still think it's legal to bypass DRM just because you own the game. You can use whatever logic you want, but the fact is you're still breaking the law. I'm not saying I agree with the law, I'm just saying that's how it is... you could have a receipt proving you preordered it months ago and it doesn't matter. Breaking DRM is breaking DRM regardless.
 
ViviTheMage said:
yeah, wtf...it doesn't take 10 minutes to connect to steam, even on a 16k modem.
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In his defense Steam was having an outage recently that lasted longer than expected. It would prevent people from logging in, or those that logged in couldn't launch games because it wouldn't connect. It prevented me from playing batman at first, but then I just selected offline mode and went about my way. :whiste:
 
I can understand your frustration and I hope it will be fixed. I think if you have the retail physical disc you should be able to play off the disc directly without having to connect online. An option to choose between online authentication (so that you don't need to pop the disc in to play) or disc authentication (so that online is not required but a disc is required) would be nice.

With that said, I love Steam and I prefer to buy my games there.
 
Won't that takes you even longer to torrent Skyrim?

With Steam, your game gets periodic update/patches. You can still play offline after it verified/activated your copy.

Steam is not the perfect piracy solution but it's better than Origin...
 
Damn it! I scrolled down and couldn't find the OP responding anymore after shown that the requirement is clearly there.

Having said that, I agree in principal that single-player games sold in a physical box should not require internet connection. However the game company will do what they need to do to DRM their products. The only way to avoid this is to not buy these games (after reading the requirements carefully, of course 🙂).

Btw OP, with your '56k' connection, torrenting will probably take you days to complete. And yes, you're still a pirate 😀
 
Pulsar said:
Alright. Rant time.

Steam is the biggest piece of bullshit software I've ever dealt with.

I purchased skyrim on release. No warning from the seller that steam was *required* to play this game. Upon getting it I was pretty f*n upset, because I live out in the boonies and have basically 56k. So steam took close to a day to do it's crap install.
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I bought the retail disc from NewEgg for $44, it arrived Friday (11/11/2011) morning. You dont *have* to download games for Steam.
 
Something similar happened to my cousin. He lives on a farm, so there is no internet access at all. Bought Rage and couldn't play it because of the Steam activation. He had to take his PC 30 miles to our uncles house to do the activation.

The BS part is the online activation, especially for single player. If you buy a single player game at a physical store, you should be able to put the disc in, install, then play. Or have a phone number where you can get an activation code or something. Thats something specific to Steam that should be addressed. Otherwise, its a general issue with online activation.
 
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