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Steam livingroom Announcements

For random rambling. Please keep your posts tasteful and respectful.

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UB_
Nali Priest Nali Priest
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Subject: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 23 Sep 2013, 19:08

Valve will be announcing three things in this week, about Steam's future in 2014.

First one is out http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/
The SteamOS

guess they're finally heading to the SteamBox announcement.
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User avatar Gizzy
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 23 Sep 2013, 21:58

Calling it now, announcement 2 will be steambox, announcement 3 will be source 2

User avatar TheIronKnuckle
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 24 Sep 2013, 10:53

while i can't see myself ever using steamos, I hope it's successful in grabbing significant marketshare from microsoft. Windows 8 is fucking shit (Although I say this without having used it for more than 10 minutes at a time :lol:), I'd be very happy to see gamers migrate off the windows platform for the first time in yonks. also could be a very good thing for linux adoption.
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redeye
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 24 Sep 2013, 21:00

I don't like the whole situation I don't see how you guys just accept it. I got a free game from there, 7gig download, but it's those MMO ? things, anyway thay are blurring the difference between buying stuff with real money, or fake money in the game , and all those bonus, badges or WTF they are called, unlocking things, nah thats just not me I can't put up with that.

LoL, sell me a sniper rifle for real cash, lolololozzzzzzzzzzzzz puuuleeeze.

I really never went for team games since Quake 1 CTF and fortress, total suckage.

Game point credits, credit this credit that, forced to use it to install a game.

Gosh we would just delete a directory to uninstall a game or program, now you sign your life away to be "allowed" to play the crap.

oh well time goes on, steam is like the final nail in the coffin for me buying a new game, F that.

and it all started with half life 1, if I spend money I own the damn thing, so for a patch I couldn't get the patch, well I did and do have the patch file stashed someplace on CD.
The way I always did things was before I went out and bought a game I would download any patches and be ready BEFORE I installed any new game. Now we are slaves. pay to be a slave, wonderful.
Just ban everyone

User avatar Delacroix
Skaarj Warlord Skaarj Warlord
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 24 Sep 2013, 21:55

redeye wrote:and it all started with half life 1, if I spend money I own the damn thing, so for a patch I couldn't get the patch, well I did and do have the patch file stashed someplace on CD.
The way I always did things was before I went out and bought a game I would download any patches and be ready BEFORE I installed any new game. Now we are slaves. pay to be a slave, wonderful.


Ekhm. You NEVER, EVER own a game. You don't buy a game. You buy a license to use that game. Period. The fact that you may own the storage media may give you an idea that you own a game, but it is false. The product is licensed - not sold. Always.

Also, what does SteamOS or Steam overall have to do with microtransactions in FreeToPlay MMO's? That's two entirely separate issues and you seem to meld it.

Steam as a distribution platform solved multiple problems I had with disc-based games. Once upon a time my legally bought Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines broke. IDK now whether it was in the drive due to me inserting the disc because of the protection or during moving my stuff from one place to another. Probably the latter as I always use cracks for disc-based protections, ALWAYS. I hate discjuggling. Period. I wanted to play it some time later, so instead of getting another copy of the disc from the publisher which costs money for postal fees, I torrented it. And, I lost the disc in my huge collection. I'll probably find it someday, but it's a needle in a haystack situation. Two years ago I did it AGAIN. And a year back, AGAIN. Due to warez sites having little care for older games, I found it increasingly difficult to find it.

But wait -- there was a sale on Steam, for a BARGAIN BIN price. I bought it and... WHOOHOO! Whenever I want to play it, I may redownload it thanks to Steam! And if I insist on having a backup DVD, fine by Steam's, it seems, since it provides you a backup solution. Internet going out? No problem, OFFLINE MODE and I'm in! So yeah... It's a win-win for me. And since there's at least two big sale events during a calendar year and multiple mini-sales on select titles all the time, I can fill in my collection for a really small amount of money! Did I mention multiple occassions to buy indie games and support ambitious developers that don't have the chance of gaining support of big publisher houses?

But wait (again!) -- it gets BETTER! Now it has native support for them big TVs and monitors so you can play your PC titles in a console-like environment with little more difficulty than with a PS3 or X360, sometimes even less difficulty than in case of those platforms... And to boot, you're gonna get a machine dedicated to that (SteamBox) which lets you free your main computer from this completely and keep games only there, if you wish... Imagine it... PC games now have their own console!

But no. Of course you don't like it. Whether it is because you have outdated and incorrect beliefs about owning a game, or because you mixed it up with Free2Play MMO titles which are in fact a mess, I agree on that -- but the fact that some of them are available on Steam doesn't make it any worse a platform -- in fact, it is better thanks to that, since these are games too, and there are people who like them, and who will be able to play them in these new environments as well...

I can't say which of your reasons to turn your back on Steam is worse, redeye, but, well, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. If you wish to quit on so many great games due to outdated/incorrect beliefs or mixing up certain terms, it is your business and your loss.
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User avatar ebd
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 02:03

Eh, why the hate over Steam? It a service that offers products in a convenient fashion and at an often drastically reduced price in exchange for having to put up with DRM. As far as DRM goes, I find it to be among the least invasive and restricting, in large part due to the extra services offered (Offline mode, free text & voice chat, re-download whenever and wherever you want, friends list integration in games).

Although, hold up a second, I think I dig deep enough I can find a reason to dislike it...
http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/ wrote:SteamOS will be available soon as a free download for users and as a freely licensable operating system for manufacturers. Stay tuned in the coming days for more information.
"Freely licensable?" Sounds to me like this software will be free as in beer and not free as in freedom! You should absolutely boycott it. If you must run it, do so in a virtual machine to protect yourself from their tyranny!
Richard M. Stallman wrote:To have the choice between proprietary software packages, is being able to choose your master. Freedom means not having a master. And in the area of computing, freedom means not using proprietary software.

redeye
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 03:06

Well my beliefs ?

You buy a disk.
You use the key on the disk.
You download the patch.
You don't need the internet to "allow" you to run it.

Delete the game.

Repeat, and I guess you didn't start out with 56k, because now you CAN'T down load a patch in any reasonable time.

Quake 1
Quake 2
SIN
DOOM
piles of games, and we weren't tethered to some company just to install or play, is how it should still be, but I ain't buying it.

How about Unreal, UT did you have to bow down to steam just to see a screen of it ?
no didn't think so.
I despise even windows and all this administrator stuff, and "users" and "logon" really ? I don't have to logon to our washing machine to wash my cloths, rediculous. wish there was a bypass for all that crap, and turn on ! my computer, not a "user" along with protected files.

""Also, what does SteamOS or Steam overall have to do with microtransactions in FreeToPlay MMO's? That's two entirely separate issues and you seem to meld it.""
I simply don't know any of how it works.

If they trap all these games like that I will have to grit my teeth and be slapped around by a corporation, or not play.

AND I do own it, it has value, oh but wait thats overwith now, guess I can't sell my "Ford" car because Ford won't allow it, guess we can't sell our house without being thrown in jail for being a pirate.
just a scam, didn't mean to cause a ruckas but it is a scam. and we can't even sell our own property. its all just total greed as far as I'm concerned.
Just ban everyone

User avatar ebd
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 03:42

My point is, if you don't like the service that Valve offers through Steam, then don't use it. If there were no other ways to purchase games your personal stories would carry more weight, but there are many other ways to purchase games these days, including other digital distribution platforms that are 100% DRM free.

While it is perfectly valid to dislike logging into operating systems it enhances security, especially in a work environment. Also in the old days when a lot of people would share the same workstation (and personal computers were limited and expensive) it was necessary to have such features. (And yes, I remember when this modem thing made funny noises (28.8k, I was a lot younger then!) and it took all day to load a dreadful looking page with an animated GIF background and a MIDI score. Please remove your rose-tinted glasses. Things were not better back then.)

There is a distinct and intrinsic difference between physical property and intellectual property. Remember when that one anti-piracy campaign went like, "You wouldn't download a car." Why is that statement ridiculous? It is because of that difference.

redeye
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 04:51

I suppose, but the fact is we are forced to use steam, just glad I got in before to know the difference.

Say you where trapped on an island and had one juicy version of UT and a backup of every map, but no internet, ya cry like a baby, LoL arn't you glad UT works without a master ?
Cuz we wouldn't want you to sell what you bought, and we definitly can't "allow" you to logon on to a computer that YOU bought.

be better to use for fishing lures I guess, I mean man think of all the time you could map and code, suckers....................
Just ban everyone

User avatar ebd
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 05:19

redeye wrote:Say you where trapped on an island and had one juicy version of UT and a backup of every map, but no internet, ya cry like a baby, LoL arn't you glad UT works without a master ?
Personally if I were trapped on an island UT would the the last thing I would worry about. Besides, what kind of contrived scenario is that?

Again, you speak as if you are being forced to use steam, but the fact is you are not. There are many alternative vendors. The self-publishing indie game scene is doing better than ever. There are also plenty of zero-cost and free software titles if you know where to look. Yes, I'll concede that if you want a recent triple A release, it might only be available through Steam (or other platforms that ask for an internet connection every now and again), but you don't have to buy the recent triple A games. It might be frustrating if you want to play these games but there is no way to buy them that you will accept, but that is life.

redeye
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 06:47

I have to look up this indie game stuff, what is it ?........ or they.
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User avatar ebd
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 07:35

redeye wrote:I have to look up this indie game stuff, what is it ?........ or they.
Independent game developers are people and/or studios who aren't owned by publishers, typically smaller studios. As such they have a lot of creative freedom, but not a lot of money. With digital distribution being as big as it is today many indie developers are choosing to "self-publish" meaning they don't ever rely on 3rd party publishing companies to fund or produce their game. Again, this decision gives them a lot of freedom, but freedom isn't always free.

One of the appealing things I suppose about indie game development is the low barrier to entry. Anyone who sets their budget and expectations appropriately and has the resolve to just like make game can at least develop games in their free time.

Many indie game developers who "make it" might have their game available on Steam, which is I guess how this ties back into the topic at hand. If you do a little research though, many of these developers would rather sell do you directly (and many will happily do so) since Valve takes a cut of Steam sales (which is fair in my opinion since the Steam infrastructure isn't free to run).

UB_
Nali Priest Nali Priest
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 08:41

2nd announcement coming in about 10 hours
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User avatar Delacroix
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 12:14

ebd wrote:Eh, why the hate over Steam? It a service that offers products in a convenient fashion and at an often drastically reduced price in exchange for having to put up with less DRM.


Corrected. Example? Any goddamn disc-based-protected game that is distributed over Steam has this shit removed, be it SafeDisc, SecuROM or StarForce. In multiple times (not always, BioShock 2 being an unfortunate exception), third party DRM for online authentication is removed, the product relying on Steam's own DRM instead. As Steam does not run any mysterious drivers in the background unlike SecuROM or StarForce often do, well... Need I say more?

And having to run Steam before I run any game tied to it... Well, Steam is like a game center for me nowadays. I keep it always running, and even add non-Steam games to the library for easier management. It even allows me to take screenshots in Unreal, in resolutions Unreal corrupts screenshot files by default. How the hell do you guys think I managed to create widescreen shots of stuff all of a sudden? ;)

It's a good platform. Also, I disagree about this entire thing about a "master". Nobody coerces me to use this software or play the games tied to it. If I couldn't play the game outside Steam legally, I could for example pirate it. Nobody can prevent me from doing so. I choose not to because I believe that developers of a given title should get their share if I like it. Of course, at times I still visit a warez site to check out a game, but mostly because there is no demo or I find it too limited to make sure that I want to buy. Either way, Steam has changed my way of playing games profoundly, because I was pirating as hell before I started using it and now I've mostly withdrawn from that practice. Mostly because of the games being easily accessible and cheap.

As for indie devs preferring stuff being bought directly from them...
No.
Just no.
I agree that it may be better for them, but is certainly worse for me. I have to micromanage e-mail receipts, expiring download links, backups of the stuff I bought and God knows what else. In Steam, I don't have any of that shit. Installed or not, downloaded or not, as long as I have a license purchased, the game in question is in my Steam library, always available to download and install, EVEN WHEN THE DEVELOPER IS SIX FEET UNDER. That's right. Example? I bought Winter Voices while it was still developed by Beyond The Pillars. When this developer disappeared from the market up to the point that purchase/download links on their official site stopped working, Steam still offered me an option to easily reinstall the game (albeit in Steam Store it was no longer offered for purchase). Now it's a thing of the past because after being taken over by Inner Seas, the game is back on Steam, expanded even, but it illustrates a point: no matter what happens to the developers or publishers, Steam will continue to offer you the option of downloading and installing stuff you bought. Give yourselves a moment to consider this.
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User avatar ividyon
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Subject: Re: Steam livingroom Announcements

Post Posted: 25 Sep 2013, 13:20

In addition, people don't realize that, by now, Steam's offline mode actually works despite its hiccups in the past. Once you have installed and launched your games at least once, you can run them in the offline mode even if you're cut off from the net. Steam just works.

Living in the past is good and well, but one shouldn't be rating products according to what they *were* like before. Steam was a steaming pile of dogshit at the time of release, but Valve has learned and adapted and crafted a nice product out of it in those 6-7 years it's been out. Times change.
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