This is just.... stupid? yes. What happens to those without internet connections? Besides, hacks have already been made.... Quite recently i heard they divert your installer into a new website that configures your game to run without going through steam at all, it's some damn smart hacking...

apparently easy to use, replace a few files, run them, presto... but the offline version hasn't been made yet

The only problem with phone authorization is that you can have a keygen generate it and then you just type it in.

Yeah, Emon's right about that.

I didn't realize that making a mistake was "crapping on their customers." You really do enjoy demonizing things and people, don't you?

The universities are to be blamed in the case of a port blocking preventing playability -- it's not Valve's fault that some IRC kiddie downloaded a worm from a porn chatroom and caused the whole plague of "it's a security risk" reasoning across universities. It's Valve's responsibility to find a solution, but it's not their fault that it happened in the first place.

Dude, Steam has been doing this forever. First it was that it sucked, was never up, and whenever you wanted to play you couldn't, then it was the constant downloading of updates (which all of them weren't all that great), now this?

It's Valve's fault they didn't think about this in the first place. Go to HardOCP--thousands, literally thousands of students are SOL because their campus blocked steam ports. OOPS SORRY THE CAMPUS' FAULT ISN'T IT.

And those problems have been fixed, haven't they? If Valve was "crapping their customers," they wouldn't have fixed those problems.



It's not Valve's fault that it happened. It's Valve's responsibility to create a fix to the situation.

Like I said, if Railroad Tycoon part 57 did this, I bet nobody would put up with it. But since it's valve/hl2, everyone's willing to put up with anything in order to get the game.

I'm pissed, they're ****ting on my by not letting me have HL1 patches w/out downloading and installing their spyware. I never pirated any games, I don't deserve to be treated like a criminal.

Welcome to the video game world of the future. The honest get punished for the sins of the wicked hackers out there. Basically because of a group of idiots we all have to go thru this crap even when we haven't done anything.

Lot's of other stuff like that happens. Wont say anything since I don't want to hi-jack.

How melodramatic...

Steam is hardly spyware. At the worst, it sends Valve your system specs, which is hardly something to get your panties in a twist about.

You're not being "treated like a criminal." Steam is an easy-to-use interface that had a rough start, but most of the bugs in it have been ironed out (save for the Friends feature).

Um, if it sends anything I don't want it to, it's spyware. Yes, my system specs are MY business, not theirs.

It asks you first, and you can always say no.

Look, when I buy a game, I want to buy it, come home, install it, and play it. I shouldn't need to provide my email address. I shouldn't need to have an internet connection. I shouldn't be required to install special other software just to play or patch the game. Those things are all designed so valve can a) attempt to control piracy, b) have ultimate control over the software installed on MY computer, and c) in some cases, cut the publisher from the deal so the developer gets a bigger cut of the profit.

I don't have a problem with C. I have a problem with A and B. They're turning gaming into a service like AOL, where as soon as you connect, it gets the patches w/out your permission and you can't play till you update. Historically, tons of patches have come out for various games that break the gameplay or various features that people don't like, and historically, those people are able to reinstall and choose whatever patch level they want. You lose that with Steam.

Look, you're welcome to your opinion that it's not an inconvenience and it's not crapping on customers. I respectfully disagree with you. I have been playing games for a really long time now - I'm almost 27 years old - and this is the most obtrusive thing I've ever witnessed. I was pissed about CD keys, and encryption and other anti-piracy measures (preventing burning backups, etc.). But this is over the top and will not accomplish their main goal which is to reduce piracy. And even if it does, it's simply not worth the price.

There's absolutely no need for them to have my email address or any other personal information, including the specs of my computer. That's like Best Buy requiring me to tell them my VIN number or at least the year, make, model, engine size, options installed, trim package, etc., of my car before they will sell me a music CD!

You can be all fine and good with this, of course that's your choice. But mark my words, the entire face of computer gaming will be changed by people's acceptance of this "technology" - in 5 years every developer or at least every publisher will have their own proprietary "content delivery system" and each one will be more restrictive than the next. Nothing good can come of this.

Hey Brian, guess what is really really intrusive!

They make you play their game, that's right. You are forced to sign up for steam and buy the game so that they have your information.

If you want to play their game, you do have to adhere to these bull**** rules. Is it their right? Unfortunately. Anymore, buying a game=entering a contract. Should they do it? Hell no.

What doomsday weapon do you see conceived in the future, O Prophet?

Probably needing to be connected to the net all the time to play the game, only being able to play games via streaming etc. Throw in a bit of MS's palladium and whooshka! super restrictive gaming for everyone!

I'd just like to say it explicitly since people don't seem to be getting it. This thread isn't about Steam, Valve or the like. It's about the precedent that Steam sets.

Indeed.

People make their own decisions. Programmers are people too and if they want to restrict how you sign up to protect their own investment that is totally their right. If you don't like it don't buy it, don't support them. Going without a game won't kill you etc, you make your own decisions. I like steam, updates are easy, no other way could I have gotten HL2 so easy. It runs well, and it lets me get around easier and keep track of friends. It's never caused me trouble.

The day you all actually support a doomsday device then you can point the finger, but Steam is harmless. Just don't pay for the doomsday device when it comes, make your own game.

It sucks that people base their decisions on only what applies directly to them without any regard to other people. It's obvious tons of people are having problems with Steam - hell, have you read their FAQ? This is one of the top 5 questions:

http://steampowered.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=2&p_created=1091584311&p_sid=cB13KUqh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0yNTcmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=

Which basically says: you bought a game new, you tried to play it, steam says you pirated it - you have to photograph and email a picture of the cd, a picture of the box, a picture of the cd key, a picture of the sales receipt, your steam account information (and of course your email address). Wait for a response... wait for it... TWO WEEKS.

This is insane, totally insane.

And yeah, I'm not purchasing the game, even though it looks very entertaining from the reviews and screenshots. I just wish there was another way to get it without having to sign up for this crappy STEAM.

Oh good lord, look at this one: http://steampowered.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=119&p_created=1093290282&p_sid=cB13KUqh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0yNTcmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=

That one basically says that once you use a cdkey, you are not allowed to sell/give it away. Is this Valve's way of stopping used game sales in retail stores? Read that FAQ, seriously.

That sucks bum.

Quite hard too.

Steam is actually not that bad, I had my doubts when i first signed up a year ago but basically you can turn it off at any time. It automatically updates all your games and points you in the direction of popular mods and such. Its kinda like a more streamlined version of Battle-net. I never get e-mails or things to bug me and I got to play HL2 the moment it came out (on midnight instead of going to a store).

Er...no, it doesn't. It basically says that, if you want your CD key reset so that it can be used for another account, you must follow those steps.

No, it specifically says you cannot ever register it to a new user: Further, it says that if you happen to get a duplicate CD key from sierra, you can pay valve an extra 10 dollars to get a new one (WHAT!? YOU ALREADY PAID FOR THE GAME!!!).

Valve is really asking to have a katana shoved up their a**. Pointy end first. By me. Why do people put up with this s***?

Ok, skipped most of this after page 3, I have only one query.
If Steam ditches your credit card details after you use it, then why is it impossible to buy two copies on the one credit card?
That's right, you can't. Beleive me I tried, I bought it for myself and tried to buy a second copy as a birthday present for a freind, I ended up having to borrrow my mothers credit card to do it.

It means they aren't being totally honest with people about what they do with the credit card numbers. *sigh*

Has anyone perchance taken a look at the steam forums? LOL! All hell has broken loose there.

WARNING SLIGHT LANGUAGE AT THE END OF THIS GIF

Haha mad cow that is funny