On that, this was the first time (in my memory) that Valve has ever rolled back a patch because of a problem. I could be wrong, but every other patch has been released and stayed. If there's been a problem with the patch, they release an additional patch.

This latest patch works fine for me though, so no biggie.

But hey, Doug works for Valve so of course he's going to say it's amazing.

But on the same note, you will always hear more people complaining then you will hear those who have no problems with steam. And as Valve has said, (because they have looked at computers of users who have not gotten Steam to work), the problem is most always at the user end (Spyware, virus, fragged drive, etc). Not always - but if you visit the Steam forums, very rarely is there a case of there being an actual problem with Steam that is not the users fault.

Please note that you only responded to one of my many points.

Most of your points were opinions though that aren't really debatable.

forced updates? I for one like the fact that it automatically updates without me trying to join servers and then getting "version differs from server". Then having to go on Fileplanet and stuff to find the patch is tedious.

crappy servers? How are they crappy? I never have a problem updating. The only time I've had a problem is when I try updating RIGHT as the patch is released. However, that's because thousands of people are trying to get the patch so its understandable. If I want to download a patch on Fileplanet, I usually have to wait as well. Whenever I have wanted to play on Steam, I can get on. No problems

no ability to play in offline mode? I have DSL, so I'm always online anyways. This is a valid argument I will grant you for those who are not.

no ability to play w/out using the freaking content delivery system? True, but I've also hated games that require you to have the CD in the drive to play. However the developer intends the game to be played, the user has to follow it - unfortunatly.

feeling like I'm a criminal? Uh, I have never felt like a criminal while using Steam.

they rolled in anti-piracy measures ? While they aren't 100% effective, I believe it has had SOME effect on the ability to pirate the game. Part of the reason there are people able to get Steam ID's and what not is because users are stupid and send this information where they should not. *Example - spam e-mail that says it is Valve and they need to confirm their ID. The user e-mails it - BAM. That's one new Steam ID floating around for a hacker to use*

product activation/forced use? This whole thread, and others before has discussed that. There is perks and there is problems with this.

I think many people who have complaints of Steam is because of their personal experience with it. I have never had any problems with it, and that's why I like the whole idea of it. I like the fact that if I want to play a game, I can fire it up - without the CD - and be playing a game in 30 seconds. I also like the fact I can go to any computer and login to Steam and then play the game (download the files if I need too).

Demon properly addressed all the points except this one. Yes, you can play in Offline Mode. All you do is restart Steam, and it'll try to "log you in." It'll then tell you it can't find anything to connect to, and offers to let you start in Offlne Mode. Click the button, and, voilá, you're in offline mode!

This has worked on all the occassions that I've been on my friend's internet-less LAN in his basement. We've played multiple LAN games of CS:S without an internet connection.

To emphasize, I haven't had an internet connection for my main computer for almost 6 months, but have played HL2 dozens of times.

Also, the 15 minute decryption process is there so that people like me didn't have to wait for the entire game to download after we bought it. Preloading doesn't make sense if you don't protect the game's assets somehow.

The first of Brian's posts about Steam however many months ago failed to convince me that it's (in general) a POS concept. However, I've gradually come to the conclusion that as a content delivery system (Like you said) it's okay, but the authentication and inability to resell are the worst parts of it... The argument about paying for the game with legal tender and then being unable to do anything about it in the event that Valve says you can't... is pretty much true.

I have no problem with Content Delivery Systems, however I believe STRONGLY that they shouldn't be required in order to play.