Am I the only person who kind of hates Valve?

[Ledan]

Now, I don't hate Valve, I don't love them, I mean, their development cycle is just terrible, but their ok developers. No, what I hate is Steam, not as a digital distribution platform, but as DRM. It is fucking horrible, 'Oh, did you buy this game in store did you, well fuck you, we're gonna make you install steam and wait while we force you to install all the updates before you can even touch them.' Seriously, when I buy a game at retail, I expect to be able to play my bloody games, instead of you locking me out of games I have pay'd good money for because I won't install fucking steam. Who ever thought up that little gem deserve a wack round the face. Don't get me wrong, Half Life and Portal are some great game series, but the hoops and bullshit I have to jump through to actually play them, seriously Valve, what a dick move.
Oh, and if you have a crappy internet connection or, like me, have an internet plan with a set amount of bytes per month, those updates are a real *****.

I hate Valve, mainly due to Steam and how shit it is.

See, I don't get this. I've had steam for nearly three to four years (I don't remember for sure) and I've enjoyed the experience. I love the sales steam will have on big newer titles like Just Cause 2 or Arkham Asylum so I don't have to pay full price. I love the digital storage for certain games. And I like the friend-system. The only fault is it requires a stable internet connect, which isn't a problem for me. Aside from that, while it isn't perfect, it's probably one of the best online gaming services out there, from what I've seen anyway.

While you have good internet Steam is good. When you don't have a stable constant internet connection, steam screws you over. No point in buying any retail if it requires steam, no point in going to other digital stores because steam has monopoly. That is the greatest annoyance. If you don't have good internet, you can't play certain games. At all. Even though they don't require any internet to actually play them.

I qouted you both because I thought you should read each others posts. Two-sides of the coin . Also brohoof[/]

 

[Bento Box]

You're entitled to your opinion, and I'm not going to knock you for it, but I am going to knock you for your reasoning; it's as silly as complaining that Blizzard doesn't do enough console releases. They aren't console companies; they're PC companies. Yes, some of their games port fairly well (lookin' at you, P2), but unlike most companies they build the PC version first, then soften it up for the console kids, whether that means making everything in the game easier because gamepads are sloppy as shit for shooters, or making the graphics ugly because consoles begin two generations behind on hardware, and only fall farther back over the next several years (I'm not hatin'. I'm truthin'. I have all three major consoles,and love them for what they do well, so don't flame me).

There are some legit reasons to hate on Valve (though none of them are especially compelling to me), but I really don't think that it's fair to hate them for being centrally focused on the only platform that really provides them a solid market.

 

[Siege_TF]

I don't like how Steam will parasitically attach itself to certain games I buy from retail stores, but as far as hating goes no, but that's mostly because hatred is an all-or-nothing emotion.

It's easier to be 'a little bit pregnant' or 'kind of unconscious' than it is to 'kind of hate' something.

 

[Nalgas D. Lemur]

First, you're never the only one.

I'd be surprised if anyone could come up with a philosophy in which they were the only one.

Oh, come on. That's too easy. You just make something that by definition can't apply to anyone else. It can be completely trivial, like "I am the only one who correctly believes that I am Nalgas D. Lemur." I'd come up with a more clever example, but it's almost time for bed.

 

[jonesdude25]

the thing is that PC is far easier to develop for than consoles, write a few lines of code, stick some graphics in there, give it a name and put it on steam, even on the technical aspect pc is an almost completely open system for development and a great starting place for young developers, consoles are far more difficult to develop for, the only technical advantage consoles have over PCs is that the devs know exactly what hardware will be in a console and can optimise accordingly, but for many small indy games that doesnt matter because they wont be hardware hogs in the first place

 

[jonesdude25]

the thing is that PC is far easier to develop for than consoles, write a few lines of code, stick some graphics in there, give it a name and put it on steam, even on the technical aspect pc is an almost completely open system for development and a great starting place for young developers, consoles are far more difficult to develop for, the only technical advantage consoles have over PCs is that the devs know exactly what hardware will be in a console and can optimise accordingly, but for many small indy games that doesnt matter because they wont be hardware hogs in the first place

 

[jonesdude25]

the thing is that PC is far easier to develop for than consoles, write a few lines of code, stick some graphics in there, give it a name and put it on steam, even on the technical aspect pc is an almost completely open system for development and a great starting place for young developers, consoles are far more difficult to develop for, the only technical advantage consoles have over PCs is that the devs know exactly what hardware will be in a console and can optimise accordingly, but for many small indy games that doesnt matter because they wont be hardware hogs in the first place

 

[bauke67]

So you blame VALVe because their game wont work on your computer? if that happens your computer is not up to spec, don't blame the developer because your PC is too old.

I said might, more people seem to have problems just like mine.
And with other games, it at least runs the main menu!

 

[Normandyfoxtrot]

I don't understand how a company so incapable of releasing a product on time manages to stay a company.