Is Steam okay for you?

[Nuclear_Suspect]

I love Steam, yes, its DRM but its done right.
And the sales... oh god the sales! Thems be YUMMY! During the holiday sale I bought 'The Ship' (I used to play the old mod with my mates long ago) think it was 5£ or such, I got a copy for myself and 2 gift copies for that price... then the recipiants of the 2 gifts can then gift 1 more...

Thats 5 copies for 5£! So yeah, I loves me some Steam

 

[That Greek Guy]

You are thinking like a child. Have you though what will happen to that precious dvd you bought. I used to buy retail games for 15 years before i found steam. The fact that you can play any game from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection is amazing for me. Also the fact that there are no physical copies of the game to be broken or lost is also amazing. The games i buy over there i have them for life with no worries. The steam cloud is also a very good feature and the "verify integrity of game cache option and constant automatic updtes make everything work great even when it doesnt.
I have more reasons to like steam but i will end with this. Half life complete pack for 5$

 

[YawningAngel]

I'm fine with Steam. It works and it doesn't try to fuck me over.

 

[Charli]

Offline mode.

Steam has flaws, but I love it.

I really don't feel the need to buy a games console or a TV as long as I have this.

The problem is not steam, the problem is game developers who sell you a CD and then won't let you play because there was nothing on the disk to install short of just telling steam to download a 5GB File.

THAT is cheeky as shit, and should not be allowed..

Otherwise if the game has installation setup, Steam requires very little of you except to add it to you library for convenience.


And trust me I've gone weeks without internet because of ISP's being dicks.
I've had to put up with it. There are problems, yes... But steam is my friend, don't talk smack about him just because he's got a small acne problem bro.

I have a strangely vague feeling that the game you're talking about is Homefront?

Because the installation disk didn't even have the .exe file on it xD

Actually I've never had this problem, I just know that it DOES happen and I frown upon it, but yeah that's a prime example then. Don't sell a physical copy if all you're doing is going to point at steam and say...yeah this is just the key, go back to your house, the door is over there.
I want the Key and the damn Door if I left my house to go get it, you lazy sons of bitches.

 

[Reyalsfeihc]

Spoiler

No, I shut Steam down entirely before I pulled it instead which, from Steam's perspective, is exactly the same thing.
But, for the sake of completeness, I just tried it the way you asked, and it was still fine. I shut my computer down, pulled connection, restarted, Steam ask if I wanted off-line mode and worked fine allowing me access to my games.

It sounds to me like you don't have your settings done properly. Have you saved your user-name and password for an automatic start-up, or do you input them every time?

I do have the credentials saved to my computer. And as I said, it doesn't seem to just be me having the problem as it is a common complaint I ran into while looking for why it didn't work. But...

Spoiler

Try saying that when you lost access to the internet for a week or more unexpectedly and can't access your games because you have to be able to go online to go into offline mode. I think it's a bit of backwards logic there. "You can play offline. But you have to go online first then set it so your computer is in this special mode that lets you play offline."

That's not true at all. If Steam can't find a connection when it expects to, it automatically asks if you'd like you use off-line mode instead or keep trying the connection. Yes, you can set it while on-line, but you're in no way required to.

Yes, it does ask you if you want to start in offline mode when you try to connect without internet. But it then attempts to connect to the internet in order to start it in offline mode. If it can't connect to the internet to start in offline mode, then it won't let you connect. I'm guessing this is for the times the servers may be down or something along those lines. At least that's how it worked last time I tried it a month or so ago.

Well, I tried it literally 10 minutes ago, just before I made that post, and it let me start Steam and play my games, all without any kind of internet connection to my computer.

I tried just now myself and it didn't allow me to. Did you have the computer up and running when you undid your internet connection? Because if it loses internet while you're online, it will still run. But when you boot up your computer without internet, it won't let you.

SNIP

Yes, it does ask you if you want to start in offline mode when you try to connect without internet. But it then attempts to connect to the internet in order to start it in offline mode. If it can't connect to the internet to start in offline mode, then it won't let you connect. I'm guessing this is for the times the servers may be down or something along those lines. At least that's how it worked last time I tried it a month or so ago.

For the sake of science I just ripped out my USB wireless antenna, and I have no other way of connecting to the internet, restarted Steam and booted straight into offline mode and then straight into actually playing my games. Without any internet connection whatsoever.

It gives you a blank screen saying that to go online restart Steam, not TO PLAY GAMES, you just click library and there they are.

So finally can we all please stop mentioning this shit.

EDIT: Fuck ninja'd, point still valid though.

I'll ask you the same thing I asked the other guy, did your restart the computer or just try going into offline mode without internet. Because Steam will still work if you lost internet while you have it running, but from past experiences I've had and seen from others, you can't boot up your computer and access your Steam library if you don't have internet connection and have it set to offline mode.

Let me clear up the confusion between you three, as all of you are technically correct and wrong at the same time.

It's true that, without an internet connection, you can directly connect to offline mode via steam. However, in order to do so Steam must create an user information file to grant access to your library without a direct connection to Steam's servers. What happens is when you begin to switch to offline mode, Steam compiles this file and saves it in your directory. In theory, this should allow you to connect to Steam at anytime without internet...

... but it doesn't.
Those with a slower internet connection can commonly have problems with creating the UIF because of a high packet loss, resulting in the disappearance of information necessary to start in offline mode. It's for this very reason that I CAN NOT access Steam with my internet disconnected, because my internet connection on average is about 10kbps.

That does seem to explain it. That's why I was actually asking to be sure that we were doing it via the same method, as I was wondering why there'd be different results for the same issue. But that would explain why it would happen like that. Hadn't realized that the packet loss was the reason for the inability to connect offline. It's odd as I think I have a pretty good connection. But oh well. Thanks for clarifying in any case.

Those with a slower internet connection can commonly have problems with creating the UIF because of a high packet loss, resulting in the disappearance of information necessary to start in offline mode.

But, surely, such a loss of data to a file required for off-line mode would mean off-line mode could never be used at all by a user with the problem you describe?

I don't think so. After all, when a user specifically connects to Steam to access offline mode, it likely sends the file needed specifically instead of all Steam general network traffic.

Exactly. It's all honestly a case of chance with some connections, as sometimes essential files will be lost or not as the strength of peoples' internet connections fluctuate, as do their percentage of packet loss.

While it's entirely plausible that after a few tries of connecting then going offline it could work, some people may never be able to use it unless they somehow compiled an offline file themselves. Of course there's also the common mistake of people not checking to auto log-in when they sign in to Steam and try to go offline.

 

[Maze1125]

I don't think so. After all, when a user specifically connects to Steam to access offline mode, it likely sends the file needed specifically instead of all Steam general network traffic.

Yes, at which point the file would have already been created, and so usable in the future when off-line was needed.
And what about when the connection is lost suddenly while on-line, surely the file would be incomplete then, and so off-line mode wouldn't work?

 

[Rednog]

I have two big problems with steam
1) For a company that is so big they don't have any other support besides email, which takes anywhere from 24-48 hours to respond. And if you need to have a back and forth type of email conversation about a problem it can take quite some time. I had a problem with a game and it took about a week and a half to solve because of the back and forth. Seriously you'd think by now they would have a chat service or a phone service.

2) They sell products that don't work and they don't accept returns. This is a problem especially with older games, steam throws them up for sale in a bundle and whatnot, lo and behold they don't work with anything besides windows XP. Especially since they don't take returns they really should be held responsible for checking if the game at least launches before you give them your hard earned money just to find that it doesn't work and they tell you well we have your money and we don't care. I remember when I bought a Tom Clancy pack from steam, oh guess what Vegas doesn't want to launch through steam, I had to go on the forums to find out that I had to launch the game separately from steam for it to work.

 

[Kapol]

I don't think so. After all, when a user specifically connects to Steam to access offline mode, it likely sends the file needed specifically instead of all Steam general network traffic.

Yes, at which point the file would have already been created, and so usable in the future when off-line was needed.
And what about when the connection is lost suddenly while on-line, surely the file would be incomplete then, and so off-line mode wouldn't work?

But the issue is that the file is likely constantly changing as time goes on and it records user information. Since the file is constantly updating and has a high rate of loss, that would lead to an issue when Steam attempts to boot up that it simply doesn't work correctly.

And as for when you lose a connection while on-line, what likely happens there is that your computer still has the active permissions stored due to Steam still being active. This means that, until you close Steam, it has everything you need activate which will allow you to go along normally.

At least that's what it seems like, and what would make sense based off what Reyal suggested.

 

[Reyalsfeihc]

I don't think so. After all, when a user specifically connects to Steam to access offline mode, it likely sends the file needed specifically instead of all Steam general network traffic.

Yes, at which point the file would have already been created, and so usable in the future when off-line was needed.
And what about when the connection is lost suddenly while on-line, surely the file would be incomplete then, and so off-line mode wouldn't work?

Yep, in fact I've had problems with disconnects related to Steam that have caused BSOD's. But if you somehow lost internet connection there's a chance the file wouldn't work. I believe that Steam records user information while you're logged in (hence why you need to have auto-log in checked to get offline mode to work) which it compiles when you enter offline mode.

 

[SpaceBat]

On the other hand, compared to install limits and having to have an always on internet connection, steam is a pretty friendly method of DRM and all the bad parts of steam are entirely countered by the ability to download the game as many times as I want on as many PCs as I want, the cloud thing is handy, free space to store and share screenshots? name any other service that does that.

Those are the reasons why I love steam. It provides a lot of things that no one else does, is usually very cheap, has tons of regular discounts and is overall very helpful. But as you said, even if its a very light DRM, it is still DRM. If you become a victim of an account hi-jack or if Steam ever malfunctions or simply refuses to work on your PC for whatever reason (Have a friend that suffers from this. Has yet to find a solution), you can usually kiss your account/games goodbye. You never own the games and this is also the reason why I lost a couple of them (Activated CS on a very old account, became inactive for a long time, wanted to log back in only to find it was hijacked. So now I can't play a store-bought game because I can't get my hands on my old account due to a lack of assistance and the lack of a receipt.). I know it's absolutely necessary for such DRM and I am incredibly glad that it's so friendly, but I still hate DRM.

As for the whole offline mode - I have to say, I picked up my laptop, took it on holiday and got on steam offline mode no problem with no preparation whatsoever. So I don't know what troubles other people are having.

I've had some games give me the message that the game isn't available or ready for offline-mode gaming. I have no idea why that keeps happening.

But now that you mention offline mode, I also hate how Steam sometimes automatically updates your game the moment you go online, even if you specifically put a game into the "Do not automatically download updates" group. Seriously, it is a pain in the ass when you download an old game that doesn't support Windows 7 from steam and have to mod it in order to make it work, only for steam to put randomly turn on the update option and ruin your installation. It seems I'm not the only one who occasionally suffers from this either.

I would love for Steam to somehow upgrade their games to be windows 7 compatible, but I understand that it's not in their power to do so.

 

[Rad Party God]

Welcome to the 21st century, if you don't like it, play it on your console of choice. Or don't play it at all.

Serisouly though, Steam is brilliant, something I can't say about the travesty that is Origin. It has an offline mode, though it has it's excentricities, but it generally works like a charm. Having to register yourself to use Steam... well, that's a silly complaint, don't you think?.

 

[illas]

Critically, Steam is vastly superior to all it's competitors.

Furthermore, Valve are one of the few companies in gaming who have actually earned their users' trust through consistent high-quality releases, solid pricing strategies and cross-promotion, and excellent customer service.

When you then add in the friends list, screenshot/video sharing, community groups, and the knowledge that all I require to access my entire games collection is an internet connection... well, cased closed, for me.

 

[ntw3001]

I"m with you OP. Steam sucks.

I buy Civ V. To play it, I have to install it, register it with Steam, and then load up Steam every time I want to play it. Steam has to be up, even if in offline mode. It takes longer to load up than any other process on my PC, and I don't like waiting around for some bumbling piece of crap to load up something that should load on its own. I don't like that Steam forces you to update before playing, I don't like that it throws adds in your face every freaking time you close a game, so that if I'm testing out different settings that require me to close the game to take effect, I keep getting an add shoved in my face as I try to restart it, I hate the blooming overlay that glitches and pops up every time I alt tab (Well, that's a lie. Any time I press shift after alt tabbing back to the game. No, I am not holding down the tab key) back into a game. It is a useless service that should be 100% optional.

Now, for others, I understand it is a good place to digitally buy games cheap. As a service, there are others better (Hell, Origin Loads faster and has better connection speeds, and few of the games in my library require it).

It's been mentioned that you can disable both the ads and the overlay, but you can also disable the updates.

I like Steam for the same reasons as everyone else: It's a form of DRM that doesn't actively punish me, I like having my games tucked away in that little library rather than scattered around making a mess of my desktop, it gives me access to all sorts of indie games I'd never otherwise have played, and it has excellent sales. It did bug me that HL2 required an internet connection in 2005, but it's no longer an issue (although of course I can see thhat it would be for some people). It's true that I've had the occasional 'the Steam servers are tooo busy to handle your request', which is annoying, but it doesn't outweigh the fact that I also got Bioshock and Psychonauts for less than £5 btween them.

 

[Lunar Templar]

GFWL sucks, i've been playing games on it, lost connection and been booted out of the game, then there's the other issues i've had with the codes i got from them not working at first, the fact i have to register or i can't save on the single player in Batman: AA and so on.

Steam, doesn't give me these head aches, it dose what it's supposed to and doesn't get in the way of my gaming.

but if you don't like it, there's always Origin ....

 

[fenrizz]

I agree with you. Steam is definitely the best form of DRM out there, but it's still DRM. The store is good, I guess... but then you compare to, say, GOG.com - which has no DRM - and it starts to falter again.

And no, it doesn't have an offline mode. It does not count if you have to be online first.

You can connect in offline mode if you have some connection problems. Thus there is an offline mode. I have used this a lot and I have played numerous games form Steam on my laptop while not having an internet connection.

OT: Steam doesn't offer me any problems, it lets me play games without thinking about inserting a disc or getting a no CD crack in order to do so. I also get good download speed (11mb/s on record), decent deals though I can usually get games cheaper from online retailers. However Steam let's me communicate, play games, buy games, authenticate games, auto-install games let me copy paste product registration codes. It does what I like thus I like it.

Try telling that to my brother. His university blocks Steam. He can't play any of his games.

And that is the single greatest sin of DRM.

He could always get mobile broadband?
It's not very speedy compared to landlines but he will be able to browse and use steam.

 

[Woodsey]

"What I think? Why do I need a stable high speed internet connection, forced registration and membership to a site that I don't want, in order to play an offline SINGLE-PLAYER game that for my bad luck is linked with Steam?"

Steam has an offline mode, and your connection only needs to be on for the 30 seconds or so it takes to register the game on Steam.

And people like it compared to GfWL because, a) it works the vast majority of the time for most people, and b) it continues to add functionality for us, when we've still only had to sacrifice that one activation per game.

Don't like steam one bit. It annoys me that I have to face some pop-up box with commercials about games before I can actually just play a game I paid for!!! So that's the 'thanks' you get for your purchase "here, have some more of where that came from!!!".... yeah...>_<

You can turn that off in the settings menu. It took me 15 seconds of top-notch investigation to find that option.

 

[Yopaz]

I agree with you. Steam is definitely the best form of DRM out there, but it's still DRM. The store is good, I guess... but then you compare to, say, GOG.com - which has no DRM - and it starts to falter again.

And no, it doesn't have an offline mode. It does not count if you have to be online first.

You can connect in offline mode if you have some connection problems. Thus there is an offline mode. I have used this a lot and I have played numerous games form Steam on my laptop while not having an internet connection.

OT: Steam doesn't offer me any problems, it lets me play games without thinking about inserting a disc or getting a no CD crack in order to do so. I also get good download speed (11mb/s on record), decent deals though I can usually get games cheaper from online retailers. However Steam let's me communicate, play games, buy games, authenticate games, auto-install games let me copy paste product registration codes. It does what I like thus I like it.

Try telling that to my brother. His university blocks Steam. He can't play any of his games.

And that is the single greatest sin of DRM.

I have had the same problem when I tried playing games when I was in school. I simply disconnected the internet connection completely then I was able to log in to offline mode. If I tried to log in while I was connected to the internet the school network would restrict me from it. It might require that he goes online at some point for verification though. I can't tell for sure since that never was an issue for me.