Steam problems - worth getting worked up about?

[The_root_of_all_evil]

While I know this will further polarise people's views, it's probably not Steam's fault.

The original DRM needs the CD keys to unlock; and the original owners probably didn't create enough CD keys - so will have to run their algorithm to create new ones and post them onto Steam. Something that I doubt they're getting paid for, so they'll be doing it as fast as they want to.

Yes, Steam should have seen this, but it you're going to start raging as soon as they do one thing wrong, then you are THAT GUY.

But then, defending Steam seems to make me a Valve fanboy now, so continue your hate-spewing.

 

[the_pleasure_is_mine]

If you don't like the services and deals steam offers don't use the service. I think the pros far out weigh the cons, but this is based on a person to person occurrence. Steam affords me access to my software anywhere where i have internet and admin on a machine, the patches and software are automatically updated if the client is running, pretty decent software price breaks and bundling, and a fairly large community for PC gamers. Additionally i no longer have to worry about shotty quality in CD and DVD media and it becoming scratched and inoperable. No CD binders.

Well that's one of the problems for me.

I don't want to use Steam, but I have to to play Empire: Total War.

The pros only outweigh the cons for people who use Steam services, for those of us who just want to play games and have no intention of buying from Steam then the cons massively outweigh the pros.

Normally I try and take care of my games and in the unlikely event of a CD becoming inoperable I use a No Disc Crack so I can continue playing.

I mean honestly have u even considered the fact that they only require you to verify online, there is an offline mode, you can backup your media too.

I don't understand what you're trying to say here... so I'll ignore the first bit. Now about offline mode, it's a joke and is glitchy as fuck. Does not work correctly for me and just complains I'm not connected.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

Well I'm sure they're aware of the problem. But how is this any different than WoW's servers having extra or unexpected downtime? I mean, people pay to play the game, yet sometimes things don't quite go according to plan.

Answer: I am willing to put up with things from an MMO that I am not willing to put up with from a single player game simply because such issues are inherent to MMO design. It's a trade-off that can't be avoided.

 

[Super Toast]

PC gaming in general is becoming more and more ridiculous. It seems like we can't have a single day where some bullshit doesn't pop up.

 

[Sud0_x]

On topic: No, I don't think it's worth getting worked up about, Steam has its ways of proving you own a game, you will always be entitled to it. Until Steam goes under
Also this particular issue piqued my interest, never before have I heard of such an occurrence

Anyway the piece I came here to say and I've said it here before:
I can accept that it's not always fanboyism in these cases but, please, please stop ignoring the grievances of others simply because they don't affect you. If you are one to sing praises about the software; at least recognise its limitations. And I don't mean that in the sense of being a pretentious wank who just says they do in an attempt to balance out their unwaveringly ignorant stance, I mean accept the fact that Steam needs improvement and it seriously fucks with a lot of people's day to day. Before you defend it unquestioningly, why don't you spend 10 minutes actively seeking out other users' problems and actually taking them in. Valve isn't a godsend to PC gaming. You just want it to be.

 

[rsvp42]

Well I'm sure they're aware of the problem. But how is this any different than WoW's servers having extra or unexpected downtime? I mean, people pay to play the game, yet sometimes things don't quite go according to plan.

Answer: I am willing to put up with things from an MMO that I am not willing to put up with from a single player game simply because such issues are inherent to MMO design. It's a trade-off that can't be avoided.

Right, but mess-ups like this are inherent in the design of digital distribution. Not informing buyers of the problem was a major misstep on Steam's part and for that they deserve backlash, but the fact that it happened is one of those unfortunate peculiarities of the platform.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

Right, but mess-ups like this are inherent in the design of digital distribution. Not informing buyers of the problem was a major misstep on Steam's part and for that they deserve backlash, but the fact that it happened is one of those unfortunate peculiarities of the platform.

Almost correct: They are inherent in the design of online-based DRM, which Steam is and is being used for even with games that aren't being distributed digitally.

The difference is that the MMO itself is something that I want. DRM is not, and is not an inherent part of single-player games.

 

[rsvp42]

Right, but mess-ups like this are inherent in the design of digital distribution. Not informing buyers of the problem was a major misstep on Steam's part and for that they deserve backlash, but the fact that it happened is one of those unfortunate peculiarities of the platform.

Almost correct: They are inherent in the design of online-based DRM, which Steam is and is being used for even with games that aren't being distributed digitally.

The difference is that the MMO itself is something that I want. DRM is not, and is not an inherent part of single-player games.

True, but publishers shoehorning in DRM is sort of a separate issue. I think the overall problem of DRM is definitely implied in this thread, but I was mostly addressing the main question of whether this Steam problem was worth getting worked up about. I agree that DRM overall is worth getting worked up about, but this particular problem of the missing CD keys seems like par for the course when dealing with a service like Steam. That Steam didn't inform buyers beforehand is what makes this noteworthy.

 

[BloodSquirrel]

True, but publishers shoehorning in DRM is sort of a separate issue. I think the overall problem of DRM is definitely implied in this thread, but I was mostly addressing the main question of whether this Steam problem was worth getting worked up about. I agree that DRM overall is worth getting worked up about, but this particular problem of the missing CD keys seems like par for the course when dealing with a service like Steam. That Steam didn't inform buyers beforehand is what makes this noteworthy.

How is it a separate issue? DRM is what caused the problem here, specifically online-activated DRM.

 

[Swarley]

Funny thread.
I agree they really should let people know there is an issue with the cd keys, but is it really surprising to anyone that a business is more interested in making money?

The only real issue here is that it's steam, and since there's a very vocal minority on here who have a strong distaste for it, it seems this thread is more of a "steam is bad and anyone who doesn't think so is a fan boy"

Like this guy.

steam sux. it made me quit PC gaming.

 

[rsvp42]

True, but publishers shoehorning in DRM is sort of a separate issue. I think the overall problem of DRM is definitely implied in this thread, but I was mostly addressing the main question of whether this Steam problem was worth getting worked up about. I agree that DRM overall is worth getting worked up about, but this particular problem of the missing CD keys seems like par for the course when dealing with a service like Steam. That Steam didn't inform buyers beforehand is what makes this noteworthy.

How is it a separate issue? DRM is what caused the problem here, specifically online-activated DRM.

I'm saying it's a separate issue from the question in the title: "worth getting worked up about?" The specific issue mentioned was the lack of CD keys (the fault of the publisher) and the lack of information about it (the fault of Steam). It's true that this issue falls under the umbrella of the DRM debate, but I wasn't looking to have that debate.

Unfortunately, when it comes to DRM and services like Steam, these kinds of issues are bound to crop up. It's why people hate DRM. To me, this problem comes as no surprise. It's like complaining about long lines at the DMV. The problem isn't the lines, it's way in which the whole system is handled, but we still need it. Same thing with this CD key issue. The real problem is DRM implementation, which is just too huge of a debate right now, but Steam is still so useful. So no, I won't get worked up about yet another fault with DRM. I'll keep using Steam until something makes it not convenient or not worth it and I'll take a stand in the larger DRM issue when necessary.

 

[Theron Julius]

I've had very few issues with Steam and I find it extremely convenient. Personally I think anyone who really whines about their issues are just looking for something to complain about. None of the issues I've heard are all too terrible and likely were just bad luck.

 

[FlashHero]

Wow, that's pretty freaking bizarre. How do you run out of an item in digital distro?

Basically, what happened is they ran out of CD keys to authenticate the game. Doesn't happen often really. Though it is puzzling as to how noone noticed the lack of CD keys earlier.

Yeah, that's what I meant. What happened was explained initially, but it's just how you run out of CD keys? It's such a bizarre situation, rare or otherwise.

It is the publishers fault...when i bought borderlands on steam the drm* that came with one of the DLCs ran out of keys...I bought it on Wednesday and could not play it till i got back from school the next day..when i was in the forums a person from steam said 2K had given them fewer keys then they were allowed to sell and needed clearance from the offices but it was late at night and they couldn't get hold of anyone. And thats how you run outta keys on a digital distro.

* the drm was sercurom

 

[Sephychu]

Not too bad an error, but you;d think they could program something to say they'd run out of keys, and not take your money.

 

[Susurrus]

I have to disagree: it was NOT the publisher's fault.
The publisher sent over a reasonable number of cd keys (indeed, in the sale, they sold four times the number of copies they have SINCE RELEASE). The game sold extraordinarily well on steam, presumably because of the publicity that Steam brought, as well as the price drop. Underestimating demand makes sense, in such a dramatic case.

The problem occurred because the publishers, based in Germany, went home at the same time that Valve were just getting started on Friday. Valve realised they were running out of keys, sent off an email to the publisher to get more keys, and received none (everyone in Germany having gone home). Going into the weekend, they KNEW there were no more keys, they KNEW that the game wouldn't be available (as they weren't going to bother doing anything about it), and they DID NOTHING about it. No warning, nothing. They knowingly let customers buy a product they didn't have, without any warning.

They did not (have not? I haven't seen anything official) addressed the problem in the forums, nor have they apologised. They activated the game first thing Monday (well, US West Coast Monday, so, like, practically Tuesday most places), but said nothing on the matter. The only person representing Valve that I saw was a volunteer moderator whose attitude was: Stop whining, Steam is fine. You accepted ToS, deal with it.

In contrast, one of the developer's employees logged onto the Steam forum on a Saturday evening/Sunday morning, gave us some explanation of what was happening, apologised, gave us a time-frame, and was generally very polite. They too did what they could at opening hours Monday morning, and kudos to them for that.

The problem is not that Valve or the publisher ran out of keys, its that it ran out of keys, and continued to sell without a warning, WHILST KNOWING that anyone who bought the game couldn't play it until Monday at the earliest.

TL;DR:
Valve ran out of keys prior to their close of business, after close of business of publisher on Friday. Obviously couldn't get keys before weekend, but didn't put up any warning either.
The publisher did make contact over the weekend, Valve did not (and on Valve's forums, no less). Valve knowingly sold a product without any keys, which the developer/publisher almost certainly knew nothing about.

 

[Da_Schwartz]

Slight necro here. K real fast..

So i DL'd beyond good and evil and plants v.s. zombies. Never had an issue with steam before been using it for quite some time now. And yes my computer meets Miles beyond the system requirements max settings..Haven't checked them.. but trust me it does. And yea I've looked aroudn the steam help forums. That being said my problem here is simple video glitches, lines in the screen, occasional flashes, skips etc basic gfx glitches. Has anyone else experienced this with steam dl's? And how did you fix it? Yes my drivers are up to date. that was actually my best guess was that newer dirvers aren't compatible with older games.. happens sometimes. ::shrug:: maybe a bad corrupt DL? No idea. I'm going ot re-install but in the meantime...Any suggestions?

 

[Da_Schwartz]

/bump. So steam suport is down, other forums are no help, Re-install didn't work. Am i seriously the only person that ever downloaded from steam on the escapist that has had some sort of video glitch error while trying to play a game from my library?

 

[BRex21]

Wow this is more negative than the calling all steam haters post...
While i don't think it was wrong of them to continue the sale, is it too much to ask for a pop-up or something to tell me that it may take a couple days to get the activation.
personally I have sworn off digital distribution for other reasons, but did run into this problem before. Its really just bad customer service.