Valve/Steam - Your Thoughts?
- Thread starter AkJay
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I'm not a huge fan of Valve's games, but that's mostly because I don't much care for shooters. But as a gaming platform and means of distribution, Steam is absolutely amazing, although I really don't need a reminder that I'm unemployed but "55.1 Hours Last 2 Weeks" for Empire: Total War...well, that's a reminder.
One of the best things Valve does is that they actually attend presentations for gaming design in several dominant schools that teach video game programming/design. Out of the most innovative and intense designs, they then offer those people jobs to bring their concept to life using a Valve product (like a game engine). Those people bring the game to the company, get the money and support needed to push their game beyond the normal limits of what they had planned. Valve only intervenes if help is needed or progress stalls.DragunovHUN said:
I mean, that's how Portal came to be. And now two of Valve's future games are coming from the same kind of recruitment and promotion.
Possibly the best producer of PC games I know. They make some amazing Multiplayer games aswell as Multiplayer ones. The one thing they DON'T do is update their console content very much, but then again no one should be playing their games on console since the usage of Steam is amazingly fun and intuitive (My opinion).
I don't mind their games, they aren't the best out there, but they are still quality, i just find them bland, linear, and unexciting.
I love them both; Australia is wronged by the industry in general, and Steam is our glimmer of hope. The best prices, reliable service and great games; what's not to like?
I am a huge fan a Valve and have been for years. Games such as HL and Portal are on my top games of all time list. This being said i have come to HATE steam with a passion. I have run into it several times now the first being at uni where the firewall screw it up. Several times i have had it crash and burn for no good reason. The final straw was the recent Dawn of War 2 game. I didnt immedicatly realise it was a steam game and got a nasty shock when I did. I appreciate that the devs need to protect there software from piracy but i do not like buying software, installing it and then having to spend spend over 4 hours download it before i can play it. I am on on a fairly good connection so god only knows how long this would have taken on a slower connection. Im sorry to say but i will never again by any game that runs via steam this included the new total war which I was lookign forward to. I will either get it for a console or simply refuse to buy it.
I agree with what you said abou the great prices.Lord Krunk said:
TF2 on Steam costs US$20 which was close to AU$20 when I bought it (before the exchange rate went belly-up). TF2 in Aus stores is about AU$50-60 and even then you have to use steam for it. Equals $30-40 for a DVD and saving a bit of time downloading.
Even when you factor in the horrible exchange rate, Steam still has the better prices.
Although I do have some annoyances with the steam client itself. The game downloader seems to spite me every chance it gets; For some reason Steam starts any paused downloads whenever I start an online only game like TF2 and pauses downloads whenever i start an offline only game.