2016 Steam Summer Sale .....ITS HERE!!

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 8:50 am

Smoove_B wrote:
YellowKing wrote:Now with everything on sale at some random range of discounts, it's just a wall of noise to me. Sure, I could go through my wishlist and find stuff that has been discounted - but I can do that any time. I'm a fan of stuff being curated for me because I'm too lazy to do it on my own. And that's what the new format lacks.
Considering they're giving out 3 free cards a day for simply going through a algorithm designed to guess what you like (and to help them tweak your preferences by saying what you don't like), I'm guessing there's money to be made on the information they're gathering - so they give away free cards to entice people to participate. Perhaps STEAM has moved away from being a game selling platform for Valve and is instead a giant data mine. When everything in the store is on sale, the only thing they can do now is to guess as to what you might like and haven't heard of yet in the hopes you'll wishlist it and/or buy it immediately.

FYI, not seen anyone mention this but your can now customize your queue. I've found it helps a great deal, especially if your tastes are more narrow like mine. Excluding things like anime, puzzle, driving, racing, RPGmaker, etc, really tightened up my queue and I'm getting a much better selection of games that I might be interested in. Even found a couple of ones I'm not interested in.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 9:02 am

Yeah, I started heavily utilizing the "Not Interested" button. So hopefully by the end of this sale I'll have Steam locked in on my personality.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 9:59 am

Isgrimnur wrote:MotoGP 13
Jets'n'Guns Gold
This War of Mine

$10.07

Castle Crashers
Hitman Absolution
Planetary Annihilation - Digital Deluxe Commander Bundle

$11.47

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:00 am

The algorithm is legit...I started up or downvoting queue suggestions a while back, and it very quickly went from "why would you think I would like that?!" to..."damn, I had no idea this game was out there. Get out of my head, Steam!"

My haul so far - I don't expect to buy anything else. I basically sorted my wishlist by price, lowest to high, and bought the top 6 or 7:

Blitzkrieg 2 Anthology
Valdis Story: Abyssal City
Supreme Commander
Dreamfall: TLJ
Spirits of Xanadu
Invisible Inc.
Metal Dead
Penumbra - Black Plague

The only one I am really excited about on that list is Invisible, Inc., but we'll see. Dreamfall has been on my "to buy, to play" list forever.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:04 am

I have decided NOT to customize my queue. I don't need help finding games I know I would like, I like that I get games showing up in there that I would never otherwise consider. Sure, the chance of me actually buying one of those Anime girlfriend simulators is near 0%, but who knows?

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:49 am

Archinerd wrote:Sure, the chance of me actually buying one of those Anime girlfriend simulators is near 0%, but who knows?

A new Steam search criteria...

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 11:35 am

You definitely want the VR version.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 1:10 pm

Lee wrote:
GreenGoo wrote: Oh, well if it's 40% off, that's huge. It's not really 50 bucks at all then.

Percentages are meaningless.

I'm more interested in how much a game costs, rather than Steam telling me how much I'm saving, especially since I find their non-sale prices to be inflated higher compared to other sites.
Ok fine. In USD it's now $36 instead of $60. That's huge! I don't know about in Canadian dollars, but a semi-new AAA game for $36 is a decent deal (and this game is easily worth that). Unless of course, you are going off the idea that all games are too expensive and sales like this are just BS to fool us into buying them, which you seem to be.

If it wasn't clear in my original post, my opinion is that years ago XCOM2 would have been 15 bucks. Maybe 20 bucks. Sure, it might have only been for 12 hours or something, but you could get it if you paid attention. It's almost 1/2 a year old at this point. That's old. Or used to be. Maybe 36 bucks *is* a great deal. My opinion is that sales from years ago would have had better deals.

I bought the original Borderlands and ALL the DLC 2 years after release for a total of 5 bucks. Borderlands the Pre-Sequel is over a year and a half old, and the bare bones, no frills, no dlc, no new playable characters, nothing but the base game is ~10 bucks.

My position is based on data, viewed over years of time and many sales. Your position seems to be that you feel $36 bucks is a great price. I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. Which is fine. I don't begrudge people paying what they think a game is worth. I'm saying prices are trending up again, and that the current sale is disappointing to me.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 1:22 pm

Carpet_pissr wrote: Valdis Story: Abyssal City
Supreme Commander

I can vouch for these two.

Valdis Story is a side scroller with a skill tree and other rpg elements, including (a little) gear. It's fun and wasn't too hard or easy imo.

Supreme Commander is "good enough" if you're a fan of TA want to play a game with a similar feel and gameplay. I played through the campaign with all 3 factions. It's hardly the best RTS ever, but it works and the nostalgia effect was large with it.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 1:39 pm

I think that the last few years have seriously changed the market. I'm not sure that the prices from the good ol' days of Steam sales are really relevant data anymore.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 2:03 pm

Blackhawk wrote:I think that the last few years have seriously changed the market. I'm not sure that the prices from the good ol' days of Steam sales are really relevant data anymore.

They are relevant when comparing the "good ol' days" to the present, of course. Which is the entirety of my point.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 4:56 pm

If you go over to steamdb.info you can get a pretty good idea of what is going on. They color code based on discount and historic lows, so you can at a glance see what is on sale for the lowest it's every been, what is matching previous discounts, etc.

In general (there are exceptions), you're seeing most big feature games discounted to the same levels they've been discounted before. For games with new historic lows, at least to my eye it's a bunch of small crap I'm not interested in.

So while there are a ton of titles on sale, what you're not really getting are those historic discounts on big games everyone wants. In previous sales, it always seemed like you'd at least get a handful of big titles that hit that 24-hour flash sale or really made you reach for your wallet.

If you don't pay much attention to game prices, you'd probably see this and see a ton of good deals. If you track historic lows and follow them pretty closely, however, I can see where you'd be a little frustrated/disappointed. It has a little bit of a "Black Friday" air in which there are a handful of gems sprinkled over a vast sea of items that are really no cheaper than you can find them the rest of the year.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 5:12 pm

GreenGoo wrote:
Lee wrote:
GreenGoo wrote:I mean, XCOM2 is just shy of 50 bucks (CAN) which as far as I'm concerned is full price.
40% off a game 5 months old? Thats pretty good if you ask me. Not sure we saw better in the good ole days of Steam sales.

Heck Doom is 40% off and it's only 1.5 months old.
Oh, well if it's 40% off, that's huge. It's not really 50 bucks at all then.

Percentages are meaningless.

I'm more interested in how much a game costs, rather than Steam telling me how much I'm saving, especially since I find their non-sale prices to be inflated higher compared to other sites.

yeah, the problem with XCOM2 isn't the discount, it's the original price.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 5:30 pm

i actually have a friend who does all her gaming ... in Origin (due to her great love of The Sims). she seems blissfully unaware of Steam.

paulbaxter · Post by **paulbaxter** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 6:04 pm

Moliere wrote:Anyone interested?

Tabletop Simulator 4-pack $7.50 each

I can be talked into it if we can get two more.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 7:50 pm

DOOM is a reasonable price. i'll finish the demo first and then decide if it'll hold up.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Fri Jun 24, 2016 10:18 pm

paulbaxter wrote:
Moliere wrote:Anyone interested?

Tabletop Simulator 4-pack $7.50 each
I can be talked into it if we can get two more.

Already have it but I'm wondering what people are playing on it?

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 12:46 am

I almost exclusively use it for Shadows of Brimstone with a friend in Texas. I was using it for Sentinels of the Multiverse some. But then I got the digital Sentinels game. I'm thinking of picking up a couple of the official DLCs to add to the variety.

Moliere · Post by **Moliere** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 1:02 am

Pyperkub wrote:
paulbaxter wrote:
Moliere wrote:Anyone interested?

Tabletop Simulator 4-pack $7.50 each
I can be talked into it if we can get two more.
Already have it but I'm wondering what people are playing on it?

I tried it tonight and it was so bad that I requested my first ever Steam refund.

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 11:39 am

Thoughts on Thea? Want something that's pretty easy to learn without lots of microing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 4:22 pm

Jag wrote:Thoughts on Thea? Want something that's pretty easy to learn without lots of microing.

if you have a Linux installation, the developers posted a beta build of the full game last year you can download for free to try out:
http://steamcommunity.com/app/378720/di ... 485986607/

(there are some bugs involving map scrolling)

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 5:06 pm

That Dam Level redux is the expanded version of the re-imagining of that one level that destroyed souls. redux heals. redux soothes. redux is exposure therapy. It will ease the pain and make it go away. It is also a game that you can play.

Dive into action with The Big Dam Heroes! When the evil Dr. Beaver attacks Democracia once again, President Thanks have no choice but to call you to the rescue. Join the Teenager, the Mutant, the Ninja Hero and the Turtle as they risk their lives to defuse bombs under dams. Find loot, craft equipment and triomph... or perish.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/434970/

http://steamcommunity.com/app/434970/di ... 707511267/

Jolor · Post by **Jolor** » Sat Jun 25, 2016 8:44 pm

Bought 'The Room' for my wife. She's hoping it is reminiscent of 'Pandora's Box'.

Bought 'The Stanley Parable' for myself.

Dramatist · Post by **Dramatist** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 12:03 pm

I bought X-Com 2 and then returned it when it crashed every time I tried to start it (even after updating my drivers). Then I bought Ziggurat as a consolation prize and it seems pretty fun.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 12:49 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:MotoGP 13
Jets'n'Guns Gold
This War of Mine

$10.07
Castle Crashers
Hitman Absolution
Planetary Annihilation - Digital Deluxe Commander Bundle

$11.47

Faces of War $1.24

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 5:39 pm

Smoove_B wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:Don't forget to get your free cards for exploring your discovery queue.
Woe unto the person that didn't set up their authentication app prior to today.

Ayep.

With the flash sales gone, I used to at least enjoy buying/selling the sale cards to make my sale badge. I guess no more of that for me now. Bummer.

JetFred · Post by **JetFred** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 7:46 pm

Due to the ridiculous bloat of my collection, I'm limiting myself to $20 real dollars over the $50 I got for Father's Day. Anything beyond that I will buy with trading card credit. Of course my transaction with 25 items in it seems to break Steam.

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:46 pm

GreenGoo wrote:
Blackhawk wrote:I think that the last few years have seriously changed the market. I'm not sure that the prices from the good ol' days of Steam sales are really relevant data anymore.
They are relevant when comparing the "good ol' days" to the present, of course. Which is the entirety of my point.

A little late and not meaning to start this up again, just wanted to add my support to GreenGoo on this point. I have yet to buy anything and there are several games on my list that would have gone much cheaper in days of yore and I would likely have picked some of them up. Those days may be gone, but we have not forgotten. We will adjust to the current reality because we have no choice, but we will remember fondly those days of super sales.

Also - the sale is definitely much more boring without daily/flash sales, any events to participate in, not even the Gingerbread man story from Xmas, and I don't have a cell phone to put an authenticator on (probably could on my wireless tablet or something, but it has died once already, don't want to deal with the hassle) - so I can't even sell/trade holiday cards and make a buck or two. All around, very depressing, though I may break down and buy one game that's half off (still $12.50, pretty sure it'll go lower if I wait til xmas, but I like the developer and want to buy something during this sale...).

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 8:02 am

I wonder what happens when there is nothing left to show in the discovery queue...

Exclude products with these tags:
Visual Novel
JRPG
Metroidvania
4X
Indie
RPGMaker
Classic

By the end of the sale I think I'll have found out. I also wish they had an "already own it" option.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:11 am

My problem is that I dislike most JRPG's, but then one will come along that is different for whatever reason and I'd like to check it out. Not a huge deal, but while I like the idea of filtering my queue, I like the idea of being shown stuff I never would have found on my own even more.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:01 am

coopasonic wrote: I also wish they had an "already own it" option.

I was thinking that, too, but soon realized that they'll never do that when the possibility exists to buy a second copy on Steam. I know I've re-bought a few games I already owned on physical disk just to have them in my convenient library.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:37 am

It won't let you buy another copy of something if you already have it in your Steam library, at least (well, it gives you a stern warning, that is).

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:44 am

I believe that they're wanting to tell Steam that they own a copy either in hard copy or through another platform. Something to tell Steam that, in my case, I'm not interested in Cod:BlOps because I own a console copy, not because I'm not interested in the game itself, which might have undesired recommendation impacts. Amazon provides that functionality currently on their recommendations.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:54 pm

Exackatackly.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 2:57 pm

Don't block 'VR' from the recommendations, as it will also block any games that have both VR and non-VR versions.

Carpet_pissr · Post by **Carpet_pissr** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:34 pm

Blackhawk wrote:Don't block 'VR' from the recommendations, as it will also block any games that have both VR and non-VR versions.

Good to know - I just added that filter!

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:38 pm

I didn't add any filters. Exactly due to the fear that Steam might run out of things to show me. Also, my intent is to get through the list quickly, and hopefully not add any more games to my Wishlist. When it gives me games for genres that I don't like, it makes it really easy to skip through.

Montag · Post by **Montag** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 5:20 pm

Civ V complete for $0.82? Seriously? Eh misleading a bit. Does not include God and Kings and Brave New World Expansions. Civ V complete but not really. Stupid naming.

Ok my mistake. I do not have 2 pieces that are in the bundle. $0.82 is what it would cost me to get the remaining pieces.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 9:13 pm

A couple of examples of why this sale is so meh:

Wasteland 2: $19.99 - You've been able to get this game at this price for ages.

Assassin's Creed: Unity: $19.99 - You serious, Clark? They've been practically giving this game away for months on console. And it should be a crime to sell it at 3X the cost of the infinitely better Black Flag.

That's not to mention the numerous ancient titles they're still selling for 50% discount that have been much cheaper over the past year on various other platforms.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Mon Jun 27, 2016 11:56 pm

Anyone interested in a 2 or 4 pack of Offworld Trading Company?