Your thoughts on Steam

Vesper · Post by **Vesper** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 7:58 pm

Ranulf wrote:What I'm curious to see is if the game requires the cd/dvd in the drive after authentication for the retail version.

It won't require the CD. The retail version, once installed, is identical to the preload that Steam users have. Basically, buying it in the stores copies the files from CDs rather than downloading them. Otherwise, it's identical.

Vinda-Lou · Post by **Vinda-Lou** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 7:59 pm

dangerballs wrote:
Freezer-TPF- wrote:Hmm, I thought the CE included the strategy guide, but I guess it doesn't.

Ouch, they let you just look at the box -- that is cruel.
The book is a sampler that includes part of the Official Strategy Guide and part of the Raising the Crowbar Behind the Scenes book.

I'm expecting a pamphlet sized book, similar to the prima mini-guides found in other games. Or something like the Morrowind CE art book, which was no larger than a typical xbox game manual. I would love to know what it is, as it might sway me towards or away this CE.

snoleopard · Post by **snoleopard** » Mon Nov 15, 2004 8:26 pm

I'll let you know what the book that's included is like as soon as I pick up the game in the morning, unless someone beats me to it..

Dhruin · Post by **Dhruin** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 1:37 am

A vote of support here. It has worked flawlessly for me and I was amazed at the speed...I tested out the original HL just for the fun of it and it was playable in 10 minutes or so. I find it convenient and fast: HL2 is primed to go whereas my preordered Vampire: Bloodlines will take several days to reach me here in Australia, in addition to the US$32 extra I paid for the freight (no need to to tell me it can be done cheaper - I wanted fast and trackable).

I see this as the way of the future. IMO, publishers are rarely credited for bringing projects to market that would never have otherwise existed but the traditional publisher/distribution/retail model is increasingly difficult for middle-tier games (the ones I often like) and a digital distribution system may be the answer. Totalgaming etc have gone before but this is the next step in that process.

On the activation: couldn't care less. It's no real inconvenience now and I rely on the 'net for all sorts of other things. When the time comes that Valve no longer exists and assuming I even care, there will be a patch or crack...not really that different to how I rely on Exult to play Ultima VII or DosBox for a bunch of other stuff. I'm amused to see people on other sites saying they'll pirate HL2 over this very issue, even though that generally requires them to download it over the 'net and install a crack. Hilarious.

Dirt · Post by **Dirt** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 3:45 am

If it screws with my computer, then it sucks.

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 5:23 am

the unlocking of HL2 went off without a hitch! the unlock download took a few minutes, then i was off and running...played for about 20 minutes, but it's off to bed now. more HL2 tomorrow! 8)

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:04 am

Steam just went to "meh" in my book. I got up at 7 am this morning, scrambled over to my computer to discover that Jason Witten was able to snatch me a victory in fantasy football last night - and to discover that Steam was unaware that HL2 was unlocked.

Nothing more disheartening to get an email telling me how great HL2 is, only to see my screen tell me that the pre-loading is complete and that they will unlock it when the game is released. DAMN YOU STEAM.

Then I rebooted my machine, and Steam is now unlocking HL2.

74% complete. So close to gaming goodness I can taste it.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:10 am

Yeah, I left Steam running overnight thinking it would just auto unlock. I had to re-log onto Steam at 6:10 this morning to get it to unlock. As annoying as that was, it beats being accosted by some sweaty teen at the mall asking, "Do I need help?" while I mentally check off every game on the shelf I've had my hands on.

Regardless, by 6:20 am, I was into HL2. I had to drag myself away at 7:00 am to get ready for work - but what I saw. Damn girl.

warning · Post by **warning** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:12 am

I unlocked it at about 30 minutes after the release time. I kept waiting for the mythical Steam Server Crash (tm) but it never happened. Rock solid.

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 10:55 am

Not a big fan of Steam and that factored into my decision not to buy. As easy as it may or may not be to unlock/activate/whatever, when I buy a game I just want that game, not some other bloated deliveryware. It reminds me in a way of that Gamespot Kontiki crap, which I absolutely hate.

jonsauce · Post by **jonsauce** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 11:37 am

I don't know how long it is supposed to take to unlock, but it seems to be going fairly slow at 10:41 ET. It failed to register my CDKey with the service because it was to busy

Luckily it let me bypass that step and go straight to unlocking the game. Its about 60% of the way through that step. I can't wait!

Riker's Beard · Post by **Riker's Beard** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 12:26 pm

I guess my biggest issue is backing up the game onto CD. Has anyone tried that yet? I'm leaning towards getting the game over Steam, but I'd like to back it up onto a hard copy for safety (Hey--I've had hard drives crash unexpectedly before).

Plus, how many CDs does this thing take to backup onto? Has anyone tried installing from a Backup CD?

Must...resist...urge...to.. buy.....

Dhruin · Post by **Dhruin** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:16 pm

First off, the game is tied to your Steam account so a crash just means re-installing Steam and streaming the game you want to play. Steam lets you play long before the entire download is finished, so you can start playing 10mins later on a broadband connection and just let the rest do its thing in the background.

Anyway...I backed up HL2 this morning - simply right-click on the menu and choose the backup option, then choose CD or DVD. The CD option breaks into CD-sized chunks and the DVD creates a 2.2Gb file in the Steam backup directory. I threw it on a DVD with Nero and took it to work.

The file is self-extracting, so it took 15 mins or so to extract, then authenticate with Steam and show my buddies at work how good HL2 looks.

SuperHiro · Post by **SuperHiro** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 7:19 pm

I used to hate steam, now I think it's okay.

RookieCAF · Post by **RookieCAF** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 8:19 pm

SuperHiro wrote:I used to hate steam, now I think it's okay.

What He Said...

Cam · Post by **Cam** » Tue Nov 16, 2004 9:21 pm

Well, last night (11/15/04) I registered and let it pre-load for a while and then went to play CS: Source figuring that I wouldn't get to play the campaign until tomorrow night anyway since I had to work. So I get home tonight about 5:30 pm and try to log into steam. No dice....wait another hour and.... no dice. Something about either my internet is screwy or steam is screwy. It's not my end that's screwy since I've traveled to all sorts of various sites on the internet in the past hour to bide my time.

So steam finally is a go after 7:30 pm EST at my place. I got the message "ready to play in 130 minutes about 45 minutes ago. As we speak the timer is at 110 minutes. So steam isn't on my top ten list of love right now.

So I think I'll soldier onward to other various and fascinating destinations on the information superhighway, because right now steam looks like I-75 through downtown Atlanta at rush hour.