Steam Lame?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say that I
would never buy this game because of the stupid Steam bloatware/adware. I
find it ridiculous to have to be online in order to play a $50 game. High
end software like 3ds max, photoshop, et al. don't even use such a lame
system. I really wonder why Valve would ruin an otherwise good experience.

--
Dave -
www.blurredistinction.com/director
www.macromedia.com/go/team

 

[Guest]

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"Dave Mennenoh" <dave@blurredistinction.com> wrote in message
news:WJ8ee.35022$215.9779@tornado.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say that
I
> would never buy this game because of the stupid Steam bloatware/adware. I
> find it ridiculous to have to be online in order to play a $50 game. High
> end software like 3ds max, photoshop, et al. don't even use such a lame
> system. I really wonder why Valve would ruin an otherwise good experience.
>
> --
> Dave -
> www.blurredistinction.com/director
> www.macromedia.com/go/team
>
>

Pffffffft you forgot to cross post this to 50 newsgroups ....back to troll
school for you!

 

[Guest]

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Dave Mennenoh wrote:
> Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say
> that I would never buy this game because of the stupid Steam
> bloatware/adware. I find it ridiculous to have to be online in order
> to play a $50 game. High end software like 3ds max, photoshop, et al.
> don't even use such a lame system. I really wonder why Valve would
> ruin an otherwise good experience.

You have high speed internet. Why does it matter if you're online or not?
Not that it matters as you don't have to be online to play.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say that I
would never buy this game because I'm a tight arsed bastard . Buying stuff
is just
a ridiculous notion. Why bother when I have so many friends who can buy
stuff for
me to play. And they don't seem to mind one bit when I criticize the game
they just
paid $50 for me to play.

 

[Guest]

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Dave Mennenoh wrote:
> I find it ridiculous to have to be online in order to play a $50 game.

You don't.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

I am not trolling. I was playing on a friend's machine and might've bought
it if it were not for steam. I didn't say I could play everynight till 5am
like I would if I owned it. You guys can think I'm trolling all you want, I
was just tyring to get others opinion of steam. I think HL2 is great, but
steam bugs me.

--
Dave -
www.blurredistinction.com/director
www.macromedia.com/go/team

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Wed, 04 May 2005 22:36:12 GMT, "Dave Mennenoh"
<dave@blurredistinction.com> wrote:

>I am not trolling.

It sounds like it when you trot out the same discredited bollocks as
the trolls have been spouting for the past 6 months.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

I've never had any problems with Steam whatsoever. I've been able to play
off-line without a single hitch. The patches for HL2 and Counterstrike:
Source have been downloaded and installed without incident. Steam gets a
thumbs-up from me.

Was Steam originally conceived to prevent piracy or to provide a direct
method of selling games/software to the consumer? Or both?

--
Remove nospam to email
"Dave Mennenoh" <dave@blurredistinction.com> wrote in message
news:WJ8ee.35022$215.9779@tornado.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say that
> I would never buy this game because of the stupid Steam bloatware/adware.
> I find it ridiculous to have to be online in order to play a $50 game.
> High end software like 3ds max, photoshop, et al. don't even use such a
> lame system. I really wonder why Valve would ruin an otherwise good
> experience.
>
> --
> Dave -
> www.blurredistinction.com/director
> www.macromedia.com/go/team
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Dave Mennenoh wrote:

> Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say
> that I would never buy this game because of the stupid Steam
> bloatware/adware. I find it ridiculous to have to be online in order
> to play a $50 game. High end software like 3ds max, photoshop, et al.
> don't even use such a lame system. I really wonder why Valve would
> ruin an otherwise good experience.

No more ridiculous than games like WOW that require MONTHY subscription
fees.

--
DalienX

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

x-no-archive: yes

John Lewis wrote:

> Read more carefully next time...
>
> So you installed from the CDs and then immediately started
> playing after entering the CD key and leaving a CD in the
> drive, just like all other current PC single-player games
> ? No need to go on-line at all........... ?
>
> And for a clean re-install of HL2 from scratch, no need to
> go on-line to play in single-player mode ?
>
> You are seeing what you want to see...and ignoring the
> realities of the Valve umbilical-cord. And Valve can kill
> (or more likely time-limit) the so-called"off-line" mode
> without your say-so at any time. Any of the on-line Steam
> updates can sneak in such a change without ever informing
> you. Valve originally had a built-in hidden 1-month expiry
> on 'off-line" mode that was accidentally found very soon
> after HL2 shipped by somebody who set his PC clock
> incorrectly. There was so much user outcry that Valve
> hurridly fixed the problem... claiming that it was just a
> bug. A funny sort of bug to mysteriously turn up in a
> play-control mode that was not supposed to have any time-
> component whatsoever. Welcome to the Brave New World of
> single-player PC gaming -- courtesy of the master
> puppeteers Gabe and Doug.
>
> John Lewis

this is the john lewis i always knew and not all those weird
lately posts you've been writing

i have to give you credit, this is top quality fight against
steam and valve... you can't get any better than this and it
crushes all other low worthless insignificant posts made by
all those brainwashed loyal submissive valve fanboys

i truly believe you versus gabe one on one in a tv talk show
about steam you would ko him in 5 minutes... i believe even i
would

--
post made in a steam-free computer
i said "NO" to valve and steam

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Thu, 05 May 2005 00:37:06 GMT, "DalienX" <somewhere@earth.com>
wrote:

>Dave Mennenoh wrote:
>
>> Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say
>> that I would never buy this game because of the stupid Steam
>> bloatware/adware. I find it ridiculous to have to be online in order
>> to play a $50 game. High end software like 3ds max, photoshop, et al.
>> don't even use such a lame system. I really wonder why Valve would
>> ruin an otherwise good experience.
>
>No more ridiculous than games like WOW that require MONTHY subscription
>fees.
>

Apples and oranges. HL2 is a <<single-player>> game. The first retail-
commercial (plus Steam-download ) single-player PC game to REQUIRE
on-line validation/decryption before play. And hopefully one of the
last... Even single-player games on consoles do not have to suffer
through this sort of invasive indignity.

As a comparison...

Just finished playing AvP2 single-player (for the first time...)
- $ 9.99 for the Gold Edition. Great game, terrific story-line.
No on-line validation, no additional privacy-intrusion potential.
Download, archive and apply latest patch (7Meg) < 10 minutes.
No concerns about the continuity of validation servers for older
single-player games. When Valve goes belly-up (or gets
swallowed), HL2 CD- wallpaper anybody... ??

For those hailing Steam as a great advance in single-player PC game
technology, please immediately check out the color of your spectacles.
Meanwhile, I can periodically revisit my collection of great
single-player PC games ( including HL1and its offshoots ) without the
assistance of Steam. And I shall continue to buy new single-player PC
games that require no connection to the net ( other than downloading
and archiving stand-alone patches ).

I am quite content to skip Valve products until they drop the
requirement to on-line validate the installation of a single-player
game that I have retail-purchased and logically expect to be able to
install and play at any time --- regardless of net-connections, or
HL2's joke "off-line mode". Sorry, dangling from Valve's umbilical is
not for me.

( Expecting the usual negative-personal-attribute replies from several
Steam-inhaling denizens of this newsgroup )

John Lewis



>--
>DalienX

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

John Lewis wrote:

> Even single-player games on consoles do not have to suffer
> through this sort of invasive indignity.

Or humiliation.

> When Valve goes belly-up (or gets
> swallowed), HL2 CD- wallpaper anybody... ??

You keep bringing this up like it is going to happen tomorrow. If Valve goes
under in ten years most people won't care except for the hardcore gaming
crowd. No computer will be able to run those games without emulators. If
Valve goes under in a year or two it is most likely a publisher will buy the
game and offer it without Steam.

> For those hailing Steam as a great advance in single-player PC game
> technology, please immediately check out the color of your spectacles.
> Meanwhile, I can periodically revisit my collection of great
> single-player PC games ( including HL1and its offshoots ) without the
> assistance of Steam. And I shall continue to buy new single-player PC
> games that require no connection to the net ( other than downloading
> and archiving stand-alone patches ).

On Lost they showed people playing Half-Life tonight.

> I am quite content to skip Valve products until they drop the
> requirement to on-line validate the installation of a single-player
> game that I have retail-purchased and logically expect to be able to
> install and play at any time --- regardless of net-connections, or
> HL2's joke "off-line mode". Sorry, dangling from Valve's umbilical is
> not for me.

That's all well and good, but calling people idiots because they enjoy
Half-Life 2 and making obviously false claims against the game (remember it
was once a stack-crating sim even though there is only one time you have to
stack a crate to solve a puzzle and that was in the tutorial) doesn't help
your credibilty. It's why you have to make statements like the one below.

> ( Expecting the usual negative-personal-attribute replies from several
> Steam-inhaling denizens of this newsgroup )

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Wed, 4 May 2005 21:00:56 -0600, "Hank the Rapper"
<xflopgoon@REMOVEyahoo.com> wrote:

>John Lewis wrote:
>
>> Even single-player games on consoles do not have to suffer
>> through this sort of invasive indignity.
>
>Or humiliation.
>
>> When Valve goes belly-up (or gets
>> swallowed), HL2 CD- wallpaper anybody... ??
>
>You keep bringing this up like it is going to happen tomorrow. If Valve goes
>under in ten years most people won't care except for the hardcore gaming
>crowd. No computer will be able to run those games without emulators.

One of my two computers can multiboot Win95, Win 98 and Win Me.
No problem playing Little Big Adventure and Betrayal at Krondor
( both circa 1994) natively. Actually the computer that I use for all
my email, browsing and newsposting (including this one) . Has a V5
5500 and SBLive! installed.

And the latest emulators work quite well. Great games age quite well,
if you enjoy game-play and do not get hung up on graphics. And the
graphics of most modern FPS-style games will still be quite acceptable
in 10 years time. We are way beyond the representation of 3D images
as fuzzy blocks.... Multiple smoothing polygons and anti-aliasing are
nice, but do not make lousy game-play any better.

John Lewis

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

"Dave Mennenoh" <dave@blurredistinction.com> once tried to test me with:

> I am not trolling. I was playing on a friend's machine and might've
> bought it if it were not for steam. I didn't say I could play
> everynight till 5am like I would if I owned it. You guys can think I'm
> trolling all you want, I was just tyring to get others opinion of
> steam. I think HL2 is great, but steam bugs me.

You may not be trolling but you're repeating all the old bullshit
arguments. We've done it to death. And then some. No one cares anymore. If
you don't like it, don't buy the game. End of story.

--

Knight37 - http://knightgames.blogspot.com

Once a Gamer, Always a Gamer.

 

[Andrew]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Wed, 4 May 2005 23:15:09 -0700, "Doug" <pigdos@nospamcharter.net>
wrote:

>Was Steam originally conceived to prevent piracy or to provide a direct
>method of selling games/software to the consumer? Or both?

Both, they are each in Valves interest.
--
Andrew, contact via interpleb.blogspot.com
Help make Usenet a better place: English is read downwards,
please don't top post. Trim replies to quote only relevant text.
Check groups.google.com before asking an obvious question.

 

[Nonymous]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

"Dave Mennenoh" <dave@blurredistinction.com> wrote in message
news:w7cee.35029$215.8692@tornado.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> You guys can think I'm trolling all you want, I was just tyring to get
> others opinion of steam.

The real problem is you're beating a horse that's been dead for several
months now.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Dave Mennenoh wrote:
> I am not trolling. I was playing on a friend's machine and might've bought
> it if it were not for steam. I didn't say I could play everynight till 5am
> like I would if I owned it. You guys can think I'm trolling all you want, I
> was just tyring to get others opinion of steam. I think HL2 is great, but
> steam bugs me.

You're trolling for two reasons:

(a) this topic has been done to death and everyone hates talking about
it anymore
(b) the more you learn about Steam, the less you'll hate it because
you'll know how it works and how to deal with it in the best way.

For example, you claim Steam is "adware". Where's your proof? Are you
just going on the steam-bashing that some others like to do without any
actually proof? For goodness sakes, Valve are betting the entire company
on Steam; they wouldn't screw around with it too much for their own good.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

You're trolling because you posted the same damn thing, with the same
subject line, under two different names.

Nick

--
# sigmask (lambda deprecation version) 20041028 || feed this to a python
print ''.join([chr(ord(x)-1) for x in 'Ojdl!Wbshjti!=ojdlAwbshjti/psh?'])

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Hello Dave Mennenoh <dave@blurredistinction.com> you wrote:

> Recently, I have been playing HL2 on a friend's machine and must say that
> I would never buy this game because of the stupid Steam bloatware/adware.

I've never seen any bloatware/adware. Where are they hiding it so I can have a look?

> I find it ridiculous to have to be online in order to play a $50 game.

I never play HL2 online, what's the point, it's a single player game.
A $50 game hey?
Here's what I just bought from Steam:

Half-Life 2 Silver Package US$59.95 = AU$78.09
Half-Life 2 (838Mb)
Half-Life 2: Deathmatch (130Mb)
Counter-Strike: Source (1013Mb)
Half-Life: Source (766Mb)
Day of Defeat™: Source (coming soon)

PLUS: Valve's back catalog (listed below)

Half-Life (395Mb)
Counter-Strike (265Mb)
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero (384Mb)
Counter-Strike: Deleted Scenes (427Mb)
Day of Defeat (375Mb)
Team Fortress Classic (112Mb)
Deathmatch Classic (41Mb)
Opposing Force (171Mb)
Ricochet (13Mb)
Codename Gordon (39Mb)

That should keep me busy for awhile and the best value package
I've ever bought.

--
Regards, Bob

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

The topic may have been done to death, but I haven't been here since just
the other day when I decided to see what others think of Steam... so still
not trolling. I feel steam is adware because if I reboot it just opens all
by itself and tells me news about valve. I did not ask it to do anything. I
think it's adware.

--
Dave -
www.blurredistinction.com/director
www.macromedia.com/go/team

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Thu, 05 May 2005 13:20:09 GMT, "Dave Mennenoh"
<dave@blurredistinction.com> wrote:

>The topic may have been done to death, but I haven't been here since just
>the other day when I decided to see what others think of Steam... so still
>not trolling.

A standard rule when posting to newsgroups is not to post questions that
are frequently asked. Those that post such questions anyway are treated
no differently than trolls.

If you absolutly need to post a question immediatly, then use Google
groups:
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


>I feel steam is adware because if I reboot it just opens all
>by itself and tells me news about valve.

This is a bug with the default settings. One of the option menu for Steam
disables launching when Windows starts, while another disables showing
these kinds of updates.

I did not ask it to do anything. I
>think it's adware.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Very well said John. I agree wholeheartedly.

--
Dave -
www.blurredistinction.com/director
www.macromedia.com/go/team

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

Hello John Lewis <john.dsl@verizon.net> you wrote:

> ...... HL2 is a <<single-player>> game. The first retail-
> commercial (plus Steam-download ) single-player PC game to REQUIRE
> on-line validation/decryption before play. .....

I must be playing a different HL2. I start Steam when I'm not connected to
the Net. It asks if I want to play offline. I answer yes and start playing HL2.
I don't see the problem.

--
Regards, Bob

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

On Thu, 5 May 2005 14:21:01 +1000, "Bob Byrne"
<rbyrne@NOSPAMinternode.on.net> wrote:

>Hello John Lewis <john.dsl@verizon.net> you wrote:
>
>> ...... HL2 is a <<single-player>> game. The first retail-
>> commercial (plus Steam-download ) single-player PC game to REQUIRE
>> on-line validation/decryption before play. .....
>
>I must be playing a different HL2. I start Steam when I'm not connected to
>the Net. It asks if I want to play offline. I answer yes and start playing HL2.
>I don't see the problem.
>


Read more carefully next time...

So you installed from the CDs and then immediately started playing
after entering the CD key and leaving a CD in the drive, just like all
other current PC single-player games ? No need to go on-line at
all........... ?

And for a clean re-install of HL2 from scratch, no need to go
on-line to play in single-player mode ?

You are seeing what you want to see...and ignoring the realities of
the Valve umbilical-cord. And Valve can kill (or more likely
time-limit) the so-called"off-line" mode without your say-so at any
time. Any of the on-line Steam updates can sneak in such a change
without ever informing you. Valve originally had a built-in hidden
1-month expiry on 'off-line" mode that was accidentally found very
soon after HL2 shipped by somebody who set his PC clock incorrectly.
There was so much user outcry that Valve hurridly fixed the problem...
claiming that it was just a bug. A funny sort of bug to mysteriously
turn up in a play-control mode that was not supposed to have any time-
component whatsoever. Welcome to the Brave New World of single-player
PC gaming -- courtesy of the master puppeteers Gabe and Doug.

John Lewis



>--
>Regards, Bob
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action (More info?)

"Dave Mennenoh" <dave@blurredistinction.com> wrote in message
news:d4pee.35074$215.20672@tornado.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> The topic may have been done to death, but I haven't been here since just
> the other day when I decided to see what others think of Steam... so still
> not trolling. I feel steam is adware because if I reboot it just opens all
> by itself and tells me news about valve. I did not ask it to do anything.
I
> think it's adware.
>
> --
> Dave -
> www.blurredistinction.com/director
> www.macromedia.com/go/team
>
>

You can go into the settings for Steam and tell it not to load every time
Windows starts. And if you're bored and want to read some more on Steam
Pros and Cons, then you could search this and the Half Life newsgroups.

The Readers Disgest version goes like this:

Cons: It requires an internet connection to validate first time after
installing, and to update (although this has recently changed). For those
that don't have hi-speed connection, it can take several hrs. Plus some
folks pay by the min to be online. Steam also tries to prevent users from
resaling the game to someone else. Oh, and some feel that Valve could go
out of business and then users wouldn't be able to reinstate and validate
their game.

Pros: For those that don't care about game boxes, CDs, or reselling the
game, .... Steam gets the job done.

You can also go here and read the postings in the Steam forums.
http://www.steampowered.com/