Valve Details Upcoming Improvements for Steam
Steam gets better, stronger, faster without the need for silly bionics.
Friday Valve said that its digital distribution platform Steam has been revamped with all-new server and client code that improves the core service: content delivery. For users, this supposedly means better download rates in more places around the world. For publishers, this means Steam now offers a streamline publishing process for faster "shipments" of games.
"The maximum aggregate bandwidth of the system will be greater than the current system; this will help us satisfy spikes in demand when there’s a big release," the company said in a blog. "We will also be able to send content from more places, to better serve people all around the globe. All the content on the new system is sent via HTTP; this is more firewall-friendly than the current system, and will automatically take advantage of web-caching proxies installed at ISPs."
Valve said that the updated service now requires each user to download less data than before. "With the Steam content system that’s been in place for a few years now, if an individual file on disk were modified by a game update, your client had to download the whole file," Valve added. "That can be painful when the file in question is really large. The new system supports delivering only the differences between the old and new files, meaning game updates will be much smaller overall."
Thanks to the changes in the server and client code, Valve has created new tools for game developers and content publishers that simplify publishing and updating a game on the platform. Valve also has plans to implement user requests into the service such as download scheduling, bandwidth throttling, and prioritizing which games get downloaded first. Gamers will also be able to download a patch while still playing the game – it will be installed once the player exits.
"Over time, more and more of the content on Steam will be delivered using this new system," Valve said. "Soon, Dota 2 will be delivered using it. In the meantime, if you’d like to try out this new content system you can do so right now; if you download a 1280x720 (HD) trailer from the store, it will happen via the new content system."
Don't have Steam? Get it here.
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Now if only they would ever respond to support requests... I have one that's 4 days old and no response. Other than that, this is great news.
Nice, sensible improvements to an already great service... I just hope they will soon allow installing on more than 1 hard drive, like if you want to utilize your ssd only for a limited selection of games...
Sounds good to me! Anyone else eagerly awaiting Dota 2?
I have heard that you can move specific games to a differnt drive/folder and use the mklink command to "link" it back in the steam folder. Have yet to try it as of yet. Waiting for the ssd to come in
I'm still eagerly awaiting Episode 3 or HL3... what ever they decide to call it.
Finally, Bandwidth throttling. I used a program many years back that would show me all my individual programs traffic and allow me to limit each one. I really wish this was built into windows itself. Thank you Valve for finally building this into the Steam.
Sounds great. I know Steam was taking a beating during the summer sale. Would have been nice if they had done this before having the sale, but whatever, at least they did it.
@techseven
You can already do that using the 3rd party app Game Save Manager 2
Sorry forgot to link
GSM2
Good. Now how about reducing the prices on games on Steam? Especially your own ones Steam. In Switzerland it's cheaper to buy a Valve game retail than on Steam...quite the scam really when they don't have any middle man cost, no material cost, no packaging cost and no delivery cost except minor bandwidth.
Nice, sensible improvements to an already great service... I just hope they will soon allow installing on more than 1 hard drive, like if you want to utilize your ssd only for a limited selection of games...
@techsevenYou can already do that using the 3rd party app Game Save Manager 2
I think he's looking for more something like this.
http://www.stefanjones.ca/steam/
Good. Now how about reducing the prices on games on Steam? Especially your own ones Steam. In Switzerland it's cheaper to buy a Valve game retail than on Steam...quite the scam really when they don't have any middle man cost, no material cost, no packaging cost and no delivery cost except minor bandwidth.
I don't know if that has to do directly with Valve. The prices for their games ( as well as most games on Steam) are retarded cheap to begin with. And then you have the sales to top it off.
When I saw Improvement to Steam, I thought it meant they were shutting down their services and liquidating their assets...
And the whole reason they did this is cuz of the Witcher 2 having a 9GB file that had to be reinstalled every time an update went out.
Good. Now how about reducing the prices on games on Steam? Especially your own ones Steam. In Switzerland it's cheaper to buy a Valve game retail than on Steam...quite the scam really when they don't have any middle man cost, no material cost, no packaging cost and no delivery cost except minor bandwidth.
most of steams big sales have the valve collection and most of their games at 75% off, and sometimes more, and even give their games for free. The valve games on steam are really stupidly cheap for such quality games, and as for reducing other games prices, they do that every day. And if you missed summer camp, I feel sorry for you since you missed out on the best sale Ive seen ever, and a free decent game...
Anyone else concerned of an impending hack on Steam? I hate having to go through these types of services. Why not just let me play the freaking game? Why do you have to keep track? If I didn't have to use Steam I'd get more Valve titles. But for now the only ones I've picked up (not through Steam) are Half Life and Half Life 2.
Hmm makes you wonder if this new implementation system they have devised is part of the reason why EA pulled BF3 from steam. With the new tool requirements put forth to developers it makes you wonder how much shared data is required between the developers(ie how much of EA's new Frostbite 2 code is required to be given to Valve for tool integration) to make the new steam work.
would be nice if they could also implement multiplayer servers for non valve games, i used to play spiral knights but as soon as i got to tier 3 stages the lag would get me killed...
Solid improvements, but when will we be able to play a game while a new one is simultaneously downloading? I can't stand how Steam pauses new game downloads if you start playing any currently installed game.
Now if only they would ever respond to support requests... I have one that's 4 days old and no response. Other than that, this is great news.
Even better when they arbitrarily close it on you unsolved. I have had some tech support instances where the answers they send you seen obviously canned, or their tech support is completely brain-dead, or both.
I had an instance with them where they were overcharging sales tax (same state). I had to threaten reporting them/legal action before they would refund what they owed me.
After doing so...
1 - I received my owed refund for a purchase.
2 - System now charges correct sales tax.
Hooray. That's great for us on inconsistent and/or capped connections.
I don't know if that has to do directly with Valve. The prices for their games ( as well as most games on Steam) are retarded cheap to begin with. And then you have the sales to top it off.
I don't really agree with you yes their sales are great and now that they have a different sale everyday I have bought more games from them but take for instance Homefront still a new game and it's being sold on STEAM for 49.99 guess what the price is at Gamestop, Bestbuy, Target or any other retailer that when you bought it you would get a nice box a manual and a DVD that's right 49.99 not it being digital we all know that there is not overhead for making the box, manual, DVD ect so pass that savings on to the customer I mean it just makes scene your not getting as much when you buy it in retail
They should take advantage of torrent protocols for big releases.
The servers have been whacked with all the F2P games recently, but with torrent the more people hit it for downlaod the faster it would be for everyone.
It such a no-brainer I don't know why everyone doesn't do it.
I'm still eagerly awaiting Episode 3 or HL3... what ever they decide to call it.
+1
@secolliyn
The 49.99 cost in retail stores doesn't go to overhead either, beyond the minor costs of shipping and packaging, which are probably approximately equal to the overhead associated with steam. Games cost so much because we don't know how to fund developers without charging for the copies that cost nothing to make. Its not an ideal system, but the alternative is some sort of development tax, which no one is interested in.
Steam is great for prices for games on sale, I haven't ever bought anything from steam that wasn't on sale, since you get an actual product if you buy retail, and can usually activate it on steam anyway. Retail games don't ever go on sale for some reason, so steam serves that purpose well.
...I don't like having to retype my reply because the submit button won't post it if I login through the popup window.
Good. Now how about reducing the prices on games on Steam? Especially your own ones Steam. In Switzerland it's cheaper to buy a Valve game retail than on Steam...quite the scam really when they don't have any middle man cost, no material cost, no packaging cost and no delivery cost except minor bandwidth.
VALVe has no control over pricing in stores. A lot of stores will undercut Steam to make more sales, which is normal. The price you see is the price that it is set to be at on Steam but as said, some places will sell for a lower profit to sell more than Steam does. That happened with Portal 2.
Besides, Steam does not set the prices all by them selfs. Also there is the case where game dealer where not accepting distributing games if their digital equivalent was too much cheaper. Schmich, if the prices where, let say 30% cheaper on Steam, would you bother going all the way to your local game dealer to buy there? Now every body do that and every game dealer will cease selling PC games.
@techsevenYou can already do that using the 3rd party app Game Save Manager 2
There are already several ways to do it, but I want something hassle-free and native to the Steam client...
I don't really agree with you yes their sales are great and now that they have a different sale everyday I have bought more games from them but take for instance Homefront still a new game and it's being sold on STEAM for 49.99 guess what the price is at Gamestop, Bestbuy, Target or any other retailer that when you bought it you would get a nice box a manual and a DVD that's right 49.99 not it being digital we all know that there is not overhead for making the box, manual, DVD ect so pass that savings on to the customer I mean it just makes scene your not getting as much when you buy it in retail
You do realize that Valve isn't the only one that decides how much the games are, right? The publisher of the game ultimately has the last word.
And FYI, Homefront was on sale for like half price sometime during their summer sale. I haven't seen that anywhere else. But then again, I don't look anywhere else to buy games most of the time.
Nice, sensible improvements to an already great service... I just hope they will soon allow installing on more than 1 hard drive, like if you want to utilize your ssd only for a limited selection of games...
Yeah. There's a lot of older games that don't need the speed of the primary drive, that I'd like to shove on a storage drive. I guess I could just uninstall them and only download them when I want to play them... but that's a bit of a hassle and sucks up their bandwidth as well as mine.