Steam Steam Steam?....

[Gavek]

Steam is a brilliant idea mainly because for a PC game you cant buy the kind of public awareness that being on steam brings. Not trying to get the game on steam would be a huge mistake.

[PoleCat]

Personally I think Steam blows.

 

I do not want a front end lobby, online internet advertisements, and an interface installed on my PC by which I can purchase and install games like that and all the extra crap that is included with it. Total bloat ware. I think Steam sux for the very same reasons I do not like game spy and all the other crappy lobby software out there..

 

In every sense I find the current downloadable version and protection system much more palpable as it leaves me to make my own decisions and does not install any middleware between me and my simulations or games other then what is necessary to activate and use my product. It is transparent while Steam is not.

 

Out

Edited January 13, 2009 by PoleCat

[Zembla]

I don't like having to be logged in, having to be online, to play a game when I'm only going to use the singleplayer side of it.

 

I play some Steam games, online, on Steam, and for that it works. It's a good digital distribution platform as well, the way it obliges you to be logged in to the service to play those games though is shoddy to say the least.

 

It's good that they distribute many more publisher's titles than Valve's alone, it's just such a shame you need to be connected to anything, or in general are forced to do things their way, while you know there is another, just as viable, easier way.

 

-Z

[aledmb]

i think the whole point of steam is being

a fair system, not a good one.

[Gavek]

I think you guys are horribly mis-informed about steam.

 

A. You in no way have to be connected to the internet to play the games you have downloaded, there is an offline feature.

 

B. Using steam is actually better for your system than installing everything raw. Steam keeps all of your game files de-fragged for you in turn allowing them to run faster.

 

C: The community features have added a ton of longevity to multiplayer titles. Features like an omni friends list that tells you what game your friends are playing and allows you to message them in any game. Groups that allow for a ton of orginazation in clans and personal forums.

 

D: Developers get to distribute their games to an absolutly huge market while still keeping something like 45% more than if they went through an actually publisher.

[einar-st]

I'd just like to post my opinion and say that I like steam and have bought many games on/with it. And I also enjoy the opportunity of calling my flatmate a hobo each time he joins an online server. No problems whatsoever.

 

That being said, I also have no problems with buying games outside steam and no problems with starforce. I bought the english Black Shark with no hesitation or thought and I thoroughly enjoy playing it each and every day :)... I'm a happy camper.

 

Kisses, hugs and flowers!

[JDski]

I'm sorry but thats about the worst excuse I've ever heard... you said "I bought a game on a steam an lost my account info..." Wow... should you really be handeling money from a bank account if you can't remember a user name an password to begin with?...

 

I haven't used Steam in years, so yes I forgot my password, and it didn't recognize my email address. So I tried to open another account. It wouldn't let me. I tried to open a ticket. No reponse.

I'm not loosing sleep over it though. I don't need Steam. They can keep it. So no compairison to my bank account.

I'm glad your happy with thier service. Just wait until you have an issue, and remember that.

 

You can't buy a game on Steam without a user account, so you would have had to have logged in to buy it, is it really that hard to remember... you have an email address they could reset it for you, if you remembered your email, I guess thats even harder to remember, sounds like a pretty

bad excuse to me.

 

I'm not sure what you can't seem to understand here. I can't log in without knowing my password. I can retrieve my password if my email is not recognized. I can't even start a new account! So how am I supposed to log in to buy a game if I can't get my old info, start a new account, or get any support?

 

Oh and same directory? Wow so you don't know how to install steam to another dir so the game installs on that same drive? I'm amazed you guys can figure out the sim, seems its more complicated that remembering a password or installing a game for that matter.

 

You can install Steam on another directory. I never said that you couldn't. But as in my case when I filled up my hard drive, and needed to install a new game on another hard drive (different directory) it doesn't allow it. You have to move everything over. Maybe they finally changed that. I don't know since I haven't had it on my machine for over two years.

 

I'm basically saying your just making up excuses cause you didn't wait, but that doesn't bother me...

 

I'm not making excuses for anything but reasons why I hate Steam. I would have waited to buy the hard copy if BS was only released on that Steam pile of $#|t.

You should just wait for it to be released on Steam if your such a fan of it.

[PoleCat]

I think you guys are horribly mis-informed about steam.

 

A. You in no way have to be connected to the internet to play the games you have downloaded, there is an offline feature.

 

B. Using steam is actually better for your system than installing everything raw. Steam keeps all of your game files de-fragged for you in turn allowing them to run faster.

 

C: The community features have added a ton of longevity to multiplayer titles. Features like an omni friends list that tells you what game your friends are playing and allows you to message them in any game. Groups that allow for a ton of orginazation in clans and personal forums.

 

D: Developers get to distribute their games to an absolutly huge market while still keeping something like 45% more than if they went through an actually publisher.

 

Thank you for stating clearly most of the reasons why I dislike Steam. You outlined them well.

 

A: I don't want to be subjected to any "offline feature" So that I can play my games single player.

 

B: You think I want Steam defragging my game files>?

 

C: Yes how original, a game lobby :music_whistling:

 

D: So publishers don't deserve to eat?

 

Steam simply installs a virtual store on your pc in the form of a bloatware program complete with ads and a lobby. I do not see that as good. I gave up Red Orchestra because I so completely dislike this software for most of the reasons you mention here as advantages.

 

No thanks.

 

I installed Black Shark and activated it. When I want to play it you know what I do? I start Black Shark. That is how it should work. Very Simple.

 

Out

Edited January 14, 2009 by PoleCat

[Gavek]

I am convinced you are just trolling now.

 

Running things offline is exactly the same as anything else. You have the icon on your desktop you click it and run the game. Also there are no ad's in steam there is a news up date that pops up when you open steam but that's about it.

 

Since this game has very little hope of seeing a wide store release here in America you better hope it sees a steam release. I mean just look at how multiplayer numbers have dropped it would suck to see the last great hope For flight simulation die a miserable death because "the fighter collection" has no idea how to rep a game.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Gavek

[PoleCat]

I am convinced you are just trolling now.

 

Running things offline is exactly the same as anything else. You have the icon on your desktop you click it and run the game. Also there are no ad's in steam there is a news up date that pops up when you open steam but that's about it.

 

Since this game has very little hope of seeing a wide store release here in America you better hope it sees a steam release. I mean just look at how multiplayer numbers have dropped it would suck to see the last great hope For flight simulation die a miserable death because "the fighter collection" has no idea how to rep a game.

 

Not trolling mate. Just stating an opinion. Many here dislike Steam alot more then the current protection system. Simple as that.

 

There are ads and resource usage while Steam is running as well. It is just as I said..bloat ware. I do not want a built in PC games store for dummies and all the extra bloat that comes with it. I do not want comercials and advertisement in my face. I do not want anything more then to purchase what I want to play, put it where I want to install it on my system and then play it. If I want to see all the ads that you see in the screenshot I can just hit gogamer or ebworld and do it there. At least then when I close my browser it is gone. Nothing is on my system trying to sell me anything.

 

 

 

There is no doubt current system in Black Shark is LESS intrusive then Steam. Also it is completely transparent as I said. Install, activate and play.

 

IMHO if Black Shark were to be released on Steam than that is fine for those who would tolerate or desire such software on their system but lets not pretend it is elegant or any thing really different then a glorified game lobby and online store. Exactly that which many of us intuitivley avoid putting on our systems.

 

Out

Edited January 14, 2009 by PoleCat

[Zembla]

I mean just look at how multiplayer numbers have dropped it would suck to see the last great hope For flight simulation die a miserable death because "the fighter collection" has no idea how to rep a game.

 

Sounds almost like a threat, an empty one at that. You have made three posts, all in this thread, so it's fair to say you're more likely the one to be trolling here than Pole Cat.

 

People expressed an opinion, it's their right to have one, it's your right to have a different one. Saying the success of DCS: Black Shark falls and stands with the implementation of that game in the virtual storefront that is Steam is a very very large stretch, and shows you don't really understand what sort of a niche this is.

 

This is the sort of niche that people devote years working on a mod of a product, ages old, and people actually still dedicatedly follow the mods being released for that product. This is a community where people are a lot more altruistic, and a lot more patient than you seem to think. This is NOT Counter-Strike with helicopters, a game I'd imagine you'd need a strong multiplayer component for. Multiplayer in DCS is all fine and dandy, but Steam isn't the solution to dwindling multiplayer numbers, Steam at most is going to represent a client base as large as the one that gets the boxed version of the game.

 

-Z

[Gavek]

 

People expressed an opinion, it's their right to have one, it's your right to have a different one. Saying the success of DCS: Black Shark falls and stands with the implementation of that game in the virtual storefront that is Steam is a very very large stretch, and shows you don't really understand what sort of a niche this is.

 

This is the sort of niche that people devote years working on a mod of a product, ages old, and people actually still dedicatedly follow the mods being released for that product. This is a community where people are a lot more altruistic, and a lot more patient than you seem to think. This is NOT Counter-Strike with helicopters, a game I'd imagine you'd need a strong multiplayer component for. Multiplayer in DCS is all fine and dandy, but Steam isn't the solution to dwindling multiplayer numbers, Steam at most is going to represent a client base as large as the one that gets the boxed version of the game.

 

 

 

-Z

 

No I completely understand the community. A xenophobic old boys social club dedicated to the grand art of flying fake airplanes. You keep the military channel on 24/7 (since the history channel went to shit) and you probably own a M.A.S.H box set. They fantasize constantly about one day being in a situation that will require them to fly a real f-16 due their constant study of open falcon.

 

Ok stereotypes aside the flight sim community is really one of the best gaming community's, But sometimes its a giant parody of itself. Yeah DCS isnt counter strike but you make it sound like the average person couldent pick it up in three hours.

 

As for boxed versions, I know that gamestop is going to stop carrying PC games all together (they already have in my area). So the more digital download locations the better. And for the record I bought DCS already from the website like a week ago.

Edited January 14, 2009 by Gavek

[Zembla]

Ok stereotypes aside the flight sim community is really one of the best gaming community's, But sometimes its a giant parody of itself. Yeah DCS isnt counter strike but you make it sound like the average person couldent pick it up in three hours.

 

You hit the nail on the head there though :) There are a lot of self-proclaimed experts in the community, that and indeed, a lot of chest beating about how difficult it is to ramp start an F-16 or something (which in the end is just a 40 step procedure, not rocket science).

 

That said, it's not about how difficult it is, it's about the lure of it. Not a lof people looking for the sort of quick thrill most modern games offer, will be convinced to try the somewhat more patient, longer approach flight sims require. Sure some will, but of those how many will try the conversion from "game" to "simulation" mode?

 

I'm not saying Steam wouldn't be a success, I'm all for the developers fanning out the distribution of their fantastic game through other channels, I'm just not sure it's going to be such a huge contribution.

 

-Z

[192nd_Erdem]

Ok I'm gonna go the hard way here.

 

Not trolling mate. Just stating an opinion. Many here dislike Steam alot more then the current protection system. Simple as that.

 

So it happens that you invidiually took everyone's opinion in BS community here? Define "many" please.

 

There are ads and resource usage while Steam is running as well. It is just as I said..bloat ware.

 

Steam uses only 7mb RAM and %0 CPU on my laptop. How come it is bloatware? This includes Friends(awesome messenger by the way), main Steam Kernel and Steam Community (awesome also) loaded.

 

I do not want a built in PC games store for dummies and all the extra bloat that comes with it. I do not want comercials and advertisement in my face. I do not want anything more then to purchase what I want to play, put it where I want to install it on my system and then play it. If I want to see all the ads that you see in the screenshot I can just hit gogamer or ebworld and do it there. At least then when I close my browser it is gone. Nothing is on my system trying to sell me anything.

 

I see your picture proof attempt and raise it with mine.

 

 

Is it so hard to check settings when you're seriously thinking about being a Steam customer?

 

You do not want advertisement or update news? Fine, disable them(bottom). You don't want store to open when you load Steam? Fine, set your main window to "Games" so it will come up when you fire up Steam. You'll never see it again. You want your games on a particular drive? Install Steam on that drive. I'm sure you're patient enough browse up 2-3 directories more in Windows Explorer(since you're a simmer, right?).

 

What else virtual accusations do you have?

 

There is no doubt current system in Black Shark is LESS intrusive then Steam. Also it is completely transparent as I said. Install, activate and play.

 

You double click on the game icon and you play your game as Gavek said. What is intrusive about that? Starforce drivers being forcably installed on your PC? No, but oh wait, most of the ED community already did that gracefully a while ago without questioning . . .

 

IMHO if Black Shark were to be released on Steam than that is fine for those who would tolerate or desire such software on their system but lets not pretend it is elegant or any thing really different then a glorified game lobby and online store. Exactly that which many of us intuitivley avoid putting on our systems.

 

"Tolerate" and "desire" being the key hatred words. It's as tolerable and intrusive as your favourite messenger software. Also it's a all-in-one pack of everything you need about the game you bought. If you don't want to use those features, it's your call.

 

If you still don't like Steam(you may though, if you actually start using it), you can just stay with your BS version peacefully. But IMO don't come here bad mouthing about it. There are really people hoping for a Steam release because they prefer it, and you're not helping at all.

 

Also, moderators please move this thread back to General Discussion as this thread directly concerns both Digital Combat Simulator series and Black Shark. Not "Chit Chat".

Edited January 15, 2009 by 192nd_Erdem

[PoleCat]

I am not here to help or hurt you in your quest to get DCS released on Steam I am here to render my opinion just like you which I have every right to do.

 

Also I never claimed I did not understand that there are options within steam to enable or disable different parts of the program from running on startup or displaying at launch. That is entirely beside the point. I will not use the 7MB-70Mb ram or the HD space or the utilites because I dislike the program and will not install it at all.

 

IMHO It is in itself unnecessary, that makes it bloat ware to me. It is NOT integral to the running of the software titles. It is an online store and game lobby, nothing more. Three words. Install, activate, play.

 

Out

Edited January 15, 2009 by PoleCat

[Boberro]

Steam uses only 7mb RAM and %0 CPU on my laptop. How come it is bloatware? This includes Friends(awesome messenger by the way), main Steam Kernel and Steam Community (awesome also) loaded.

 

As far I agree with you at all, but this is not 100% truth.

 

Steam is powerconsumptive. I don't know how did u see it only with 7 MB RAM of memory. Always at mine computer it takes from 20-up to 70. It is huge, also fade in-out effects and othereye candy takes processor also.

 

But agree with rest of post, I wish to have DCS on Steam which is great platform for gaming. Many features, chats, voice conversation (yesterday I played Counter Strike:Source and used voice communication - it is great, you don't neeed any TS, Ventrillos ect, all is built-in).

[aledmb]

They fantasize constantly about one day being in a situation

that will require them to fly a real f-16 due their constant

study of open falcon.

 

:lol:

did you think about what you said?

this is just gaming, man!

[Slayer]

I have Steam, but already purchased the download versions ( Russian and English ) directly so don't really have any incentive to purchase it again.

 

I will say this: The slightly younger crowd loves Steam. ED would get a HUGE amount of advertising just from having their game on Steam. Anything which would get this product out in front of other flight sim fans or bring people in to play this sim would be a good move.

 

Personally I think the state of the multiplayer base in this sim is pathetic at best.

There are maybe 10 servers at any given time, most of them private...pretty lame.

Multiplayer is where it's at, like it or not. If it wasn't for multiplayer, games like Falcon 4.0 would have died long ago. Steam would probably bring in thousands of more players. Even though BS multiplayer is mostly all about co-op, many people would still like it. Look at the success of games like Left for Dead.

 

BS is an amazing game and I would like to see the series continue development. The only way that is going to happen is if people buy this game. The market is there, you just have to tap into it.

 

If you don't like steam...fine, buy the box or download from ED directly.

[Grimes]

Love it or hate it, Steam is a very popular method of distributing games. At first I used it exclusively for the excellent games Valve has put out (starting with HL2) not really exploring the other content available. I was intent on buying the boxed versions of their games rather than doing an online transaction. I broke down with the Orange Box, due to access to the TF2 beta, and I haven't looked back since.

 

Sure it has ads on it, but nothing more than most websites. Yes the main page loads covered with games to buy and demos to try. But isn't that the point? Newegg and amazon's front page is full of random crap to buy. Isn't that the point?, its a software distribution applications locked to your user account.

 

Besides, learning that there is some crazy deal might be happening ain't so bad. I got Bioshock for 5 bucks! The Game of the Year 2007 for 5 bucks.

[MajorTom]

I have got to the point where I wont buy anything unless it is on Steam. Steam is DRM but its a hellovalot more enticing to me than Starforce. Oh and I was without internet for 9 months last year and I played all of my games on Steam with the offline mode. You need to activate the product online once and then you can play it offline after that.

 

To those people saying putting BS on steam would be a waste of time obviously dont have any understanding about business. I happened to find BS after one comment I found on a games forum, until that point I did not know BS existed. Having BS on Steam would immediately advertise the game to 15 million users.

 

Lets not forget the auto update feature that keeps everyone up to date with the official releases.

 

Anyways I am a big fan of Steam, even through the Steam beta I didnt have much trouble with it. Starforce is not the incarnation of Satan that some posters say but I dont like the way it operates and will not purchase anything that uses it. Unless BS comes out on Steam no sale for me :(

[rapid]

I have been using steam from when it first came out yes it did affect (people stopped playing in droves and my server had to close:( STC Gaming clan) counter Strike as most players had false keys, well steam took care of all that.

So steam can protect a product and i for one would like to see BS protected it can only benefit us all.

you can also play your steam game off line where you do NOT have to have an internet connection i have played Halflife without connecting to the internet.