or a thumb drive.

just sayin'

I would rather shoot my self if they make it require constant connection than buy the game.

or I will ask my evil eye patched friends to lend a helping hand, though I loath such a possibility.

edit: steam can go frak itself, put a game key thingy inside and let that be confirmed online for DLs and stuff, problem solved

piracy is here to stay stop trying to use [censored] solutions for things that have no solution, its like trying to stop earthquakes and solar flares, just make the fans happy and we will defend you from piracy by actually buying the game.

I think they experiences mass amounts of piracy; O YES that was it.

You are the silly one.
A lot of people like having the disc/box. It just feels better... And it looks awesome next to all our other games. :disguise:

Steam is evil. And you are a prime example of what its evil-ness can do.

When Oblivion became available as a digital download (from D2D and Steam) both DD versions had new DRM systems built into them. A disc check doesn't work for a DD game.

Skyrim will be available for DD immediately. I don't see why they wouldn't use a single DRM solution that works for both retail discs and digital download versions. It seems like a waste of effort and money to me.

The one exception might be if they specifically make an effort to produce a version of the game that doesn't require internet based authentication. If there is enough reason for them to do so, then you might get different DRMs between the DD and retail disc versions.

edit: And please stop calling people evil or silly, everyone. It's not very polite or useful.

Maybe. That didn't stopped them from selling 1,7 million copies in less than 3 weeks though...



huh? When did I said that?

Sorry, not you. I tossed in the edit because people are taking discussions about DRM and optional versions a little too personally.

I didn't notice that it looked like it was part of my response to you. I apologize for that.

Well, I dont know about a lot of what youre saying, but "make the fans happy and we will defend you from piracy by actually buying the game" means you get +1 internet in my book.

Nah, no problem, don't worry.

Well, to sum up, I logically pretend to buy the original game. If the DRM that it has isn't bothering, then I don't care wheter it has it or not, honestly...

I doubt Skyrim will require an internet connection, but even if it does you can just get the console version.

Well you used the internet to post this thread, so what's the problem?

If you mean will the game require a constant internet connection or have multiplayer, then no. It will likley require an authentication over the internet when you install it though.

not everyone lives in distance to use DSL & Satellite can be out the price range of many

Sometimes dial-up is the only real option to go online




Steam authorization forces patching, posting on a forum is not the same as being forced to dl a patch that can exceed 1 gb in size

I see where I misunderstood you . However, my point remains that Valve's assistance was needed to get OBSE and NVSE working with those games (at least, the Steam version of Oblivion). There's absolutely no guarantee that Valve would want to assist with a Skyrim extender, and that would potentially cause problems with mods.

nothing wrong with steam....the vast majority of people running steam that have issues either have conflicting software or havent simply redownloaded the steam app which fixes it.

you can disable auto patching

its not ubisoft or GFWL

you can play offline

you dont need to load the disk in

its NOT ubisoft or GFWL

you can play it on any computer.........just not more than one at the same time....i suppose if you play offline you could get around this but i never tried it

doesnt use use up much RAM when running

ITS NOT UBISOFT OR GFWL

can still be modded although going through the extra folders is a bit annoying, but making a desktop shortcut to the valve games folder eliminates that issue

of all the DRMs out there is is by far the best..........especially when compared to ubisoft or GFWL

the only annoying thing i hate with steam is the annoying pop-up that appears after i close my games. if anyone knows how to turn it off please post.

note: (you only have to redownload the app, not all of your games again.) i know someome who deleted his entire valve folder which consisted of over 20 GBs of games cause he thought he had to redownload everything. :facepalm:

SecuROM, Steam, any other well known protections: they are not piracy-proof so Skyrim hacks will be available.
A game publisher should be aware of this.
Their main goal should be: use a customer-friendly way for 'first line' protection. Do not bother the honest customer with extreme (and always completely useless) anti-piracy measures.

If Steam is used:
no problema, but MAKE VERY SURE that it does not show up in my system tray and certainly not in my process-list (like it did in the HalfLiveII series).
If i have to click buttons to get rid of Steam, i consider it intrusive and highly customer-unfriendly.

unless using Steam then NO!!!!!!!!

despite what people say about offline mode, its redundant because you need to be online to activate offline mode. So yes, you will need internet to play. Provided that Skyrim (for PC) is distributed exclusively for steam. The only other option is piracy, and thats the lamest possible option... you know, because it will probably crash your computer.

Edit: some people have hacked their steam account (or what ever I don't know what) and eleminated steam entirely from the process from launching FO NV so there is that. how ever its done.

Steam will show up in your system tray and in your process list. Always has, always will. Having said that, just because it's in your process list doesn't necessarily mean it's using any significant resources. The community features (chat, showing you which of your friends is online etc.) will get paged into physical memory and use some CPU time, but only if you're playing online. Switch to offline mode and I suspect (but I don't know) that it'll have no impact on the game at all.

Personally, I like Steam. I use it for most of my buying/launching of games. But it is essentially only suitable for broadband users, could potentially make modding for Skyrim harder, and it does seem high-handed to impose it on people who've bought a game on DVD. If Skyrim requires it for validation, even on DVD copies, then it won't affect me at all, but it will lower my opinion of Bethesda.

They don't need DRM at all. Instead... stuff the DVD case with "Feelies" such as copies of maps, posters (Either concept-art, or professionally-made In-game Rendered scenes for your wall!), and a fun-to-read, well-written manual. People underestimate the value of those things.

Selling it for a reasonable price ($60: Yours for life, or until you sell it to a friend so you can buy our new game with that money!) That's the way things should be done.

If it dies, Digital Piracy will be shown for the evil it is (Right now, more people sympathize with them than not), but the console sales will still recoup the losses.

More likely, though, it will be an awesome success on every platform, by blowing away the competition.

True. But consider a couple of things. Valve has a proven history of being willing to work with the **SE team to make the script extenders possible. That bodes well.

FOSE was able to bypass GFWL because the DRM was on the launcher, not the main executable. If it had been on the main executable, the **SE team would have needed Microsoft's help to make a script extender. MS has no proven record of being willing to help. If Skyrim went back to GFWL, and MS was unhappy with the ease with which people dumped GFWL with FO3, it would be really easy for them to lock Skyrim into using GFWL and then we'd have to hope for their good graces.

So far there have only been two versions of the games that don't work with the script extenders. The D2D version and the German version. D2D because they wouldn't help, and the German version because it's not worth the **SE team's time.

If they have to go with an online system for downloads, patches and DRM, Steam is the more trustworthy source in my opinion.

i wasnt aware the german version didnt work. i would do it after the final patches are released anyways simply because some of the best mods are german and they went through the trouble of translating them to english so everyone else could enjoy them.

Go to Steam - top left corner of the client and select 'Settings' from the dropdown list, then go to the 'Interface' tab and uncheck 'Notify me (with steam instant messages) about additions or changes to my games, new releases and upcoming releases'

There is a special "no gore" version of the games in Germany. I think it's Germany at any rate. It's not supported because the executable is different and I think every single person in Germany imported the game from somewhere else anyway.

edit: Turns out I'm out of date. It was Fallout 3, not Oblivion, and they did add support for it after the "final" patch was released. My mistake.

Exactly. I have yet to see any proof whatsoever that DRMs actually reduce piracy. On the contrary, they may increase piracy.

I also agree with Benrahir's point that "the scene" may have changed little. Serial keys have been used for years. I am not aware of any evidence that (i) they have become less effecvtive at reducing game theft; (ii) that there has been an actual increase in the incidence of game theft that would warrant more intrusive and restrivtive forms of copyright protection; or (iv) actual proof that something like Steam or various other admittedly worse forms of DRM, are any more effective at reducing shrinkage resulting from game theft.

I want what is best for gaming, and to me that means, helping the publishers to make a good living from it. I have no desire to rip them off or get the games for cheaper; the better a living they make, the better the games we get. I want to support them in their efforts to protect their copyrights, I really, REALLY do.

But until I see solid evidence that addresses all of these points, I cannot support the idea that Steam or other even worse DRMs either are great, should be accepted as being inevitable, or are truly a boon to the gaming culture. Prove it to me, that you really need to make these impositions on me, or I won't buy your product; other publishers do not seem to need to make such impositions on me, so I will just buy their games instead.

Those with 56K modes (not me) will also tie up their phone lines for a very very long time if there is a day 0 patch. If a game comes out a box it should work out of a box. Otherwise it should be download only. This half/half rubbish is what really annoys me. Putting numerous line of fine print on a box does not cut it. I bought NV from steam so I expect to log on to steam to use it. That was my derision. But if I buy from a store and receive an incomplete product with then having to download the rest (at my additional expense), I find this wrong