Assuming there will be some future version of the game that includes all of the expansions/DLC, will said version still require steam?

Steam is the worst drm in history.

Ok, having now dealt with Steam for a few days, I have decided that it is not the worst drm in history. I still think it is useless for a single player game on disc, though.

Yes.

Steam is their DRM. Every form of this game on PC will require Steam. Odds are, the DLC will only be sold THROUGH Steam.



You are confusing "worst" with "best".

Compared to the DRMs of games past that were functionally trojans in your system, or DRMs that could format your C: drive, Steam is one of the very few DRM systems that actually add something to games and helps players.

Here's hoping. I'm still wanting an officially sanctioned, post-registration 'Evaporate' option for the unwelcome guest.

Yes.


It's a Steamworks game. Until Steam shuts down, that's it.




Steam is a great system, a good distribution network, and a good source of old games.

This doesn't make it "best" DRM.

Personally, I'd prefer disc check over Steam. Or even the good old-fashioned code wheel or "find Word X, Paragraph Y, Page Z in the manual."

Why?

Because they're all offline options. I find the requirement of online access for a single-player, fully-offline game that you can buy in brick-and-mortar stores to be philosophically absurd.

Even though I've got moderately decent enough broadband to use Steam fully, I still think it's asinine to require it. :shrug:

There is always offline mode, you only have to log in initially and for patches.

Anyway, Steam works through the Internet because that's the only way Steam can work. While I agree it certainly isn't the best policy to force Steam onto people, it's not Steam's fault Bethesda chose to make the game available only to PC if you have Internet access. (Other than, perhaps, making it the cheapest way to functionally stop a decent chunk of piracy.)

Besides, you might want to just start shopping there... Support some indie developers. Look up Mount And Blade: Warband, for example, which you might like for having an open world with a third-person melee combat system, but with 100 soldiers at your command, and the ability to effectively fight from horseback.

Steam, and systems like it are basically the only way the PC industry is going to survive in the future, as the brick-and-mortar stores continue to clamp down on PC sales. Supporting indie developers with fresh ideas and lower-budget titles also helps the industry innovate.

Steam is good stuff, and while I fully understand the reluctance to embrace it, just try buying up a game you passed by a couple years ago for $5, to enjoy what you missed. In fact, during a Steam sale, I got an emulated version of the original UFO Defense/X-Com for $0.69 I can get better whole games from Steam than I can generally get as DLCs for the same price.