This.

Also, if you follow your argument to its conclusion Lokee, you would end up with computers where EACH piece of software has its own complete and unique and free standing set of functionality. By that logic, things like Windows itself would be no good, because the only thing that Windows does for the end user is provide a convenient platform for managing hardware and other software.

That's all that steam is, a platform. From it you can do all sorts of things like install, update, validate, uninstall, and share common resources across different games. That is basically a scaled down version of an operating system. It makes it easier for developers to make better quality games and it makes it better for the users because the ... games are better quality. So uh, where exactly are you trying to go with your logic?

Automactically updating is NOT good. I have been playing and managing my pc games for decades, and one thing I have learned is to NEVER immediately download and install an update or patch when it is released. First, go to the forums for the game and find out what experiences others who have installed are having--you can save yourself a lot of grief, as patches frequently break more than they fix. Then, if it is a bad patch, you either wait for the company to get it's ducks in a row and release a good patch, or go to a trusted modder who has probably already fixed the problem with a patch of their own.

Steam isn't going to, and has never controlled anything. Developers have full control of their games that are on Steam, and almost every single issue in games on Steam are the fault of the developers. The only real issue that is a direct result of Steam is if Steams servers are down... which as someone who has used Steam for years I can tell you is one in a blue moon. Sure, that doesn't stop irrational arm chair game developers from blaming Steam for all their issues, such as happened with Fallout New Vegas. Obsidian released a buggy mess of a game in FO:NV, as they have a LONG history of doing (it would have been a bigger shock if NV was a low bug game)... yet accusations were flying around the NV forums that it was all Steams fault. Of course it wasn't... but that didn't stop people without a clue from spreading such rumors.

Take your post for example: You say you had issues with two games that you had to uninstall BECAUSE of Steam. What exactly was the issue? I have about 50 games in my steam library, and I have never had one single issue that has prevented me from playing any of them (nor have any of my friends).

Now, the reason developers put their games on Steam are simple. First of all, Steam sells more PC games than any other distribution platform right now and offers developers a lot of useful tools. By not having a game on Steam, developers pass up a huge PC market and thats simply not smart. Developers can also add things such as achievements to their games with Steam, and patch/DLC distribution is a whole lot easier. Plus, Steam has a unique user base of several million... which in the PC market means Steam is extremely popular and used by a very large portion of the PC community. With all the up sides, the question shouldn't be "why are developers so gullible to let Steam control their game".... it should be "Why would a developer want to pass up the mountain of advantages Steam offers?".

Obviously there are real reason someone might have an issue with Steam. If you don't have internet access, and can't get it to install a game and enable Offline Mode... then you have a serious problem. Also, if you buy games from regions outside North America Valve has a terrible issue with currency conversions, and often screw people really bad who are not buying in American dollars. Other than that though, there are really no practical issues Steam has. Yes, paranoid people hate it because it functions as DRM and there are other irrational reasons people give... but the truth is most of them are simple fear mongering.



Your games? Who ever said they were YOUR games. In fact, when you buy a game... you are actually buying a license that says you can play a given game. You do not own the game itself, and developers have every right to tell you what you can or can't do with it. I understand PC gamers (PC gamer myself) expect more freedom with their games, but those times are changing and the amount of freedom we are given is drying up fast.

Now, with that said Steam doesn't take any control away from you. Well, I shouldn't say that as it does take your right to install games Offline. Other then that though, Id really like to know how you think Steam hurts your "absolute control" over your games? You can still play the game as you want, Steam has no effect on modding (I mod several games I own on Steam, with zero issue), and any customization available in a non-Steam game is possible in a Steam game. What other freedom do you have with non-Steam games don't use have with a game on Steam?

That's funny... I don't remember belittling anyone here for liking steam yet, once again, after reading Colonel Tannanbaum's reply I can't help but feel that... "Believe what I say or I'll hurt you" sensation...
So Colonel Tannanbaum... Why do you feel the need to attack and belittle rather than discuss. Why is the possibility that someone doesn't like Steam so offensive to you?

This is something that does genuinely bother me about steam. I don't auto update on windows either, for the same reason. There is always the possibility of a bad patch.
I don't know why steam doesn't just go with disabling the auto update in preferences or something and then informing the player when an update is ready. heck, it could even download them and just let me know they are ready to install.

I don't get it at all.

You can disable auto-updates on Steam.

How to:

1. Right click a game
2. Click properties
3. Select the Updates tab
4. Change "Always keep this game up to date" to "Do not automatically update this game"

BAM! Any issue with auto updateing is no longer an issue with Steam.

It does!

I have auto-update turned off all the time. It'll automatically update ONCE, when you first install and activate the game, to make sure you have the most current version... and then, from that point on, the game updating or not is entirely under your control. Of course, what they -do- need to fix is the inability to play your game if you DON'T update it.

That's another legitimate complaint.

Nobody is saying it is perfect... but it's better than any other alternative you're going to get.

It's the only option out there that actually -cares- about you being a satisfied customer... because you're -THEIR- end user as well. No other DRM-type software is going to give a damn whether or not your game is playable. Their customer is the game developer, not the player. Steam pressures publishers to fix problems all the time... and when there's a conflict with Steam and the community of any given game, they go well above and beyond the call to remedy the situation.

What would you -rather- they do? They're not going to just hand you an unprotected disk. Those days are gone.

If steam is so terrible, then what else? What do you want instead?

I've -seen- the alternative...

... even with the oddities, I'm glad New Vegas went with Steam and not GfWL.

So what you are saying is that the message that I received about steam not being able to verify my account was a bug from the game that didn't load?...

I normally don't bother myself with forums or chats much... only when there is a real issue, so I haven't got the hang of the quotes bit yet.

I assume you talked to someone at Valve about that? What was their response?

I didn't have an internet connection at that time so I couldn't talk to anyone about it... even if I did know who to contact.

...

EDIT:



Wait, how were you trying to play without an internet connection? Were you in offline mode, and had you registered the game online?

What did you do, exactly? Did you install Steam separately or from the game disk? Did you register for an account? Are you using an old account? Did you check any steam FAQs or did you submit a steam support ticket?

Did you... try more than once? I have a hard time believing that Steam never allowed you to login and that support couldn't tell you what was going on.

EDIT: Nevermind. I misunderstood something.

Ah, I see.

Ok, I see that people are having a difficult time understanding my problem.
I bought, installed, and activated the game. A week later I try to run New Vegas without internet connection like I had done a few times before and Steam didn't let me load the game. I restart my internet, steam does it's thing and loads the game. The second time, we had a big wind storm and the internet was out for two days. Steam would not load New Vegas for both of those days till the internet was restored.

Its not.
If someone says "I don't like [insert TES game], because of level scaling, or lack of culture or bad AI or bad combat." They have a good reason.
But if someone says "I don't like Oblivion, because your forced to do the main quest first" or "I don't like Morrowind because the graphics svck". They are exaggerating or being ignorant. Morrowinds graphics were good for its time and Oblivions main quest was forced upon you at the start, but it wasn't hard to forget it once you got involved with a guild or something.
Its the same thing with Steam. People exaggerate or are ignorant.
Steam is incredibly user friendly, and has LOADS of incredible specials.
I haven't had a problem with it so far.

I think most people are referring to your earlier Steam purchases, where Steam could not verify your account.

I agree, not having Internet access does tend to make Steam rather uncooperative - but I tend to get all geeky and tether my computer to my phone whenever my cable ISP goes down. If necessary, I could simply put Steam into Offline mode that way.

I believe (not sure, as I never used Offline mode) you actually have to enable a game for Offline mode.

Steam is a service that is intended to be used online. It has an offline mode, but that is not how its intended to be used. The need to be connected to the internet for the most part is Steams one major draw back... but with the widespread use of DRM these days, Steam is a whole lot less invasive and annoying then most and at least makes an effort with an Offline mode.

Readin this might help you in the future btw... https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-agcb-2555

You must have offline mode configured before you lose your internet connection. The most reliable way to do it and to make sure it works is this:

• Disable your network adapter.
  
• Start Steam.
  
• It says "unable to connect to Steam Servers, would you like to start up in Offline Mode?"
  
• Say, "yes"
  
• It asks for your login info
  
• enter it (or it gets filled in automatically if you have the info saved)
  
• Steam warns you that it is unable to sync the files with the server
  
• Steam then asks if you would like to play the game anyway.
  
• Select "yes"
  
• Done. I just tried this twice in a row and it worked fine.

If you don't have Steam set to offline mode ahead of time WHILE it is online and working, then if the connection goes out Steam won't work. It does svck that your connection went out but... well that's just unfortunate.

Not having an internet connection is NOT a valid argument any more. Come out of the stone age people, my Grandma has a dedicated internet connection.
If, however, your internet connection is down for some reason. I feel for you, its annoying not being able to pass the time until it gets back up again with games.

Ahhh, Now I see what the problem is... I'm exaggerating or being ignorant. Well, I'm sorry to have troubled anyone with my tall tales and ignorance... I will know better than to question the status quo in the future... many pardons and thank you for putting this little pauper in her place.

Maybe x_death would be so kind as to pay for some proper internet for me?...

http://craphound.com/images/xkcdwrongoninternet.jpg

No.

Some people don't have proper internet connections. Fine, but don't expect to be able to do things that require the internet. Steam games require the internet. They don't require it all the time, but they do require it at least once. If you get everything set up properly while you do have access, then you won't have any problems after that.

Some people don't have computers either. But they don't expect to be able to do things that require a computer.

Some people don't even have phones. You guessed it, they can't expect to do anything that requires a phone.

So uh, the argument that you don't have the necessary service is a bad one.

Furthermore, https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555

My suspicion is that your problem may be this:

While x_death might have been a touch mean... his point is this:

Instead of running to complain that you don't want Steam because you had an issue with it, actually take the time to figure out what your problem was that caused you to have issues with it. Its not ignorance to question something, or to seek help, or even to question an honestly flawed system. However you shouldn't run to denounce something just because you had a small problem with it, and never bothed to find out what was wrong. Your first post made it sound as though someone from Valve beat you up and stole your lunch money or something (your very hostile to Steam in it)... when it fact your issues sound very simple, easy to fix, and caused by you not understanding how Steam works, and then failing to ask questions about how to fix said issue.

Next time you have an issue with something... ask for help solving the issue. Don't just walk away and denounce whatever it was that gave you the issue. You might find out that you truely would like Steam... IF you knew how to use it properly.