PC Gaming = World of Suck

[Handruin]

My favorite FPS game has been Serious Sam, the original. I liked Unreal Tournament, but Quake 3 was too fast for me. Quake 1 and 2 were good too. The last FPS game I've tried was Serious Sam : the Secound Encounter, but I've never ben able to finish the third level (the antigravity chamber was beyond my limited skills).

If you ever have a chance with some free time (I know you're busy), maybe give the game Portal a chance. It's more of a fun puzzle game with interesting twists. It's not nearly as fast-paced as UT or serious sam, but worth trying.

I enjoyed serious sam for lan parties but it never held my attention for a single player game.

 

[Handruin]

It is, but the weapon balance is good enough to make other strategies valid.

Have you tried the latest UT game currently on the market? The graphics are nice and it still seems to contain the same weapons and speed like the other versions. They were running some free weekend trials of it not too long back and I gave it a try.

 

[Mercutio]

I bought it, but the single player campaign feels like a rap video without the booty-shaking hos. I went back to UT2004.

It's pretty, though.

At least Epic games can be enjoyed without a heaping helping of Steam's bullshit.

 

[Handruin]

What is steams bullshit? Have you used it in the past few years? It's come a long way as a deployment platform. I don't mind buying my games through them.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm not going to use it at all until I never have to do anything but purchase and download a game from a web site. A web site where I can log in and re-download the game if I need to.

Having to have their client on my system, having to have their client "check in" with Steam EVER after the game is installed, is intolerable, especially for single-player games that do not involve internet play. I won't accept it.

 

[Handruin]

It's not that bad. I'm able to redownload whenever I want and also onto any machine I want. I don't care if it checks in with the steam server...that's where I bought it from to begin with. They offer discounted prices and very good deals. What's the worst that happens? My $20 no longer works if steam goes belly up so I go buy a store bought copy if I really need to play a game again.

Their client also makes it easier to arrange multiplayer games. Having in-game chat is also pretty handy. Their download speeds are also some of the best I've found for getting content and updates.

I know I'm not going to convince you to give in, but I don't think it's as bad as you make it seem.

 

[Mercutio]

I shouldn't need their permission to play a game I paid for on my own computer. It's just that simple.

 

[Handruin]

I never ask for permission to play my games. I buy them and play.

 

[MaxBurn]

Don't all the games now need some sort of internet check? You have either the install check or the check on each load or save. GTA4 to even save games you had to be logged in to something, you could play but never save without the internet.

FWIW I like steam remembering what I have and all I have to keep is some password, I can loose everything except the password and not really loose anything. Steam even has a backup system in it so you can back everything up to DVD size chunks so you don't have to download it all over again if you wipe your hard drive, just restore your steam backup for all games, or one or two games.

Steam now seems to be a really workable content delivery platform. I even went through and added all my really old half life (one) game keys and it deploys a working and patched version I can use without trouble.

 

[Handruin]

My experience has been very much the same as yours MaxBurn. I didn't like steam much at all in the beginning, but now I like it as a content delivery platform. It's also nice to have a deal of the week with much reduced prices and packages.

I also added my older half life games, but found one thing to be a pain is that they were registered under a different account I had. There is no way to migrate or join accounts which is a bit of a pain.

 

[Handruin]

THQ Complete package for $50 is a killer deal.

 

[Mercutio]

Not if it comes with Steam, it's not.

 

[ddrueding]

Steam is the devil. If you sell your soul (agree to them knowing everything about every game, and requiring their permission to play), then you get cheap games and a convenient delivery package.

I have an account, but I only install it on new systems out of weakness.

 

[Handruin]

It is a killer deal, you just can't get past steam.

 

[Mercutio]

The day I can download a game and utterly divorce it from Steam once I have it, I'll reconsider their offerings. As it stands, it's only about a half step above malware in my opinion.

 

[Handruin]

Steam is the devil. If you sell your soul (agree to them knowing everything about every game, and requiring their permission to play), then you get cheap games and a convenient delivery package.

I have an account, but I only install it on new systems out of weakness.

I haven't sold any soul to them. Is this much different than playing games through an xbox or a Wii that were downloaded? Maybe those are the devil also.

 

[Handruin]

The day I can download a game and utterly divorce it from Steam once I have it, I'll reconsider their offerings. As it stands, it's only about a half step above malware in my opinion.

Calling it a half step above malware is a huge stretch.

 

[ddrueding]

I haven't sold any soul to them. Is this much different than playing games through an xbox or a Wii that were downloaded? Maybe those are the devil also.

Yes, they are. I've never owned a console, but now that they are internet-attached agents of their manufacturers, I certainly won't.

 

[Handruin]

Why does it matter?

 

[Chewy509]

Why does it matter?

http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=93895

I just googled "Why steam sucks" and this link came up...

 

[ddrueding]

How about this? Where do you tell Steam not to use all your bandwidth? There is a drop-down for what speed your internet connection is, but even if you specify 56k, if will use more if you have it.

I understand that it operates at a lower priority, and surfing on that machine won't be affected, but what about surfing on other machines? What about the torrents that I would prefer to have priority?

Sucks.

 

[ddrueding]

Why does it matter?

Look, I installed it as well. I evaluated whether it is worth it, and decided that it is. But that doesn't mean that you aren't giving up more freedom and information and control than you should have to. It doesn't mean that they aren't evil, just as DRMed music (and therefore iTunes and all iPods) is evil, but that doesn't mean that we don't decide to use it anyway.

I can appreciate that some refuse to cross the line, and I appreciate their frustration with those that do, allowing and even encouraging the violations to continue.

Steam isn't malware, but it is invasive DRM. As such, it fits in with:

iTunes
BluRay
Digital Cable
American Cellphone Providers (mainly Verizon)
etc.

These companies are ones that we give money to, but who don't act in our best interest.

/rant

 

[Handruin]

http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=93895

I just googled "Why steam sucks" and this link came up...

Date: 11-23-2004, 10:34 AM

They've come a long way since then.

 

[Handruin]

How about this? Where do you tell Steam not to use all your bandwidth? There is a drop-down for what speed your internet connection is, but even if you specify 56k, if will use more if you have it.

I understand that it operates at a lower priority, and surfing on that machine won't be affected, but what about surfing on other machines? What about the torrents that I would prefer to have priority?

Sucks.

Is it just chewing up bandwidth while downloading a game or all the time for you? You're right, it should adhere to the drop down, I don't know what to say about that being broken (or mislabeled). It might be related more for optimizing latency or something. I know me making an argument to getting a router that prioritizes your traffic isn't going to help my case, but it might help your situation.

 

[Chewy509]

Date: 11-23-2004, 10:34 AM
They've come a long way since then.

Last post in that thread was 11 days ago?

But the google search does highlight a dislike for the service...

 

[Handruin]

Look, I installed it as well. I evaluated whether it is worth it, and decided that it is. But that doesn't mean that you aren't giving up more freedom and information and control than you should have to. It doesn't mean that they aren't evil, just as DRMed music (and therefore iTunes and all iPods) is evil, but that doesn't mean that we don't decide to use it anyway.

How invasive is steam as DRM compared to other standalone games? Steam hasn't jacked my machine like many other standalone games have done in the past. There are some games where you can't even use certain tools or they disable your DVD burner... There have been many that have gone way too far (Spore, Bioshock, pretty much anything using SecureRom). For any modern title, you're likely to find DRM on it anyway, so the argument isn't really strong against steam.

I can appreciate that some refuse to cross the line, and I appreciate their frustration with those that do, allowing and even encouraging the violations to continue.

Steam isn't malware, but it is invasive DRM. As such, it fits in with:

iTunes
BluRay
Digital Cable
American Cellphone Providers (mainly Verizon)
etc.

These companies are ones that we give money to, but who don't act in our best interest.

/rant

Do we simply not play games any more on the PC? The market has shrunk to almost nothing as it stands now. Of all things in life to pick a fight with, I'm not going to let steam stop me from having some fun, especially when the prices have shown potential to be significantly cheaper during sales and cheaper than their xbox or Wii counterparts. If anything I'm supporting the PC gaming industry more than console by keeping my business here. I can either get DRM'ed by owning the CD/DVD (which in many cases limits you to n number of installs and also has to phone home) or download from steam which in some cases doesn't have the same crap in the game.

 

[Handruin]

Last post in that thread was 11 days ago?

But the google search does highlight a dislike for the service...

I know there is a dislike for the steam service; I'm not disagreeing with that. I just don't feel it is as bad as it used to be 5 years ago or really a strong argument to stop people from playing games they might enjoy, especially at a reduced price and a convenient way to obtain it.

 

[Mercutio]

I won't buy anything with SecuROM unless I can kill it somehow, and I won't buy anything on Steam. If I could uninstall Steam and still run a game I purchased, I might feel differently about it, but I'd rather give up gaming than accept the BS that these companies want to force on PC gamers.

 

[MaxBurn]

I just lump it in with all forms of content protection that is stealing freedom and limiting ways you can use stuff. At least steam gives back in the form of lower cost plus support and easy patch delivery.

I screwed up recently too, bought COD Modern Warfare 2 for full price at BBY. Just for the hell of it after getting back remembering this thread I looked on steam and much to my dismay it was listed at about HALF of what I paid retail for it. Near as I can tell it isn't a securerom title either but it does require activation. I really wish I checked online that day, I don't feel the benefit of being separated from steam was worth $30. I have yet to play this yet.


Also got Wolfenstein, on sale retail. Unfortunately it is a securerom title but the no CD crack works fine to eliminate the disk check. Flamethrower isn't quite as entertaining as it was in Return to Castle Wolfenstein screaming Nazi wise but the graphics are fairly nice and the game feels well polished. Nice addition to the series.

 

[ddrueding]

COD:MW2 looks like $60 on steam? Is there a discount somehow?

 

[MaxBurn]

COD:MW2 looks like $60 on steam? Is there a discount somehow?

There was release day.

 

[MaxBurn]

Found on BB spot. Looks to be the killer app for surface:

http://kotaku.com/5428356/dungeons--dragons-for-microsoft-surface-has-come-a-long-way

 

[Chewy509]

In other news: EA has turned off some of their gaming servers...

http://www.playstationuniversity.com/ea-shuts-down-video-game-servers-prematurely-1846/

and

http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=10/01/06/0456202

 

[Mercutio]

Yes but to be fair how many Europeans were playing a NASCAR game?

I'm more excited about the 15-hour add-on to Dragon Age that's coming in the spring.

 

[ddrueding]

I'm back on Team Fortress 2, but Desktop Tower Defense Pro multiplayer is eating all my time.

 

[Chewy509]

Yes but to be fair how many Europeans were playing a NASCAR game?

Admittedly not many. (I can only think of US military personnel stationed in Europe as being a major group that would be affected).

 

[ddrueding]

I was having such a good run in TF2...almost a week without too many fucktards. I can't seem to find anything but tonight.

 

[Mercutio]

UT2004 bot matches = no fuckwads.

 

[Handruin]

Bots are also a mixture of insane accuracy (how did he pick me off from 300 yards away with a pistol) which is infuriating or completely retarded (he's standing right next to me jumping into the wall and shooting). I'll admit that the bots have gotten better over the years in the games I've played, but I still don't enjoy bots at all. I'd rather risk playing against fuckwads or fucktards.

 

[Mercutio]

I like bots. They're better than people. This is an overarching philosophy in my life, actually.

I get a decent challenge in UT2004 on the 4th difficulty setting, meaning that I might not win the match. If I go up one more notch I'm pretty much instant chum on most maps.

I don't know why, but I just don't enjoy UT3 as much.