Steam suxs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sorak]

Originally Posted by mazex

So you mean distributing games on DVD:s is the future? Guess those guys that did music on CD:s in the good ole days said the same thing...

You dont need steam to distribute over the internet. Sure lets make steam a monopoly on how to buy games threw the internet, that will be just great. Each game dev. will have the ability to digital download on their own website.. not all threw steam.. that is the future.

[csThor]

With even more stringent DRM that ties your purchase to the developer/publisher ... Ubisoft's nonsense DRM, anyone? Or that BS about BF3?

Face it - STEAM is relatively harmless compared to other online distribution systems.

[Fjordmonkey]

Originally Posted by sorak

You dont need steam to distribute over the internet. Sure lets make steam a monopoly on how to buy games threw the internet, that will be just great. Each game dev. will have the ability to digital download on their own website.. not all threw steam.. that is the future.

The ability to handle digital downloads is already inherently present in the very structure of the 'Net. But what's NOT handled through the 'net, is the issues of DRM's and making as sure as possible that the product cannot be copied and spread through pirates. Not that you will ever be able to stop pirates (You can't stop the signal, Mal!), but still. And also take into effect the costs involved with securing enough bandwith, having servers that can handle the loads etc, and you have a very good reason as to why solutions such as Steam are something that you will see more and more.

Steam doesn't have a monopoly on content distribution, but it is, by far, the best current solution (Try EA's Origin if you don't believe me. It sucks) available. But why should a game-dev like 1C NOT use Steam, when it currently offers the best solution in terms of both how much money they charge per transaction and how often they pay out to the companies that distribute games through them?

Let's face it: the time when you bought games in the stores are dying, and that holds especially true for flightsims and other niche genres. Or would you rather have to deal with systems as invasive as for example StarForce?

[Verhängnis]

Personally, I would just like to own my copy of the game. Regardless of where I bought it.

[tintifaxl]

Originally Posted by Fjordmonkey

Or would you rather have to deal with systems as invasive as for example StarForce?

I definitely prefer ED's Starforce solution for DCS:A-10C over Steam.

[Korn]

Yeah Starfarce had major issues and lost a lot of clients because of their approach. But now it's really fine, i'm a DRM hater and still can't fault ED for their copyright protection. No hidden processes, no extra apps running all the time, no limited activation (even if you use them you get one every month), no internet access required (except for activation).

I like ED solution and Bohemia Interactive's (FADE + Securom activation i think). I have no problems with entering a serial for online check and then being left to play in peace without twenty thousand apps running in background, patching my games without asking, monitoring my PC activity and god knows what else.

[Les]

A little bit off topic, but can anyone confirm, definitely and without a doubt, that the original DVD version of the sim did not in fact have a copy of the sim on it, just a Steam download link.

I'm asking because I'd like to try installing that original version and then only patching it up to a certain point, and perhaps even trying to mix different parts of different patches together (using the graphics from one and the sound from another for example). This would be for off-line use only.

I never backed up past patched full versions of the game and found I could only roll the patches back so far from the current version before I needed to start adding them to an older full version of the sim.

[Chivas]

Originally Posted by Les

A little bit off topic, but can anyone confirm, definitely and without a doubt, that the original DVD version of the sim did not in fact have a copy of the sim on it, just a Steam download link.

I'm asking because I'd like to try installing that original version and then only patching it up to a certain point, and perhaps even trying to mix different parts of different patches together (using the graphics from one and the sound from another for example). This would be for off-line use only.

I never backed up past patched full versions of the game and found I could only roll the patches back so far from the current version before I needed to start adding them to an older full version of the sim.

I don't know for sure, but I bought the Collectors Edition when it was first released, and it downloaded most of the content from STEAM. I don't think you will be able to find individual patches as they are probably deleted or overwritten with the latest patch.

[FFCW_Urizen]

Originally Posted by Les

A little bit off topic, but can anyone confirm, definitely and without a doubt, that the original DVD version of the sim did not in fact have a copy of the sim on it, just a Steam download link.

I installed it from DVD and there was no dling of files.

[Les]

Thanks Chivas and Urizen. I'd have to see if using the beta patches on the original version of the sim would work, as the official final patches weren't available outside of Steam as far as I know. Probably wouldn't work, but I might give it a try at some point.

Edit - Just saw Blackdog's post about the cumulative, not incremental nature of the patches/updates. So it looks like I could only roll back from a current beta to it's preceding official version, or roll forward from an older official version to the beta that immediately followed it. Still, I do wonder if that applies to individual elements within the beta patches. Not going to hack into anything, but maybe some user accessible stuff can actually be copied back and forth without messing up the core game itself. I don't know.

Ideally, the final non-beta patches would have been provided for download by the developers as well as the beta versions. That way you'd still have to use a legitimate Steam copy as your base, and could just roll backwards and forwards to your hearts content, not having to rely on downloading the whole content from Steam (and only the latest version of it) and saving it every time.