Should I get steam?

[ＤΞＬＴΛ]

Should I? because I really want to play the likes of ultrakill and dusk... Yes or no?

[Murdoch]

21 minutes ago, DELTA256 said:

Should I? because I really want to play the likes of ultrakill and dusk... Yes or no?

 

Honestly, I find your question more than a little confusing. Why would you not want to get Steam? It's literally the number one place for PC games, games that in the vast majority of cases you cannot acquire elsewhere. As long as your computer is not a completely ancient piece of crap, it's impact on system resources will be minimal. Pretty much everyone here will have been using it for years, if not over a decade, without significant issue.

 

Even if you are worried about performance, the platform is free. Download it, install it, and see if it works OK. Simple.

[ＤΞＬＴΛ]

2 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

the platform is free. Download it, install it, and see if it works OK. Simple.

I mean I guess so... I could probably use it to promote any gzdoom powered game that I might create in the future... If I do...

[Jello]

I've been using it for 18 years, and I've never found a reason not to use. I mean, it's fine, and I've found plenty of games I probably wouldn't have played otherwise. And there's regular sales.  

 

I realize the argument that "You don't actually own the games, it's all DIGITAL! THEY CAN TAKE YOUR GAMES AWAY!" has been around since it first started, but I've never experienced that. You can download games for off-line play, and even if a game is de-listed, you can still install and play it. I was wary of a digital store back in 2004 when it first launched, but I can honestly say I've never had any issues with Steam.

[ＤΞＬＴΛ]

2 hours ago, Jello said:

You can download games for off-line play, and even if a game is de-listed, you can still install and play it.

So what you're telling me: is that I can play the games using steam or alternatively download said games from the steam library and play them offline without using steam?

[Murdoch]

38 minutes ago, DELTA256 said:

So what you're telling me: is that I can play the games using steam or alternatively download said games from the steam library and play them offline without using steam?

 

You often still need steam running in the background but yes it will fully work offline.

[Chezza]

It's like this thread fell in a time anomaly from the early 2000s and appeared in 2023.

[ＤΞＬＴΛ]

3 hours ago, Murdoch said:

You often still need steam running in the background but yes it will fully work offline.

Seems like a little dealbreaker if you ask me.

 

18 minutes ago, Chezza said:

It's like this thread fell in a time anomaly from the early 2000s and appeared in 2023.

AHHHHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA love that one...

[7Mahonin]

Yes you should if you intend on playing games on PC that require Steam. If you don’t like Steam it is still worth having for the sales and titles not available elsewhere. You can play mostly all Steam games without having to navigate Steam whatsoever, so you’ll only need to use Steam specifically for the store, installing your games, and for chat. It took me a while to warm up to steam when it first came out because before then all of my PC gaming experiences had been physical media before PC game discs were just glorified product keys. So at the time I thought why do we need this if we can install from the disc, but at this point it’s been so many years that I’ve just become accustomed to Steam and don’t care anymore. 

[HeatedChocolate]

tbf the only con of Steam is showing people how much time I waste on games. I don't need my friends knowing that almost 900 hours of my precious limited time on this wet sphere has been spent playing a crummy halfway-decent battlefield 2 knockoff with ragdoll physics.

[MemeMind]

29 minutes ago, HeatedChocolate said:

tbf the only con of Steam is showing people how much time I waste on games. I don't need my friends knowing that almost 900 hours of my precious limited time on this wet sphere has been spent playing a crummy halfway-decent battlefield 2 knockoff with ragdoll physics.

Ravenfield?  

[HeatedChocolate]

Yep

[Shawny]

Those 2 games specifically you can buy from GOG, which have OPTIONAL client (for automatic updates and achievements),  but you can just
buy games, download the install files and play games completely offline.

Since, MOST of the games there (besides some of the AAA games like hitman etc.), are not tied to any launcher or server, you can easily
preserve games you buy there.

But yeah, steam is a long, long time digital distribution platfrom and you gonna have to get it eventually, most likely, anyway.

[Mr Masker]

I feel like even if you prefer stuff like GOG, I'd still recommend getting Steam for those games mainly on Steam. It's usually one of the first downloads for most people playing games on PC.

[Aaron Blain]

Steam is highly intrusive and causes many headaches by refusing to let me control the software on my system, so I always try GOG first. But Steam's library is gigantic and the sales are incredible, so I do enjoy it.

 

I've also had a Steam Deck for a few months and I'm absolutely thrilled with it. Though, admittedly, most of my playtime is on sideloaded non-Steam games.

[Bucket]

Steam is relatively lean as gaming ecosystems go. It uses less resources than a browser with one tab open. It works offline (even if many games don't). You'll never pay full price for a game again. As others have mentioned, GOG is an even better alternative in terms of unobtrusiveness though you'll still come across games that phone home (they usually get shellacked in the reviews). Another good marketplace is itch.io though they're almost exclusively indie games.

 

I have a Steam Deck and it's amazing. It covers what I call the Boomer Experience: like any Linux machine, it manages basic usage very well but the second you widen your scope, you spend more time tinkering than using it.

[RestlessRodent]

I personally prefer the Steam Deck since it is an all in one game device, there is no need to have Steam installed on my computer anymore when I can just use that. It does play games well and offers much customization in controls, so it adapts well to many games including ones such as Starcraft.

[SilverMiner]

17 hours ago, DELTA256 said:

Should I? because I really want to play the likes of ultrakill and dusk... Yes or no?

No

[Obsidian Plague]

i'd recommend it anyway, it'll have more games you'll probably want aside from those two

 

besides...what the hell were you doing without steam in the first place, what year are you in, 2006? lol

[Murdoch]

18 hours ago, DELTA256 said:

I mean I guess so... I could probably use it to promote any gzdoom powered game that I might create in the future... If I do...

 

You still have not actually answered my question.

 

Why, precisely, are you so reticent to do it when literally millions of PC gamers use it with relatively few issues?

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

Epic gamers install EPIC Launcher instead. I love browsing the EPIC Store while waiting for my EA App and Ubisoft games to download. EPIC Launcher gives me free games all the time even though I would have pirated them anyway. I couldn't ask for more from my bloatware game launcher. Hurry up and pick a side so I know whether or not to kill you.

[Herr Dethnout]

20 hours ago, Murdoch said:

Why would you not want to get Steam?

Well, there are people who doesn't like DRM or the fact that the games you buy on steam are no yours (IMHO pretty stupid argument since it's obvious that Valve can't guarantee that on a online service lol). In that case people like to use GOG due being mostly DRM Free and no need of launchers (there's one but its optional).

 

21 hours ago, DELTA256 said:

Should I? because I really want to play the likes of ultrakill and dusk... Yes or no?

There's no real reason (aside DRM, although some old games are DRM free on steam) to not use Steam nowdays. The major advantage is not just a digital store, is also a Social Media platform, you can find a lot of cool stuff in the community, and sell shit on the marketplace so you can have more money to expend into more games, in a infinite loop cycle.

Yeah, Steam is cool.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Herr Dethnout

[Azuris]

16 hours ago, Jello said:

I've been using it for 18 years, and I've never found a reason not to use. I mean, it's fine, and I've found plenty of games I probably wouldn't have played otherwise. And there's regular sales.  

 

I realize the argument that "You don't actually own the games, it's all DIGITAL! THEY CAN TAKE YOUR GAMES AWAY!" has been around since it first started, but I've never experienced that. You can download games for off-line play, and even if a game is de-listed, you can still install and play it. I was wary of a digital store back in 2004 when it first launched, but I can honestly say I've never had any issues with Steam.

 

Steam is actually very Customer Friendly.
DRM is dependend on the Publisher, i've learned it when i moved many Years ago and i started some Games directly from the Executable, Psychonauts was one of the Games i remember.
It also makes much effort to let us play on Linux, yes, it is also their own Goal to be more independend from Microsoft, but thats ok if it serves us also.
Also Features as inhome Streaming are very nice, or "simple" Stuff as Steam Workshop or Steam VR.
 

19 hours ago, DELTA256 said:

Should I? because I really want to play the likes of ultrakill and dusk... Yes or no?

 

You could also try Gog.

https://www.gog.com/de/game/dusk

 

https://www.gog.com/de/game/ultrakill

 

You don't need the Launcher to download and install the Games, you can go on the Website under Games to the Game and Download it.
No DRM or else, keep the Game where you want.

[Edward850]

This thread feels like a question for the sake of it being a question. You could have just downloaded the client yourself and tried it out, and there's a number of free to play games and demos you can try on the service without needing to buy anything.

[Murdoch]

1 hour ago, Herr Dethnout said:

Well, there are people who doesn't like DRM

 

With the exception of games that also add something horrible like Denuvo or whatever it was, is Steam's base DRM really that bad? I can install each game I own on as many computers as I care to. Seems pretty reasonable to me though perhaps I am missing something. All I know is Steam has never once impeded me from using any of the games I have purchased in the manner I want to.

 

1 hour ago, Herr Dethnout said:

you buy on steam are no yours

 

No game is ever "yours". You are buying a right to use it. You don't legally own the game's resources or code to do with as you please. You can also make your own backups of the installation files and play and restore them purely offline assuming the game itself has no forced online mode. So yes, I agree this is a pretty stupid argument.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

28 minutes ago, Edward850 said:

This thread feels like a question for the sake of it being a question. You could have just downloaded the client yourself and tried it out, and there's a number of free to play games and demos you can try on the service without needing to buy anything.

He couldn't even put in enough effort to explain why he is reluctant to use Steam, let alone try it. In the time that passed between his first and last post in this thread, he could have already tested every major feature available.

[Edward850]

22 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

is Steam's base DRM really that bad?

For reference to this question, Steam's DRM is simply signed executables that the client authenticates. This too is only relevant if the developer chooses, there's a good number of games that don't and just have a plain executable that inits the SteamAPI (if that). In fact on that page itself, Valve recommends you use online features such as multiplayer to enhance security (i.e things you actually use, instead of just arbitrary protection). 

[Bucket]

I've had Steam on a few machines that stayed offline for various reasons. Never got nagged to check in to their servers, far as I can remember.

[Herr Dethnout]

30 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

With the exception of games that also add something horrible like Denuvo or whatever it was, is Steam's base DRM really that bad? I can install each game I own on as many computers as I care to. Seems pretty reasonable to me though perhaps I am missing something. All I know is Steam has never once impeded me from using any of the games I have purchased in the manner I want to.

Personally, I didn't find anything bad on Steam's DRM, actually it seem the less intrusive DRM i've ever seen. The only downside of steam it that doesn't record my achievements offline like before. lol
 

32 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

No game is ever "yours". You are buying a right to use it. You don't legally own the game's resources or code to do with as you please. You can also make your own backups of the installation files and play and restore them purely offline assuming the game itself has no forced online mode. So yes, I agree this is a pretty stupid argument.

I mean, "yours" in the sense of having a game copy (Something that even GOG can't guarantee). Technically, all steam games are "rented" and they can removing of you library if they want (I've never see this, even games that were removed from steam like Digital Homicide shit, they give it the option to remove it from your library lol). But, I agree that you can simply making a backup of the files and problem solved lol
 

1 hour ago, Azuris said:

You could also try Gog.

Off topic but I really hate the fact that GOG doesn't have the page in Spanish... The entire Witcher trilogy is in spanish, but no his own Store? wtf

Also, why GOG Galaxy is not in Linux, even it has a MacOS version?! (Not a Linux user yet, but I plan to be one in the near future).

[rzh]

Buy on GOG when you can, buy on Steam when you can't is my rule.

Be sure to read reviews on both sites first, some older games simply refuse to work properly if bought from Steam (unless you do some research and find fan fixes or whatever), newer games bought on GOG might be behind in patches, DLC and so on with no update to come in the future.

Some games are completely messed up on both platforms, some in a broken unplayable way and some in a really, really weird way, like Disciples 2 (the only way to get the full Disciples 2 package is to buy the game on both platforms and merge content together from both versions based on a Russian guy's instructions; said Russian guy does not speak an iota of English and solely relies on Google translate; apparently the GOG version is the most up-to-date one, but missing some content and the Steam version is an older version that's missing some other content, but both versions give you the full content + up-to-date executable; I wish I was making this up).