Half-Life 2 Now Episodic

[baronofhell]

I purchased Half life 2 a couple of months after it came out, and I have had ABSOLUTELY no problems with it. Just my two cents.

[Enjay]

Goat said:

right now steam is taking up 8 megs of ram. i just created a quick CSS server, and played around a bit then quit. steam is now taking up 14 megs of ram. if thats causing you grief, you probably oughta upgrade.

Hardly a problem for me, but 14 meg for a little applet to verify your game and advertise Valve products at you? Fucking ridiculous! It shouldn't be running anyway. How much RAM do the little spy programs from other game companies take up? Oh, that's right... None because they don't use them.

if bandwidth is your concern, you can tell it not to update your games..

Well that wasn't an option, or at least not transparently so when I installed HL2, Steam just went online and fucked around for an hour to enable and update a game I already had installed on my HD.

and not having hard copies of games is convenient for me. i dont have to worry about cd keys, or the cds themselves. if i format and reload my pc (rare), download steam put in my username and pw, and whammo, im downloadin the games.

And that's more convenient than "whammo, I'm installing from disc" how? I like my hard copies. I have them. They're mine. They're in my house. Whenever I need them, I can pick them up and slam them in the drive. I don't need to go online. I don't need to worry about if the Steam server is up, congested or any of the other vagaries of the internet. No sign-ins no registering, no nothing.

steam has never ever crashed on me and if i dont want it to run, right click, close.

It never crashed for me either, that's about the only positive thing I can say about it. If I don't want it to run I just "right click, close"? What about if I don't want it running at all? Why should I want it running? Why do I need an extra program to allow me to play a game I bought on DVD?

its not like its some kind of malware.

I disagree entirely. It's one of the most mal bits of 'ware I've had on my machine.

advertisements: ive never seen an ad on steam besides the update news thing that says "hey we're releasing new models for the terrorists soon, keep an eye out!" or "hey heres a new game comin out based on source yadda yadda".

Sounds like adverts to me. Their not doing it for the good of humanity. They're pimping their stuff. Tell me how that's any different to a company specific popup or targeted advertising.

the system information gathering thing is totally optional too, but who cares if they know what my system specs are

Optional, but not immediately apparent - and I care.

[AndrewB]

Goat said:

right now steam is taking up 8 megs of ram. i just created a quick CSS server, and played around a bit then quit. steam is now taking up 14 megs of ram. if thats causing you grief, you probably oughta upgrade.

I don't know what exactly Steam is supposed to do, but you'd think that an online content delivery program should only be running when you're actually using it for something.

Unnecessary background programs are always bad, mainly because they take CPU time; memory is a secondary concern.

[Goat]

AndrewB said:

I don't know what exactly Steam is supposed to do, but you'd think that an online content delivery program should only be running when you're actually using it for something.

Unnecessary background programs are always bad, mainly because they take CPU time; memory is a secondary concern.

its not a background process, it is only on when steam is on, running in the tray. it can be closed and opened at will.


and enjay, you sound like a hard person to please. im happy with steam

cant please 100% of the people 100% of the time

[Enjay]

Goat said:

its not a background process, it is only on when steam is on, running in the tray. it can be closed and opened at will.

Well, given that it installed itself to be run at startup and stay in the system tray all the time by default doing whatever it does, I'd call it a background process.

Goat said:

and enjay, you sound like a hard person to please. im happy with steam

Me? Hard to please? Nah! They could have pleased me by not bundling Steam with Half Life and allowing me to install and run the game directly from the disks I bought in a shop without having to get involved in any of the Steam nonsense - just like most of the other games I own. So them not doing stuff would have pleased me. How easy can it be? ;)

[Sharessa]

Just for the record, I agree with everythign Enjay said PLUS the fact that Steam raped the shit out of my internet connection so much that while it was installed I could not only NOT play any games over Steam but I could also not even browse the internet for more than 5 minutes at a time. I didn't even have to have it RUNNING for this to happen. I'm not making this up either, because this has happened to other people I've talked to. Oh, and it crashed on me too.

Just because the program has worked for you doesn't mean it works for everyone, and it doesn't mean you have the right to slap dissenters around with your ePenis of fanboyism +1 either.

[Mivalekan]

You people must have shitty computers or something because STEAM hasn't given me any problems since I installed it (2 years ago).

[Bucket]

Well then, you must have downloaded the Take Your Computer Hostage Edition. It has features such as working horribly with machines that barely pass minimum requirements, disabled "Exit Steam" and "Don't Load Steam During Startup" commands... and is ultimately useless to people who seek no enjoyment out of the story, the auto-update feature or the wealth of mods in development.

[Sharessa]

Mivalekan said:

You people must have shitty computers or something because STEAM hasn't given me any problems since I installed it (2 years ago).

Sure, my computer is old but it's more than adequate for playing *HALF-LIFE* on which was all I wanted to play. But now I can't even do that.

[Graf Zahl]

Goat said:

i cant imagine what makes people dislike steam. what kind of fucked up shits going on with your PC to make steam mess up, cuz it works wonderfully on my pc and i really wish more companies would use an online delivery system.

You are an ignorant fool.

I really don't care that you so willingly let others take over your computer. But then don't complain when in 5 or 10 years you have to pay for each time Windows starts. Because that's where this will end up if not stopped now.

It's sad how many supposedly intelligent people are totally ignorant of the danger that lies beneath the surface of this Steaming pile of shit! Systems like Steam are the greatest danger computer users will be facing for the future.

Furthermore, HL2's license which explicitly prohibits any transfer by sale or other means is simply unacceptable. Altogether it means that there is no way I could buy it.

[Bucket]

Sssh!! Not so loud! They'll hear you!

...
Whew.

[Vegeta]

Goat said:

TOO MUCH SHIT!

You kid are the kind of mindless consumer responsible of the bad routes that gaming companies are taking. Of course you'll not accept this, that only proves my position.

Edit: And don't blame Enjay, it's a good thing to be hard to please (something that you obviously aren't).

[Goat]

you all have fun with your conspiracy theories and big brother fear mongering. ill be over here playing half life 2 not having any problem with steam cuz it conveniently updated my games. k bai

[Snarboo]

Steam is more a DRM than Content Delivery platform. DRM isn't just a theory anymore, it's a fact, and for some companies, the future. Sony BMG anyone?

[Vegeta]

Goat said:

ill be over here playing half life 2 not having any problem with steam cuz it conveniently updated my games. k bai

IT updates you'r games? I think that's something that the user must choose, if you never found yourself with a newer version of X utility or game and miss the previews because it was better for you, then you just prove that my theory about you being a mindless consumer is correct.

And about the "conspiracy", not allways these "theories" are right, but not even considering them it's another point that proves my theory.

[Udderdude]

No, Steam is not a gateway to having your computer totally locked down and under "their" control. Valve isn't going to be able to push anything on you that you don't want.

You're thinking of trusted computing, which involves locks at the hardware level and is very difficult to bypass.

Also, anyone who has problems running Steam on their PC needs to 1. Upgrade, 2. Run Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D.

[Enjay]

Goat said:

cuz it conveniently updated my games. k bai

What, and you couldn't have managed to click a more traditional "check for updates" button in a launcher or something and been updated that way?

Again: Any of the supposed advantages that Steam brings can already be done by another and equally (if not more) convenient method that doesn't require a program to be constantly running in the background whilst you play or, worse, by default running ALL the time just in case you need an emergency bulletin about an essential new Valve product.

So, the customer gets no advantages from Steam that can't be done by other methods. So who benefits? The people advertising at you, getting information about your machine and its use and, yes, using it as a DRM tool. Steam is for Valve, not the customer. The customer does not need it, Valve does. None of that is conspiracy theory stuff: it's what Steam does.

It's main reason to exist is as a DRM application. Everything else is the sugar coating on the bitter pill. However, it's a pretty artificial sweetener. The conspiracy theory starts coming in when you think about where it will lead and, frankly, it's not really a wild, ill considered theory: it's logical and very likely. It's what the big publishers want. They have stated as much. Note: it's them that want it, to suit their ends - not yours.

[Enjay]

udderdude said:

Valve isn't going to be able to push anything on you that you don't want.

I don't want Steam - they pushed that on me. I want to install HL2 from my disks and run HL2 without steam running or even being on my machine. There is no reason a set of disks with the full game needs Steam. I don't want their news, I don't want their updates, I don't want their presence. I want a self contained game with no additional applications tied to it that I have to run just to enable the game.

[Sharessa]

Enjay said:

I don't want Steam - they pushed that on me. I want to install HL2 from my disks and run HL2 without steam running or even being on my machine. There is no reason a set of disks with the full game needs Steam. I don't want their news, I don't want their updates, I don't want their presence. I want a self contained game with no additional applications tied to it that I have to run just to enable the game.

Amen.
I got Half-Life 7 years ago. My computer back then was more than adequate to run it and my current computer is even better. The box said it had multiplayer. Now suddenly Valve is teling me "you can't play this game multiplayer or update it anymore unless you download this program here which will run ads on your computer and won't run unless your computer is up to our *unspecified* specifications." Yeah, thanks. That's exactly why I spend my god damn money on it!

[Snarboo]

Have you ever tried WON2 by the Steamless Counter-Strike Team, Danarchy? It allows you to play online without Steam by changing the server list. I think you have to install a small patch for it to work.

[ellmo]

Mivalekan said:

You people must have shitty computers or something because STEAM hasn't given me any problems since I installed it (2 years ago).

Wow.

It's rather a matter of being spied on. Whatever they call this program. I also have absolutely no problem running Steam, but when I get back to Half Life 2 after a few weeks, and it sucks upgrades for 40 minutes, and then upgrades... that's where I draw the line. They're controlling my entertainment, that's how I understand it. And those cheap talks about doing it for security and against software piracy don't really convince me. I could get a 500mb Half Life from eMule if I really wanted to.
A friend of mine has finished the game before it hit stroes in Poland. That's how Steam can fight against piracy.

[Goat]

well if you dont want to use steam because youre afraid of getting spied on, you can either a. crack hl2 to run without steam, or b. not play hl2. i didnt purchase the game at a store, i bought it THROUGH steam, but im pretty sure that on the box it says so-and-so about steam as a necessity to play the game. if you dont agree to that, you shouldnt have bought it. if it DOESNT tell you about steam beforehand, then maybe you should take it up with them. but im pretty sure, legally, they have to notify you

[Graf Zahl]

In Germany they have to - but they didn't! The only thing on the sales package hinting at something nasty was that they said, it required an online connection. It took a court order to make them put additional stickers on the package - but even then half of their clauses are illegal according to current copyright laws here.

[Enjay]

The only clue on my DVD sleeve is a small panel near the bottom amongst the other system requirements. It says:

Other: Internet Connection. DVD-ROM Drive.

And plenty of games with an online multi-player component will list internet connection as a requirement. (In fact, the packaging makes quite a big thing about Counterstrike Source being on the disk - so it would be reasonable to assume that's what it's needed for). There is no other hint about Steam or the fact that to get the "stand-alone" game working on your own HD, you will need to go online and suffer at the clumsy hands of Steam. In fact, I simply cannot see the word Steam on the packaging at all. It's not even in the tiny small print telling me about all the various other names, trade marks and copyrights.

From the packaging, there is no reasonable reason to suspect the game shouldn't work just like any other game: take it home, install it, play it. That's all I wanted to do. Apparently that was too much to ask.

I feel sorry for the people who have no internet connection but who want to play the game: or perhaps just install it on a machine with no convenient connection a lot of the time. And what about the people on a modem? My DSL connection was connected to Steam for an hour after I installed. An hour! I just wanted to install the game and play. I did not need it to do whatever it was doing. What about a 56K? No hint on the packaging about the wait they would undoubtedly have. We're talking hours here!


[edit]I just checked my HL1 box. Under minimum requirements it lists (admittedly under multi-player requirements):

32 bit internet service provider with 28.8+ modem or local area network

So, the old HL has more info about online requirements than HL2, despite the fact HL2 cannot run without an online connection and HL1 can.[/edit]

[Szymanski]

^^ You can prevent it running at startup, just uncheck the box. The only part of steam I dislike is the unnescessary map updates which break demo compatibility.

Regarding episodic content i'm going to pass for now. I'd much rather have a finished product, the first sin episode will be released as-is with HDR patched in later.

[Enjay]

Szymanski said:

You can prevent it running at startup, just uncheck the box.

I know, I did. But why would I need a useless advertising tool like that starting up automatically every time I boot anyway? It shouldn't be running on startup as a default. From what I remember, when you quit HL2, steam stays running - but I could be wrong there.

Again, however, the point is, I don't want it. It adds nothing I need and gets in the way. It delayed me playing HL2 by an hour the first time I played and I didn't want any of the news and updates it tried to give me. I just want to play the game I bought without letting Valve into my house.

[Bloodshedder]

I understand the backlash against Steam. But saying that publishers want everything converted to online content delivery is very questionable. Vivendi Universal certainly didn't want Valve distributing their games without the need for Vivendi, as they were the ones who printed the media, stamped the CDs/DVDs, and distributed the boxes to stores. Bypassing the physical publisher is only beneficial for the game developers that are not big enough to publish traditionally (they can then become their own publishers, online), and the traditional publishers (VU, Activision, EA, etc.) will lose out if they can't make any money on physical distribution. I suspect this is why online content delivery services haven't made a bigger mark than they have already.

Now, if the traditional publishers can capitalize on online distribution and not solely rely on physical publishing, a bigger explosion is likely to happen in the online content delivery market.

[Sharessa]

Seeing that screenshot reminds me of another gripe I had with Steam: the damn ad windows were like twice as big as my screen. What kind of godawful resolution did they expect us to be playing in?

[Captain Red]

Snarboo said:
Have you ever tried WON2 by the Steamless Counter-Strike Team, Danarchy? It allows you to play online without Steam by changing the server list. I think you have to install a small patch for it to work.

Oh! thankyou!

too bad there's not one for half life 2

[pilottobombadier]

Graf Zahl said:

In Germany they have to - but they didn't! The only thing on the sales package hinting at something nasty was that they said, it required an online connection. It took a court order to make them put additional stickers on the package - but even then half of their clauses are illegal according to current copyright laws here.

They do, but, iirc the only place where tehy have to put that is the EULA, which is on teh disc, not inside the box. For instance, when SONY did their own little malware campaign a few months back with their music, if they had included an EULA, I don't even think a law suit could have occurred. Well, except maybe in Canada and Europe.

But, because computer software is such grey area that, as long as there's one warning SOMEWHERE, but not necessarily on the box, jsut somewhere in the packaging, it's all good. The irony is, once that box is opened, that's it; you can't take it back.