For the first time in last 3 weeks, I open steam to play some HL2DM
(because for some morbid reason I felt the urge to cry over the relics
of a greater age)
when suddenly I notice that the game list is now chock-full of
wonderful games such as zuma and bejeweled (including the freakin
sequel!). Now, I can understand why a game such as
codename:gordon is located on the same list as HL2, CSS and DOD, but
why the hell am I seeing a whole crap load of boring games (get this,
the DEMO VERSIONs) most of us have played before (or at least games
similar to the ones offered - IE Zuma = Puzzle Bobble, Bejewled =
Diamonds, etc etc etc). What the heck do ANY of these have to do with,
well, anything?

Sure, lazy people will have the excuse of no longer having to google
them, but I fail to see any connection between the games offered and
the initial steam games.

So the question is: do you think this is a sign, an evil omen
predicting a dark and twisted future where we'll be buying shoes via
steam and, perhaps, gamble online using the friends network or some sort of good thing (can't think of an example)?

(disclaimer - given my absence and
the fact that today i'm lazyer than ever, I have no idea whether this
has been discussed already or not - sorry if it has)

Uhm... this is the whole point of Steam, to eliminate the middle man. How you didn't expect this to happen boggles my mind.

I like how some older games are showing up on steam now too. I noticed X3 is available through Steam now. (And I'm not talking about X-Men 3)

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Uhm... this is the whole point of Steam, to eliminate the middle
man. How you didn't expect this to happen boggles my mind.

TBH I expected the point of STEAM would be to easily distribute news and
updates about a purchased product (namely HL) and perhaps news
regarding other games belonging to the genre; definitely not a bargain bin for random games.

French Toast said:
Uhm... this is the whole point of Steam, to eliminate the middle man.

not to eliminate; to become. on as large a scale as valve can possibly manage.

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i eat paint

I think their plan was always to try and create a distribution platform for a wide range of games. Obviously things are accelerating significantly now and the games they have on offer are no longer so consistently high profile and high quality, but I think it's quite a nice opportunity for smaller developers to get their products out there without needing big-budget backing from greedy publishers. Not that Valve are putting this content out without taking their own cut, of course :smile:

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[img]http://card.mygamercard.net/sig/Default/reno84.png[/img]
Designer @ Haiku Interactive | ReNo-vation.net

I agree to some extent but they should at least separate the Half-life
related content from the non-related content. In it's current configuration,
the game list lacks organisation and that makes it annoying (at least that's how I find it).

There are ways to access only HL stuff, like browsing only for Valve games or checking out Valve packages.

I welcome the new games. It's nice to see the All Games catalog expanding... I personally like Steam for its auto-patching/downloading/"once you buy it it's yours" mentality, and having more games that you can buy and safely know that they'll always be on your account is cool.

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-- midkay

Steam sucks balls for lans. Non-Online only content will always rule that aspect.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Okay, here's the whole thing. Steam should be for Valve products and assocaoted features.

If I found myself wanting to play some BEJEWLED: First I'd shoot myself in the face, and if that didn't work, I'd go to PopCap...

What do you mean "Once you buy it it's yours?" If that's the case, where is my CDROM to install from? Why can't I install hacks without getting kicked off, even if i don't play online?

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I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
http://www.dimebowl.com

Because AFAIK, third party programs like hacks violate the EULA, so it is within every right of Valve/Steam to ban your account.

But if it's MINE, then why can't I do what i want with it?

Nobody buys a SHIRT and the company tells them they can't cut off the sleeves if they want.

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I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
http://www.dimebowl.com

Erm, did they sign a legal document not allowing them to? Yeah... didn't think so.

But if it's MINE, then why can't I do what i want with it?

Nobody buys a SHIRT and the company tells them they can't cut off the sleeves if they want.

Because it isn't yours.
A shirt isn't an intellectual property that you are licencing for personal use from Fruit of the Loom, it's physical property that you're purchasing from them. Ownership of the shirt changes hands and you can do whatever the hell you want with it after you buy it. When you buy HL2 or any other software you aren't getting the full rights to the software, you're getting a restricted licence for it from the developer for personal use, and since it's a licence there is an "end-use licence agreement" telling you what your rights are within the contract, what you can and can't do. Developing hacks usually involves reverse-engineering the software, which is expressly forbidden in pretty much every EULA I've read (with the exception of GNU licences).

Why can't I install hacks without getting kicked off, even if i don't play online?

What game does that happen on? If you're talking about cheats in HL and HL2 games, you have to join a VAC2-secured server with the hacks running for them to ban you, and then you're only banned from VAC2-secured servers, so you can still play the game offline or on non-secure servers. And since it does violate your contract with Valve, they could outright ban you from Steam if they wanted.

EDIT: And in response to the poll question, I think it's great that Valve is broadening Steam's horizons, but I hope they set up some better categories in the future, like First-Person Shooter, Strategy, Puzzle, etc. Valve is becoming a full-fledged publisher, and Steam is a great way to get to the masses (who have broadband).

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o

What do you mean "Once you buy it it's yours?" If that's the case, where is my CDROM to install from? Why can't I install hacks without getting kicked off, even if i don't play online?

Once you buy it it's associated with your account forever and you can download it online as much as you want - even better than a CDROM because those get scratched, broken, lost...

If you want a CDROM for Valve games, buy retail and once the CD breaks or gets ruined, you'll be damn glad you have the option to download it legitmately, instantly, free.

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-- midkay

I know about EULA, That is how ppl get spyware... by not reading the EULA. But this "Intellectual property" crap is getting out of hand.

Back in the early 80's software on disks could only be installed a specified number of times until the program deleted itself. This was before real hard drives so you could not just copy the disks.

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I tried sniffing coke, but the ice cubes kept getting stuck in my nose.
http://www.dimebowl.com

I don't mind the new games, I hust think Steam's UI needs an overhaul so the games are organized into categories:

-Valve

---HL2

------HL2

------HL2: Lost coast

------E1

------HL2: DM

---CS: S

---DoD: S

---HL1: S

-Valve's Back Catalog

---HL1

---OP4

---Blue Shift

---DoD

---CS

---Riochet

---Classic DM

---TF: Classic

-Ritual

---Sin Episodes:

------E1

---Sin Original

-(New addition to the games)

You get the picture - and these categories can be expanded/condensed

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Posting And You

alternate read

My opinion stays the same from the Sven-Coop post -- I think valve shot themselves in the ass, once again. If I wanted all that s**t, I would have asked for it.

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Breaking the laws of mapping since 2003 and doing a damn fine job at it

G.Ball, how has Valve suffered at all from Steam? I'm actually curious as to your view, because I can't comprehend it.

I also am a fan of not needing CDs. About 20 years after they're made, the data on a CD will become unreadable. I put all my CDs on my computer. All my music I transfer onto my computer, all my games I will keep an image of, so I can mount them with Daemon Tools or burn them with Alcohol 120.

Screw CDs.... Steam is the system of t3h future!!11!

G.Ball, how has Valve suffered at all from Steam?

Did the people in those sven-coop posts seem very pleased with valve?

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Breaking the laws of mapping since 2003 and doing a damn fine job at it

I'll pose the same question to them.

There's a disproportionate number of people complaining about Steam, because the vast amounts of people who either like it or don't have any problems with it don't feel the need to post in internet forums about how they have had no problems with it. The few people who do have problems do feel the need to post about it in internet forums. I fail to see how publishing different games and distributing them via Steam is hurting Valve at all. If anything it's proving that Steam is a valid distribution method.

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o

That new game they have, uplink, kicks ass. I had the retail version before it came out on steam, quite fun.

Valve has quite a good taste, generally. Bejeweled may not be my target group but I find it funny to see puzzle games distributed by a big company like Valve.

I think I like how Steam evolves into a portal, though to be honest, I never buy via the 'net (having a Visa card costs money, which I'm not going to pay if I'll only use it once or twice a year), so yeah...
It's really interesting to see how they evolve from a small game-dev company to a hulk in the industry. I wonder what they'll be in the end... another devouring publisher looking for money, or the company that cares for the little man/developer out there?

And indeed, the Steam GUI needs an overhaul. Some categorization, customizability and such - filtering games by type and stuff, creating categories, bladiabla... after all, everyone likes customization, right? :smile:

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Create-ivity - a game development blog

though to be honest, I never buy via the 'net (having a Visa card costs money, which I'm not going to pay if I'll only use it once or twice a year)

Me neither. I wonder how much money they really make with STeam compared to retail boxes...

I think its about once in every 6 months a pseudo-taboo thread re-surfaces concerning borrowed content.

You know, there really should be a way to search these threads out, then people like NICKELPLATE would know that I and many of my allies already fought this fight.. Tooth and nail and LOST!!!!!

I told'ya Nickel, I agree with you more than you realize, but... You fight so inanely that I cannot join your side in any serious discussion.

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The best things in life, aren't things.

More choice is fine with me. I welcome the addition of new titles regardless of their quality or developers.