STEAM?!?!

Ok, yes, I'm most likely living in the dark ages but I'd like a clarification.
What exactly is Steam? I'm under the impression taht it's used for connecting to internet HL(and HL2 eventually) servers. Is this right?

Being that I've never tried to play on the internet since I have a slow dialup connection (averages 31.2K on a good day) I was under the impression that it just wouldn't be worth it to even try to connect. The lag would make it unplayable. I've only ever played on private lans with friends. Being as I can't even get anything remotely related to high-speed internet in the forseeable future this isn't going to change.

I'm curious as to how this would affect me when HL2 comes out. Does all this even matter to me? Or is this going to affect private lans as well? Based on what I've read, I would be in the "buy it once" crowd and not pay a monthly subscription for something I can't use (Based on the pay-for-play scheme that surfaced a couple of weeks ago).

It's all rather confusing to me and hopefully someone can enlighten me. Thanks.

-Ryandor

This will affect you alot because you have to be connected to the internet just to play either a simgleplayer game or a lan game with steam so it can veryfy (sp?) with the main server

They can't seriously expect every single person that plays to be connected to the internet. So when I want to play the sinlge player game on my laptop on a plane I can't? I really find it hard to believe that they would alienate the player base to this extent, no matter how "money hungry" they may be. I guess the only sure thing is it's still early days and only time will tell how things get played out. Since I don't plan on getting HL2 the day it gets released ("no work=no monay") I'll be able to "watch the drama" as it unfolds.

-Ryandor

I haven't heard anything that says SP must be online... It kinda screws up LAN parties a tad though.

And don't get me started about people that feel the need to use laptops on airplanes. They're called books, people, look into them.

Actually, it was just an example, as it was the first thing I could think of. First, I hardly ever travel and second, it's just too much of a hassle to unpack and setup a laptop in such a cramped space.

Regardless, there's plenty of situations where you'd want to play without having to be connected.

-Ryandor

They're called books, people, look into them.

Pun intended?

Very much so.

i was having problems updating my steam client via steam. or should i say steam was having trouble updating itself?

anyway, the point is, for anyone who has had the same problem, there is a full update (steaminstall_cs.exe) hosted on fileplanet. it's almost 380mb and includes the new cs files as well as the new steam client. and once you have it (burned to disc), you wont need to dl it again when your machine decides to have a stroke.

http://www.fileplanet.com/files/130000/130271.shtml

 

steam is poor, Im glad I dont play on the net.

</A>

rofl

roflmao

Thank god Natural Selection doesn't require Steam... yet...

In about 2 weeks it will cos thats when they are getting rid of wonid's for good.

Well thats if valve keep to the release date which Im betting they wont

Well, and don't hate me now, but steam seems to be working fine for me. I hav'nt bothered trying any of the mods, but playing HL and running my server seems fine. Sure got off to a buggy start though. As for valve alienating 56k'ers, I can't believe this is true. Gabe Newell has stated that the single player will most likely be shipped seperately through the larger retailers, (WalMart, Target, etc.) therefor you can just throw in the disc whenever you want. The option is there to download through steam, but why would any 56k owner do that when they can purchase it outright at the store?. There will also be a single/multi-player version at the retail level, but you will still need steam to access multiplayer. There will then be a super-uber version you can purchase via steam-download which allows for some as of yet unnamed extras and comes with a 10.95 monthly subscription fee. Using this will also get you TF2 when it comes out at no charge, unlimited updates and some other content I guess.

So my point is, Valve, while obviously waaaay behind in the steam readiness state is making corrections, albeit slowly, and 56k users will probably be phased out within a couple of years but not now(It's going to be inevitable that the technology will improve for everyone sooner or later.) You will be able to play HL2 on-line for free, but there will be no free add ons like TF2 and whatever else comes with that monthly fee.

Hey man, I still use my 28.8 when I get the chance. Phased out my ass!. Viva la "dialup!"

KoRnFlakes said:

ROFL, man thats great

heh, steaming pile of sheit..

I made a comic, expressing my feelings...

http://www.snarkpit.com/pits/vash/steam.html

Instead of spending hours updating it.. why dont you just go to FilePlanet, FileShack or some place like that and just download the update you need.. U can Download the HL update, the CS Update and Steam update.. install on your end then just click play.. enter your CD key and waalaa your set.

I have had no problems with steam yet..

($)

28.8K.. what U dont have 10 bucks to goto wal*mart and get a 56K.. come on man..

Vash said:
Kevin Moore, avid gamer and artist,...

cough :biggrin:

I know, i just had to throw that in man!!!

If you actually like my comics you can find more here:

http://www.snarkpit.com/pits/vash/wtf.html

http://www.snarkpit.com/pits/vash/birthday.html

holy shiet, and i thought people with 56k were in da stone-ages...damn dude, i feel for ya

kornflakes...thnx i needed that, funny shiet

I don't actually use the 28.8 for a normal connection or anything- its just sitting in a box that I use for playing ghetto old-skewl games on. And I don't have a floppy drive that is compatable with it, nor an ISA network card, so its the easiest way to transfer schtuff to and from it.

KoRnFlakes said:

its so funny cause its true..

methinks the 'standard' for Australia is 56k that is- phone line.... cable+satelite about $60 Aust. for unlimited download and time... still dont have either - connect to here form school :biggrin:

is the Steam problem like global or just for Windows or what?

is steam absolutely nessecary to play HL+mods online?- i dont use the net to play

For now, WON is still up, so you can still play normally.

Steam is basically replacing the frontend (i.e. the menu shell and such) for Half-Life and to better serve authentication/anti-cheat measures (WON is sort of iffy), not to mention content delivery and instant messanging. In the future, it WILL be required to play HL and HL2 online I believe... Try looking at the FAQ on the Collective for an accurate answer.

I believe Steam will keep you from having a bunch of people play from one copy on a LAN while not connected to the internet. However, you could probably keep a version of HL that is not steam updated and use it for your LAN only diversions; that is if you have the disk space.

I have always wondered, what does WON stand for, anyone know?

World Opponent Network

Found that out cos I had to reinstall hl and on the auto update thingy that is in there has a big banner at the top of it

I believe Steam will keep you from having a bunch of people play from one copy on a LAN while not connected to the internet. However, you could probably keep a version of HL that is not steam updated and use it for your LAN only diversions; that is if you have the disk space.

Heh, I have like 4 full installs of HL as it is, along with about a dozen mods. Disk space? I actually thought I'd run out by now, but I've still got about 75GB out of my 300GB free.

When the time comes, finding a way to play a LAN game without being connected to the internet will be easy, I'm sure. People (including me) will not tolerate it otherwise.

-Ryandor

Looked into pre-ordering HL2 thru BestBuy.

They said the release date was set for Feb 2004...

maybe by then they'll have Steam working?

so what happened to Sept 30?   Maybe Valve's thinking that if ya purchase HL2 thru Steam on Sept 30, maybe by Feb of 2004 the whole thing will be downloaded

Doc m8, dont trust retailers release dates. They get changed to several dates all the time because of confusion.

Ive had hl2 pre-ordered for a while via game.net & theyve changed from spt30th to november to "to be confirmed"

They just dont know tbh m8 & with the whole shipping of 3 SKU schemes id worry about pre-ordering now m8. You may end up buying the single player only option & be disheartened.

I hate valve so much right now...

• They are Releasing THREE different verision of HL2
• They are using Steam instead of WON

I mean, WTF?! Why release three? Newell stated it`ll go like this:"There will be 1 version that only has singleplayer, 1 version with Singleplayer and Multiplayer, and then theres That other thing, with bounus stuff"

Wow, wtf did idiots pop into valve and start calling the shots?

Vash said:
I hate valve so much right now...

• They are Releasing THREE different verision of HL2
• They are using Steam instead of WON

Er, those are Good Things, excluding the fact that currently Steam is supposedly a load of cack.

Vash said:
I hate valve so much right now...

• They are Releasing THREE different verision of HL2
• They are using Steam instead of WON

I mean, WTF?! Why release three? Newell stated it`ll go like this:"There will be 1 version that only has singleplayer, 1 version with Singleplayer and Multiplayer, and then theres That other thing, with bounus stuff"

Wow, wtf did idiots pop into valve and start calling the shots?

1) Each version is marketed toward a different demographic. It's a pretty good idea actually; it will increase the appeal of Half-Life 2.

2) WON sucks. I never liked it to begin with, but was forced to use it with Half-Life anyways. There's nothing wrong with Steam except some instability in the client and lack of content servers.

I always hated steam, because of the beta -_-... Ima try it in a few days, maybe it`ll be better

If steam takes away my ability to use HLSW I don't think I'll be playing anymore. Mapping still, but won't play.

Campaignjunkie said:
For now, WON is still up, so you can still play normally.

Steam is basically replacing the frontend (i.e. the menu shell and such) for Half-Life and to better serve authentication/anti-cheat measures (WON is sort of iffy), not to mention content delivery and instant messanging. In the future, it WILL be required to play HL and HL2 online I believe... Try looking at the FAQ on the Collective for an accurate answer.

k. i had chat with a mate here in perth - he plays CS nightly almost - he says that steam isnt up yet over here. rekons that since steams been released, worldwide sever count has gone from about 44000 to about 20000... yes this is at the same time of day (midnight over here)

Cash Car Star said:
I believe Steam will keep you from having a bunch of people play from one copy on a LAN while not connected to the internet.

so valve is actually tryin to do something good. despite steams' reputation? (  becomes :crash: )

There supposed to be releasing some installers which include the cache files for DoD, TFC and Dedicated server today but if it happens I will be a little suprised.

They will prolly be released in 2-3 days

well there out all 7 of the new installers head over to phl for the links thats if you want them of course

Do I have to be connected to the Internet when I play Steam games?

The short answer is yes.

All Steam-enabled games require you to be connected to the Internet in order to play.

Note: some Steam-enabled single-player games (such as Half-Life 2) purchased at a retail store will allow offline play until the user decides to play online or enable other Steam functionality. From that point on, an Internet connection will be required.

Just posting this to make something clear (if it hasn't been cleared up already). A couple of people misunderstood and thought they needed to be online to play single-player aswell, from this answer in the Steam FAQ, the answer is no to single-player.

 Excellent!

Seen it before, but it's still damn funny :biggrin: