Steam.. are they dropping the ball?

What? Are you installing with Steam or off the DVD?

If it's off the DVD, then you have something obviously wrong with your optical drive.

If it's from online, try changing you area region and restart Steam to attempt to download from maybe a less congested node. Or check your network setup.

Tons of people here have installed and playing it just fine. Just because unfortunately the 2% that gets shafted due to whatever uncontrollable element, just suck it up.

I can't even say if I'm part of that other 98%. I've just only downloaded here on campus; I don't even have internet in my apartment, and god knows what complications I could run in to in attempting to play the game with my rig (see sig). Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
 
This is the error i got when i tried to download from the closest Canadian server near me ( Toronto Canada), or if i tried any other close American server.
http://imgur.com/deEhJ.jpg

Basically i had to pick a European server, just so the game would start downloading.
Now its finnally downloading at a pathetic couple hundred kB/s that is going to make this take all night.

I just hope that selecting an non-english European country as download location, wont mean that my downloaded game will not be in english.
That would be really stupid, but hey this whole release has been a bad experience so you never know it could get worse.
 
interested said:
This is the error i got when i tried to download from the closest Canadian server near me ( Toronto Canada), or if i tried any other close American server.
http://imgur.com/deEhJ.jpg

Basically i had to pick a European server, just so the game would start downloading.
Now its finnally downloading at a pathetic couple hundred kB/s that is going to make this take all night.

I just hope that selecting an non-english European country as download location, wont mean that my downloaded game will not be in english.
That would be really stupid, but hey this whole release has been a bad experience so you never know it could get worse.
Click to expand...

dude, everyone will be hammering the servers, its a highly anticipated release!
 
interested said:
This is the error i got when i tried to download from the closest Canadian server near me ( Toronto Canada), or if i tried any other close American server.
http://imgur.com/deEhJ.jpg

Basically i had to pick a European server, just so the game would start downloading.
Now its finnally downloading at a pathetic couple hundred kB/s that is going to make this take all night.

I just hope that selecting an non-english European country as download location, wont mean that my downloaded game will not be in english.
That would be really stupid, but hey this whole release has been a bad experience so you never know it could get worse.
Click to expand...

The language is based on what your Steam language is, not the server you download from.
 
It took 4 1/2 hrs to install SupCom 2

I could have built at least 2 computers from scratch and loaded everything onto them in that amount of time.

So I am supposed to be happy and gleeful about this?
 
Lou Cypher said:
It took 4 1/2 hrs to install SupCom 2

I could have built at least 2 computers from scratch and loaded everything onto them in that amount of time.

So I am supposed to be happy and gleeful about this?
Click to expand...

You've asked us twice. We're not you. Are you? I am. I haven't even played it. It's just the luck of the ball, buddy. Some people get blazing download speeds; some don't from Steam.

I'll give you an example. For some odd reason (as I'm redownloading all my games from Steam from here on campus), most games were downloading at my max bandwidth. However, for some odd reason, The Witcher would NOT go above 350KB/sec. Nothing I could do to get that b*****d of a game to download any faster.

Can't really tell you anymore, buddy.
 
I am off in 15 minutes.... My girl started downloading the game around 3:30 PM for me :)

I am hoping it is done when I get home. If not, I am going to MURDER MY DOGS AND MYSELF!!!!!!

/sarcrasm

On a serious note.... if it doesn't work, oh well I will be bummed but I am not going to jump on the steam forumns and post a thread about how shitty its service is. I love Steam and i KNOW they will work out the Kinks.

I will be patiently waiting, playing something else, until it is fixed.

People need to RELAX!
 
I bought a retail copy from a brick and mortar store, I am in physical possession of an install disk.

It took 4 1/2 hrs to install.

I am happy now that it is done. (insert dancing bananas here)
 
I can confirm something is up with steam - I bought Supreme Commander 2 at walmart and somehow steam is tied into it and screwing it up so bad I can't even install the game and play single player. I didn't buy the game so I could watch steam screw things up, I bought it so I could install it on my home computer after work because I know steam tends to screw these things up and now I'm pissed because they managed to still infect my shit.

Ready to play in approx. 7 fucking hours.

a;dlskjfa;lkjsdfal;sjkdfasklj;df
 
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Lou Cypher said:
I bought a retail copy from a brick and mortar store, I am in physical possession of an install disk.

It took 4 1/2 hrs to install.

I am happy now that it is done. (insert dancing bananas here)
Click to expand...

What the barblegarble are you even saying?
 
/baffled at the problems people here have had with Steam.

Maybe I'm lucky? In any case, screw physical copies, waste of space.
 
Zinn said:
Honestly I think those are both pretty minor gripes. As a PC gamer I am obligated to be outraged at the very slightest thing I find annoying, but these issues don''t even register on my boycott-o-meter. I pretty much love Steam.
Click to expand...

Well said, good chap!

I agree - nothing's perfect, and Steam has some pretty enormous advantages. I'm never going back to buy-on-disc games... I can't even remember the last one I bought that wasn't on steam. Mighta been the original Battle for Middle Earth.
 
What a bunch of baseless whining. You people never would've made it through downloading a game demo on dialup on 14.4kbps modem. This thread is a joke.
 
LeninGHOLA said:
What the barblegarble are you even saying?
Click to expand...

In case english isn't your first language I will try to clarify.

I like Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance.
I have been eagerly anticipating the release of Supreme Commander 2.
Today was release day for Supreme Commander 2.
Rather than having to wait for it to be downloaded from Steam I got in my truck and drove across town to pick up a copy from Worst Buy.
I makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside if I own a physical copy of games I purchase.

So now I have a real genuine physical copy of the game.
Normally in such a circumstance I could just go home, put my disk in the computer and install my new game.
My only experience with Steam was when I bought Half life 2, everything went fine with that game so I didn't give it a second thought.

Well, I go to install my game, I put my disk in the computer and click on install game.
Simple enough you would think...
Steam pops up, well this is no surprise I had read that SupCom 2 was going to use Steam, no big deal.
Since it had been so long since I had used Steam I had to either create a new account or dig up my existing one.
I chose to create a new account, again, no big deal.

I fill out all the necessary data mining info in order to use my legally purchased game, again, no big deal.
The install of the game starts, it was a little different than I am used to because it's Steam.

I thought it was odd that Steam was downloading files for a game that I OWN A PHYSICAL DISK OF.
Little did I know it was going to take 4 1/2 hours.
There was no forewarning of this whatsoever...
Totally unexpected.

To add insult to injury I was unable to pass the time by playing Forged Alliance because the download was making my ping spike.
So yes, I got/am a little miffed to say the least...

I was under the impression that Steam was a digital download service.
If that is in fact what they are there is no excuse for their servers to be slow on the day of the release of more than 1 highly anticipated games.
This is the reason they exist after all, that is what Steam is, a bunch of servers.
I pay $70/mo for the fastest internet service available in my area and one of the few times where I could actually use it I have to WAIT 4 1/2 HRS to install a game of which I own a physical disk.
This is due to Steam.

This situation is very similar to isps throttling a connection.
I find it unacceptable.
Now that the game is installed I don't think there will be any problems.
That remains to be seen.

I come to [H] to let off some Steam so to speak, Most of what I am finding is a bunch of Steam apologists.
Then I read "if you don't like it buy from brick & mortar", well that is what I did.
The only conclusion I can come to is that most of you are under 30 and far more accepting of poor customer service, you seem to happily accept it...

I don't play very many games any more, I boycotted EA a long time ago, so my choices are limited.
I really hope this Steam thing is an isolated issue because I like pc gaming and I don't want to have to boycott them.
I am a firm believer in voting with your wallet, when you find companies that regularly provide poor customer service they shouldn't be rewarded with my hard earned money.

Unfortunately poor customer service has become the norm rather than the exception over the last couple of decades.
As long as people continue to put up with it, it will only get worse.

A while ago I tried to boycott Charter, my alternative was dsl from at&t...
I almost had a freaking aneurysm trying to deal with those fucking assholes, talk about poor customer service, well you know...
Now I love Charter, they are great.
My internet always works, they don't throttle me, and if there is a problem (which is pretty rare for me) I can call them and they fix it.
In return they rape me to the tune of $190/mo for tv & internet, and I am fine with it because their customer service has been very good in my experience.

So yes a company's inability to provide the service that they exist to provide and total disregard for their customers should not be tolerated.

And people wonder why our country is going down the shit hole, fucking wake up.

I feel better now

/end rant/
 
Within a 3 hour time span I was able to download the game and play for 2 hours. I had an awesome experience with this release.
 
My experience with BC2: Started download at 5:30PM. Went to class, got back at 8 and the game was finished downloading. I'm on a 5mbps connection.

=/
 
I didnt feel like waiting on steam anymore, cancled my order with steam last night and ordered off d2d.

Game was downloaded and ready to install when i woke up, 9am PST they gave me my code, installed game and took about 15 min to install patch, was up and playing by 10am.

I do feel dirty now tbough, this si the first NEW game I havent boughten off steam in like 7 months, but with the fact you have to register you cd key to your ea account so you can never lose it I dont mind.
 
Lou Cypher said:
In case english isn't your first language I will try to clarify.

*snip*
Click to expand...

It is, though a few of us asked you why you needed to download over Steam if you had a physical disk, not knowing that it still made you DL the whole thing. As you well know, it doesn't make too much sense. I find the majority of your rant pretty justified. I'd probably give them a bit of feedback on that, owning the physical copy should be more convenient when installing a game.
 
Toytown said:
At least for me one of the things steam and the other digital download places are dropping the ball is price, pretty much every game that has been released in at least the last 12months, i have been able to get for a third cheaper (including delivery) from elsewhere.

Bad company 2 was just over 15£/22$ cheaper to get the boxed version in the UK, than to buy online.
Click to expand...

and if you scratch your disk, your screwed
loose your cd key on that sticker somewhere, your screwed

Steam - download any time you want
No disks to insert and use, no keys to worry about

the list goes on, the premium for steam to me is worth it, but i also never buy games on release, why not wait a month, prices almost always drops or steam has some sale, while stores are still selling at the same price....
 
Sent said:
D2D for 3-4 hrs of extra game time? /shrug
Click to expand...

Took me a couple of hours to download the game from Vietnam today. American servers would completely shit out at times. Valve and DICE both dropped the ball. DICE for not having their preloading shit ready on time, and Valve for not absolutely requiring a preload for a release of this magnitude instead allowing their servers to get absolutely fucking hammered when the game gets released. Shit planning on both sides.
 
Sent said:
D2D for 3-4 hrs of extra game time? /shrug
Click to expand...

Its not so much the time, its the fact of the matter that while othe rplaces are doing pre-loads and such steam is not. I know about the whole "its EA's fault, they need to make it work right with steam" but I dont buy it as a good excuse.

If this was such an issue steam should of been working with EA a while before this happened so it would go smooth.

People always say vote with your wallet, thats exactly what I did. But of course because I did it against steam people come in saying how it was sucha dumb move and didint make sense and bla bla..

If steam had done more to work with EA to make this smooth I would of gave them my money instead.
 
I still think this thread is strange... Steam is Steam. Yes, you have to download Steam games before you can play them. This includes Steam-enabled retail games. It's nothing new. No balls have been dropped that wouldn't already have been considered dropped for a very long time in the case that you don't like Steam's digital distribution methodology.
 
Zinn said:
I still think this thread is strange... Steam is Steam. Yes, you have to download Steam games before you can play them. This includes Steam-enabled retail games. It's nothing new. No balls have been dropped that wouldn't already have been considered dropped for a very long time in the case that you don't like Steam's digital distribution methodology.
Click to expand...

you must of missed the fact that ea store and d2d both had their digital disto up for preload 2 days before launch, where as steam aited till noon on launch day to let anyone begin downloading,
 
People still waste their time going to retail stores? lol

Steam is the best. I love that site so much. I even have a credit card specifically just for steam. I literally check Steam everyday just to see what game I can purchase even if I don't touch it for a month.
 
Ragenrok said:
you must of missed the fact that ea store and d2d both had their digital disto up for preload 2 days before launch, where as steam aited till noon on launch day to let anyone begin downloading,
Click to expand...

ok, that's still not a very big deal. did you know: there was recently an earthquake in haiti that left 230,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands more injured or homeless. i think downloading your game a couple of hours later than you wished isn't such a huge problem in the grand scheme of things.
 
Ragenrok said:
you must of missed the fact that ea store and d2d both had their digital disto up for preload 2 days before launch, where as steam aited till noon on launch day to let anyone begin downloading,
Click to expand...

LOL ITS THE END OF THE WORLD DOWN WITH STEAM. :mad::mad::mad:

This is about as big of a deal as a kid whining that his brother got more chocolate milk. Sometimes shit just happens.
 
IF STEAM DOES NOT WORK I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL NOT EAT AT MCDONALD'S AGAIN!!!

@_@
 
JoNo216 said:
I'm not lazy or rich... i just wait for weekend deals! :D
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Yes, the weekend deals are where Steam excels, most of my games on Steam have been bought this way.

Still it's a shame the RRP is strictly adhered to (set by publisher obviously)

For BC2 there wasn't even a discount for pre-ordering like the L4D2 or Borderlands deals. I guess like MW2, BC2 is a AAA title and people will pay full whack
 
Steam has not dropped the ball for me. 3 seconds until the end of the game Steam knew there was too heavy coverage on the outside to go for a 3 pointer so they passed it to Douglas who side-longed it to me under the net while I was already in the air and then I slammed it into the rim winning the game as the glass backboard shattered. Glass rained down around me as the crowd cheered and I screamed AHHHH ARRRRR AHHHHH!...best..day...ever.
 
Got home at 5pm last night, kicked off download, came back down at 6pm ready to install. Played 2 rounds of Squad Rush then the EA log in servers started taking forever to respond so I played MW2 and figured I'll wait for the rumored Friday patch and try again this weekend when things have settled down. Steam downloaded at a steady 1.8mbps and never hesitated. Of course geographic location and quality of Internet connection would have a huge impact, but for me this just another positive Steam experience. Pre-loads are nice but they aren't something I feel are worth taking a stand over.
 
Lou Cypher said:
I thought it was odd that Steam was downloading files for a game that I OWN A PHYSICAL DISK OF.
Little did I know it was going to take 4 1/2 hours.
There was no forewarning of this whatsoever...
Totally unexpected.
Click to expand...

I don't understand this, either. And you have pretty awesome Internet but that's besides the point.

What's the disc for at this rate?
 
Q-BZ said:
I don't understand this, either. And you have pretty awesome Internet but that's besides the point.

What's the disc for at this rate?
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https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php+++++++5357-FSQM-0382

I try to install my retail game from the included disc(s), but the game begins downloading through Steam instead. What can be done?
Answer
Using Steam launch options to install retail games from disc

1. Log in to Steam and click the My games tab.
2. Right-click on the game, select Delete local content, and confirm.
3. Insert the first disc into your computer.
4. Close Steam (File > Exit).
5. Go to the Start button and select Run (XP) or type Run in the Search box and choose Run from the list (Vista).
6. In the Run window type:

"C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe" -install E:

Replace E: with the CD/DVD drive you are installing from if is not correct.
Replace C:\Program Files\Steam if your Steam installation is not in the default location.
7. Press OK. Steam will launch and ask you to sign in if you do not have your password saved. Your installation should continue from the disc.
Click to expand...

Just answered myself. :)
 
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