Valve > EA

[Moose777]

Nice turn around, most people would have just stayed quiet rather than changed their opinion

I'm honest. I wasn't wrong in my opinion I just didn't know anything. No one actually made me try it I just decided that after someone mentioned that I could use my old keys on Steam to play my original games I figured I had nothign to really lose. If it didn't work I still had my games/coasters and if it did work I still had my games/coasters and the ability to play and I'm sure if I had to repurchase them I would've been prompted and asked, "Are you sure you want to continue?" or "Purchase?" at which point I would've declined and been no more upset at Steam than I was before.

I still don't care for Steam. But, as long as its going ot be this seamless I'll use it. And I already have plans on buying HL2 after I run through the original single player series.

 

[rodsfree]

Ahh, I see so I suppose then the Plat pack was pretty much a free upgrade for those who already owned the game.

In retrospect I probably should have given Steam a little more credit and actualyl ahd given it a try a long time ago.

Work with it a while and you'll see other benefits also.
Like Steam automatically manages any community created mods like Distopia for the Source Engine and some of the others. You can even build your own mods if you've the time and talent. Steam automatically gives you the tools ( for source anyway...the HL1 engine tools can be found on the net) and lets you do other stuff.

BTW....the mass of gcf files in your steamapps directory will automatically expand into game directories for each for the games, the first time you play them. the GCF format is steams new filesystem for managing their d/l's and upgrades. It also helps with your modded skins and such....you just delete the modded skin from the expanded directory and start the game. Steam will see that it needs a model file and automatically pull a new one from the GCF file for your game directory.

Like magic. lol

 

[rodsfree]

I still don't care for Steam. But, as long as its going ot be this seamless I'll use it. And I already have plans on buying HL2 after I run through the original single player series.

You'll really enjoy HL2.
especially the swamp buggy!!!
That's all I'm going to say, wouldn't want to spoil it for you.

 

[FalconSS]

my biggest problem with steam is the fact that I am still on dial-up...(not by choice, they don't offer dsl where I am...ends a mile down the road!) Everytime I want to play FL2 or whatever I have to wait to connect and sometimes wait hours to download an update... that I don't need... to play I game I bought... and then my little connection bar is bleeping in and out of the game trying to get on top... some of us don't have the luxery of dsl and I wish they would design the games like the old days... don't punish the good people trying to get to the bad people who will eventually figure a way around it anyway!

 

[dudewth]

my biggest problem with steam is the fact that I am still on dial-up...(not by choice, they don't offer dsl where I am...ends a mile down the road!) Everytime I want to play FL2 or whatever I have to wait to connect and sometimes wait hours to download an update... that I don't need... to play I game I bought... and then my little connection bar is bleeping in and out of the game trying to get on top... some of us don't have the luxery of dsl and I wish they would design the games like the old days... don't punish the good people trying to get to the bad people who will eventually figure a way around it anyway!

Before you dial in, start steam. As long as you didn't log out the previous time it should ask if you want to start in offline mode. Then, dial in and get online. Until you close Steam it will be in offline mode and won't try to download anything.

 

[Worldhammer]

I would drop my hatred of Steam in a minute if it weren't for their offline crap. I have two pcs, one I use for connecting online. The other (listed in sig) is my gaming pc. I have one verizon gateway. It is a mega pain in the ass to make the switch between pcs because of the differing ethernet id logged by the gateway. Now and again when there is an update that I cannot burn to cdrw, I will break down and make the switch, carry all my shit from one room to the other, get the verizon people on the phone to do all that gateway switch bullshit. Takes forever and is a pain in the ass in the best circumstances.
Now I buy the HL2 collectors edition, don my sporty T-shirt without bothering to wash it first since HL1 is right up there in my top 5 all time list and washing is for girly men . I go through all the above mentioned hullaballoo to get the connect on gaming pc, I slap in HL2 DVD and begin the install. Everything goes pretty well really. I am playing in about an hour. I even thought, "Hmmm that wasn't so bad, maybe I was a bit hasty in my judgements about Steam." So I unhook verizon from my gaming pc and hook it back up to the surfing pc. Go through all that crap again, but hey I got what I wanted so NBD.
Till about three weeks later when after having defeated, and nearly lost temper over poor ending I decide to play again on hard mode, only to see Steam offline mode not ready. What? Why the fuck not? So guess what? I go through all that bullshit again for no good reason other than Steam has decided I am a probably a thief again after all. I try to explain it away to myself that maybe something got corrupted, and must be reinstalled yada yada. Play it again on hard, beat it soundly, the ending didn't even really bother me that much second time through. So we take another few week jump, my fiancee decided she would like to play ol HL2. (Yes I have a gamer girl and it fricken rules, no resenting every moment I spend playing games in this house, the only arguments that arise are over who gets the "good" computer.) At the time I am on a serious RE4 binge, when the shout comes from upstairs, "It won't work." "Just tell it you want to play in offline mode." "I did, it says offline mode not ready." GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!
So to make a long story short (Too late I know) Does BFG get to bug the fuck out of me every few weeks to make sure I paid for my Ultra? No. How about Intel, or Corsair? Big no there as well. Then who in the hell do they think they are to do this? That is just flatly unacceptable. There is no excuse for it.

 

[FalconSS]

Before you dial in, start steam. As long as you didn't log out the previous time it should ask if you want to start in offline mode. Then, dial in and get online. Until you close Steam it will be in offline mode and won't try to download anything.

when I try to start offline mode it still freakin says can't connect to steam network and closes! I can't even freakin play Lost coast without dialing up!

 

[dudewth]

when I try to start offline mode it still freakin says can't connect to steam network and closes! I can't even freakin play Lost coast without dialing up!

I'm not sure what to say. It's always worked for me. Do you have Steam save your login info and not logout when you close it?

 

[obs]

1. say valve and steam sucks. They don't, period. Sure, they have glitches, and there server gets raped when they release something new, but who doesn't have glitches.

I don't really feel like reading this whole thread but this statement is wrong. When at a lan (particularly the last Quakecon), I was unable to connect to any of the cs source servers thanks to steam. Maybe this has been fixed but it was still a very serious "glitch" at the time.

 

[rodsfree]

I don't really feel like reading this whole thread but this statement is wrong. When at a lan (particularly the last Quakecon), I was unable to connect to any of the cs source servers thanks to steam. Maybe this has been fixed but it was still a very serious "glitch" at the time.

We've had several Lan parties and always connected through a router to the internet. Works fine every time.