Why Steam is a Bad Idea Logical Arguments
I will try to keep this pointed and concise as possible so please bear with me. I have worked in software development for some time (on the business side) and deployment/ updates of software have always been the perpetual disconnect between subscribers and developers. In general, developers try to release a product followed by support and enhancements. Customers use a product, get familiar with it and their expectations are often different than that of the developers. What valve has done is this, they have introduced a HUGE variable and I hate to sound cliché, but the problem is not the 100s of foreseeable problems, its the 1 issue that is unpredictable that will generate a number of unhappy customers. Here are a list of situations and potential problems I worry about.
1) When I installed HL2, I was HORRIFIED at how long it took to decrypt all of the files. Now I am the type of guy who reinstalls my OS A LOT (like 4 times a year) to clean registry, HW upgrades etc I never install a SP over the OS, I always slipstream it. This means that I have to go through a 40 minute install process every time!
2) What happens when my cable company is down, my brother forgot to pay the cable bill, my modem gets fried etc there will be NO HL2, and I REEEEALLY believe that I should be able to play a SINGLE PLAYER game offline at any time I was duped into buying the DVD version for that specific reason. This also means that I cannot take the game home with me for the holidays because the comp at my house is not online. WHAT A HUGE BUMMER.
3) Valve has issued its customers NO UPTIME GUARANTEE. This means that there is no recourse for players if it goes down for a day, a week, etc we are fish out of water.
4) Valve does not control the internet or the networks that HL2 will be played on. The perfect example is the college campuses that dont support steam. This is a huge population to alienate to save a few dollars on what potential pirates could. Also, what if a major internet backbone (or 2) goes down, what happens if (its a stretch) this happens. Again we are screwed.
5) SOFTWARE CAN BE HACKED and VALVE SHOULD KNOW THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Valve has a direct connection to all of our computers, and if they are that careless with their source code than this means steam can be hacked to distribute UNWANTED CONTENT on to our box(0rs). This makes me really mad, because steam could be hijacked for less than noble purposes!
6) There is always the possibility that someone else invalidates your copy and they (valve) could care less if it was you that is to blame they want us all to protect our COPY .THAT IS THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK.
7) There is no longevity guarantee meaning that 7 years from now (I still play unreal, quake etc.) they may have gone out of business...who then will authenticate and decrypt content?? If I have a $80 coaster 5 years from now because steam ends up flopping and they lose the suit against VUG I am gonna be especially sore.
8) Also, what happens when someone gets the game, leaves the settings as they are (as most do) and a content or exe update causes incompatibility with your current drivers you could be FORCED TO UPDATE VID DRIVERS OR SOUND DRIVERS which could create a nightmare of compatibility with other games.
I really hate to get on my soap box here and go on a rant, but I really think that valve is smacking all of the loyal fans in the face to get back at a few bad apples. In the process, they may end up creating a nightmare of a situation for themselves. A (very small) part of me hope that those handy hax0rs are clanking away on steam as we speak because I FEEL LIKE I AM IN CITY 17 AND VALVE IS THE COMBINE watching my every move every time I run the game every time I install it every time it updates. I am all for developers having control but lets be reasonable.
Thanks,
M
I will try to keep this pointed and concise as possible so please bear with me. I have worked in software development for some time (on the business side) and deployment/ updates of software have always been the perpetual disconnect between subscribers and developers. In general, developers try to release a product followed by support and enhancements. Customers use a product, get familiar with it and their expectations are often different than that of the developers. What valve has done is this, they have introduced a HUGE variable and I hate to sound cliché, but the problem is not the 100s of foreseeable problems, its the 1 issue that is unpredictable that will generate a number of unhappy customers. Here are a list of situations and potential problems I worry about.
1) When I installed HL2, I was HORRIFIED at how long it took to decrypt all of the files. Now I am the type of guy who reinstalls my OS A LOT (like 4 times a year) to clean registry, HW upgrades etc I never install a SP over the OS, I always slipstream it. This means that I have to go through a 40 minute install process every time!
2) What happens when my cable company is down, my brother forgot to pay the cable bill, my modem gets fried etc there will be NO HL2, and I REEEEALLY believe that I should be able to play a SINGLE PLAYER game offline at any time I was duped into buying the DVD version for that specific reason. This also means that I cannot take the game home with me for the holidays because the comp at my house is not online. WHAT A HUGE BUMMER.
3) Valve has issued its customers NO UPTIME GUARANTEE. This means that there is no recourse for players if it goes down for a day, a week, etc we are fish out of water.
4) Valve does not control the internet or the networks that HL2 will be played on. The perfect example is the college campuses that dont support steam. This is a huge population to alienate to save a few dollars on what potential pirates could. Also, what if a major internet backbone (or 2) goes down, what happens if (its a stretch) this happens. Again we are screwed.
5) SOFTWARE CAN BE HACKED and VALVE SHOULD KNOW THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Valve has a direct connection to all of our computers, and if they are that careless with their source code than this means steam can be hacked to distribute UNWANTED CONTENT on to our box(0rs). This makes me really mad, because steam could be hijacked for less than noble purposes!
6) There is always the possibility that someone else invalidates your copy and they (valve) could care less if it was you that is to blame they want us all to protect our COPY .THAT IS THE POT CALLING THE KETTLE BLACK.
7) There is no longevity guarantee meaning that 7 years from now (I still play unreal, quake etc.) they may have gone out of business...who then will authenticate and decrypt content?? If I have a $80 coaster 5 years from now because steam ends up flopping and they lose the suit against VUG I am gonna be especially sore.
8) Also, what happens when someone gets the game, leaves the settings as they are (as most do) and a content or exe update causes incompatibility with your current drivers you could be FORCED TO UPDATE VID DRIVERS OR SOUND DRIVERS which could create a nightmare of compatibility with other games.
I really hate to get on my soap box here and go on a rant, but I really think that valve is smacking all of the loyal fans in the face to get back at a few bad apples. In the process, they may end up creating a nightmare of a situation for themselves. A (very small) part of me hope that those handy hax0rs are clanking away on steam as we speak because I FEEL LIKE I AM IN CITY 17 AND VALVE IS THE COMBINE watching my every move every time I run the game every time I install it every time it updates. I am all for developers having control but lets be reasonable.
Thanks,
M