Valve is Going to Change the Entire World
TychoCelchuuu
Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">The Rivers Will Flow With Gold And/Or Blood!</div>So I saw <a href="http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/" target="_blank">the new website</a> and <a href="http://bluesnews.com/cgi-bin/board.pl?action=viewthread&threadid=84591" target="_blank">some info on Blue's News</a> but the reality didn't sink in until the point was elucidated for my dense mind by <a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1011#comments" target="_blank">the inimitable Rock Paper Shotgun</a>: Valve is basically who Jesus would be if Jesus were a game developer, and if instead of being really preachy he was just awesome, and also he would be in Bellevue and pay [WHO]Them's salary.
I could talk about it all day but Rock Paper Shotgun's got as good a rundown on it as you'll ever get. What does everyone think? I think I'm in love. Platonic? Maybe. Maybe...
I could talk about it all day but Rock Paper Shotgun's got as good a rundown on it as you'll ever get. What does everyone think? I think I'm in love. Platonic? Maybe. Maybe...
Comments
Am I missing something? This sounds too good to be true.
--Scythe--
P.S. After reading a few of the comments in that thread it seems that valve don't actually sell the game via steam, you just distribute a gimped version with a steam file in it. Steam sees this and unlocks it when you want to release?
But didn't they mention beta programs? Wouldn't file distribution be a central tenant of that?
But then on the other hand this link caught my attention:
<a href="http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1012" target="_blank">http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1012</a>
So I say: Time well spent reading the original article!
Straight up. But Raptor Safari looks so bad-ass.
I worry about the way games will be played if everyone goes to the Steam method of distribution, because in my opinion it's the worst method of buying and playing a game. I don't want a company capable of destroying my entire library of games with a click of a mouse, and Valve can do that with Steam. Unless games end up costing a dollar or two to play, I don't want to build a library of games on such an unstable foundation as Steam. It's not worth the risk to me as a customer.
This.
<!--QuoteBegin-MedHead+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MedHead)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->I don't want a company capable of destroying my entire library of games with a click of a mouse, and Valve can do that with Steam.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I wrote a nicely worded response to why this is a retarded statement, which was promptly lost through the magic of the internets, so here's the abridged version.
Yes, valve are "capable" of destroying your entire library of games, in the same way that my university is "capable" of revoking my degree for any reason they see fit, and most pubs are capable of throwing me out for no reason at all if they want to. I have not let this stop me from earning a degree, or going to pubs. It wouldn't make business sense for valve to piss off the paying customer, as they quickly become unpaying non-customers. As lolfighter points out, you are an asset to valve. Literally.
At the end of the day it comes down to whether you judge the risk of steam one day going boom being one you're willing to take. Given the funds set aside to keep steam running should valve go bust tomorrow, the huge profitability of steam, and the fact that it's popularity is only growing, I personally would say yes, it is in fact a risk i'm willing to take.
I think his train of thought goes more into the: "I bought this game and am hence entitled to play it as long as I want." direction.
So to compare it with the pub:
Order a beer, pay a beer, take a sip and then get thrown out.
Which would be the steam equivalent of:
Buy game, play some time, get right to play game revoked.
This is his actual fear. A fear which usually is not present in pubs/restaurants, cause you pay AFTER you have eaten/drunk. But with steam you pay the money upfront for an "infinite amount of service time". So there is 0 chance, that you can consume the product you bought 100%. Which then means, that when valve shuts down you will loose value.
Anyway: Even this argument is irrelevant, cause every modern online game needs auth-servers aswell! If relic decided to shut down their auth-servers then goodbye DOW and COH online play. EA just decided to shutdown the servers for their latest MOO. If microsoft decided to shut down xbox live how are you going to find a game?
So not only steam has the power to deny you the ability to continue playing your games. But there will be always someone setting up a 3d party authserver or developing a crack, as long as demand is high enough. Funny thing is that this mainly effects newer games that dont support direct connections anymore! I can still play starcraft, even without the battlenet! (I know, battlenet is still up) I can still play
Heck, games on big platforms are less likely to get shut down than games on small platforms! If you have always new and shiny games on your platform which make sure that you got a steady income through sales there is 0 problem with letting those 100 maniacs wanting to play "totally outdated game 235" have a few ressources on your auth server. But if you are a small company or a small platform with only 1 maybe 2 games and nothing new and shiny you really have to chose if its worth to keep an auth server running for 100 peeps or not.
Of course there are examples that show otherwise, like EA shutting down their latest MOO. BUT steam cannot do that! All games on steam are on a single platform and they cannot simply decide to lets say: Drop "Half-Life Opposing Force". It would mean immidiate shutdown of the whole steam network, cause people just wouldnt buy stuff from steam anymore, because they see steam as a whole. As a unit. And if you can remove a certain part from that whole every other part is removeable as well, meaning all trust in steam would be gone with the blink of an eye.
EA apperantly can act otherwise, cause they do not have a single platform. Instead their games are sold retail and thus it is not really clear which games share a platform, is there a single plartform altogether etc?
So in a certain way, buying games from steam will ensure that you can enjoy games for a very long time. Hell, it could even go so far that retail support is cut for a certain game, (eg Medieval Total War) but steam support continues. And tbh this is what I am expecting from valve.
Liku: Without Steam active, the library is gone.
TychoCelchuuu: The fact that one has to resort to something illegal to play a game should say something about the invasiveness of the DRM.
Nil_IQ: Bubbles burst. Steam isn't invulnerable, nor is Valve invincible. Also, the claim that I am an asset to Valve is based entirely on the assumption that I will continue to purchase games from Steam. If I were to never buy a game on Steam again (and that's pretty much how things have gone for me), Valve would actually *lose* money by allowing me to keep playing. Suddenly, their commitment to keeping me online isn't that big of a priority. Yes, I know that the negative effect of killing my account or dropping support for the games I play would be detrimental to the company, but I also don't like assuming that the company will stick around for me based on the hope I'll purchase something again. My life has been filled with confidence-based purchases, only to see the entire system crumble, so I don't like taking risks with my money as much as I used to.
Faskalia: You are right, in part. I differ in opinion on some issues. First, I don't do subscription-based gaming, because I don't want to be forced to continue to pay to be able to play a game. Therefore, I don't play any of the games or services you mentioned. I don't own any XBox system, so I don't play on XBox Live, nor would I, as I find it a bit silly to pay to play multiplayer games that I've been playing for free on my PC for years (same as Games for Windows Live is silly to me). Secondly, Valve has the ability to kill any account without being required to kill the entire Steam service. I don't believe this would ever happen to me, but investing hundreds of dollars into an uncertain system that has that capability doesn't sit well with me. Valve isn't the only player in the industry, so not playing their games isn't that much of a bother to me.
Align: Exactly.
Abra: One can't install the games without Steam. If Steam were gone, so too would the games be.
Wexx, to reinstall (and eventually play) the backed-up data, one still has to have an Internet connection active, and an authentication server online.
Sonic: You have chosen to ignore all posts from: Sonic.
Everyone: Yes, it may seem paranoid, but I'm not a rich guy. I still play games that are close to a decade old, from companies that have long since dropped support, or have even gone out of business. Developers come and go, and support is dropped for old games. I'd still like to legally be able to install the games from the original discs for years to come, long after the companies that have made the games have disappeared. Steam and Valve seem to be making that possibility an uncertain one for me. Sure, Steam is convenient, but that convenience comes at the price of the loss of confidence.
Liku: Without Steam active, the library is gone.
TychoCelchuuu: The fact that one has to resort to something illegal to play a game should say something about the invasiveness of the DRM.
Nil_IQ: Bubbles burst. Steam isn't invulnerable, nor is Valve invincible. Also, the claim that I am an asset to Valve is based entirely on the assumption that I will continue to purchase games from Steam. If I were to never buy a game on Steam again (and that's pretty much how things have gone for me), Valve would actually *lose* money by allowing me to keep playing. Suddenly, their commitment to keeping me online isn't that big of a priority. Yes, I know that the negative effect of killing my account or dropping support for the games I play would be detrimental to the company, but I also don't like assuming that the company will stick around for me based on the hope I'll purchase something again. My life has been filled with confidence-based purchases, only to see the entire system crumble, so I don't like taking risks with my money as much as I used to.
Faskalia: You are right, in part. I differ in opinion on some issues. First, I don't do subscription-based gaming, because I don't want to be forced to continue to pay to be able to play a game. Therefore, I don't play any of the games or services you mentioned. I don't own any XBox system, so I don't play on XBox Live, nor would I, as I find it a bit silly to pay to play multiplayer games that I've been playing for free on my PC for years (same as Games for Windows Live is silly to me). Secondly, Valve has the ability to kill any account without being required to kill the entire Steam service. I don't believe this would ever happen to me, but investing hundreds of dollars into an uncertain system that has that capability doesn't sit well with me. Valve isn't the only player in the industry, so not playing their games isn't that much of a bother to me.
Align: Exactly.
Abra: One can't install the games without Steam. If Steam were gone, so too would the games be.
Everyone: Yes, it may seem paranoid, but I'm not a rich guy. I still play games that are close to a decade old, from companies that have long since dropped support, or have even gone out of business. Developers come and go, and support is dropped for old games. I'd still like to legally be able to install the games from the original discs for years to come, long after the companies that have made the games have disappeared. Steam and Valve seem to be making that possibility an uncertain one for me. Sure, Steam is convenient, but that convenience comes at the price of the loss of confidence.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
How's that tin foil hat working out for you?
games I've lost the ability to play due to the online distributor going away: zero.
recently, I had the urge to play Planescape: Torment again, and even though I have all the CDs, I downloaded CD images off the internet instead for the convenience of not having to find them and put them in the drive.
imo, only Apple has screwed up digital distribution so far, with their oppressive DRM and the fact that you have to jump through hoops to even download a song you bought twice.
Me, I'll continue to dive deep into the ocean, swim with powerful animals, pilot a plane on occasion, and buy games online.
Me, I'll continue to dive deep into the ocean, swim with powerful animals, pilot a plane on occasion, and buy games online.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
my co pilot is a <i>shark</i>
I worry about the way games will be played if everyone goes to the Steam method of distribution, because in my opinion it's the worst method of buying and playing a game. I don't want a company capable of destroying my entire library of games with a click of a mouse, and Valve can do that with Steam. Unless games end up costing a dollar or two to play, I don't want to build a library of games on such an unstable foundation as Steam. It's not worth the risk to me as a customer.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If you're really that paranoid about it, Steam allows you to back up all of your purchased content. Right-click it in your games tab.
I just don't "get" his completely unfounded paranoia. You have to be online. That's it. That's the only "expected privilage" they 'require' of you. Maybe he should just go live in a windowless cell miles underground because his country has the capability to just launch nukes at the touch of a button and wipe out his life library. It's just not worth the risk of him as a human being.
Well, it does have an offline mode.
NO YOU HAVE TO BE ONLINE ONCE TO GET THE OFFLINE MODE THAT MEANS IT HAS CRIPPLING DRM ALSO SOME DRUNK TECHNITIAN MIGHT REFLECT MARTIAN BEAMS OFF JUPITERS GAS CLOUDS AND THE FOCUSED RAYS MIGHT HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO PRESS A KEYBOARD KEY AND DELETE ALL MY GAMES.