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[Grakelin]

Have you tried going to the folder the game is stored in and just clicking on it there? That used to work for me when I wanted to play against AIs on Condition Zero when my internet was down. This was five years ago, though.

It's true that downloading JA2 off of Steam is a bad idea because of the lack of modability they introduce for some reason, though.

[KaelGotDwarves]

Worry not. It's fun. Plus today's offers are horrible.

EU3 66% off isn't horrible.

[head]

I much prefer stores like GOG, where I get to own the actual software.  Wow who woulda thunk, I buy software that I get to own ... now there's an idea.

I'm confused, aren't GOG and Steam both digital distribution sites? I'm confused.

I bought Evil Genius on GOG a couple years ago, though, and I can never get into my account now, so I don't see a difference.

EDIT: Except that this has never happened to me on Steam.

They are both digital distribution sites.  The difference is that when you buy a game on GoG you are getting the pure, unadulterated software as it was originally coded.  You can take that, stick it on a disk, mod the hell out of it if you want, and play it whenever you feel like it, even when you're on that deserted island with no internet connection.

Steam requires you to download their software client, verify crap online, watch some ads, and then run your game through it.  If you don't mind having to run some extra software each time you want to play, have guaranteed internet connectivity, and always believe that Steam will exist forever, go for it.  If you ever go on vacation, forget your steam account login, or just don't have internet, you can forget about playing your shiny Steam-only games (unless you want to hack your game to work without Steam).

Some people, like me, actually prefer to receive what we paid for, ie the game minus the extra software hassle.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Some would argue that you still may need Dosbox and a compatible computer to run many older games from GoG, but I'd take my chances with that any day over a (currently) popular online service that I need to ask permission from each time I'd like to play.

What fucking ads?

[cerapa]

Steam requires you to download their software client, verify crap online, watch some ads, and then run your game through it.

Wut?

Personally I just use steam for the ludicrously cheap sales, wouldnt use it otherwise.

[lumin]

Have you tried going to the folder the game is stored in and just clicking on it there? That used to work for me when I wanted to play against AIs on Condition Zero when my internet was down. This was five years ago, though.

It's true that downloading JA2 off of Steam is a bad idea because of the lack of modability they introduce for some reason, though.

The last game I bought off steam was X-Com and I couldn't run it without Steam. 

Also, when a lot of people hear "mods" they think stuff like what the TES games use.  That works great on Steam, however, there are a lot of other ways to mod your game, including using a hex editor to hack your own executable, or to just screw with your game assets for fun.  For example, the X-Com:EU ET mod fixes a ton of bugs, adds graphic filters and increases the screen resolution.  Now, right off the bat, I couldn't get this to work with Steam's X-Com because it changes a lot of core data.  Maybe someone's figured this out, maybe someone hasn't, but the bottom line is that I'd rather not screw with the hassle when I know I can get it to work just fine when it's a non-Steam product.

head: Ads as in, "A new patch has been released for Team Fortress!", or "Modern Warfare 2 Now Available!", or "Empire Total War Coming Soon!.  WTF does that have to do with my X-Com that I just bought?

[ECrownofFire]

Those ads are hardly annoying, and at least they are relevant to Steam. Is it really hard to click that little X in the corner? You're not even forced to look at the damn things.

[Rilder]

You can turn off update news in interface options near the bottom.

Steam is like part utter fucking fail, part annoying bull crap, part good. 

Sometimes I love it, like sales like this, utter times I want to go to valve and rip every single person who manages steam to little tiny pieces in the most painful way possible, like X3-terran conflicts 7gb download for a 1.5mb patch.

[ECrownofFire]

The patch system is a bit annoying, but for the most part it isn't too bad. I have a rather fast internet connection so I don't really care anyway.

[Grendus]

That's not "making you watch some adds". That's one, very infrequent I might add, pop up. Making you watch some adds would be like playing a two minute interactive advertisement for comet cleaner at the start of every game. One pop up ad selling games (which, conveniently enough, is one thing all Steam users have in common - we all like games) that can be closed by clicking the 'x' at the top right is not "making you watch some adds".

As for your other allegations, true enough. Some games can't be run without Steam (some can, Oblivion, for example, can be run straight from the steamapps file), and we aren't given the install files. It is true that when Steam closes or if our accounts get banned we won't be able to play some of the games. Speaking for myself though, by that point I probably won't care about those particular games, and if I do I can always torrent them with a clear conscience (since by then they'll be abandonware and nobody will be watching them). Like many others here, I'm not a political activist. I'm a gamer. Steam runs sales constantly, often on games that are actually interesting. GoG sells mostly vintage games, plus a few indie titles and the rare mainstream game with no DRM. That doesn't make them bad, but it limits their stock considerably. You can't get Fallout 3 from GoG, or any of the Call of Duty games, or any of the Half Life series, or the Overlord series, and the list goes on. It's a great site if you want vintage games. For the more mainstream gamer, it can be a bit lacking.

If you want DRM free games, you'll have to give up a lot of modern games. If you want the install files, you'll have to either purchase a hard copy, probably at full or barely reduced price, or go to another DDL site - and be careful, some of they add their own, much more limiting DRM (never did manage to unlock the DRM Digital River put on my copy of MoO2, waste of $5). Even if the DDL doesn't add DRM, most game developers nowadays do. Blaming Valve won't help, they weren't the first nor are they the most egregious.

Anyways, I'm going to enjoy my massively expanded gaming library, all of which I picked up for 75+% off the listed price. Enjoy your moral superiority.

[x2yzh9]

You can turn off update news in interface options near the bottom.

Steam is like part utter fucking fail, part annoying bull crap, part good. 

Sometimes I love it, like sales like this, utter times I want to go to valve and rip every single person who manages steam to little tiny pieces in the most painful way possible, like X3-terran conflicts 7gb download for a 1.5mb patch.

You're still angry over that? What's your internet connection speed?

[Rilder]

You can turn off update news in interface options near the bottom.

Steam is like part utter fucking fail, part annoying bull crap, part good. 

Sometimes I love it, like sales like this, utter times I want to go to valve and rip every single person who manages steam to little tiny pieces in the most painful way possible, like X3-terran conflicts 7gb download for a 1.5mb patch.

You're still angry over that? What's your internet connection speed?

32KB/sec and no its not possible to get faster here.

And yes I do digital downloads with that connection, its fine when I only have to download the game once., all it requires is patience, but when you have to download a 7gb game every time it patches... no matter how small the patch is.. its not my fault if I get a bit frustrated.

[0x517A5D]

Steam sucks.

All software sucks.

Get over it.

Or install Games for Windows Live.

[HideousBeing]

Steam sucks.

All software sucks.

Get over it.

Or install Games for Windows Live.

That's kind of like banging your head against the wall to stop the pain from cutting your finger.

[0x517A5D]

Or install Games for Windows Live.

That's kind of like banging your head against the wall to stop the pain from cutting your finger.

Well, it makes Steam not suck any more.

[Christes]

Great deal on X-COM Complete today.