IL-2 going Steam-powered

[msalama]

Take a look at this:

http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2485150&Board=86&fpart=all&gonew=1#UNREAD

So it seems the old gal goes Steam in order to squash the crack among other things... thoughts?

[Antoninus]

I hope Steam will bring new people into flightsims and that this won't be the only way to get games in future.

[Lo0n]

how will it squash the crack? doesn't steam only update when there are updates, ala 4.09?

[msalama]

Depends on how they configure it is what I've understood.

[LEXX]

How does The Steam bring new people to the sim?

I heard The Steam requires internet connection every time you play. Is this one of the things that can be configured? This could be Oleg making the wrong move, perhaps unintentionally, by taking another step toward abandoning his Offline customer base.

Now if The Steam offered Online Pay-To-Play, that would be a WHOPPING different story for Oleg's business.

[VMF-214_HaVoK]

Hmm not too long ago I was suggesting that Oleg used STEAM for SoW and many seemed opposed to the idea. What you think now? I think its a great idea for many reasons.

S~

[tater]

Being overly concerned about it connecting seems silly.

I'm actually (horrors!) a big fan of pay to play. I'd happily give them a constant revenue stream in return for constant development.

I'm maintained a WW2OL subscription since beta (i was a closed beta tester) just because I support such a cool idea. It can be pretty entertaining into the bargain :)

[Makabi]

How does The Steam bring new people to the sim?

it informs a larger amount of people about the existence of IL-2. believe it or not, it's really not that well known outside of the sim communities.

[BG-09]

Take a look at this:

http://www.simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2485150&Board=86&fpart=all&gonew=1#UNREAD

So it seems the old gal goes Steam in order to squash the crack among other things... thoughts?

NO.NO.NO.
If never go online?
If I do not have any Internet, so I will never fly Il2 or SoW?
Steam - getaway! I do not need any fu*n third parties on My party!

~S!

[Blackdog_kt]

It's not a bad idea, as long as it's not the only way to play. No matter how fast net speeds become in the future, i'd still prefer to have a nice box with the discs and some documentation than a few hours of downloading and a pdf file.

[msalama]

I do not need any fu*n third parties on My party!

Thing is you can still buy the disc and patch it up, regardless of whether there's a branch of the game going Steam... so bring it on is what I say. Yah, could be online goes Steam only, but this is solely an improvement when you remember that it's a cracked game we're talking about...

So yep, bring it on is what I say again!

[StkNRdr]

I purchased Red Orchestra through Steam. It played well for about 1 year, then it would start OK but wouldn't connect to any servers. Always had the most up to date version, no change to my system, just couldn't connect. Tried reinstalls, etc.

The worst part was there is NO support, period, nix, nil, zero, none. After trying to get the thing going off and on over a month, I ended up blowing the whole thing off my drive.

Steam sucks, big time.

[msalama]

Sad to hear that m8. Well, we'll see how this goes... but I still have to admit this aroused my curiosity somewhat!

[Kira]

I purchased Red Orchestra through Steam. It played well for about 1 year, then it would start OK but wouldn't connect to any servers. Always had the most up to date version, no change to my system, just couldn't connect. Tried reinstalls, etc.

The worst part was there is NO support, period, nix, nil, zero, none. After trying to get the thing going off and on over a month, I ended up blowing the whole thing off my drive.

Steam sucks, big time.

So because RO stops working, you say Steam sucks? And what the hell are you talking about no support? Do you expect to get emailed without asking for help or something?

You have 2 choices, the official RO forums. A very helpful and friendly forum, also frequented by the developers.

http://www.redorchestragame.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=11

And the forums on Steampowered.

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=62


Get tired of hearing people bash Steam for strange reasons like this.

[13th Hsqn Protos]

Steam is a great system.

Most people who complain about Steam are the kind who forget their logins or don't know how to defrag their hardrives ........

Its also the wave of the future.

Get used to it.

We will be EXTREMELY lucky as flight simmers (if it turns out to be true) to have B.O.B distributed on Steam.

It will means THOUSANDS of new online pilots.

[F19_Klunk]

Hmm if this is to be true and not an April's fool joke, I do believe it is indeed good news - mostly because in that case il2 have found a NEW very easy accessible distribution channel. Remember, Il2 in ANY form on CD/DVD is actually very hard to come by these days, and the more distribution channels there are, the better it is. This will indeed prolong the life of this series...
I have a hard time seeing UBI dropping DVD releases in the future, they may merely look for alternatives, so "offliners" shouldn't be too concerned. It benefits us all I am sure

[Antoninus]

I doubt that any major publisher will switch to donwload only releases as longs as high speed internet connections, that allow you to donwload multiple GB games in a reasonable amount of time, are not even available in all regions of the major industrialised countries

[Kira]

I doubt that any major publisher will switch to donwload only releases as longs as high speed internet connections, that allow you to donwload multiple GB games in a reasonable amount of time, are not even available in all regions of the major industrialised countries

Who is saying anything about online only releases? It's great to have the decision between getting it retail, and from Steam. 1C games are enormously hard to get by around here, and I was very lucky to scavenge a copy of 1946. It's a great way to attract more customers who would either never have found the game, or wouldn't have been able to buy it.

And don't forget how easy promotion is, which hasn't really been IL2s strongpoint. 1 Steam news bulletin will reach millions of people.

[StkNRdr]

Kira and 13th, just for your information.

When RO failed to work, I read through all the RO help stickies and tried all the specific fixes listed. All failed. I posted threads about my problem and my specific attempts to fix the problem. No help. I contacted Steam about the problem. No help. Did multiple uninstalls and reinstalls. All failed to fix the problem.

I have been working with, and playing games on, computers since the early 80's. In all that time I do not remember a game that failed to work other than RO through Steam. You can attempt to write people off that have unresolved problems with Steam as some sort of know nothing. That is what people who don't want to listen usually do.

The fact of the matter is I paid the money for a product that does not function. I did not receive help nor my money back. I will not do business with them again.

To reiterate, Steam sucks.

[Former_Older]

it informs a larger amount of people about the existence of IL-2. believe it or not, it's really not that well known outside of the sim communities.


I suppose the question then is:

can gamers be made to want a simulation that is no longer supported by it's developer because that developer is actively working on a replacement for the same sim that the gamers are being asked to buy?


This is like being asked to buy a system that the salesman tells you upfront is obsolete, and he is both expecting you to buy it AND become convinced that this obsolete system is so good, the replacement for it is worth buying

Tall order, my friend. 1C:Maddox Games is not overly concerned about selling it's old obsolete game. I should think they'd prefer you buy the new one- Storm of War

This is a UbiSoft deal to squeeze more dollars out of a lame duck. The effect can be exactly the opposite of what you suggest:

"This russian developer makes crap, just look at this old thing I bought! It's hard to play, and the sounds suck. How does a mission end? I can't raise my landing gear! the devs don't support it anymore even though I just bought it! And now they think I'm buying their NEW version in 6 months? Baloney!"

Sounds like another UbiSoft homerun to me...gamers will not like the sim in the majority of cases. Have they ever?? I've been playing PC sims since the early '80s. What does the sales results tell me?

Sims don't sell well

[Makabi]

where did I state that it would? please don't make assumptions just because you want to argue with somebody.

[Former_Older]

where did I state that it would? please don't make assumptions just because you want to argue with somebody.

Huh? Where did I say you would do what? What do you think I'm accusing you of? I don't recall saying you personally would, or would not, do anything

I recall saying that UbiSoft expects people to buy obsolete software, that Maddox games would rather push their new sim rather than their old one, and that gamers typically cannot be convinced to play sims for the sole reason that they are available

But I don't see where I said you stated that you'd do anything. have you misunderstood me here?

[Makabi]

Huh? Where did I say you would do what? What do you think I'm accusing you of? I don't recall saying you personally would, or would not, do anything

re-read my post and I think you'll find that I said

where did I state that it would?

it, not I. 'it' referring to IL-2 selling well on Steam, in case you're still confused.

[RockStar]

New distribution channels are good I think. If they really want to sell more copies of 46, a wll placed ad or two on the history channel would bring them in groves.

[Wolf_Rider]

Gotta be kidding us yeah? We pay enough for a net connection and I read where some are thinking pay to play is great? (It's has to be April 1 huh?)
Steam looks ok but I think quite a few of us would prefer to have a small guide booklet (full blown manual would be nicer) and a disc in hand, albeit to cover the moment a re-download is required and the site ain't available.... or the first DL drops out, or putting DL limits over the edge, costing the user more again.

Some of us won't (by choice) have credit cards.... They won't have them in their possesion, in their home and would happily move to bite those shopping mall mobile counter bimbos that try to get you to sign up, in the hope they'll leave you alone at the next visit.

Plenty of il2:1946 at retail outlets in Australia ;-)

[Chivas]

I play Red Orchestra on Steam, mostly off-line, and have had no problems. I would be very convient (if I ever lost my install and CD) to reinstall from Steam.