Poll regarding Steam users

[Kikuchiyo]

Originally Posted by Korn

I was just going to post something like this. Why do I need Steam if I buy the dvd or some (other then Steam delivered) downloadable version? I just hope the dude who posted the Steam requirements doesn't know what he's talking about, it's not like that would be a first with Ubi guys .

If they try to force me to install Steam then they can kiss my money goodbye. That simple.

I wonder how things are with the russian market. I have no problem buying from Russia, just need a language selector. I'd rather have some of what i'm paying going to 1C then to Ubi.

Steam was 1C Publishings decision for some simple factual reasons: More profitable for them, a simple user interface for MP gaming, more money for them and less for Ubishaft. If you want to screw 1C for making a smart business choice, and ensuring a huge market of 30 million people, and the most dominant thriving PC community on the planet then you can't see the forest for the trees.

[swiss]

Originally Posted by Kikuchiyo

Steam was 1C Publishings decision for some simple factual reasons: More profitable for them, a simple user interface for MP gaming, more money for them and less for Ubishaft. If you want to screw 1C for making a smart business choice, and ensuring a huge market of 30 million people, and the most dominant thriving PC community on the planet then you can't see the forest for the trees.

Defacto it a move to direct distribution.

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by ElAurens

My opposition to it is solely based on the less than stellar experience I had with it in the past.

I'm not saying it's the tool of the devil, or any other conspiracy theory that can be ascribed to it.

If I own a hard copy of the sim, purchased through a traditional retailer, that already has copy protection/DRM/anti-zombieware on it already, why should I or anyone else be forced into having yet another layer of complexity added to what is already a very CPU intensive piece of software?

I'm not saying that Maddox Games/1C/UBI should not market on Steam for those that like that approach.

I just don't understand forcing it on everyone, even if they do not buy their copy from Steam.

What is wrong with that?

Exactly. Options people, options. If the the game shipped with wonder woman view enabled by default you'd all be up in arms because it limits your choices, but apparently when things are getting automated on the set-up side of things even for those that prefer to do things manually, it's the future and we all have to deal with it.

I don't have anything against Steam in particular, i just don't want to have it forced on me, but all this take it or leave it attitude displayed by some is too reminiscent of the "Great RoF War: fanboys vs haters" of two years ago. Tough luck, because if people dislike it enough they'll keep saying so until they're given a satisfactory alternative. If you want to like the platform then by all means do so, just don't try to force others to like it if they don't.

Originally Posted by csThor

Barking at Ubisoft (while not unreasonable in 99% of the cases ) is wrong this time. 1C is the big proponent of STEAM and either Oleg or Ilya did drop hints a few weeks back that STEAM would be involved some way or another.

I'm somewhat ambivalent towards STEAM myself. I use it and never had issues, and quite frankly it made things a lot easier for me when I was seriously ill in 2008/2009 and only had a notebook to play with, but I also don't necessarily like having yet another software running in the background. I do not necessarily see advantages for CoD apart from the additional revenue for 1C, since I consider this "going online for playing offline" trend of late a major PITA of every honest customer.

That's my exact opinion as well. In all fairness, Oleg said that it will be possible to use 3rd party server browsers so there might be a solution in the future. Steam is not that hard to bypass, so in a few months maybe we'll be able to disable Steam with a community mod and connect through Hypperlobby or something similar, plus it won't help pirates if we disable Steam because the game already has a second layer of copy protection (Solidshield DRM). So, even with Steam disabled it will only work for legitimate copies of paying customers, so there's nothing wrong with that and won't cost 1c a dime.

After all, for people like me advertising the game involves having a friend come over for a few beers and letting him fly a couple of sorties, not having 20 people in a friend's list watching what i play. Every single time i've used such a feature (from facebook to online matchmakers), my contact list only includes people i know in real life and for this reason i end up not using it at all after a while.
I don't need to message anyone on the internet if everyone i interact with is a person i can reach by phone or in person. They have absolutely nothing to gain in the advertising department from those of us who will not use Steam's community features but prefer external tools and forums, so i won't have any second thoughts about disabling Steam integration first chance i get.

All this is like paying for a game and then cracking it while you have a legal copy to make it easier to to use (yes, it's irony gold), but it's not going to be the first time i've done it to play a game i paid for on my own pace.

[Feuerfalke]

I like STEAM and it's features. It's very comfortable and easy to use.

IMHO it's a great chance for CoD to get more attention by various means:
1. e.g. IL2 is amongst the highest-scoring games in Steam and a real bargain.
2. STEAM supports community-groups, which is:
- an ideal news-portal in a magnitude much larger than Banana+Ubi-Forum
- a great support for Squads and Groups flying (complete with Squad-Banners, MOTD, rankings, organizing 'clanwars', etc.)
- a nice communication platform to attract new customers and share knowledge with them
3. STEAM support Auto-Update. A great help! If you don't think so, make up your mind and count the posts in both forums where new players ask for patches needed and their installation-order.
4. STEAM gives much more money to Oleg than any other distribution method
5. You can install STEAM on any PC you want. Download your games there and play. No more "7 activations for your lifetime are enough".

[swiss]

Originally Posted by Feuerfalke

5. You can install STEAM on any PC you want. Download your games there and play. No more "7 activations for your lifetime are enough".

Awesome - Now I just have to move all my peripherals from one to the other PC, lol.

[Flyby]

if it's the only way I can get to fly CoD online, then I'll go with steam. Does this preclude CoD in Hyperlobby? I don't understand.
Flyby out

[TheGrunch]

Maybe. Steam's server browser is better than Hyperlobby, though.

[Feuerfalke]

Originally Posted by swiss

Awesome - Now I just have to move all my peripherals from one to the other PC, lol.

The IP's question was about pro and cons for Steam.
Considering DRMs of other current games, this IS an advantage.

[addman]

With regards to the "kiddies on steam" comments, WOW! how bigot can you get?LOL! Not only kids play games, gamers grow up and continue to be gamers. I'm 27 and I've been playing video/computer games since I can remember. Sometimes after a long period of playing ETW (for example) it feels so good to shake things up and shoot somebody in the face with an AK-47 in Far Cry 2 or crushing the competition online in Mario Kart Wii. Thank God for variation in games, I'd probably be bored to death if I could only play IL-2. Little OT I know.

[Feuerfalke]

Originally Posted by addman

With regards to the "kiddies on steam" comments, WOW! how bigot can you get?LOL! Not only kids play games, gamers grow up and continue to be gamers. I'm 27 and I've been playing video/computer games since I can remember. Sometimes after a long period of playing ETW (for example) it feels so good to shake things up and shoot somebody in the face with an AK-47 in Far Cry 2 or crushing the competition online in Mario Kart Wii. Thank God for variation in games, I'd probably be bored to death if I could only play IL-2. Little OT I know.

Not OT and hitting the nail on the head.

Besides that, I'm also glad that we have young newcomers to flightsims. Even if they fly like little Rambos (do they even know who that is?), they'll grow up, they support the game and they make flying much more colorful.