Do you own/fly CloD?

[Whacker]

Originally Posted by Forged

But I have to ask - what is everyone's hatred with Steam? It's a great service! I hated when it first came out, but it's much better now.

Using steam has a lot of benefits - never need a CD, don't need an internet connection (you can login in "offline" mode), plus a lot more. I don't get the hatred =-\.

Combinations of any of the following: asking permission whenever I wish to use what I own. Offline mode doesn't count. Loss of control over patching and which level you want to run a game at. Enabling devs to push out patches almost at will and with zero accountability or disclosure of scope, and the ensuing serious drop off of initial product release quality across the board. Not having a fully functional offline back-up and reinstallation method. The built-in "backup" function of Steam doesn't remotely cut the mustard.

You know what's really sad? Valve had it absolutely right with WON. Given WON itself wasn't exactly the most stable service during it's lifetime, but the implementation and general theory were perfect, required use of a valid product key for online play made it perfect.

In short, I'm not willing to give up my rights and control over MY stuff for the sake of convenience, nor am I willing to be treated like a criminal (limited authentications, a la DCS).