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STEAM- Announcements & Updates 2011 Edition

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J

jaundicejuice

Member
TF2 going free to play sounds terrible. Robin Walker was asked why TF2 didn't go the free to play route in an interview a while back with PC Gamer...

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/09/30/i...selling-team-fortress-2-items-for-real-money/

PC Gamer: The leading theory in the office about this surprise was that TF2 would go free-to-play with item sales to support it – is going free something you considered? What are the chances of it happening in the future?

We’ve considered it, and it’s something we’d love to gather data from, but our main concern is that right now the cost of purchasing TF2 again is the main cost that cheaters pay when we catch them.
Click to expand...

Right now having to re-buy the game is one of the only real detriments to cheating and being caught. What will be the punishment if Team Fortress 2 is free to play, they delete your items? Also I would worry about what they would do with the monitised items. Their incentive would be to add more things with greater frequency and further muddy the waters. More promotional items for development partners to act as incentive for customers both in pre-ordering partners games through Steam and playing TF2. Everything added in TF2 could still be obtained for free, of course, but at a greater and more prohibitive time cost with each new tier of items added. That's how it's been thus far with most of the gear added post-Class updates.

I really dislike the free to play business model because it seems as though it's entirely centered around building and exploiting addiction. It strikes me as kind of scummy on a certain level. "First hit is for free". You can argue that TF2's class, polycount and various promotional weapons, up until now, have all lateral moves but they could start to adding equipment that isn't such a lateral move, that provides a distinct advantage and would take a ridiculous amount of time to earn through other means, be it crafting or through drops. That's how other free to play games work isn't it?
 
S

Salsa

Member
LovingSteam said:
Fuck me! Ok. I am having like bizarro world right now. She offered me a $20 coupon due to the paypal issue. $40 BF3 here I come.
Click to expand...

It just look like they're really desperate to me.

Not saying this is bad or anything, but between this and that free game a gaffer got.. its like they are trying to "buy" customers with money instead of making them migrate because of having an actual good service.

Its pretty funny.
 
C

ClovingWestbrook

Banned
SalsaShark said:
It just look like they're really desperate to me.

Not saying this is bad or anything, but between this and that free game a gaffer got.. its like they are trying to "buy" customers with money instead of making them migrate because of having an actual good service.

Its pretty funny.
Click to expand...
Possibly. But I won't complain when it comes to good customer service or coupons.
 
D

Drkirby

Corporate Apologist
Well, since people seem to like me posting Registry stuff, might as well give more, but this is super minor and unspecific. There are 20, Unnamed in any way, test applications added, as subscriptions, which means they are retail products in some form. When followed to the application list, it is between Homefront, and Dawn of War II, both THQ games. So it is likely the 20 Applications are related to THQ.

Now, it could be Homefront DLC, good chance (And it would be a lot of it), but it has the APP postfex at the end, which is normally used on actual games (But a bunch of DLC has it too, so it could be piles of Homefront DLC, but DLC often doesn't end with [APP], but things like Beat Hazard Ultra does for example end with [APP], but the Magica DLC does not)

Now, this brings what my main speculation of what it could be rather then Homefront DLC, and that is a huge batch of games. Obviously, this would be back catalog stuff. The main question then is, does THQ even have 20 games that are not on steam, are worth reselling, and are compatable with XP though 7. Really, do they?

So I say this ether means two things. They are releasing a huge amount of Homefront DLC all at once, or they are releasing tons of games they have the rights to.

Or, it may not be Homefront DLC, but instead anther games. It is even possible all the DLC is for an unreleased game, or a game not yet out yet. So I would have my bets on THQ releasing tons of DLC, unless someone has any good reason to suspect they could instead be releasing a bunch of old games.

Oh, and there is a pack of every Sega game ever sold on Steam (Including some titles Sega no longer has the rights to sell), but that could be for internal reasons. It hasn't "released" yet though. (I am almost certain that anything that is "Proof of Prepurchase" is content not yet available)


Edit: Hey, there is a recentish Prey Entry in subscriptions, maybe 2K got the licensing issues worked out.


Uh, Race 07, that 4 year old game, looks like it may be getting some DLC, a "Retro Pack"

I will never get why Valve puts up entries for games already sold multiple times, and doesn't change them at all from the original. Maybe they are precursors to sales? I'll have to keep track of them more often. Summer sale would be no good, since half the catalog will likely go on sale.
 
T

Toma

Let me show you through these halls, my friend, where treasures of indie gaming await...
Drkirby said:
stuff
Click to expand...

*goes off to make a new thread about it*

j/k
;)

Edit: btw, it really IS interesting to read this stuff. Thanks for taking the time and posting.
 
S

SmokyDave

Member
Drkirby said:
Uh, Race 07, that 4 year old game, looks like it may be getting some DLC, a "Retro Pack"
Click to expand...
Oh man, I think I just had a 'moment'.

Race07 might be 4 years old (closer to 5), but it's a great game and given the slightly lacking* mod support, more cars are very welcome indeed.

*By my standards. I want thousands of cars, not hundreds :)
 
A

ArjanN

Member
Drkirby said:
Well, since people seem to like me posting Registry stuff, might as well give more, but this is super minor and unspecific. There are 20, Unnamed in any way, test applications added, as subscriptions, which means they are retail products in some form. When followed to the application list, it is between Homefront, and Dawn of War II, both THQ games. So it is likely the 20 Applications are related to THQ.

Now, it could be Homefront DLC, good chance (And it would be a lot of it), but it has the APP postfex at the end, which is normally used on actual games (But a bunch of DLC has it too, so it could be piles of Homefront DLC, but DLC often doesn't end with [APP], but things like Beat Hazard Ultra does for example end with [APP], but the Magica DLC does not)

Now, this brings what my main speculation of what it could be rather then Homefront DLC, and that is a huge batch of games. Obviously, this would be back catalog stuff. The main question then is, does THQ even have 20 games that are not on steam, are worth reselling, and are compatable with XP though 7. Really, do they?

So I say this ether means two things. They are releasing a huge amount of Homefront DLC all at once, or they are releasing tons of games they have the rights to.

Or, it may not be Homefront DLC, but instead anther games. It is even possible all the DLC is for an unreleased game, or a game not yet out yet. So I would have my bets on THQ releasing tons of DLC, unless someone has any good reason to suspect they could instead be releasing a bunch of old games.

Oh, and there is a pack of every Sega game ever sold on Steam (Including some titles Sega no longer has the rights to sell), but that could be for internal reasons. It hasn't "released" yet though. (I am almost certain that anything that is "Proof of Prepurchase" is content not yet available)


Edit: Hey, there is a recentish Prey Entry in subscriptions, maybe 2K got the licensing issues worked out.


Uh, Race 07, that 4 year old game, looks like it may be getting some DLC, a "Retro Pack"

I will never get why Valve puts up entries for games already sold multiple times, and doesn't change them at all from the original. Maybe they are precursors to sales? I'll have to keep track of them more often. Summer sale would be no good, since half the catalog will likely go on sale.
Click to expand...

Maybe it's more DoW2 DLC. There already were two batches of those.
 
P

PaulLFC

Member
Has Global Agenda been down most of the day? It said servers down when I tried playing it last night before bed, same thing this morning. Looks like nobody's getting the jetpack!
 
C

coopolon

Member
LovingSteam said:
Wow... I am in shock. EA support was magical! Seriously. Not only did they try to help wtih paypal, they added the keys from Steam for Dead Space, Mirrors Edge, and Battlefield 2, and others. Just tell them they are retail keys.
Click to expand...

How did you get CD keys from steam for Mirrors Edge and Dead Space? After installing and right clicking, there is no option to view CD key for me.
 
P

PaulLFC

Member
coopolon said:
How did you get CD keys from steam for Mirrors Edge and Dead Space? After installing and right clicking, there is no option to view CD key for me.
Click to expand...

Try switching to Detail view in Steam, click on Dead Space and see if there's a CD Key option in the column on the right.
 
C

coopolon

Member
PaulLFC said:
Try switching to Detail view in Steam, click on Dead Space and see if there's a CD Key option in the column on the right.
Click to expand...

Nope, no option for CD key. Same for Mirrors Edge. Someone once posted another way to view CD keys that can be done even without installing games, I'm doing a google search for it but having no luck.
 
P

PaulLFC

Member
Global Agenda seems to be working now, but wow, the screen tearing is horrible. I don't usually notice it in most games, but this is borderline unplayable at times. Is there any way to fix it? I've enabled v-sync in the options, and restarted the game to make sure it applied, but no luck.
 
K

kadotsu

Banned
PaulLFC said:
Global Agenda seems to be working now, but wow, the screen tearing is horrible. I don't usually notice it in most games, but this is borderline unplayable at times. Is there any way to fix it? I've enabled v-sync in the options, and restarted the game to make sure it applied, but no luck.
Click to expand...
Have you tried D3DOverrider?
 
J

JacksUsername

Member
Wow... I am in shock. EA support was magical! Seriously. Not only did they try to help wtih paypal, they added the keys from Steam for Dead Space, Mirrors Edge, and Battlefield 2, and others. Just tell them they are retail keys.
Click to expand...
Strange, I had the opposite experience when contacting EA support. Was trying to transfer my Crysis cd keys over to Origin from Steam, but kept getting errors. I went through the live chat and the customer service rep would not budge at all - insisted that they would not carry over because they had already been used and the games came out at a certain time. I explained that all my other games had carried over fine and there had been confirmation from people online that their Crysis key had gone through. She would not budge and told me I would need to buy it again on Origin if I wanted to play it there.

Probably just luck of the draw regarding what CSR you talk to, but it kind of sucks that I haven't been able to get all my games over and was disappointed with the service.
 
M

MacGurcules

Member
Obsessed said:
I'm thinking of getting Psychonauts (I've played it once before but I kind of want to replay it), and it is only 9.99. Should I buy it now, or wait for a potential summer sale?
Click to expand...
I thought I'd just mention something here, since nobody else really picked it up. Even if it's not due to go on sale soon, I'd wait another week or two if you can stand it. The guys from Double Fine said that even though they just got the complete rights to Psychonauts back it'll still be a while before they get all the payment structures reorganized so they get all the money.

So if you're interested in the right people getting paid for your purchase, hold off on Psychonauts for just a bit longer.

Unless they've already given the all clear and I'm just underinformed.
 
T

toastyToast

Member
coopolon said:
How did you get CD keys from steam for Mirrors Edge and Dead Space? After installing and right clicking, there is no option to view CD key for me.
Click to expand...
Same here. I transferred NFS:HP and DA:O along with a couple of retail games just fine.

No option for Mirrors Edge and Dead Space keys. Crysis Warhead key appears but doesn't work.
 
P

PaulLFC

Member
Not having such a good experience with EA Live chat trying to get them to activate my games on Origin sadly. My experience so far:

- Connect to chat, be told I'm in a queue, wait time 2 minutes, average wait time 2 minutes. Fine, I think.
- Connected pretty much straight away, good start. Explain problem, get told something about "if the games get disabled, they may get disabled so I'm telling you this way in advance". Have no idea what this is referring to, so I ask "If this happens I can still play from the original CD yes?" "Yes" "OK good, I'd like the games activated on Origin then if possible".
- "Please provide CD keys" "*here you go*" "One moment please." *wait 5 minutes, get booted back to support queue
- Support queue now says "Average wait time 32 minutes" - what? It was 2 minutes about half an hour ago...
- Get connected, ask same question, and I'm asked to provide the list of games which won't activate.
- I do this, no response for a while. 5 minutes later "Thank you for being on hold"
- Five minutes since this, and this is where I'm up to at the moment.

Let's see if I have any more success...
 
F

filipe

Member
Does anyone remember the name of that backup manager for Steam? Maybe a link as well? It's been posted a few times here and makes the process of moving games from HDD to HDD easier.
 
R

ROBOKITTYZILLA

Member
toasty_T said:
Same here. I transferred NFS:HP and DA:O along with a couple of retail games just fine.

No option for Mirrors Edge and Dead Space keys. Crysis Warhead key appears but doesn't work.
Click to expand...

Same. I have both Mirrors Edge and Dead Space installed but neither title has CD Key options.
 
M

MRORANGE

Member
toasty_T said:
Same here. I transferred NFS:HP and DA:O along with a couple of retail games just fine.

No option for Mirrors Edge and Dead Space keys. Crysis Warhead key appears but doesn't work.
Click to expand...

ROBOKITTYZILLA said:
Same. I have both Mirrors Edge and Dead Space installed but neither title has CD Key options.
Click to expand...


me three, how the hell do you get the cd keys for Dead Space & Mirrors Edge.
 
C

ChaoticEko

Neo Member
desu said:
Shoulf be added to the first post!
Click to expand...



I agree. Steam Mover is a must have for those who have multiple drives, or decide to add a drive after already having 500gb of steam games installed. Moves them easily. I actually keep a couple on my SSD that I play a lot and the other 200 on my two other drives. Works flawlessly. No modifications to Steam needed.
 
B

Baha

Member
MRORANGE said:
me three, how the hell do you get the cd keys for Dead Space & Mirrors Edge.
Click to expand...

Some CD Keys aren't under properties when you right click the game but under details on the right hand side of your library. Mass Effect and Command & Conquer for example have CD Key links on the right side of the library under Links if you're using Games Details view.
 
A

amdnv

Member
There is one thing I have always wondered about Steam games: Almost every game I download seems to want to install DirectX, which I find quite annoying because it takes a few minutes.

Why is this? I have the latest DirectX version, so what do those games spend several minutes on?
 
L

LocoMrPollock

Banned
amdnv said:
There is one thing I have always wondered about Steam games: Almost every game I download seems to want to install DirectX, which I find quite annoying because it takes a few minutes.

Why is this? I have the latest DirectX version, so what do those games spend several minutes on?
Click to expand...


It's just one of the most common reasons a game won't start or will crash, so it's precautionary more than anything. Supposedly you can turn it off, but I never really bothered trying since I just use the time to get a drink or have a piss or something.
 
C

ChaoticEko

Neo Member
Kylehimself said:
So this Steam Mover program is new to me. How do updates work? Are they just routed to the folder the games have been moved to?
Click to expand...


It just creates links within your windows installation. It makes a link from the original install location to the new location. From Steam's point of view, the files never moved, as the links trick it into thinking they are where they always have been. Steam doesnt notice a difference. Updates work just fine, as they are installed to the "linked"(moved) directory.


If you need help with it or anything, feel free to PM me.
 
J

José Mourinho

cocknose
Having just tried Steam Mover maybe somebody can explain it to me, because clearly I'm missing something. I move the the games from C: to D: but the capacity left on C didn't decrease. When I check the folders in Steam the games have become shortcuts. What purpose does this actually serve if I'm not saving space?

Edit: I was being a fool. Ignore me.
 
C

ChaoticEko

Neo Member
Kylehimself said:
Having just tried Steam Mover maybe somebody can explain it to me, because clearly I'm missing something. I move the the games from C: to D: but the capacity left on C didn't decrease. When I check the folders in Steam the games have become shortcuts. What purpose does this actually serve if I'm not saving space?
Click to expand...


PM Me, Ill help you sort it out.
 
F

Forkball

Member
The MNC community is pretty dead. It was fairly active when it first came out, but it died off pretty quickly. The sale might temporarily give the community a small boost though, it could be worth the price if interested.
 
C

ChaoticEko

Neo Member
Foliorum Viridum said:
I'd try Alliance of Valiant Arms since it's F2P but man it's 5gb. That seems big to download just to try.

Hm. Any thoughts on it?
Click to expand...


I thinks its quite fun. I've played about an hour or two of it so far. Pretty lively community, and the store is nice.You use exp points to buy guns and upgrades and such. The shooting is pretty comfortable. Doesn't seem super fake when shooting, grenades, getting killed, etc. The game is pretty well made.
 
F

Foliorum Viridum

Banned
ChaoticEko said:
I thinks its quite fun. I've played about an hour or two of it so far. Pretty lively community, and the store is nice.You use exp points to buy guns and upgrades and such. The shooting is pretty comfortable. Doesn't seem super fake when shooting, grenades, getting killed, etc. The game is pretty well made.
Click to expand...
Cool. Thanks!

A few Steam buddies are grabbing it, too, so I'm gonna try it out :)
 
D

drizzle

Axel Hertz
desu said:
Monday Night Combat is dealy deal with 75% off.
Click to expand...
GuiltybyAssociation said:
For $3.75? Not bad, will probably bite.
Click to expand...
Forkball said:
The MNC community is pretty dead. It was fairly active when it first came out, but it died off pretty quickly. The sale might temporarily give the community a small boost though, it could be worth the price if interested.
Click to expand...
That's all true, which is too bad: Monday Night Combat is a pretty awesome game. It's completly worth the 3,75 that's being asked today. No Brainer purchase, in my book. Just the amount of support provided for the game is astonishing by itself. Game was kind of a mess on release and was a much better game two-three weeks after that.

I really wish the community was more active.
 
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