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[Fornaximus]

I'm getting tired of Steam as an application. Everything is usually slow, provided Steam didn't decide to give me an error message instead of loading at all. I used to take tons of screenshots during my games, and always complained about how everything was slow to view once uploaded. It hasn't changed several years later. It's still painfully slow to view a single screenshot. Forget cycling through a group of them. With the new trade system, it's pretty much guaranteed that if I receive a trade offer, it won't work until I restart Steam.

The program is full of little issues like that, and has been for as long as I've been using it. Someone over there needs to decide they wanna work on overhauling the program. The hats and consoles can wait.

 

[Dead Man]

Um what? You're the one who switched from arguing bandwidth, to having the disk, then to time. You gave reasons that I felt was unsatisfactory to me, so now you're resorting to attacking me personally? Also, feel free to not put words in my mouth, as I never said anything about installing from the disk as being stupid.

My first response to your question:

Because they have the disc? Is another reason needed? If you have the disc why would you redownload all that data unless you live somewherea with massively fast and unmetered internet?

My response was the same as the first one. You are trying to make someone justify using a disc they have paid for., It is stupid and ridiculous. You have no point other than wanting someone to justify using something they have purchased. It is at the very least a ridiculous demand.

The only reason they need is that they have the disc. Or does every usage of every item need to bgo through the Gxgear judgement on whether that is okay?

 

[RedRedSuit]

How is it any more obnoxious than Steam? As for it being "redundant", its only "redundant" if you think that all publishers should allow Valve to take a cut of their profits and that there should be no competition i.e. a very special definition of redundant.

I already mentioned competition being the other side of the coin. However, if Origin can bring something to the table that would add value in more than a nominal way, it's redundant. And indeed obnoxious.

It is more obnoxious than Steam, because Steam already exists; therefore Origin just complicates matters for no good, from the consumer's point of view, reason. It's just a roadblock.

I covered all this, albeit possibly in a post down the page (I forget).

 

[Forgottonone]

I still have no idea why people like this thing any more than GFW or Uplay.

Tonight I decided to reinstall FEAR 2. Installation from disc goes smoothly enough until I try to play it and Steam updates is redownloading the entire 12Gb of game. But you can't cancel a simple update download like any normal program would allow because fuck you that's why.

At this point it's faster just to reinstall and switch off updates. So I put Steam in offline mode and reinstall, except it tells me it can't install games whilst in offline mode even if all the data is on the game's DVD because it's totally not a piece of crude DRM *wink, wink*.

Fine, another restart and whilst it's on 1% installation I go to its page in my library and select Do Not Update. And guess what happens as soon as it finishes installing... it automatically goes for the 12 gig "update" and locks me out of my own game. Guess I won't be playing until tomorrow.

Inb4 people yell at me for not appreciating that you can have friends lists and ingame IM and that it's made by Valve and they're our friends because they made some software products you like.

One idea I have is games? Maybe 100000x times more games?

 

[Dolor]

Plenty of annoying aspects of Steam (I personally hate how my game categories don't always sync with the cloud), but it's an essential part of my gaming life, and I can't think of a better company (seriously, try to think of one) that I would want at the heart of my favorite hobby.

And Steam is still way more good than bad.

Also, as sad as it is for some, physical media, particularly on PCs is not exactly the wave of the future. I would rather they spend their time fixing things that will affect more people.

 

[TC McQueen]

Yeah, the Steam client is pretty shit, since they're going with the iTunes "reuse this old ass code that needs reworking and slap new features on it" model of software development. The disc based install stupidity is something they should've dealt with years ago, since bandwidth caps and huge ass games make downloading a problem for quite a lot of people.

You know shit is bad when a big chunk of the main Steam threads on NeoGAF for the past few months is wishing one GAFfer will get employed by Valve so he can fix the client.

 

[Roto13]

Good point sir.

also times like these makes me think of this comic

You're using that comic wrong.

 

[Dolor]

You know shit is bad when a big chunk of the main Steam threads on NeoGAF for the past few months is wishing one GAFfer will get employed by Valve so he can fix the client.

Well this is actually a decent point. They have enough money to hire someone who has shown himself to want to fix the client in jshackles, but they just don't.

 

[Gxgear]

My response was the same as the first one. You are trying to make someone justify using a disc they have paid for., It is stupid and ridiculous. You have no point other than wanting someone to justify using something they have purchased. It is at the very least a ridiculous demand.

The only reason they need is that they have the disc. Or does every usage of every item need to bgo through the Gxgear judgement on whether that is okay?

It's a Steamworks game, so it goes through Valve's judgement. And I guess they've made their decision. No need to jump down my throat just because I chose to sympathize with the side that has no voice in this forum.

 

[derExperte]

I feel for you OP. As much as I really like Steam, Steam itself is the reason I haven't turned it on in months. The constant updating bugs the shit out of me. I don't know why it needs to update itself daily (hyperbole) but whatever. Plus the constant game updates (that I know I should turn off) annoyed me so much I don't even want to turn on Steam to make those changes. It's a PITA when it doesn't need to be at all.

That non-beta Steam only updates every few weeks has already been covered. But how exactly do the game updates annoy you? They happen in the background without user interaction and if you only have the games installed you want to play don't happen that often.

 

[MasterOfPastures]

Ha, Fear 2. When I got a DVD of the game for free for testing a WB game, I decided to just use the serial code to download it through steam. Then I saw that the game had no code at all.
I had to scan the disc and email the pic to support.

Steam is old and backwards, for the size and importance it has on all of gaming. I'm hoping VALVe will release an overhaul soon enough, considering it is their main source of income now.

 

[Rickenslacker]

The complaint is valid but I think it's an overreaction towards what's essentially a digital distribution service. It's a pain, especially if you rely on discs due to bandwidth, but that's become a niche on the platform overall.

But yes, I'm in complete agreement that Steam could use improvements on a lot of fronts.

 

[Dead Man]

It's a Steamworks game, so it goes through Valve's judgement. And I guess they've made their decision. No need to jump down my throat just because I chose to sympathize with the side that has no voice in this forum.

Asking why someone is using something they have bought is defending the voiceless? Those are some awesome hoops mate. You have given me a smile today, so thanks.

Carry on with defending the poor downtrodden digital distribution networks of the world in the face of the great threat posed by people using discs they purchased.

 

[axb2013]

Steam is not perfect but if people think it's bad enough to hate it, have they even tried "alternatives" yet? Uplay never even let me play Hawx 2, Origin made me buy Crysis twice, the first time around there was a 1 year long download availability, had to buy it again.

From the PC perspective, looking at the track record of companies behind these platforms, Valve is miles ahead of Ubi and EA. When they are not busy ruining studios and franchises, peddling Ronku to youtubers, receiving worst business awards or killing franchises on the PC while they continue on consoles, EA is making 30fps capped racers for the PC.

Whenever I shut down my PC it's like a final scene from a horror movie when the monster spends it's last breath trying to kill the protagonist, origin twitches one more time before it's lights out. If Ubi and EA want respect, they should try forcing their stuff on non orphan platforms. Yeah, uplay and origin on xbone and ps4, that'll be a day.

-Gaben lover

 

[molnizzle]

People actually install Steamworks games from the disc?

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

I've never been able to appreciate Steam, or view it beyond being a fancy DRM program. But, I guess it clicks and works for numerous people so whatever floats their boat.

 

[Alo81]

Damn, FEAR 1 is a 17gb install!

That's crazy!

 

[JaseC]

People actually install Steamworks games from the disc?

Because of Steam's default currency conversion 1 USD = 1 Euro it's not uncommon for Euro folk to find better pre-release/day one deals at retail, plus there's the matter of Steam-redeemable titles that are no longer available or have never been available on Steam itself (e.g. 007 Legends and Dynasty Warriors 7 respectively). Unless you can download from content servers at super-high speeds, it's simply a matter of "If you have the disc then why not use it?" as in most cases it'd save quite a bit of downloading.

Damn, FEAR 1 is a 17gb install!

That's crazy!

That's because installing FEAR also installs the two standalone expansion packs.

 

[Gxgear]

Asking why someone is using something they have bought is defending the voiceless? Those are some awesome hoops mate. You have given me a smile today, so thanks.

Carry on with defending the poor downtrodden digital distribution networks of the world in the face of the great threat posed by people using discs they purchased.

You're also answering a question that wasn't directed at you, based on assumptions you've made for the OP. But shame on me for having an opinion, right?

 

[Biker19]

If you want to play it on disc, why don't go to consoles?

I can't believe there's still people using disc base games with Steam digital option.

PD. I don't care about local installment, I've been PC gamer for about 15 years and it's friggin annoying. So save any comment about this.

Why do you think that people like myself prefers physical media over digital copies on consoles/PC's?

1.) So we can play our games years down the road from now.

2.) Faster installation on PC versions, especially those with bad internet, etc.

3.) Selling/Trading with stores, our friends, etc.

 

[Alo81]

That's because installing FEAR also installs the two standalone expansion packs.

Bummer! Any way to avoid that?

 

[Ploid 3.0]

Currently updating a online game launched with steam (patch with it's own launcher), I went to launch another game while it downloads and forgot I can only have one game launched at a time, even if this launcher isn't the full game running. (Price is Right lose horn)

 

[Omega]

damn, I actually forgot to post my question.

So im kinda lost here.....so he has the actuall dvd disc.............and he needs steam to play it??? What exactly does steam do??? I thought steam was just a central platform to buy PC games from.

I thought once you have the actual disc, you can just install the game on your computer, and just click the icon and start playing the game........do PC games no longer work like that anymore??? Do you need steam to actually run the game now???

I'm lost here.............like I said before, I never used steam before, so this is not making sense to me.

Nope, they don't work like that anymore.

My friend bought me Ghosts retail, it installs through Steam.

When I went to redownload Diablo III, it forced me to install the Battle.net client as well. When I last played D3 I installed and could just play the game.

 

[Stuggernaut]

I don't use Steam for anything but digital games. I don't buy disc based games anymore, haven't for years. I don't play in Big Picture mode, and I don't play in offline mode.

This could be why I don't think I have ever had an issue with Steam.

If you have issues, I feel for you. Glad it runs perfect for me.

 

[JaseC]

Bummer! Any way to avoid that?

Nah, they're linked. Installing one also installs the other two.

 

[Alo81]

Nah, they're linked. Installing one also installs the other two.

That stinks! Thanks for the info though, I appreciate it.

 

[Atraveller]

Seriously. Steam makes getting games really nice and easy but it's otherwise a massive POS.

Well, it's the best POS there is.

Try new skins if you don't like the vanilla look.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

People actually install Steamworks games from the disc?

If I have a physical copy, sure. Optical drives are faster for installs. The only reason I would get a physical disc these days are for Limited/Collector editions I'm interested in. Last Steamworks title that was like that for me I think was Civ 5.

 

[not psycho]

You're supposed to hate Steam. It's DRM. But you're also supposed to love it for what it has done for PC as a platform.

They do eventually fix things, sometimes. It was only recently that they fixed it so turning off updates would, in fact, turn off updates.

 

[Tan]

Every year I think like Steam less and less.

 

[UrbanRats]

Good point sir.

also times like these makes me think of this comic

Except the OP actually used several (good) arguments to justify his position.

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

I have to agree with the sentiment that Steam is kind of a terrible experience at times. It's laggy and buttons clearly don't do their functions half the time. I also don't like how discs are useless according to Steam.

As someone who just wants the game, I turn off all the social stuff and Steam is basically just a games window now. Which is fine, but it's kind of annoying.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

You're supposed to hate Steam. It's DRM.

Not always:

http://steam.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_DRM-free_games

 

[rashbeep]

Bloated? its 2 megs in memory..

or do you mean the folder size? because you do know it install the games int he steam folder unless you tell it other wise.

Just the way it runs I suppose. It's very sluggish in general. Nice to hear that it performs better on a SSD however mine is only 64gb

 

[TheGoddamn]

You called? Steam is garbage for retail games. I know how you feel, OP. I bought disk-based Portal 2 at launch because my internet connection couldn't handle downloading it directly, but Steam insisted that I update with gigabytes and gigabytes.

I have much fewer problems with Steam now that I've pretty much gone all-digital on the PC front (and have a decently fast connection), but issues still pop up every so often. Steam isn't considerate of people with slower internet speeds, I've found.

 

[Alo81]

Bloated? its 2 megs in memory..

Nope.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Nope.

Who has a system these days where that much of a memory hit actually impacts in-game performance?

 

[Alo81]

Who has a system these days where that much of a memory hit actually impacts in-game performance?

Not really the point. Just pointing out that the poster was completely off base.

In BPM it actually takes up abou ~80Mb so that's even further off base.

 

[LostOne428]

Except the OP actually used several (good) arguments to justify his position.

Thats super then he doesn't haft to use steam. IMO if people don't like something then don't use it. The Arguments are valid but I can't over that everything is optional. there is other avenues to get games and use them. Steam is just a service. Use or don't its just up to you, and your tastes

 

[Alo81]

Thats super then he doesn't haft to use steam. IMO if people don't like something then don't use it. The Arguments are valid but I can't over that everything is optional. there is other avenues to get games and use them. Steam is just a service. Use or don't its just up to you, and your tastes

Just because something is optional doesn't mean you don't have grounds to air out your complaints about the service.

Something being optional doesn't free it from criticism.

Also, there are PC games that genuinely don't have a legal alternative to Steam, so you can't just say "There are other avenues to get games."

 

[CurlySaysX]

The content of the OPs post offends me greatly.

 

[Jimrpg]

steam is really primitive and needs an overhaul...

for example a lot of people have SSD hard drives now... even a 128gb hard drive won't cut it because windows is 30GB, and then after you install a few 10GB games you are basically done. Sure you can install on an external hard drive but the way steam has it set up is not very elegant at all and it doesn't seem possible to move existing things from the SSD to a new drive.

its really annoying

Right now for me I'm on a 256gb SSD that I'm sharing on a Mac where I allocated 50gb to a Windows partition. Big mistake. I only have 20gb left, then I found 5gb worth of automatic update data that hadn't downloaded. I went and turned off automatic updates for all the games, but it seems you can't do it all at once you have to go inside the properties of each game to turn them off. I'm using the steam mover at the moment, but its incredibly troublesome, even more so when the steam mover stuffs up the naming of the drive and some games are on F:, G:, H:, then you have to adjust the drive name to play each game... I'm probably doing it wrong... but I think it would easier if I just spent an afternoon doing a complete fresh reinstall and starting over. Trouble is my internet is 1mbps (when it actually works) and runs shockingly slow.

 

[Terrordactyl]

One idea I have is games? Maybe 100000x times more games?

How do games forgive the services shortcomings? Steam isn't any better than origin or uplay, except in those game by game cases where they force always connected drm. It's silly to say origin sucks because it forces me to use a service that I have less games on, that's not a reason why it sucks, that's just frustration because for some reason people have to have all their damned games on steam. People forget how much we hated steam when it launched, the only reason people like it now is because dealz and f2p valve games that have somehow made the consumer feel like "hey if I gotta bend over at least these guys do it gently"

 

[Dead Man]

You're also answering a question that wasn't directed at you, based on assumptions you've made for the OP. But shame on me for having an opinion, right?

LOL, should have PM'd him if nobody else is allowed answer your top secret private questions.

Edit: Even better, you asked the question of the thread, it wasn't actually directed at the OP:

Why would OP install from disk instead of straight off Steam?

Edit2: Look, you asked a question, got an answer, and then decided you didn't like the answer. You asked for a justification for using something somebody purchased. It is a silly question. It has had several answers, including this very sensible post that was in reply to somebody else asking a similar question to yours:

Because of Steam's default currency conversion 1 USD = 1 Euro it's not uncommon for Euro folk to find better pre-release/day one deals at retail, plus there's the matter of Steam-redeemable titles that are no longer available or have never been available on Steam itself (e.g. 007 Legends and Dynasty Warriors 7 respectively). Unless you can download from content servers at super-high speeds, it's simply a matter of "If you have the disc then why not use it?" as in most cases it'd save quite a bit of downloading.

If that still isn't good enough, then I will just have to say 'tough titties' and you will need to get used to living in a world where people may use discs to install games.

 

[Alo81]

steam is really primitive and needs an overhaul...

for example a lot of people have SSD hard drives now... even a 128gb hard drive won't cut it because windows is 30GB, and then after you install a few 10GB games you are basically done. Sure you can install on an external hard drive but the way steam has it set up is not very elegant at all and it doesn't seem possible to move existing things from the SSD to a new drive.

its really annoying

Right now for me I'm on a 256gb SSD that I'm sharing on a Mac where I allocated 50gb to a Windows partition. Big mistake. I only have 20gb left, then I found 5gb worth of automatic update data that hadn't downloaded. I went and turned off automatic updates for all the games, but it seems you can't do it all at once you have to go inside the properties of each game to turn them off. I'm using the steam mover at the moment, but its incredibly troublesome, even more so when the steam mover stuffs up the naming of the drive and some games are on F:, G:, H:, then you have to adjust the drive name to play each game... I'm probably doing it wrong... but I think it would easier if I just spent an afternoon doing a complete fresh reinstall and starting over. Trouble is my internet is 1mbps (when it actually works) and runs shockingly slow.

It's not Steams fault that games are getting bigger.

Steam has an option when you choose to download a game to pick it's install location so you can easily install games on whichever drive you want.

 

[RedSwirl]

The Steam client absolutely needs a rework. At least add tabs ffs.

Good God yes.

steam is really primitive and needs an overhaul...

for example a lot of people have SSD hard drives now... even a 128gb hard drive won't cut it because windows is 30GB, and then after you install a few 10GB games you are basically done. Sure you can install on an external hard drive but the way steam has it set up is not very elegant at all and it doesn't seem possible to move existing things from the SSD to a new drive.

its really annoying

Right now for me I'm on a 256gb SSD that I'm sharing on a Mac where I allocated 50gb to a Windows partition. Big mistake. I only have 20gb left, then I found 5gb worth of automatic update data that hadn't downloaded. I went and turned off automatic updates for all the games, but it seems you can't do it all at once you have to go inside the properties of each game to turn them off. I'm using the steam mover at the moment, but its incredibly troublesome, even more so when the steam mover stuffs up the naming of the drive and some games are on F:, G:, H:, then you have to adjust the drive name to play each game... I'm probably doing it wrong... but I think it would easier if I just spent an afternoon doing a complete fresh reinstall and starting over. Trouble is my internet is 1mbps (when it actually works) and runs shockingly slow.

That's really more a problem with modern game file sizes than Steam. Full games are getting larger. I have an 128GB SSD and I can really only have one modern full game installed at a time. The rest I back up on an external HDD and restore when I want to play them again. I intend to eventually buy an internal HDD to add.

 

[Sarcasm]

Also one thing to keep in mind if you installed it from disk and it started to download.


Its not actually downloading all that 12GB.

 

[Azriell]

Steam is great, but it's impossible to deny that it can be a pain. It's gotten to the point now where I don't really browse the store anymore, because it's just so slow and shitty. I just wait to hear about sales and hidden gems from external sources now. Of course, I don't have any serious problems with it, and I happily use it every day to both keep track of my library and keep in touch with my friends.

Of all the platforms and all the consoles, steam has got to present the library the best, have the best store front, and offer the best community options, by a long shot. I don't want to see Valve settle with what we have right now (as it seems they have), but let's not pretend that steam is still pretty great.

 

[Fess]

Some games do require it yes. Some others do not though and can be just run after installing with a disk.

More often than not, games are needing some sort of applcation as a launcher however.

With that in mind, most games have cracks available day one that allow you to play offline, without any other software needed to launch - like Steam, Origin, UPlay, etc.

Wait what? You're either stuck using a DRM that might force you to download several GB of data or can't be played offline or you have to go down some kind of piracy route and download cracks - even though you have the physical purchased game in your hand?

To me as a console gamer that sounds absolutely horrible and not far from the DRM hell MS almost lured us into a year ago, if this is what PC gaming has turned into I can finally put the plans to buy a gaming PC to rest. This actually put PS4 in an even better light - no DRM, play while installing, background/standby downloading of patches, play offline all you want, sell the game when you're done with it. The online paywall is crap though.

 

[Alan Smithee]

I'll admit this is how I felt when Half Life 2 came out. Keep in mind physical copies were still the gold standard so getting a fairly hollow box with a couple dvds that required a connection to install just made me shake my head