Armageddon Games Steam Community

[Radium]

Hey all, since the new steam community feature just came out I thought it might be cool for all the PC gamers on the forum to join up so we can play together (especially TF2 on Monday for those of us who have pre-ordered it!).

Once you've installed steam and signed up you can join the group at:

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/agn

Hope to see you all join!

[rock_nog]

Funny, just today I was thinking it'd be cool if there was an AGN group. Dang it, now I need a decent computer so I can play TF2 when it comes out.

[Darth Marsden]

I abhor Steam. I loath it with a passion reserved only for the most vile and horrific things imaginable. It is the antithesis of everything I hold dear as a gamer and it is a blatant intrusion on my innermost privacy. I have lost all respect for Valve that they should have earned for such a great game. They have taken a good idea and turned it into possibly the most infuriating piece of software that has been created in the last few years.

I mean seriously. I have to have an internet connection to run Half-Life 2? Bullshit! I paid good money for the DVD, I expect to be able to install and play it without you telling me that I'm not connected and therefore cannot be arsed to load! Fuck you Valve. Because of you, I have to use a specially cracked version of your game with a Steam Emulator that means a third of the mods I play are less then perfect and another third won't even run at all, and all because you wanted to force the internet revolution? Fuck. You.

...

...yeah.

[AlexMax]

I abhor Steam. I loath it with a passion reserved only for the most vile and horrific things imaginable. It is the antithesis of everything I hold dear as a gamer and it is a blatant intrusion on my innermost privacy. I have lost all respect for Valve that they should have earned for such a great game. They have taken a good idea and turned it into possibly the most infuriating piece of software that has been created in the last few years.

I mean seriously. I have to have an internet connection to run Half-Life 2? Bullshit! I paid good money for the DVD, I expect to be able to install and play it without you telling me that I'm not connected and therefore cannot be arsed to load! Fuck you Valve. Because of you, I have to use a specially cracked version of your game with a Steam Emulator that means a third of the mods I play are less then perfect and another third won't even run at all, and all because you wanted to force the internet revolution? Fuck. You.

...

...yeah.

2004 called, they want their gripes about Steam back.

You're insane. I love not having to keep track of my CD's, automatic patching, and automatic downloading of games. And if you don't have an internet connection in the year 2007 just kill yourself now. Oh, and Steam has a working offline mode too, so you don't even need an internet connection past the initial activation.

And what the hell kind of "privacy violations" are you talking about?

Joined up as AlexMax.

[Glenn the Great]

Steam has served me well over the past 3 years. It has it's downsides, but the pros have proven to outweigh the cons.

My SN is GlenntheGreat

[Darth Marsden]

2004 called, they want their gripes about Steam back.

You're insane. I love not having to keep track of my CD's, automatic patching, and automatic downloading of games. And if you don't have an internet connection in the year 2007 just kill yourself now. Oh, and Steam has a working offline mode too, so you don't even need an internet connection past the initial activation.

And what the hell kind of "privacy violations" are you talking about?
I'm behind on the times. Sue me.

I am not insane. The concept of Steam is great. Being able to download games and stuff is a nice idea. It's just that irritating thing about needing it for Half-Life 2 and its episodic sequels that pisses me off. And I know it has a work offline mode, but you still need the net to activate it and it's all such a hassle that I really shouldn't have to deal with.

I do have an internet connection, it's just not to my gaming PC - it's for the family one. We've recently switched internet providers however, and that means it should now be fairly simple to have a wireless network, so I may be able to get the internet onto my PC. Maybe.

Steam has, on more then one occasion, been used to gather information about the stats of people's PCs. Quite frankly, I don't want Valve finding out that kind of information.

I like the idea behind Steam. Being able to automatically download updates, get old and under-rated games without dealing with publishers, connecting with friends, etc. I just hate the fact that I can't play one of the best games of the century without it.

[AlexMax]

I'm behind on the times. Sue me.

I am not insane. The concept of Steam is great. Being able to download games and stuff is a nice idea. It's just that irritating thing about needing it for Half-Life 2 and its episodic sequels that pisses me off. And I know it has a work offline mode, but you still need the net to activate it and it's all such a hassle that I really shouldn't have to deal with.

It is nost a hassle at all. Connect to the internet once, then unplug your box and you'll be good to go.


I do have an internet connection, it's just not to my gaming PC - it's for the family one. We've recently switched internet providers however, and that means it should now be fairly simple to have a wireless network, so I may be able to get the internet onto my PC. Maybe.

Steam has, on more then one occasion, been used to gather information about the stats of people's PCs. Quite frankly, I don't want Valve finding out that kind of information.

What part of 'voluntary' do you not understand?

[rock_nog]

See, I thought Steam was brilliant because of the no-CD thing, plus it's nice to be able to buy games online (see, I never had an issue with the Half-Life 2 internet connection thing, 'cause I bought it online). As for the issue of gathering PC stats, my understanding was that so they could have a better idea of the kind of systems people have, and thus have an idea of what their target system should be for future game development.

EDIT: Oh, which reminds me, on top of my already long, sordid history of different aliases (weirdguy, macweirdo42, now rock_nog - ugh), there's one more - in online games, I go by "The Mad Fragger." I really need a more consistent online persona.

[Darth Marsden]

It bloody well is a hassle when you literally cannot connect your PC to the internet. Like, say, you live on the second floor of a house and there's no phone points nearby? Thankfully, this will no longer be an issue for me in a week or so when I get my wireless network set up, but there are still others out there who were unable to play the game when it was initially released because their PCs weren't internet-enabled.

They were voluntary? Oh. Well then, I guess I have to concede that point. But the technology to do it without out consent is still there and that's a little creepy.

I like having hard backups of games on discs. You won't find me alone on this. Which is why, when I download a game, I like to shove it onto a CD or DVD, so that I can delete it and then re-install it at a later date if I wish. Can you do that with stuff you download from Steam? I don't think so.

If, when I get interneted, Steam decides it likes me, then I may play HL2Deathmatch. If so, I'll join up under the username 'darthmarsden', or 'Darth Marsden', depending on whether you can spaces in your username or not. But that's about all I'll do, since I'm not really an internet gamer.

[ZTC]

That brings up a question on my end, would I be able to play games like Half-Life 2 on my home computer (which does not have an internet connection) if I installed it to my external drive and activated it at college. Would the activation information carry through on the HDD or is there some registery bullcrap involved?

[AlexMax]

It bloody well is a hassle when you literally cannot connect your PC to the internet. Like, say, you live on the second floor of a house and there's no phone points nearby?

If you're backwards enough to be stuck with 56k, you're probably capable of using an extra long phone cord to do your authentication or moving your computer downstairs for a few minutes while it authenticates, then moving it back. Use your head.


I like having hard backups of games on discs. You won't find me alone on this. Which is why, when I download a game, I like to shove it onto a CD or DVD, so that I can delete it and then re-install it at a later date if I wish. Can you do that with stuff you download from Steam? I don't think so.

Uh, yes you can.



Backing up Steam files: If you purchased Half Life 2 online, and want to back the game up to a CD or DVD there are two ways to do this: Open Steam, go to the 'My Games' list, right-click on any game you want to backup, and select 'Backup Game Files'. Alternatively, you can go the File menu in the main Steam window, and select ' Backup Games'. You will then enter a backup wizard which lets you choose which installed Valve games to backup, the destination directory, and the media type you'll be using (CD or DVD) so that it can segment the files into CD or DVD-sized portions, ready for burning.

You can even back up multiple games on one CD/DVD set if you wish.

[Darth Marsden]

The Cyborg: I don't know. I think it might work, but I've no proof that it would. It's still a hassle you shouldn't have to deal with though, which is my point.

My dad works in retail and he had a bunch of returns on HL2 when it first came out because people couldn't install it due to the internet connection issue. This isn't about my situation per se, it's about other people who don't have the technical knowhow to sort out a temporary internet connection, or can't be arsed to sort one out just for the one game.

I was unaware you could back up your Steamed games. I concede on that one. Can you play them offline as well? Because I'm interested in a couple, like Psychonauts, and I'd just like to know. You seem to have all the answers.

[AlexMax]

My dad works in retail and he had a bunch of returns on HL2 when it first came out because people couldn't install it due to the internet connection issue. This isn't about my situation per se, it's about other people who don't have the technical knowhow to sort out a temporary internet connection, or can't be arsed to sort one out just for the one game.

That is because, indeed, when Half Life 2 came out, Steam was incapable of handling the force of a million neckbeards hammering the content and authentication servers at once, and the unlocking problems took a good while to resolve. These days, the content and authentication servers are much more reliable.

[Glenn the Great]

To be fair Alex, the "internet connection issue" that Darth Marsden is speaking of is not the one you are thinking of. Marsden's issue is with the fact that Internet is required to begin with. The people who returned the game were returning it because they did not have the Internet to begin with.

[AlexMax]

To be fair Alex, the "internet connection issue" that Darth Marsden is speaking of is not the one you are thinking of. Marsden's issue is with the fact that Internet is required to begin with. The people who returned the game were returning it because they did not have the Internet to begin with.

OK. People who don't have an internet connection can't play Half Life 2. Neither can people with an onboard INTEL EXTREEEEEEM graphics card, a Pentium Pro, or 8 megabytes of memory. What's your point?

[Darth Marsden]

The point is, I have the DVD version of Half-Life 2, but twhen I try to install it, I discover that it won't because it can't read the disc! I don't wanna have to pay for the game again! Not cool! Not cool at all!

But yeah, I'm on as darthmarsden, as you'll probably be aware by now. Please be aware that when you're on I'll probably be at sleep or at work, and when I'm on you'll probably be asleep, at work or at school. But meh.