I my name is Senethro and I love STEAM restriction because I’m a f4nBoYz. I like stupid restriction & DRM because I find them kewl and I’m doing it for free, I’m not payed by VALVe or any 3rd party studio, I do all of that just for free !!! And when someone spot something obviously wrong, I can turn myself into a BRICK WALLZ and nothing, such as well constructed post can pass through it !!!
(Hopefully jared will understand the seriousness of this post before putting an infraction)
Hi my name is Senethro and I dislike Steam restrictions but understand how they are just one part of a wider trend of region locking that should be well known about because its been the status quo for years. Its unfortunate that some countries are so poor that their games must be priced lower and its frequently due to colonial exploitation and historical effects.
I wish DRM weren’t necessary but some applicaitons of it have been successful at preventing day zero piracy and given the current model of AAA game development I’m not surprised that publishers try to prevent piracy. I find Steam a very palatable form of DRM for online games due to it performing other functions I like.
I’m amazed by how many people are misinformed about what Steam is and what it does and then write ranty poorly punctuated posts about it in this thread. Or that the people who think they can buy games cheap in a developing country get angry when their loophole was closed.
[quote=Senethro;224713]Hi my name is Senethro and I dislike Steam restrictions but understand how they are just one part of a wider trend of region locking that should be well known about because its been the status quo for years. Its unfortunate that some countries are so poor that their games must be priced lower and its frequently due to colonial exploitation and historical effects.
I wish DRM weren’t necessary but some applicaitons of it have been successful at preventing day zero piracy and given the current model of AAA game development I’m not surprised that publishers try to prevent piracy. I find Steam a very palatable form of DRM for online games due to it performing other functions I like.
I’m amazed by how many people are misinformed about what Steam is and what it does and then write ranty poorly punctuated posts about it in this thread. Or that the people who think they can buy games cheap in a developing country get angry when their loophole was closed.[/quote]
Suppose I were from a developing country. You think it’s fair that I would be unable to play it outside my country if I were on, let’s say, a vacation? Or working there for some time? Do I have to buy a new game version each time I move around?
Actually I’m pretty sure you can email Valve and ask them to transfer all your licenses for your games to your new region. Obviously they won’t do this often and will require it to be consistent across all your games. I don’t know how standard the procedure is, maybe they even stopped doing it. I couldn’t find any information about it in Steam Support, but I did come across this saying that region locked games are noted as such on packaging. How about that then?
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=1266-QFZC-2141
Right… First of all - Hi guys I’m obviously new to this forum, but anyway, not that that matters.
On the question at hand. Steam has many problems… Damn I can’t even connect to their servers right now ( uni net ), and ocasionally have to go to an internet cafe to upgrade ( same prob- uni firewall). Come on, though, as much as I hate that infernal s-ware, it is a good platform and it does provide so much to developers and players alike, that you can’t really dismiss it.
HOWEVER. If SD won’t lose anything… I would prefer a non-steam version 
. Also- maybe a lot of the things said about Steam are complete nonsence. I don’t know- don’t really use it that much, but I can say that I treat it as one of those memory-leach-programs on my system, and personally turn it off as soon as I’m done using it.
BTW- I originally come from an ex-comunist country- Bulgaria, and can assure you- if it’s legal software you want- you pay as much as the rest of Europe. Oh yeah- about piracy… Now there’s a subject plagued by misinformation…
Cheers, Slav.
If anyone wants to release a AAA PC title these days they HAVE to have some sort of DRM, just read any gamingnewssite.
Im just glad SD didnt choose Windows Live or created something as stupid as Ubisoft did.
The good old…
“How dare you correct or offer explanation for inaccurate, false, exaggerated or all out wrong information. You must be a crazed fanboy or a shill!”
…rant. Don’t kill the messenger.
You’d be in a minority, unfortunately one swept up in a bigger attempt to prevent, for example, keys being sold from the Russian market in Europe for half their value.
Crappy for the consumer that Steam enables such things to be enforced but it’s hardly surprising given it’s such an appealing deterrent on consoles,DVDs etc.
Welcome. This might however have not been the greatest thread to first post. 
HOWEVER. If SD won’t lose anything… I would prefer a non-steam version :D.
Don’t think it’ll happen if they’re integrating Steam directly into the game for features. Question is could they allow a console switch on launch to disable the features and so the need to run Steam?
I treat it as one of those memory-leach-programs on my system, and personally turn it off as soon as I’m done using it.
And Steam doesn’t grumble about this one bit. The only time you’re forced to run it is when a game needs to access it. I actually wonder if Valve should just invest in coding a /quiet mode for Steam. I’d wonder if all this was then handled in-game rather than using the Steam UI people would even notice.
BTW- I originally come from an ex-comunist country- Bulgaria, and can assure you- if it’s legal software you want- you pay as much as the rest of Europe. Oh yeah- about piracy… Now there’s a subject plagued by misinformation…
Cheers, Slav.
Where about in Bulgaria? Are you studying there too?
Welcome to the EU. 
And yes, piracy… Perhaps we should save that for another topic.
[quote=Wolfmeister;224725]If anyone wants to release a AAA PC title these days they HAVE to have some sort of DRM, just read any gamingnewssite.
Im just glad SD didnt choose Windows Live or created something as stupid as Ubisoft did.[/quote]
I’ve yet to see any credible source on piracy figures even the US Government finds the claims put forward somewhat questionable (http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20002304-261.html). Gaming News Sites just enjoy spreading the same FUD as it gets everyone all pitchforky and pageview horny.
Valve have shown that they don’t think DRM is the only or even best solution to piracy. I believe they present Steam and Steamworks to developers/publishers as an extension of anti-piracy measures by offering legit gamers more services, more engagement and feedback.
I realise that, but I prefer reading quietly for a while, state my oppinion at some point, than move away again, besides the greeting pages are not really my thing 
.
To be honest even if Steam had a quiet mode I’d still turn it off. I prefer knowing exactly what happens with my PC and a background processes that I don’t even use 80% of the time is, for me, the embodiment of evil. I guess I’m still not used to the New-Age Time-Machines of computers we have access to, BUT… That’s my oppinion and I’m entitled to it.
I was born and lived in Varna untill last September when I started studying at the Hull University (UK)… 10x for asking .
About piracy- as big a problem it is… I keep on thinking it is more a case of blaming piracy, instead of looking at core problems that the industry has suffered for a long time. Problems that have only recently become more serious, with it’s expansion. Just my thoughts.
edit Typos.
[quote=Senethro;224721]Actually I’m pretty sure you can email Valve and ask them to transfer all your licenses for your games to your new region. Obviously they won’t do this often and will require it to be consistent across all your games. I don’t know how standard the procedure is, maybe they even stopped doing it. I couldn’t find any information about it in Steam Support, but I did come across this saying that region locked games are noted as such on packaging. How about that then?
Do you really believe to all that is written on the Valve/steam site? Oh well…
I can assure you for 10th time that there was NOTHING stated about any restrictions on the DVD cases. Need 11th time?
[QUOTE=brutt01d;224805]Do you really believe to all that is written on the Valve/steam site? Oh well…
I can assure you for 10th time that there was NOTHING stated about any restrictions on the DVD cases. Need 11th time?[/QUOTE]
I still wanna know why were you buying games out of your region?
I sort of meant more that it loaded in the background when the game ran and closed when the game did. You’re right, not that different from doing the same manually but I think if monkey don’t see, monkey don’t scream.
BTW - Is it official Uni policy to block the Steam ports? Is it just the update servers or the entire Steam services? Does other stuff work? Skype, p2p?
I was born and lived in Varna untill last September when I started studying at the Hull University (UK)… 10x for asking
.
Cool. My wife is from there, lovely place. Not sure Hull compares in the summer time.
About piracy- as big a problem it is… I keep on thinking it is more a case of blaming piracy, instead of looking at core problems that the industry has suffered for a long time. Problems that have only recently become more serious, with it’s expansion. Just my thoughts.
Totally agree. I respect Valve for recognising that in fact and nothing frustrates me more than people summising piracy as only an act greed.
Unimportant but I’m kinda interested too after all the drama.
"Note:
Many university networks and proxies block required ports for Steam operation - please consult your network administrator to ensure the required ports are open if you are using a university network or a proxy. Ports required for Steam can not be re-mapped to HTTP or reconfigured to a custom port range.`
From Steam site
[quote=Nail;224846]"Note:
Many university networks and proxies block required ports for Steam operation - please consult your network administrator to ensure the required ports are open if you are using a university network or a proxy. Ports required for Steam can not be re-mapped to HTTP or reconfigured to a custom port range.`
From Steam site[/quote]
Your point is what? That statement is equally applicable to any game that needs specific ports open to communicate.
just replying to your question:
"BTW - Is it official Uni policy to block the Steam ports? "
[quote=Nail;224853]just replying to your question:
"BTW - Is it official Uni policy to block the Steam ports? "[/quote]
I asked if his University had a policy to block the Steam ports. This is entirely different from the ports required just not being open. Which is of course what you were posting from the Steam support pages.
Two different things.
best to check the university’s Information Technology Appropriate Use Policy, most block P2P and several other ports, just like the problem with QW being seen as P2P on uni networks when it came out.
Lol, proves that everybody should enroll into UofM because I played all the quake wars I wanted provided there is enough bandwidth.
Wait, what am I saying, they are all going to steal the bandwidth that I would have used to play Quake Wars.
I’ve changed my opinion of steam after reading this thread
It’s alright, but the only doubt I have left is if BRINK uses steam how oftn will I actually be able to PLAY
atm I play some MW2 now and then, and frequently me and my friends are kicked out of the game so it can sync with the steam cloud or whatever… Quite annoying.
Also sure the friendslist is great but how often has it been down for maintenance ?
These are my final rants on steam
Side Note: This part of the forums is pretty hostile :s