Rant Wanna know why people pirate games?!

[MYstIC G]

No issues running it I just don't want to see the whole "connecting to account" bollocks. Do that shit in the background.

 

[Aada]

I do miss my pc gaming days for sure but these days I just can't justify spending a fortune on a new graphics card. We bought an M11X last June and its done me fine for the odd mmo and RTS but these games are few and far between.

 

[chipper]

i hate GFWL its shit and i didnt get to play GTA 4 for over a year because no matter what i did it would not work decided to have a go at it a few month ago out of boredom and it seems the platform is alot more stable than it was or maybe its cos im using win7 now instead of vista who knows

i also had to play through batman in 1 sitting because i couldnt fuckin save it

i ended up gettin on 360 in the end and tbh it was a better experience than the pc

point is i bought both these games and couldnt play either properly. ill never touch a game again that requires GFWL

i have much love for steam tho ^^

 

[Wij]

Bah - I hope it works for me. I can't wait for Bulletstorm :/

 

[nath]

Well it doesn't seem like it matters really:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/03/01/pc-is-strong-pc-games-revenue-up-20/

 

[Wazzerphuk]

It's great Wij, played some last night and it's fantastic fun.

Also, the good thing about GFWL is it does work, always, regardless of what you do on your PC. Steam has a list of over 70 (yes, SEVENTY) applications that "interfere" with it. By "interfere" they actually mean "stops it from working completely, meaning if you want to play online you have to forget about any security software." It is very poorly coded in parts.

 

[Raven]

Not come across any compatibility problems with steam myself. Maybe having a properly built/configured PC helps! Along with using a firewall and AV software that aren't rubbish.

GFWL However. Update problems with Fallout 3, DLC problems with Fallout 3. Patch problems with Grand Theft Auto, log in problems with grand theft auto. Several tedious errors with other programs.

The stupid program constantly getting itself confused as to whether it needs updating or not and refusing to run until you have installed the non existent update. Not to mention having to use the stupid MS points to buy some DLC.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Not come across any compatibility problems with steam myself. Maybe having a properly built/configured PC helps! Along with using a firewall and AV software that aren't rubbish.

Err, you're talking shit.

Take a look at the list, nearly EVERY piece of security software is on it:

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

 

[Vasconcelos]

Cuz they fukin cost 72€ (Marvel vs Campcom 3) around here!!!!!!

 

[Raven]

Err, you're talking shit.

Take a look at the list, nearly EVERY piece of security software is on it:

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

Err. No I'm not. I do not have any compatibility issues with steam...except for when GFWL gets involved.

Anyway, since when does "May" mean "does" ? I use a few of the programs listed on that page and still get problems...

Catalyst AI is listed on there for example. Are you actually suggesting Steam doesn't work with ATI cards? Or did you just not bother to read it?

ofc it will not work if you do not tell your firewall to allow it through (for example) and I quote "Anti-Virus Applications - Any Anti-Virus program could potentially block Steam and Steam game access, especially when not properly configured for use with Steam"

Stupid people have problems with Steam.

 

[Zenith.UK]

Got to agree with Raven here.
I've been using Steam for a number of years and never had any real problems that weren't of my own making. Avast has never been a problem, and Win7 nicely asks you what firewall setting you want for each game as you run it for the first time.

There are very few apps which are show-stoppers for Steam, and most of those are network hooks or firewall related. It kind of makes obvious sense really, blocking the network for a program causes problems for a program that needs a network connection.

 

[rynnor]

Err, you're talking shit.

Take a look at the list, nearly EVERY piece of security software is on it:

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=9828-SFLZ-9289

Thats because idiots opt to block it when they first setup steam - I have an anti-virus on that list that works fine but no software can be proof against users choosing the wrong option.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Yes of course you can get around things by setting them up intricately.

But the point is with GFWL you don't need to, it just works. Steam doesn't, and needs to be fiddled with, and some combinations of software packages will stop it working altogether.

If you're a casual gamer or PC user Steam can be a bit of a nightmare. We launch our titles through Steam and there are always Steam issues that cause us grief.

 

[Ch3tan]

You seem to be of the belief Pc games used to work before Steam or something Wazz.

Patches, config editing, hardware and driver problems, OS problems, the list is endless. It's an issue with PC's; not Steam exclusively.

 

[Chilly]

Love PC gaming. Far better than consoling in basically every respect for me.

 

[nath]

But the point is with GFWL you don't need to, it just works. Steam doesn't, and needs to be fiddled with, and some combinations of software packages will stop it working altogether.

GFWL may *just work* (though I expect there's plenty of people who have had problems with it too) but the things it claims to do it does FAR worse than Steam. Matchmaking and playing a game with a friend is absolutely atrocious on GFWL whereas with Steam it's an absolute doddle.

Plus, I don't think it's entirely valid to link to that article. It does say "may" interfere, in that respect it's much like the little leaflets you get with medication. They may cause your eyeballs to drop in to your body and out through your arse, but really in the overwhelming majority of cases it's fine.

Anecdotal evidence is pointless, but I've never had issues setting up Steam. The *only* time I've had issue with it is in COD4 where punkbuster hates the overlay, but that's one tickbox to fix.

Steam is grand, far from perfect but it's so much better than GFWL. In fact, I've yet to see any reason for GFWL's existence, it's absolutely shite at what it does.

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting the only problems that exist are down to Steam, just that Steam isn't the wonderful piece of software that a lot of people say it is, without realising everything it does.

I'm not pushing GFWL or suggesting it's better, just highlighting differences.

PC games will always have issues, all games will have issues but with PC they're more prominent due to varying hardware and software setups. Delivery systems such as Steam and GFWL, while useful (to a very small extent) in combating piracy, can also cause a lot of problems.

In my experience Steam is a better all-round service than GFWL, but it also has the drawback of having more problematic user issues and bugs than GFWL. Neither is perfect.

 

[nath]

In my experience Steam is a better all-round service than GFWL, but it also has the drawback of having more problematic user issues and bugs than GFWL. Neither is perfect.

Are you going on work experience - complaints from customers, or your own personal experience? If so, how long ago was that and what sorta problems?

 

[Wazzerphuk]

Combo - pow!

I don't use it loads but had a crash last week, issues with updates stalling etc. Actually use GFWL more (just because the two games I've recently played are Bulletstorm and Batman, I can't get into Metro 2033 (Steam)).

 

[Billargh]

I don't really have problems with either.

 

[MYstIC G]

Steam is also shit at bandwidth management.

 

[PLightstar]

Thats my one main bug-bear with Steam is that when downloading games it only uses 10% of your connection, where as Direct2Drive or others will use everything available. Also it pausing downloads when play games, which is fine for big net use games like TF2 or L4D but not for flight Control HD or Briad.

 

[Raven]

Hmm, mine uses 100% of my bandwidth. Usually 355kb/s - That's as fast as I can download anything because of my shitty line.

It may well have a server side cap.

 

[TdC]

or did you cap it yourself? cos my steam uses every megabit it can see.

 

[PLightstar]

Haven't capped it, Never found a work around, lots of people I know have the same problem. I have a 10Mb connection with Virgin (wired) and Steam will always download at a constant 1.1mb sometimes going up to 1.4mb. Tried changing location, opening all the ports Steam asked for on my PC and the Router. Always been that way through 2 or 3 pcs and routers

 

[Raven]

You won't get more than 1.2 (or there abouts) MBps on a 10Mbps line. Bits and Bytes

This explains it

broadband - Why is my speed only limited to 12% of my max bandwidth? - Super User

To achieve 10MBps you would need an 80Mps line.

 

[MYstIC G]

or did you cap it yourself? cos my steam uses every megabit it can see.

This, steam is a bandwidth whore. It's also not a very clever one. If I order 2 games and start them running it doesn't download one after the other, i.e. complete game A before game B, because god forbid I might want to play one of them.

 

[TdC]

you can pause downloads foo

 

[Raven]

Library>Downloads "pause"

I have that problem with patches, with my limited download speed I always have to pause patches or disable automatic updates, with some games rather than download and install a small patch it just re-downloads the latest version of the game and with one or two clocking in at 10g+ this can take an age.

 

[MYstIC G]

I'm fully aware of pause thanks, however in my experiences Steam doesn't adjust it just keeps doing what it likes.