I'm all for Steam, as well -- but as an OPTION, not a DRM requirement. As long as this doesn't become a copout when it comes to dedicated servers -- I still want RAGE to have its' own user-friendly server browser, preferably along the lines of ETQW. If I see even a hint of matchmaking nonsense I'll crap a brick. I still have faith in ID regarding this though.



you're forgetting the game overlay UI (steam cloud) which only activates once you start a game, and which impacts performance quite a bit more than the steam client. both applications will also require more memory the longer you leave them on due to caching and memory dumps -- it's not unusual for steam as a whole to take up >120mb after a few hours of activity. obviously if you have a rig that can comfortably play RAGE at release this shouldn't be an issue, but i'm just saying that the performance impact is noticable to those of us still stuck with older rigs. when i'm gaming online i always try to go for maximum performance -- meaning i shut down absolutely every unnecessary process running in the background, from firewalls/security software to auto-updaters to display config utilities -- everything that i won't need to play. so having steam hovering around in the background can be annoying, but really it's just me being pedantic. i decided to stick with XP sp3, so optimally when i start a game i'm only using around 160mb of memory. =P



this is true, and the community aspect of Steam is a good incentive to pay for a legitimate copy of the game as well. however i don't want to be forced into using it. if there's the option to "activate the product on steam" then that's totally fine -- but the game needs to be able to run independently as well. piracy WILL happen no matter what kind of DRM is used, so the product should be made available to as wide an audience as possible from the start, including those who don't even have an internet connection. those of us getting the game for the multiplayer/communities will most likely pay for our copies anyway. it's no fun having your IP banned via punkbuster, and things like Hamachi and GArena are just no fun outside of alpha/beta testing.

I'm fine with Steamworks. It's autopatching system works, achievements are nice, and it allows me to buy a nice collectors edition and tie it to Steam, so I wont have to put the disk in to play. Its really convenient, and the only drawback is having to run the steam client in the background. But thats not a big deal, and offline mode works well now.

GfWL on the other hand has way too many annoying little quirks, like its patching process, not being able to acces your saves, bad UI etc.

Oh, and the most important thing: NO install limits please.

To all you people who complain about Steam.

I used to be like you but now I appreciate Steam. It doe snto really do anything special other thaan automatically patching my games, but it is always a good way to find mroe games and its just a nice little library for all your games, there si nothing wrong with it, you just refuse to like it.

STEAM wasn't perfect and that is when aquiring game they don't get the licenses for certain game like Quake 4, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire, The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard, Hexen II: Portal of Praevus, Heretic II and the Lost Episodes of Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny.

Crap! I was just watching the untethered trailer again and at the end it said GAMES FOR WINDOWS I'm sad now.

Games for Windows does not mean Games for Windows LIVE. GfW is just a set of standards, like if it supports controllers it has to support the 360 pad and things like that, it's hardly more than a sticker. The horrible abomination that almost all PC gamers universally hate is called GfWLive.

Games can have a GfW sticker and still not use any thrid party client (like the PC version of Bioshock 1), or use something else, like gamespy (Civilization IV) or Steamworks (Empire: Total War for example has the Games for Windows logo and it uses Steamworks).

So don't panic yet...

cool thats a relief

in the risk of sounding like a really devoted fan-of which i woulld not give even a fragment of a rat's tiny bu!!-RAGE will actually benefit from implementing fully STEAMWORKS as it's DRM system.We, over at the Steam forums have been letting like a hell of a lot people talk all crap about the service and badmouth it, it's about time this stops.I never had the slightest of issues playing any game that incorporates STEAMWORKS, on the contrary it's the best experience ever.Mind you, I'm only with a 3-4mbps ADSL 2+ line behind a very touchy firewall, and I never had any issues at all.Also, I'd rather mot endanger my system registry by accidentally manually deleting any key that looks like it falls with the SONY SecuRom related ones and all hell breaks loose upon reboot-no thank you.

@ maldenya
"(...)We, over at the Steam forums (...)"

You had no problems ever with your STEAM... Whatever you say man. And no, it's not about time it stops. As long as there are people that don't want your STEAM, it's about time it goes on.

Coming back, I'd be happy with an online activation of my key the first time I run the game. That's pretty convenient. See the new StarForce online activation from DCS A-10. They actually learned something from the beating they took ...