This.

I hope I can just insert the DVD into my PC, install it and then play it. This is the way it used to be accomplished; not with some added STEAM nonsense.

Welcome to last week.

Yes you need to register on Steam, there's no legal way of getting around it.

Launch the Skyrim.exe directly from the installation folder

yes , that is correct. You are required to have the steam client to activate the game.

im not sure what the problem is. if u play games on a computer why the hell wouldn't you have steam?

more like 7 months ago when steamworks API support was announced.

I didn't know this. Kind of disappointing. So someone with no internet access wouldn't be able to install and play the game if they didn't have Steam?

They need an Internet connection to activate the game. Then you can switch Steam of offline mode. And play without an Internet connection. I think once every so many weeks or months you might need to reactivate. You probably want that anyway, to get patches and fixes. But for the majority of time, you can play without an Internet connection.

There's a FAQ about this somewhere.
Heck, a sticky on this forum.
http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1242199-skyrim-and-steam/

I have a Core 2 Duo and a GTX 560 Ti - I plan on playing Skyrim at ultra settings across the board - and I would rather not have to worry about Steam running in the background taking up valuable CPU cycles that could be used for Skyrim!!!!!

*Microwaves some popcorn to properly enjoy watching some more luddites whinge about Steam.*

You know, I was one of those impudent smart-asses who did the same once upon a time. Then I actually tried it.


ROFL, "valuable CPU cycles". Steam doesn't really use any CPU power while it's idle, and it uses less RAM than my web browser. You'll no doubt find something else to complain about though. But hey, Steam is the least of your worries with this game, considering Bethesda decided to do [censored] like rendering shadows on the CPU.

It's also worth noting you can just directly run the Skyrim EXE file without even launching Steam.

I can't fathom all this Steam hate on this forum, Steam is a great service and out of all the things out there you could be forced into; GFWL; Origin. it is the best, it doesn't use resources enough to effect your PC unless you're trying to run it on a PC from 2000, has insane sales and is all around a good program.
I started using it for Half-Life 2 and Garry's Mod and now i wish all my games were on it.

I know it is a CPU heavy game - hence my reasonable worry regarding Steam.

I was unaware of the fact that Steam was required to play Skyrim - and I have been keeping up with Skyrim news vigilantly - or so I thought.

This is less of a complaint and more of an irritant.

Like I said, Steam is the least of your worries. And like I said, you don't need Steam running to play thanks to an oversight.

Apparently not.

You could always upgrade your computer, it shouldn't really cost much more than an Xbox 360 or PS3 + Skyrim.

Alternatively, just buy a console. That CPU will melt in quite a number of this year's releases.

Why is that the least of my worries then?

Ever think it's not Steam that is the problem, but the mandatory install of Steam? Some people don't like giving up their freedom and control over stuff they own, strange thing, right? It' not even Steam, really, it's the having to have internet thing, that's just completely absurd.

Steam running in background mode has no effect on your performance.

You only need Steam for installation anyway, after that you never have to use it again.

Why complain about Steam? People need to get out of the past. Steam is perfect.. compare it to EAs 'origin' and you'll clearly see that.

Auto updates, communication between friends, no cds, stats, achievements, play on multiple systems, perfectly streamlined interface/accessibility..

My main like? I didnt even have to leave the house. My game was pre downloaded and ready to play on Friday at 12:01am. Perfect!

Enjoy the digital age and don't be afraid of it friend!

Ummm... uh huh... so... needing the Internet for antivirus updates to protect yourself must also be absurd, at least according to this logic.

It's no big deal and has been very publically stated, including on the game box in very obvious lettering.

steam svcks, origins svcks but really its not worth complaining over. steam takes almost no memory, ram, or procesing power.

Like I said, Bethesda (in their infinite wisdom) decided to offload some of the graphics engine work to the CPU. Your CPU is pretty old as it is and four cores is the standard nowadays with truly multi-threaded games being the norm for recent releases. I can't imagine Skyrim running exceptionally well, even with a GTX 500 series (which is no doubt being bottlenecked by that CPU).

Probably best that you get used to it now or buy a console, games have been going digital or coming with some form of online anti-piracy checks for years now. It's not ideal, but Steam is certainly the least malevolent form of it considering how many features it offers for absolutely free, actually useful features too.

Your particular comparison made me laugh because the kinds of people who love to bash Steam and dismiss it without so much as trying it are probably the sorts of impudent smart asses who "know better" than to need antivirus.

When steam is gone, your game you've rented at full retail price are gone too.
I think that's the thing that annoy most anti steam like.

That's a fair complaint even if I doubt I'll play most of the game I own in 10 year.

Especially people like software publishers who are being told they aren't allowed to enter into partnerships with other companies in attempt to promote programs and utilities which they believe are worth having and package their products however they choose.

Oh, wait, you meant the consumer, who clearly has the freedom and control to buy it or not buy it based on what it is rather than what they wish it was.

If you can't afford internet you shouldn't be playing video games.

One of the reasons a lot of people play the Elder Scroll games is because they cannot use the Internet and require a single player game.
Even if you have satellite you cannot play games because it is too slow.

Obviously I can access the Internet, but for security reasons I never do so unless I am using Linux. (It became impossible to download
Microsoft patches and virus updated over the slow old country phone lines.My ISP would shut me down after 8 hours of downloading and
before the patches and updates had completed. Even people with broadband who did this daily, lost their hard drives to virus
because the updates were not current enough.)

Because this game must be played on Microsoft I cannot connect it's hard drive to the Internet even if the slow speeds would not prevent
whatever downloads are required. It is absurd to require constant access to the Internet. That is asking for trouble. Apparently their desires
trump our needs and our welfare.

Bethesda used to make an effort to broaden their customer base by making their games fun and available to a wide range of players. That
was a good business decision that brought them more customers and more income. It was good for us also because they could then afford
to create more great games that most of us can tweak for our maximum enjoyment.

Apparently they no longer care about the thousands of us outside of broadband areas or without the wherewithal to afford it. I hope they do
not continue to whittle down their customer base.

Oh yay... Another stupid reason to make me use Steam... Or as I like to call it... PC Live... I'll wait for that to sink in for a moment...

I wish it would just die already.