Being forced to sign up for, install and use STEAM is almost as bad as Ubisoft's always online crap. I don't like STEAM, I don't buy games from them, won't ever buy games from them. I purchased the DVD, that should have been enough. This is a bad move Bethesda. Going for least intrusive and you failed, because there should not be ANYTHING intrusive.

I'm on Xbox and have never used steam, but why is it so bad? I heard its just a one time install and then you can play offline.

Haters gonna hate.

Is there any sort of REASON you hate Steam?

I admit, I wasn't too thrilled of the idea when I was told I needed it to play games I had owned for years before Steam existed (original Half-Life and it's mods) and it was total crap in the beginning. But it eventually was made stable, and they've been fixing and adding new stuff to it a lot in the past couple of years (coinciding with the release of TF2 and L4D) that make it just absolutely fantastic. It's not perfect, by all means, but it is the best DRM, best distribution and update service, and the best community tool for gaming around, IMO.



However, I will state that it was NOT good idea to not mention Steam at ALL on the retail package. It was branded as Games for Windows Live and not only does it NOT use GFWL (thank god) it doesn't mention that it is a Steamworks game and that Steam is required.

Think of it in terms of: You buy a new TV and Best Buy sends a tech to your house to make sure it's all set up...and never leaves.

I'm on a very slow DSL hookup and I can't even install from the dvd, it tries to force me to download the whole game even with the dvd in the tray. I loath buying something and having to accept the BS baggage it ends up coming with. I'm a huge Elder Scrolls fan, and I hope by the time ES5 comes out they figure out something else that doesn't screw PC users who just want the game and not said baggage.

If you dont like steam sell your computer, because it is the only way PC gaming will survive. And if i have too choose between steam and disk check i will choose steam a thousand times before a disk check.

what he said ^^

Well... I actually agree.

err it did say
Internet connection required and free steam account to activate

Think of Steam like the NCR. Sure, they're a bunch of [censored]s, but at least they're not going to crucify you for gambling and drinking.

Panos: My retail package says nothing about Steam being required. It does say internet connection requires, yes; but it says it's for GFWL services, not Steam.

Yeah, but what if the tech is a hot ?

I thought it was mentioned. And anyway, it wasn't billed as Games for Windows Live. It was billed as Games for Windows, which, although misleading, is different. It means it is essentially "approved" as a windows compatible game. It's an annoying distinction, but get used to it. because its not going away, and as RoadReaction said, steam, or something like it, is going to be necessary for PC gaming to live on, and it is better than the alternative.

thats strange im from europe and it says it prob for america?

It never had GFWL. It has always had GFW on the pc version but never has it required or said it required Live.

STEAM is the best thing to ever happen to PC gamers.

It has some unfrakkingbelievable deals on a regular basis (MIRROR'S EDGE for 5$, entirely free prequels when you pre-order sequels, sales 52 weekends out of the year, etc).

There would be no indie game scene without Steam and everybody would still be talking digital distro. Valve, the elephant in the room, used their clout, told brick-and-mortar to svck an egg and built the entire infrastructure. Even if you only buy AAA titles from popular outfits, you benefit because all these studios pick talent from that indie pool: it's been a literal shot in the arm for game design.

(why then AAA game design svcks so bad _cough_DEAD SPACE_cough_ is another topic)

And as for the forums, like everything with many humans in it, it's both glorious (Devs are all over that thing - I got answers straight from the leads of both GREED and SHADOWGROUNDS within an hour of loading a post) and wretched (humans in general).

Finally, unlike every Beth game I own, NEW VEGAS loads with the DVD safely tucked away in the box, natch!

Welcome to the 21st century, dinosaur boy. Steam is the future of PC game distribution. The days of going to a store to buy a useless, wasteful box are coming to an end.

I used to think steam as an annoyance a few years back. But now I think it pretty useful.

It lets you know when your friends are playing and what games they are playing, and you can chat with them in an out of the game with their chat interface. Plus it keeps up with your stats.

As long as I don't HAVE to D/L games from steam, I am fine with using it.

Why is that? Steam svcks, it interferes with other programs and causes crashes of other applications. Saying the only way PC gaming will survive is because of that, no that's what marketing is telling people. PC gaming survived code wheels, and "look at page 16, paragraph 3, last word" and it survived you having to have massive maps to entire cords into.

As long as steam games cost the same or more as what I can buy at retail, I won't use it. FO:NV is a fine example $39.99, and $37.24 at the local shops.

I wouldn't have anything to do with Steam if I didn't need it run this game. As far as buying games from them. When I buy a piece of software of any kind. I want it in a box on a CD or DVD. This way I know that if I need to reinstall it for any reason. I'm not going have a any problems doing that.

You could say the same about any software tbh, not just Steam.

I have a problem with any form of DRM that causes apps to crash. I've said that more than a few times. Apps that are clean, you can figure out. Apps that have other crap interfering with them or have DRM are twice as difficult.

Do you have proof or should I just chalk that up as FUD? I've used Steam for years and never in recent memory has it directly caused any game to crash, whether it's a Steam game or not.

Oh, I was waiting for another of these.

Every day we have to have at least three,

WAH BUGS

WAH NOT AS GOOD AS FO3

WAH STEAM

threads.

If you believe there is a problem, use the report button.

Don't bother spamming the thread; it just bumps it to the top of the forum.

I've been using Steam for years now and it's pretty much running all the time, so I don't really have any problem with it.

What is Steam for, so you can't play games illegally for free?