Steam?
 

The next phase in DRM for NWN 2? I don't want to discuss NWN 2 though. I've only managed to find the Wiki article about Steam, so far. Can somebody point me to another resource regarding Steam, and how it works?

Re: Steam?
 

One place would of course be Steam itself, they have a farily good going community. Otherwise you could try the anti- DRM sites. Some of them explaines the technologies used. Mind you that you have to make up your own mind about if it is the end of all life as we know it or if it is the second comming of Digital-Jesus... The pro and against peole tend to go very far in the estremes sometimes.

Re: Steam?
 

Yeah, that's true in a lot of places. One needs only look at the Bio boards for any game to see that. I'm going to check out the Steam forums, since I got linked to them on another site, and see what I can make of it.

Re: Steam?
 

In my opinion Steam is one of the least onerous DRM techniques... assuming you have a persistant net connection. I've been using it since HL2 came out and never had any significant issues... when I'm not playing any steam games I don't need to load the client, and it's not given me any difficulty when it comes to authenticating.

This sony crap that came on Bioshock is a nightmare, as soon as a viable crack becomes available I'm going strip that refuse off my machine.

Re: Steam?
 

Steam is excellent, if circumstances favor it. If you have decent broadband, then its a case of feeding it your credit card details, downloading, and running the game. The game is now bound to your account, rather than your hardware as with some other digital distribution platforms, so you can download it to any computer you can log into Steam from, and the account is permanent so you cannot lose the games - unless you get the account hijacked, but its not hard to keep a computer secure enough to prevent people stealing your password.

(The exception to this is Bioshock, which includes the secuROM DRM on both the retail CD and Steam versions - if anyone from 2K happens across this posting ... you still suck, and would you please get that crap off my machine. Nice game otherwise though, not quite up to the hype but still worthwhile.

Anyway. Best way to see if Steam is for you would be to give it a go, download some demos and see how it works.

Re: Steam?
 

Well, I was asking because Atari posted on their forums looking for opinions. The post has subsequently been removed, with no explanation. It's just gone. However, it's been educational, and I may look into this further if something comes up that I'm interested in.

Re: Steam?
 

Basically... the folks that hate Steam are guys who feel pirating games is their dog given right, and nobody is going to tell them otherwise. If you tend toward acquiring your games legally then Steam is probably the best DRM technique out there to date.

Re: Steam?
 

I hate any system that ask me to connect to the net, or does not give me the game ready to play on a permanent media. If I buy something, it's mine. I don't want to have to ask permission to play it, and I certainly want to have a copy of it handy in case I need it.

What happen if a company that require a net connection close up, You lose your purchase forever? Or what if you decide you won't want the internet anymore? Any purchase that has strings attached to it is not really yours, and that piss me off.

Re: Steam?
 

I don't really worry about it... usually even the steam apps are cracked within a couple weeks of release. I think of steam as a way for game makers to get a bit more revenue for their effort... and for me it's a convenient way to get games.

Re: Steam?
 

You mean it's a convenient way for you to be lent games for a premium price. You never actually own anything, you just get permission to use it a while and have to keep asking for that permission every time.