Why do people here seem to hate Steam so much?

[Svo]

I actually prefer Steam because it's convenient, I don't have to keep track of a million games among the games I already have stacked on my desk, and installing mods is easy because most of my games are filed under Steamapps. I have never had any problems with Steam. I remember life before Steam and the only difference really was that games were easier to pirate back then. Now it's pretty obvious when a game is pirated because most of the time the game is not installed in the proper place. I have seen people get banned from ES Nexus after they posted a screenshot of where their game was installed because they were having problems with the game. I can think of a million reasons why Steam is great! I hope I don't sound angry. I am just curious about why people hate it.

 

[FOARP]

People hate the feeling of having to sign up for something they don't want, and don't like the in-game store aspect.

Personally I don't really have a problem with this. The only thing that concerns me is that children play these games and shouldn't be direct-marketed to by in-game stores, not least because they may end up accidentially ordering loads of stuff on dad's credit card.

 

[newtlord]

There are people who are inclined to be wary about giving outsiders access to modify their hard drive. I have seen no reason at all to think Valve Corporation is inclined to abuse this privilege, but mistakes happen. Then again, it gives them the ability to arbitrarily revoke one's access to the game one bought (yes, I know the EULA gives companies the "right" to with or without Steam, but without the constant internet connection Steam gives, they lack the ability). Again, I have seen no reason at all to think that they abuse this privilege, but some people are inclined to be wary of trusting the permanent good will of a corporation- or just of trusting the good will of strangers over the internet. Also, the automatic updating (which doesn't stop when you disable "automatic updates") is just a pain.

Paradox, thoughtfully, gives us the ability to copy the game directory out of the steam folder, and run it (once installed) without an internet connection or even with Steam removed, so the disadvantages can be mitigated or removed, but I think some people turn the whole thing into a matter of principle.

I also note that, when Steam goes under (I say when, not if, since nothing actually lasts forever), EUIV will be the first Europa Universalis game of which people are completely unable to play multiplayer.

 

[Svo]

I would not be concerned about a legitimate company having limited access to my hard drive as far as owning Steam is concerned. Really I think it is irrational paranoia to think otherwise simply because if Steam was in the business of stealing your information after you download it, there would be a massive investigation, and other companies such as Gamefly would be more than happy to instigate it because it would mean more people flocking to THEM for games. Lol. Besides not a single incident of Steam stealing our bank account info has been documented.

 

[The Andy-Man]

PErsonaly, alot of my problems with something like steam is that I hate having to involve a third party into something which to me seems (and has historicaly been) a very straightforward process. ie. buy the game, install the game, play the game. It's easy enough to be signed up to enough crap on the internet without yet another platform/site/network that wants me to do so.

And besides that, on a more practical basis, steam can be problemeatic for some games (like getting victoria 2 to work was a pain in the arse), or my ability to modify Vampire: The Masquerade is hampered by steams need to keep checking my game files and then 'fixing' them.

That said, steam is not the worst offender, and I activley avoid anything to do with Games for Windows live unless it's on a massive discount or something.

 

[James The 1st]

There's not many Steam haters, they are just the noisy ones.

 

[TheLastSamovar]

Man, we just closed that awful, unkillable 4 month old thread complaining about Steam. Please, not again.

 

[edwardx]

Man, we just closed that awful, unkillable 4 month old thread complaining about Steam. Please, not again.

i know its a pain but face it steam is somewhat controversial me personally hate it it killed my last computer and i didn't know that when i bought a disk copy of CK2 that it worked though steam so now i am stuck with it (not a rant). but yeah it dose urk some people

 

[-Fewt-]

EDIT: Never mind my opinion, can't we just lock this before another flame war starts.

 

[The Andy-Man]

Man, we just closed that awful, unkillable 4 month old thread complaining about Steam. Please, not again.

It makes a change from the endless 'What's the real name of the Byzantine Empire?' arguments, at least.

 

[DrakoBlare]

There are people who are inclined to be wary about giving outsiders access to modify their hard drive. I have seen no reason at all to think Valve Corporation is inclined to abuse this privilege, but mistakes happen. Then again, it gives them the ability to arbitrarily revoke one's access to the game one bought (yes, I know the EULA gives companies the "right" to with or without Steam, but without the constant internet connection Steam gives, they lack the ability). Again, I have seen no reason at all to think that they abuse this privilege, but some people are inclined to be wary of trusting the permanent good will of a corporation- or just of trusting the good will of strangers over the internet. Also, the automatic updating (which doesn't stop when you disable "automatic updates") is just a pain.

Paradox, thoughtfully, gives us the ability to copy the game directory out of the steam folder, and run it (once installed) without an internet connection or even with Steam removed, so the disadvantages can be mitigated or removed, but I think some people turn the whole thing into a matter of principle.

I also note that, when Steam goes under (I say when, not if, since nothing actually lasts forever), EUIV will be the first Europa Universalis game of which people are completely unable to play multiplayer.

And there is this damn bug where if you don't open steam in a couple of months perido the programm will be messed up and won't even let you reinstall without doing some file searching.. it if they backmail you into opening their damn programm. And am I the only one who just HATES the entire "you don't own the game you gave perfectly good money to us for, you only have the right to play it". Like seriously, wow.

 

[DrakoBlare]

It makes a change from the endless 'What's the real name of the Byzantine Empire?' arguments, at least.

There should be a sticky where you click and there is a huge text saying "Rhomania, shut up now"

 

[wildbillhdmax01]

And there is this damn bug where if you don't open steam in a couple of months perido the programm will be messed up and won't even let you reinstall without doing some file searching.. it if they backmail you into opening their damn programm. And am I the only one who just HATES the entire "you don't own the game you gave perfectly good money to us for, you only have the right to play it". Like seriously, wow.

I love Steam, but that "you don't own the game" really grinds me! Also the whole you can't sue us because you clicked accept.

 

[wildbillhdmax01]

i know its a pain but face it steam is somewhat controversial me personally hate it it killed my last computer and i didn't know that when i bought a disk copy of CK2 that it worked though steam so now i am stuck with it (not a rant). but yeah it dose urk some people

How did it kill your last computer?

 

[newtlord]

I would not be concerned about a legitimate company having limited access to my hard drive as far as owning Steam is concerned. Really I think it is irrational paranoia to think otherwise simply because if Steam was in the business of stealing your information after you download it, there would be a massive investigation, and other companies such as Gamefly would be more than happy to instigate it because it would mean more people flocking to THEM for games. Lol. Besides not a single incident of Steam stealing our bank account info has been documented.

To the (small) extent that I have security concerns regarding Steam, it's not that Valve is likely to purposefully do anything nefarious- as you say, if they did it, and were caught, they would never live it down. However, with all the good will in the world, anyone can make mistakes, or, for that matter, have their own systems compromised by outsiders.

 

[Necal]

Steam uses some policies which, while conductive to most gaming, gets a lot of people who are minorly obsessive about controlling stuff (as in, a lot of the people playing most of the games here) rather... agitated. I know some of their patching policies make me want to stab someone. A lot of people mostly take issue with it being third party and invasive as far as DD systems go. Third party means that plenty of things can go wrong with it being difficult to tell if its a game bug, a steam bug, or some combination of the two. Its invasive because of a lot of the reasons that some people like it (provides easy and constant access to a single library of games, the sheer degree of control, the single directory housing all your games and mods, a fairly effective anti-piracy system which can, unfortunantly, backfire on some customers, complete reliance on it that some indie games have that will lead to the only way to obtain them being outright piracy when Steam goes under).

Essentially, I don't mind it, but I really only use it as a convenience (I screw around in CK2 a lot for modding purposes, and sometimes forget I'm not in a mod directory...) or for games designed to be worked with Steam, such as Counterstrike. I don't use it if I can avoid it; I much prefer using native multiplayer and matchmaking whenever possible. I also dislike relying on it for the games I do have, which is why I keep a few up to date copies of every steam game (I have a box filled with labeled and alphabetized flash drives with every game I've ever played.... which probably puts me in the minorly obsessive about controlling stuff category).

 

[AndrewT]

I love Steam, but that "you don't own the game" really grinds me! Also the whole you can't sue us because you clicked accept.

That's the same for any download service, indeed is the same for any software you buy regardless of how you get it - read an EULA some day. You don't 'own' Windows, Office, GTA5 - all you ever buy is a license to use it.

 

[unmerged(786310)]

What annoys me about it is that you're dependent on it to be able to play the game. If you don't have Steam installed, or if your Internet connection is down or slow, you can't play a game you've paid for. I also don't like not having my own copy, physical or otherwise. I know the whole license stuff that AndrewT has pointed out above but the fact that Steam ends up having the monopoly annoys me -- it's very different from having the game on my HD or on a DVD or something. I think it's a convenient system since you don't have to re-buy the game or dig around your room to find a DVD whenever you want to re-install the game or if you buy a new computer or your HD gets wiped out. I wish there were more (viable) alternatives, like a website that worked like Steam in the sense of letting you install games again if you've already paid for them, but which didn't require you to work "within" it and start it up every single time.

 

[Shadrol]

That's the same for any download service, indeed is the same for any software you buy regardless of how you get it - read an EULA some day. You don't 'own' Windows, Office, GTA5 - all you ever buy is a license to use it.

Exactly. People have to start to understand that you do NOT own software or music. You just own the license, the right to use it for private purposes.

 

[Svo]

Yeah you never actually own the games. Even if you have a hard copy you still only have the right to play it. You still couldn't make copies to sell. I don't see any real difference between hard or soft copies of games beyond the latter being more convenient. If I buy a game online I don't have to wait for it to come in the mail. A 2 hour DL is better than a 3 day wait. Haha.