If so, damn. I've ranted on this subject a month or so ago. HL2 took way to long to activate, and I couldn't play the damn thing without steam. That piece of crap is the worst thing to happen to gaming since Daikatana.
If so, damn. I've ranted on this subject a month or so ago. HL2 took way to long to activate, and I couldn't play the damn thing without steam. That piece of crap is the worst thing to happen to gaming since Daikatana.
Steam isn't so bad, that whole thing was just because of how big HL2 was.
Bioshock is nowhere near as popular as HL2 was and isn't going to sell as many copies day 1, so you should be fine.
But as far as I know, it's not Steam, it's just connecting to a server to download files to make the game run.
hey guys,
if you have a retail PC copy of BioShock, you will NOT have to use Steam to activate it. we will be using a different system. so you won't have the same problems ala HL2.
I don't think Steam is the only activation...perhaps for the copies SOLD through steam but not for store bought versions.
Entirely possible I'm wrong but considering this isn't a Valve release I highly doubt they'd tie themselves so inextricably to their systems.
Bugger....a few seonds earlier and I'd have looked really good!
OMFG, she's alive!Originally Posted by 2K Elizabeth
Valve isn't that bad anymore, you've gotta remember that when HL2 came out, it was quite new, they've ironed it out a lot after that.
But I still remember how freaked out I was when my friend had his pirated HL2 working before I had my bought copy activated.
Liz has been posting several times today on other threads...pretty dedicated of her considering she's sitting in a lobby in Jamaica taking out time from her holiday/vacation and doing all this on her laptop.
I think that's the best PC news I've heard all week. Thanks Liz.
I knew it already, but thank you for making a presence, Liz! People actually listen when *you're* the one informing them of something.
Steam has come along way Rebelphoenix. They are nowhere near the same now as when they started.
All the preloads probably have 90% of the game on your system and you are waiting for the critical files to make it run. I am sure they have the experience to get it done right....
Steam has been around since 2002, I thought they were around earlier...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(content_delivery)
That says it all...they have over 180 games, and I think they have their act together...
I am glad, this saves me time and aggravation.
I have always, and still have to mess with a crapton of files to get steam to work.
Wow, I feel for you really. I hated Steam when they came out and was part of that HL2 mess in 04. Heck I just got back from my first tour in Iraq and was excited to play and that mess.
I almost gave up on it, but kept with them and I noticed that everytime I had to blast my PC, or do something else with it, I could reinstall steam and reload my games in a matter of minutes, unless on dialup.
So I was hoping that they put bioshock on steam as it saves me if I have to go to the field or what not.
what is nice is if I get bored of one game, I close it out, reopen steam and start the next one. Much easier..
Much easier than... doing the same thing without Steam? I don't get it.
Anyway, I've used Steam for a while and I loathe it. I don't believe in it from an ideological standpoint, but I also think it sucks as a piece of software. It has never worked properly for me, often screwing up and not allowing me to play in offline mode (I was on a gaming laptop at the time, so this was a huge problem), and screwing up several game installs for absolutely no reason.
Well, think about it. Taking one DVD out, putting it up, getting the other one out...hoping it is in the same place you left it....or not in another jewel case...by the time that is done I am already playing with steam.
Steam to me is kind of like a DVR. You can record a ton of movies on there, even ones you already have on DVD. Why? So you can just go from movie to movie without having to get up, change the DVD. Same concept.
I have never had a problem with steam once they updated their engine. If you have not used it lately you do not know what you are missing.
I understand some peoples frustration with it....my buddy hates it.. Different strokes for different folks...
So lets go over it again:
Steam encrypts all data when preloading, this data requires a hash to download, this hash is released on the release date, and people unlock it.
You require a download of something, this data requires a download from the activation servers, the data is released on the release date.
So besides for not exactly knowing what kind of data what difference is there in:
Download unplayable game->requires significant data to enable the game->only available after release
And:
Buy unplayable game->requires significant data to enable the game->only available after release
Steam's biggest issue were the fact that Vivendi released Half-Life 2 early, and people expected they could just run to the stores and play the copy beforehand, the authentication system worked very well for a couple of hours until it started getting clogged up by requests, which were subsequently fixed less than an hour later.
Now your release my not have those problems, but it's still the very much same concept you're using, and it is prone to same problems as Valve had with Steam 3 years ago.
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