FURIOUS !!! An open letter to STEAM (and SID !)

[Denmark]

First of all I'm furious that I can't install my game without being dragged through an online "filter" !!!
I'm a moviemaker and uses Adobe CS4 to a price A LOT HIGHER than a Civilization-game
(which already have earned Sid & Co. multillions of dollars), but even Adobe wouldn't use
a stupid system like Yours, with a secret answer to prevent people from playing !
$$$ Cause the point is - once again - it doesn't prevent pirates from playing;
only people who in their daily life are supposed to remember their pin-codes,
birthdays, grocerylists, different opening and closing-times for kids institution,
what politicians claim, their calories, the appointment with a cheap dentist etc.
As a typical example (for anyone living outside of a nerd's techno-dungeon ...)
I remember that I once had a game or two demanding Steams "service-filter",
but I have completely forgot what game - if it was Civilization 4, then since I
bought my first edition, I have added other editions or maybe I gave my first
edition away because I wanted the "full edition" with "Warlords" & "Beyond the
sword" ...
Point is, I cannot tell You which game first "attached" me to this "wonderfull"
Steam-service !!! And the fact that I have to ask You what game You want
a CD-key from probably already makes me suspicious in YOUR nerdy eyes !!!
Actually I'm a bit nerdy myself, have a slight autistic side (great for being a
computer-consultant as I also am !), but even I find Your service profoundly
stupid; because we are human beings (and not computers) likely to forget a
few data being unused for over months or years ago !
All of my games have been bought, never pirated or borrowed and I feel very
CHEATED not to be able to play my game right away - I have every right to
rebuild my computers and sometimes information doesn't get transferred,
be it of games or anything else, then what ?
Then we, honest customers, are sc...ed, because unlike every other piece of
software (more expensive than Civ 5) we have and can ask the creators to
resend our licensing information by entering our email and without answering
"secret questions" and other NERD-CHILDISH RULES, then Steam has decided
to make our life VERY difficult and eventuallly make us truly hate those people
in the game-industry who FORCE us into an online-service and letting the real
pirates play freely !!!
As a moviemaker I'm always on the lookout for good subjects to make critical
movies about (as well as other types) and I must say as an old Civ-fan that I'm
getting annoyed about this copyright-business which bothers legal customers
much more than pirates, so Steam is definitely in the danger-zone !!!
I bought this game to play Civilization, not to view what is written with small words
designed to give gamemakers a sense of FALSE security against unwanted use of
their games - it sucks !
Shortly, please email me what game I have the account xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx associated with
so I can find the f....ng code in my huge legal game-collection and send it to You,
and I once again can use my standard email-address xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx for my
games .
I still think it is stupid and totally unnecessary for Civilization to go through Steam,
but apparently greed is a common disease leading to such decisions ...
Have a nice day
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[MoistPancake]

Steam rocks and I have no idea what you are saying.

[Denmark]

Steam rocks and I have no idea what you are talking about.

Yeah, right ...

Listen "MoistPancake", when You install the game Civilization 5
You must go through a Steam Account to activate the game and
if You have one (long forgotten) You cannot create a new one
with your good old email, neither get the password form Steam
without entering a "secret answer" to a nerdy,childish question .

Silly, every other software has no such "false security" measures !
Read my post again as I will not repeat the arguments twice ...

[Darkpriest667]

Steam rocks and I have no idea what you are saying.

that must be why ETW multiplayer is still crashing on steam servers.. Steam is a piece of crap and a piece of crap excuse for antipiracy... people are you going to pirate games.. STeam isnt going to stop it and DRM is a stupid idea...


What if the company goes bust? then you lose all your games...

[JSj]

There can be a lot of money invested in a Steam account if you have purchased many games, so of course they need good security so someone can't take over your account.

Don't blame Steam if you can't access an account without the information to prove it's yours.

[Denmark]

There can be a lot of money invested in a Steam account if you have purchased many games, so of course they need good security so someone can't take over your account.

Don't blame Steam if you can't access an account without the information to prove it's yours.

I see, so just because You have accepted being forced to Steam earlier
and now have "a lot of money invested" (BTW does that money invested
from You come any near the cost of MY Adobe Production Studio ?) then
we have to keep accepting further stupid hindrances to play ?

I don't really recall Civilization 4 needed Steam activation, but in my eyes
(and if You - JSj - think about it) this is limiting YOUR freedom and will be
a step further towards exploiting gamers all over the world ...

Besides, what is more natural than installing a software/game
and wanting to use/play it right away instead of being boxed in ?

[spathi]

rummor has it that the pirated steam free version of the game is already in the wild.

i'm just posting this to assure you that you have my full support against temping to download the pirated civ5. it's law abiding customers like you that help support the game developers and wonderful services like steam !

[Denmark]

law abiding customers

Or perhaps "law abiding citizens" who becomes VERY angry :-)

wonderful services like steam !

Yes, Steam ist wunderbar, holala das ist nicht zu fassen !

[Veshta]

You need a Steam connection to validate the initial install but after that you can tell Steam to go into offline mode to play (ie. no connection required).

Personally I hate having to sacrifice 10-20Mb of RAM on Steam just to launch the bloody game, surely they could create a thin-client without all the fluff (store, news, community etc.).

Not sure what method the pirated version uses to bypass validation, but chances are that it too requires Steam to have its dll's loaded for regular play.

Firaxis will eventually "free" us from the shackles though, I am certain of it, just as they did the penultimate patch for Civ4 which removed CD requirement (best damn move ever!)

[Jintaka]

here is a quarter call someone who cares

[Peschi]

can we please put all these newb retards who cant find the offline modus of Steam into one thread so we can effectly ignore them? thanks

[spathi]

can we please put all these newb retards who cant find the offline modus of Steam into one thread so we can effectly ignore them? thanks

I would also like to order couple tech support guys stakes, well done, for efficiently ignoring my posts for quite a while.

[Kelteel]

You know the system with the "secret question" is a commonly used system, right? If you ever loose the password to your email account, there will also be a secret question. Also the secret question is supposed to ask about something from your life, which you -normally- never forget, like the maiden name of your mother or the name of your elementary school.

If you can't remember those things, then you have bigger problems than a lost steam account.

[Sukunai]

Jebus Christ, things in my life that are important.

Not video games. Even if I paid for them. Even if I paid a lot for them.

Rent, yes that is a good example of things to worry over.

Credit rating, not really as much in my life, just throwing it in here as I know it typically will be on most lists.

Mortgage, again, not me, but I know it belongs on this list.

Family (for those with one, I have wife and son).

Health, ok mine could be a GREAT deal better, but I also could be a great deal worse off too.


Why people are getting soooooo friggin freaked out over Steam escapes me.

So you're refusing to play a damned game. Me personally, I don't give a damn. Not one iota, if something of Steam has denied you your god given right to play this game.

I laughed with buddy the other day, guess what's on the newsgroup?
Not even a week later.
No idea how it gets past Steam, and I don't much care, as I don't need to know.
But THEY won't be fretting I suppose. Might not have any internet play options, and maybe, just maybe, they don't care because they don't want to play you.

People whine about private information. Frankly you'd likely be surprised at how easy it is to crawl up your butt and learn every last detail of your life.
not that anyone really cares.

I'm more worried about unwanted spam email than my credit card information.
And it's unlikely I have any secrets worth mention, as I talk a lot online, I've already pretty well told everyone what floats my boat.

One thing that doesn't float my boat is listening to the rants of people claiming to have high tech jobs ostensibly requiring a level of skill they should already possess the brains to understand what Steam means to getting a game that uses it.

The OP is both an idiot, and likely over paid. Probably hasn't the needed cleverness to just put all his passwords, serials, key phrases, and other such useful details in a text file so he doesn't need to fret over remembering them.
I'm clearly smarter than him, as I have never had his problem before.

Oh and if your movies lack thill on par with your lack of writing skill in using paragraphs, then I doubt I will ever wish to watch one.

[Bosko]

I've literally been using steam since the first day it came out, my ID is 4 digits long. CS got patched to 1.6 required you to use it, and EVERYONE (yes including me) raged about how it was the end of Counter-Strike and it was so intrusive and this and that and blah and blah...

10 Years later I think its the best thing that ever happened to CS, I own 20+ games on it, have never had any major problems with them and their support (except XCOM, mouse speed is unplayably fast).

Once you take off your linux hat and realize it isn't the man trying to keep you down you'll realize the benefits (eternal access to your games, stronger MP community) of using steam outweigh the negatives (omg 2 extra clicks to get to launch Civ5).

The only thing that makes me rage about Steam + Civ5 is it seems like they're still using POS ☺☺☺☺ing GameSpy to connect multiplayer games instead of using Steam.

[Raymond1975]

Hello everyone.

To me, steam was chosen for several reasons such multiplayer and so on and I go along with the devellopers's choice on these points.

Civilization's serie remains among the best games ever develloped (gameplay, bugs, etc.) and I know I don't waste my money by buying them ; which is no more the case with formers famous series such Battelfield or Command & Conquer (the whole list would take me days to be written here).

The only issue which could annoyed me is the property of the game :

"What would happened if Steam goes bankrupt or overtaken?" Will we still be able to play solo or the game would be lost forever?

As Denemark said, we are honnest customers who bought legaly the game and therefore we respect the work of every people who worked on it, which is not the case of hackers who, at the end, steal and enjoy of something they didn't pay for.

Considering our respectfull behavior with the 2K (on the contrary of hackers who are nothing less than thieves), I strongly believe we could expect from 2K a similar behaviour by allowing us a right to get Civilization V definitely and not as a "game-rental" from Steam.

This could be done in a few years, but I wondered if I could still play Civilization V in 2020 as I can do it today with Civilization I, II, II,and IV !

If a 2K official could comment this, I would be very pleased.

Have Fun, bye!

[Denmark]

Kelteel, why do You sit in here and point your fingers/laugh at others,
like a distorted introvert child, for having a silly problem with a game ?


Whether or not my memory is as normal & perfect as Yours (!)
could it actually be so, that YOU are the one having bigger problems ?

If you can't remember those things, then you have bigger problems than a lost steam account.

No comments, the superiority-complex speaks for it self ... as well as the misused humour


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Sukunai, You are confused and You are making others confused ...



First of all You are right about videogames are unimportant compared to daily life ...
EXACTLY my point, You might not recall a "secret answer" as well as Your kids birthday !


Secondly I do not refuse to play the game, Steam denies me to activate it !

Unless they get a "secret answer" (!) which even thousand-dollar software
(like Adobe which I use for making movies) has rejected as unpractical ...

Or unless I give them a different emailaddress than the one I like
to be connected with my purchased piece of software/game ...


¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

So who's the overpaid idiot now ?


Sukunai, promise me never to visit Australia or if You go - don't try the boomerang !!!

I'm clearly smarter than him, as I have never had his problem before.

Modesty and lifeexperience will perhaps come to You too !

[Rebel44]

2OP: If you want to recover your original account just create Steam Support ticket with such request and provide:

Proof of purchease (they have very good KB article with detailed description of what exactlky you should send)

If you dont care about your original account, just create new one for another email adress and when its done, you can change its email adress to your normal email.

[vampyren]

I agree with you Denemark+Raymond1975. I actually read a post here from Shadowdragoon
http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/sho...t=77593&page=3
that made me look up if there were a proper thread to complain about Steam.

Here's my 2 cent as they say:
Even though steam does work without much hassle (so far) i also think its very unnecessary. Specially for a game that is suppose to be mainly single-player. (personally i dont care about friend-list, multiplayer and such)
Another thing that bugs me about Steam is that its getting more and more commercial and so called "offers" into the mix. I dont like to click on 4 windows just to play a game i payed for. Hell its more convenient if i pirate the game. Is this how its suppose to be? Really?
And the fact that you always need to have both internet+steam to get this started is very frustrating. Specially for something i payed and have the right to use. I do re-install my windows pretty often and have my usual content on another partition so what if i'm not connected and want to use my game? Well you cant do that.
The offline mode is a good thing to have but never the less a option that is pointless since there should not be a need for it in the first place.
As others said, pirates will still download the game for free anyway so it is us paying customers who are being punished and forced to be pirates due to the limitations forced upon us. I do like to pay for games i play but more and more i'm questioning this decision.
And sadly i doubt anyone (in power anyway) cares what we say on these forums so by not buying the game we send a signal that we do not approve of the decision. Its sad but in the future i think i will vote with my wallet instead of words, sorry Sid.

[Denmark]

I've literally been using steam since the first day it came out, my ID is 4 digits long. CS got patched to 1.6 required you to use it, and EVERYONE (yes including me) raged about how it was the end of Counter-Strike and it was so intrusive and this and that and blah and blah...

10 Years later I think its the best thing that ever happened to CS, I own 20+ games on it, have never had any major problems with them and their support (except XCOM, mouse speed is unplayably fast).

Once you take off your linux hat and realize it isn't the man trying to keep you down you'll realize the benefits (eternal access to your games, stronger MP community) of using steam outweigh the negatives (omg 2 extra clicks to get to launch Civ5).

The only thing that makes me rage about Steam + Civ5 is it seems like they're still using POS ☺☺☺☺ing GameSpy to connect multiplayer games instead of using Steam.

GOD ............... You're so perfect ?!?!?!?!?
You have found Your belief (at a gamelevel) thank God for that !
But what do You think about "The name of the Rose" and irony in general ?

[Heksesang]

@OP: Just make sure to use a secret question you can remember when you make accounts - if you do not, you have no one but yourself to blame when you have troubles accessing it later.

And Steam is actually not troublesome to use at all, so I think it's fair that the user has to make a Steam account and launch the game through it.

[Rebel44]

@OP: Just make sure to use a secret question you can remember when you make accounts - if you do not, you have no one but yourself to blame when you have troubles accessing it later.

Also, OP can just ask Steam Support to reset his password.....

[wilson1225]

LOL this post is pure gold. I really hope its a joke/troll post. Extra points for proclaiming yourself to be a "moviemaker" and bragging about having some adobe software.

So basically this guy forgot his steam account info and so now its steam's fault(and Sid's lol) he can't remember his password or the answer to his secret question.

Maybe you should contact steam support instead of making yourself look like a tool on the 2k forums.

[Servoinvicem]

Also, OP can just ask Steam Support to reset his password.....

So he has to LITERALLY ask steam to allow him to play his purchased game.. *snicker* couldnt help it

[Rebel44]

So he has to LITERALLY ask steam to allow him to play his purchased game.. *snicker* couldnt help it

And what do you think he should do when he forget both his password and answer to secret question?

As I said on previous page, there is another solution:

If you dont care about your original account, just create new one for another email adress and when its done, you can change its email adress to your normal email.

[Servoinvicem]

And what do you think he should do when he forget both his password and answer to secret question?

As I said on previous page, there is another solution:

If you dont care about your original account, just create new one for another email adress and when its done, you can change its email adress to your normal email.

I think he should take it back and get his money back before he links it to steam and is screwed if it crashes or doesnt run like all the people on the support forums.

[Dale]

@OP:

Build a bridge mate.

[Kruelgor]

First of all I'm furious that I can't install my game without being dragged through an online "filter" !!!
I'm a moviemaker and uses Adobe CS4 to a price A LOT HIGHER than a Civilization-game
(which already have earned Sid & Co. multillions of dollars), but even Adobe wouldn't use
a stupid system like Yours, with a secret answer to prevent people from playing !
$$$ Cause the point is - once again - it doesn't prevent pirates from playing;
only people who in their daily life are supposed to remember their pin-codes,
birthdays, grocerylists, different opening and closing-times for kids institution,
what politicians claim, their calories, the appointment with a cheap dentist etc.
As a typical example (for anyone living outside of a nerd's techno-dungeon ...)
I remember that I once had a game or two demanding Steams "service-filter",
but I have completely forgot what game - if it was Civilization 4, then since I
bought my first edition, I have added other editions or maybe I gave my first
edition away because I wanted the "full edition" with "Warlords" & "Beyond the
sword" ...
Point is, I cannot tell You which game first "attached" me to this "wonderfull"
Steam-service !!! And the fact that I have to ask You what game You want
a CD-key from probably already makes me suspicious in YOUR nerdy eyes !!!
Actually I'm a bit nerdy myself, have a slight autistic side (great for being a
computer-consultant as I also am !), but even I find Your service profoundly
stupid; because we are human beings (and not computers) likely to forget a
few data being unused for over months or years ago !
All of my games have been bought, never pirated or borrowed and I feel very
CHEATED not to be able to play my game right away - I have every right to
rebuild my computers and sometimes information doesn't get transferred,
be it of games or anything else, then what ?
Then we, honest customers, are sc...ed, because unlike every other piece of
software (more expensive than Civ 5) we have and can ask the creators to
resend our licensing information by entering our email and without answering
"secret questions" and other NERD-CHILDISH RULES, then Steam has decided
to make our life VERY difficult and eventuallly make us truly hate those people
in the game-industry who FORCE us into an online-service and letting the real
pirates play freely !!!
As a moviemaker I'm always on the lookout for good subjects to make critical
movies about (as well as other types) and I must say as an old Civ-fan that I'm
getting annoyed about this copyright-business which bothers legal customers
much more than pirates, so Steam is definitely in the danger-zone !!!
I bought this game to play Civilization, not to view what is written with small words
designed to give gamemakers a sense of FALSE security against unwanted use of
their games - it sucks !
Shortly, please email me what game I have the account xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx associated with
so I can find the f....ng code in my huge legal game-collection and send it to You,
and I once again can use my standard email-address xxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xx for my
games .
I still think it is stupid and totally unnecessary for Civilization to go through Steam,
but apparently greed is a common disease leading to such decisions ...
Have a nice day
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Why so angry? You were going to buy the game anyway, right? It's not like you were going to pirate the game and get it for free, so why so angry?

[Servoinvicem]

Why so angry? You were going to buy the game anyway, right? It's not like you were going to pirate the game and get it for free, so why so angry?

Well we know he wasnt gonna pirate it.. cause if he was he would be playing right now instead of complaining on forums.

[MrMT]

I dread to think what your movies are like.

[Kruelgor]

Well we know he wasnt gonna pirate it.. cause if he was he would be playing right night instead of complaining on forums.

So why so angry then? If it's so easy to pirate why doesn't he just do that?

[Servoinvicem]

So why so angry then?

Prob cause pirates are playing a game he paid for and can't play.

[Rebel44]

Prob cause pirates are playing a game he paid for and can't play.

He can play - I posted 2 easy solutions for him.

[Sukunai]

All comes back to life happens.

I think it sucks that MS made crummy OS after crummy OS and now that I finally have an OS that is actually not crap (I like 7 by the way finally), I find that so many of my old fav games won't run on it properly because too much of the computer universe has changed.

Damn it.

But in truth, as much as I miss a few games, the market never stops making games.

Tried to run Civ III the other day, but was getting grief and I suspect it was just not interested in my new computer reality. And in the end, I had to remember, well I liked Civ IV I stopped keeping up with Civ III and I had to ask myself, why am I killing myself to play Civ III anyway.

If Steam DOES die in 5 years time (nothing is impossible) chances are Sid will still be Sid and likely will already be fiddling with Civ VI. What? does anyone think this is going to be the last Civ game he makes?

So he will just market it however he can, and Civ V will probably just be another game on a greatest hits disk.

Life will not be over if you can NOT get to play Civ V.
It sucks when life tells you no.
There is more to it being life crapping on you that Steam ruining your day.
Because it sure isn't ruining the day for everyone.

A bad bug is when EVERYONE is having trouble playing the game and NO ONE likes it. Seen a few games like that in my time.

One person having a problem is not a major problem, it is merely one person having a problem, and it happens.
Stuff happens eh.
I could this afternoon spill coffee on the keyboard, poof no laptop, and I had better hope I was all properly backed up for data.
Stuff happens.
It's why I have my important stuff stored all over the place.
The entire house will have to burn to the ground to wipe out all of my data.

If it is worth having (important details) don't rely on your memory.
I have lists of every place I have ever joined. I store the log in the passwords the emails used for places I likely will never go to ever again.
I do indicate they are dead details, but I do store them.
I write down everything I do when using details worth recalling.

Maybe I am just that thorough. It helps though.

[Sukunai]

So why so angry then? If it's so easy to pirate why doesn't he just do that?

Pirated copies while free of DRM, are not always free of 'other' surprises.

And to the credit of some, some simply refuse to play pirated stuff. I actually know one person that is a total fanatic for 'the real thing'.

When using pirated anything, you are in a lot of cases rolling the dice with your real security, and they WILL be looking to harm you and your computer and your privacy.

Although I must say, NOTHING makes me laugh harder than reading a pirate group nfo extolling you to buy the game if you like it and to not steal their nfo file

[Kruelgor]

I found this story by an ex-Pirate who says that Steam made him stop pirating. http://rickatnight11.com/?p=239

[sourcandyrobot]

Its easier for game companies to push out updates over steam then posting a download file on a website in the hopes of people will come across it and update their game. plus i'd rather just buy and download from steam then waste time going to the store and having to physically install it. I think steam is a great idea and will make in-store game buying obsolete eventually

[Panda_Power]

I think Steam is very convenient and their customer service is very fast and efficient too!

[Denmark]

2OP: If you want to recover your original account just create Steam Support ticket with such request and provide:

Proof of purc2OP: If you want to recover your original account just create Steam Support ticket with such request and provide:

Proof of purchease (they have very good KB article with detailed description of what exactlky you should send)

Dear Rebel44, my open letter IS a Steam Support ticket to get back my account;
but I felt that my phrasing might help other people, angry at this "Steam-principle" ...

I cannot send Proof of purchase as I do not recall whatever game I used,
untill they tell me what they've registered !

But to make a long story short I find Rebel44 perhaps solves the immediate problem ...

If you dont care about your original account, just create new one for another email adress

and when its done, you can change its email adress to your normal email.

Yet it remains to be seen if I can change the email-address of the new account,
into my old email-address connected with another (my already existing) account ?


But this doesn't solve the annoyance caused by the "Steam-principle", for why does any game-company
let parasite-, excuse me, online-services handle Civ's activation when most Civ-users prefers to learn
the game properly, at least before going online playing ?

And Civilization takes a helluva long time for just one game to finish,
even more games to master ...

[rayne]

Since your post is juvenille and irrelevant, let the responses be as well:

Do you make home movies? What is the purpose of mentioning this? If you were a "real" moviemaker, you would actually call yourself a filmmaker. Also, if you were a "real" filmmaker, you wouldn't be using Adobe CS4 for your projects.

Who cares who or what your subjects are as a filmmaker? Also, if you're talking about greed, lets not get into the film (or movie as your call it) industry.

If you cannot remember the answers to the secret questions you setup yourself, or have access to the email you've used with your account, who's fault is that? I am pretty sure many websites have secret questions for resets, and this is usually to make things easier.

Why don't you voice your complaints to steam, since this is an account issue?

Also, please reply with some of the titles you have created.