Frogwares, Dracula and Steam

I'm not furious anymore but to say the least I'm put out.
I wanted to replay Dracula: Origin, a game I really like and voted for in the recent Annual List of Games, so I hauled out my boxed copy from The Adventure Company and tried to install it.
Ha! It seems to think it's already installed although it is nowhere on my computer.
Fine.
I have no intention of jumping through hoops to figure out why that happened so I decided to check out the download version on Frogwares' site in case I want to buy a digital download in the future.
My computer fits all the requirements for the game (good grief, it's 2008) and I even clicked on Buy, knowing I wasn't going to buy right now since it's 20 bucks, and what did I find?
"Buy" takes you immediately to Steam.

I am so over developers thinking Steam is the be-all and end-all portal for games!
To heck with Frogwares and Double Fine and all the rest of them that think gamers will buy their games on Steam if they really want to play them.
Well, guess what, at least in this instance they have another think coming.
If Origin turns up on GOG, I'll buy it again, I hope at a price commensurate with its age, but I darned sure won't be railroaded into using Steam!

Gil.

Iagree well said feel the same way.
dianne

Even if you did get the Steam download version, there's no guarantee that you wouldn't have the same problem with the installation if there are traces of the old installation in your registry. I'd suggest trying a registry cleaner or Revo Uninstaller before you consider buying the game again.

It's no secret I feel the same way you do about Steam.

Big Fish Games also has Dracula: Origin available for download; I guarantee that it won't take you to Steam.

Jenny,
As far as Revo is concerned, Origin isn't there.
I use CCleaner all the time so I doubt it's left anything lurking in the registry.
I've never seen this problem mentioned before.
Always it's "the game won't install" or "the screen goes black when I attempt to play" and once, with me, it just quit when I tried to load a certain part of the game and wouldn't progress beyond that screen.
But "already installed" with only options to Play or Uninstall - uh, like what? - which just make everything disappear?

I would transfer this scream of outrage to Glitches if that was the reason I'm angry.
The truth is, I'm used to disk versions suddenly going nuts for reasons beyond my comprehension and it's one of the reasons I have been converted to digital downloads on GOG.
Buy a game from them and you know it will work!
If you have to contact customer support for any reason - which I never have - you can be sure from all I've read that they'll be onto it ASAP and give your money back within 30 days of buying a game if nothing works.

Valve/Steam and the blasted (that's a euphemism) Steam client are my sole reasons for getting bent out of shape.
Thanks for the attempt at help and for reading.
I know you're not any happier with this stampede to Steam on the part of developers than I am!
And dianne!

Hey, Marian,
I just saw your post.
Unfortunately, Big Fish will take me to...Big Fish.
I got rid of BFG a long time ago because of their client.
I said I was ornery, didn't I?
Don't want no truck with no client!
Why do they call them that anyway?

Gil.

Tell us how you really feel, Gil!

Mag

Ana

You guys are funny.

I think Gil is being pretty conservative today but I have always wondered why people don't seem to mind Big Fish but hate Steam. They seem pretty much the same to me but if I had to choose which one I think is worse, I'd say Big Fish.

To each his own.

Don't get me wrong. Since I've gotten into downloading, I use both Steam and Big Fish as well as GOG and Shiny Loot and one time Humble Bundle which for the longest time I thought was called Humble Bumble.

I'm no fan of Steam, but I do use it. The "be all and end all" for games in my opinion is GOG. No rent-a-game there! I'm so glad they have teamed up with the developers of the last 2 Witcher games.

From Wikipedia:



And CD Project is the creator of The Witcher series.

Dear Gil,

I am very sorry that you couldn't replay the game, please let me know if you want me to send you a key to download it.
Thanks,
Olga

Olga,

Thank you, that's very kind and I appreciate the offer but I don't use Steam.

Best regards,

Gil.

traveler,

I am wondering why you (and several others) dislike Steam. I bought a game from them once, a few years ago, and it played just fine. Is there something about them that I need to know?

gatsbygirl,

First off, I do not want a 'client' between me and my games.
People have said it's not true that you need to be connected to the Steam client to play your games but they can name only a few that don't have Steam's peculiar brand of DRM attached.
Most games on Steam are not free of the client.
You have to have the client installed to download them for the first time, and very often, if not always, from then on out to play.
According to the terms of service on Steam, you don't own your games and they can disconnect you from them at any time.
Essentially, Valve's stance is that you are renting games, not buying them.

Here you go, straight from the TOS :
"Steam and your Subscription(s) require the automatic download and installation of Software (otherwise known as a game) onto your computer. Valve hereby grants, and you accept, a limited, terminable, non-exclusive license and right to use the Software for your personal, non-commercial use.... The Software is licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Software. To make use of the Software, you must have a Steam Account and you may be required to be running the Steam client and maintaining a connection to the Internet."

Go read it for yourself, see what you think of it.

Second, from what I've read, Valve/Steam treats their customers like dirt if they complain about anything, such as games that don't work the way they should.
It is fairly common knowledge that, unlike GOG, they do not check to see if a game has bugs when it's released there and they don't fix them before putting them up for sale.
Caveat emptor if you put your money into a game on Steam.

GOG, on the other hand, checks the games before they're put on sale and bends over backward to keep their customers happy.
They sell them; buy a game and it's yours.

But isn't the GOG downloader a client?
No, it is not.
It is a standalone installer for their games and you do NOT have to use it.
You do not have to have it on your computer to play the games that you have bought and can copy to disk with GOG's blessing as long as you don't go handing them out like candy on Halloween.
For some reason, they trust us not to do that.

So, there you have why I have no intention of using Steam, since you ask.

Gil.

I never want to be seen as defending Steam as, like Gil and Jenny, I am not a big fan of the "rent-a-game" concept. GOG is the best ever and I hope they start offering more new games.

However, I do want to correct a couple of things. Between my grandson and me, we have 22 games in our combined account Steam list. Every single one plays without the Steam client. Grandson has his own personal account too with at least 30 games that all play without the client. Whether that's representative of most people I don't know because, as Gil says, you can't do that will ALL Steam games. But I'm not sure that saying "most" Steam games require the client is accurate. I was even able to play both Metro Last Light and Metro 2022 without the client.

The other statement is that they treat their customers like dirt if they complain about games that don't work the way they are supposed to. I've had issues with 3 games and although it was usually 3 or 4 days before I got an answer, they were always absolutely great to work with. Plus, they got my games working just fine.

That's my personal experience with Steam. If I can get a game elsewhere I will, but if that's the only place I can get a game like Metro Last Light, I'll go for it. I think my biggest complaint - next to "rent-a-game" - is actually BUYING a legal disk copy of a game in the store and then having to go to Steam and get it activated and having to download the client. Now THAT ticks me off!

There are positive sides to websites like Big Fish and Steam and a huge one is that they pay developers fairly and they have huge sale potentials. That is the reason many developers seek getting their games there. Upvoting a game on steam to help them get Greenlit can make or break that game.

As much as I don't like "stuff" on my computer, Steam nor BigFish has caused any troubles and both have them have speedy resolutions. GoG has had issues as well with games, no one is exempt from problems.

Draclvr,

Take a look at the hoops you have to jump through to play a game you got on Steam offline.
Here's a little quote: "Please note that you must connect to the Steam Network and test each of the games you would like to use in Offline Mode at least once to set up your account and configure Offline Mode on your machine."

How does that compare to download, install, play whether you're online or not?

As for the way Valve/Steam treats customers, all I have to go on is what I've seen other people say but I'll defer to you on that since I have no first hand knowledge.

I still find Steam repugnant and I still don't understand what developers are thinking when they make their games Steam exclusives...or try to.
It's particularly disgusting when people who fund games on Kickstarter, games that would never be made without them, have to fight to get developers to keep the promise of NON-Steam keys.
I don't like the idea of a game monopoly and I'm sure Valve would love nothing less.
Developers sure aren't helping prevent it.
Nor, in my opinion, are people who don't see what the fuss is about.
Maybe they like paying for a useless piece of plastic in a box that is no good at all unless they submit to Steam's EULA and download that client.

Yes, I know, I may as well be talking to myself.

Gil.

I dislike the "domination" Steam likes to exert and will only play games through them if there is absolutely no alternative.

BigFish, whilst not completely without "interference" is nowhere near as bad and so I'm not averse to playing their games.

But GOG is my totally prefered game download site.
And I use it all the time

I agree completely with Gil. If the only source available for a game is Steam I buy a different game. I will not submit to anyone controlling something I purchased. That's the bottom line. I don't have to take my Honda back to the dealership for service, any mechanic will do. The car is mine not Honda's. I agree the developer is entitled to payment for his or her creation. It ends there, he is not allowed to look over my shoulder or take the game back because he does not like how I use my mouse. If the industry cannot figure out how to protect their intellectual property without treating the customer like a crook perhaps they should get into another business. You have no idea what other information their malware is gathering. Remember Google's innocuous Street View? When caught gathering billions of people's personal data they tried to say their capture of the data was unintentional. They continue to house it all in server farms. Unlike the FBI they did not recycle the data. If you can believe every hard drive sending and receiving Learner's e-mail had a spontaneous melt down and no backups were made then something like Steam is for you. When I play a game the net is disconnected and all malware is purged.

Perhaps it's because I already have a STEAM account, but I don't have to jump through ANY of those hoops to play a game off-line. I simple click on STEAM and select off-line mode and I'm done. Plus I only have to do it once and then I never have to do it again.

Like Ana says, good and bad with all of them and the final decision is with the user. Thank heavens for options that fit everyone!

I usually play my Steam games offline (playing offline right now). I play online only if I need to find the achievements or if I forget to go offline.

I never knew you could play steam offline.

And I can't tell that I'm online when I'm playing so it doesn't bother me.

I amazes me how some of you totally miss the point.

Gil.

Gil, you are not speaking to a bunch of uneducated schoolgirls. It's hard to miss your point, we've heard it plenty. I am quite well educated and bright, and I know for a fact so are the others that have responded here. Because you have made a personal decision to not use steam, I am not judging you, it's your decision and you are entitled to it. Do not however, imply that the rest of the world that uses Steam is not smart enough to understand it. We have made our decision to use it. Accept that.

Thank you, Ana. I am not an idiot and neither is anyone else here who chooses to use Steam.

traveler,

IF you may have been referring to my comment (since yours followed mine) I haven't missed your point either. I admit that I don't understand a lot of things but I do know that when I installed games from discs I always had to click "I agree" to whatever all the fine print was. To me, Steam is not much different than that. Knock on wood, I haven't had any problems with them yet. If I do, I may feel differently.

The conversation had taken a turn of events about being online and offline. My comment only addressed that.

Thanks.

Thanks for the clarification, Gil.

Two things.
1. Steam's automatic update can play havoc with those who have limited bandwidth, slow download time, and the files are large.
2. More and more, if you don't buy a new game on Steam, you can't buy it at all.

Gil.

Exactly why I turn automatic updates off. Nothing is more aggravating that wanting to play a game and needing a huge update. So I turn them off. When I want the update, I'll do it manually overnight.

1. I do the same thing Drac does and let it update when I go out so it's done when I get home.

2. This is only an issue for the few that refuse to use Steam. Reality is that Steam has a ton of users and the majority of the gaming population have no objection to using it. I'm not seeing a boycott that will end Steam anytime in the near future. Getting a game on Steam is a major accomplishment for developers. Not being able to get Greenlit is the reason some never finish a game or can't get a publisher. Many games we are looking forward to are coming into existence mainly because they were able to get a spot on Steam when its released so it's only logical that they get there first.

Ana

For better or worse, that would be 65,000,000 PC users at the end of October 2013. X-Box Live (a very similar service) had 48,000,000. Even assuming plenty of overlap by these users between the two services, that is pushing the 100,000,000 users of these types of gaming services.

With Steam offering their own gaming console using the Linux based SteamOS for your TV, I don't think they or X-Box Live are going away any time soon.

I think that speaks for itself. Thanks Drac.

It might be more accurate to say that more and more games are being released on Steam before they're (legally) released anywhere else. However most games eventually become available from other sources.

Still, any monopoly, or near monopoly, is a bad thing.
It's important that people be given choices in where to purchase.

"Still, any monopoly, or near monopoly, is a bad thing.
It's important that people be given choices in where to purchase."

I wholeheartedly agree

Me, too!