[Kaizer]

http://www.hl2fallout.com/forums/ind...=6610&st=0

Legit? Yes
Confirmed by Gabe? Yes
Confirmed by Doug? Yes

Lets put on some good music while we await gold.
Might I suggest The National Bank?

Finally the "valve=delay (in some foreign language)"-people can return to eternal silence..

Goodnight.
Kjetil

[ZoinKs!]

Looks like it'll be out by Sept. 30th after all.
I'm looking forward to this game.

[Spaceman-Spiff]

Originally Posted by ZoinKs!

Looks like it'll be out by Sept. 30th after all.
I'm looking forward to this game.

I kinda doubt that since it's not "Gold" yet, but I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[Zyrusticae]

Nice to know.

However, it'll be MUCH nicer to know that it's gone gold and will be released on September 30, 2004, one year after the original release date.

One can only hope...

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

RC usually means two weeks of testing, two weeks of pressing and distribution minimum. Oh, and add a couple more weeks for a release outside of the US.

[Richard]

That's assuming this RC = RTM.

[K.I.L.E.R]

I've got my money ready.

They take too damn long. My holidays end on the 4th of next month.

Stupid time.

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Apparently you won't be able to unlock the game via Steam until the stores get their copies. Kind of defeats the one of the main points of Steam doesn't it?

[Goragoth]

Apparently you won't be able to unlock the game via Steam until the stores get their copies. Kind of defeats the one of the main points of Steam doesn't it?

Same reason as why its priced the same too: they can't afford to piss of the distributer/publishers. There's lots of middlemen that want a piece of the pie and you have to play nice with them in the big bad world of business. Not that I like it, in fact the sooner all middlemen die the happier I'll be but it doesn't change the facts.

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Originally Posted by Goragoth

o: they can't afford to piss of the distributer/publishers. There's lots of middlemen that want a piece of the pie and you have to play nice with them in the big bad world of business. Not that I like it, in fact the sooner all middlemen die the happier I'll be but it doesn't change the facts.

Yes, but it's crippling the chance of Steam doing well. If you take away some of it's major selling points, why would people use it? If Steam fails because you didn't get the game quicker and cheaper than at the shops (which is what makes Steam so attractive) then what's the point of trying this new model at all?

[Guden Oden]

I prefer having a hardcopy of my software, especially when online vendors pull some shit like "extended download service"; for "only $4.99 extra" they "reserve a personal copy" for two years or some bullshit like that. If I lose the original installer file I'm fucked, even though I may still have the CD key printed out and should theoretically be able to simply enter it into the program.

Stuff sold through places like digitalriver.com work that way. Hate that shit, gimme a CD box any day of the week, thank you.

[K.I.L.E.R]

Gunden you are starting to confuse me.

I thought the HL2 with CS:Source will be in 1 package both on CD playable without an internet connection for $100AUD?

[Guden Oden]

Was just offering a counter-position to Zabag's view that Steam would be a preferable choice if software is cheaper and released sooner than store copies of the game.

I'm sure people like Steam and its way of doing things, but I want control over my computer, thank you very much. Steam doesn't let you choose where it downloads its games from what I've seen in the menus, everything seems to end up in the same place where the main program is installed. I don't think I want like three gigs of halflife 2 on my C: partition if that is where I installed the Steam client!

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Originally Posted by Guden Oden

I prefer having a hardcopy of my software, especially when online vendors pull some shit like "extended download service"; for "only $4.99 extra" they "reserve a personal copy" for two years or some bullshit like that. If I lose the original installer file I'm fucked, even though I may still have the CD key printed out and should theoretically be able to simply enter it into the program.

I don't think it's a big problem for online games or Steam-like games where you need to connect to server and get patches and content updates. For instance with DarkSpace, you download the client, install where you tell it to, which then updates all your files and data. At this point you can archive all your game files onto CD if you want.

At some point in the future if you wanted to reinstall, you would just boot the installer to set your directories up, then copy all your files from CD, then allow the installer to do any updates necessary. The installer knows what files are still current and only downloads what you need to bring you up to date.

Pretty much the same thing would happen if you installed HL2 from a shop-bought CD and then used Steam to (a) play online and (b) update to all the latest patches and content.

Certainly, if you were intending to use Steam for online play anyway, if it saved you money and you got the game several weeks ahead of time, then Steam would be a lot more attractive, and people like yourself who wanted a backup could put the download onto a few CDs for pennies.

If Steam costs the same and makes you wait for the retail release anyway, then what it the incentive for people to be tempted away from wanting a retail install disc? Seems like it's just crippling the chances of a new distribution model.

[jvd]

Originally Posted by Guden Oden

Was just offering a counter-position to Zabag's view that Steam would be a preferable choice if software is cheaper and released sooner than store copies of the game.

I'm sure people like Steam and its way of doing things, but I want control over my computer, thank you very much. Steam doesn't let you choose where it downloads its games from what I've seen in the menus, everything seems to end up in the same place where the main program is installed. I don't think I want like three gigs of halflife 2 on my C: partition if that is where I installed the Steam client!

Um . I guess you don't play mmorpgs . Or any game for that mater that recieves udates or mods or maps . They all require them to be downloaded in the same directory.

Why would u install steam in your c drive ? You should know what your downloading before you download it

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.

Yes, but it's crippling the chance of Steam doing well. If you take away some of it's major selling points, why would people use it? If Steam fails because you didn't get the game quicker and cheaper than at the shops (which is what makes Steam so attractive) then what's the point of trying this new model at all?

Steam wins in that it saves you a trip to the store. It fails in that if you lose your HD, you'll have to wait while you redownload a kajillion GBs. Gamers win in that we won't have to futz with no-CD patches, and updates will be automatic. Gamers lose because ... well, they don't. They can still buy it the same old way, in stores, and have something to hold.

Honestly, the only reason I'm not as bothered by this mandatory online authentication is b/c Valve doesn't seem to be making money hand over fist like MS. I mean, there's profit, and then there's greed. If Valve crosses into billions in cash in the bank territory, then I'll reconsider.

(I should be as pissed as anyone about Steam, seeing as I lost my password and somehow Steam forgot it, so I'm essentially locked out of playing CS until I hash things out with Valve. But it's really my fault for not remembering where I wrote the p/w down, and for not using an obvious challenge phrase.)

It's a win for Valve (short and long term), but it's not really a plus or minus for anyone else. Long term, it might cut into retailer's profits. That would, in turn, result in either lower prices for gamers or a greater percentage of the profit for developers and publishers. Seems reasonable, no?

Anyway, IT'S ALMOST HERE. Woo!

[T2k]

Originally Posted by Guden Oden

Was just offering a counter-position to Zabag's view that Steam would be a preferable choice if software is cheaper and released sooner than store copies of the game.

I'm sure people like Steam and its way of doing things, but I want control over my computer, thank you very much. Steam doesn't let you choose where it downloads its games from what I've seen in the menus,

You can choose where Steam will sit - everything will be installed there as well.

everything seems to end up in the same place where the main program is installed. I don't think I want like three gigs of halflife 2 on my C: partition if that is where I installed the Steam client!

Big deal: move steam somewhere else.


As we pointed out few times: disable the automatic updates.

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Originally Posted by Pete

Steam wins in that it saves you a trip to the store.

So does buying it from Amazon.

My point is that Steam has several differentiators that make it attractive. It's cheaper, it's quicker, it saves a trip to the store, the developer gets more cash, etc. The only downside is you don't get a shiny box and pressed CD.

However, if you take away some of the big attractive differentiators (like not making it cheaper, not making it quicker, etc) then there is a lot less on the plus side of the equation. By taking away many of these pluses in order to appease the old-style publishers, you make Steam less attractive and less likely to succeed - which is exactly what the old publishers want.

If I was Valve, you know what I would be doing? I'd be looking at renting Steam services to other developers. Can you imagine if Steam is successful, how easy it would be for other developers to break away from their publishers and do a "buy our product over Steam" service? That's why publishers are scared of Steam and don't want it to be a successful content delivery and payment system.

[Para]

Originally Posted by Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.

If I was Valve, you know what I would be doing? I'd be looking at renting Steam services to other developers. Can you imagine if Steam is successful, how easy it would be for other developers to break away from their publishers and do a "buy our product over Steam" service? That's why publishers are scared of Steam and don't want it to be a successful content delivery and payment system.

Exactly. What I'd like to see is 3DMark on Steam, that would have potential to really make Steam superpopular.

[LeGreg]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09...s_6107712.html

[digitalwanderer]

Originally Posted by Para

Exactly. What I'd like to see is 3DMark on Steam, that would have potential to really make Steam superpopular.

Doesn't the CS:S stress test kind of count as that?

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Originally Posted by LeGreg

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/20/news_6107712.html

No surprise. The publisher is trying to steal the developer's IP, screw them out of royalties, force the developer to be tied to the publisher ad infinitum, and squash anything that threatens the publisher's all-powerful middleman position. It's all par for the course for Vivendi.

The sooner developers can distribute their games directly, the better for them and the better for us.

[The549]

Yeah, I think we should all be rooting for the guys who did the real wrok at Valve....

[karlotta]

This whole issue is like the Movie/ Music industrys. Now that games are like Blockbusters and game devs are like rockstars you get the worst part of the "Intertaiment" world. Lawyers and Sharks.

[digitalwanderer]

http://3dgpu.com/archives/2004/09/20...-impacts-h-l2/

http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=26175

http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?comments=33658

Just in case anyone is curious to see the reactions/comments over the lawsuit story....