Steam...

[Frank]

1. I bought 2 games, they both keep crashing.
2. Try to install it on another computer to see if they work there: while it's downloading/updating or whatever, you have to wait and twiddle your thumbs, because it'll throw you out on the other computer.
3. It's more expensive (Dollars != Euros) and it's adware to boot: it keeps popping up those ads all the time.
4. Well, ok, it allows me to use Ideal to pay, while most others don't. And it did stock the games I wanted. That's cool. Now if they worked...

 

[Grall]

Adware? What the hell are you talking about?

If it's the windows that appear when you exit games and stuff, you can turn those off in the settings. If you're talking about something else then you got an infection on your PC.

And you don't need to re-download games to install them on another machine. Backup them on the first, put on a flash key or whatever floats your boat (shared network folder, w/e), then restore the backup on the other machine. Much faster.

 

[Frank]

Thanks.

But how can I get them to not crash in the first place?

It's 3 variants of Half-life 2 (the first game I bought, which crashes after the intro, and of which everyone -including on this forum- told me: "That's what you get when you pirate it. But a legit copy or use Steam, and it'll work." ... NOT! Because that's what I did in the first place, I never pirated that, but of course it's easy to point the finger.) and three variants of King's Bounty (the platinum pack). Same problems.

Oh, I also had to spend 10 days getting BioShock working (DRM), while they told me the same and I had bought 2 collectors issues on pre-order. Etc.

Fix it, or lose me as a customer.

 

[Frank]

Btw, I spend years developing and rolling out automated installation and software delivery systems, so I do think I know what I'm talking about.

 

[Grall]

Can't help you with the crashes - sorry. It's too technical for me, and too vague a problem... Something crashing can be for like, a bajillion different reasons. Almost impossible to diagnose with so little information from across the net.

Have you contacted Steam tech support? They're pretty good in my experience and decently fast at replying. Certainly never took 10 days any of the times I needed to write them.

All the HL games, even the oldest, run fine on my systems. Try installing them on another box and see how it goes, then post back here with your progress mmkay?

 

[Frank]

"It works fine here" is the worst answer you can give. It's equal to saying: "It's not my problem, you probably pirated the game, so suck it up."

I bought HL2 in the shop, (physical DVD) and it didn't work on both my computer and laptop. The same thing happened with Far Cry.

After I got both a new computer and laptop, I tried again. No joy. The third time, all different hardware and OS, I let Steam handle it. Same result.

And I spend years rolling out third-party applications, so I think I'm entitled to my opinion. Which is: expect failure, and try everything you learn to lessen that risk. Which is different from, well, arrogance.

 

[hoho]

Was there anything that's common on the three platforms? Perhaps some 3'rd party stuff you have installed everywhere?

Also, how the game exactly crashes? Any information anywhere? A crash log perhaps? "It crashes" is pretty much the most useless thing you can ever say if you are looking for help. Also, Steam has always worked perfectly for me as well, even through wine in Linux. I'd look for the problem in somewhere else, it's quite definitely not in the game itself or Steam. My bet is it's some kind of a conflict with some other software you have installed

 

[Grall]

"It works fine here" is the worst answer you can give.

Well it beats a simple "it crashes" as an error description... Need more information, man!

It's equal to saying: "It's not my problem, you probably pirated the game, so suck it up."

No it isn't, it's merely stating a fact. Don't go invent stuff that isn't there, it's not helpful to your situation... I've had lots of other games crash on me, Valve stuff included. Portal used to crash regularly on startup for me, Team Fortress 2 does that every once in a while even today. No particular reason it seems, it just pops up one of those Windows "this application has crapped its pants and died" error notifications. It not having focus when starting up seems to play a factor, it seems to happen more often if I click anywhere on the desktop while the game's loading (before showing the Valve logo anmation).

I bought HL2 in the shop, (physical DVD) and it didn't work on both my computer and laptop. The same thing happened with Far Cry.

Then it's most likely not Steam's fault it happens, but rather something that has to do with your particular setup(s). Does a fresh OS install with nothing else on there help?

Which is different from, well, arrogance.

Well, here's a pro tip for you my friend: never accuse others of arrogance when asking for help.

 

[Frank]

Well it beats a simple "it crashes" as an error description... Need more information, man!

Yes, definitely.

HL2 simply crashes after the intro movie on ~ 4 different systems. For me. With a DVD purchase as well as with a Steam purchase, and with many different incarnations of all those systems, hardware as well as software.

Emotional conclusion: "Well, if they can't get their own primary game to work, ..."

So, I get a boxed copy of King's Bounty: The Legend. Great game, except that it keeps crashing. You can play an hour or two at the start, but half way you're fortunate to be able to play a quarter without crashing. And battles take long and you cannot save while they commence!

Hm. I download a cracked version. No difference. I read the forums. Many complaints. Breakdown: don't use Vista/W7, and especially not the 64-bit versions.

Then again, many people chime in with: "It works for me, you probably have a pirated version. So there. Go away."

No it isn't, it's merely stating a fact. Don't go invent stuff that isn't there, it's not helpful to your situation... I've had lots of other games crash on me, Valve stuff included. Portal used to crash regularly on startup for me, Team Fortress 2 does that every once in a while even today. No particular reason it seems, it just pops up one of those Windows "this application has crapped its pants and died" error notifications. It not having focus when starting up seems to play a factor, it seems to happen more often if I click anywhere on the desktop while the game's loading (before showing the Valve logo anmation).


Then it's most likely not Steam's fault it happens, but rather something that has to do with your particular setup(s). Does a fresh OS install with nothing else on there help?


Well, here's a pro tip for you my friend: never accuse others of arrogance when asking for help.

Well, the bottom line: They're looking at percentages, and they're not going to help that low percentage of users with that problem.

Because the payment is done, the content delivered. Money well earned.

If that content doesn't work, it's not their problem.



So, why would I use such a service, especially if they cannot get their primary thing to function as expected?



Yeah, I know. I'M to blame, not Vale. Because, eh, yeah, right, They're Big and You're Small! There.!!!1

 

[Frank]

Btw, just to make sure:

I bought a copy of HL2 three times, with three different delivery mechanisms, installed them on multiple desktops/laptops, and they ALL crashed on ALL the platforms after the introduction.

So, yes, definitely my problem. Because it works for 95% of all other buyers.

Still, would I want to throw more money away? Hm. I tried another suite of games. And guess what: I got a comparable problem. The games are playable, except that they crash about every quarter hour, and that you don't have a save option in-between.



So, what am I going to do? Suck it up and spend more money on it, in the hope that it will improve, just forget about using it whatsoever, or post my experiences on a forum?

Being negative is frowned upon on many forums, even if they don't make money out of it. Like Microsoft and (especially) Bill Gates being GOD.

 

[Frank]

Was there anything that's common on the three platforms? Perhaps some 3'rd party stuff you have installed everywhere?

Also, how the game exactly crashes? Any information anywhere? A crash log perhaps? "It crashes" is pretty much the most useless thing you can ever say if you are looking for help. Also, Steam has always worked perfectly for me as well, even through wine in Linux. I'd look for the problem in somewhere else, it's quite definitely not in the game itself or Steam. My bet is it's some kind of a conflict with some other software you have installed

Well, like in this thread although the solutions didn't work for me.

But the OS I used every time with KB was W7-64. So that's most likely the problem. Although Far Cry crashed on XP as well.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

I dont understand you.

1. You buy the physical game it crashes, then you buy the steam version, it still crashes, and somehow you are mad at the steam service? How does a seemingly intelligent and rational person reach this conclusion? Im betting you have installed some piece of software that makes it crash, otherwise you are cursed with bad luck in video games. Either way, i dont get it. If i buy a ps3 game and it constantly crashes(and i made sure its not a fault on my end) im not mad at sony, im mad at whoever made this piece of shit product.

2. Already been adressed (furthermore you can run steam offline - play games or whatever)

3. You can turn of the ads (but those are just steam ads, otherwise you installed something on your computer). Furthermore, if you dont like the dollar=euros conversion, just dont buy it?

Also, instead of attacking the "it works fine here" answer, how about giving a proper CRASH LOG? Otherwise your just here ranting, you dont want a solution. Seriously, from a guy who apparently spent years creating automated installs, should have some programming skills. You should then know that saying something crashed without any additional information is about as useful as a policeman showing up to a murder scene to investigate and conclude "this person is dead"...

 

[Grall]

Yeah, I know. I'M to blame, not Vale. Because, eh, yeah, right, They're Big and You're Small! There.!!!1

Lol, if I was a teener still, I'd say "umad?" or "nerdrage!", but since I'm a grown person I won't!

Calm down... Nobody's accusing you of anything, piracy or incompetence included. Usually it's never anyone's direct fault if a piece of software crashes, unless you've been deleting system files or messing around in the registry or stuff like that.

To try to narrow your troubles down a bit is why I asked if it happens even on a clean OS install. I've run Half-Life 2 successfully on XP 32-bit, Vista 32 and 64-bit and Win7 64-bit and on a bunch of different PCs, so the game isn't entirely incompatible with those OSes. Something is interfering, like someone else suggested, start looking for common denominators between your boxes that might be a root cause.

Have you installed any software or hardware that is common to all of them? (Just grasping for straws here, but what the hell... Gotta try something!)

Also, again, try to contact Steam tech support. Give as much information as you can about your system, what happens, and the error report Windows gives you when the game dies. They've been able to help me sort stuff out, fairly quickly (like, in less than 48 hours).

 

[itsmydamnation]

yeah other software can cause game crashes, like punkbuster + afterburner == random hard lock.

 

[hoho]

But the OS I used every time with KB was W7-64. So that's most likely the problem.

I wouldn't blame the OS directly as same version is being used by literally millions. I'm still fairly certain that some other piece of software is to blame, perhaps some drivers or your antivirus software?

 

[Rodéric]

Windows 7 Home Premium x64 here and never had a problem with steam and any of my games.
So it's clearly not the OS fault.
(Just in case it isn't obvious that Valve would fix a bug happening on a fair share of its customer base.)

I would consider Drivers first and foremost, Anti-Virus or Virus second, also hardware incompatibility might be an issue, trying non steam games would help diagnose that.

 

[Otto Dafe]

I actually think maybe firewall. Perhaps the game looks for a connection when it starts up, and your (hypothetical) SW firewall pops up to ask you what to do and crashes full screen apps.

 

[Malo]

This thread delivers. Now I know where to vent my frustrations in life... Steam!

 

[Mize]

Frank, what are you running for anti-malware? I've had issues with some installs when running AVG.

 

[Grall]

I've vented plenty frustration at that fuckin steam client, that's for sure. For years - literally! - it ramped the CPU to 100% in a busy loop while attempting to log in, at times it stops downloading and puts everything on pause and refuses to resume, no matter how many times the pause/resume button is used, I've had spontaneous and unprovoked crashes... You name it. It's far from the most stable and reliable piece of software out there.

Hell, just yesterday I couldn't play TF2 because the game claimed it was impossible to connect to Steam servers for my custom weapon loadout (everything reverted to stock), and then I got kicked because the game couldn't connect to VAC servers either. Wonderful.