steam buyers

for the first time this year i think i'm going to buy fm from steam instead of wait for a disk to be delivered. i was just wondering if anyone who purchased from steam last year could let me know if they recommend it on not and why.

thanks in advance and sorry if this is a duplicate thread.

tefal

I would buy it from Steam if Steam allowed me to install the game anywhere other than the C:drive. Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't allow you to choose. Unless the full game installation is different to the demo.

I would buy it from Steam if Steam allowed me to install the game anywhere other than the C:drive. Unless I'm missing something, it doesn't allow you to choose. Unless the full game installation is different to the demo.

3 seconds on Google turned up this.

I got the Steam version last year, and I'm firmly in the "Steam is ace" camp, so I can certainly recommend it. I just like the simplicity of it. I think it's available for pre-load so you can buy, download, and start playing at midnight on release day.

Steam should be kicked in the nuts for the prices they charge. How can they charge 50 euro for a digital download without a printed manual, without having to "burn" dvd's and such, when you can get the boxed version for £17.95.

It's a bloody rip off, and developers should tell em off soon. Their prices are way too high.

3 seconds on Google turned up this.

Thanks for saving me the 3 seconds. Although I just wasted them saying thanks.

thanks for your replies so far, i think i'm going to become a steam convert. the big selling point of getting a dvd through the post is that occasionally it'd come through a day early but with the post strike i think the only way of making sure you've got it as soon as you get out of bed on the 30th is steam (unless you go to the shop at midnight). can you play it when offline if you download it from steam?

What would happen if steam ever went bust how would you obtain the games you bought from them if they cease to trade.

can you play it when offline if you download it from steam?

Yep - you just have to run Steam in offline mode (it usually pops up to give you this option).

What would happen if steam ever went bust how would you obtain the games you bought from them if they cease to trade.

Valve simply aren't going to go bust anytime soon. They're one of the most successful developers on the PC and, increasingly, the X-Box 360 (The Half Life, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Portal & Left 4 Dead series have on or two people playing them I believe ) and Steams catalogue is increasingly expansive (Electronic Arts got on board only a couple of weeks back).

Steam should be kicked in the nuts for the prices they charge. How can they charge 50 euro for a digital download without a printed manual, without having to "burn" dvd's and such, when you can get the boxed version for £17.95.

It's a bloody rip off, and developers should tell em off soon. Their prices are way too high.

You're blaming the wrong people. It is the publishers (Sega) and/or developers (SI) who determine what price should be charged, not Valve/Steam, who merely provide the platform and presumably take a cut. I imagine it's probably Sega who have the final say, based upon comments from Miles about decisions regarding using Steam as an authentication method again. I do agree that £29.99 plus some random three year old Sega racing game isn't an attractive enough offer though

thanks for your reply earl. i had the dvd of fm09 and tried to play it while on holiday and offline last xmas. steam gave me the option to play offline but it wouldn't start up.

Steam any time for me. Being able to download and play my games everywhere I own a PC (office, home desktop and laptop) makes it by far the most convenient solution.

Try the demo on Steam. I have never used Steam before, but downloaded it to get quick access to the demo.

When I am offline, when you try to login to Steam, it says 'you are offline, would you like to open steam in offline mode?'

When you do, you still have access to FM and can launch it fine. You can also add all your other PC games to the Steam Games page for ease in future.

Alternatively you can just place a FM10 shortcut on your desktop from Steam.

if i buy download from steam..is it possible to install the game on more than one PC or just on the one it is downloaded?..i'm a bit confused with this digital downloads..

and is it available immidiately after you submit your credid card number or do you have to wait some time?

If you buy a game on steam that game is locked to your steam account.

So lets say you are at your house, you buy FM10 and play it for a while, but then you get a new computer or go stay at your friends or whatever you just download steam, log into your account and then you will have access to all your games again.

(of course seeing as its a different computer you will need to download the games again).

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With regards to steam going bust.... thats like asking "what if sky goes bust?" "what if microsoft goes bust?"...

Valve the parent company of Steam is rediculously huge for what was once a relatively small development company.

Plus the question was asked back when steam was launched and Valve stated that if the service ever shut down then customers would be able to send off or obtain a permenant copy of any games they had with the service.

Its just miles easier, safer and faster to use steam than it is you physicaly buy the games these days.

So long as you are even half way competent with using computers Steam is not a problem.

If you buy a game on steam that game is locked to your steam account.

So lets say you are at your house, you buy FM10 and play it for a while, but then you get a new computer or go stay at your friends or whatever you just download steam, log into your account and then you will have access to all your games again.

(of course seeing as its a different computer you will need to download the games again).

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With regards to steam going bust.... thats like asking "what if sky goes bust?" "what if microsoft goes bust?"...

Valve the parent company of Steam is rediculously huge for what was once a relatively small development company.

Plus the question was asked back when steam was launched and Valve stated that if the service ever shut down then customers would be able to send off or obtain a permenant copy of any games they had with the service.

Its just miles easier, safer and faster to use steam than it is you physicaly buy the games these days.

So long as you are even half way competent with using computers Steam is not a problem.

ok. but if it is on my accaunt and i have to log in every time..what happens if i don't have internet connection?

basically, if i do buy the game this way it is not possible to install on my pc and to have it there. on my pc and not have to log in to internet to play?

You're blaming the wrong people. It is the publishers (Sega) and/or developers (SI) who determine what price should be charged, not Valve/Steam, who merely provide the platform and presumably take a cut. I imagine it's probably Sega who have the final say, based upon comments from Miles about decisions regarding using Steam as an authentication method again. I do agree that £29.99 plus some random three year old Sega racing game isn't an attractive enough offer though

Perhaps, but why are all games more expensive on steam than a boxed version in the store? It makes no sense.

If Sega set the price to 50 euro, how can some stores sell it for £17.95 then?

In order to not undercut traditional retailers who represent the lion's share of sales. It's basically business politics.

ok. but if it is on my accaunt and i have to log in every time..what happens if i don't have internet connection?

basically, if i do buy the game this way it is not possible to install on my pc and to have it there. on my pc and not have to log in to internet to play?

You can run Steam in Offline Mode anytime you like, which is how I prefer to run FM.

I have Steam running on a workstation and laptop at home. I have FM2009 installed on both, as well. Depending on whether I want to sit at my desk or lounge in bed, I run either machine in Offline Mode and simply move the same save file from machine to machine using a flash drive.

Perhaps, but why are all games more expensive on steam than a boxed version in the store? It makes no sense.

If Sega set the price to 50 euro, how can some stores sell it for £17.95 then?

Because with the high street and online retailers selling the box copies they are the people who determine the price they charge. They are purchasing a certain amount of physical stock at a wholesale price and then are free to put - it's up to them to shift the copies they purchase; if they set their price too high and those copies don't shift than they're going to start to struggle to meet their initial purchase cost.

With digital distribution there's by definition no physical product to be traded between publisher and retailer and so there is therefore no risk attached to the digital distribution retailer stocking the game; the only variable cost with quantity sold is the bandwidth required to download the game. Therefore it makes sense for the publisher to maintain control of the content and charge their desired price.

Ultimately, and quite understandably, Valve seem keen to remain primarily a games developer, not a games retailer and so seem to prefer to create the tools and make their system as open as possible (their Steamworks package is free to integrate into any game) and then let the other developers and publishers sort their own business out with Valve just taking a slice of the pie at the end.

I love Steam. And they ain't going bust any time soon

thanks again for your replies. i've ordered from steam to be sure but play.com posted forza 3 for xbox yesterday and it arrived today a day before the release, on the first day of a national postal strike, to further cloud the issue. the only other thing is steam say the game is available on the 30th october but at the time of typing says available in 'approx 1 week, 1 day and 5 hours' which would mean a 6pm release. surely that can't be correct.

I love Steam. And they ain't going bust any time soon

if they do im screwed, i have over 30 games through steam alone.

thanks again for your replies. i've ordered from steam to be sure but play.com posted forza 3 for xbox yesterday and it arrived today a day before the release, on the first day of a national postal strike, to further cloud the issue. the only other thing is steam say the game is available on the 30th october but at the time of typing says available in 'approx 1 week, 1 day and 5 hours' which would mean a 6pm release. surely that can't be correct.

It maybe American time? I dont know..... it does say "approx" i guess

You don't have to run Steam AT ALL to play FM. I bought FM09 through Steam, and I simply use the game's EXE file to play. Since installing FM09, I haven't run Steam except to download the FM10 demo and pre-order the full version.

Just find the EXE file on your system and run the game from it. As long as your copy is registered through Steam the first time through, you'll no longer need to run it using the Steam software.

+1 for Steam.

Even if steam go bust, they'll send out a patch update for all games allowing them to be played without the steam platform.

I see the point that digital downloads like Steam would mean less cost on logistics and packaging such as CD's etc.

However, instead of being confused why a game is cheaper in the stores, consider that through Steam you've got the product delivered on your harddrive and ready to play, instead of going out to the store, hoping they have the game, if not checking multiple stores, or waiting for days for the product to be delivered through the mail.

That's how I justify the benefit of a service like Steam.

First time ever I have gone with Steam.

Can I ask, does the download of FM10 start automatically or do I need to log on and download?

How do I go offline?

I guess I can't download the game when Steam is running offline (stupid question but I need to be sure)

First time ever I have gone with Steam.

Can I ask, does the download of FM10 start automatically or do I need to log on and download?

How do I go offline?

I guess I can't download the game when Steam is running offline (stupid question but I need to be sure)

You have to be online and steam has to be connected to the internet and you user account for the download to start. It will automatically start if you have successfully logged on your account and the internet.

For the second question, right click on steam and click on games, then go to file and you will have some options including "Go Offline.."

As for the topic, I bought FM2009 with steam last year and I have to say I am very pleased. Easily accessible, no CD's needed and most importantly you don't have to wait for a delivery as you can download it as soon as 30th October. I pre-purchased FM10 on steam a month ago and I think that can show you how happy I am with steam.

Cheers, hope it helps.

Oh and YES you can play FM offline.

You have to be online and steam has to be connected to the internet and you user account for the download to start. It will automatically start if you have successfully logged on your account and the internet.

For the second question, right click on steam and click on games, then go to file and you will have some options including "Go Offline.."

As for the topic, I bought FM2009 with steam last year and I have to say I am very pleased. Easily accessible, no CD's needed and most importantly you don't have to wait for a delivery as you can download it as soon as 30th October. I pre-purchased FM10 on steam a month ago and I think that can show you how happy I am with steam.

Cheers, hope it helps.

Oh and YES you can play FM offline.

Muchos appreciared :-)

I have just pre-ordered the game, but I dont see anything in the "My Games"-tab that suggests I have bought it. Neither is Outrun ready for download. I have also not recieved a receit in my mail, but the transaction from my card went through, and when I click on account-details on their websites it says that I have pre-ordered the game. When can I expect to see something in the program?

You should be seeing something in your My Games tab under "Not Installed". My tab shows both FM10 and Outrun.

If you're not seeing this, then you should contact Steam immediately to find out what is wrong. Are you sure you're signed into your correct account on Steam?

That is what I was afraid of. Yeah, I have logged into the correct account, so thats not where the problem lies. Thanks for you answer, I will send Steam an e-mail to get this sorted in time for release

You don't have to run Steam AT ALL to play FM. I bought FM09 through Steam, and I simply use the game's EXE file to play. Since installing FM09, I haven't run Steam except to download the FM10 demo and pre-order the full version.

Just find the EXE file on your system and run the game from it. As long as your copy is registered through Steam the first time through, you'll no longer need to run it using the Steam software.

I did the same last year as steam seemed to slow my computer a bit, and is slow to start up for me (think its my pc to be honest).

However with the FM10 demo steam has to running it seems.

Will I be able to run it completely without steam after installing/registering?

Thanks for any replies

However with the FM10 demo steam has to running it seems.

My understanding is that this is only for the demo and that you should be able to play offline once the full game is released. But I don't know that I've seen official confirmation of that.

Thanks hopefully someone can confirm this

Yeah any full game can be run with steam offline, just tell it to go offline and the games will still play.

As for how much resources steam takes up... i keep it running constantly, even when im playing non steam games... its not that bad, infact looking at task manager, its only taking up 11mb of memory (about 1/5th of what internet explorer is using while im typing this)

I was definitely skeptical of Steam last year before I got FM09 through them and I have to say they are aces!