Does FM 2011 need Steam?

Recently I have had very bad experiences with games that are integrated with the Steam organization. Civilization V was my most recent purchase and it was so bad that I returned the product to the retailer and received a full refund without question. I was so puzzled that they had not asked me any questions as to why I was returning the game that I asked if they had experienced problems with the game. They said that hundreds of people had returned the game and all said that they were unhappy at the integration with the Steam organization. I love the Football Manager genre of games and have bought every new version since its inception. However, if Steam is involved then I, along with many other friends, shall not buy the new game. So, can anyone please tell me whether this game has been integrated with Steam?

You can register it with Steam, buy it through Steam or just buy the disc game and not regsiter it with Steam. So I don't think you need steam.

No you don't need it

You can register it with Steam, buy it through Steam or just buy the disc game and not regsiter it with Steam. So I don't think you need steam.

I was told exactly that for Civilization V but found that the reality was different. For example:-

1. I bought the game from Amazon and found that the game would not install unless I created a Steam Account then logged onto Steam and downloaded a 4GB file - despite that the files were on my DVD!!

2. After installation the game would not work unless I logged onto Steam.

3. Upgrades/patches are available only through Steam.

4. If you have no internet connection, or a poor internet connection (which we all have from time to time), then you cannot install/play the game.

So, whilst I am very grateful for your response, I really need a categoric answer before I will buy this game.

You don't need Steam. I use it now as it downloads the new patches when they come out but I have used it before without Steam.

It looks like you might have chosen the wrong installation option Sput. I bought Civ V for my brother (no Internet connection) and he installed and played it just fine.

4. If you have no internet connection, or a poor internet connection (which we all have from time to time), then you cannot install/play the game.

You can, just set Steam into "offline" mode.

But anyway Steam won't be the only option for FM11, there will be other methods.

FM10 did not need steam, so I assume it's going to be the same with FM11.

In general, you have two options when you buy a game straight from the shop: either install it using a disk, or install it through Steam using the activation code printed on the booklet inside the box with the disk. Personally, I put my FM10 on Steam, because I sometimes play using a netbook, which does not have a disk drive.

You do not need Steam at all- buy the disc and dont use Steam to activate.

It looks like you might have chosen the wrong installation option Sput. I bought Civ V for my brother (no Internet connection) and he installed and played it just fine.

I have been told that before and so I contact Steam customer support and they told me how to install it without their involvement. So I uninstalled Civ V, cleaned out the registry and installed using the method that they described. The game installed but immediately asked me to set up a Steam account and would not let me play until I had an account. Furthermore, everytime I want to play the game the software checks with Steam and upgrades/patches can be obtained only via Steam. So, can you please tell me how your Brother has managed to play the game and get the game Patched without an internet connection to Steam?

If you want to talk about Civ 5 and Steam, you might be better off doing it on either the forums of a Civ 5 fansite, or on 2K Games' forums, then here.

I can't remember Sput, but I assume he chose "offline" installation or, at the point when he was asked for a Steam account, just pressed "Cancel" which cancelled the Steam set up but not the installation. Or something like that. It's definitely not a requirement to use Steam with either FM or Civ V tbf.

FM10 did not need steam, so I assume it's going to be the same with FM11.

In general, you have two options when you buy a game straight from the shop: either install it using a disk, or install it through Steam using the activation code printed on the booklet inside the box with the disk. Personally, I put my FM10 on Steam, because I sometimes play using a netbook, which does not have a disk drive.

I did the same with FM 2010 and would like to have the same option with FM 2011. However, the Steam business model has changed since FM 2010 was released and that was why I instanced my experience with Civilization V. Incidentally, I suggest that anyone interested in this matter to visit the various Civ V web sites (do not forget Amazon) and see the comments that have been made. It is this widespread concern that has prompted me to ask this question because I have no wish to be involved with Steam again.

I can't remember Sput, but I assume he chose "offline" installation or, at the point when he was asked for a Steam account, just pressed "Cancel" which cancelled the Steam set up but not the installation. Or something like that. It's definitely not a requirement to use Steam with either FM or Civ V tbf.

Steam Customer Services told me this also but you may wish to follow this interesting thread:-

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=388073

If you want to talk about Civ 5 and Steam, you might be better off doing it on either the forums of a Civ 5 fansite, or on 2K Games' forums, then here.

The subject is Football Manager 2011 not Civilization V. Civilization V is mentioned only because many purchasers of that game had horrendous experience with Steam and I am trying to establish whether Steam is also integrated with Football Manager 2011. From what I have been told so far in this thread, I conclude that Steam is indeed involved. Accordingly, my question is answered sufficiently for me to conclude that I shall not buy FM 2011.

It follows that my interest in this thread is concluded because I have my answer.

Dude, I wouldn't buy it either if I had to use Steam.

You don't.

You can install from DVD, and just use the DVD as a check, never having to touch Steam.

CIV 5 is a different beast, it FORCES you to use steam as an aggressive and invasive form of DRM.

Assuming FM2011 is the same as 2010, you will not need to touch Steam. If you have to use Steam for FM2011 I will not be purchasing the game either. I reject all forms of invasive DRM.

It's definitely not a requirement to use Steam with either FM or Civ V tbf.

That's not true, CIV5 requires Steam. It's disgraceful.

So, can anyone please tell me whether this game has been integrated with Steam?

No one except people from SI/Sega can tell you and they are still silent about this. Ignore what others have said because they are just making things up. FM10 can be installed without steam but that doesnt mean its going to be same for FM11. Im also waiting for the official version to see if im going to preorder or not.

I don't think there's been an official message yet, but there will be. I'm not in the office or I'd try and find out for sure.

However - I expect FM11 to be similar to, if not the same as, FM10. If there's a plan to change that, I'm sure it'll be detailed clearly here prior to release - so if you want something more categoric, keep your eyes on the forum here.

For anyone who is interested, Steam Cloud will be available for FM11.

Recently I have had very bad experiences with games that are integrated with the Steam organization. Civilization V was my most recent purchase and it was so bad that I returned the product to the retailer and received a full refund without question. I was so puzzled that they had not asked me any questions as to why I was returning the game that I asked if they had experienced problems with the game. They said that hundreds of people had returned the game and all said that they were unhappy at the integration with the Steam organization. I love the Football Manager genre of games and have bought every new version since its inception. However, if Steam is involved then I, along with many other friends, shall not buy the new game. So, can anyone please tell me whether this game has been integrated with Steam?

Problem is Civ V isn't bad because of Steam, it is bad because of stupid design decisions, testing, and financial policies implemeted by Firaxis. While Civ V needs steamworks that's not the problem with the game.

In relation to your second post, whoever told you that Civ V wouldn't need steam were talking through their arse-holes and should be given a good kicking for lying. Firaxis anounced within 2 weeks of announcing the game that it would have to run off steam. Also your four problems are either not problems or are fixable with easily workable methods already told to you.

It's funny that so many people hate STEAM, when clearly, much like the OP , the problem lay between the chair and the keyboard. Off-topic, but I really doubt that 'hundreds' of people returned Civ5 due to steam.

Okay, might as well give my two cents..

I, also, will never go back to Steam again. I purchased The Last Remnant, and my copy ONLY plays through Steam.

The fact that I wanted to play the game, and had to launch Steam to do so, added some unneeded inconvenience into the whole gaming process. Mind you, My i7 Core is as excellent as any CPU could be, but I've had a couple of instances where Steam would FORCEFULLY try to update itself, and failed to do so. The update would simply hang at 0% (and no, this issue wasn't related to my anti-virus or firewall, it was just Steam being stupid). I eventually solved the problem after an intense googling session.

Long story short, I learned my lesson. I'd rather launch the game directly from my PC, instead of relying on a program somewhere in the middle of the launching process.

Now that I've released some steam (no pun intended), you, dear Sput, are a troll. Seriously, you managed to ignore a couple of posts that distinctly said that you have a choice, either to buy the disc and avoid steam altogether, or buy it through Steam and be damned for all eternity.

And you conclusion is: "From what I have been told so far in this thread, I conclude that Steam is indeed involved. Accordingly, my question is answered sufficiently for me to conclude that I shall not buy FM 2011.

It follows that my interest in this thread is concluded because I have my answer."

How silly...

For anyone who is interested, Steam Cloud will be available for FM11.

Sorry for my ignorance, but what exactly is 'steam cloud'?

i believe it alows you to play your save on any pc steam is installed on, not just the one you saved it on.

i believe it alows you to play your save on any pc steam is installed on, not just the one you saved it on.

Spot on. Basically saves your game online on steam so you can play it on any computer when you log into your steam account. Very useful to people who use multiple PCs.

It's funny that so many people hate STEAM, when clearly, much like the OP , the problem lay between the chair and the keyboard. Off-topic, but I really doubt that 'hundreds' of people returned Civ5 due to steam.

I agree completely.

Steam is pretty much the perfect platform now. If you are not using it then you should be because it DOES work. It is easy, it is convenient and it saves you money, time and effort. If you are not using Steam by now then you are a dinosaur.

Spot on. Basically saves your game online on steam so you can play it on any computer when you log into your steam account. Very useful to people who use multiple PCs.

I see a few problems with this. FM saved games are huge and even people like me with 10mb upload connections would have to wait for it to upload. Just imagine how much it would take for an avarage adsl user with slow upload speeds. It might be useful for those few people on this planet who play the same game on different computers. Another problem is no offline mode since you kinda have to be online to load your save game.

I agree completely.

Steam is pretty much the perfect platform now. If you are not using it then you should be because it DOES work. It is easy, it is convenient and it saves you money, time and effort. If you are not using Steam by now then you are a dinosaur.

I used Steam for FM09 and there were so many issues, including it stopping me playing 09 for the last 2 months before 10 came out and Steam's 'help' was the complete opposite. It works for you, I'm happy for you. The OP doesn't like it, I've sworn never to use it again because of the issues I had, doesn't make us dinosaurs. Doesn't make us right or you right, it's called consumer choice. I would have a problem if SI/Sega ever forced us down the Steam road but I think they realise that there needs to be more options than just that.

I agree completely.

Steam is pretty much the perfect platform now. If you are not using it then you should be because it DOES work. It is easy, it is convenient and it saves you money, time and effort. If you are not using Steam by now then you are a dinosaur.

Sure it works most of the time and when it doesnt you just delete that blob file right

But seriously, its more expensive than retail. (especially if your are from Europe or god forbid from Australia). You have no control over patches, cant sell the game if it sucks, cant even give it away to someone who might like it. Your account cant be shared so if you have two computers forget about some other person playing the game you own on your other computer. If you are from a country like Germany get ready to play with realistic green blood and nazis who cant look like nazis.

I'm sorry but I'm with the dinosaurs on this one.

I do have a couple of steam games. Half life 2 and episode 1 for example. (i was stupid back then and i thought valve was honest about that whole episodic gaming thing) And a couple of games that can be installed on steam if I WANT. (like Prey and FM2010) I even have FM10 installed on my steam account but if the option to install it without steam wouldn't have been available i wouldn't buy it. I guess I'm an old fart who likes to have control over things i buy.

I'm sorry but I'm with the dinosaurs on this one - I agree, steam has its good features but is also a major pain at times. I only use it when I have to or there is one hell of a good reason....

I haven't had steam related problems yet thankfully. But people must understand, it's a popular program, some will have problems with it.

I'm a dinosaur too!

My issues with Steam are more philosophical than anything. I consider it a form of DRM because it's not necessary for most games (i.e. you can play FM10 without Steam - just don't buy it through Steam), consumes resources and has little benefit to show for it. Steam shaft European and Australian customers with their pricing. I do not believe a third-party like Steam should be in control of the games I buy - would you park your car in the driveway of a complete stranger who "promises" to take care of it? In addition if Steam goes under, it has not been written into a legal document stating Steam will allow all its customers to play the game without Steam - a company that is going under can't afford to pay programmers to do this! In other words, if Steam goes under, then you may well lose some, if not all, your games.

It simply allows people to buy games differently - this is good for the customer, publisher and developer - but I am not convinced that for the customer, this outweighs the bad.

To me, nothing beats having the disc on hand.

Sorry to take this a bit further of topic but as the OP says he has got his answer.

I was thinking about buying a netbook and playing the game through Steam when i am on my travels. Would the spec of the netbook be critical or does Steam do the hard work, as it were.

Steam is just a delivery system - specs are the same no matter what machine you want to play on and how you want to play.

I.E. the spec of the netbook is critical.

I was critical of steam at first, I play mainly on my desktop but now i also have a notebook which has no dvd drive so needed steam to play on it. needless to say i've had no probs with it and even if for some reason i can't connect to steam i can just play in offline mode.

you DON'T have to play using steam, you can just run the game off the dvd.

I love steam. I've had problems though with F1 2010. It didn't release until 6pm on the release date when it said midnight. That's the only problems I had though. As long as I get my game and it's all easy to access all the games I have, I'm not really bothered with late release times. What people need to realise is that if steam are having troubles with their money. You don't think they'll just risk lots of customers losing their games do you ? They'd try and find out how they could incorporate a completely non-steam related download of all games. This way they won't be losing customers.

Your account cant be shared so if you have two computers forget about some other person playing the game you own on your other computer.

If two people want to play it, then buy two copies. Using the same CD for two people to play simultaneously is breaking the terms of the licence.

You don't own the software, you own a licence to use it. You can't use someone else's driving licence to drive a car. Software works the same way. You can't blame Steam for an industry model that has existed for decades. The "if it doesn't work, tough" attitude that they have is another matter entirely.

Moving on... I'm a dinosaur too. I remember taking 6 or 7 minutes to load a game from tape, watching it crash at the last minute, getting a screw driver to adjust the position of the tape head, then waiting another 6 or 7 minutes, having to use a code wheel to match some text or an indecipherable symbol before playing then getting bored in five minutes and playing another game. Steam seems rather easy in comparison!

I see a few problems with this. FM saved games are huge and even people like me with 10mb upload connections would have to wait for it to upload. Just imagine how much it would take for an avarage adsl user with slow upload speeds. It might be useful for those few people on this planet who play the same game on different computers. Another problem is no offline mode since you kinda have to be online to load your save game.

you dont have to use steam cloud, you can turn it off, dont buy using steam just get the DVD no need to use steam/steam cloud etc problem solved.

steam is no way as bad as some people on here are making it out to be, go back a few years to when it first came out and yes i will agree it was quite poor, but now its OK, it does the job its supposed to do with minimal fuss 99% of the time, as for the Civ 5 argument, well i brought that via steam and also loaded it onto my laptop that i take to work, at work i have no internet but thats no problem, just run steam in off line mode, as someone else said earlier, Civ 5 runs fine.

as for your comment about not being able to share accounts etc, well why should you how many games out there can you use 1 game CD/DVD on multiple computers ? if you could do that then 1 person would only need to buy say TF2 and you could share it amongst all your friends/family and they could all play on line against each other for free!! LOL! that is such a flawed argument its untrue, if its not an "online game" such as Civ 5 "hint" off line mode"" you can, as for selling games you dont like, im sure if you read in the small print you are not supposed to be doing this either, you dont want your game patching to the latest version, simple go into the properties for that game, right click the game tital in steam select properties, click the UPDATE tab and from the drop down menu change always keep this game up to date to do not automatically update this game, problem solved! you can also turn off steam cloud for individual games by following this, or every game in steams options.

If two people want to play it, then buy two copies. Using the same CD for two people to play simultaneously is breaking the terms of the licence.

You don't own the software, you own a licence to use it. You can't use someone else's driving licence to drive a car. Software works the same way. You can't blame Steam for an industry model that has existed for decades. The "if it doesn't work, tough" attitude that they have is another matter entirely.

Moving on... I'm a dinosaur too. I remember taking 6 or 7 minutes to load a game from tape, watching it crash at the last minute, getting a screw driver to adjust the position of the tape head, then waiting another 6 or 7 minutes, having to use a code wheel to match some text or an indecipherable symbol before playing then getting bored in five minutes and playing another game. Steam seems rather easy in comparison!

If you would have read what i said you would see i meant two people playing a different game on the same account.

And dont give me this its just a license crap. I haven't signed any license when i bought it so they can shove their Eula's wherever they want. I bought it i own it. It might be different on steam where you perhaps have to agree to some conditions before buying it. But to compare eula and other silly things disclosed after the purchase has been made to a government issued drivers license is just silly.

If you would have read what i said you would see i meant two people playing a different game on the same account.

And dont give me this its just a license crap. I haven't signed any license when i bought it so they can shove their Eula's wherever they want. I bought it i own it. It might be different on steam where you perhaps have to agree to some conditions before buying it. But to compare eula and other silly things disclosed after the purchase has been made to a government issued drivers license is just silly.

Its all very well saying it, but licensing is a fact. By buying the game, you are in fact buying the license to use it, you don't 'own' the IP, thats a fact, argue all you like but you are wrong. If you don't like that then stop buying software and find another hobby.

as for the Civ 5 argument, well i brought that via steam and also loaded it onto my laptop that i take to work, at work i have no internet but thats no problem, just run steam in off line mode, as someone else said earlier, Civ 5 runs fine.

Your experience is not a general description of everyone's Civilization V experience - in the same way that the guy who installed it and had problems too isn't a general description either.

There are a fair number of people who are annoyed with Civilization V and Steam, although the majority do go on to play the game anyway.

as for your comment about not being able to share accounts etc, well why should you how many games out there can you use 1 game CD/DVD on multiple computers ? if you could do that then 1 person would only need to buy say TF2 and you could share it amongst all your friends/family and they could all play on line against each other for free!! LOL! that is such a flawed argument its untrue

There's oddly enough nothing flawed about that argument if there are ways of making money through sharing of software. A lot of games a while back were pirated for large LAN games - like Quake or Counter-Strike - where one license was illegally used for everyone. Yet what happened was that these people got into the game and when they grew up, they became loyal customers who went out and bought the software - because they were given the opportunity to play the game when they were younger. And it has nothing to do with the disc - some games don't require you to have a disc in the drive to play.

In addition, games released under free licenses can be played across multiple computers. Some developers let their customers freely distribute limited demos of their software and let them have online/LAN play.

----

All this tinkering of settings is truly annoying though, surely? If I want to play the game, I don't want to go through all these silly methods of running Steam offline or telling Steam to ignore updates manually through some setting I didn't know existed (the majority of users never see "Settings" options). I just want to play the game the way I want to play, and it just so happens Steam breaks a lot of these "wants".

you dont have to use steam cloud, you can turn it off, dont buy using steam just get the DVD no need to use steam/steam cloud etc problem solved.

We dont know that yet. Thats the whole point of this topic. Sure you could use FM10 without Steam but SI still hasnt said anything about FM11. Who knows...it could use the same crappy system as FM09.

Its all very well saying it, but licensing is a fact. By buying the game, you are in fact buying the license to use it, you don't 'own' the IP, thats a fact, argue all you like but you are wrong. If you don't like that then stop buying software and find another hobby.

Actually its not a fact. Companies might want it to be a fact but legally speaking its on extremely shaky grounds. I never said i owned the IP. Thats just silly. I just own a copy of the product and that is a fact.

But yes, i mostly stopped buying games. Most of those that i would like o play are infected with DRM and im not paying for such a product.

Actually its not a fact. Companies might want it to be a fact but legally speaking its on extremely shaky grounds. I never said i owned the IP. Thats just silly. I just own a copy of the product and that is a fact.

But yes, i mostly stopped buying games. Most of those that i would like o play are infected with DRM and im not paying for such a product.

If the legal grounds are so shaky why aren't you challenging them?

Its a case of deal with it or move on. I really don't rate your (or anyone else's) chances of defeating the software industry.

EDIT: You're evident hatred of DRM means you are either a pirate or a loony libertarian who doesn't understand simple economics.

Personally I bear no grudge against anyone, either commercial entity or private individual who takes steps to protect their hard earned revenue streams.

Steam is just a delivery system - specs are the same no matter what machine you want to play on and how you want to play.

I.E. the spec of the netbook is critical.

Thanks.

I suspected as much. My technical knowledge is very limited.

We dont know that yet. Thats the whole point of this topic. Sure you could use FM10 without Steam but SI still hasnt said anything about FM11. Who knows...it could use the same crappy system as FM09.

Rubbish , Steam Cloud is an EXTRA regardless of what we do or do not know. The game will not save to steam cloud unless the user expressly wished it to, like with every single other title that has cloud support.

Pushing of crap info because you are limited in your technical knowledge helps no one.

All this tinkering of settings is truly annoying though, surely? If I want to play the game, I don't want to go through all these silly methods of running Steam offline or telling Steam to ignore updates manually through some setting I didn't know existed (the majority of users never see "Settings" options). I just want to play the game the way I want to play, and it just so happens Steam breaks a lot of these "wants".

Really ? Is it any more annoying than going into the option of a game and setting the resolution, or the level of AA etc etc.

It's literally 2 or 3 mouse clicks to set Steam in offline mode and turn off auto-update. These are not complex or advanced operations, if someone really can't manage to do these things (someone who isn't spouting hyperbole on a forum for trollings sake) then I'm sure they also have difficulty powering on a PC.

Steam has its faults, of that there is no question , but the common complaints dragged up here range from petty to laughable.

Throw in that this thread is full of conjecture , and that Steam wasn't even required last year.....

Really ? Is it any more annoying than going into the option of a game and setting the resolution, or the level of AA etc etc.

It's literally 2 or 3 mouse clicks to set Steam in offline mode and turn off auto-update. These are not complex or advanced operations, if someone really can't manage to do these things (someone who isn't spouting hyperbole on a forum for trollings sake) then I'm sure they also have difficulty powering on a PC.

Er, no. The average user doesn't touch settings or options - the average user rarely sees it, too. I tinker with options but I would prefer not to - and I would like Steam not to do what it thinks best for my games beforehand. So yes, I see it as an annoyance. A good product should never have its options tinkered with by average users because the users like what they experience.

Steam has its faults, of that there is no question , but the common complaints dragged up here range from petty to laughable.

Throw in that this thread is full of conjecture , and that Steam wasn't even required last year.....

What about the argument that Steam going under will result in you possibly losing all your games bought via Steam? Steam is under no legal obligation to help you and if they release the games for free without Steam control, this may well violate contractual agreements with developers and publishers (it makes the games easier to pirate).

If they are so petty and laughable, feel free to rebut them.

If the legal grounds are so shaky why aren't you challenging them?

Its a case of deal with it or move on. I really don't rate your (or anyone else's) chances of defeating the software industry.

EDIT: You're evident hatred of DRM means you are either a pirate or a loony libertarian who doesn't understand simple economics.

Personally I bear no grudge against anyone, either commercial entity or private individual who takes steps to protect their hard earned revenue streams.

Why would i be challenging them? Its just a piece of paper you can find in a box at best or just some text you skip in the installer at worst. No need to challenge something that is in real life purely cosmetic. As you can see the second hand market is still alive.

Thanks for the insult. Sure i hate DRM. Nothing wrong with hating anti consumer technologies. Im sure you would hate it if you had to called your auto maker for permission every time you wanted to drive the car you own. Or the construction company every time you wanted to enter your house.

A pirate? Why would a pirate hate DRM? That makes no sense. Pirates dont have to deal with it only people who buy originals do. And a libertarian? Really? This makes even less sense.

Rubbish , Steam Cloud is an EXTRA regardless of what we do or do not know. The game will not save to steam cloud unless the user expressly wished it to, like with every single other title that has cloud support.

Pushing of crap info because you are limited in your technical knowledge helps no one.

Perhaps you have some technical knowledge. I dont know. But im sure you are seriously lacking in reading comprehension. All i was saying is that we dont know if FM11 will be available without steam.