PC or Mac? Disc or Steam?

Hi,

I haven't played Football Manager for a good while and haven't bought 2011 yet. I have an iMac running OSX with Windows 7 also. Are there any pros and cons to buying the game for Mac or Windows and through Steam or Disk?

Cheers.

Uh, isnt it "one-fits-all"?

I've allways managed to install the game on both Mac/PC.

While we are at it, I think a heap of praise is in order. FM has is a game that has little to none of the hazzle us Mac-gamers normaly have to put up with. Go SI!

I can't speak on the disc version, but if you buy the game on Steam you can play on both PC and Mac. I quite like Steam over having to keep the disc in the drive, but keep in mind that you will then need to download the game before every install, so the experience is largely relative to what your Internet connectivity is like.

Only played on PC but FM2011 was the first of the series that I downloaded through Steam and I have to say that I much prefer it. The updates are downloaded automatically and you also get the bonus of being able to login to Steam from any PC/MAC and it'll download and run the game for you. Very nice if you have a new machine or if you are working away etc etc.

Don't forget if you buy the Disc version you can just install it with steam. I've done this for 2010 and 2011 as its usually cheaper to buy the disc, but Steam is more convenient for usage than having the disc in the drive all the time

Don't forget if you buy the Disc version you can just install it with steam. I've done this for 2010 and 2011 as its usually cheaper to buy the disc, but Steam is more convenient for usage than having the disc in the drive all the time

Yeah I hope its the same for FM2012 as you get the best of both worlds. Buy it cheaper from an online retailer then install to Steam to get all the extras that Steamworks brings.

There was a bug that stopped users playing on the latest Mac OS (Lion?) if they installed via Steam, I'm not sure what that was though.

Risks if you download from Steam:

• Chance of your games being taken away at any point due to Steam having to shut down or being hacked
  
• Risk of Steam blocking you
  
• Game costs more
  

In addition, you have the following risks if you install from Steam, whether you use the disk or purchase the game directly from Steam:

• More opportunities for bugs to sneak in (e.g. that Mac OS bug)
  
• Harder to find the Editor or Resource Archiever
  
• Longer installation times
  
• Longer start up times
  

If you use the disk:

• Updating is more hassle
  
• You have to have the disk in constantly- chance of components wearing down
  
• You lose the game if you lose the disk
  

If you download from another retailer:

• Updating is more hassle
  

Consequently, I'd recommend downloading from another retailer, unless you a) really want a physical copy (in which case buy a boxed version), or b) don't understand how to patch the game (in which case, use Steam), or indeed c) you need the cheapest version possible (in which case you might be better served buying a physical copy, but have a look around).

Steam. Depending on price, though, but no matter I will install through Steam. I have aprox 20 games on steam now and it's such a useful tool imo. Allows for you to not ever need the disk again, which is likely to be lost or broken knowing me and it allows me to play it on any computer (or mac for that matter) where ever and when ever. I would personally suggest to anyone to install via steam. For newcomers, it may be strange at first but its really not a hassle as far as Im concerned, more like the opposite.

@SCIAG - the auto updates can be turned off, yes.

[*]Chance of your games being taken away at any point due to Steam having to shut down or being hacked

Steam (Gabe Newell specifically) has said that they will do everything in their power to release their games DRM-free if this does happen. As an avid user of Steam since 2004 with over 255 games, I know what I'm talking about.

[*]Risk of Steam blocking you

The only way you'll get banned is if you try to sell your account if that's what you mean. VAC Bans are game specific and can only be handed out on Valve games as well as COD games. Pardon me if it's not what you mean.

[*]Game costs more

Matters the country. On the summer sale, FM11 was offered for $10 in the US. (I bought it at $40 though, the normal price in the USA.)

[*]Automatic patching (I think this can be cancelled, but I'm not sure) so you don't necessarily have a choice of which version to play.

You can cancel automatic patching by going to Library>Right Click name of game>Updates Tab>Do not automatically update this game.

[*]Longer start up times

FM Starts up instantly for me? Or do you mean launching Steam, which you could just have automatically start up when you turn on your computer by going to Steam -> Settings -> Interface -> Run Steam When My Computer Starts.

Steam is your best bet in my opinion. Easy, great interface, cheap prices when it goes on sale, automatic updates, overlay, chat, friends, screenshots, community, great store, etc.

Steam (Gabe Newell specifically) has said that they will do everything in their power to release their games DRM-free if this does happen. As an avid user of Steam since 2004 with over 255 games, I know what I'm talking about.

There's still that risk though, particularly in the case of a hacking or DDoS attack where they wouldn't have the chance to release their games. If it can happen to Sony...

The only way you'll get banned is if you try to sell your account if that's what you mean. VAC Bans are game specific and can only be handed out on Valve games as well as COD games. Pardon me if it's not what you mean.

That is essentially what I mean, but isn't there something in the T&Cs about them being able to ban you for any reason in theory? There's also the possibility of mistaken identity. Again, it's not a big risk, but the possibility is there.

Matters the country. On the summer sale, FM11 was offered for $10 in the US. (I bought it at $40 though, the normal price in the USA.)

Quite possibly, but tbh I don't think most people want to wait until the summer sale to buy FM.

You can cancel automatic patching by going to Library>Right Click name of game>Updates Tab>Do not automatically update this game.

That's off the list then

FM Starts up instantly for me? Or do you mean launching Steam, which you could just have automatically start up when you turn on your computer by going to Steam -> Settings -> Interface -> Run Steam When My Computer Starts.

Launching Steam adds to the normal delay, yes. Launching it when Windows opens just means that the delay is shifted to the start of your session.

If you buy the disk and activate through Steam you get all the benefits of that, plus if Steam ever goes down for some reason you can just do an install from the disk. That's what I do and will continue to do.

Steam (Gabe Newell specifically) has said that they will do everything in their power to release their games DRM-free if this does happen. As an avid user of Steam since 2004 with over 255 games, I know what I'm talking about.

Unless it's legally-enforced, good luck holding him to his word. If Steam starts struggling, they are hardly going to negotiate deals that only makes their financial position even worse.

If you buy the disk and activate through Steam you get all the benefits of that, plus if Steam ever goes down for some reason you can just do an install from the disk. That's what I do and will continue to do.

For as long as we are able to register/activate the boxed-copy serials in Steam, this is probably the best way to go about things.

Will always be a disc for me as I am the only one who can control when and if I can play the game. Have never used and never will use Steam - I have read a lot of people having issues with them (not the reason why i will not use them though! - and yes, there are thousands/millions who have had no problems).

Will always be a PC as well as all the software on the market is designed for PC's and then Mac versions released afterwards.