(Im posting this in the forums since I can't post it like an article in the blog section.)
I remember the old days of gaming. That long gone era called 2008. Back when games were provided with their own custom installers, and were self-contained products that installed themselves separatedly on the computer you instaleld them. I like to call this era the "Installshield Era" of gaming. Back when game media only contained asset and binaries, and a registration window, when dialog box wizards ruled the gaming land, and when there weren't any remote validation hooks attached to executables. That is why, with increasing concern, I am watching nowadays the way our most amazing form of entertainment is rearranging itself, how market forces and anti-consumer tendencies are beggining to shape the new landscape of gaming, at the expense of the average gamer.
Big game releases nowadays are abandoning these old, anticuated components such as autorun main menus, install wizards, or dedicated servers, and have moved to the all encapsulating remote delivery methods of popular DRM schemes, such as Steam. By itself, Steam is convenient, fast if you have good internet connection, and easy to deploy. Many games were released in normal "retail" form, and were offered in Steam's store shortly after. Those instances however, are nowadays mostly the case with PC only releases from eastern european studios it seems. Steam's "next step" in gaming convenience is anything but that, and could mark the beggining of a new mandatory requirement for gaming in the future. More and more games are now announcing their complete deployment based around Valve's new Steamworks framework, touted as the "least intrusive" DRM scheme, "convenient" to gaemers and publishers alike, which takes care of formerly manual tasks like patching. They claim it isn't intrusive when compared to the likes of Securom or Tages. But I would like to point out that it is more than that. It's not only indeed intrusive, it's THE most intrusive DRM scheme to come along yet. The game is not at all installed or even located completely in your computer when you realize it. At least Securom installed itself after it let the installer copy YOUR game to YOUR hard drive. Steamworks' remote always-on cloud network remotely controls one of ITS game's installation, patching, running. When you start the game, you send a signal to the autenticathion servers situatied remotely from your location, and the order is sent back before you are able to game. You are asked for an authorization each time to play the games you paid a hefty premium to be allowed some few hours of playimte. It's the arcade coin-up model. We've gone back full circle, to the arcade machins of old times. It may as well place a coin slot in your computer. It's like trying the games you paid for thru a remote terminal. A service that, much like an arcade place, can close up in after hours, or at the discretion of their owners. The access to the games you are allowed to try remotely can be switched off at any moment without any explanation from the providers, and you are effectively out. Cloud based gaming, and software as a service don't look like a good idea afterall under these terms.
"Blah blah, who cares, I don't have to deal with DVDs anymore!" Maybe this is really making mountains out of molehills. Steam does have it's merits, which mostly come from giving smaller indie developers a storefront to showcase their creations without needing a traditional expensive distribution contract. Companies like Tripwire and 2d boy have been the most vocal about their praise for steam, with Tripwire saying they wouldn't be around without Steam. This piece is not an anti-steam call to arms, it's just an informational soundbyte, just to express concern about the trend Steamworks is creating, which isn't 100% in reality as advertised in the package. A steamworks game instantly becomes a steam exclusive game. That situation could become the beggining of a monopoly. Maybe this is a good time for competitors to shine.
Max Shaefer (Torchlight) wants Steam to become the standard for PC gaming:
Valve is bringing over Steamworks to the PS3 through Portal 2 - would you like to see it opened up to other developers on the console?"Oh certainly. We elected not to go to PS3 in this case, because we're a very small studio and we focus on one thing at a time. But the Steamworks package in particular is very developer friendly, and in fact the whole of Steam is developer friendly, and we'd like to see that model, if not actual Steam, become the standard for PC development."And to come to consoles as well?"Certainly. We did the vast bulk of our business on Torchlight 1 with digital download, and the bulk of that was through Steam, and like I say, for an independent developer it's a godsend."
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/interviews/a303967/max-schaefer-torchlight.html
Not really a surprise since Gearbox added Steam achievements to Borderlands a while ago. At some point they probably decided that it was better then dealing with the suck of Gamespy.
So explain the logic behind your position of not buying Steamworks exclusive games, but buying Reactor exclusive games. It's the same thing.
It's not, because if you support steam you're supporting a (near) monopoly. If you're supporting reactor you're supporting competition. It's about what you want for the future of pc gaming.
Don't trust Steam to stay the same.
And how do I support Reactor? Where is it? What games are using it?
What I've found about it is a year old journal entry, and link to a whitepaper that is 404'd.
If it's not available, then it doesn't count. Steamworks provides a working solution for developers to use today. Until somebody has something that is competitive on a technical level, why wouldn't a developer use it?
Steamworks is just the "in" for them to make developers flock to Steam. While steamworks is free for developers, if Steam gains a true monopoly status then Steam WON'T be free for consumers. So the danger of using Steamworks is that it will come back and hurt the consumer.
And you're right, Steamworks (as a complete solution, not just the DRM part) has no real competition today (certainly not reactor).
Imho, Steamworks is a perfect form of DRM because it fits me perfectly as a consumer (I recognize that that won't be true for everyone). BUT - if it means I end up paying money to Steam, then that is a major issue. Now, not every steamworks game is only available through steam and that is important because paying Steam is what we want to avoid.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Steamworks in itself is fine. But what it's being used for is not fine. It's being used to manipulate the developers and the consumers into using the Steam platform. That's bad. Therefore, refusing to buy Steamworks games is a direct stand against the (near) monopoly of Steam.
Edit: Here is a list of games that are sold through impulse and use reactor. Again, I don't consider reactor a true competitor in anything else than the function of DRM.
I wouldn't be shocked if the PS4 is Steamworks. PS3 it's probably too late. I'd take Steamworks on a console any day over XBL gouging. (if Sony charges for online next-gen, I won't buy a console. I may not anyways as console gaming has stunk the joint this gen)
As for PSN, it's win-win for both sides. Sony doesn't have to put as much effort in, Valve gets into the lucrative console market, and Steam > PSN for consumers.
All legitimate questions. It has been quite some time since Brad last posted any information in regard to Reactor v2 and I'm honestly wondering why that is the case. Lack of interest? Is it available or still WIP? Are Stardock doing some advertising "in the industry" behind the scenes? Secretly plotting and scheming to take over the world?
I was genuinely impressed and excited after watching the video below. The ominous silence for almost a year was the last thing I expected, to be honest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXK7BtheeUA
Simple consumer choice. I choose not to have a contractual relationship with steam or valve. If publishers and game devs continue to require me to go into a contract with a 3rd party in order to play their game they should at the very least allow ME to choose which entity i want to be contractually bound to.
I Own no reactor games that require me to use impulse.
Further more i Choose to deal with impulse/stardock over valve/steam for a few reasons.
1. Don't have run to Impulse every time i want to play my games.
2. Don't have to deal with a buggy offline mode if my internet is not up.
3. Never have to log into impulse again if I don't want to, but I can still play my games
4. No 3rd party game has tried to force me to use Impulse in order to use their product.
Sure i could roll over hop on steam and accept it as the future of gaming. But i refuse to let the future of gaming be dictated by one company, and I refuse to be coerced into a contract I don't want. I chose to enter into Impulses agreement.. I was never given the option of "Join impulse or don't use our game". Which is what i find most abhorrent about the steamworks system. If the option they continue to present me with is join steam and agree to the SSA or don't buy their game I will continue to choose the latter. If ever I agree to any contract with any entity it should be by my choice... not coercion.
Let steam take over the console gaming industry - I don't like console games and never play them. But if steam is able to take over pc gaming, we'll likely see pc gaming looking like console gaming with pc game quality and variety going out the window. This is besides the increased costs to the customer and lack of consumer control that steam would institute once they got powerful enough to get away with it.
Until you actually need to get approval from Valve to put out a PC game, the PC situation and console situation are not comparable. You CANNOT put a game on the 360 without Microsoft's approval (and the various fees they charge to do so).
Anybody can put a game for sale on their website for the PC right now. Unless Valve takes over Intel and Microsoft, that's not likely to change anytime soon.
Most of your post is irrelevant to my question. I asked a specific question.
You say you don't own any reactor games. Don't you own EWOM? And doesn't it force you to use reactor in order to use the product?
There is no alternative. If you purchase EWOM you are forced to use a third part application (reactor) and enter the reactor contract or not use the game.
I'm sorry, but there's still no difference between EWOM-reactor and say Civ5-steamworks.
If it's purely to not support a monopoly, then good for you. But don't spin any of the other bullshit mate because it's just simply wrong.
Elemental doesn't require me to install or run impulse to play it. Apparently you're simply misinformed about elemental and impulse.
Civ V requires you to run steam every time you want to play civ V.
Elemental does not require you to run impulse to play.
I do happen to have impulse installed... however i can UNINSTALL IT and STILL play Elemental.
You cannot uninstall steam and still play civ V.
You cannot install civ V from a disc and play it without installing steam.
You can install elemental and play it without installing Impulse.
How do you not see a difference? I own NO game which requires me to use or install impulse to play it. That is the major difference between the 2 for me. Which is what i explained in my post and you choose to ignore, which was entirely relevant to your question.
There is no spin here, one game forces an application and a contract with a third party on me i don't want the other one doesn't. How simple is that? Yet you ignored the entire post explaining it and tried to draw a false parallel. If you disagree with my preferences fine but at least get your facts straight before you do. Claiming facts that are not at all true in order to try to bolster your opinion do nothing but minimize your argument, and my likely hood to take anything you say seriously.
You'll be surprised to know you can put a game on the 360 without Microsoft approval, it's called Indie Games, and they are peer-reviewed, not reviewed by MS, in fact, MS employees are forbidden to do peer-review.
You wont have to do much effort in researching, since you could be certain 100% that every big AAA, high profile release that is on consoles too will be Steamworks enabled, unless mentioned it's not. I'd say from now on all non-Stardock games released here on Impulse will either be re-released old titles that don't have Steamworks, or some indie games, nothing new.
I wouldn't bet on that. Regardless.. i'm fine with box copies and cd checks as well. As long as I have a non steam option I'll exercise it.
Provided you want to release a game that's under 150MB, sells for 400 MS points or less, has an 8 minute trial period, and can't use XBL's achievements or leaderboards.
aka: They meet the rules that Microsoft set to be allowed to put up a game that doesn't require Microsoft's direct approval. They're still following Microsoft's rules and if you break one, Microsoft will yank the game (or not put it up at all, since they control the size and pricing infrastructure and simply block achievements from working).
So you can either play by Microsoft's rules there, or you can play by Microsoft's rules and release an XLBA or disc based game and go through the approval process. Either way you're playing by Microsoft's rules for what is allowed to be on the 360. Valve has no such power over what I can put on my PC.
edit - Oh yeah, Microsoft also won't let you put up anything that would get an AO rating (or anything that actually has an AO rating). That includes indie games.
That is unless you want to put your game on Steam. Then it's their rules there.
Bulletstorm is now available for pre-purchase on Steam. It uses Games for Windows Live, a direct competitor of Steam, yet Valve has no problem with selling it through their own digital store.
Just like it's Stardocks rules for what games go on Impulse. Unlike on the 360, I can bypass Steam on my PC if they refuse to sell a game I want to buy. The publishers can also bypass it if they want to. None of that is possible on the consoles.
That's why so much of this talk is so ridiculous. Steam is never going to be able to dictate what I can do with my PC. Publishers like it because it provides what they want, not because it's the only way to sell a game. If that ever changes, the publishers have the power to create an alternative. Right now Steam isn't a monopoly, and the only reason why it looks like it might become one is that it provides a better service in Steamworks then everybody else does.
The nature of competition is that the best thing should win. That's happening. If other companies aren't going to step up and put out something competitive, what do you think should happen instead?
No, most of your words are irrelevant to my question. I asked what your logic behind not installing steamworks exclusives but installing reactor exclusives. This has nothing to do with the client software at all. I'm asking why you will not buy a Steamworks exclusive game, but will buy a Reactor exclusive game when it is exactly the same thing. And since you're position does not include "to keep competition against Valve" then all I can assume is that your position is hypocritical.
And besides, the disk version of EWOM force installs Impulse. And then to get any patches I'm forced to use Impulse. And then there's the fact that EWOM uses reactor which I'm forced to accept. Sounds exactly like what happened when Civ5 installed. I was forced to install Steam. I was forced to use Steam for Civ5 patches. And Civ5 uses Steamworks which I was forced to accept. The ONLY difference between the two is Impulse can be uninstalled later. But I MUST use reactor.
The bottom line is, buying a Steamworks exclusive game is identical to buying a Reactor exclusive game. And you're a complete koolaid drinker if you argue otherwise.
The disk version of EWOM does not force install impulse.. where are you getting your facts?
I listed once and yet again you ignored the facts so i'll try one more time.
Civ V.
1. Requires you to install steam.
2. requires you to Run steam everytime you want to play it.
3. requires that you have steam installed as long as you want to play civ V.
Elemental
1. Does not require you to install impulse.
2. Does not require you to run impulse to play
3. Does not require you to have impulse installed to play.
The difference is black and white and yet you ignore the facts. Further more there is no Forced install of Impulse on the disc version of Elemental and even if there was you can UNINSTALL IT and STILL PLAY ELEMENTAL. I listed out my logic.. and thought it was simple but apparently you cannot grasp the difference between being forced to use an application and not being forced to use one.
Let me break it down even more simply.
Steamworks requires players to install and run steam.
TO install and run steam you must agree to steams SSA.
Reactor does NOT require Impulse.
You don't have to accept impulses agreement since you dont have to install it.
Patches are through impulse because its a STARDOCK GAME .
If you still don't see a difference your simply being obtuse. If steamworks did all the things listed above. That is, not requiring me to install steam, not requiring me to run steam to play a game and allowing me to uninstall steam and still access my games. Then I would have no major complaints about steamworks(without getting into the whole offline mode crap). However these are all things reactor does and steamworks does not do, so my preference is reactor.
What kind of half-hearted troll post is this? It's like you ignore the arguments presented by Fistalis and toss in this ignoratio elenchi because you consider it clever. You fail to consider (perhaps innocently, unlike InternetNerd) that while Games for Windows Live competes with Steamworks, it does not force the use of a store that competes with Steam, the Games for Windows Marketplace. Steamworks is unique in that it requires the installation and execution of a storefront in order to activate and use software, which is an inherently anti-competitive practice.
Why do so many people fail to understand the basic premise that Steamworks is anti-competitive bundleware? It forces users to install and run a games store whenever they wish to access purchased titles.
Probably for the same reason people fail to understand that Steamworks is so popular with developers because it's the best tool on the market to do the jobs they need done.
Whining about how Steam is an evil monopoly is sheer nonsense when it's only popular because it's winning in a competitive marketplace by having the best product. The only thing that will ever change that is somebody putting out a comparable competitor, and there's a whole lot of nothing like that available.
... it does if you want to update it, which given how unplayably bad the disk version of EWOM was is probably something you want to do.
Impulse does handle itself less obtrusively then Steam does, which is why I buy games from it over Steam when the option is available. Architecture wise the main disadvantage to how Steam works is that it needs to be running for anything that depends on it to work, instead of embedded. But that also has an upside in that if they update Steam, everything that relies on it gets that update immediately. (Comparatively if you had five games with five different embedded versions of Reactor, those games would all need updated versions put out to get the update to Reactor.) They could get around that by making Reactor a service or some kind of shared resource, but then it's really behaving like Steamworks in that it has to be running for the game to use it, only you don't have a visible UI to alert you of that. Other games work that way already (Dragon Age: Origins installs a windows service for some of this stuff, which once you have multiple games doing it is actually worse then anything Steam is doing in terms of computer obnoxiousness).
It's a shame Reactor hasn't appeared, this would be a much more interesting conversation if there actually was something like Steamworks to compare.
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