download hl2 off steam infinite times?

A

aznboi04k

Guest
they say we will able to download hl2 off steam or have it mail to us, right? so i can download it infinite times, right? it has to be like this becuase the game is obviously bigger than a cdr so i can't back it up without a dvdr, therefore i must redownload it everytime i restore my comp. so can i give my account to everyone on earth so they can download a free copy of hl2 too? since it's most likely a offline version, i won't care what they do with my cdkey.
 
aznboi04k said:
they say we will able to download hl2 off steam or have it mail to us, right? so i can download it infinite times, right? it has to be like this becuase the game is obviously bigger than a cdr so i can't back it up without a dvdr, therefore i must redownload it everytime i restore my comp. so can i give my account to everyone on earth so they can download a free copy of hl2 too? since it's most likely a offline version, i won't care what they do with my cdkey.
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No.

It keeps your CD key stored.

and you need Steam installed since you are downloading it from steam, so if 2 people were to use the same copy on different machines you would both be banned for life.
 
I highly doubt you'd be banned for life, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that you can access it from any computer with Steam, if you login with your account and download ti to that PC. But you can't have 2 instances under the same account at the same time. So like, you can give your login to your firends and have them donwload all the game content, but then only one can play at a time.
 
Basically Steam is used for authenticating and purchasing games.

Whether you purchase it through Steam or in a shop you will authenticate through Steam under your unique account or your unique CD key. The accounts won't be able to be used simulataneously, and CD keys won't be able to be used simultaneously. It won't ban you, but it'll sure as hell make it difficult to pirate or share copies of the games between friends.
 
For some reason i see this situation happening = You and your 4 friends each put in 10 bucks and buy half-life 2. Each person gets one day a week to play, then a lottery is drawn each week for the weekend. Since there is only 4 weeks in a month, the person who does not draw the extra weekend play gets to kick the others in the stomach repeatedly for 5 minutes. LOL
 
You can download any games on steam as much as you want if it is activated/registerd to your account. And no you cant just give it to everyone around the world :/
 
I think it would be fairly easy for you to download Half Life 2 through Steam then to give your account details to someone else and for them to do the same. You would then both be able to play offline as much as you want, but only one of you would be able to play online at once.

This isn't really a new avenue for piracy: you could have done the same thing with the physical media and a no CD crack or by just downloading the game image.
 
sHm0zY said:
YOu can only download it once.
Click to expand...
if im allowed to download it once. how im suppose to get it again when i do a format? or want to play on a different comp? as long as the game is registered to your account. you can download as many times as you want assuming you dont have it on your system yet
 
I know this has been answered before, but i forget what the answer was. If I buy the retail, then authenticate it with steam as normal, I can still download it right? Because say I lose my cd, would I then be screwed?

This is actually a very good way to avoid pirating, since redownloading it would be just as good as making a back up copy, and then valve can go into the legal battle against piraters with that fact and likely win, since there wouldnt be a legit argument for burning the cd.
 
I think it would be fairly easy for you to download Half Life 2 through Steam then to give your account details to someone else and for them to do the same. You would then both be able to play offline as much as you want, but only one of you would be able to play online at once.
Click to expand...

This is not correct... last i remember you will need to be connected to steam even if you want to play just single player... so basicaly if you dont have any kind of internet connection and you buy the game from the store... you're screwed.
 
nasty said:
This is not correct... last i remember you will need to be connected to steam even if you want to play just single player... so basicaly if you dont have any kind of internet connection and you buy the game from the store... you're screwed.
Click to expand...


nasty said:
This is not correct...
Click to expand...



 
nasty said:
This is not correct... last i remember you will need to be connected to steam even if you want to play just single player... so basicaly if you dont have any kind of internet connection and you buy the game from the store... you're screwed.
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no.

If you dont have a net connection you get the SP only game.

The only time a retail game needs to be connected is for MP.

If you buy it from steam though then it knows you have a net connection and connects every time, even SP. but you must have had a connection in the first place to get it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

You can download it as many times as you want but you can only use 1 cd key per active copy.
 
If you buy it from steam though then it knows you have a net connection and connects every time, even SP. but you must have had a connection in the first place to get it.
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I don't think this is right.

When buying through Steam, obviously you have to connect the first time to download and authenticate. After that, you can exit without logging out and then jump into a single player game at any time without being connected to the net.

That's how it works with Half Life 1 and Steam now. I don't see why it would be different for Half Life 2.
 
so once i download it for SP, i can log off and give my account to the world so everyone else can get a copy. sounds great!
 
aznboi04k said:
so once i download it for SP, i can log off and give my account to the world so everyone else can get a copy. sounds great!
Click to expand...
Yep exactly.

But only one guy will be able to be logged in at a time. So actually logging in would be nigh on impossible with thousands of other people trying.
 
Ever heard of buying a copy in the store? OMFG maybe your pale skin will have to touch the sun! OH NOES!

Christ, buy a copy in store if you don't have a good net connection/question steam, and if you have a shite connection, how the hell can you even DL it, so badabing.
 
Rexz said:
After that, you can exit without logging out and then jump into a single player game at any time without being connected to the net.
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I thought i read somewhere that it will download each level section as you play it when your online.

Again, i fully support steam when it comes to bug fixing and patching, but as to the full original game i will always want a physical copy in my hands.
 
With CS:CZ, it started off as a non-Steam game. When I wanted to play on-line, I had to convert it to Steam. Job done. Alternatively, if you buy the single-player only version of HL2, you've no need to connect it to the internet, as you've no multiplayer content in the package.

If you buy the 'full' version, you'll need to convert it to Steam in order to play multiplayer. If you buy it on-line, you've already got Steam, so you'll be getting the 'full' version. I doubt you'll be able to download the single-player only version through Steam...nobody in the right mind would attempt to download a single-player only game when they had broadband, and you ain't gonna download 2 CDs worth of game on a modem.

That's my theory anyway :)
 
Well the basic answer to the question "So I can DL HL2 infinite times?"... Yes, yes you can. But not for much use. (If you couldn't you might be stranded without a copy of the game even after paying for it..)
 
wait czrsink.. are you telling me there are going to be 2 versions of the game.. Sp only.. and full?? that desn't make much sense... cuz people could pirate the SP onnly and sell/give way fro free with absolutely no problem....
 
Ive heard that you can 'pre-download' it (or pre cache it, whatever) and it will activate the day its released. Surely it wouldnt be that difficult for hackers (or whatever you want to call them) to crack it? I have no knowledge on the subject, so I wouldnt know, but hackers can do alot these days.

And is the general acknowledement that if you buy HL2 off steam, then you are basically buying a license for it to be played by one person at any one time?
 
It'll be encrypted. The task of decrypting it, to use a rather understated phrase, is "non-trivial".

If you buy HL2 anywhere, you're buying a license for it to be played by one person at a time.
 
OK, There's an SP only version, that will NOT be released on Steam. Gabe himself said
We've had some feedback that we should sell the top SKU (single-player only no MODs) on Steam, and my reaction has been "yeah, right, for the three people in the world who have a broadband connection, are sophisticated enough to purchase software over the Internet, but DON'T want to play MODs and multiplayer".
Click to expand...

The SP+MP will be released in retail and on Steam. You will have to EITHER be connected to Steam, or have the CD in the drive to play.

Again, from Newell
If I buy the game at a store, do I still sign up for a steam account so that I can play online?

Gabe Newell: Steam is the backend for Half-Life 2. It does a bunch of different things, like acting as the launcher, authentication, Friends, updating, and so on. One thing it does is that it also allows you to purchase things. If you buy Half-Life 2 in a store, it has Steam in it. If you buy Half-Life 2 via Steam, well, then it obviously has Steam in it.

Your "steam account" is basically a method of tracking your digital rights. If you buy Half-Life 2 in a store, it will ask you to create a login id and a password. That way if you go to a friend's house, you can play Half-Life 2 there, even if you don't have your CD/DVD with you. Think of the CD as an alternative to your Internet connection for filling up your local cache.


Will HL2 be able to run without putting a CD in even for Single Player as long as we can log onto Steam just fine?

Gabe Newell: Correct.
Click to expand...
 
I don't know how old this quote from Gabe is :-

"If you buy Half-Life 2 in a store, it will ask you to create a [Steam] login id and a password" (from previous post), but is this still true?
--
Grumps
 
Does anyone know anything? You lot sound like you are confusing yourselves. As I understand it, the facts are:

- Only one login can exist for any Steam account at any one time.
- Once you have bought a game through Steam, you can download it as many times as you like, as long as you are logged in while downloading.
- You must be connected to Steam to play a multiplayer game.
- You do NOT have to be logged in to Steam to play a single player game, as long as you have downloaded all the required files.

This leads to the possibility that you could have a small group of friends, which you trust, that you could give your Steam login details. They could each, in turn, download any single player game from your account and then play it offline on their computer. Simple as that!

Anyone who disagrees with me... is wrong. :thumbs:
 
grumpycrab said:
I don't know how old this quote from Gabe is :-

"If you buy Half-Life 2 in a store, it will ask you to create a [Steam] login id and a password" (from previous post), but is this still true?
--
Grumps
Click to expand...

I don't know, but I wouldn't imagine they would do this. Although Internet connections in the home are common place, they are certainly not in every home. I would imagine that they would force you to have a steam account for MP, but not for single player. They would limit their market too much. Having said that however, Steam does limit fraud, so maybe the trade off is favorable... it seems I in fact have little to add to this thread. Thanks for reading, and letting me waste your time. :rolling:
 
JBrown03 said:
... - You do NOT have to be logged in to Steam to play a single player game, as long as you have downloaded all the required files...
Click to expand...

Ok, fine, I know this is a Steam forum, but if the HL2 RETAIL game is played through Steam (which seems to be true) then I agree you'd play it not logged in (Steam offline I think its referred to). But if you use Steam presumably you have to create an account? this means you need an Internet connection. Or I've lost the plot.
--
Grumps
 
grumpycrab said:
Ok, fine, I know this is a Steam forum, but if the HL2 RETAIL game is played through Steam (which seems to be true) then I agree you'd play it not logged in (Steam offline I think its referred to). But if you use Steam presumably you have to create an account? this means you need an Internet connection. Or I've lost the plot.
--
Grumps
Click to expand...

If you are forced to play with a Steam account, then yes you would have to create an account and hence have an Internet connection.

Whether you have to have a Steam account is the question. My gut feeling is that you wouldn't, but I have nothing to base this on apart from simple logic with few facts.
 
You can download any game you have the license for off steam. For example if you go over to a friends house, and login with your steam account, you can download the games, you have registered. But when they log back in to thier account they will not have access. HL2 and CS:Source to my knowledge must be played through steam for them to work. If you look in the Support section of Steam, at http://www.steampowered.com you can find all the information about HL2 and Steam.

Just for general Knowledge:
Currently VAC issues bans for 1 year.
(If you were banned before December, 2003 then you received a ban for 5 Years.)
 
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