F*CK You Valve I Cant Play Half Life 2 Becasue Of Your Goddam Piracy Bullshit!!!!

I am not sure I am happy with this. I have no intention of installing STEAM at any time, as I have no wish to play online, ever.

Installing any other game needs a cd key, fine..but to install STEAM and then go through the rigmarole of registering it via another application I have been given no choice about just so I can play it OFFLINE seems a little silly to me.

If I go and buy it from a shop (and for those who have doubts, my games budget last year was more than $500,...not all at once mint you :p....not including game trades, second hand purchases etc) why can't I just register it the same way as others...why do I HAVE to register the game ONLINE so I can play the game I ALREADY legally bought?

I am not playing online, let me repeat.I will be holding a receipt in my hand..I see no reason to then go through more time and effort to be PERMITTED to play a game I bought. What if STEAM is down? Or it screws up and won't let the game be verified?

Before anyone gives me a smart comment, you're talking to a 40+ year old gamer and I am no one's fool...so I am expecting a civil response.

Bear in mind there is no other game I have purchased in the last three years that says if I dont go online and get it verified I can't play it.

I am given a CHOICE whether or not I wish to register it...it is not MANDATORY.

I am the consumer.I make the choices. If I have a game in one hand and a receipt in another I see no reason to be told "prove to us you bought it or you cant play it".
 
Because then I will either return it....or put it back on the shelf and tell everyone I know not to buy it for that one reason.

My receipt is all the proof I need. Ladies and gentlemen of Valve, allow me to remind you of one small fact.

I am profit, YOU are overhead.
 
Yeah, SunHawk. You are of course absolutely right. Still it's like that: Valve can decide not to play by the rules (as they have done with the Steam service in the first hand, whenever I want to play online I need to use Steam although it's slow and sucks) and then you won't play it. That's it, no one will shed a tear really b/c HL2 will sell big time.

It's like Microsoft with Xbox Live, only with Credit Card. Those companies just don't care so you shouldn't either. I've learned to live with it (being a magazine writer and games reviewer) and [sic!] it's the way it works.

P
 
You know it's not like they're asking you to give up a limb or something, they're just asking you to register with Steam.

If you're going to give up a spectacular game like HL2 over something so trivial as a Steam account then by all means, go for it, but don't expect many others to do likewise. I can appreciate the principles behind it but I can't really see why all this fuss over something so minor.
 
SunHawk while you try to sound all high and mighty in a wise manner, you come to me more over as a whiner. Valve listens to its costumers well, in fact its one of the few game companies that do, yet they have the final decision, not you. Want to protest against their idea? Don't buy the game.
 
ATI4EVER! said:
wel....I dont have a phone jack anywhere near my computer (wtf?) so that is why. I think the activation is going to be like winxps one. so i couldnt do it in a cyber cafe. Well maybe i can transport my PC somewhere to activate it....

ROFL, what are you, nuts?! You're too lazy to move your computer to the phone jack, and in turn you won't be playing Half-Life 2? And it's Valve's fault? Are you saying you don't have any way, in your entire house, to connect to the internet for a few minutes?

Maybe you're brand new to the gaming industry... but several of the hottest games ever were just leaked onto the net and the producers are going to lose millions because of it. Valve is completely justified in adding an online authentication (this isn't new by the way, this was announced quite a while back). Also, how did you plan to get patches, mods, and news on the SDK?

-UnmarkedOne
 
ATI4EVER! said:
wel....I dont have a phone jack anywhere near my computer (wtf?) so that is why. I think the activation is going to be like winxps one. so i couldnt do it in a cyber cafe. Well maybe i can transport my PC somewhere to activate it....


Why not buy one of those 20 foot long phone jack cords and run it from your comp to the nearest phone jack.
 
This is the only time I would ever justify an AOL cd. Hell, I'll send one to ya.
 
This requirment is no different to a minimum videocard requirement.

If you cant meet the criteria, do something about it or dont buy the game.
 
ATI4EVER! said:

Phew I'm alright then.
I got it all figured out.
Friday-Go home from a week away at University
Saturday- Purchase the reserved copy of HalfLife2, purchase some sticky labels. Go home, put in my dads DVD drive on computer. Authenticate it. Stick sticky labels on inside of cover, write code on it. Here other peoples problems with the game, grab spoilers, new pics, the works. Read the lovingly wrote manual.
Sunday-Admire the manual a bit more
Monday-Play Halflife2 on my University Computer
 
And what about after ten years?

Personally I think, that the activation is an extremely stupid idea. For multiplay, sure, go right ahead. But not for the single player.

I just finished playing few games which date over ten years back and were released by a company that no longer exists. So what happens if after like ten years Valve has (for whatever reason) gone belly up, and you want to play Half-Life 2 to remember the good old days? Your purchased game has no bloody idea why Steam isn't responding anymore. It just won't install.

And just like that, the value of your purchase has dropped to practically nothing.

Forced internet activation for single player content is fundamentally and economically (in my opinion) an extremely bad idea. It is not going to seriously restrict piracy, but it will most definitely cause problems for normal consumers, with or without internet connections. Many people have their internet connections behind restrictive firewalls, that don't allow access to systems like Steam. They may be able to work around the problem, but it still forces the consumer to do extra work to get the game running. Which is always a bad thing if the consumer still has to pay the same amount for the game.

The activation might actually delay the warez groups for a few days or even weeks, but eventually a release WILL come out cracked and then the warez community couldn't be any less interested about whether the activation exists or not.

I really hope, that this will not turn into a trend. And for the note, I have preordered my Half-Life 2 and plan to pay and actually purchase it. Just like I normally do with my games.
 
You people need to calm down. It'll take 30 seconds to go on, input the CD, and then play. Plus, if you don't have an internet connection for mods etc., why the hell are you getting HL2? Mods are the ONLY way this game will last 6+ years like the original has and will. Plus, I can't justify you getting HL2...Without playing No More Room In Hell :p
 
ou now it'll be bad for you too, what happens if u have to reinstall windows? It'll say the CD key is already in use when u try to reinstall the game!!
 
Is it the exact same code each time when you install, otherwise there is no reason why they couldn't just have the code written on the outside of the manual
 
ATI4EVER! said:
ou now it'll be bad for you too, what happens if u have to reinstall windows? It'll say the CD key is already in use when u try to reinstall the game!!

Really, you are very comical, please don't spout out something stupid like that again, thanks.
 
Seriously, starting a thread titled, "F you Valve, screw your BS, blah blah blah" isn't going to impress Valve, or anyone else, and nor will it encourage Valve to consider your argument.
 
Gameon said:
I just finished playing few games which date over ten years back and were released by a company that no longer exists. So what happens if after like ten years Valve has (for whatever reason) gone belly up, and you want to play Half-Life 2 to remember the good old days? Your purchased game has no bloody idea why Steam isn't responding anymore. It just won't install.
Don't worry, Valve won't do anything whatsoever to sort that out. Nope. Nothing. ;)
 
I'm pretty sure the decision to release DVD only is gonna cost Valve more initial customers than a required internet connection, most surveys show that 5-10% doesn't have a DVD player yet.

Some people will always be screwed, that's how it goes. But from a business standpoint, this is perfectly acceptable, they lose only a small percentage of the potential customers, the gained profit from improved anti-piracy (of course, it will be cracked, but for some people that's too much of a hassle) will outweigh that.
Valve is still a company, set out to make profit.

I'll bet you that in a few years time, singeplayer games (if those still exist) will require a constant conncetion with a master server like a multiplayer game, this is only the first step.
 
ATI4EVER! said:
wel....I dont have a phone jack anywhere near my computer (wtf?) so that is why. I think the activation is going to be like winxps one. so i couldnt do it in a cyber cafe. Well maybe i can transport my PC somewhere to activate it....
Um, get an extension cable? Fair enough if you dont want the net, but thats a lame excuse.
 
All anti-piracy is just a piss off to the real customers. As long as you have a unique online account with steam; people at least won't have your key and block you out.

Which happened to alot of UT2k4 people. Activate this B*tches! (points to crotch)

I don't really care. Won't be a prob for me. So I laugh at others missfortune. HAHAHHAAHHA losers can't afford the internet but they can afford a computer good enough to run HL2. Go F**K yourselfs you whiney good for nothings.

666 POSTS RAAAWWWR.
 
Some interesting points that seem to be lost on quite a few people.

1. Steam will only ask you to authenticate once, by typing in your CD key.

2. Once this is done, your copy of HL2 is registered to your steam account.

3. You can then play HL2 on any computer by logging in to your steam account. It will update, and validate your copy of HL2. If you dont have the files, it will download them.

4. That's it.

So as I see it you must connect to the net at least once on every computer you plan to play HL2 on.

wonkers said:
I don't really care. Won't be a prob for me. So I laugh at others missfortune. HAHAHHAAHHA losers can't afford the internet but they can afford a computer good enough to run HL2. Go F**K yourselfs you whiney good for nothings.
5. Contrary to popular belief, there is no need to be insulting or make pointless comments to get HL2 to work. Really.
 
Where are the mods, delete this F*UCKING S*IT.
I mean what's the problem with internet activation. If you spent as much money as Valve has on this game, who can blame them for cracking down on the crackers.
 
a telephone option would be a good idea, but really, there arnt that many people without internet, your bound to find some way to do it.
 
Whoa, Spazm (didn't read posts, not enough time)
You can play it after 2 weeks, or get a free conection, it isn't that hard
 
ShadowFox said:
Can't you move your computer for an hour? Is it bolted to the floor?

He bolted it to his roof =P
 
It's plain and simple why they put the steam client/online CD KEY registration on. They dont want people scamming money off them getting the game for free - or close to it. It's just a precaution that they must take, because its a thing that ALL games face, people stealing them of the owners, and the owners not getting the money they so greatly deserved, ESPECIALY in HL2's case. They worked 5-6 long years on this game, and they dont want to loose most of thier profit because people can get the game for free. And dont say that its just some company wanting money, because would you work on something for 5 years and then sell it for free? i dont think so. Dont whine because valve want the money they've earnt over the past 5 years...

anyways
-Q
 
Oh, and dont have internet conection? Go to somewhere that does, isnt that hard, unless you dont have 1 FRIEND that has the internet connection.

-Q
 
The real problem with internet activation is if I want to load up a old game of halflife2 in 2012 or something and steam is long gone.
 
Valve listens to gamers. Valve has alot of loyal gamers. Other games (eg. Subspace, Myth I and II) have gone under before, but the community has kept them running. I can't see why (if Steam/Valve still has a strong following when it dies) the gamers can't do something similar.
 
SunHawk said:
Yadda Yadda Yadda I am teh lamer Troll!!.

Countless years of evolution and still the gene pool keep throwing up these mistakes.... :O
 
Homer said:
The real problem with internet activation is if I want to load up a old game of halflife2 in 2012 or something and steam is long gone.

Just use Steam in Offline mode.
 
I bet that if/when Valve ceases to exist, there will be a program or something that will let you play HL2..
 
Raziel-Jcd said:
All you need to do is auth it.
not necessarily. you have to authenticate it on the system you want to play on.

think about it. if you authenticate at a cyber cafe, valve now knows that you have a legitimate copy of the game. thing is, that doesn't matter to your non-internet-enabled home computer, because there's no way for it to talk to valve.

without an internet connection or a crack, you're stuck.
 
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