steam and hl2 illegal?

[bliink]

wow, i'm really glad you said that. this is appalling...

Its not all that non-standard in fact... check out the EULA's for other software, they'd be similar.
Noone reads EULA's, then they get all angry when this happens.

 

[diluted]

Does anyone here actually have a copy of the HL2 retail EULA? since I can't find it on the 'net.

attached it to my post..

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

Does anyone here actually have a copy of the HL2 retail EULA? since I can't find it on the 'net.

There's a copy on the CD, i'm trying to get it uploaded now

EDIT: beat me to it

 

[bliink]

attached it to my post..

Interesting:

The software applications on this CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (the “Program”),

Well, if steam is on the CD, then its EULA covers the dispute, because this effectively connects steam with hl2 in the hl2 eula.

So the argument that Steam isnt part of the hl2 eula is a little more shakey

 

[diluted]

Its not all that non-standard in fact... check out the EULA's for other software, they'd be similar.
Noone reads EULA's, then they get all angry when this happens.

How can they expect anyone to read them anyway? You have to have some kind of legal background to fully understand them, which most of us don't.

 

[bliink]

How can they expect anyone to read them anyway? You have to have some kind of legal background to fully understand them, which most of us don't.

Caveat Emptor- Buyer beware, its the buyers responsibility I'm afraid. The vendor can't do everything for you.

 

[Great Grizzly]

exactly, thats how lawyers take advantage of us

 

[bliink]

exactly, thats how lawyers take advantage of us

I'm no lawyer, but the EULA for steam/hl2 isnt that hard to understand... they're both pretty standard too (well, the steam one has a bit more "oomph" to it, but that can be attributed to its unique nature.)

 

[Great Grizzly]

still, lawyers are EVIL!

Been screwed over one too many times by them

 

[bliink]

still, lawyers are EVIL!

Been screwed over one too many times by them

uhuh.. I see...

Anyway, HL2 + Steam = Legal, for now :cheers:

 

[Great Grizzly]

that is why i hate lawyers :flame:

 

[Styloid]

This is what I got out of that article:
1. HL2 box needs 'better' warning for requirement of internet.
2. Stores should allow returning of games (the ones that don't allow it).
3. $10 transfer fee for HL2 over Steam in Steam EULA not duplicated in HL2 EULA.
(implicit)4. Steam is bad and I want to kill him.

If you're like me and you hate how lawyers (or wannabe lawyers) tend to bend truths and exagerrate minor issues to serve their purpose, then you probably won't like this article much either.

 

[Stigmata]

This is what I got out of that article:
1. HL2 box needs 'better' warning for requirement of internet.

The dispute over that is fairly stupid. If you don't have an internet connection, you don't meet the requirements, simple as that. You shouldn't need a three-page legal disclaimer to tell someone the system requirements for a game.

Some people are such self-important pricks.

 

[airjer]

Halo 2 is apparently selling much more. HL2 was expected to do much better.

http://www.*************/news/012005/article368.htm

Halo 2 is also on CONSOLES.

 

[rpgprog]

idk i actually liked steam cause i was able to get the game without leaving the house, although i have heard of some pretty bad stories from it. Kinda upsetting how steam screwed those ppl for such a good game. Well steam IS still in beta, maybe by the time it gets more popular, it will get better, we can only hope.

 

[bliink]

Halo 2 is also on CONSOLES.

Halo 2 also had a media/promotional blitz funded by the infinitely deep pockets of microsoft.

 

[Great Grizzly]

...If you're like me and you hate how lawyers (or wannabe lawyers) tend to bend truths and exagerrate minor issues to serve their purpose, then you probably won't like this article much either.

well said!

 

[destrukt]

Does anyone here actually have a copy of the HL2 retail EULA? since I can't find it on the 'net.

I could copy and paste it when I get my dvd drive repaired :x

 

[bliink]

I could copy and paste it when I get my dvd drive repaired :x

Someone already posted it, thanks

 

[Ames]

I have exactly *no* problems with Steam. Everyone I know has *no* problems with Steam. I have personally used Steam on 6 computers, not counting cafes though no problems were experienced anyways, with *no* problems. Any problem my friends and I have had previously in the past with Steam took 5 minutes or less to solve. Many of my friends have little to no experience with computers and only know of HL2 from CS. Steam is so easy to use that I have seen 14-15 year old girls who only use AIM, use Steam without a problem. They have crappy computers with integrated graphics cards and have no problems with Steam.

I don't understand how so many people can have problems with Steam like this. Either you're all mentally retarded, these girls with barely any computer experience are geniuses, or people are actually having problems with Steam. Sometimes, I wonder if the internets is playing a joke on me. :|

/crazy rant

 

[destrukt]

or people are actually having problems with Steam.

^ I think that's a winner.

 

[Ames]

^ I think that's a winner.

Oooo....typed it out wrong. It should be 'having this crazy amount of problems with Steam' instead. Everyone has had at least one problem with Steam.

 

[Tantalus]

Lol, its easier to pirate hl2 than it is to buy it.

... no it isn't

 

[Top Secret]

Steam works every time for me, but I have only had offline mode work once or twice.

 

[GonzoBabbleshit]

Well steam IS still in beta, maybe by the time it gets more popular, it will get better, we can only hope.

Beta? where did that come from?

I think you'll find you're wrong, very wrong

 

[SuperflyCol]

NOBODY reads eulas. At one point, id released a Q3 point release and the eula said something along the lines of "you are forbidden to use this software for entertainment" if id didn't spot it, how can the average user be expected to?

 

[destrukt]

if id didn't spot it, how can the average user be expected to?

are you some type of god or super-human being ? :upstare:

 

[Skulleye]

Maybe not, but id Software are

(id is the developers of the game he's talking about, Quake 3)

 

[CyberPitz]

Lmfao, people will to anything to whine they way into things. EULA illegal, lmfao. You would think Valve would have checked to make sure that it wasn't illegal. I'd love to make a game that got me sued for 10x what I made from the game! Seriously folks, as was stated before, don't like it, quit, uninstall, sell, do whatever....just leave your petty arguements/attempts at busting Valves/Steams chops at the door please.

PS: I <3 Steam, for the record. I have no problems with steam, or anything for that matter....never really needed offline mode. otherwise, problems arose just like other software had em...small and fixable quickly

 

[Ahnteis]

For years, large corporate game publishers have been setting all the
rules for gamers and game developers alike. Valve software, because
they are privately funded, has a chance to change the way games are
not only distributed, but the amount of control that the corporate
pointy-hairs wield. What do gamers do? They promptly shoot
themselves in the foot by whining about how steam isn't perfect.

And it's not. Steam still has all kinds of things that bug me.
However, Steam is a huge step in what I believe is the right
direction.

Game publishers have been REQUIRING that more and more copy
protections be added to games. These protections often make the game
UNPLAYABLE to PAYING CUSTOMERS. (Note the idiocy of Vivendi in
requiring a CD check for the CD version of HL2.) They go as far as
installing stealth DRIVERS for your hardware to enable these copy
protections.

Steam offers an alternative. True, it requires an internet
connection. (Oh no.) True, it's not perfect. But it's got a MUCH
better future then the alternative.

Not only does Steam offer an alternative way of authentication, it
ALSO offers and alternative method of distribution. The beauty is NOT
that distribution occurs over the internet. The beauty is that
distribution is easily available to small developers.

No need to fight for shelf space at distribution outlets. No need to
coordinate mass-production facilities and release dates.

Vivendi, et al. would like few things better then to see Steam fail.
It would be icing on the cake if gamers themselves stuck a knife in
its back.

 

[OD-Black_Fire]

They never mentions steam agreements, and, forgot that if you have log-in info in steam it works off-line. And 5 hour down times does not render Half Life 2 "Not able to run like it should." It's 5 hours every like...year? With that logic, I can get Everquest 2 for free because they have server down time!

 

[Yombi]

They never mentions steam agreements, and, forgot that if you have log-in info in steam it works off-line. And 5 hour down times does not render Half Life 2 "Not able to run like it should." It's 5 hours every like...year? With that logic, I can get Everquest 2 for free because they have server down time!

heh its more like 5 hours down time when a new game is released so every 3 years?

 

[Megalomaniac]

I personally don't care if its legal or not...Half Life 2 is a great game...aslong as I can play it I'm happy...
If steam loses or whatnot what will happen to my copy of the game?

 

[RAST]

I have exactly *no* problems with Steam. Everyone I know has *no* problems with Steam. I have personally used Steam on 6 computers, not counting cafes though no problems were experienced anyways, with *no* problems. Any problem my friends and I have had previously in the past with Steam took 5 minutes or less to solve. [...]

I don't understand how so many people can have problems with Steam like this. Either you're all mentally retarded, these girls with barely any computer experience are geniuses, or people are actually having problems with Steam. Sometimes, I wonder if the internets is playing a joke on me. :|

/crazy rant

Ok I just have to jump in.

First, which is it. Your friends have had exactly *no* problems or the problems only take 5 minutes to fix? It can't be both (BTW I like your "internets is" reference.)

But seriously, just because you have had no problems does not mean that problems do not exist. I mean it's kind of like the Homer Simpson's "everything's fine alarm" that goes off to let you know there isn't a problem. It doesn't tell you anything.

Personally I have had no problems with Steam per se. I have had problems with my Internet connection and I could not switch to offline mode because I had not enabled offline mode before I had the problems. So it was a catch 22. You have to be online to enable offline mode.

I could see how many people, reading the requirements, think that a 56k modem is an Internet connection and spend a month trying to unlock HL2. That wouldn't make me happy.

 

[Ames]

Ok I just have to jump in.

First, which is it. Your friends have had exactly *no* problems or the problems only take 5 minutes to fix? It can't be both (BTW I like your "internets is" reference.)

But seriously, just because you have had no problems does not mean that problems do not exist. I mean it's kind of like the Homer Simpson's "everything's fine alarm" that goes off to let you know there isn't a problem. It doesn't tell you anything.

Personally I have had no problems with Steam per se. I have had problems with my Internet connection and I could not switch to offline mode because I had not enabled offline mode before I had the problems. So it was a catch 22. You have to be online to enable offline mode.

I could see how many people, reading the requirements, think that a 56k modem is an Internet connection and spend a month trying to unlock HL2. That wouldn't make me happy.

No problems recently. I need to learn how to write better.

 

[Ultimape]

hehe, I got steam to authenticate without connecting to a legit steam server...

However, I have a legit copy of steam myself, and I do not plan to release the details of how it was done for sake of my own hide.

 

[Solver]

So, so... interesting. If I lived in the US, I would probably file a lawsuit against Valve. I think that there's a pretty good chance of the court ordering Valve to release an alternative version of HL2 that does not require/use Steam, and make the two versions clearly distinguishable.

 

[JavaByte]

dunno why your all making a fuss about it - technically it's illegal* SO WHAT! it's not like anyone is gonna file a lawsuit as it would have to be a civil suit (the people Vs Valve) and nobody really cares!

*definately illegal under UK & EU law at least i asked two qualified barristers

[EDIT] before some bright spark ask .. the legal grounds for the case would be "Goods not fit for the purposes they were sold" and about all you could expect is a full refund

 

[^Ben]

I think the people who want this to go ahead should have no updates and none of the benefits of steam, like updated games or a multiplayer component.

 

[th3Phallex]

who the hell reads 'the Inquirer' anyways?

haven't you seen those terribly-doctored photos at the supermarket?