What exactly is Steam?

[Breydel]

I read the sticky Steam FAQ here and I missed 2 important Q&A's there. Since I only heard about Steam a few days ago I would like to know this:


1) What exactly is Steam? I see something about it being free but then I also read something about it allowing you to play all Valve games at a montly fee in the future. Is Steam some sort of download manager for all Valve games or something?

2) What are the advantages of Steam? I now own the games Half-Life, Opposing Force and Blue Shift. What does Steam offer me more than if I would just install those games and add the latest patches for each game?

 

[charybdis]

1) What exactly is Steam? I see something about it being free but then I also read something about it allowing you to play all Valve games at a montly fee in the future. Is Steam some sort of download manager for all Valve games or something?

Steam is another method of distribution. You can play the games you have already purchased (HL and its mods) for no additional fee, or people who are new to the HL world can purchase them directly through Steam. It is also has the authentication system, the steamid which replaced the wonid. The monthly fee is for people who would rather pay around 10 bucks a month and receive every piece of Valve software without paying individually. Steam is also a way for Valve's software to be updated automatically (you don't have to download separate patches from fileplanet or other places).

2) What are the advantages of Steam? I now own the games Half-Life, Opposing Force and Blue Shift. What does Steam offer me more than if I would just install those games and add the latest patches for each game?

With Steam, you have a more streamlined interface and new features. Friends is a messaging system like aim or msn where you can talk with friends and see if they are playing on a server. Other advantages are the automatic updates and support for Valve's future software.

 

[Mr. Redundant]

if you havent already I really recommend Chris_D's excellent article on steam.

http://www.halflife2.net/index.php?page=article_fsa

 

[Breydel]

That thread was a nice readup, thanks. Answered all the questions I had.

It seems a bit comparable to the Planetside launcher. You also automatically get the latest patches (for any MMORPG) but I believe you can buy, download & activate that Core Combat expansion pack via the updater as well.

I gave it a try and installed it, created an account and added my Half-Life CD key to Steam (which activated HL Platinum). I wanted to add my Opposing Force CD key too but it didn't recognize it. And when I wanted to add my Blue-Shift CD key it said I already registered for that CD-key. I would think both the HL:GotY CD key & HL:BS CD key register me for the Platinum version?

Anyway, I didn't see HL:BlueShift amoung the games list. Doesn't Valve support that expansion via Steam? BS also came with the high definition textures for HL, OppFor & BS. Suppose next time I reformat my PC I decide to install Steam and download everything (HL, OF & BS) via Steam, how do I get BlueShift & those high detail textures installed?

 

[GuNzABlaZiN]

I'm not sure about HL:BS but OpFor is free over steam as long as you have a HL cd-key.

 

[charybdis]

Blue Shift is currently not supported by Steam. It is because Blue Shift had a different variation of the Half-Life engine and it is imcompatible with Steam. I don't know if there is a way to import the High Def pack into Steam HL or not. You may want to search the forums here or the ones at steampowered.com.

 

[Son_Kane]

Just think of Steam as a front-end that also enables you to download the games and autoupdate. It's also a nice way to secure your cd-key from keygens nabbing them at random.

 

[Reaperman]

i use the Super high def pack, its great (it uses some models from the playstation 2 version, which are much better then blue shift)

http://zdnet.com.com/Half-Life-High-Definition-Model-Pack/3000-7452_2-10266026.html

 

[Mr. Redundant]

i use the Super high def pack, its great (it uses some models from the playstation 2 version, which are much better then blue shift)

http://zdnet.com.com/Half-Life-High-Definition-Model-Pack/3000-7452_2-10266026.html

thanks for the link

 

[Cyperious]

Actually you want to know what steam is?

It's a piece of shit.

 

[Varsity]

Blue Shift is currently not supported by Steam. It is because Blue Shift had a different variation of the Half-Life engine and it is imcompatible with Steam. I don't know if there is a way to import the High Def pack into Steam HL or not. You may want to search the forums here or the ones at steampowered.com.

It's not incompatible - nothing is incompatible - it's just a case of not wanting two versions of the engine flying around. Nobody wants to have to maintain TWO branches for the sake of one short and tbh not very good game.

Actually you want to know what steam is?

It's a piece of shit.

I always smile when people say that, because I know they're going to have to swallow their pride if they want to play HL2. :E

 

[DanceMag]

+ everyone failed to mention that you need steam to play all half life games online, since WON has closed down...