3rd March 2010, 6:38 PM
See my recent post in the PSX to responses on a lot of those issues...
As far as "controlled" though, I mean things like these:
-You cannot set install path. Everything must go to the Steam folder. There are ways of getting around this with Windows addons (thanks, NeoGAF guy who told me that!), and that's important, because I like partititions, and there's no way I can accept the entire Steam folder on one partition. I want to install the demos to my demo folders, the full games to my various drives, etc. I want to install things to where I want them. I also want separate program groups in the Program Files thing for each game, so they're easy to find, instead of everything being dumped in the Steam folder. I don't want to do thing Valve's way, I want to do things the way I do them! This should not be an unreasonable request, either, because Steam is the ONLY major PC DD service which is so controlled and restricted.
That is, I want it to be like buying game, just without the disc (because I got it for really cheap and on sale, thus justifying the loss of those things). As in, the way you get games from Direct2Drive or, even better, GOG (Good Old Games). With those services you get an installer, and, with GOG, scanned versions of the manuals, other paperwork, etc. It's a world of difference, and a vast, vast improvement over Steam.
As for Steam's community features, I don't care. I don't leave Steam on all day, I don't have any friends listed in Steam, etc. Those things mean nothing to me.
I wish PC games still did have install size options, because the amounts of HDD space required by some modern games is just insane... can't they at least have an option to keep the movies on the disc or something, like games used to do? Sure, I have 1.1TBs of HDD space, but still I don't want to have to use 30GBs of it for one single game! That's ridiculous, if I got it on physical media...
Also lots of PC games do have disc check so you need to put the disc in anyway to play the game...
So you like the fact that games now are often "moron-proofed" by making the first hour or hours of the game a stupidly easy and annoying waste of time? Sorry, I don't really like required tutorials overall... they're not always bad, but if I had to choose, make the tutorial optional. Of course old PC games often just left the tutorial in the manual and had nothing in the game that told you how to play, but things aren't done like that anymore... and that's probably good, but things have gone too far in the other direction, for the most part.
You're right that there are some good reasons why manuals are less important, such as tooltips, etc, but there are other not-so-good ones... and as I've said there are still reasons why paper manuals or guides ARE good, plenty of them. People have gotten used to not having good manuals, I know, but does that really mean that we're better off without them? I think not.
As far as "controlled" though, I mean things like these:
-You cannot set install path. Everything must go to the Steam folder. There are ways of getting around this with Windows addons (thanks, NeoGAF guy who told me that!), and that's important, because I like partititions, and there's no way I can accept the entire Steam folder on one partition. I want to install the demos to my demo folders, the full games to my various drives, etc. I want to install things to where I want them. I also want separate program groups in the Program Files thing for each game, so they're easy to find, instead of everything being dumped in the Steam folder. I don't want to do thing Valve's way, I want to do things the way I do them! This should not be an unreasonable request, either, because Steam is the ONLY major PC DD service which is so controlled and restricted.
That is, I want it to be like buying game, just without the disc (because I got it for really cheap and on sale, thus justifying the loss of those things). As in, the way you get games from Direct2Drive or, even better, GOG (Good Old Games). With those services you get an installer, and, with GOG, scanned versions of the manuals, other paperwork, etc. It's a world of difference, and a vast, vast improvement over Steam.
As for Steam's community features, I don't care. I don't leave Steam on all day, I don't have any friends listed in Steam, etc. Those things mean nothing to me.
Quote:More often than not, you install a PC game and you never need the disc again till you need to reinstall it. Maybe you have some immaculate filing system for your PC games, but I don't have the room.
I wish PC games still did have install size options, because the amounts of HDD space required by some modern games is just insane... can't they at least have an option to keep the movies on the disc or something, like games used to do? Sure, I have 1.1TBs of HDD space, but still I don't want to have to use 30GBs of it for one single game! That's ridiculous, if I got it on physical media...
Also lots of PC games do have disc check so you need to put the disc in anyway to play the game...
Quote:I'll admit to owning a few strategy guides for games I especially enjoy. You know what I use paper manuals for? Reading material when I'm on the crapper a week after I buy a game. Games nowadays explain most everything to you in the first hour of play and/or as you go. Manuals are superfluous in this day and age.
So you like the fact that games now are often "moron-proofed" by making the first hour or hours of the game a stupidly easy and annoying waste of time? Sorry, I don't really like required tutorials overall... they're not always bad, but if I had to choose, make the tutorial optional. Of course old PC games often just left the tutorial in the manual and had nothing in the game that told you how to play, but things aren't done like that anymore... and that's probably good, but things have gone too far in the other direction, for the most part.
You're right that there are some good reasons why manuals are less important, such as tooltips, etc, but there are other not-so-good ones... and as I've said there are still reasons why paper manuals or guides ARE good, plenty of them. People have gotten used to not having good manuals, I know, but does that really mean that we're better off without them? I think not.