Empire using Steam; Gamespot interview/preview

**Polemists** · 11-08-2008, 06:56

Steering,

Obviously this could go on and on about piracy versus non priacy. However back to Empire, which is the point of this conversation.

I don't like steam, mainly because it pops up and checks things and updates itself without notifying me, and others have had a similar problem. I don't care if I start steam and it checks and then i can uninstall the steam program, however I don't want to have to keep the steam program on my pc. I don't care if I don't get multiplayer I just dont want steam to stay on my pc.

**SpencerH** · 11-08-2008, 12:59

Originally Posted by Polemists

Steering,

Obviously this could go on and on about piracy versus non priacy. However back to Empire, which is the point of this conversation.

I don't like steam, mainly because it pops up and checks things and updates itself without notifying me, and others have had a similar problem. I don't care if I start steam and it checks and then i can uninstall the steam program, however I don't want to have to keep the steam program on my pc. I don't care if I don't get multiplayer I just dont want steam to stay on my pc.

You must be able to turn steam on and off from the system tray?

**Polemists** · 11-08-2008, 13:43

I can however it still at times will pop up for no reason to do a update. It's highly annoying.

**SpencerH** · 11-10-2008, 13:06

Originally Posted by Polemists

I can however it still at times will pop up for no reason to do a update. It's highly annoying.

Thats not a good sign since it means that steam is always running once installed ie it continues to run despite removal from the taskbar.

**CBR** · 11-10-2008, 13:11

That is odd. I have been using Steam with Red Orchestra and I only run it when I need to play. I have never seen an update popup.

CBR

**AussieGiant** · 11-10-2008, 14:36

Question:

If I buy the actual physical game and install it, do I need to install the Steam Client to have it register?

I do not like third party software running on my machine (in the back ground) and I keep the number of "Services" down to an abolsute bare minimum as a matter of choice. This ensures a nice clean thin OS and therefore I'm a happy camper.

**Martok** · 11-10-2008, 20:43

Originally Posted by AussieGiant

Question:

If I buy the actual physical game and install it, do I need to install the Steam Client to have it register?

Yes. Steam will need to be installed, regardless of whether you get the boxed copy or the download version.

Originally Posted by AussieGiant

I do not like third party software running on my machine (in the back ground) and I keep the number of "Services" down to an abolsute bare minimum as a matter of choice. This ensures a nice clean thin OS and therefore I'm a happy camper.

While I can understand where you're coming from, I'll admit that personally I'm not overly bothered by it. I already use Stardock's Impulse -- a program somewhat similar to Steam -- for my copy of Galactic Civilizations 2, and have yet to encounter any major problems with it. So long as Steam remains similarly non-intrusive and doesn't have a deleterious effect on my computer's performance, it'll be a heck of a lot better than ETW including SecuROM or other nasty DRM.

**Mikhal** · 11-17-2008, 12:19

Originally Posted by SpencerH

Thats not a good sign since it means that steam is always running once installed ie it continues to run despite removal from the taskbar.

No, I know that I can turn off the steam on my PC and have no processes whatsoever running in the background. It will only start when I start it or launch a Steam game and it will only connect to download updates when started by the user. (I'm a tweaker though so you may have to change some settings in the steam options to get this kind of behaviour though, else it will start on computer startup).

**Polemists** · 11-17-2008, 14:10

else it will start on computer startup

Again, i know it's minor but can't they make things easier not harder? Surely they know most of us don't want to have to dig into god knows what preferences and edit this and change that.

I'm not big into multiplayer. Yet this is a necessary evil of MP these days. No one wants to actually handle multiplayer anymore (pay for/manage servers) so they all outsource it Gamespy, Steam, take your pick.

I don't like the idea of having to authenticate the game online, I don't know why I can't just punch in the xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx code like I used to on most games, and they can just say okay.

What was so wrong with that code?

I mean I don't see steam as a improvement over the code. If your argument is, well we can't stop piracy but we have to make a effort, weather you make a effort everyone hates and stops 1.5 % of hackers or a effort no one cares about and stops 1.0% of hackers, is it really a difference?

I mean it's a mute point, cause it is steam.

It's just, I mean i love GC III, why can't more people do the stardock thing.

**pevergreen** · 11-08-2008, 14:29

Originally Posted by Polemists

Steering,

Obviously this could go on and on about piracy versus non priacy. However back to Empire, which is the point of this conversation.

I don't like steam, mainly because it pops up and checks things and updates itself without notifying me, and others have had a similar problem. I don't care if I start steam and it checks and then i can uninstall the steam program, however I don't want to have to keep the steam program on my pc. I don't care if I don't get multiplayer I just dont want steam to stay on my pc.

It sounds as though you can do just that. Steam will authenticate, afterwhich you can play single player.

There will be a way to play it. Never fear.

**Sheogorath** · 11-08-2008, 21:11

I was never a big fan of steam. Mostly because I was first exposed to it back in the 'MUST BE ONLINE TO PLAY YOUR GAMES, EVEN IN SINGLEPLAYER' days. And I didn't do my research before I bought Half Life 2, so I didn't know it required online activation to play, back in the day when we were on 56k, and my gaming computer wasn't on the internet at all.
And the forced updates, over 56k, sometimes meant that if I wasn't careful I ended up waiting for a week while the download went on ._.

Fortunatly we have DSL now, so its all better.

**DisruptorX** · 11-08-2008, 23:18

Originally Posted by Sheogorath

I was never a big fan of steam. Mostly because I was first exposed to it back in the 'MUST BE ONLINE TO PLAY YOUR GAMES, EVEN IN SINGLEPLAYER' days. And I didn't do my research before I bought Half Life 2, so I didn't know it required online activation to play, back in the day when we were on 56k, and my gaming computer wasn't on the internet at all.
And the forced updates, over 56k, sometimes meant that if I wasn't careful I ended up waiting for a week while the download went on ._.

Fortunatly we have DSL now, so its all better.

HL 2 always required activation, but its always had offline mode. I first beat it only playing it when my net connection was down.

**katar** · 11-08-2008, 23:35

i`m going to have think a while about this one and look deeper into Steam to see what it`s like from people who use it a lot.

on the plus side i am heartily glad that securom has been rejected as a choice for the game... it was always far too invasive a program for my liking.