Current [POLL] Would you use Steam for Rebirth?

[Sam L.R. Griffiths]

Well, I'm one of the persons who has accompanied valves steam (9 Years from now) maybe one of the first day members, but hav'nt used it since then or the last years. till now.

I was not convinced with the concept back then, because of the bandwith lack.
But now, I have changed my mind, because of the fascinating things that has resulting of that nowdays.

The Platform is really cool and impressive.

Yeah, it has improved heaps since the release of Half-Life 2 (the first Steam game IIRC).

Steam is still not perfect and there are problems with it for some people in remote locales. Not that it affects me personally, I hope that Valve recognise this and introduce better support for such people (e.g. off-line activation/reactivation via telephone/e-mail/SMS perhaps).

[GebürtigerTerraner]

In response to pjknibbs and GebürtigerTerraner.

I wrote about data harvesting (or collection, if you prefer) under point 1. I refer you to http://store.steampowered.com/privacy_agreement/ Specifically:

"By using Valve's online sites, products, and services, users agree that Valve may collect personally identifiable information (as defined below). Valve will not share personally identifiable information with other parties except as described in this policy. Valve may also collect aggregate information and individual information. "Aggregate information" is information that describes the habits, usage patterns, and demographics of users as a group but does not describe or reveal the identity of any particular user. "Individual information" is information about a user or user’s machine that is presented in a form distinguishable from information relating to other users but not in a form that personally identifies any user or enables the recipient to communicate directly with any user. Valve may share aggregate and individual information with other parties without restriction."

Also:

"Valve will not share personally identifying information with third parties for marketing purposes."

The same isn't stated for individual and aggregate information. And I, personally, have never been asked by Valve for permission for data collection. I have, however, contacted them more than once regarding the provisions under the heading "Corrections, Updates and Removal of Personally Identifiable Information" and have never received a reply.

Now, I will admit that this is a far better policy than the one I read back when Skyrim was released and it does seem that Valve have become fairer with regard to privacy according to what I have read.

Another interesting read for those who argue for the long-term validity of licences outside of the EU is section 7 of http://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/

No data is worthless today, it all has a market value.

Games requiring Steam do NOT necessarily tell you that an internet connection may be required to play the game, which is possible given the unreliability of offline mode. Certainly the boxed versions of Skyrim and Dishonored don't. This is really my main complaint because it resulted in me being unable to access 'my' game for a long period.

And, as I said above, I have never been asked, nicely or otherwise, whether they can use data.

As for deactivating patches, I never spotted a way to do that so I may well be in error there.

Bottom line for me is that this is a game I would have bought on release, maybe even pre-ordered, but now I'll wait and see what happens. Given some of the DRM-free games coming up from Kickstarter projects and CDProjekt Red, XR may not even get 'back on the radar'. But I'm sure Egosoft will gain more customers than they lose by selling through Steam and making the gameplay more accessible, and I'm happy for them.

I just checked,and it is true,Skyrim does not have a Steam-label,only a disclaimer that it has DRM.All my other games that require Steam at least have the warning that internet.connection is needed to activate,That is weird.

I am not really sure what the bif deal about the data collecting is though,it only collects data from Steam and nothing else,does not tell anyone who this information comes from and benefits the developers to make better games.

[Sahvion]

Correct, Data actually IS only collected from steam itself; any other data comes from the surveys they send out (which I have received plenty over the years), they've also often times sent you requests to record your system configurations for other surveys, such as the stats you see on their main interface.

I also know that Steam isn't data mining since I take great pains to monitor such things, that's why Origin is under such heavy restrictions on my system - as it DOES data mine from your system with or WITHOUT your permission.

What is stated in their TOS is there to warn people that they be asked about this type of stuff, its their way to protect themselves in the event someone accepts the recording only to later on try and make the claim that steam did something 'illegal', when they authorized it.

This has been my experience with Steam, since its inception actually when they first appeared. I to also sent them e-mails requesting clarifications on their terms, calling however gives you better results.. although I can't find that option anymore.

[Ebany]

I've said it before, I'll say it again (though I can't be bothered putting up the link again);

Steam has in their EULA and the Privacy Statement exactly the type of information they can and will obtain from their users. In the grand scheme of things it is far less than other groups will collect (e.g. Facebook, Google, Apple). Google is a prime example, they been been in the spotlight many times for their data gathering attempts to target their ad's more efficiently.

You can also email Steam to find out exactly what information they have collected on your account, they will provide this though I wouldn't make a habit of doing it on a regular basis ....... might find your account suddenly in-active.

That said, the part of Steam's agreement I find unsettling is where they state any data they gather from the End User may be shared with (in the most basic terminology) any company affiliated with them (which includes everyone who does any type of business with them) ........ that's a crap load of companies!

But it's not all bad! Steam has been forced to chose a specialisation (for want of a better word) which will be Linux with a controller as the main method of control ..... and although they haven't said I suspect they'll join forces with Nvidia who were the biggest losers in the PS4/XB1 console battle.

For those who aren't aware, Games for Microsoft Live is dead.

Thanks to Steam's negativity towards Windows 8, it appears Microsoft have cracked and intend to take them on with a Win Gaming platform to go against Steam's intended Linux one.

Microsoft have hired Jason Holtman, the man who made Steam ........ I think that says it all.

[Ebany]

And I should also mention; data mining is done by everyone, it's not "if" Steam or other companies do this, it's more "do they mine for data outside the limitations of their EULA or Privacy Statement.

To that, the answer is NO.