So, you thought CD in tray was bad??

[Guest Dasher7]

Hi there!(Back on the forums from a long time as ghost, finally could sign up with an ISP adress)So you thought having the Cd in tray was bad?I just bought Half-life 2 and it turns out, dig this folks, the physical machine that I want to play on MUST be connected to the internet!! I can't even just get a reg# using the serial shown on the game-box. There ARE provisions for playing offline once being registered with "Steam" but several people are apparently having trouble with this. I'll return the game tomorrow, and I will NOT be recommending buying this game. By the way, only a small line on the back of the box says "required: Internet connection". This is absurd. Having worked in retail I know that this will be overlooked (like I did), time and time again, as forums suggest.So, if I have one suggestion for fs 2006 (and, yes, folks, it will be there, it brings money to MS and continues to be the ultimate virtual reality:THE WORLD, noone is gonna turn from that formula):Do not even THINK of doing this kinda protection!!! It SUCKS! I do not want to submit my good comp. to the net's ever increasing overload of hijacking etc. That is, if I had a connection at home, at all. I don't, I'm sitting at college right now.Or is it just me?Great to be back,Halfdan (Dasher7)Author: Greenland Ports and Docks

[oqvist 11]

Maybe something for FSD? :)Really don

[toprob 105]

>Some report that if you buy the game purely through>STEAM it works better but I don

[oqvist 11]

Yeah though it

[Ricardo41 5,935]

I've played Half Life 2 - just finished it the other day. I never had a problem with steam connecting to the internet to authenticate the game and to download patches. I think it's the future of how games will be delivered. BTW, after the fiasco with the HL2 source code being leaked, I don't blame Gabe and his crew for being extra paranoid. ricardo

[oqvist 11]

Though the source code theft wasn

[Guest christianholmes]

Steam blows. I bought the boxed version the day it came out, and it took me HOURS to get it working. Complete BS. Now I reinstalled my OS, and I'm afraid to install it again because they are cancelling accounts left and right because of attempted piracy. They are trying to take advantage of people. Like I said in another post- Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Piracy is to the software industry as insider trading is to the stockmarket. You just have to learn to deal with it, and minimize losses. What if the FTC decided that you had to dial in to a hotline and have all your conversations recorded when you were trading? Piracy is a big problem, but you can't make playing games an inconvienence or people will stop playing.

[Guest]

Get used to it, it's the future.It won't be long now before ALL software requires a permanent internet connection and quite a lot of it will be pay per use.The massive piracy is forcing manufacturers to go that way as any system in which the total content is delivered to the customer is pirated sooner rather than later.

[Guest yarvelling]

I was one of the many that got caught in the initial Steam debacle! I got my boxed DVD copy early enough on the day of release, installed, and registered and unlocked it, but then for a couple of days couldn't do a #### thing with it 'cause Steam couldn't connect due to the massive demands on it's servers! I was pi$$ed to say the least! But, since then it's worked fine....what I don't like though is when you first boot-up and connect, Steam starts 'updating' if there is an update, but, you never really know what is coming through if it doesn't give you an option to download, as it did for the multiplayer deathmatch for HL2. If it's patches, it just seems to go ahead regardless and you're stuck waiting for x mins not knowing whether you really need the patch or not! (I know you have the choice not to connect, also, but sometimes I just want to see if there is an update, and whether I need it).I would not like to see this kind of system used in future versions of FS...I want to determine just what patches that I feel I may need, and as for add-ons, I want the choice. I waited a couple of days before applying the FS9.1 patch for the same reasons that many others here did...I wanted to see feedback first. With a Steam type system, you could be patched-up without knowing it, only to find that your sim is now broken, or that you've just waited 1/2 hour for a massive multi-player patch to apply that you don't need 'cause you don't fly online in a multi-player scanario!That type of system could also be a target surely, for hackers, etc, to start flooding all manner of crap onto PC's everywhere, and nobody would know it's happening; they'd think it's Microsoft/Valve, whoever, just applying patches/updates....I can appreciate that developers want to protect their investments, but methods such as Steam are a little too 'Big Brother' really, and as has been reported recently, certainly not infallible either! Forcing peaople into having an internet connection, or they don't play a game of their choice, and one for which they have already paid, is ridiculous!I sincerely hope that this is one of the few times that we see this type of system employed, and certainly hope that it's not one ever used in future versions of FS....

[Guest byoung]

Hey Everyone,Don't get all riled up. If this game is that good, then you know the hacker community will have a patch / hack in no time! If not already. Check the popular game sites, it will come. I have been sick of copy protection since Lotus 123 had that stupid floppy key disk, which was eventually broken and hacked. Lack of foresight like this fuels the hackers, especially because they tend to be big gamers too! So it is the game developer and distributors fault. As the game gets more popular, these guys will go broke just trying to supply the bandwidth necessary to support the "online experience". Don't fret, relief will soon be here. Not to mention the PR disaster just waiting to happen. Retail stores will drop this like a hot potato if it starts a return freenzy.As far as I am concerned, if you have a license, and don't want to be "Online" and if the game plays off-line, then you should be able to do whatever you want.Just another small step forward for the game developers and a giant step back in the PR department!Barry

[Guest anthonye]

>Maybe something for FSD? :):-lol AnthonyUK

[oqvist 11]

Well Half Life 2 was cracked one day after release date so it

[W2DR 1,859]

You're right on both counts Barry. It's already been hacked and patched. And, with all due respect to Mr. Wenting, this is not the way of the future. There isn't enough bandwidth in the Universe to support a hack-proof gaming environment. Or a non-gaming environment for that matter. Technological measures of any sort will never overcome teenage innovation. I agree also with your assessment of customer reaction to a "forced" online environment. It's important to remember that it's the retailer who has to deal with the shelfspace, sales, and returns who controls the suppliers/developers, not vice versa.Doug

[Guest TWVA395]

I have yet to have a problem with steam. Steam has said that it is an easier way of keeping people up to date on their software and what it comes down to, is like an in game browser that automatically updates. I see a lot of pointless fighting over steam. Half-Life 2 is most likely the best PC game ever made and will be for some time... if you played it, then you'd understand that in the end, steam is worth it and that Valve isn't just trying to dig deeper into your pockets. Especially when you only buy the game once and they have to host their own servers for Steam... they aren't making any real profit on those.http://darkstarorder.com/sigs/Batman/SigFinal.jpgKen Weik [link:maam.org|MAAM-SIM][link:library.avsim.net/search.php?CatID=root&SearchTerm=kenneth+weik&Sort=Added&ScanMode=0&Go=Change+View]My AFCADs

[Guest Paul Heaney]

I won't buy Half Life 2, because of all this Steam fiasco. They've lost me as a customer.