Valve Claims New Steamworks Update "Makes DRM Obsolete" 731
Lulfas writes "Steam is implementing a new anti-piracy solution that, according to them, removes all DRM. Called Computer Executable Generation (CEG), this system creates a unique copy of the game when it is purchased through Steam, essentially using a 100% unique keygen system. It will be installable on any system, but only playable by one person at a time (hooked into the correct Steam account, of course). Will this be enough to satisfy anti-DRM players while at the same time giving the publishing companies what they require?"
Given Steam's track record (Score:3, Interesting)
More questions (Score:5, Interesting)
Can I sell it?
If Steam goes down, can I still play?
Why Steam always drove me crazy. (Score:5, Interesting)
I bought the game, I own the media. I should NOT have to connect to the internet, download a client, download whatever updates it deems are necessary. Maybe there's some cheesy exploit I like in the FPS I'm playing alone? You got my money - leave me alone!
It was really frustrating when I was between broadband watching Steam try to download huge updates so I could play the game I bought specifically so I'd have the media and wouldn't need to download anything. Naive me, assuming you can actually play a game you own the discs to.
PS - how is this not DRM?
- The files are encrypted with a 'unique' key
- Steam acts as the DRM license server
- Any attempt to play the game without access to Steam the new DRM license server will fail
- You access or validate the game by a user/login combo
- If Steam ever goes away, has server/capacity issues (which they have, when new games are released) you are shit out of luck to play the game you PAID for
The _only_ current difference I can see is that you can 'transfer' it between PCs and play it. Guess what - you could do that with DRM as well, albeit laboriously and somewhat error prone. Most services even allow you several "free" additional downloads that give you another license.
It's so similar to DRM that this is just a lame publicity stunt.
Why would it (Score:4, Interesting)
Of course, you still need to hook your computer up the internet to download the games in the first place, or when the program randomly decides that it wants to do so (which seems to be about once a month or so for me). I'm not sure what triggers it- a certain time period with no connection, sunspots, gnomes... In any case, I just plug in the ethernet cable, log in, log back out, unplug the cable, and start the game.
I'm normally a Valve/Steam fanboi... (Score:5, Interesting)
But this is pure marketing BS. They are making DRM obsolete by... using DRM! Plus, this is exactly the same scheme of DRM that is already in use: Encrypt a program and then only decrypt it when provided a valid key. Then provide the key, thus completely negating the point of encrypting the program. After all, Steam has to unpack the executable to run it, and at that point all a black hatter has to do is come up with a way to snatch the decrypted version during that.
This is SecureROM 2.0. The only difference is instead of a 'unique, unduplicateable, ID per CD' it's now a 'unique, unduplicateable, ID per account'.
On the other hand, since I am a Steam fanboi, I hope this particular marking BS manages to convince more publishers to go this route rather than the SecureROM/CD route. Being able to redownload a game whenever I want to install it, wherever I want to install it, is far better than "opps, your machine crashed twice so now your CD is worthless because you only had two installs allowed".
Re:What happens when Steam fails? (Score:3, Interesting)
Gabe's pledge is a beautiful thing, until Gabe leaves / is removed from Valve and his pledge exits with him.
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Interesting)
That's what I do. I keep my steam in offline mode, and play my timewasters like defense grid and peggle. At the same time aonther computer in the hose is online doing LFD. I am guessing this new thing will do away with being able to do that, and there will no longer be an offline mode.
NO! (Score:3, Interesting)
It will be installable on any system, but only playable by one person at a time (hooked into the correct Steam account, of course). Will this be enough to satisfy anti-DRM players while at the same time giving the publishing companies what they require?"
They might as well keep DRM, the new system is pretty much the same thing.
I am still a slave to STEAM.
1) If I don't have STEAM on my other computer I can not play it.
2) If I am not connected to the Internet with my other computer I can not play it.
3) If Valve goes belly up I can no longer play my games
Not going to happen, keep your games and your online validation / DRM shit. I will only purchase games without it or none at all.
Re:More questions (Score:3, Interesting)
No resell is a EULA alteration of existing fair-use.
I would be fine giving up this right had they also allowed a simple "return it in 24 hours, no questions asked" refund system. There's a few games I was absolutely disappointed in I wish I could have returned.
M-rated FPS and MMORPG aren't for minors (Score:3, Interesting)
Aren't they losing out on parents with minors and other LAN or NAT situations with those restrictions?
A lot of PC games tend to be first-person shooters, which tend to be rated M for mature, or pay-to-play massively multiplayer online games, which require a grown-up's credit card. Many of the games designed to be played by minors are either on consoles or on SWF sites (e.g. neopets.com).
Re:Given Steam's track record (Score:3, Interesting)
It actually reminds me of the copy protection system on ZMud. Back in the day (over a decade ago), I used to do two things that I don't anymore: 1) Use windows, and B) Mud. And ZMud was an excellent client. They employed basically the same copy protection system: only one person on per registered copy online at a time. So if you give a copy to a friend, and they give a copy to their friends, and so on, pretty soon your odds of being able to use it are slim to none. They use the "book" analogy to describe it: you buy a book and you can loan it to your friends all you want, but only one person gets to read it at once.
ZMud was popular enough that I once had fun causing some havoc with a little-known feature: MSP (Mud Sound Protocol). Back then, the error checking, both on mud servers and on the client, was pretty poor. I discovered that I could "shout" (say something that everyone on the mud can see) MSP commands to make their computers start playing random windows sounds. ;) Ah, those were the days...
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Interesting)
You're kind of an idiot if you think they'd end offline mode, which is hugely popular. Valve is the rare company that actually subscribes to the notion that the best way to make a profit is to put together an exceptional product and make people like them (I've ended up thrashing out bugs with senior Valve developers--sent an annoyed email to Gabe Newell asking what happened to their development quality for TF2, and was on the horn with three different Valve devs the next day to help track down a bug in their Radeon support).
Re:Steam (Score:3, Interesting)
I can foresee the network being bought by someone with short-term revenue farming in mind... who decides that Steam accounts shouldn't be free and starts charging a monthly fee using access to your games as leverage.
Yeah, there'd be a class action, but given an appropriate corporate structure (and bonuses/options to the leadership), I'd imagine that the ones driving the decision would come out far ahead even if thier "restructured company" came out far behind due to the resolution of the lawsuit.
My point is that while yes, there are scenarios where things stay good for the consumer, there are scenarios where things go bad for reasons outside of the consumers control.
With my old games, it's up to me if they still work or not. If I still have the installation media (and maybe the manual), I'm good. If I lost them, I'm hosed.
Re:Steam (Score:4, Interesting)
if Steam's servers are taken offline, access controls will be removed.
Very interesting. Has any other game company announced ahead of time that they would agree they are abandonware if they go belly-up..?
Re:Steam (Score:3, Interesting)
There is a way to install the games offline, you just need to use the backup utility after downloading the first time. This creates a nice bundled installer you can save away somewhere for that rainy day where it's needed.
Sign me up! (Score:4, Interesting)
Here's what I really like about Steam:
- I can move computers or reinstall as I wish. I can play a game "delete" it, and later on, reinstall it - just load the main game file and go. No install and reinstall idiocy. If I need to clear up some HD space, I can delete the game main game file in a few seconds and poof - 4 or 5 gigs free.
If I have to reinstall my OS, I don't have to play CD or DVD shuffling and look for CD keys and other idiocy. I just install the steam client, validate, and hit "stun" and let it d/l all 40-50 gigs of junk overnight. Note - you can also back up your steam apps directory and toss the compressed files back in with a reinstalled OS. It'll check and validate and you're good to go. With DVDs, you're SOL - because it has to do all sorts of tweaking and stuff with the registry. Steam does this for you. Nice.
- None of UbiSoft's or EA or Sony's malware DRM rootkits. I'd rather have one app that checks to see if I'm who I am(perfectly reasonable, IMO). No CD crippling software, no nonsense that mangles my DirectX. In fact, I'll only buy games from those three PITA companies when it comes out on Steam.
- Updating and patches and support is quick - often in hours or days to fix loading bugs and sound issues. Patches the game for you, as well. Always up to date if you wish.
- As easy as Direct2Drive(another company I also like) to order and buy from. Good prices, too. Often better than the local game store, due to nearly daily promotions and specials. No boxes cluttering up my desk, either. Case in point - last night, Assassin's Creed was a paltry $10. Latest director's cut version, all the goodies. Just buy, D/L, and run an hour later.
- Loads of older games that were impossible to run on Vista from the W2K/W98 era. Many are well worth playing, even today.
- Movie trailers and so on are MUCH easier to manage and less spammy than the major websites and places like Apple. HD trailers are a snap as well to d/l and clearly tell you the resolution and quality up front. Having to watch a trailer online in a little box at most sites is a major hassle.
Cons:
- It sits in the background and hogs resources. Impossible to play even HL via Steam versus the original standalone boxed game cleanly unless you have a dual core processor. My old P3 could run HL1 without stuttering. My P4 couldn't. My dual-core now is fine, but really...
- Many AV and Net monitoring/firewall apps just have a fit with it.
- Loads new content and patches and so on sometimes in the background without me ever allowing it.
- Worries about not being able to access my programs. But given the money Valve is making, I suspect it'll be around for at least 10-20 more years.
Re:Steam (Score:5, Interesting)
But there are also very good reasons for not allowing enforcement of pricing policies with technology that prohibits legitimate use and further trade. Let's say I own 400 DVD (which I do) and then I move to Australia (which I might) -- none of my DVDs will play on the devices available there. Even if I take a player with me I'll never be able to replace it without having one shipped in from the US (which I'm sure the MPAA would also like to outlaw). The content producer doesn't even have a legitimate interest in a pricing differential at this point, because I've already bought their content at the prices they set in the segmented market; at this point it's either a scam to make me re-buy the same content or an insidious infringement on my legitimate use of content I have license to view.
And that's not even to point out the limitation of secondary-market sales and other legitimate uses that, if executed, may not reduce the primary-market sales one iota but which are prevented by region-locking. Or the fact that as a primary-market customer I should be free to make my own choice as to whether I want to preserve the regional pricing differential or mitigate it through my secondary-market sales -- that isn't a decision we should allow content producers to make for us.
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Steam (Score:3, Interesting)
Considering that my housemate copied GTA4 out of my Steam directory and we could successfully lan it up I would humbly suggest that you are an uninformed dickwad.
Re:Steam (Score:5, Interesting)
That's because the negative points about Steam haven't affected you yet.
I to was a happy, naive steam user since it's release who would similarly have praised it up until a few weeks ago when they fucked me with their Dawn of War II DRM.
Now I realise how flawed Steam actually is and that at any time they could revoke my ability to re-install the game, the fact I have a boxed copy bought from a shop but because I have to activate by Steam I will never be able to sell on that boxed copy 2nd hand.
I wish I hadn't been so naive now, because it's naivety like yours (and formerly like mine) as to how bad Steam actually is that's allowing it to gain traction and become ever more evil and problematic.
I was buying games in US dollars on there not so long ago with a $2 US to the £ exchange rate and now I'm suddenly seeing games the same as UK shop RRPs like £39.99 so I'm being forced to pay much more than people abroad for the same product, the same as I'd pay for a boxed copy in the UK but without getting it boxed and can't sell it on second hand. The net is already tightening with Steam, they've already upped costs, they're already imposing control over games bought outside of Steam and not developed by Valve if companies wish to also have their game available on Steam as well.
Make no mistake, Valve are the new EA and whilst like you, millions would say "Well I've never had a problem with Spore", they will when they install it a 5th time and don't know where to find the patch to remove that limitation, unfortunately with Valve, there is no patch, well, not official ones anyway.
I liked Valve when they just developed the Half-Life series etc. but as a company that is now leveraging the prominence of their system to gain control over games sold outside their distribution channel such as retail shops, as a company that's artificially increasing prices, as a company that's destroying people's legal right to sell on games second hand and as a company that's imposing artificial restrictions on when people can and can't install their game? I'll pass thanks.
The countless flaws with Steam haven't effected you yet, but as the net tightens they will. Their practices are anti-competitive, controlling and hence harmful to the customer.
What makes the whole situation worse is that Valve have built themselves an army of fanboys more rabid than even Steve Jobs has managed that cry about how they hate DRM one minute but give all the support in the world to Valve who are the joint worst DRM offenders in the whole industry with EA right now. Why? Because Gabe Newell tells us he hates DRM so that people bow down whilst he's simultaneously enforcing some of the most limiting DRM in the software world on people?