Civilization V To Use Steamworks 295
sopssa writes "2K Games today announced that Civilization V will be using Steamworks for online matchmaking, automated updates, downloadable content and DRM for the game. Steam's Civ V store page is also available now, revealing some new information about the game. There will be an 'In-Game Community Hub' for online matchmaking, communication, and for sharing scenarios between players. While including Steamworks might put some people off, it might also indicate better online gameplay than in the previous Civilization games, where it was almost impossible to have a good game without playing with just friends."
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:4, Insightful)
Why would I pay to have more problems?
I'll wait and see.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:5, Insightful)
That's exactly what I was thinking. I've got a row of boxes sitting on a shelf with Civ1 - 4/Warlords. If they put something on there that is a problem it will be the first cracked version that I've downloaded for free.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:1, Insightful)
I always bought CIV, but if this DRM is too restrictive [...]
It's just steam.
Why would I pay to have more problems?
I don't mind the "Connect once to install the game and play offline for just about ever" system because it comes with the added benefit of "Download the game anywhere you have a connection" that I've used many times.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:3, Insightful)
You can play Steam games in "offline mode". I do so frequently. It works great :)
While I loathe DRM, the Steam DRM is so non-intrusive compared to the competetors that I can live with it just fine. Since I started using Steam a few years ago I have spent more money on games than ever before...
Of all the DRM schemes to use, this is the one I would pick if I had to make a choice as a consumer.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:3, Insightful)
Yup, and the beauty of it is that it actually WORKS :D
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:2, Insightful)
Steamworks is offline friendly. (Score:3, Insightful)
Steamworks on other games like Torchlight just serve to add features, not remove then. In Torchlight it redistribute your savegames. So you can start a game on the Netbook, and wen you get home, continue that game on the Desktop.
I don't know you, but this sounds like a good feature to have in Civi.
And you can play Torchlight offline. The whole Steam thing can run offline.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:3, Insightful)
Totally offtopic moderation curiosity, feel free to ignore.
Several similar posts in this thread, saying essentially "I use steam offline and had no problem with it" have been simultaneously modded exactly once as flamebait. I suspect it's the finest example I've yet seen of a single guy using the "-1 disagree" mod with his entire pool of modpoints. :)
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:4, Insightful)
Who modded all the "It's just Steam" posts in this discussion flamebait? From all the DRM systems out there, Steam is the least intrusive one and it actually gives you more value to the game (community, in-game browser, archievements). I take Steam over Ubisoft's intrusive always-online DRM (with nothing to gain) or SecuROM/StarForce that install hidden kernel drivers in your system any day.
Good move (Score:3, Insightful)
Good move, kudos to Sid and company for ignoring the idiotic knee jerk reactions seen on some message boards I won't mention. Requiring occasional (I have gone at least 2 weeks before) access back to Steam as opposed to having to keep track of some number of CD's _and_ being able to have the game installed on multiple PC's is a net positive IMNHO. The improved matchmaking sounds like icing on the cake.
How long will it last (Score:5, Insightful)
I still play Civilization Call to Power. It is my all time favorite addiction. I don't pull it out often because when I do I can easily play all night and not even realize that dawn has arrived. But I do pull it out occasionally and I'm glad I can play it without worrying about whether the company will still let me.
I guess I'm bad for the games industry by enjoying a game that's so old, but I won't even contemplate buying a game with DRM because I just don't trust that I'd be able to play it long after it stops being the hit new thing.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:5, Insightful)
In most countries if your bank account is compromised there's regulations to protect you.
If on the other hand you have a large number of games the steam admins can simply confiscate your property and you have no recourse.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:5, Insightful)
The most annoying thing is that if you raise the issue of these awful design problems steam fanboys leap in with shit like
"nobody with dialup/tethering plays games"(bonus if they link to a steam poll showing that yes in fact hardly anyone with dialup uses steam),
"THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH STEAM",
"HURR HURR HURR, GET A BETTER ISP"
Etc etc
the fanboys are far far more iritating than the devs.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:5, Insightful)
From all the DRM systems out there, Steam is the least intrusive one and it actually gives you more value to the game (community, in-game browser, archievements).
That's pure fanboy nonsense.
There are many less intrusive DRM systems out there. I've had many games with online activiation DRM systems that ever only showed me a single "activating game once" window that was gone after 5 seconds, never to be seen again.
You complain about DRM systems that install drivers, yet happily install Steam system-wide.
Steam is one of the most intrusive systems out there (forced use of a client, adds a second DRM layer on top of whatever the publisher already has, forced management of game installations, integration into OS, offline mode that wants to go online whenever it feels like it, total dependance on Valve to be able to play games, etc.).
All that community stuff just adds to the burden of the DRM.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:2, Insightful)
USE STEAM BEFORE SLAGGING IT OFF (Score:5, Insightful)
Seriously
Everyone who is slagging off steam, try it before you complain.
I have had ZERO problems with steam, before I was a sceptic and now I am a convert.
The auto-patching auto-updating goodness is worth its weight in gold.
Never had a problem playing offline or whatever.
Rebuild a PC? no issue, unlimited re-downloads, much easier to kick off steam and walk away than dig out masses of discs, then go through hours or hunt and patch, etc.
Games are CHEAP esp if you bag them on sale (GTA4 for 7 bucks USD, Op. Flashpoint Dragon Rising for 5 bucks etc.)
Put it this way: its so good and convenient that I buy games (on sale of course lol) that I can pirate in front of me. I see the pirate bay / rapidshare / usenet link in front of me at the same time as a steam sale. Guess who wins 10/10.
Steam: DRM done right - non intrusive, value added (auto patching, friends lists/voice/matchmaking etc., forget about juggling masses of CDs and cases), cheaper than boxed retail.
If you want to sell a used game then OK you are SOTL but thats the bargain you are making.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:-1, Insightful)
Sorry, but if the game is good, I want to play it when it's released. That's also when there are most players in online gameplay. I have actual problems to worry about in life, and if Steam or any other DRM works good enough (Steam hell yes does), I rather just play the game than worry about some thing like that. And I'm a geek, so do you think gamers or casual people will start worrying about it instead of just playing the game?
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:2, Insightful)
That's exactly what I was thinking. I've got a row of boxes sitting on a shelf with Civ1 - 4/Warlords. If they put something on there that is a problem it will be the first cracked version that I've downloaded for free.
If it ends up being broken because of DRM, why not buy the game so the developers get their cut and then download the cracked version? You get an easy-to-use version, the developers get their cut, and everyone is happy.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:2, Insightful)
It's not bad. After a while, you'll find that Steam has some distinct benefits.
Like when I buy a new computer, it'll download and install any of the games I want to play.
Agreed. I just built a new computer and reinstalling my steam games was a breeze.
My biggest complaint with steam, which is really with some of the publishers who use it rather than Steam itself, is that some games have extra DRM in addition to Steam such as Games For Windows Live (GFWL). I've only bought one game through Steam that uses GFWL, Red Faction: Guerrilla. I don't recall the Steam purchase page mentioning that I'd need to create a separate account and be signed into it as well in order to play the game but I can't say for sure it wasn't there. What I can say for sure is that it took hours of googling and messing with settings to even get the game to play and when it did run it was buggy and would occasionally crash or randomly pop up the GFWL login screen. After that experience I'll never again buy a game that uses GFWL.
Unfortunately Bioshock 2 is one such game (Steam + Securom + GFWL) and while I had been looking forward to playing it I'm voting with my wallet and staying away from it (while also neither pirating it nor buying a PS3 version).
Overall my experiences with Steam have been positive but like others there's always the concern in the back of my mind that Valve could go under and all my games rendered inaccessible.
Re:How long will it last (Score:1, Insightful)
I promise to personally hand you 1 million dollars after I've died.
When "shit hits the fan", Steam won't be around to make/release those patches.
Re:They should have... (Score:3, Insightful)
IMHO, Civ 4 is a much, much better game than Civ 3, independent of graphics, world geometry, or changes to technology trees. It introduces a bunch of new ideas, and it takes a bunch of ideas that were implemented in a half-baked way in 3 and actually makes them good.
YMMV.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:4, Insightful)
Steam is slightly better than the absolute worst of the DRM systems yes, but it still can take all your games away if you so much as look at it funny. Even SecuROM or StarForce can't do that. If you travel with a laptop, I suggest you buy your games somewhere else. Steam has a tendency to lock accounts that log in from multiple IP addresses. 'Cause, you know, that's a crime.
I call bullshit on that. I regularly use Steam from school, my apartment, and my parents house and on many different machines. My brother also logs into my account to access my game libarary and vice versa.
Really the only ban is for cheating on VAC secured servers and games. Even if you get banned for cheating, it's still possible to play on non VAC secured games and servers.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:1, Insightful)
Since it is legal by law I buy the game under the assumption that I have the ability to backup it.
When they remove the possibility to do so they sell me a product that doesn't work the way any normal buyer would assume.
The car analogy would be if they sold cars that you couldn't use for drivning.
When you buy a car you assume that you can use it for driving but the law does not explicitly say that you can't sell a car that does not have this ability. (Nontheless it would be considered a scam.)
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:3, Insightful)
You can make backups of Steam games, not to mention that you can re-download them as many times as you want, even on different computers. You can also play them offline, so I don't see what your problem is.
You cannot install a steam backup without steam. You cannot use steam without updating it. You cannot update it without a network connection. Thus, you can not restore a steam backup "offline", you can only unpack it. The difference is playability. That's what the problem is.
Re:Civ was my offline game (Score:4, Insightful)
Can you resell your game?
Can you activate your game without Steam?
If one day Steam goes down, how long will you still be able to play your game?
Can you, with a straight face, and with honesty, claim that a Steam game is 100% under your control? Can you answer this last question without "but"s?
Non-intrusive? (Score:2, Insightful)