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Games Entertainment

Darwinia To Be Distributed via Steam 97

Posted by Zonk from the hitting-the-bigtime dept.
Nuskrad writes "Independent developers Introversion Software, creators of cult hacking sim Uplink have announced a deal with Valve that will see their highly acclaimed title, Darwinia distributed on the Steam platform from December 15th. It is hoped that the deal will help boost sales of Darwinia, and the profile of Introversion Software, which has been struggling against the 'big boys' of the industry."
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Darwinia To Be Distributed via Steam More

Darwinia To Be Distributed via Steam

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  • This would be fantastic. Steam is an excellent platform, and I used to love playing Natural Selection and Counterstrike on it, not to mention Half Life 2 et all. I would probably have picked Darwinia up in a second. Well, except...

    Steam doesn't support Linux.

    I love these games, and I love Steam, but I don't even own Windows. There is no way for me to play them. Wine alone fails miserably. Cedega works somewhat, but seems to break anytime Steam updates, not to mention the fact that it isn't free.

    I real

    • Re:I wish I could play it. (Score:5, Informative)

      by Nuskrad ( 740518 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @11:47AM (#14044662)
      There's a native Linux version of Darwinia, availiable directly from Introversion. The Steam deal only covers online distribution of the Windows version of Darwinia, IV are still handling retail boxes of Windows and Linux versions, and the Mac version is availiable from Ambrosia software. Here, have a demo [darwinia.co.uk]

    • Re:I wish I could play it. (Score:3, Informative)

      by Jerf ( 17166 )
      So, buy it directly [introversion.co.uk]. From that page:
      • You are buying a CD with Linux and Windows that will be sent via the post.
      • Your purchase entitles you to instantly download the LINUX version ONLY.
    • Steam runs under Cedega, and the existing Linux client looks like it might be extended from account handling to the full thing as a part of Steam 3.0 [steamreview.org]. You could also download through Steam then apply the latest Linux patch...perhaps. ;-)
    • Will be flamed or trolled for this... but...

      This same thing comes up every time a game that only runs on one platform gets discussed. And guess what?

      Mario Kart Ds dosent run on my xbox. I certainly can't play GT4 on my 'Cube. And guess what? I can't play CStrike Source on my PSP.

      Linux is an operating system alternative - Valve is making plenty appealing to it's PC userbase, enough so that I don't believe it is even considering a port of steam to linux.

      You want to play Half Life 2? Get a Windows box

  • I'm still not excited about it (Score:3, Informative)

    by alta ( 1263 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @11:57AM (#14044776) Homepage Journal
    Yeah, I bought it... nice idea. It was a great game while it lasted... but there lies the probelm. It's WAY to short. Maybe 10 hours of gameplay. The mod scene is non-existant, there are maybe a dozen incomplete mods. When it first came out it was riddled with bugs. I especially like the one where if you leave a certain amount of bugs alive on one level, (even though it tells you you're done) and then get to the last level, the game will crash without showing the end scene. Apparently you can't load mods until you've finished the game... It also won't let you reset the level to try again..... There was no fix, just play the entire game again, and make sure you don't trigger the bug this time.

    I think THAT'S why no one is buying the game.
    • "There was no fix, just play the entire game again"

      Correction- there was no fix if you didn't go online and look, or poke around in the directory. Simply deleting the save file for that level would fix it.

      Not that that's much better, but still.

    • Interesting (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Those bugs were not only fixed in the first patch, but if you had actually bothered to visit the support forums, send an email to the team or even drop by the IRC channel you could have had it manually fixed.

      And as for the mod scene: The Next Game [thenextgame.co.uk] and Stellar Matter [stellarmatter.net] should provide you with all the mods you want, and the mod scene continues on IV's mod boards [introversion.co.uk].

      So much for your complaints.
    • One of the reasons the Steam deal was made was to expose the game to a large community of modders, so hopefully we'll be seeing lots of new content for the game.

  • Online distribution is the way of the future (Score:3, Insightful)

    by csbrooks ( 126129 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @12:00PM (#14044813) Homepage
    The whole idea with Steam, and online distribution in general, is to put control back in the hands of developers, and take it away from distributors. Why should Best Buy or WalMart get to decide what games we can buy?

    Cut out the middleman, and let the market choose.

    • Cutting out the middleman is good, but steam also takes control out of the hands of the customers (us). I'm not buying a game that requires a phone home to install, and that forces software updates. *I'll* decide what patches I want to run with, thank you very much. I would also prefer not to run a simulated steam server or crack my game so I can install it when Valve's server is down.

      Do what you want, but I wrote introversion and told them straight up that I'll be buying Darwinia before it goes to steam

    • Epic (Unreal) doesn't agree with you. They think that as games become larger, online distribution just won't work.

      As an example, they are saying next-gen games (UT2007) are going to be 20 to 30 gigs. Obviously you can't distribute that on CDs, as that'd be 45 CDs. So they're moving from multiple CDs with optional single DVD to multiple DVDs with optional single HDDVD/BD.

      30GB is currently too much to push out over online distribution. While a 1mbit broadband user can download HL2 (~5GB?) in about 12 hours, U
      • Faster internet connections solve the problem yes, but in many places game data counts are going up much faster than internet connections.

        Game data size is going up almost precisely at the speed at which disk capacity goes up. :) With the holographic disks [membrana.ru] already available the size will continue to increase fast. All this doesn't mean Steam will fail, it just means online distribution is not read to overtake physical media distribution yet.
    • We don't all have broadband you know.

      And even people who have it don't want to download 5GB over it. It could take hours and hours on low-end broadband lines, and a lot of services are capped.

  • um... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @12:04PM (#14044841)
    I have no problems running both HL2 and CS:S on multiple computers on my local network using the same steam login. In fact, I've never heard of anyone having a problem with this. Everyone complains about all these problems with Steam when in fact they dont even exist. Oh well, at least people find those ignorant posts "interesting".

    When worse comes to worse you can always play HL2 on multiple computers in "offline mode":

    http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampower ed.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=213&p_creat ed=1094245645&p_sid=MA2oEYQh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoP SZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0yNzM mcF9wcm9kcz0mcF9jYXRzPSZwX3B2PSZwX2N2PSZwX3BhZ2U9M Q [steampowered.com]

    I've been using steam for 3 years or so, and yes, it did suck back in the day. It's working fine now so everyone can stop that annoying, ignorant whining.

    • I have no problems running both HL2 and CS:S on multiple computers on my local network using the same steam login. In fact, I've never heard of anyone having a problem with this. Everyone complains about all these problems with Steam when in fact they dont even exist. Oh well, at least people find those ignorant posts "interesting".

      That non-problem does actually exist, rarely. But then again, it's those who are pirating the software (or let someone use the account who then cheats) that see that issue.
  • Hopefully they are not going to use Steam to the exclusion of all other distribution methods, I recently purchased physical copies of Darwinia which are very professional for an indie developer.

    If Steam is the only method, then that severely limits the options for Linux users too, which are more likely to play this game because it has a native port and it's on the disc.
    • To summarise the distribution methods which will be available once the Steam version is up and running:

      Windows: you can purchase a boxed version which will be sent to you by post at the Introversion online store [introversion.co.uk]; alternatively you will be able to buy a download-only version over Steam.

      Linux (x86): you can purchase the boxed version (which includes an HTTP download version), again at the Introversion online store [introversion.co.uk]. No change here.

      Mac: you can download a limited version and purchase a license key at Ambrosia S [ambrosiasw.com]
    • Thay are not. Linux downloads and Linux/Win32 boxed versions will still be available from their site, http://darwinia.co.uk/ [darwinia.co.uk]. They are just using Steam to get the Win32 version of the game more exposure.
  • My original post said that you can't transfer Steam games to another user. Apparently I was boneheaded to believe things I read on the Internet (and /. especially). In the case of my son, as long as my son and I never want to play Steam based games at the same time I *could* allow him to play with the same physical CD (which is bound to a Steam account). Of course, that brings up the interesting point that if Steam becomes popular enough that all my games are steam based then the decision point hinges on be

    • The only restriction is that you can't play on more than one online server at a time with the same account. That's it. You don't even need the CD any more, the CD check was removed a few weeks after HL2 launched.

      To be explicit: you can run as many singleplayer or LAN games as you like from one account at the same time, exactly as you describe.

    • Well, you're still a bit wrong, you don't need the original disc with Steam (according to the Steam support site Half-Life 2 at one point did need the disc in the play, but it got patched out). The only thing the DVD[1] disc of Half-Life 2 is good for is that you don't have to download the game over the Internet (the CD Key is the important bit really). You just need to be signed into your Steam account on the computer and you can play (assuming it's been installed, otherwise you'll be in for a wait while i
      • "But you're right, you can't be playing two Steam games at the same time. I think Steam is based around the idea that one person has his account, and it's his only."
        That doesn't apply to singleplayer. Think about it: all you would have to do to circumvent anything like that would be start in offline mode. :-)
    • It is possible that Darwinia will not require the user to be logged into Steam in order to play the game. While the game will be distributed by steam, it may not need steam running in order to work.
    • You want to play two copies of the game at once, you buy two copies.

      That's the license for all software unless specifically granted otherwise.

      Just because you've been able to cheat the system in the past doesn't mean it's your right.
      • Um, my point is that *I* want to play HL2 and my son wants to play Darwinia. Due to the requirements of Steam, that may not be possible. My further point is that if this becomes wildly popular, that situation (my son and I want to play games on the weekend at the same time, but different games) would be downright common. You are saying that because there are two of us in this house that play PC games I must buy two copies of every game? PC Gaming will die right there and then if that becomes the norm.

        With C
        • It is possible, didn't you read any of the other replies? It's not even the equivalent of one CD per player, it's one account per everybody you trust enough to give it to.
          • For some reason you have a score of zero and I missed your prior replies in the tree view. Now that I have read them, it appears possible. However, the guy assuming I wanted to play two copies of the same game and the same time remains wrong. Is it true that the requirement for doing this is to keep the machine "offline" during the game session?

            I guess the key question is: what is Valve's understanding of an account. If the intent is one account per player, I don't see it as given that the current offline p

            • "Is it true that the requirement for doing this is to keep the machine "offline" during the game session?"

              You can have a connection to Steam itself, but not more than one internet game. It only works for single-player.

              "As long as people with my account don't go online at the same time, they can all play single player? If anything, that seems to be going too far in the other direction."

              The catch is that to play on an account you need full access to it, including the ability to change e-mail and password o

  • Still sold (Score:5, Informative)

    by Luigi30 ( 656867 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @02:36PM (#14046253)
    Darwinia will STILL HAVE A STEAM-LESS VERSION. If you'd read the site [darwinia.co.uk] you'd know that.

    • As part of the launch and Steam's exclusivity, we will no longer be offering Darwinia as a download option from our site, although it will still be possible to purchase shipped boxed copies.

      So they'll still ship you a boxed copy, but they won't let you buy it from their site anymore. Also for a month or so at least they won't have the demo available on their site. Since I will never get anything again that requires me to use Steam (dumb, dumb system, I bought HL2 without knowing it required their Ste

  • I'd buy uplink in a heartbeat if they made it available through steam. Not sure about Darwinia though....

  • Will they have to... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ...rename it "Intellegent Designia" for sale in America?

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