| Life After Steam | |
| Steam Stirring Up Heat | |
If you're an avid Counter-Strike player, you're probably already familiar
with Steam and the unrest it has created in the Half-Life community. I reluctantly
started using it a few weeks ago, and, although I can understand where some
of the frustrations are coming from, I should make it clear that Steam has
not killed my dog, urinated on my carpet, or raped my grandmother, so I cannot
verify certain problems other people claim to be having with Steam on various
Internet forums. In fact, it works reasonably well for me and I know I'm
not alone, but dissatisfaction with it runs deep enough to have incited a
significant backlash, and even this curious online petition against Steam.
What is Steam?
For the uninitiated, Steam is Valve Software's new game content delivery
system. It is a stand-alone program which performs a wide range of functions
including server browsing, instant messaging, player tracking, automatic
patching, and so on. Of course, a few of these functions were available in
Half-Life before, but with Steam everything has been reworked into a single
entity that is supposed to give users easy access to, and control over, all
their Valve games and mods.
Part of the Steam plan is to sell future games, such as Half-Life 2, through the system, allowing broadband users to download their games rather than going to the store or waiting for a CD to be delivered. Valve also plans to make games available for rent via Steam, and is actively seeking other game companies interested in using the Steam platform.
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| Steam's Server Browser |
Sounds like a bright idea, and in a way, it is. Bright enough that there was a variety of software on the scene before Steam arrived. GameSpy was among the first to demonstrate how helpful game browsing services could be, and Blizzard has long integrated an online player matching/anti-cheat network into its games. What's more, the Half-Life community has grown so phenomenally over the years that the old in-game server browser had become pretty much unusable.
That said, it's one thing to ask people to patch their game like they've
done so many times before, it's another to force them to use your content
delivery system to play games that they have already paid for, and were generally
happy with. Steam isn't really optional. Eventually all CD key authentication
will be moved over to the Steam system, so sticking to CS 1.5, for example,
won't be an alternative.
Pros
As I mentioned above, the old game browser and GUI did leave a lot to be
desired. Steam doesn't just replace the game browser, it supersedes the old
GUI and provides one-stop access to game controls and options.
Automatic updating can be handy if you don't like finding and installing patches.
Steam has a decent instant messenger which also works when you're in the game.
If your CS patch is taking forever to download, you can enjoy a relaxing
game of chess or one of Steam's other exciting parlor games, as strange as
it may seem.
Cons
There have been technical issues, and although Valve has been releasing,
recalling, and re-releasing updates at a good pace, there are undoubtedly
lingering problems for many users.
It would have been nice if Steam had been made optional, at least for
existing Half-Life players. Had it been mandatory only from Half-Life 2 on,
I think the community would have been a lot more understanding.
Although, aside from anti-cheating functions which apparently have yet
to be implemented, Steam works roughly as advertised, unfortunately, at it's
best it's a rather weak incarnation of GameSpy that supports only a minute
fraction of the games. It might be tolerable if the only game you play is
Counter-Strike, but for those of us that play a variety of games that aren't
from Valve, Steam is just extra baggage. Even in the unlikely event that
game companies start hopping on the Steam bandwagon in droves, it will be
a long time before Steam supports as many games as some of the other software
currently available.
Another problem is that Steam tends to interfere with the proper operation
of these independent tools. For example, when I use GameSpy to play CS right
now, my name comes up as "Player" no matter what I set it to in Steam. More
serious, the Half-Life community has produced a number of anti-cheat programs
over the years which aren't accommodated by Steam, leaving the door open
for cheaters until Steam gets its own cheat buster in place. You'll also find little support for many of the less popular mods at the moment.
Bottom Line
I don't mind seeing competition in the multiplayer game browsing business,
but I do find Valve's approach somewhat disheartening. Let's hope that other
game publishers don't decide to follow their lead and create their own content
delivery systems, forcing us to have a dozen Steam clones on our computer
if we play a variety of games. I welcome those that want to integrate robust
game finding services into their games, but it really shouldn't require users
to run yet another program, nor should it interfere with other ways of finding
a game. Meanwhile, I guess I'll be going back and forth between Steam and
GameSpy, patiently awaiting the arrival of the ultimate game server tool.
Have an opinion on Steam? Join the discussion.
