f13.net

Valve cancels The Black Box, forces consumers to rebuy content (http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2007/05/21/valve-cancels-the-black-box-forces-consumers-to-waste-money)

Yea, that was pretty weird news when I read it. I'm surprised really.

I read you can buy them separately on steam.

What's Portal?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpdCi5XpCsE

that ...melted my brain.

Full game? Episode-type content, or tech demo?

That pretty much cinches Valve's place in the 'evil' column in my book.  Having a copy-protection system that involves the game not working if you aren't online was kinda bad, but I could deal.  Slapping ads all over the walls in Counterstrike rather than fixing the gameplay problems ticked me off.  But screwing over all of the owners of previous games by making them purchase them a second time on top of that?  Valve just joined EA in the 'publishers I shall never buy from' list.  It's clear that they don't give a fuck about their customers.

The only thing they're saying is: "We're not releasing a retail box that's just Ep2, but one with HL2+Ep1+Ep2." Unless you're allergic to Steam, nothing changes in the slightest.

It's still a bit shitty, though. Usually you're given the option to buy an expansion pack at retail. I guess Valve wants as much of that sweet sweet direct cash as possible, while the Orange box provides the new-awareness-getting instore footprint.

Sand, meet vagina.

Steam doesn't suck anymore, so complaining about the fact that the particular combination of products you wish to buy is only available on steam no longer elicits sympathy.

Most of you would pay $50 for HL2.2 + portal + tf2 anyway. Hell, I would if ep2 and portal are each a bit longer than ep1 was.

I would pay $20 for Ep 1&2 plus TF2. Portal just looks like a gimmicky toy that doesn't interest me.

Cry Mor?  The article even says should you already have half life 2 or episode 1 you can give the seperate code away to a friend who for some strange reason does not already own them.  It really does sound like some of you have a beachful of sand in an uncomfortable place.

Well, before the black box was cancelled, Valve were planning to charge $40 for ep2/tf2/portal anyway - so no retail ep2 4 joo anyway.

And rejoice that the cancellation of the black box doesn't affect you.


I suspect what happened here was that a conversation somewhere went:



Valve guy : Look, 2 products for you Mr retailer, $40 for the black one, $50 for the orange.

Retailer : Fuck off, I'm not stocking two almost identical products at almost identical price points.

Valve guy : QQ

Retailer : Pick one.

Valve guy : Harrumph.

Retailer : Bugger this for a game of soldiers it's lunch time, I'm taking the orange one as I make $5 more on that and it doesn't look so much like another fucking expansion pack.

A HA!  But what you DON'T know is that Valve was using their unholy telepathic powers (gained by slowly absorbing gamers' souls through the vile mechanism that is Steam) to manipulate the retailers the ENTIRE TIME.  You deludeddiluted fool!  HOPE GABE NEWELL ENJOYS UR MONEY LOL

I'm sure they are trying to make steam purchases the more attractive/cheaper method to buy.

And honestly, I don't have much of a problem with that.

Sure, there may be a time in the distant future when I may not be able to play some games because Steam is defunct. Then again, we have the same situation with old software not working well with newer OSs.

I somehow manage to agree completely.

EDIT: and to fuck up the bb code.

It is YOU who are the vaginas!  You caved like drunk girls on prom night to a shitty copy protection system when games like Galactic Civilizations and Oblivion proved that it was completely unnecessary.  And you let them plaster Fanta and Deuce Bigalo ads all over Counterstrike without so much as a word, apparently not realizing that once they get away with it in one game, they'll do it in others.  And then just to cap it off, you're going to pay twice for a game you already own.

And you think of yourselves as jaded and savvy.  Faugh!  Pathetic.  SirBruce is a savvier gamer than anyone who would put up with this from any publisher.

You know what I would do to an ad in CS:S?

Drop a pr0n spray on it.

No, because we're going to be buying it on Steam.  You "STEAM IS TEH DEBIL" people who insist on buying physical media will be subsidizing our purchases.  And I for one salute you and your quaint Luddite principles.   :-D

What ?

To be fair, and this is not a defense, I do this with other games that have nothing to do with online distribution.  Games I have bought twice include Gothic II, because I did not get the GOLD box the first time; Ninja Gaiden and Black, and I expect I will get Sigma in a moment of weakness; Arx Fatalis, which I bought on Steam because my original version refuses to play on any Nvidia drivers other than maybe two versions which were released in 2002; and Oblivion, so my wife can play it on the 360.

Also, I have never played CounterStrike.  Not once, ever.  That's my Dirty Secret for May.

Hey, cool! I can pay full price for something I already bought + a couple expansions...and give the copy away to a friend!

That's fucking value added if I've ever seen it.

How do I make green text?

That's not really the same, though. Night of the Raven was never available in the US before the Gold version...and it was $20.

If it doesn't say Spore or Bioshock on the package, I'm only going to pay $20. Because I don't give a fuck about most games. I'm like anti-schild or something.

I don't care what people pay for PC Games. There's no real used market for them. And most companies haven't embraced digital distribution well yet. I mean for everything across the board. Shit, there are still companies using Gamespy for multiplayer.

...

GAMESPY! :mob:

What a non-issue.  To even know that there is anything here at all you would have to have internet.  If you have internet you can just get the second episode without re-buying anything.

That's a little simplistic.

Not everyone is on BB.  Even now.

I know.  It's scary, huh ?

I am Jack's amazing sense of entitlement.

Well, if they're not on BB and Need to buy a retail version....sure, they pay a few more bucks, and it includes stuff they may not need....

But are they not already saving More money by Not having BB?

And lets face it. If you're not using steam, it's likely because you are an evil pirate.

Fair.


People who bought HL2 and wish to buy Ep2 and are on dial up or who don't have internet and only read f13 from work are allowed to continue whinging.


I have no doubt this is a huge market segment and we will have to create a new subforum for its massed and aggrevied ranks.

Indeed, but that DID used to be me about a year ago.

One of the reasons that Steam, for me, was a pile of rat shite when it first went in.

Nowadays with a big activation I let it run overnight.  Back in those days I had to let it run a week.  With a phonebill larger than God.

I will break out the mob emote again. I don't like to click the [more] button often, but if you call me an evil pirate again... I'll do it. You just watch yourself.

Come to think of it, don't pirates usually wear a red bandanna?

*Glances at Calantus' Avatar*

Your God must be small and weak. :-P

You guys still have timed local calls? I read/heard about that somewhere, but it sort of drifted out of my active knowledge.

Depends your phone company and package.

I still have timed local calls, because it reduces the standing charge and I basically never call to or from a landline, and only maintain it because it's necessary for my DSL.

Are the Half-Life 2 episodes standalone, or do you need HL2 to play/run them and the shit they come with?

I'm thinking of getting an extra copy of Ep2 on my bare-bones Steam account just for MP TF:S goodness.

I remember back in the early/mid 90's when I was stationed in Germany I'd keep an egg timer by my phone and follow it scrupulously.  Didn't matter who I was on the phone with, if the egg timer said it was time to hang up, so long sucka.  Throughout my entire life I'd never even imagined getting charged for local calls.

Deutsch Telecom absolutely sucked back then.  They very well still might.

Standalone.

Steam used to offer all sorts of different packages featuring different combinations of add ons or mods, it may still do that.

Yes they still do. Just go to whichever game you're looking at buying (say, Ep1 (http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=game&AppId=380&cc=US)) and it'll list all the myriad of packs it is contained in.

Tip: HL2+Ep1 (http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=package&SubId=310&cc=US) ($25 US) + Source MP Pack (http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=package&SubId=42&cc=US) (DoD:S and CS:S, $30) is cheaper then their fancy Premier Pack ($60) if you don't care about the HL: Source stuff. And, if you don't care for DoD:S (shame on you), just go for their Holiday 06 (http://steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=package&SubId=201&cc=US) ($50) pack... which is still available for some reason.

Yes they do, thats why I picked a local provider.