Skyrim - Games and Companies - Arkane Studios

[AdamRundolf001]

When I first started playing skyrim back when it was released on the ps3 before I switched to pc in January 2015 I noticed that Arkane studios (Originally the company who developed Dark Messiah of Might and Magic) was in bethesda softworks subsidiaries.

 

When I saw this I started to notice some similarities between the graphics of skyrim and dark messiah. Although Steam wasn't very popular when dark messiah was released cause they were still using CD's and DVD-ROMs back then.(Which is quite a shame sense we have Blueray DVD. although I don't know if it can hold more data.)

 

PERSONAL OPINION: I don't know how Valve and Arkane Studios just SUDDENLY appeared out of thin air but they have disrupted the video game space time continuum with their Steam BS. Personally I thought skyrim was going to be released on a dvd or something cause that's what I'm use to. I don't want to have to use up all my bandwidth just trying to reinstall the game. I'm only allowed 10 GB a month with my data-plan and I don't think that's enough to keep reinstalling a game over and over again just like I did with oblivion. I live out in the middle of nowhere so there's no way I'm getting high speed internet like the rest of you. CD's I can handle but this DRM BS is getting on my last nerve. I come from a place where if you do something wrong and your not careful you deserve what you get. I'm tired of this **** from valve. I don't need this crap! I already have enough of my own problems without them adding more. And more importantly the gaming community doesn't need it. Your suppose to make it easier to get games not try to keep everybody out!

 

Idiots! You people should know better! (Just so people don't accidentally get confused I'm talking about Valve and not you guys :happy:)

 

What about all the people who lost their jobs in the CD business. What about all the game companies who had franchises that could go somewhere Huh and what about movies! You going to make them DRM too! WHY NOT MAKE EVERYTHING DRM! WE CAN DRM OUR FOOD! WE CAN DRM OUR WATER! :verymad:

 

"THATS IT! WE'RE GOING AWAY! FAR AWAY! WHERE THEY CAN'T FIND US!" - Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone -

 

...*sigh* post... don't post... I don't care........

Edited September 26, 2015 by AdamRundolf001

[JimboUK]

Skyrim was released on DVD and you can install from it http://forums.nexusmods.com/index.php?/topic/452910-installing-skyrim-from-the-dvd/

 

Get used to digital downloads, that's the way of the future. Personally I prefer them, there's no more hunting down disks or looking for cracks because the DRM has broken the game, I just click on the game and it starts. Steam as a DRM is a huge improvement over disk based DRM, Tages, Securom, Starforce and the rest of them cause no end of problems.

[HeyYou]

Steam is a digital distribution source. It is by no stretch of the imagination any variety of DRM, as it doesn't do anything at all to protect digital rights.

 

And yeah, I have real objections to being FORCED to install third-party software, to play my games.

[KunoMochi]

I'm pretty glad that they are doing away with physical mediums. It makes games cheaper to purchase, easier to distribute to a greater number of people, and, quite frankly, a lot more convenient. No more having to store boxes or cases around, nor having to worry about getting disc scratches (although, we never had much of a problem with that in our household).

 

As for disc makers, the discs they made always went for dirt cheap. I remember going to CompUSA to buy a pack of 50 Verbatim CDs for $10 at the time. After the mail-in rebate, we were given back $15. We were literally paid $5 to go grab their CDs. lol I've always wondered if they really see any real profit from selling discs like that...

 

:Edit:

 

Sidenote: I would really love it if they brought back the Might & Magic series. I remember Dark Messiah getting good reviews but the marketing for it wasn't all that great. One thing I missed about it was the seamless continuation from Might & Magic 4: Clouds of Xeen to Might & Magic 5: Darkside of Xeen. Boy, what an adventure those games were... Stealing armors and weapons from shops then selling them back, then bashing down locked grates until everyone is near death to let loose a bunch of evil knights into the peaceful part of town. And Newcastle! I loved pouring all the gold into that place. XD

Edited September 26, 2015 by KunoMochi

[Vagrant0]

Yes, it sucks to live in an area with data caps when 95% of the retail gaming market is going to digital distribution. Nobody is going to dispute that.

 

But, to be perfectly blunt with you, game companies don't particularly care. Their primary demographic has proven themselves able (and willing) to download 35gb games on release. They found this out by means of selling games only as downloadable versions which would unlock when the game released (those little cards that started appearing in stores back in 2009). They've also seen their sales improve primarily because of digital distribution platforms like Steam, GoG... Such that EA spent the time and effort developing their own for their titles, and such that it is arguably the only thing keeping Nintendo from going bankrupt. The bottom line here is that despite the issues they may cause to certain people or regions, using them equates to an increase in sales without having to spend the money on shipping a physical disk.

 

Unfortunately, this is where things will continue to go. We're starting to see games shipped where even the game disk you buy contains only a fraction of the game files... In some cases just the folder structure and a few files to authorize the copy as being valid. The reason for this is largely 2-fold... First, it reduces the risk of the game being leaked because of errors at the point of sale (or employees just swiping copies), making it easier to track down where a leak originated and pressing for any assumed damages. Second is because game makers have gotten into the mindset of reducing their QA staff since they can now issue day 0 patches to fix their game... As opposed to having a fully completed and mostly bug free game 1-2 months before launch to allow for the printing and packaging of physical copies. As a result, it eases their production schedule considerably and allows them to spend longer actually developing game content. It also allowed developers from being trapped to the amount of data which can be printed to whatever medium is most cost effective and available to people.

 

The digital distribution also works as a DRM model... That is essentially what Steam is. Instead of having to deal with the hassles of Starforce, and similar systems designed to try and "prevent" piracy but which often just annoys customers and can prevent those customers from running what they paid for. There is a reason why DRM is rarely talked about these days in regards to PC gaming, and that is because Steam won out as a model that worked, that people were willing to deal with, and which ultimately improved sales rather than just "deterred" piracy. It also gave people a convenient way to learn about, obtain, and update their games.

 

Even for console games...Many things are going digital.

 

 

Sorry, but this is just where things are headed. The only silver lining here is that as these systems expand and consumers start demanding better connections, shitty backwater ISPs will need to start improving their networks to compensate. Or did you think that you were forced to a bandwidth cap solely because those companies can get away with it? While true to some degree, usually these things exist largely because the networks they have cannot handle that much traffic, and it costs too much to upgrade everything at once... So they pass the costs to consumers and setup restrictions to deter usage.

[JimboUK]

Steam is a digital distribution source. It is by no stretch of the imagination any variety of DRM, as it doesn't do anything at all to protect digital rights.

 

And yeah, I have real objections to being FORCED to install third-party software, to play my games.

 

Of course it's DRM, CEG stops you sharing your games with others and retail encryption stops the game leaking early. GOG is DRM free, not Steam.

[HeyYou]

 

Steam is a digital distribution source. It is by no stretch of the imagination any variety of DRM, as it doesn't do anything at all to protect digital rights.

 

And yeah, I have real objections to being FORCED to install third-party software, to play my games.

 

Of course it's DRM, CEG stops you sharing your games with others and retail encryption stops the game leaking early. GOG is DRM free, not Steam.

 

changing out ONE file defeats steam completely. It isn't drm.

[Lisnpuppy]

No one said it was foolproof. People do get around it but it is DRM. Maybe crappy DRM but there nonetheless.

 

GoG is absolutely, 100% DRM free. There is nothing in place on any game on there.

[WursWaldo]

I don't mind digital distribution. I'm not a huge fan of it but it doesn't bother me all that much. It is more of an iinconvenience than anything to me. What irks me is STEAM. Hate it. Hate the sevice, hate their 'customer support', hate their intrusive updates for software I do not want or use, hate all of it. The only thing STEAM does on my rig is enable me to launch a game I already have the license for anyway.

 

I hope Bethesda.net comes on line and slaughters STEAM. I hope Zenimax uses Bethesda.net as their own service platform and removes STEAM from the equation. Have I mentioned that I do not like STEAM?

 

As for living in the sticks; I lived far outside Youngstown OH when NewVegas was released. It took me two days to download it (HughesNet, of course) and I had to purchase additional GB usage to complete it. THAT SUCKED and the game wasn't worth it.

[JimboUK]

 

 

Steam is a digital distribution source. It is by no stretch of the imagination any variety of DRM, as it doesn't do anything at all to protect digital rights.

 

And yeah, I have real objections to being FORCED to install third-party software, to play my games.

 

Of course it's DRM, CEG stops you sharing your games with others and retail encryption stops the game leaking early. GOG is DRM free, not Steam.

 

changing out ONE file defeats steam completely. It isn't drm.

 

 

Changing out one file can defeat most DRM, try running Skyrim or 99% of games you bought on Steam without Steam running, they won't work.

 

https://partner.steamgames.com/documentation/api Look at the last entry....

 

 

 

DRM

Steamworks Digital Rights Management wraps your game's compiled executable and checks to make sure that it is running under an authenticated instance of Steam. This DRM solution is the same as the one used to protect games like Half-Life 2 and Counter-Strike: Source. Steamworks DRM has been heavily road-tested and is customer-friendly.

 

In addition to DRM solutions, Steamworks also offers protection for game through day one release by shipping encrypted media to stores worldwide. There's no worry that your game will leak early from the manufacturing path, because your game stays encrypted until the moment you decide to release it. This protection can be added to your game simply by handing us finished bits or a gold master.

 

Publishers don't have to use it but most do.

 

 

 

I don't mind digital distribution. I'm not a huge fan of it but it doesn't bother me all that much. It is more of an iinconvenience than anything to me. What irks me is STEAM. Hate it. Hate the sevice, hate their 'customer support', hate their intrusive updates for software I do not want or use, hate all of it. The only thing STEAM does on my rig is enable me to launch a game I already have the license for anyway.

 

I hope Bethesda.net comes on line and slaughters STEAM. I hope Zenimax uses Bethesda.net as their own service platform and removes STEAM from the equation. Have I mentioned that I do not like STEAM?

 

As for living in the sticks; I lived far outside Youngstown OH when NewVegas was released. It took me two days to download it (HughesNet, of course) and I had to purchase additional GB usage to complete it. THAT SUCKED and the game wasn't worth it.

 

So people will need yet another client running to play their games? it would have the same problems as Steam, you'd need to sign in, you'd need to download updates and possibly the game itself. As for New Vegas, you could have bought the DVD and then only needed to download the updates.