gigantibyte Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 First off, I like Steam for the digital download service it provides. However, as a digital lock and gatekeeper of purchased disk content, it blows. Steam is more than a DRM system in place to control piracy, it denies the consumer legitimate control over purchased content. Want to play the original disk version prior to patches? Too bad so sad, Steam must be installed, and it gives you the latest version whether you want it or not. Find a way to install the game off disk without Steam? Too bad so sad again, not only are you probably breaking a law doing so, but the game is missing 200 mb that must be obtained through Steam. Wow, I'm glad I didn't buy the disk, as it sounds pretty useless. And I still don't hate Steam, as they're just doing what they do. It's Bethesda that is really giving the shaft to disk owners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Actually, if you have the disc, you can install the original version AND play it. You just have to be smart in how you connect to steam to activate the game. Also, the original version included a version of TESV.exe that would allow you to start the game without Steam even being loaded / logged in. :thumbsup: I wish I had the disc version instead of the Steam-only version for just that reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantibyte Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) Actually, if you have the disc, you can install the original version AND play it. You just have to be smart in how you connect to steam to activate the game. Also, the original version included a version of TESV.exe that would allow you to start the game without Steam even being loaded / logged in. :thumbsup: I wish I had the disc version instead of the Steam-only version for just that reason. Are you allowed to post this "smart" activation method? Edit: I ask because posting such a technique will get you banned at the Bethesda forums. Rule # 2 in the Unofficial Steam/DRM thread says "Any encouragement of piracy will result in a warning and temporary suspension of your account. Admission of piracy will result in a ban. This includes circumventing DRM of any kind." Then there's DMA type laws where Steam could be seen as a digital lock. Edited January 11, 2012 by gigantibyte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 It is only theory as I have no way of testing it. Windows has a built-in file versioning and restore ability. I would install the game, login to Steam, activate and quickly stop whatever update it starts to download. Typically, it will immediately delete whatever file it is in process of updating. Then tell Steam to go into offline mode. Go see what file(s) was deleted / changed and have Windows restore the file(s). Then play your activated and original version of the game. Well, that's my theory anyway. When the 1st stealth patch was released, it only patched TESV.exe. I simply used the revert version to restore the original TESV.exe and I was able to play again. I did this not out of hatred for anything Steam-related but out of necessity. I was over 100 hours in playing the original version of Skyrim without any major problems or crashes. As soon as the stealth patch was released, I started crashing quite frequently. The Bethsoft forums were of no help (though they tried). Subsequent patches were of no help and actually made it worse. I was lucky to play 30 to 60 minutes without the game crashing. Which is why I reverted back to the original EXE....and things were stable again...for the most part. I had a partially patched system and only the original EXE (which I made a manual copy of). I failed to make a full copy of all the files...which is why I envy owners of the disc. :) I now have a fully-patched system but can no longer use the original EXE due to odd things happening such as messed up menu / mouse controls. I have to use the patched EXE with the patched system for it to all play nicely together. However, I have kinda stopped playing Skyrim for the most part. LHammonds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surg23 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I hate Steam with a passion, it simply has no useful function for me. Since i live in Australia, most titles are price inflated for supposed "Shipping" costs by up to 90% ... so i buy all my games Ozgameshop and save hundreds. For me it's just bloatware that is slowing down my gaming operations. I constantly have it in offline mode, but i wish there was a way to get rid of it for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scot Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I installed skyrim two times now from the disk.Will try tomorrow re-installing with the the automatic update disabled to see if I´m able to go back to it´s first exe since patch 1.3.10 breaks my game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I hate Steam with a passion, it simply has no useful function for me.Completely depends on the person really. I know a guy that loves it to death. He watches the deals the run all the time and nabs some great games for low prices...much lower than any retail shop would ever offer. The other benefit he enjoys is being able to download and install any of his games in his collect to any PC he wants...even his PC @ work (go figure). My nephew showed me a few games he really liked by installing them onto my PC and letting me play around with it for a while (turns out we have completely different tastes in games). When I had to dig up my old Steam account to activate a game I got with a video card (Dirt 2), I saw all those original games I purchased a LONG time ago and downloaded and installed them again for grins...completely forgot about them and they still worked! Different strokes for different folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dukkah Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Different strokes for different folks. That would be acceptable if you had the option of opting out of Steam, but you don't. So it's more like "Different strokes for different folks, as long as all those strokes are made in a Steaming pile." :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 That would be acceptable if you had the option of opting out of Steam, but you don't. So it's more like "Different strokes for different folks, as long as all those strokes are made in a Steaming pile." :(I'm guessing you didn't read my post above about the original version of TESV.exe "not" requiring Steam client to even be loaded to run Skyrim? Sure, you need Steam to activate but the original version that shipped out on disc and the pre-load was able to start Skyrim without Steam. It was a glorious and fun-filled 1st 100 hours of play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surg23 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 I hate Steam with a passion, it simply has no useful function for me.Completely depends on the person really. I know a guy that loves it to death. He watches the deals the run all the time and nabs some great games for low prices...much lower than any retail shop would ever offer. The other benefit he enjoys is being able to download and install any of his games in his collect to any PC he wants...even his PC @ work (go figure). My nephew showed me a few games he really liked by installing them onto my PC and letting me play around with it for a while (turns out we have completely different tastes in games). When I had to dig up my old Steam account to activate a game I got with a video card (Dirt 2), I saw all those original games I purchased a LONG time ago and downloaded and installed them again for grins...completely forgot about them and they still worked! Different strokes for different folks. I have no idea why you have directed this at me, it's like trying to contradict me on something i haven't even said. it's totally out of context. That's just great if other people like Steam, good for them, i really don't care. That's why i said " It simply has no useful function for (ME)" .. I am fully aware of all the advantages and disadvantages of Steam, for ME it has no advantage. I'm not asking other people to hate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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