Dukkah Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 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. No, I read it, but it amounts to the absence of choice in the matter if the only way you can play it is an obscure workaround that may or may not be legal. Didn't mean to give you the impression that I hadn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vindekarr Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 STEAM in my experience just makes everything run worse-I like that it's an attempt to kick piracy in the teeth, but I don't like being subjected to "greencard"-like checks whenever I want to install something, and I like the constant failed installs, low speeds and shea runreliability even less. :down: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHammonds Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 No, I read it, but it amounts to the absence of choice in the matter if the only way you can play it is an obscure workaround that may or may not be legal. Didn't mean to give you the impression that I hadn't.There is nothing illegal about refusing software updates. However, I do wonder about the ramifications about forced updates when the Steam software gives you every indication that you can prevent automatic patches by setting an option to "never update this game"...and then proceeds to ignore it and even goes so far as to reset that option back to the default after it sent a forced update through...thus making that option a complete lie. (there's not even any cake either!) LHammonds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iv000 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 There is nothing illegal about refusing software updates. However, I do wonder about the ramifications about forced updates when the Steam software gives you every indication that you can prevent automatic patches by setting an option to "never update this game"...and then proceeds to ignore it and even goes so far as to reset that option back to the default after it sent a forced update through...thus making that option a complete lie. (there's not even any cake either!) LHammondsThat's the only negative thing I have to say about Steam.Everything else is just like you described in your previous post.Weekend/holiday deals, can play worldwide anywhere with internet access and, best part yet, one week ago I received the Valve Complete pack from the Great Gift Pile competition.Steam gave me 21 games for free, no other service does that! I liked Steam before, but now I'm just loving it. Also, while we're talking about the disk TESV.exe, I do have the original disk. But, I guess if I overwrite the current .exe, the patches, SKSE and some mods won't work because of it.So I'd rather pass on that, it's not like I will gain anything if I run Skyrim without Steam. Also, @ OP the disk version isn't useless. I installed Skyrim from it in 3 minutes, if I downloaded it from Steam it would have taken 5+ hours to download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halororor Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) STEAM in my experience just makes everything run worse-I like that it's an attempt to kick piracy in the teeth, but I don't like being subjected to "greencard"-like checks whenever I want to install something, and I like the constant failed installs, low speeds and shea runreliability even less. :down: Last year this time I owned the Orange Box and Metro 2033 on Steam, nothing more. As of now, I've got an Steam account worth more than $2000. Never had an issue with installing a single game. :P I'm with you on the unreliability thing though. I did notice that the client itself started becoming a lot more unstable the more games I have tied to my account, and it's odd if I don't get at least 5 crashes from Steam daily. It's really annoying, considering my slow connection takes between 5 and 10 minutes to log back in to Steam. It seems to be an issue numerous people have, and it seems directly related to how many games you have on Steam. I'm not sure whether it's because of my connection or some other issue, and we're still waiting on Valve to say something about it. Also, @ OP the disk version isn't useless. I installed Skyrim from it in 3 minutes, if I downloaded it from Steam it would have taken 5+ hours to download. Yeah, even on my slow connection, I had the game installed in a few minutes, and patched in about an hour and a half. Edited January 11, 2012 by Halororor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TotallyNotToastyFresh Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Steam is fantastic. It's really not the devil that everyone makes it out to be. Sure, it causes problems when you're not connected to the net for whatever reason, but the games are super-cheap and for me the download speeds are fantastic. I love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigantibyte Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 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. Do you refute what Cecilff2 posted that about 200 mb of required content is missing from the disk? Is a complete version on the disk or not? Also, @ OP the disk version isn't useless. I installed Skyrim from it in 3 minutes, if I downloaded it from Steam it would have taken 5+ hours to download. Yeah, even on my slow connection, I had the game installed in a few minutes, and patched in about an hour and a half. Well I never said the disk was completely useless. It might make a nice coaster too. Sure, you got to install it faster, but did you account for the time it took to ship or get it at the store? My DL took less than 30 mins. And the advantage is only a one-shot because I can reinstall just as fast now with my backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ModelV Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 The thing about Steam is its very very rare to find a game that has patches that make the game worse. Thus 99.99% of the time the auto update feature is seen as a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halororor Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 (edited) 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. Wait, I just read through your link now. You're stating a few people's random claims on a forum as fact that there was 200mb missing? That's very doltish of you. The 200mb file was the day one patch. I thought everybody knew that, considering that Bethesda basically announced it. If Cecill-whatsisname wants anyone to believe him, we're going to need more evidence than just 'there's 200mb missing because I think so'. Edited January 11, 2012 by Halororor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iv000 Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Do you refute what Cecilff2 posted that about 200 mb of required content is missing from the disk? Is a complete version on the disk or not?When they put the game on the disks, they immediately started working on a patch. That 200 mb content IS that patch. All the games you have disk versions of are the same, they have the un-patched game on them. (Exceptions are GOTY versions) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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