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Prey To Be Digitally Distributed

Posted by Zonk on from the shadow-of-steam dept.

Gamasutra has word that the Human Head/3D Realms title Prey will be digitally distributed in a manner similar to the Steam service, though not over Steam itself. The Game xStream service, the chosen distribution channel, seems to offer improvements over Steam as well as convenience. From the article: "Gamers will be able to pre-order and pre-load Prey onto their hard drives, ready for instant activation and play upon the official release date...Or, after the official release, players will be able to buy the game and begin playing in minutes, as if the full game was already downloaded. This is what sets Game xStream apart from anything else the industry has seen."

67 comments

  1. Will it be cheaper? by maddh · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They should save alot of money by skipping publishing and packaging. Will the savings be passed on to us? Also there will probably be some gray area in 'owning' the copy. If it still costs $50 i'd like to have an actual copy that I can back up, or sell later, etc. All the same questions from the HL2 release.

    1. Re:Will it be cheaper? by RealityMogul · · Score: 1

      Its probably more of a shift in cost instead of an elimination of a cost. Now you need lots of high bandwidth servers instead of high throughput cd duplicators. Then you also need an IT staff to make sure the systems stay up and running.

    2. Re:Will it be cheaper? by maddh · · Score: 1

      but you also get to dump a publisher like Sierra taking their cut, you get to cut the cost of the box's, manuals, CD's, the cost of transportation and physical distribution, also you cut out bestbuy and their markup. Plus you never produce a single copy more than is sold, no overstock.
      Seems to me you just need to hire some programmers, buy a few servers, and rent a fat data pipe.

    3. Re:Will it be cheaper? by JVert · · Score: 1

      Now imagine if they offset the bandwidth with a bittorrent download.

    4. Re:Will it be cheaper? by cowscows · · Score: 1

      Someone's going to do something like that, with a really great game, and it'll be a big deal. It probably won't be one of the major studios, maybe an unknown company with a good idea for a game. It'll be cheap for the amount of gameplay that you get, convenient to download, and they'll make bucketloads of money. It already happens on a small scale with shareware. Apparently the Snood guy made plenty off of that game. But it'll take a mid-sized company to make a higher caliber game that everyone really takes notice of.

      Then the next few crops of big name games will go on talking about how they're going to support that as well, not do a great job at it, but eventually it'll become expected and normal. Maybe not purely digital distribution, but as a useable and easy option.

      Sort of like how modding took off with CounterStrike. All of a sudden after that, everyone was talking about how their new game was going to be the most moddable ever. Now it's a pretty standard feature, intrinsic to a game's design.

      --

      One time I threw a brick at a duck.

    5. Re:Will it be cheaper? by Fuzzle · · Score: 1

      Better yet, build a bittorrent client/decentralized tracker type thing into the Game xStream client, abstracting the torrent-ness of it, but still getting the same effect. That'd be pretty sweet.

    6. Re:Will it be cheaper? by roseblood · · Score: 1

      Now you need lots of high bandwidth servers instead of high throughput cd duplicators.

      Or a medium bandwith server and a bittorent tracker.

      --
      There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
    7. Re:Will it be cheaper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Modding was going strong years before Counter-Strike.

    8. Re:Will it be cheaper? by toad3k · · Score: 1

      What I'm worried about is how do they advertise beyond the initial hype. As it stands now, when I want a game, I go to the gamestop and look over the shelves at all the games that are available.

      If every pc based studio goes to its own steam clone distribution method, it will be hard to know what games are new, and how to differentiate games which were made by quality companies from fly by night studios just looking to make a quick buck.

    9. Re:Will it be cheaper? by delus10n0 · · Score: 1

      Maybe you missed this news.. the creator of BitTorrent got hired by Valve to help improve their networking/downloading..

      http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/6278

      --
      Not All Who Wander Are Lost
    10. Re:Will it be cheaper? by cowscows · · Score: 1

      yeah, but it wasn't really mainstream. Modders weren't getting their work put into retail boxes and then sold. I made levels for Wolfenstein 3D back in the day, but not too many people cared.

      It's sort of like the shareware example that I gave in my previous post. There are plenty of people distributing software online and making some decent money at it. But it hasn't really reached its stride yet.

      --

      One time I threw a brick at a duck.

    11. Re:Will it be cheaper? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Online reviews from trusted sources? Word of mouth? How do you really know that just because a box is in a EB or Gamestop that you will like it? Probably more difficult to get a fly by night into a store, but also difficult to get a good review out of a trusted (as in you generally agree with them) critic.

    12. Re:Will it be cheaper? by JVert · · Score: 1

      I was more thinking of blizzards patching for WoW.

  2. FTA by RealityMogul · · Score: 1

    "A key to Game xStream's appeal is its dynamic streaming, which takes place in the background even after the game has been started."

    Hope you don't go beating levels too quickly.

    1. Re:FTA by evilNomad · · Score: 1

      And Steam even does this aswell, if you start downloading counter-strike you will be able to play before all maps and such are downloaded..

    2. Re:FTA by Cabewse · · Score: 1

      I don't know, I've played streaming games (Serious Sam Demo). It was a couple years ago, but it worked supprisingly well.

  3. Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by yotto · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I hate Steam, from the little I used it (Original HL/Counterstrike only). I don't like it as a distribution method or a game playing method. When I uninstalled it, it was using a GIG of my hard drive. A gig!

    --
    Pulp Audio Weekly - Geek News and Reviews
    1. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by tolan-b · · Score: 1

      You're far from the only one.

      I disliked it so much that I didn't buy HL2, and I'd been waiting for it for ages..

    2. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by RaboKrabekian · · Score: 1

      My Unreal 2k4 folder is 8.3 gigs.

      What's your point? Steam is just a distribution method. You have to get the game on your HD some way, either by CD's or by downloading it.

      I bought HL2 over Steam and never had a single problem. I know there were a lot of issues with it when it was first introduced to replace WON, but I had grown tired of HL and its mods by that point, so I missed out. My first introduction to steam was when I bought HL2 a week before release date. It preloaded everything, and that day I was able to play it. I never had a single issue.

      --
      "Moderate drinking can help prevent amputated limbs" -- Abigail Zuger, NYTimes, 12/31/02
    3. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by Satertek · · Score: 1

      I really like Steam for the most part, though when trying to play games offline can be a big hassle. I also love being able to pay the game developers the full price of the game instead of giving 90% to the publisher and retailer. If they lower the price in the future, thats fine. But I'm content paying the same, giving more to the developers.

    4. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by mconeone · · Score: 1

      I guess the only thing to keep in mind is that the game publishers primarily fund game development. If they go broke, budding game houses won't receive the financial support they once used to, possibly reducing the number of new games.

    5. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by Nebulochaotic · · Score: 1

      Steam is a good idea gone bad. The good is that it offers digital distribution. Why is that good? Distribution is one of the few reasons that game development houses require publishers. It is very difficult for an independant company to get a game on store shelves, if not impossible. If digital distribution becomes standard, the publishers will lose some degree of control which will allow development houses more freedom. I might be stretching, but services like Steam and xStream could help make games innovative again and allow garage developers a chance back into the industry.

      Despite all that, Steam was horribly implemented. There is no reason you should have to run the distribution software while playing the game (This is a particuarly BAD form of DRM when the program is constantly calling home), the software takes way too much of your system resources for it's primary purpose, and the extra features it provides besides content downloading should really be in a different app or built into the game itself. Let's hope xStream is better...

    6. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by Frenchy_2001 · · Score: 1

      I may be in the minority, but i actually like Steam.
      It allows me to have my games wherever i want them, whenever i want (as long as i have access to a fat pipe).
      I travel often enough and it is quite nice to be able to setup a download for a game the night before and play the next day, anywhere, whitout having to bother about actually packing the CD.

      Sure, if the service goes bust, i'll be shafted, but until that time comes, i get lots of usage. I installed at least 4 copies of my Steam games, on 4 different computers. I can only play on one at a time, bit it is no real problem to me (somehow, i did not get cloned).

      I never had any issue with it, although i can understand people's frustration when they do. All games have issues, with or without Steam and most issues come from the computers (spyware, dodgy hardware...).

      Is it an open method? NO! Does it work? sure. I'd love to be able to buy more games this way. Beats the CD way anyday for me.

    7. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by SB5 · · Score: 1

      Wow, a gig of memory is the less than the size of CS and HL!

      Call me when it gets to 8 gigs. Easily with Steam's content library, and/or 3rd party mods, like Natural Selection, or Science & Industry or whatever. Then there is the addition of maps which will bring it up.

      This would happen whether you used Steam or not though.

      Steam has several great improvements, content downloading. The biggest problem of steam is probably that it takes up memory, roughly 24 MB in RAM. Also standardizing versions. Frankly I think it would be better allowed those that want to play 1.5 or 1.6 CS without all their "official updates" but I am sure some savvy coder could do that with any of the admin mods that can change pretty much anything a coder wants if they can figure a way to do it.

      Steam alone only takes up 30 MB, the biggest file being platform.gcf weighing in at 13 MB.

      And there is the problem of having to "register online" just to play the HL2 singleplayer.

      Its great as a distribution method, fast, easy downloading, I have gotten 6 MB on my modem with the content downloading, the problem mainly being that Valve doesn't have to deal with distributors if they really wanted to, and can maybe get more money for their product but they also seem to be pleasing the customer with lots of extras though.

      --
      If what you are reading sounds funny, or sarcastic, lame, or stupid
      it is because it is supposed to be. just laugh
    8. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by NekoXP · · Score: 1

      The extra features it provides (the user interface) are used by the game. So for
      the constant 20MB being sucked away from your machine, each game doesn't need to
      load 20MB of custom user interface code full of it's own unique bugs (it just
      inherits Steam's - and whatever skin you applied).

      Steam's GUI is used as part of the Source Engine, basically.

      By the way if you can think of better DRM I am sure Valve would love to hear it.
      There is nothing as reliable as handshaking with an internet server, besides of
      course requiring physical media in the drive. Since you can always get NoCD
      patches these days, even that isn't reliable.

      About the only reasonable way to DRM software is going to be biometrics (nobody
      is going to be stealing your iris or left pinky) or smartcards and the public key
      cryptography that implies. Someone could steal your smartcard but that is not any
      less blockable and reissuable than a CD key..

      Neko

    9. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by Zab+UvWxy · · Score: 1

      About the only thing I didn't (and still don't) like about Steam is that you *have* to log in and authenticate to the servers before you're allowed to play anything that you have associated with your Steam account (in other words, all Valve games).

      Sure, you can "go offline", but this usually involves either unplugging your network cable, disabling the network connection under Windows, or screwing around with Steam files on your HDD.

      Why can't they just include a switch, button, or check box that says "Play this game offline" and be done with it???

      --
      "I don't get it." -- ObviousGuy
    10. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by shawb · · Score: 1

      I really don't see how you could reasonably protect IP with biometric. Someone just has to write a patch which forces the game to think the biometric stamp or whatever has been verified. Biometrics may be useful for blocking access to your computer, or even as a seed for encrypting your private data, but once you give that key to someone else (I.E the customer) then the only thing stopping them from giving that key (or some reasonable software facsimile.)

      It seems about the only reasonably uncrackable implementation of DRM is to have some level of content actually pulled from the server. Then someone would have to A)recreate the server and B)write a patch to allow the game to connect to your server. The amount of work it would take to fake the server would make you an obvious target for legal takedown. That's one reason that multiplayer games are so attractive to developers and the publishers that fund them: built in DRM.

      This says nothing of the legal or moral aspects of actually implementing the DRM, but that's been rehashed many many times with no real consensus.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    11. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by NekoXP · · Score: 1


      I'm not sure how they'd do it with biometrics but there must be a fairly
      reliable way to link some biometric data (iris pattern, fingerprint, DNA
      sequence? :) to a cryptographic key.

      Said cryptographic key can then be used to decode the music or movie. With
      smartcards this works REALLY well and is the BEST authentication because
      there really is only one smartcard for you, and you had to plug it into the
      system to get logged in to even read the filesystem with your music on.

      Getting everyone to buy a $60 smartcard reader, a $10 card, get it written
      with their data etc. and so on is probably a little much. This is why I like
      the idea of biometrics; IBM are doing it, Microsoft sell two keyboards with
      fingerprint pads on them. It's taking off in a way that smartcards aren't,
      because you don't need anything except the device (which comes with an
      essential component of your PC) and your index finger.

      Therefore I guess.. imagine you have iTunes. At the moment it uses your
      Apple ID to authenticate 6 machines. Forget that - let's use your Apple ID
      to store the cryptographic key which can be retrieved on ANY NUMBER of
      machines as long as you ask for it biometrically?

      That makes the DRM less intrusive to use and therefore more acceptable, and
      at the same time a thousand times more reliable unless people start chopping
      fingers off.

    12. Re:Am I the only one that doesn't like Steam? by shawb · · Score: 1

      Problem with that is then every single piece of media that you buy would have to be encrypted using that key. Could no longer mass produce CDs or DVDs because, well, every single one would need to be custom. Would be cost prohibitive for most retailers (Best Buy, Walmart, etc) and doing online orders would kind of defeat the purpose of biometrics, since you have to actually be in their presence to verify that you aren't somehow faking the system. You'd essentially become limited to buying from a kiosk which encrypts the data and burns the cds or dvds on site. I really doubt most people would want to stand in front of a kiosk for 5 minutes to wait for their copy of Battlefield Earth to burn. And then wait again for any other movies they may want. And this is after waiting in line for everyone in front of you to burn their copies. Oh, and that's not even including the fact that it won't stop piracy.

      And going to a fingerscan device in the keyboard just means that instead of downloading cracks and cd emulators, the kiddies'll be downloading software (and maybe even using a cheap piece of hardware) that tricks the computer into thinking that that stream of digits is coming from a fingerprint scan rather than a data file. So now you're up to an entirely redesigned hardware architecture (I.E. you must buy a new computer to run the software) in addition to that keyboard to ensure that you can't just fudge the data around. Then someone will just start making generic latex fingertip covers and allow everyone to have the same set of fingerprints.

      Or they'll just get a program to capture the output of one legit copy of the media, and then distribute at will.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
  4. The future of gaming... by Satertek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...is a new distribution service icon in my taskbar for every game developer.

  5. Maybe it's secretly an RPG by nathan+s · · Score: 1

    ...just posing as a FPS.

    A massively complicated character generation process could explain how you could be "playing" within minutes of buying the game...:-)

    --
    picpix image polls. create - share - vote. fun!
  6. This game still exists?!? by Cromulent · · Score: 1, Informative

    Prey was announced back in 1996 after duke nukem. What does 3d realms do all day?

    --
    drug law enforcement is modern day witch hunting.
    1. Re:This game still exists?!? by JPelorat · · Score: 1

      They play Everquest.

      --
      Hokey statistics and ancient misconceptions are no match for a good thought in your head, kid!
    2. Re:This game still exists?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've always thought that the easiest way to make DNF worth the wait was for 3DR to bribe id or epic with hookers and booze to rebrand one of their up and coming new games as DNF. Then just come up with a storyline like, "Duke was porking some chick one day when all of a sudden he was transported to a world full of demons" or something like that.

      Then again, id and epic have both been pumping out some boring games recently. Eh, par for the course in the FPS world, I guess. I mean, take any modern FPS, reduce its graphical complexity so that it can be rendered by an ati rage pro, and bam, you've got the same games that we were playing ten years ago.

  7. Prey To Be Digitally Distributed? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Very strange headline, but OK, I will:

    Dear Lord, please make me digitally distributed. Thank You.

    1. Re:Prey To Be Digitally Distributed? by freakmn · · Score: 1

      Man, it's prey, not pray! That just means that they are shipping digital antelopes to the lions and tigers at the zoo, I think.

      --
      warning: This post is likely to contain gobs of dripping sarcasm. Consume at your own risk.
  8. prey by syrinx · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't see how they expect us to download full games over a 33.6k modem.

    Oh, whoops...we were talking about Prey, so I thought it was 1997 for a minute there.

    --
    Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
    1. Re:prey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah hasn't this been in development for at least as long as Duke Nukem Forever?

    2. Re:prey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      longer, I think they were talking about it when DN3D was released!

    3. Re:prey by Temporal · · Score: 1

      I think DNF originally was supposed to use the Prey engine. But, then they decided to switch to the Quake engine. The reason? Get this: the Prey engine was going to require a 3D accellerator card, and they didn't think there would be a market for such a game at the time they intended to release DNF.

      I even remember seeing a screenshot Prey with a comment about how nice 16-bit textures looked.

      There's just too many levels of irony here...

    4. Re:prey by Pluvius · · Score: 1

      I believe that Prey was actually cancelled for quite a few years and just recently resurrected, unlike DNF, but I may be wrong. But regardless, it looks really silly for them to be talking about Prey when DNF isn't even finished yet.

      Rob

    5. Re:prey by joeljkp · · Score: 1

      Check out PC Gamer from a couple months back. They played a developer build of DNF, and say it'll be out "real soon now".

      --
      WeRelate.org - wiki-based genealogy
    6. Re:prey by The-Bus · · Score: 1

      Yes, I can't wait to play it on my BitBoys Oy Glaze3D card. Why even bother with a Voodoo3?

      --

      Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  9. Until... by mconeone · · Score: 1

    ...someone develops a program which manages all the game management programs.

    1. Re:Until... by X0563511 · · Score: 1

      Or they all reach a consensus and decide that one master icon that they can add their company into is good. Hopefully that doesn't plant the seed of a MPAA/RIAA style group of developers.

      --
      For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
    2. Re:Until... by mconeone · · Score: 1

      Game houses reaching a consensus? http://www.powerplayinfo.com/">HA!

  10. Wow by Jahf · · Score: 1

    and how long ago was Prey announced? Wasn't this the Quake (1 or 2, I forget) killer from long ago?

    --
    It is more productive to voice thoughtful opinions (reply) than to judge (moderate) others.
  11. xStream by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder how long they've been waiting to use that joke.

  12. Who cares it was delayed almost a decade?!? by mconeone · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Look at these screenshots!

    1. Re:Who cares it was delayed almost a decade?!? by hibiki_r · · Score: 1

      Why not there screenshots, taken from an E3 preview in 1998? The article has a Duke Nukem Forever screenshot too!

    2. Re:Who cares it was delayed almost a decade?!? by kaellinn18 · · Score: 1

      Hahaha, oh man, Trespasser! I remember that game. The idea was cool, the dinosaurs were awesome, and it was a user interface nightmare.

      --

      --------
      This isn't the sig you're looking for. Move along.
  13. Watch them sell zero copies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Half-Life 2 we'd all been waiting for forever. Has anyone even heard of this?

    For second-rate, second-string games like this, no box in shop = no sale.

    1. Re:Watch them sell zero copies by XO · · Score: 2, Informative

      http://atlas.secs.oakland.edu/~lcmatero/prey/histo ry.htmThe history of Prey, the game that could not be

      --
      "Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
  14. must... use... preview... by mconeone · · Score: 1

    http://web.archive.org/web/20011130144626/http://w ww.powerplayinfo.com/

  15. But... by TwistedSquare · · Score: 1

    Erm, didn't Steam allow exactly that? If you pre-ordered HL2, it downloaded all the content over the month before the release date, and then at midnight, barring their servers falling over, you could play straight away.

    1. Re:But... by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

      Yes, steam did everything they are talking about.

      You could pre-order HL2 and download all the content, then they give you the decryption keys on the official release day. The annoying thing about that was that it insisted on decrypting everything before you could play...

      You could download the bare minimum (engine, some basic models, etc) and fire up the game. It would continue downloading as you played. The disadvantage is that neither HL nor HL2 provide progress bars on all those "loading" screens, and that there are loading screens at all (doesn't stream the way Halo does), and that it doesn't seem to necessarily download stuff in the order that you're going to play it, although it will download the level you're waiting for while you're waiting for it.

      So basically, while I play through the first part of the training room, it might be downloading headcrabs and zombies while I really needed the security guards and the scientists in the next room. But at least once I saw the loading sign, it wouldn't take too long before I could play, even though the game was far from done downloading.

      You could also choose to buy a copy of the game (Half-Life 2) retail, copy the game content off the CD, and activate it online in the same way that you'd activate the pre-ordered content. You'd end up in the same situation as if you'd downloaded the game. Of course, this is HL2, not HL itself -- you apparently have to re-download the game, not copy it from the CD.

      Wake me up when we start adding some REAL features, which have existed forever everywhere else:

      peer-to-peer. World of Warcradt does this in ONE of its updates, apparently with BitTorrent, but you apparently still need the install CDs. Plus, if someone is playing the single-player game and has bandwidth to spare, they should upload the game they are playing.

      fast "backups". Steam is about the only system which encourages you to make backups, even setting them to the right size to burn to CD or DVD. But, they insist on it being either CD or DVD size, and on compressing it, when in some cases (gigabit ethernet, or even 10meg ethernet) it's faster to just copy the raw data. But, the data is sorted into accounts in such a way that I don't think you can simply copy the folder from Program Files to a friend and have them login under their own account...

      Oh, one more thing -- if you're going to embed stuff, embed GOOD stuff. Do NOT depend on Internet Explorer. Honestly, the HL2 artists and gameplay programmers deserve honor and praise, but the Source engine and Steam developers deserve to be taken out into a field and shot.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    2. Re:But... by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 1

      But, the data is sorted into accounts in such a way that I don't think you can simply copy the folder from Program Files to a friend and have them login under their own account...

      You can copy stuff directly - I think it's just a matter of copying the whole Steam installation (via Ethernet, carrier-pigeon, floppy disk, IP-over-flatulence, whatever), deleting clientregistry.blob, starting Steam again and logging in with the new account.

      Oh, one more thing -- if you're going to embed stuff, embed GOOD stuff. Do NOT depend on Internet Explorer.

      Okay, so I loathe IE with a passion, but it's probably a better idea to rely on something that's guaranteed to be available on all Windows machines than an optional 3rd-party browser like Firefox, or including a potentially-outdated Mozilla rendering engine.

      Although having access to IE does allow for some interesting additions... ;-)

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
    3. Re:But... by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

      it's probably a better idea to rely on something that's guaranteed to be available on all Windows machines than an optional 3rd-party browser like Firefox

      Like whatever you install with Steam? If they wanted to insist that you have an up-to-date Firefox or Mozilla, they could do it -- and even provide the distribution means.

      or including a potentially-outdated Mozilla rendering engine.

      Most apps embed Gecko instead of linking to it, which makes sense -- after all, if you're using Mozilla, anything you need that isn't included in the suite can be added as an extension.

      But, if you want to make sure it's up-to-date, all you need to do is ship the updated version with the Steam updates. After all, the Steam engine seems to update about as often as Firefox, and it's perfectly capable of updating itself.

      The disadvantage is that you have to provide the updates yourself -- "maintain" them, so to speak -- but the advantage is, you can guarentee that a future upgrade of IE (or Firefox) won't make people unable to play their games. If it isn't backwards-compatible, you patch your system to work with the new browser component, then ship it out it the same update.

      Again, it doesn't matter what you depend on if you're making your own distribution system. Things will get messy, though, if we don't get one standard way of doing this -- one standard piece of software, even if it connects to different servers for different games/companies and different accounts.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
    4. Re:But... by Tim+Browse · · Score: 1
      Like whatever you install with Steam? If they wanted to insist that you have an up-to-date Firefox or Mozilla, they could do it -- and even provide the distribution means.

      Shut that guy up!

      Seriously, don't give them ideas. I use Firefox, but if I installed a game and it insisted on (amongst other things) that I install a particular web browser, it would just annoy the hell out of me.

      I get wound up enough that the Steam icon that sits in the tray has UI that uses kewl skinz, which is sitting there soaking up RAM, etc. (What the hell is wrong with standard Windows buttons?) Luckily they have a grey skin that looks 'kinda' like Windows, but not really.

      Er...sorry, I just hate skins :-). Whenever I see a program that uses them, I think "Oh, so everything else works fine with no bugs then? It must do if you had time to dick around implementing non-standard UI in a desktop program."

      So yeah, shut up and don't give them ideas! If the next version of Steam requires that I download Opera 8 and Quicktime 7.5, I'll be blaming you. I've written down your IP address. 127.0.0.1 had better be armoured against my awesome skillz, let me tell you.

    5. Re:But... by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 1

      You'd prefer that they redo or embed everything, so that five games take five times the space?

      There's a reason we have SHARED LIBRARIES. Too bad that translates into DLL HELL on Windows.

      --
      Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  16. No Way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Greate another piece of DRM'd / Activated crap. I don't care how good of an game prey is; if it is DRM'd or Activated, it isn't being installed on my machine. Too many people are going to butcher block giving up there rights for a percieved convience. Just wait until they have to rebuild there machine because of spyware. We all should just say no and punish any manufactures for this type of crap.

  17. I read that as... by deathwombat · · Score: 0

    Partially disturbed instead of Digitally Distributed...

    --
    Accept any challenge, No matter the odds.
  18. How to play without net connection? by Kosi · · Score: 1

    There must be a way, because nobody will buy a non-online game you can't play without being online.

  19. No buy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No physical copy? No buy. Unless, and I doubt they'll allow this, the downloadable version is cheaper AND can be burned to a CD/DVD so I can archive it and play without having to be on-line.

  20. Questionable strategy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Letting people download the game without paying is just askin' for a crackin'.

  21. blinded by marketing bs by zr-rifle · · Score: 1

    his is what sets Game xStream apart from anything else the industry has seen.

    Sorry, but I still can't understand what makes this service different than Steam. Looks like the marketing people have been locked up with their game in 3D Realms' basement for ten years.

    --
    Hack your mind out of its sandbox.
    1. Re:blinded by marketing bs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      steam requires the entire game to be downloaded before it can run.

      this system let you stream the game while you play, so presumably you download the .exe and the first level data before you can start, meanwhile all the other levels continue downloading in the background.

      it is a bit disingenious to state the industry hasn't seen this yet, since Guild Wars has beaten them to the punch in streaming in levels as you're playing.