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User: Chabo

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Comments · 1,042

  1. Re:Plus: on Steam Reaches 13 Million Users · · Score: 1

    Valve has stated that even in WinXP, people with DX10-capable cards will be able to access the available features.

    Looks like a big middle finger to MS's statements of "You need Vista to use DX10". :)

  2. Re:Well uhh no but then sorta... on Games Are No Cause For Murder · · Score: 1

    An hour of shooting an M16 taught me WAY more about its function than I've ever learned in my countless hours of gaming. And that includes realistic games like America's Army and the Rainbow Six series. At the beginning of that session, I was just as clueless as anyone else about what to actually do.

    Tactics can be taught through video games, paintball, airsoft, etc., but the techniques of shooting must be taught using a real firearm.

  3. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    After this incident they decentralized their authentication servers, so that if Seattle floats into the Pacific again, Steam won't be down for good.

    Not only that, I think (but I'm not positive) that they revised their auth system after the incident so that even if the auth servers can't be reached, offline mode might still be available.

  4. Re:People with a computer but no Internet on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    Well, the XB360 and PS3 versions will be out soon, so there's your chance. ;)

    The other option: take your Windows machine downstairs for a while (or run some Cat5, or connect to a WLAN...), install the game, take it back upstairs and play the game in offline mode.

  5. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    If you're at a LAN party, then the host can physically login himself on each machine, without revealing the password to anyone.

  6. Re:Pricing on new content? on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    I'd also consider Darwinia to be among the excellent games popularized by Valve through Steam. I didn't buy it, but then again, I'm a poor college student. The demo was cool, though, and I know several people who did purchase it.

  7. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    We're not talking about my right to self-defense, or my right to privacy, or anything major like that. We're talking about my right to cheat in an online game. I'm willing to give up that right if it means it's taken away from you.

  8. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    Easy solution for a LAN game using one account:

    1. Install Steam on each computer.
    2. Copy the appropriate .gcf files from the "host" machine to the Steamapps directory of each other machine.
    3. Login as that user one at a time on each machine, and run the game, then log out.
    4. Disconnected from the live network, have each user login as that user, and each Steam client will go into offline mode.
    5. Start the game.

    This is no more difficult than the "old" way of installing tons of games on tons of machines at a LAN party.

  9. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    Ahh, the Third Amendment. The cornerstone of today's societal freedoms.

    No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

    What a great nation we live in. :-D

  10. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    I know that I personally have never bought a game from EA, but I've played nearly every FPS that they've come out with.

    Not only that, you seem to be in the minority of not liking HL. Storyline too deep for you? ;)

  11. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Feel free to play in offline mode, so you don't have to authenticate. Personally, I'd rather give up a few of my rights in this particular area in order to play on nearly cheat-free servers. Remember how CS got its reputation for hackers? That was back in the days of WON and VAC1. Now with Steam and VAC2, I don't really see that, but I still do in other games, like Q3A, COD, etc.

  12. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    Besides...

    I could "announce" that I'm the King of France, but that doesn't make it legally binding!

    What do you think the Paris Commune did in 1792? ;)

  13. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    Even if they don't release that update, you still have all of the game resources available through tools like GCFscape. At the very least, people are able to make hacked versions despite Steam, so that at the very least the single-player experience is available. If Valve were to go out of business and not update Steam, I'm sure someone could even make a patch so that the multiplayer games would be available.

  14. Re:The sentence is ambiguous on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    I don't think it's ambiguous at all, the second meaning you stated seems like the only possible one to me.

  15. Re:Stop shilling for the MPAA on Big Releases Heat Up High-Def Format War · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Meh. Who cares? Both parties suck. If we want good politicians, we need ones who have never been in politics.

    In other words, never vote for an incumbent unless they are *amazing*.

  16. Re:Pricing on new content? on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 1

    Then you got hosed. ;) I pre-ordered the Gold package of HL2, which came with Valve's entire back catalog, as well as HL2, CS:S, and DOD:S. The silver package was $60 and included all this, gold was $90 and came with that, plus all of the merch you could ever want. ;)

  17. Re:No thanks, Valve. on Valve Has No Plans to Charge For Downloadables · · Score: 5, Informative

    Valve has announced that if they go out of business, they will release one final Steam update that disables the need to authenticate.

  18. Re:"Games for Windows" = MS Monopoly push on PC Games On the Rebound · · Score: 1

    Nothing is ever going to replace a keyboard/mouse combo for a shooter game though....

    That is, until they come out with a better aiming system that uses VR. :)

  19. Re:WoW on PC Games On the Rebound · · Score: 1

    I'll buy that. I have plenty of friends who played no other game, even when they already DID own it.

  20. Re:Analogy on 1080p, Human Vision, and Reality · · Score: 1

    This is why San Francisco has the most concentrated Smug Cloud over it.

  21. Analogy on 1080p, Human Vision, and Reality · · Score: 5, Funny

    After all, one can purchase 200mph speed-rated tires for a Toyota Prius®. Expectations of a real performance improvement based on such an investment will likely go unfulfilled, however!

    But it does mean that the performance of the car won't be limited by the tires... ;)

  22. Re:Not to be the King of Star Wars trivia but ... on Paul Graham Claims "Microsoft is Dead" · · Score: 1

    Hmm... I always thought that he was going straight for Vader... I thought the whole point of that fight was that he had to defeat Vader in order to rid him of the evil. I suppose it might be up for interpretation, but that's just how I saw it.

  23. Re:The desktop is dead?!? on Paul Graham Claims "Microsoft is Dead" · · Score: 1

    The closest approximation I can see is something like .NET apps. The programmer can specify that it'll get installed locally, and the client machine will attempt to contact the server upon the program's startup. If it can't be reached, it'll still be able to run, but you may not get certain functionality.

  24. Re:"Their victory is so complete" on Paul Graham Claims "Microsoft is Dead" · · Score: 1

    You're forgetting that Luke never actually tried to kill the Emporer; his attempt was at Vader. Not once does Luke ever take a swing at the Emporer. His chance was after he cut off Vader's hand, but instead he threw his saber away, and got zapped.

  25. Re:Some points on An iPod For Every Kid In Michigan · · Score: 1

    Secondly, the story doesn't specifiy it'll be ipods, just a digital audio player. Given the more reasonably-priced audio players around, they'd be idiots to pick Apple's trendy but pricey players.

    So I guess gov employees better catch the next Woot-off, huh? :)