System Shock 2 GOG and Steam Release

[cvv]

Only 300 game backlogs, heh. HEH. help

 

[mindx2]

I've actually got a physical boxed (Well, not boxed any more. Threw the box away last fall in a great purge of videogame boxes that were taking up a ton of space)

 

[Azazel]

Haven't seen this addressed, but does the Steam version have anything to enhance multiplayer, or is it pretty much the same as the GoG version?

The Steam version currently has multiplayer disabled entirely as they have applied the most recent community patches without credit or permission.

 

[Infinitron]

Haven't seen this addressed, but does the Steam version have anything to enhance multiplayer, or is it pretty much the same as the GoG version?

The Steam version currently has multiplayer disabled entirely as they have applied the most recent community patches without credit or permission.

Well: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...g-to-gog-and-steam.80479/page-11#post-2546191

 

[Azazel]

Haven't seen this addressed, but does the Steam version have anything to enhance multiplayer, or is it pretty much the same as the GoG version?

The Steam version currently has multiplayer disabled entirely as they have applied the most recent community patches without credit or permission.

Well: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...g-to-gog-and-steam.80479/page-11#post-2546191

Well Well, I must have missed that thanks to the Thi4f debacle showing up at the same time. Multiplayer is still disabled in the steam version, though.

 

[Brayko]

It's practically the only game I play these days, and that's very little at that (probably wont play many more games until Wasteland 2 comes out).

 

[MessiahMan]

I've actually got a physical boxed (Well, not boxed any more. Threw the box away last fall in a great purge of videogame boxes that were taking up a ton of space) of System Shock 2 but I'd still like this Steam copy for ease of use (Downloading the whole patched thing at once and not possibly losing the disc. Or ideally not even having an optical drive in your computer at all and ascending beyond corporeal form) and general Steamwhoring/collecting..

For me, it's just the valueless/non-transferability (if that's even a valid collection of prefixes and suffixes) of Steam. Hard disks are so huge and cheap these days, it's pretty damn easy to keep your whole games collection digitally in several handy places. Patched, modded, and portable, even. If I buy a game on Steam and it sucks, after all, I'm out X dollars, end of discussion. With a box, I can recoup some of my losses, maybe even make a profit. They're a stalwart insurance policy against bad games.

Of course, with the minimal packaging and DRM of modern games, this insurance policy dwindles, but that's how the times are going. Good thing I barely buy new games.

 

[GlutenBurger]

You can play pretty much any (non-multiplayer) Steam game offline/without an internet connection in Steam's 'offline' mode. Moreover, a lot of these older titles can be launched outside of the Steam client altogether (the early Gothic titles, for example).

I use the offline mode a lot due to poor internet, and it's not failsafe. Many's the time Steam has refused to work offline for me because it "just has to check up on something on the internet." I realise I have to accept the inconveniences associated with cheaping out on my connection (actually it's because I'm cheaping out on rent and don't want to pay the fee to run a broadband line into somebody else's property), but I certainly take the alternatives when they are available.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

If I buy a game on Steam and it sucks, after all, I'm out X dollars, end of discussion. With a box, I can recoup some of my losses, maybe even make a profit. They're a stalwart insurance policy against bad games.

That's assuming someone will want to buy the bad game from you, though.

 

[Zewp]

If you buy a game that sucks enough that you'd want to resell it, it's your own fault. We have more information about games than ever before. Within the first day of release there's likely to be at least 10 different Let's Play's starting up. Even before release, the information available on games is vast. You're more than likely going to see someone streaming gameplay a week before release.

 

[MessiahMan]

If I buy a game on Steam and it sucks, after all, I'm out X dollars, end of discussion. With a box, I can recoup some of my losses, maybe even make a profit. They're a stalwart insurance policy against bad games.

That's assuming someone will want to buy the bad game from you, though.

You'd be surprised at the junk I've had people buy.

If you buy a game that sucks enough that you'd want to resell it, it's your own fault. We have more information about games than ever before. Within the first day of release there's likely to be at least 10 different Let's Play's starting up. Even before release, the information available on games is vast. You're more than likely going to see someone streaming gameplay a week before release.

Thankfully, this is also becoming more and more true. I'm kind of out of the loop these days, I only buy and play older games that vastly interest me, while occasionally taking a short delve into the indie scene. Naturally, I had neglected to think about all of that. However, this is a very binary way of looking at it. Great or shit...some games may be *good* and seemingly purchase-worthy, but, say, the game doesn't stand the test of time, and replays prove soul-crushingly tedious. Some games look and seem damn cool, but don't click in your head somehow. There's a lot of reasons you could have bought a game you end up not liking for reasons that couldn't be gleaned through other people's opinions. Unless you pirate a game and play it several times, which isn't practical for a lot of people, especially ones who play the genre we love here. I have to say, seriously, I roll the dice a lot more often when I've got that little piece of security to fall back on. When games go fully digital is when I'll probably just quit giving my hobby any money at all.

 

[Metro]

When you only pay $5-10 on average for most digital titles what does it matter if you can't resell the box?

 

[Average Manatee]

I have this sort of urge to have all my games available and categorized in the same place as well.

It's D:\torrents

 

[Gord]

In about 20 years of gaming, I've never sold any of my old games - although I considered it lately when I noticed that I have a lot of old boxes from games lying around that I will likely not play again.
But as I doubt that I will get much money out of it, in the end I will probably just put them in the basement to forget about them until I move to another apartment.

 

[MessiahMan]

When you only pay $5-10 on average for most digital titles what does it matter if you can't resell the box?

I have this sort of urge to have all my games available and categorized in the same place as well.

It's D:\torrents

This is pretty much my point exactly. It makes much more sense that parting with hard earned bucks on Steam. Thumb drives can hold what these days? 32 GB? 64? More? Hard disks are massive, USB SD cards are cheap, cobble together some portable installations, and installers, you've got great games on the go. Most modern "rights holders" of older games don't deserve to have their names mentioned let alone a portion of five bucks out of anyone's pocket. The only thing Steam is good for is a few cheap indie grabs here and there (after all, one can't fault someone for not being able to make a box for their game), but still GOG offers a better service for that sort of thing. For older games, piracy, or physical ownership is the way to fly. It's not like the developer is making money off of it any more, and RPGs especially have a wonderful way of generally retaining their value

 

[mindx2]

You'd be surprised at the junk I've had people buy.

Yeah, exactly... but I only sold you quality stuff... really...:D

 

[Infinitron]

MessiahMan

The only thing, really? Torrents and thumbdrives don't auto-install and auto-update. You need to store them locally. They can be lost.

If those benefits aren't worth 5 bucks to you, that's okay, but don't deny that they exist.

Physical copies are overrated and a lot of the Codex's favorite developers from the 90s would have still been around today if digital distribution had showed up on the scene earlier than it did.

 

[mindx2]

Physical copies are overrated

I thought you were a true bro...

 

[Zewp]

My DVD rom broke in 2011 and I didn't bother replacing it. Fuck physical copies.

 

[evdk]

Physical copies are overrated

Hey, that's why your collection is worth so much

 

[Infinitron]

I like boxes, but the need for developers to deal with large scale retail distribution of games is a big reason, possibly the main reason, for the empowerment of publishers over the years.

I think the Kickstarter tier model, with physical editions that are more expensive than digital editions, is the way to go. They would be available exclusively online - you'd order them directly from the developer or perhaps via Amazon.

 

[evdk]

I like boxes, but the need for developers to deal with large scale retail distribution of games is a big reason, possibly the main reason, for the empowerment of publishers over the years.

Wasn't this what sunk Origin?

 

[mindx2]

I like boxes, but the need for developers to deal with large scale retail distribution of games is a big reason, possibly the main reason, for the empowerment of publishers over the years.

I think the Kickstarter tier model, with physical editions that are more expensive than digital editions, is the way to go. They would be available exclusively online - you'd order them directly from the developer or perhaps via Amazon.

I have to admit this is one of the reasons I love KS. Not only are, what I consider, real cRPGs being made again but that good old fashion boxed copies full of maps, manuals, trinkets, etc. are being offered! I don't mind paying more for these boxed issues.

 

[MessiahMan]

MessiahMan

The only thing, really? Torrents and thumbdrives don't auto-install and auto-update. You need to store them locally. They can be lost.

If those benefits aren't worth 5 bucks to you, that's okay, but don't deny that they exist.

Physical copies are overrated and a lot of the Codex's favorite developers from the 90s would have still been around today if digital distribution had showed up on the scene earlier than it did.

Ooh! I DID forget auto-updating entirely. You've got a point, certainly. I suppose online matchmaking, and shit, too...but online multiplayer feels like the wrong side of the tracks of gaming to me. I haven't tried it in...god...probably over ten years, and even then it wasn't anything remotely interesting, so maybe Steam improved on how it was a decade ago or not, I don't know.


The kickstarter thing, though. If that works out, I'll be one pleased man. Kind of the best of both worlds, boxes for old-fashioned fogies like myself, digital shenanigans for all the hip cyber-kids, I get my "lasting value", they get their "convenience." The developer has to do a little extra legwork to make a few boxes, fulfill pledges, and answer to the backers. No publishing leech, however, steps in to suck them dry. On paper, it looks pretty good, and seems like a smart way to test new IPs and crazy ideas to see how they go over.

Yeah, exactly... but I only sold you quality stuff... really...:D

Hey now, anything I bought from you, you bought first.

 

[toro]

The future is scary.