BruceVC

That isn't steam- if you clicked the link I made you'd see that the server(s) are not run by steam (valve), but by your countries ISPs as a way to minimise international bandwidth costs. They'll also cache stuff to minimise those costs as well, and it isn't kotaku being brilliant if you're pulling its info down super fast because it's cached, it is your ISP saving money. I don't this is the case, none of the listed ISP for South Africa is the one I use. I am sure this is a case of Steam approaching certain ISP and allowing them to host the Steam software repository , of course it benefits both parties but I think this is a value add so that customers in certain countries get quicker speeds?

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2013/02/20/monster-hunting-in-the-witcher-3-wild-hunt.aspx Latest video on monster hunting. I like the preparation that needs to go into the hunt, and we all love killing beasts.

And this is the reason, why I do not like Steamworks, why in the hell you have to download 30GB from the internet, when you just bought the disc? Sorry I meant to say I bought the digital copy from Game Stop online. Not a physical copy But its still a big download, the biggest I have ever seen

IIRC it's easy as pie Altair -> defensive skills (except when he's alone against multiple Orc enemies) Styx -> offensive skills (that skill that boosts his critical chance upgraded with +50% dodge is game breaking especially combined with multi-dagger skill) I hear you, I stared getting the hang if it but still found I had split my points too evenly between attack and defense so I wasn't effective in either. This became apparent in certain fights, like against the Shaman. I was about 10 hours into the game. Also every level seemed the same from a gameplay perspective. A linear path from A to B with the same types of monsters just in different size groups...goblin, dogs or humans . I may install it again, but I doubt it I agree level design and stealth mechanics are... rudimentary, but one needs to take into account this game was developed on a shoestring budget (even compared to Game of Thrones from same developer), still setting, combat and characters ultimately were good enough to make the game worth buying on release. I really would not mind a sequel. Now I feel bad, I didn't realize the financial restraints involved in the development Okay I'll give the game another go after a while,

In South Africa walking into a store and buying a hard copy is still common, personally I like the tactile experience of buying games or books in stores but digital distribution also makes practical sense at times

IIRC it's easy as pie Altair -> defensive skills (except when he's alone against multiple Orc enemies) Styx -> offensive skills (that skill that boosts his critical chance upgraded with +50% dodge is game breaking especially combined with multi-dagger skill) I hear you, I stared getting the hang if it but still found I had split my points too evenly between attack and defense so I wasn't effective in either. This became apparent in certain fights, like against the Shaman. I was about 10 hours into the game. Also every level seemed the same from a gameplay perspective. A linear path from A to B with the same types of monsters just in different size groups...goblin, dogs or humans . I may install it again, but I doubt it

I was going to skip the whole article until you pointed out the English translation. So thx

That sounds really fun, all the political intrigue and scandal. I have never played a RTS before. Okay I did try Heroes of Might and Magic VI but I am not sure if that qualifies. Old Gods DLC that will let you play as pagans and loot and pillage and sacrifice people. "pillage and sacrifice" , that does sound fun and different

I got annoyed with Of Orcs and Men as I kept getting killed, so I stopped playing it and then deleted it off my machine. Its not a good enough game for me to go back and relearn new skills or understand the combat properly. So tonight I will be installing Alan Wake, I have always wanted to play it

Now this is a legitimate and annoying concern with Steam, it was obviously implemented due to fraud but I can understand the exasperation nonetheless. Sorry to hear that Melk :

I demand that PE gets released exclusively on Gamers Gate !!! GOG and Steam are corrupt western companies that are trying to control our minds and read our private documents. Trust me I know as I read this on the Internet, Gamers Gate is the only legitimate gaming download site !!!!

The 'whole point' of steam is to allow you to have everything under one canopy? Not to, for example, make GabeN money? If you want the potted version of the reason I dislike steam it's that it wants to act as a gatekeeper over an open system, has monopolist power and provides no actual benefit over what being on a PC already provides. If steam did not have steamworks and did not latch itself lamprey like onto 3rd party games I would not care about it in the slightest. And I already have my PC games under one canopy, it's called 'my computer' (or Cyrus to be technical, precursor to Xerxes) If it's the same situation as here (and it is) it's ISPs mirroring steam's servers to save on international bandwidth, rather than anything to do with steam itself. I can, on occasion, get unmetered downloads from GOG because they've been cached as well, and that ain't due to GOG, it's my ISP saving $$$. Okay I am glad you made this post so we can focus on the virtues or deficiencies of the service I am obviously in the rox camp for the reasons I mentioned. They include A local presence in South Africa so downloads are really quick The ability to get easy download access to a variety of games that at times are discounted Steam has helped indie developers to distribute there games, and in some examples didn't charge initially for it ( see link http://www.pcgamer.com/2011/07/25/how-project-zomboid-was-saved-by-steam-desura-and-fileplanet/ ) I bought Red Orchestra 2 from Game Stop and when I wanted to download it the software linked the download to Steam. This game is 30 GB in size so you can imagine how long this would have taken if I had to use international sites Steam for president !!!! But I also support Uplay, Origin and other gaming download sites

You can't go wrong with SD as Keyrock and I will tell you. I also found a way to fix a certain timing bug on the PC if you experience it

That sounds really fun, all the political intrigue and scandal. I have never played a RTS before. Okay I did try Heroes of Might and Magic VI but I am not sure if that qualifies.

Which is cool, I really don't have a problem with people liking steam, my problem is pretty much entirely with steamworks as I have a problem with the unlevel playing field, shift towards lock in and closing of an open platform, all of which are ultimately very large problems. The rest is just frustration at, well, steamtards. The sort of people who celebrate lack of choice because the only choice is one that they like. If I were appointed God For A Day I'd never in a million years do the reverse and wave my hand to make steam disappear yet many steam fans would clearly be happy to force everyone to use steam just because they like it and anyone with other preferences can go asterisk themselves, an attitude that for anything other than steam would be widely deplored. It's unimaginable that you'd get hordes of people advocating only one flavour of ice cream or milkshakes or one make of car or one television provider, yet only one flavour of PC game supplier? OH GOD ITS HEVAN, to quote the great philosopher ~aphatmc. Anyway, bored now, next steam rant in 60 days. What exactly is so bad about Steam though? You can still mod games, still play offline, hell it doesn't even limit people playing the same game on the same account at the same time (as long as one is playing offline). I also don't have an issue with Steam? I think its provides an excellent way to distribute games. I also want to say that its one of the first international gaming companies, I know of, that has implemented download servers in South Africa so we get excellent speeds. Yip Steam is my friend

Where's your evidence? Where's the sales numbers? Where's the revenue? Where's the profits? We don't know what they are when concerning well over half the PC gaming sales platforms Steam and Origin, revenue from F2P games like League of Legends and Team Fortress 2. You don't know. Negative, that was the revenues posted for the financial year March 2010 - March 2011. Where do you draw the line? Do we take away Wii games? Move games? Kinect games? They make a lot of money for the consoles, that's why they're pushing them so hard. Do we take away racing and sports? They're not really part of "core" gaming. Actually a lot of the big console franchises are about attracting the casual gamer, the modern military shooter including Call of Duty and Battlefield single player, almost on rails meant for the "cinematic" experience with gaming down to a minimum, the Uncharted series, Heavy Rain, all the bull****. I gotta say Ocelot I don't think anyone could refute your logic in this post

I had to have a good chuckle I don't think Greylord will ever on any forum use the words "pc gaming is dying" and "steam is the reason that people have given up on PC gaming" Imagine having to respond to some of the logical and insightful comments from people who clearly disagreed with him. I would run and hide deeeeeeeeep underground Don't mean to make you feel bad Greylord but you did open yourself up to it.

Absolutely not and anyone who thinks that needs to share whatever they are smoking with me because I realllllllly want to see the world like they are seeing it @ Greylord Can you provide some or any credible links that support your view that PC sales have suffered billions of dollars of lost revenue due to Steam or forms of DRM? You point does sound ludicrous. Also you do realize that hundreds of thousands of people outside of USA, and other first world countries, don't use Steam at all due to bandwidth constraints. @ Cultist No I don't think thats a valid reason to move to consoles. Once again it sounds absurd

I have mentioned this before Hurlshot but you have this uncanny and admirable ability to oftern articulate what I am thinking in your posts. You make the point I am trying to make succinctly and accurately

You are right about your post not being popular, it smacks of bigotry . Are you opposed to 2 gay people walking the street and holding hands, I just want to understand what you mean by " they need to keep what they do in the bedroom". Also how do you feel about a gay person joining the army and fighting and dying for country. Should he be allowed to do that, maybe "he should just stay in the bedroom" ? Anyway go back to page two of this thread and read the excellent and informative post by Agx. You'll learn a few things, marriage was never about religion. It was about a social contract between people. So religion actually hijacked the definition of marriage. Therefore if want to leave marriage as it was gay people should be allowed to get married. I'd say let the gay person fight and die if they want. What I'm against is the actions that they have taken in some places once they get Gay Marriage as a term and approved by govt. They have in some locations then sued churches for not agreeing to marry them. THAT'S what I oppose. I oppose ANYONE who wants to try to force thier views on someone else. Some you can accuse of the scared of Homosexuality, but in some instances it's not scared of the sexuality, but scared because of actions taken elsewhere that they seem to desire to pursue. For Example An evangelical Christian marriage commissioner in Saskatchewan was successfully sued for refusing to marry a homosexual couple, despite assisting the couple by putting them in touch with another marriage commissioner who would be willing to conduct the ceremony. A campaign has now begun in Canada to remove tax-free status from churches that refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies. Some Canadian provinces are even considering laws to forbid teachers in private schools from teaching that traditional marriage is the ideal. Ocean Grove, a United Methodist Church in New Jersey, was successfully sued by a lesbian couple for not allowing them to be married on Ocean Grove’s grounds. The site in question is Ocean Groves’ seaside pavilion which is used in worship ceremonies. Ocean Grove argued under the First Amendment they have the right to not allow marriages they do not recognize on their grounds, the judge did not agree. Judge Solomon Metzger ruled Ocean Grove had to allow such marriages then went one step further and revoked Ocean Groves tax-exempt status on the pavilion and surrounding grounds. The tax-exempt status has since been re-instated for most of the grounds re-filed for the exemption. It's the examples that they are having in trying to FORCE their views on others. Why does it have to be called Gay -Marriage? Because that tears down the other religions and if you use a term they use...then maybe you can FORCE them to change their religion. I could care less what they do overall until it involves ME. If they want to hold hands...go right ahead. If they want to smooch, go right ahead. If they want to smooch me...well...I'm going to object to that one. They could call it whatever they want...the only reason for calling it Gay Marriage is political...AND purposefully to enrage or upset others. I think it's a stupid reason. I disagree with the leaders of that movement and their opinions on that matter. Another problem is that idiots who have NO idea what's going on in the Gay community assume that these Leaders (some of whom aren't even homosexual) speak for every homosexual or gay person out there. They don't, but those pushing this agenda DO have a political agenda in mind and most of the time it's trying to force an issue whether it needs to be or not. There are OTHER ways to accomplish similar ideas without resorting to what they are trying to do in a more offensive manner. Force is not the way to do anything in my opinion in this manner, and they ONLY make enemies of those who would not be enemies. I have several Homosexual family members, I don't begrudge them anything. Part of the problem is people taking offense where there is none offered. If they don't try to force themselves on me, I don't mind. It's when they DO, that I mind. Look at it this way. Recently there was a case where there was a heterosexual couple staying at a hotel. They were kicked out of the hotel. Why? Because the owner stated it was a homosexual hotel ONLY. If I stated it was a homosexual couple that was kicked out because of their sexuality...it probably would engender a LOT more outrage. Either way, it's still discrimination. However, if it's private property...then the owner should be allowed to do whatever the heck they want...if it's a business however...then screw it. Religion on the otherhand I think is a very personal and private thing. Trying to force your views into someone's personal life is just as terrible as someone trying to push their religious views on you. AS I said, keep their business to themselves and I don't have a problem, it's when they push it on me that I have a problem. As far as being bigoted... Do you even know if I'm homosexual or heterosexual. It's amazing what people assume. @ Greylord I may be over sensitive and reading too much into what you initially meant. I apologize if thats the case. Of course freedom needs to apply both ways, I don't feel a religious organization should be forced to marry a gay couple. I never suggested that. But I am talking about a simple legal decision. Gay couples should have the same rights as straight couples and be able to commit to a long term relationship through marriage and therefore have the same legal protection and recognition. Thats my point, at the moment in many countries this is not recognized or acceptable.

You are right about your post not being popular, it smacks of bigotry . Are you opposed to 2 gay people walking the street and holding hands, I just want to understand what you mean by " they need to keep what they do in the bedroom". Also how do you feel about a gay person joining the army and fighting and dying for country. Should he be allowed to do that, maybe "he should just stay in the bedroom" ? Anyway go back to page two of this thread and read the excellent and informative post by Agx. You'll learn a few things, marriage was never about religion. It was about a social contract between people. So religion actually hijacked the definition of marriage. Therefore if want to leave marriage as it was gay people should be allowed to get married.

GB you are a genius, I also haven't played Skyrim yet so waiting for the GOTY edition make sense. Any idea when it will come out?

Nice idea, and a good way to use ths type of creature.

At least you are suggesting that they keep picking it back up Hi Melk I like Bioware and despite all this "Bioware Bashing" I guarantee you that almost every person on these forums who claims to dislike Bioware and that there games are sub-par will play Dragon Age 3 when its released. Mark my words I wont. And I think I proved that by not playing ME3 Sub-par... Bioware has entrenched itself in a specific niche, with a very specific style which does not appeal to me. It is far less a "bioware is bad" issue than the hordes of people who very vocaly will explain how they are perfect, which in turn will make those who disagree with that position to overly disagree. I do take offense when a "serious" gaming journalist drools over the consequences in Mass Effect and then discards the writing in Alpha Protocol as shallow for example. BACK ON TOPIC: ( ) I accidentally deleted my continuous game in Anno 2070. Warehouses full of resources. 2.12 million credits. A research town churning out prototypes... all gone... So I have to start a new game and get back countless hours of playtime. I won't. The way things are right now, i don't even know when i'll play another Bioware game again. Sorry boys but I don't quite believe you When DA3 is released and it will be awesome, you'll play it. You won't be able to resist. And to be honest its not that hard to avoid playing ME3, but to not play an incredible fantasy RPG is a different story. So we will have to see.... If it's awesome in a return-control-to-the-player, less cinematic sort of way--and doesn't require Origin--sure. I don't think it's so much an issue of their games being "subpar" as it is them having "moved on" from creating the sorts of games I like to play. Edit: Bah! I didn't intend to quote the entire conversation. Don't feel bad I just did the exact same thing End of the day this is my view, I enjoyed both DA1&2. They weren't BG2 but they were entertaining and thats all I ask for nowadays when I play a game. I expect entertainment, not inspiration. Besides lets be honest, DA2 has Isabella in it, what's not to like about her and those pirate outfits

Welcome You'll have a blast on these forums, and remember all the cool people hang around the Obsidian community area