HL2: Orange Box. Retail or Online? And what of Steam?

[B.E.E.F.]

I'm looking at getting The Orange Box. Is it better through Steam or Retail? What would the difference be?

And let's suppose in the future that Steam is no longer active. I don't want Steam to pull a Wall*Mart or a Yahoo! or an EA and shut down the DRM server.

Can this game be played without Steam? Don't post details.

[zanzabar]

they are the same, one uses steam to dload and one has a key to put in steam and dload online or use the disks to install

u have to use steam ether way, but it works offline u only have to log in like once a month for the pc

[B.E.E.F.]

Yeah, but what if Steam goes? Not now, but when its time is up. What then?

Can the game be freed from Steam? Hypothetically.

[reberto]

Yeah, but what if Steam goes? Not now, but when its time is up. What then?

Can the game be freed from Steam? Hypothetically.

The games can't be played without Steam anyways, so there is no need to worry if Steam goes under (or Valve for that matter).

You *could* use them without it, but not only does all forms of online play not work, but its not legal.

[B.E.E.F.]

The games can't be played without Steam anyways, so there is no need to worry if Steam goes under (or Valve for that matter).

You have it backwards.



You *could* use them without it, but not only does all forms of online play not work, but its not legal.

I'm thinking in the future. Maybe a few years down the line, maybe later. I doubt there will be a multiplayer server active then.

I really could care less about the legality, I've already played the game, and I don't own a copy. I want to buy a legitimate copy and support the developers. I don't want to be shafted down the line by doing this.

[Riggs]

I dont think valve will just go under. Get the game, its worth it. :)

[B.E.E.F.]

I dont think valve will just go under. Get the game, its worth it. :)

That's what this thread is about. I'm buying it either way.

I just had some concerns.

[Jowy Atreides]

I bought the retail box, then after a HD crash I just re-downloaded them from steam without needing to use the disks or key again

just get whatever version is cheapest

[YukonTrooper]

I like hard copies, but lots of people seem to live and die by the Steam platform. I don't get unlimited bandwidth in my area (20GB/month) so downloading full version games isn't efficient. Having said that, many of my games (DOD:S, TF2, Red Orchestra, Portal, EP:2) are Steam platform purchased. I purchased one of the Half-Life 2 boxed sets, and my hard copies from that include Half-Life 2, EP:1, and original Half-Life with all its expansions.

All my other games are hard copies. I like having everything; plus you can usually find the boxed stuff cheaper, which doesn't really make sense, but I'm not complaining.

[Riggs]

Retail box is nice, I thought it installed them faster. For CS:S at least. :)

[exhausted mule]

that... and what about reinstilations?

steam is a d/l but there is no exec say if you want to reinstall windows. do you need to re d/l the whole game?



kinda curious cause i just bought warhead and now am considering reinstalling the os.

[Riggs]

You've gotta redownload via steam. Its free, but takes a while. Usually I get 800kbs.

[B.E.E.F.]

Ok. So I bought the physical copy.

Steam's been 'updating' my game files for the past hour! Its running at ~300kb/s and its only at 20% for Half Life 2.

o_O

[YukonTrooper]

Well, at least Half-Life 2 is worth the wait. :)

[B.E.E.F.]

I'm at 1.5GB downloaded and I updated Half Life 2, and downloaded Lost Coast.


How big are the updates usually?

[YukonTrooper]

Dunno. Can't remember. Shouldn't be that bad.

[Whilhelm]

They very in size with each update, but on a first install there is a lot of updates to download. Usually steam downloads pretty fast, I get between 750kbps to 1.5mbps usually.

I wouldn't worry about Valve going under either because steam has become the most popular method of online distribution there is and they have tons of other developers coming on board to distribute their games.

[P8baller07]

My general thoughts and opinions: If its an actual Valve game, you have no choice and it doesnt matter, you MUSt play steam.

If its another game that can run stand alone without steam.... Crysis, Dreamfall, Racing games, etc.... Get a retail box copy.

[cawest]

By the way when is the next episode of Half-life coming out? I kind of miss blowing away those little crabs.

[Kondik]

By the way when is the next episode of Half-life coming out? I kind of miss blowing away those little crabs.

That's why I redownloaded the HL2 , EP 1 and EP2 through the night And playing them right now ... there was a need for the crowbar + headcrab duo

[carmike692000]

This is a good topic. I just bought the retail version of Crysis and then purchased STALKER: SHoC through Steam. I think it's VERY convenient to be able to just download it online from home. Also, I HATE having to grab the DVD for Crysis, put it in everytime I want to play it, and wait (forever) for it to read the disc. I almost wish I had just bought it from Steam so I didn't have to deal with that. However, like the OP, I really do like having a hard, tangible copy of everything I have so ownership is not disputable.

That being said, is there a way that with the code that came with my Crysis, I could just delete the game and download it from Steam so I didn't have to use the DVD to play it?


And regarding download speeds, I never used Steam back at home, but I downloaded my Half Life games again (accidentally deleted them) and STALKER at the same time. Got some pretty awesome download speeds here on campus. :D

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q66/carmike692000/Random%20Stuff/SteamDownloadRates.jpg

[G.Foyle]

To be precise:
- you dont have to reinstall Steam or any games when reinstalling Windows. You just have to copy the entire Steam folder (though in fact Steam.exe and SteamApps folder would suffice). Just run Steam on fresh Windows install, it will update itself and voila, you can play.
- when Steam goes down, your Steam client will just think your internet connection is dead, and will run in offline mode.

[[XC] Lead Head]

Both the retail and the downloaded copies both need steam to run. So if steam ever gets shut down for whatever reason, your screwed either way

[cadaveca]

Valve stated when STEAM first began(I have been using STEAM since pre-public), that should they go under, they will patch all games to work properly before they go(simple removal of online accoutn verification would do it, IMHO).


But, that was many years ago. This was mentioned pre-HL2...and today, not only are Valve games on there, but also from almost every other major developer out there. Part of this is Valve dealing with online ditribution of older titles that other developers would not be prepared to offer online, and the other part is the additional revenue generated by being a publisher for other developers. Valve's server farm would have most of us drooling, but that farm plus also being a publisher ensures that the STEAM service will go nowhere. Should Valve stop producing titles, they'll still have the distribution of all the other developer's titles to fall back on.

This also means that they can once again take 6 years to publish a top-tier title, and not have to worry over costs so much...

[TedShred]

Lead Head;3329288']... if steam ever gets shut down for whatever reason, your screwed either way

:eek: don't even think it!! I never thought of that before. Man, how much would THAT suck?!

I like Steam, and I've found their HL support to be super quick and helpful. Though support for non-Valve/ Gearbox games is done through the 3rd party - I'm having audio issues with Crysis and Steam redirected me to EA. (Where I've been languishing for awhile now:( I bought the Steam version of Crysis because the meatgrinder sounds my EA disc version was making were getting genuinely scary)

[carmike692000]

I bought the Steam version of Crysis because the meatgrinder sounds my EA disc version was making were getting genuinely scary)
Did you HAVE to PURCHASE it from Steam? Or could you just download it from Steam and use your activation code you got with your hard copy of Crysis to play it?

I'm thinking of buying it from Steam so I don't have to worry with the disc anymore.

[TedShred]

Did you HAVE to PURCHASE it from Steam? Or could you just download it from Steam and use your activation code you got with your hard copy of Crysis to play it?

I'm thinking of buying it from Steam so I don't have to worry with the disc anymore.

Hmmmnn... damm good question. I know purchasing it seemed like a good idea at the time.:p: And I know that you can only register a pretty slim selection of 3rd party games. But I know that you can create a shortcut to any game in your Steams games list - tho I'm not sure whether or not that eliminates the need for the disc. I must have come to that conclusion, or had some other reason for shelling out another $40. That.... or I've just pulled off another bonehead maneuver:rolleyes:

FYI - this is the list of games you can actually register with Steam:
* Valve CD Keys in this format: ####-#####-####
* Valve CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* Alpha Prime CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* Dark Messiah CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* GTI Racing CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* Lost Planet: Extreme Conditions CD-keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* Prey CD Keys in this format: AAB1BB2C345CDD6E E7
* RACE - the WTCC Game CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* RACE 07 CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* Ragdoll Kung Fu CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* Red Orchestra CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* SiN Episodes: Emergence CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q
* The Ship CD Keys in this format: 1AB2C-D3FGH-456I7-JK8LM-NOP9Q

edit: cryptic or what. but its 28C in Calgary today and I've been playing outdoor 8-ball all day and suckin' Heinekens.:p::p: Anyway... in this moment of clarity...?... I got a new lappy which I'll never subject to an EA Crysis disc, so I wanted to get the full steam version. Having said that tho, I just assumed that a shortcut would be limited to one computer (ie my desktop). Surely that's the case.. or maybe I actually coulda accessed a Steam shortcut from my lappy?? (editStill doesn't answer your disc question, sorry.)

[carmike692000]

No problem, I still appreciate the info!

[B.E.E.F.]

but it works offline u only have to log in like once a month for the pc

No it doesn't.

Tried it yesterday. Steam starts up in offline mode. Episode 2 does not.

[Blazing fire]

I like hard copies, but lots of people seem to live and die by the Steam platform. I don't get unlimited bandwidth in my area (20GB/month) so downloading full version games isn't efficient. Having said that, many of my games (DOD:S, TF2, Red Orchestra, Portal, EP:2) are Steam platform purchased. I purchased one of the Half-Life 2 boxed sets, and my hard copies from that include Half-Life 2, EP:1, and original Half-Life with all its expansions.

All my other games are hard copies. I like having everything; plus you can usually find the boxed stuff cheaper, which doesn't really make sense, but I'm not complaining.

I did not know about that. The cost of the retail is 1.5 times on steam. Besides, some of their package deals cannot be found retail. Take "id super pack" for example.


I really could care less about the legality, I've already played the game, and I don't own a copy. I want to buy a legitimate copy and support the developers. I don't want to be shafted down the line by doing this.



I bought the retail box, then after a HD crash I just re-downloaded them from steam without needing to use the disks or key again

just get whatever version is cheapest

Agreed.

[amped_imports]

I like to have the physical discs just to have them on hand, but, if you buy them online, you can actually burn the games to CD's or DVD's to back them up. Also not a bad idea to do.

[KoHaN69]

valve and firaxis are the few developers that are still around, and still support "legacy" games

[Revv23]

I love steam i leave it on my app drive and it's been with me for about four computers and 10+ windows installs I just link the exe to my desktop and it downloads any game files i may have lost and bam i'm reinstalled..

It's sweet... i havent installed a game in ages... you just open steam, it updates everything automatically, and you play... no annoying installation process or anything... don't have to choose a folder to install in it all installs into your steam folder and doesnt ask you any questions... awesome. Not to mention steam saves your cd-keys for you.

[TedShred]

+1 on the love for Steam.

The only complaint I have is that you can't resell your games later like with a disc. But I wonder if all the drm stuff that's in games these days is making that complaint a little smaller since I'm thinkin' the limited amount of installs might make it hard to sell one second hand. (Admittedly don't know a whole lot about drm tho.)