Steam

Hey Guys,
What is Steam exactly? Could someone explain what it is and how it works. I've visited the site and am lost with it. (I doubt that I'll ever use it I just wondered how it works).
Thanks,
Spock96

 

Steam allows access and purchase to games and has some social networking implications as well.

It is a game manager. If a game is purchased and downloaded through the Steam program, then all updates for the game are handled through the Steam program.

 

Its a game manager that also keeps your games updated. It also will reinstall your games on your new pc if you lose your old one or something happens to the game on your pc. Ive used steam since it first came out and i love it. Sometimes it can get a bit wonky but overall its pretty killer.

You can also use it for voice chat and instant messaging during gameplay, join groups and guilds, buy digital copies of games and make friends lists like an IM program.

Ive downloaded games from 10 years ago that i had uninstalled or changed HDD's without moving games over. Just the other day i downloaded some of the original half lifes that i had bought waaay back and they still support them. Most other download managers have either X set number of times you can download, or just plain stop supporting the game after a few years.

Steam is also so big now, that unless something drastic happens, i cant see it failing in the forseeable future.

Hard to believe steam started with 4 guys modding half life and getting hired by valve after coming up with this idea.

 

Steam owns the digital download market for PC games. Think Xbox Live, but actually working, having customer service, and selling you the games

 

First of all, I guess I should say I don't work for Steam or have any financial interest in the company. The Steam client (see below) is an easy way to find out about and purchase lots of good computer games at very reasonable prices.

I've been using Steam for 5 or 6 years. While Steam does have a website the main way most of us access/use Steam is through the Steam client which is free to download and use.

The client is basically a custom browser (doesn't look like most browsers, but that's because it's game oriented) which has a number of different displays/pages selected from drop down menus at the top. These include a store page (which shows current sales/specials, lists of games by genre, by price, by sales/popularity etc), a library page (shows your list of purchased games and whether or not they are currently installed -- you can uninstall games if you need to free up hard drive space for whatever and reinstall them again at a later time with no additional charge). There are several other pages including a downloads page (showing new purchases being downloaded -- which can be paused -- as well as games that are being updated -- available updates for games purchased through Steam start automatically when you start the Steam client running).

IMPORTANT! -- While you access your game library through the Steam client, once you start up a given game it looks just as it would if you had installed it from a CD/DVD. That is, full screen without any browser window. There are, certainly, some games that you can choose to run in a window if you wish, but most games will run full screen just fine.

You can also download the Steam client to another computer and then download any games in your library to play on that same computer (assuming the hardware meets the game's requirements) without any additional charges (but you'll have to know your username and password, of course).

Mimsy is correct about the sales. There's always stuff on sale and if you are patient most games will come up for sale, often with substantial markdowns. Sometimes there are package sales -- e.g. all Rockstar games or (nearly) all Valve or Id games for a price that works out to just a few dollars per game. Even when you figure that you won't ever play some of the games in a package deal it still works out being cheaper than you're likely to find in a store bargain bin.

Steam carries many hundreds of games including most, if not all, of the biggies. E.g. Half-Life 1 and 2, Team Fortress 1 and 2, Dead Space, Left4Dead and LFD2, Civ III, IV and V (and the various add-on packs are also available through Steam), the Call of Duty series, ARMA and ARMA II and on and on. They also carry quite a few independent titles -- stuff like Universe Sandbox, Osmos, and Cthulhu Saves the World. Racing games, Role Playing games, single player and online multiplayer games, turn-based and real-time strategy games.

If a game has a demo available you can probably download it for free through Steam to try it out. In addition, many of the games have videos showing samples of game play and nearly all have screen captures that give some idea of what the game looks like.

If this sounds at all tempting I recommend you download the free Steam client from the website and then keep an eye on the sale stuff. Also look on the right side of the store page for the links for lists of "Games under $10" (currently over 1000 available it says!) and "Games under $5" (currently about 450 of these).

One thing you do have to watch carefully. Some games are sold before release (of course stores and other online sources do this also) so, naturally, they're not available for immediate download (though sometimes they sweeten the deal by including a free copy of an earlier version in a game series that you can download and play immediately). Nothing wrong with this, but it can be easy to overlook when you get all excited about seeing your favorite game series has a new entry -- e.g. "Fried Frog Noodles VIII with the Lilypad add-on available for purchase NOW!" (But reading carefully reveals that while you can pay for it immediately you won't be able to download it until the game's official release two months from now or whenever).

In addition, of course, you have to check the various games' requirements (posted at the bottom of the description of the game) to make sure your computer meets the hardware and operating system requirements.

The only serious problem with Steam, IMHO, isn't trying to find something to buy at a good price that you'll enjoy playing. No, the problem is buying more stuff than you'll have time to play because such good sales come around so frequently.

Whether it's old classic games or the latest stuff, Steam has a wide selection covering all the main gaming genres.

It may take you awhile to get used to using the Steam client as it has quite a number of features and menu selections. But as you can download and use the client at no charge you can easily try it out before you actually purchase a game to play.

Once you do purchase a game through Steam (Steam accepts major credit cards and PayPal) it will begin downloading automatically. If you close the Steam client before a download completes, the download will automatically resume the next time you start the Steam client running.

The Steam servers are nearly always running, but you can set most single-player games to run (after the initial install) even if the Steam servers happen to be down for whatever reason or your own internet connection has gone belly-up. I.e. You can play your Steam purchased games offline, if they're single-player or have a single-player component.

There are also Steam sponsored forums for most games and it's easy to find solutions to many game problems there. There are links in the Steam client for the many Steam forums devoted to various games.

All other things being equal I'm the kind of gamer who really prefers to have a physical box with an install DVD of my very own, but the prices and convenience of the Steam client/service keep tempting me into buying still more games through Steam.

Game manuals often have to be downloaded separately (sometimes by going to the game's own website), but they are available, almost always, at no additional charge (except for your own ink and paper costs if you decide to actually print them out rather than just viewing them on your computer, typically in pdf format).

Download the Steam client and take a look. Highly recommended!

There....more than you ever wanted to know about Steam!