Get Portal for free and Steam officially ported to Linux!

LogicDeLuxe · Post by **LogicDeLuxe** » Sun May 16, 2010 9:58 am

bobdevis wrote:and go for client-server-handshake DRM instead of rootkit stuff.

Steam has its own DRM already, so why would they bother? (Yes, I know some companies do.

)

What I like about Steam is, I can just move its folder onto another computer, and it works right out of the box. No need to reinstall anything.

MusicallyInspired · Post by **MusicallyInspired** » Sun May 16, 2010 9:27 pm

Valve are already in the process of porting all their Direct3D games (that's all their games) to OpenGL for Mac support. And they've said they're going to treat the Mac as a tier-1 release platform and release simultaneously with PC releases. That's a first step.

LogicDeLuxe wrote:
MusicallyInspired wrote:(all Valve games, actually) are Steam games.
My Half-Life CD isn't. (Not a surprise, since Steam didn't even exist when the game was released)

Ok. Valve's back catalogue isn't exclusively Steam. But every game since Half-Life 2 are all Steam exclusives. Even the retail releases.

Freddo · Post by **Freddo** » Sun May 16, 2010 9:30 pm

MusicallyInspired wrote:Ok. Valve's back catalogue isn't exclusively Steam. But every game since Half-Life 2 are all Steam exclusives. Even the retail releases.

Yep, not a DRM solution I'm particulary fond of. If I buy a retail release, I don't want to be forced to activate it online to play the game. Especially not single player games like Half-Life 2 and Portal.

Morden · Post by **Morden** » Mon May 17, 2010 1:37 pm

Freddo wrote:Yep, not a DRM solution I'm particulary fond of. If I buy a retail release, I don't want to be forced to activate it online to play the game. Especially not single player games like Half-Life 2 and Portal.

I don't think you can call it an "activation" when Steam has to download gigabytes of data to make your game actually playable. Plus, Valve's solution will render all retail versions useless once Steam goes down, whenever that may happen.

bobdevis · Post by **bobdevis** » Mon May 17, 2010 2:16 pm

Oh yeah, online activation sucks. However, if you want something that is multiplatform that does not hack your OS in some terrible and dangerous way, it is the only possible DRM.

Morden · Post by **Morden** » Mon May 17, 2010 4:18 pm

DRM does not equal security at all, so why bother? And more importantly, why make it tough on people who buy a legitimate product? I understand DRM in downloadable software [to a certain extent - a serial number would suffice], but spare the retail versions. Ubisoft and their solution require your computer to be online at all times during gameplay, which is completely insane. The protection has been cracked, of course, so the only ones who still have to worry about being online all the time are the people who bought a legit game.

I'm really glad that indie community always tries to stay DRM free, or even protection free. The games will get pirated either way, so why hurt those who actually buy them?

Spin · Post by **Spin** » Tue May 18, 2010 6:37 am

Thanks for the heads up, I am now the proud owner of Portal, never played it before

MeddlingMonk · Post by **MeddlingMonk** » Thu May 20, 2010 1:16 am

Morden wrote:The games will get pirated either way, so why hurt those who actually buy them?

It's funny, but an acquaintance of the Marquis de Sade once asked a similar question.

KuroShiro · Post by **KuroShiro** » Thu May 20, 2010 1:24 am

MeddlingMonk wrote:
Morden wrote:The games will get pirated either way, so why hurt those who actually buy them?
It's funny, but an acquaintance of the Marquis de Sade once asked a similar question.

Software piracy = insane sexual deviant? Sorry, but that particular analogy is a little hard to swallow. Heh, swallow.

MusicallyInspired · Post by **MusicallyInspired** » Mon May 24, 2010 9:43 pm

The free Portal offer is officially over. My congratulations to those who took advantage of the deal and my sympathies for those who didn't. Better luck next time.