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[Stallion Free]

The person could of course be lying, but they didn't say that gifting was an issue. They are suggesting that that gifting and being paid back, in order to get someone a better price from a different region (which I think is common on NeoGAF), was an issue. As pointed out, it would be difficult for Steam to detect this however, and all the proof that is given is that the account will be monitored in the future for regional violations.

Your case is different if you're giving pure gifts.

Sanjay used me to abuse the price thing a number of times during the Christmas sale. I had him pay me back gifting me a similarly priced game to avoid Paypal.

 

[Blizzard]

Again, Valve has no way of knowing though. If they're able to know private exchanges between individuals within Paypal there is a much bigger issue. What I could see is this person marketing himself as a go between if you will. Be it on Craigslist, the Steam forums, or another publicly viewed forum.

But even if he did, shouldn't Valve clarify that position? "As long as you keep it on the down-low, and don't market yourself as a go-between, we'll probably not disable your account"?

More proof or examples are needed, and if this really is a problem it will probably crop up again, but I'm just saying that I don't think a system would be good if it were really based on "Valve won't catch us".

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

But even if he did, shouldn't Valve clarify that position? "As long as you keep it on the down-low, and don't market yourself as a go-between, we'll probably not disable your account"?

More proof or examples are needed, and if this really is a problem it will probably crop up again, but I'm just saying that I don't think a system would be good if it were really based on "Valve won't catch us".

No, they shouldn't. There obviously is an agreement between Valve and the publishers regarding region restrictions. Do you really think Valve is going to go public and admit that they are ok with going around such restrictions with a 'wink wink, nudge nudge'? No. They will simply continue ignoring that it happens except for certain situations where its blatant.

 

[Stallion Free]

HEY VALVE:

Blizzard used Sanjay to abuse pricing differences to acquire Mafia II. If you read this, you know what needs to be done.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

HEY VALVE:

Blizzard used Sanjay to abuse pricing differences to acquire Mafia II. If you read this, you know what needs to be done.

LOL If Sanjay's account is banned tomorrow morning.

 

[Blizzard]

No, they shouldn't. There obviously is an agreement between Valve and the publishers regarding region restrictions. Do you really think Valve is going to go public and admit that they are ok with going around such restrictions with a 'wink wink, nudge nudge'? No. They will simply continue ignoring that it happens except for certain situations where its blatant.

It sounds to me like you're making assumptions about what Valve is/is not/will/will not do. Are you honestly okay with a situation where you depend on Valve's good will regarding whether some 300 games get disabled, simply because you're confident you're on the good side of a "wink wink, nudge nudge"?

HEY VALVE:

Blizzard used Sanjay to abuse pricing differences to acquire Mafia II. If you read this, you know what needs to be done.

Hey, we're totally in the clear. Paypal is one thing, but Sanjay told me that paying with sexual favors wouldn't run foul of the ToS.

 

[Joe Molotov]

What if you gifted someone a game and you didn't know what region they were in? Seems pretty ridiculous, I bet this guy was up to something shady.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

It sounds to me like you're making assumptions about what Valve is/is not/will/will not do. Are you honestly okay with a situation where you depend on Valve's good will regarding whether some 300 games get disabled, simply because you're confident you're on the good side of a "wink wink, nudge nudge"?


Hey, we're totally in the clear. Paypal is one thing, but Sanjay told me that paying with sexual favors wouldn't run foul of the ToS.

Who says this is good will or not? We are still presuming that this guys story is what he claims it is. I have read these types of accounts enough to not make a judgment with only one side of the story and thats what we have, ONE side. We have Valve's response but we still don't have the whole picture.

 

[Blizzard]

Who says this is good will or not? We are still presuming that this guys story is what he claims it is. I have read these types of accounts enough to not make a judgment with only one side of the story and thats what we have, ONE side. We have Valve's response but we still don't have the whole picture.

That's what I've been trying to say -- we need more information. If it truly is a policy change, it will probably happen again, to someone else, and we can discuss it then. However, if we need more information, then assuming the guy was doing something shady also seems like jumping to conclusions to me. *shrug* I may be proven wrong, and if so, I will certainly admit that.

 

[Parham]

The person could of course be lying, but they didn't say that gifting was an issue. They are suggesting that that gifting and being paid back, in order to get someone a better price from a different region (which I think is common on NeoGAF), was an issue. As pointed out, it would be difficult for Steam to detect this however, and all the proof that is given is that the account will be monitored in the future for regional violations.

Your case is different if you're giving pure gifts.

As I said before, I have gifted several games during the holiday sale and have been paid back the sale price. I have yet to hear a single thing from either Valve or Paypal. I do not believe gifting games overseas is the sole reason for Amergift's ban.

 

[Stallion Free]

What if you gifted someone a game and you didn't know what region they were in? Seems pretty ridiculous, I bet this guy was up to something shady.

Oh it's shady as shit. This isn't the first time someone has made a bullshit story on Reddit.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Oh it's shady as shit. This isn't the first time someone has made a bullshit story for Reddit.

There is enough to have problems with Valve than this crap. People do shit they shouldn't and their account gets banned and then go public as if they are a victim. Its the hitting yourself when mom is in the other room, screaming, and then pointing the finger at your older sister syndrome.

 

[Joe Molotov]

Oh it's shady as shit. This isn't the first time someone has made a bullshit story on Reddit.

Oh I know, I read Steam forums occasionally and I've seen a million "I got VAC banned for doing nothing!" or "My account got hijacked and I didn't give my password to anybody!" and it usually ends up with "Okay, well maybe I gave my son's friend the password, and maybe he downloaded some hax, but it's not my vault!" or the OP just disappearing when people question his story.

 

[poppabk]

Yeah there was that guy recently who got vac banned and claimed he had never cheated and then someone turned up forum posts on a cheating site asking how to get a hack to work or something to that effect.

 

[Blizzard]

Yeah there was that guy recently who got vac banned and claimed he had never cheated and then someone turned up forum posts on a cheating site asking how to get a hack to work or something to that effect.

And on the contrary, there has been Valve publicly apologizing for mistaken VAC bans on Black Ops, and giving out free games as an apology.

Once again, all we can say is what is PROBABLY the case, and we don't have a way of knowing unless it happens to more people, and/or unless the one guy here gets an "official" response from Steam support.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

Yeah there was that guy recently who got vac banned and claimed he had never cheated and then someone turned up forum posts on a cheating site asking how to get a hack to work or something to that effect.

The best ones are when someone claims they didn't do anything wrong or never received a response back from Valve support and then one of the employees of Valve (usually BurtonJ) comes in with date, time, and message that Valve sent back to the person.

 

[lastplayed]

Not that it's related, but I'm starting to go to GamersGate UK for new digital games. The exchange rate between the NZ$ and British Pound makes games way cheaper than non-sale Steam games.

 

[K.Jack]

I keep reading the reply from Steam Support on Feb. 12, 2011:

1. It doesn't mention anything about gifting to others, only that this person was bypassing regions for personal use. The part about pricing being based on his location, implies not that he was gift-ing but that he was gift-ed.

2. Read this carefully: "activity related to the bypassing of regional pricing or restrictions on your accounts".

Your accounts. So he has more than one account, and both were involved in whatever got him banned. This leads me to conclude that they caught him doing something, such as using a proxy account to take advantage of another region's pricing. Yes, he got caught gifting, but to himself, not others.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

Wow....

I understand where Steam is coming from here...

However, no matter what, I cannot take their side on this. No. Way. Regardless of how he bought the game, HE STILL BOUGHT THE GAMES. There should NEVER be an option from Steam's side to shut off access to games YOU legally bought.

I could just as soon order from an online store from a region with cheaper prices.

Though I guess if you were to do this, the best way to go about it would be to make multiple accounts? Make them in different regions and maybe buy ONE game. Make a different account and repeat. Still, there has to be a fairer solution than: HAHAHAHA WE TAKIN YO GAMES NAO SUCKAH!

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

I keep reading the reply from Steam Support on Feb. 12, 2011:

1. It doesn't mention anything about gifting to others, only that this person was bypassing regions for personal use. The part about pricing being based on his location, implies not that he was gift-ing but that he was gift-ed.

2. Read this carefully: "activity related to the bypassing of regional pricing or restrictions on your accounts".

Your accounts. So he has more than one account, and both were involved in whatever got him banned. This leads me to conclude that they caught him doing something, such as using a proxy account to take advantage of another region's pricing. Yes, he got caught gifting, but to himself, not others.

Wow good catch man. Seems plausible.

 

[Stallion Free]

I just figured this shit out.

Dude makes two accounts, one being his primary, the other a side account. He uses the side account with proxy shit so he can fake being in another region and then gifts the games to his primary account to keep it safe.

Black Ops does wonders for my thought process post work.

Nevermind lol didn't read.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

I just figured this shit out.

Dude makes two accounts, one being his primary, the other a side account. He uses the side account with proxy shit so he can fake being in another region and then gifts the games to his primary account to keep it safe.

Black Ops does wonders for my thought process post work.

Late. Kjack was first. But yea.

 

[Stallion Free]

I hope thats the case cuz it's very well known that you shouldn't do that shit.

 

[ClovingWestbrook]

I hope thats the case cuz it's very well known that you shouldn't do that shit.

Yup and its dumb to do. I have a few people I trust to gift me games. Would go that route any day before using a proxy.

 

[graywolf323]

I just figured this shit out.

Dude makes two accounts, one being his primary, the other a side account. He uses the side account with proxy shit so he can fake being in another region and then gifts the games to his primary account to keep it safe.

Black Ops does wonders for my thought process post work.

Nevermind lol didn't read.

hopefully is the case, just scared me since I help out international gaffers fairly often

 

[Stallion Free]

hopefully is the case, just scared me since I help out international gaffers fairly often

Oh yeah, tons of Gaffers do this stuff and no one has got their account locked. So one case out of how many million purchases right?

 

[slidewinder]

This leads me to conclude that they caught him doing something, such as using a proxy account to take advantage of another region's pricing. Yes, he got caught gifting, but to himself, not others.

Ahh, that would make much more sense.

 

[Mrbob]

And now we have the real info trickle out as to why he got his account banned.

Back to games for a second, I just watched the battle report for Shogun 2 on the Steam page and wow the combat looks amazing. Large scale combat has always seemed a little off in the Total War games, but this one has some amazing animation up close for battles! I might be picking this up, especially since I read in GI you can play through the campaign co op online. The competitive multi player sounds cool too as you create clans and there are going to be season leagues where the goal is to try and control as much of the map as possible with your clan. Hope it all turns out well because this one could be the surprise game of the year so far.

Shogun 2 is Steamworks and it seems like getting the boxed edition gets you more extras:

http://www.gamestop.com/pc/games/shogun-2-total-war-limited-edition/88091

Dunno why the version offered on Steam is bare bones by comparison.

 

[Blizzard]

And now we have the real info trickle out as to why he got his account banned.

Back to games for a second, I just watched the battle report for Shogun 2 on the Steam page and wow the combat looks amazing. Large scale combat has always seemed a little off in the Total War games, but this one has some amazing animation up close for battles! I might be picking this up, especially since I read in GI you can play through the campaign co op online. The competitive multi player sounds cool too as you create clans and there are going to be season leagues where the goal is to try and control as much of the map as possible with your clan. Hope it all turns out well because this one could be the surprise game of the year so far.

Shogun 2 is Steamworks and it seems like getting the boxed edition gets you more extras:

http://www.gamestop.com/pc/games/shogun-2-total-war-limited-edition/88091

Dunno why the version offered on Steam is bare bones by comparison.

I look forward to the day when common computers can support a level of massive NPC combat comparable to something like Massive (I think that's the name, software used to do the Lord of the Rings orc/elf etc. battles). Or maybe that day's already practically here, who knows.

 

[shintoki]

I already think Shogun looks amazing, but I also have a feeling the typical TW problems will still exist too. Perfect for the 5-10$ buy a year down the line, just because I like Samurai!

 

[water_wendi]

So yesterday i picked up Dawn of War 2 and decided to give Steam another chance. My MO with games that i buy that use Steam/Steamworks is to crack the DRM and not hassle with Steam at all. My experience surprised me to say the least.

At the start of the install there was a pop-up detailing all the things i would need to do to finish my install. There was only a handful of steps (install Steam, register/login Steam, install game, install GFW) so i went along with it. This was when i ran into my first issue.

1) You cannot install to a different location.

C: only? Are you serious? When i got my tax refund i picked up a 2TB hard drive so i could install all of my games to one drive and not be worried if i ever needed to reload my system drive (i also use a portable version of DosBox so i can run most of the games on any computer). i knew that Steam installed saves and settings to certain directories but the game itself?

i thought this would be a small issue. i dont want gigs of games on my main drive but its only one game. i can overlook this. So i continued with the install. The GFW stuff and the game itself installed fine. Woohoo, time to play some DoW2! Thats when i found out about Steam updates.

2) Is a 3GB download really an "update?"

i started the install when the sun was out. The install lasted all of maybe 10 minutes with Steam registration (forgot my old password/login from 2004 or whatever so thats on me) and GFW setup. i am curious as to what actually installed from the DVD if 3GB of updates were needed to make the game even playable. Regardless, when the updates were done it was hours later and my gametime had passed so i had to wait until much later to actually play.

This is a minor point compared to the previous two but..

3) Logging in to multiple different places

So i log in to Steam and start the game. The intro movies play and there are pop-ups about how ill need to write down codes for online (different ones than whats in my manual). The main menu comes up and i need to log in to GFW to play with full features. i find out that i cant even save the game unless im logged in. i guess thats cloud saving or whatever. i know only part of this is Steams fault with the rest being GFW but there couldnt have been an easier way to do this?

If i had to pick one word to summarize my latest Steam experience it would be excruciating. This is what has peoples hearts all a flutter? im probably going to fool around with multiplayer before i uninstall DoW2, Steam and GFW and just use fixed exes like i should have done in the first place.

 

[Stallion Free]

 

[water_wendi]

http://www.abload.de/img/v6fdsro5z.gif[img][/QUOTE]
Is my experience atypical? Did i forget to do something when installing my game like toggle a switch to actually fucking install it off the disc versus downloading gigabytes of stuff?

 

[CecilRousso]

So yesterday i picked up Dawn of War 2 and decided to give Steam another chance. My MO with games that i buy that use Steam/Steamworks is to crack the DRM and not hassle with Steam at all. My experience surprised me to say the least.

At the start of the install there was a pop-up detailing all the things i would need to do to finish my install. There was only a handful of steps (install Steam, register/login Steam, install game, install GFW) so i went along with it. This was when i ran into my first issue.

1) You cannot install to a different location.

C: only? Are you serious? When i got my tax refund i picked up a 2TB hard drive so i could install all of my games to one drive and not be worried if i ever needed to reload my system drive (i also use a portable version of DosBox so i can run most of the games on any computer). i knew that Steam installed saves and settings to certain directories but the game itself?

i thought this would be a small issue. i dont want gigs of games on my main drive but its only one game. i can overlook this. So i continued with the install. The GFW stuff and the game itself installed fine. Woohoo, time to play some DoW2! Thats when i found out about Steam updates.

2) Is a 3GB download really an "update?"

i started the install when the sun was out. The install lasted all of maybe 10 minutes with Steam registration (forgot my old password/login from 2004 or whatever so thats on me) and GFW setup. i am curious as to what actually installed from the DVD if 3GB of updates were needed to make the game even playable. Regardless, when the updates were done it was hours later and my gametime had passed so i had to wait until much later to actually play.

This is a minor point compared to the previous two but..

3) Logging in to multiple different places

So i log in to Steam and start the game. The intro movies play and there are pop-ups about how ill need to write down codes for online (different ones than whats in my manual). The main menu comes up and i need to log in to GFW to play with full features. i find out that i cant even save the game unless im logged in. i guess thats cloud saving or whatever. i know only part of this is Steams fault with the rest being GFW but there couldnt have been an easier way to do this?

If i had to pick one word to summarize my latest Steam experience it would be excruciating. This is what has peoples hearts all a flutter? im probably going to fool around with multiplayer before i uninstall DoW2, Steam and GFW and just use fixed exes like i should have done in the first place.

Don´t judge Steam by a Games for Windows LIVE game. That´s just wrong.

As for games being installed where Steam is installed, I have known that since 2007 so I don´t have a problem with it.

A 3gb update? Blame the devs of this game.

 

[Narag]

Isn't that 3GB update Chaos Rising as well?

 

[morningbus]

1) You cannot install to a different location.

Yes, you can. You have to install Steam onto the drive where your games are. The rest of your complaints aren't really about Steam.

Doesn't sound too bad to me!

Edit:

Is my experience atypical? Did i forget to do something when installing my game like toggle a switch to actually fucking install it off the disc versus downloading gigabytes of stuff?

Wait, did you download the whole game when you had a boxed copy sitting there? Standard procedure for retail copies activated on Steam: put disc into computer, follow prompts, then input your cd-key.

 

[water_wendi]

Don´t judge Steam by a Games for Windows LIVE game. That´s just wrong.

The Windows LIVE stuff seemed to be the least intrusive. It was just a minor annoyance, imo.

As for games being installed where Steam is installed, I have known that since 2007 so I don´t have a problem with it.

This isnt an issue? Have people stopped installing games to other drives?

A 3gb update? Blame the devs of this game.

That is true but the fact that i could not even play the game offline until i was fully updated is a Steam issue.

 

[Stallion Free]

Is my experience atypical? Did i forget to do something when installing my game like toggle a switch to actually fucking install it off the disc versus downloading gigabytes of stuff?

No, you just wasted material that should have been it's own full thread.

 

[Xapati]

So yesterday i picked up Dawn of War 2 and decided to give Steam another chance. My MO with games that i buy that use Steam/Steamworks is to crack the DRM and not hassle with Steam at all. My experience surprised me to say the least.

At the start of the install there was a pop-up detailing all the things i would need to do to finish my install. There was only a handful of steps (install Steam, register/login Steam, install game, install GFW) so i went along with it. This was when i ran into my first issue.

1) You cannot install to a different location.

C: only? Are you serious? When i got my tax refund i picked up a 2TB hard drive so i could install all of my games to one drive and not be worried if i ever needed to reload my system drive (i also use a portable version of DosBox so i can run most of the games on any computer). i knew that Steam installed saves and settings to certain directories but the game itself?

i thought this would be a small issue. i dont want gigs of games on my main drive but its only one game. i can overlook this. So i continued with the install. The GFW stuff and the game itself installed fine. Woohoo, time to play some DoW2! Thats when i found out about Steam updates.

2) Is a 3GB download really an "update?"



i started the install when the sun was out. The install lasted all of maybe 10 minutes with Steam registration (forgot my old password/login from 2004 or whatever so thats on me) and GFW setup. i am curious as to what actually installed from the DVD if 3GB of updates were needed to make the game even playable. Regardless, when the updates were done it was hours later and my gametime had passed so i had to wait until much later to actually play.

This is a minor point compared to the previous two but..

3) Logging in to multiple different places

So i log in to Steam and start the game. The intro movies play and there are pop-ups about how ill need to write down codes for online (different ones than whats in my manual). The main menu comes up and i need to log in to GFW to play with full features. i find out that i cant even save the game unless im logged in. i guess thats cloud saving or whatever. i know only part of this is Steams fault with the rest being GFW but there couldnt have been an easier way to do this?

If i had to pick one word to summarize my latest Steam experience it would be excruciating. This is what has peoples hearts all a flutter? im probably going to fool around with multiplayer before i uninstall DoW2, Steam and GFW and just use fixed exes like i should have done in the first place.

The 3GB update to DOWII is because it includes the entire Chaos Rising game so vanilla DOWII players can play online with Chaos Rising owners. If you buy Chaos Rising you'll see it's only a file that's a few MB.

 

[water_wendi]

Yes, you can. You have to install Steam onto the drive where your games are. The rest of your complaints aren't really about Steam.

That would have been helpful to know before i installed Steam.

Wait, did you download the whole game when you had a boxed copy sitting there? Standard procedure for retail copies activated on Steam: put disc into computer, follow prompts, then input your cd-key.

Yes. i bought the game for $15 new and unopened yesterday. i installed off the disc and put my code in like most every other game. The game showed up in Steam and i clicked Play but then it halted with a box talking about an update in progress. i was going to cancel the update and just try the game out but thats seemingly not an option.

No, you just wasted material that should have been it's own full thread.

i really didnt figure my experience to be important enough for its own thread.

 

[slidewinder]

Yeah. That huge update was you getting all the (huge) DoW patches and also ALL the content of Chaos Rising so that you can play against owners of that online. In your case, that's obviously a drag, and I think you are right to be annoyed, even if Relic's intention was in most ways good.

 

[x3sphere]

The inability to choose a different installation dir on a per game basis is really my only gripe with Steam. I can't fathom why it hasn't been implemented. There ARE ways around it, though:

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420200

 

[CecilRousso]

The Windows LIVE stuff seemed to be the least intrusive. It was just a minor annoyance, imo.

Everything with popups with keys, multiple logins, saved games being locked and so on in #3 is related to GfWL, not Steam. Steam itself is no hassle.

This isnt an issue? Have people stopped installing games to other drives?

Installing games to several drives? Yes, I´ve stopped with that. I install Steam on the drive I have all my games on, and then there is no problem. Is D: your game drive, install Steam to D:.

That is true but the fact that i could not even play the game offline until i was fully updated is a Steam issue.

That you have to finish an update you started, yes.
That you can´t play an unpatched game offline, no. That´s typical for Relic´s games, but not typical for a Steam game.

 

[slidewinder]

Edit: nm. Didn't even understand the post I was replying to.

 

[morningbus]

That would have been helpful to know before i installed Steam.

You can go and fix that now, if you'd like. Just copy the Steam games folder to the drive you want, uninstall Steam, reinstall Steam to the drive you want, then overwrite the games folder with your copy. It'll just need to do a quick file check when you first run Steam.

 

[water_wendi]

Everything with popups with keys, multiple logins, saved games being locked and so on in #3 is related to GfWL, not Steam. Steam itself is no hassle.

Like i said, it was a minor annoyance and even acknowledged it wasnt fully a Steam issue.

Installing games to several drives? Yes, I´ve stopped with that. I install Steam on the drive I have all my games on, and then there is no problem. Is D: your game drive, install Steam to D:.

That would have been helpful to know before i installed Steam. Afaik, there was no warning about that unless it was buried in a EULA somewhere. And unless there is a way to uninstall Steam and then reinstall to my game drive without losing the DoW2 installation, forget that. id rather not wait another 4 hours to play my game.

That you have to finish an update you started, yes.
That you can´t play an unpatched game offline, no. That´s typical for Relic´s games, but not typical for a Steam game.

i didnt start anything. There was never a Yes/No option given to me. Steam started a download all by itself.

 

[Rainier]

And unless there is a way to uninstall Steam and then reinstall to my game drive without losing the DoW2 installation, forget that. id rather not wait another 4 hours to play my game.

See the post above yours.

 

[water_wendi]

You can go and fix that now, if you'd like. Just copy the Steam games folder to the drive you want, uninstall Steam, reinstall Steam to the drive you want, then overwrite the games folder with your copy. It'll just need to do a quick file check when you first run Steam.

The Steamapps folder or the entire Steam folder?

 

[morningbus]

The Steamapps folder or the entire Steam folder?

Yes, just the steamapps folder.

 

[Vaporak]

Is my experience atypical? Did i forget to do something when installing my game like toggle a switch to actually fucking install it off the disc versus downloading gigabytes of stuff?

The 3 gig update was the expansion pack, Chaos Rising, so that the multiplayer community wouldn't get divided up between different versions of game.