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[larvi]

It's pretty amazing. Steam might soon have a peak of 3 million concurrent users logged in (currently the peak is 2.7 million). I believe the service hit a peak of 2 million concurrent users about a week before Live did, which was in early November 2009.

It's really grown a lot over the last few years.

I'm not sure how meaningful that number is seeing how by default the Steam client stays active and logged in on your computer even when you are doing anything on Steam. I have to make a concious effort to shut it down every time when I'm finished and don't see any way to change the default behavior to shut itself down completly when I close down the main window.

 

[Dynoro]

I'm not sure how meaningful that number is seeing how by default the Steam client stays active and logged in on your computer even when you are doing anything on Steam. I have to make a concious effort to shut it down every time when I'm finished and don't see any way to change the default behavior to shut itself down completly when I close down the main window.

Wonder if they could do a concurrent users playing a game at present - would seem more accurate number then

 

[Firestorm]

I'm not sure how meaningful that number is seeing how by default the Steam client stays active and logged in on your computer even when you are doing anything on Steam. I have to make a concious effort to shut it down every time when I'm finished and don't see any way to change the default behavior to shut itself down completly when I close down the main window.

Why does that make it meaningless?

 

[Twig]

Why does that make it meaningless?

Live is less likely to have people logged in all the time, I guess is his point.

I don't necessarily agree with it, but it is worth taking into consideration.

 

[Fragamemnon]

King's Bounty Gold edition for $11.25 as the midweek sale. Not bad at all if you didn't pick up the games over the holiday special.

 

[Archie]

King's Bounty Gold edition for $11.25 as the midweek sale. Not bad at all if you didn't pick up the games over the holiday special.

fffuuu. I got Armored Princess for $9.99 during the holiday sale, but I'd like the OG KB on my Steam account so I don't have to bother with GamersGate.

 

[Kipe]

fffuuu. I got Armored Princess for $9.99 during the holiday sale, but I'd like the OG KB on my Steam account so I don't have to bother with GamersGate.

It's on sale for $5.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/25900/

 

[brain_stew]

King's Bounty Gold edition for $11.25 as the midweek sale. Not bad at all if you didn't pick up the games over the holiday special.

The Legend by itself is only £2.50 here (£8.75 for gold), gonna pick that up.

 

[Fragamemnon]

The original KB is also on sale for $5, just do that.

Gamersgate speeds for me are actually way better now that they added the new servers in the US. Still not quite Steam (much less Impulse!) speeds, but better.

 

[Shadow780]

shit, got AP already, damn you Steam.

 

[Dave Long]

Phenomenal deal.

 

[Volcynika]

Didn't get Armored Princess during Steam sale partly due to the demo being completely awful to new players, but also since the gameplay didn't click with me. I'll pass on this one.

 

[vocab]

Didn't get Armored Princess during Steam sale partly due to the demo being completely awful to new players, but also since the gameplay didn't click with me. I'll pass on this one.

Same.

 

[poppabk]

Live is less likely to have people logged in all the time, I guess is his point.

I don't necessarily agree with it, but it is worth taking into consideration.

With Netflix and a DVD player and some media capabilities, I think that the numbers probably even out, especially as I assume Live is not an optional service like Steam, meaning everyone who is using their 360 for something else shows up.

 

[Twig]

With Netflix and a DVD player and some media capabilities, I think that the numbers probably even out, especially as I assume Live is not an optional service like Steam, meaning everyone who is using their 360 for something else shows up.

That's also a good point.

But really there's no way we'll ever know for certain, probably.

I will pass on King's Bounty, even though I've technically fulfilled my two-games-beaten requirement twice over. As much as I want the game, I know it's a heavy burden and yeah.

That and I'm a bit low on money. O:

 

[Xapati]

I'm tempted to pick up Kings Bounty, but my Backlog is already huge. I'll probably pass.

 

[gregor7777]

ooooohhhhhh, might I double dip on KB? :lol

Best turn based game I've played in some time.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Never played a HoMM style game before so what the hell. I'll just make a sandwich for lunch tomorrow to make up for the $11.25 hole left in my wallet.

 

[Zachack]

Why does that make it meaningless?

Not so much meaningless as less meaningful. I'm logged into XBL when I'm playing a game or otherwise actively using my 360 (Netflix would be the non-gaming exception). I'm logged into Steam regardless of my interest in using Steam. If you looked at my usage stats from Thursday evening to Sunday evening it would look like I was active for like 71.8 of those 72 hours, but for example on Saturday I don't think I played any PC games at all. I'm sure there are people who never reboot unless forced and they have Steam on permanently.

That's not to say that having Steam on like that is meaningless (having it on greatly increases the odds that I'm going to use the Steam interface to glance at the store or check the valve forums), but it's also incorrect to assume that someone logged into Steam is as actively using Steam as the equivalent person logged into XBL.

With Netflix and a DVD player and some media capabilities, I think that the numbers probably even out, especially as I assume Live is not an optional service like Steam, meaning everyone who is using their 360 for something else shows up.

You can use a PC for Netflix/DVD, and the latter does not require an internet connection on the 360. I'm not really arguing the notion you're presenting, but I would disagree that it balances out, simply due to the different nature of the 360 (focused gaming device with a few media applications) versus the PC (highly multifunctional). Steam may be optional but at the same time the cost of operating Steam to the user is basically nil in comparison to the 360.

 

[Sanjay]

Wonder if they could do a concurrent users playing a game at present - would seem more accurate number then

They kind of do, http://store.steampowered.com/stats/ check under "View Steam players per game" also same can be said about Xbox live, as it signs in no matter what even if your just viewing films etc.

 

[Ikuu]

Nice, picked up the original even though I own it from GamersGate.

 

[larvi]

Not so much meaningless as less meaningful. I'm logged into XBL when I'm playing a game or otherwise actively using my 360 (Netflix would be the non-gaming exception). I'm logged into Steam regardless of my interest in using Steam. If you looked at my usage stats from Thursday evening to Sunday evening it would look like I was active for like 71.8 of those 72 hours, but for example on Saturday I don't think I played any PC games at all. I'm sure there are people who never reboot unless forced and they have Steam on permanently.

That's not to say that having Steam on like that is meaningless (having it on greatly increases the odds that I'm going to use the Steam interface to glance at the store or check the valve forums), but it's also incorrect to assume that someone logged into Steam is as actively using Steam as the equivalent person logged into XBL.

Correct. PCs are much more likely to be used for non-gaming or left on even while not in use than a 360 would be. And by making the client continue to run in the backround after shutdown and not giving an option to disable that, I feel the Steam concurrent users number to be artificially inflated, not to say the xbl users aren't as well but not to the same magnitude. Not to mention that I can't stand software that leaves a part of itself running after shutting it down, it wastes memory, slows down your computer and adds a potential security exposure.

 

[Kifimbo]

Glad I waited for the Gold version.

 

[vocab]

Not to mention that I can't stand software that leaves a part of itself running after shutting it down, it wastes memory, slows down your computer and adds a potential security exposure.

You must be talking about a different client, because when I kill steam, it stays dead till I revive it.

 

[Dead Prince]

picking up KB since i bought AP during the holiday sale

 

[larvi]

You must be talking about a different client, because when I kill steam, it stays dead till I revive it.

When I close Steam it minimizes to the tray, and I have to right click on that icon and choose exit to get it to leave. Yours doesn't do this?

 

[Steve Youngblood]

King's Bounty was a dangerous purchase on my part. I actually just picked up a box copy since it was so cheap (this was pre-holiday Steam sales), and even though I haven't had a ton of time for games lately, when I do it's consumed by King's Bounty. This is all well and good, but it's distracting me from the other stuff I wanted to stay on top of: I'm no where near completing Dragon Age, Mass Effect 2 comes out this month, then there's an expansion for Dragon Age in March, and let's not forget about Alpha Protocol whenever that gets released. AND I purchased Armored Princess during the Steam sales.

I really need to quit my job so I can get caught up on all of these games.

 

[vazel]

When I close Steam it minimizes to the tray, and I have to right click on that icon and choose exit to get it to leave. Yours doesn't do this?

That's common behavior for apps that are designed to be always running. uTorrent does that too unless you change it in the options.

 

[tomasdk]

Nice, I had hoped for a deal on the gold version during the holiday sale but it didn't happen so I got AP and now I can get The Legend too. Now just to find the time to play them in order.

 

[Macmanus]

Couldn't pass the OG KB up for $5. I sunk about an hour into it on my room mate's computer, and while I enjoyed it a lot I was pretty bad at it. Turn based strategy isn't my forte, but I like the mechanics none the less.

I think I'll just throw this baby on easy mode from the start and crank it up if I get bored.

 

[Wickerbasket]

When I close Steam it minimizes to the tray, and I have to right click on that icon and choose exit to get it to leave. Yours doesn't do this?

That's what its supposed to do? Where do your other messenger programs go when you shut them down?

I like the way it works, I can still get messages from friends and it doesnt take up unneeded screen space. All the popular messenger services work that way; AIM, MSN messenger, Yahoo, Skype.

 

[turnbuckle]

King's Bounty Gold edition for $11.25 as the midweek sale. Not bad at all if you didn't pick up the games over the holiday special.

Your post earlier in this thread or another Steam thread is what got me to purchase both a few weeks ago. I think the package was like $30 or $35 back then and I consider it to be some of the best bang for my buck in gaming I've had in a great while. For $11.25, one would be nuts or simply broke to not purchase it. The Legend had me hooked for a few weeks straight, and that was only on a single play through. Armored Princess has a lot of small improvements and a much, much better set of skill trees (although it has a few typos or glitches too) and is much less linear.

The upgrades in the sequel are good enough that I probably will reserve my higher difficulty playthroughs for it rather than go back to The Legend, but both games are amazing.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Correct. PCs are much more likely to be used for non-gaming or left on even while not in use than a 360 would be. And by making the client continue to run in the backround after shutdown and not giving an option to disable that, I feel the Steam concurrent users number to be artificially inflated, not to say the xbl users aren't as well but not to the same magnitude. Not to mention that I can't stand software that leaves a part of itself running after shutting it down, it wastes memory, slows down your computer and adds a potential security exposure.

Its not hard to close steam. Also comparing a DD platform to XBL is stupid. You don't need to have any games to be logged into steam. You also dont need steam to play games, as opposed to the xbox where XBL is essentially a requirement.

 

[larvi]

That's common behavior for apps that are designed to be always running. uTorrent does that too unless you change it in the options.

But why would Steam need to be always running? And where is the option to change it? I'm not a torrents user but I could understand that may need to be running if you are serving torrents from your machine. My backup daemon is also there because it needs to schedule itself unattended. But a lot of software just uses the tray for a quick launch tool more than anything else.

 

[poppabk]

When I close Steam it minimizes to the tray, and I have to right click on that icon and choose exit to get it to leave. Yours doesn't do this?

I just go to File-> Exit instead of clicking the X button. It is a little annoying that you can't change the default behavior of the X button, but at least it is easy to prevent automatic load with boot, I hate having to mess with ini files or registry entries to prevent stuff from running automatically.

 

[Salacious Crumb]

But why would Steam need to be always running? And where is the option to change it? I'm not a torrents user but I could understand that may need to be running if you are serving torrents from your machine. My backup daemon is also there because it needs to schedule itself unattended. But a lot of software just uses the tray for a quick launch tool more than anything else.

Is right clicking the icon really that much harder than clicking the X icon.... Too much fuss over nothing.

 

[larvi]

That's what its supposed to do? Where do your other messenger programs go when you shut them down?

I like the way it works, I can still get messages from friends and it doesnt take up unneeded screen space. All the popular messenger services work that way; AIM, MSN messenger, Yahoo, Skype.

I only use Steam as a game launcher and not as an IM client.

 

[vazel]

But why would Steam need to be always running? And where is the option to change it? I'm not a torrents user but I could understand that may need to be running if you are serving torrents from your machine. My backup daemon is also there because it needs to schedule itself unattended. But a lot of software just uses the tray for a quick launch tool more than anything else.

It's always running for auto-patching and for friends list invites and chat.

 

[Macmanus]

When I close Steam it minimizes to the tray, and I have to right click on that icon and choose exit to get it to leave. Yours doesn't do this?

Minimizing software isn't exactly synonymous with closing software. The X in the corner of the box isn't always an automatic "kill this app" button.

 

[Wickerbasket]

But why would Steam need to be always running? And where is the option to change it? I'm not a torrents user but I could understand that may need to be running if you are serving torrents from your machine. My backup daemon is also there because it needs to schedule itself unattended. But a lot of software just uses the tray for a quick launch tool more than anything else.

You can't possible see a reason for steam to always be running? Do you not have any friends on your steam list? It can be nice to see when they start playing a game so you can just join them on a whim. Also, what if a friend wants to play a game with you? He can't do that if your not connected to steam

You're really complaining about having to click close on the taskbar tray icon? Really? I've got a feeling the threads being trolled.

Edit: Now that I see your post about not having friends it makes more sense. Carry on.

 

[larvi]

I just go to File-> Exit instead of clicking the X button. It is a little annoying that you can't change the default behavior of the X button, but at least it is easy to prevent automatic load with boot, I hate having to mess with ini files or registry entries to prevent stuff from running automatically.

Thanks, that does seem to work, wasn't aware that it worked differently that way. Alt-F4 also causes the tray rider to stay though.

 

[vazel]

Now now let's not get all uppity on him. 'X' has indeed been the de facto standard for killing the app. Valve should include an option to change its behavior to its common usage like in uTorrent.

 

[Won]

Damn that KB deal. But I know I will never come around actual playing it. What to do?

 

[Wickerbasket]

Damn that KB deal. But I know I will never come around actual playing it. What to do?

Don't buy it if you don't think you have time to play it. Well, thats what I want to say but I've got way too much to play from the steam sale, and I'm still tempted to buy the KB deal.

 

[JudgeN]

Damn it I bought KB:AP during the steam christmas sale so I can't get the bundle. O well I just buy KB: L, god damn it steam and your repeat sales :lol

 

[Doytch]

Holy shit people, buy that King's Bounty pack. Both of the games are fun as hell and totally suitable for quick bursts with time off in between. Buy buy buy.

(Might rebuy KBTL on Steam for convenience and hand my cdkey from Gamersgate to a friend.)

 

[Salacious Crumb]

Don't buy it if you don't think you have time to play it. Well, thats what I want to say but I've got way too much to play from the steam sale, and I'm still tempted to buy the KB deal.

This excuse isn't really applicable to steam considering that, in theory you'll have access to your game list forever, well at least until you die.

 

[ZealousD]

They kind of do, http://store.steampowered.com/stats/ check under "View Steam players per game" also same can be said about Xbox live, as it signs in no matter what even if your just viewing films etc.

You're tons more likely to be playing a game on XBL than you are on Steam, though. I'm logged in to Steam probably 8-10 hours every day. I'm logged in to XBL maybe 2-4 hours every day. And yet I rarely play games on Steam but I use XBL daily.

 

[Dynoro]

They kind of do, http://store.steampowered.com/stats/ check under "View Steam players per game" also same can be said about Xbox live, as it signs in no matter what even if your just viewing films etc.

Wow MW2 multiplayer destroys everything bar CS - I thought TF2 and L4D2 would be closer than that

 

[kinoki]

You're tons more likely to be playing a game on XBL than you are on Steam, though. I'm logged in to Steam probably 8-10 hours every day. I'm logged in to XBL maybe 2-4 hours every day. And yet I rarely play games on Steam but I use XBL daily.

All this proves is that you have more intresting games on your Xbox, right?