UPDATE:
Steam Community beta is now live.
https://steamcommunity.com/ -- Set up a Steam Community ID
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/neogaf -- Join the NeoGAF group
Set up Steam Community within your Steam client: within steam, file --> settings ---> beta participation.
Valve is firing a shot at MS in a BIG WAY.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=162953&site=pcg
Good read about the Valve development mindset, but the good stuff is about Steam Community.
It is like Xbox live, but free. And it sounds like it even has a more detailed profile page than what Xbox Live offers. Steam community is the next big thing in online PC gaming. Adios Windows Live!
Steam Community beta is now live.
https://steamcommunity.com/ -- Set up a Steam Community ID
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/neogaf -- Join the NeoGAF group
Set up Steam Community within your Steam client: within steam, file --> settings ---> beta participation.
Valve is firing a shot at MS in a BIG WAY.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=162953&site=pcg
Good read about the Valve development mindset, but the good stuff is about Steam Community.
So how do these hedonistic game gurus want to change the way we play games online? They want to make it more sociable. Right now most players double-click a server and play with strangers for an hour or two, then never see them again. Valve's latest big announcement, The Steam Community, will encourage you to play with friends, and make new ones.
The headline feature is one-click matchmaking, both for new games and existing ones such as Counter-Strike. You'll be able to jump straight into a game with players of your skill level, with no history of griefing, by pressing a single button. It also lets you form a party with your friends, and automatically find a game that you can all jump into and play together. There are parallels to Microsoft's Live service, obviously, but the differences are heavily in Steam's favour. You need the £40-a-year Gold subscription to get Live's matchmaking, whereas Steam's is free, and it'll be supported by masses of our favourite games from day one.
The 'Community' part comes in when you form or join groups, like the PC Gamer UK Group we'll be setting up. Members can see when others are playing a game, join them, or schedule a match for a specific date and time. They'll also have a dedicated chat channel to talk to each other on regardless of what game they're playing, even between rounds.
Lastly, but perhaps most visibly, Steam Community gives you a personal gamer page that's accessible via the web, with embarrassingly detailed stats about what you play, how much you play it, and what kind of player you are. It even highlights noteworthy trends - the example we saw told the user "You like playing as a Boomer. Sometimes you (accidentally?) shoot your fellow Survivors."
It is like Xbox live, but free. And it sounds like it even has a more detailed profile page than what Xbox Live offers. Steam community is the next big thing in online PC gaming. Adios Windows Live!