• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

STEAM | May 2014 - every time improve protection Steam Guard

Status
Not open for further replies.

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
I own Demon's Souls, played through it numerous times. I own both Dark Souls 1 and 2 but found both kind of boring and didn't play either much. Heresy, I know. The invasions in the Souls games don't annoy me, it suited those games and added to the overall tension.

In Watch_Dogs it does annoy me. It's like the GTA IV phone calls, you'll be in the middle of a shoot out or just screwing around and Roman phones you up because he wants to go bowling. At least with GTA IV you could hang up or ignore the phone call. In Watch_Dogs you have to drop whatever it is you're doing and hunt down some random asshole. It actively interferes with what I want to be doing. So for now, the online is disabled.

Yeah, I disabled the online stuff before starting the game as I didn't want others getting in my way. In the past I've always gone for 100% completion, but I'm not going to bother with the online stuff in Watch Dogs. In addition to MP-based challenges there's also the landmark app badges -- some of them are tied to the online component ("Be the mayor of the three different locations at once", for example).

Worse still is that AssCreed Unity's completion tracker is undoubtedly going to be set up similarly. The writing was on the wall with Black Flag's "social" chests/convoys/whales (which I did complete), but this doesn't make the transition any less annoying.
 

Lomax

Member
Don't Starve not having achievements is a design decision. Plenty of us may not agree with it, especially now that the Playstation version has them, but it isn't laziness that they aren't there, it's a choice.
 
GTA IV's midmission phone calls were hilarious. Having Ronan call up at random while I'm running from the police/flying away in a helicopter and having the dialogue reflect that was amazing.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Don't Starve not having achievements is a design decision. Plenty of us may not agree with it, especially now that the Playstation version has them, but it isn't laziness that they aren't there, it's a choice.

Klei should just add an achievements build for those who want them. This way the game still exists as originally intended by default, but those who want to unlock the achievements can do so by opting into the different build.

GTA IV's midmission phone calls were hilarious. Having Ronan call up at random while I'm running from the police/flying away in a helicopter and having the dialogue reflect that was amazing.

U1xoxxU.jpg
 
I own Demon's Souls, played through it numerous times. I own both Dark Souls 1 and 2 but found both kind of boring and didn't play either much. Heresy, I know. The invasions in the Souls games don't annoy me, it suited those games and added to the overall tension.

In Watch_Dogs it does annoy me. It's like the GTA IV phone calls, you'll be in the middle of a shoot out or just screwing around and Roman phones you up because he wants to go bowling. At least with GTA IV you could hang up or ignore the phone call. In Watch_Dogs you have to drop whatever it is you're doing and hunt down some random asshole. It actively interferes with what I want to be doing. So for now, the online is disabled.

Sounds like Dark Souls 2. There's no "you can't be invaded" unless you (1) play in offline mode or (2) waste human effigies for the purpose of "blocking" network activity for 1 hour. I think those are the only ways to prevent invasion... so it's entirely possible for you to be methodically and carefully working your way forward at 50% health after enough deaths and have someone who is low level with much better equipment show up and just fucking end you. I can't tell you how many times it happened to me while I was in the early game and figuring out how some of it really worked.

No, ok, I'm aware of that. :)
What I meant was, like, if you have "counter" achievs (like: kill 100 crows, harvest 100 berries) you need to create a counter variable for each "achievable" event that eventually will trigger an API function that unlock the relative achievement.
Similarly, if there's an "event" achiev (like: build a science machine, fall into a wormhole), you need to write the trigger somewhere in the code.

If Klei didn't plan to use achievs at first (nevermind what happens on PSN, as AFAIK trophies are mandatory), it could be painful to track down every single instance of triggers to unlock achievs, plus an awful lot of testing to check if everything works fine (and in a harvesting game, it could take a LONG time).

I don't know. Yeah, having trophies and not giving us achievs is a cheap move, but it's not the worst ever omg. At least they didn't publish on GFWL, think about it! :D

True. But if PS4 architecture really is basically a PC in a console form, then the core functions of the game should be largely the same... in the interest of reaching larger markets with your product at lower costs, it really forces companies to try to keep as much of the code as general and abstract as possible... meaning that there should still be 1 main source tree with some flags or something that say what platform you're building on... if that were true, it could be as simple as adding an if then statement.

That's a bunch of assumptions, but working in the tech field and having extensive CS background, I can't really imagine a company porting their PC code to PS4 and not wanting to keep the core of the game code as shared between the two so that future DLC, such as the new EA DLC on Steam, could easily be ported over once it was fully "finished". Why leave the extra money on the table when porting costs could be minimal if done right, y'know?

Don't Starve not having achievements is a design decision. Plenty of us may not agree with it, especially now that the Playstation version has them, but it isn't laziness that they aren't there, it's a choice.

Design design or not, it went out the window as far as I'm concerned when they sold out and ported to PS4. Making the deal with Sony and compromising your "design decision" to get your game on a new platform where it's given away for free (and you're compensated for it) and then choosing to ignore the numerous requests fans of the game have made to have the trophies ported to the Steam versions as achievements is straight up douchebaggery as far as I'm concerned. I haven't played my copy of Don't Starve yet and at this rate, I'll end up playing the PS4 version I got for free through PS+ when I buy a PS4 for Project Beast instead of playing the Steam version... and I won't be supporting Klei in the meantime. That's my choice. :)

Klei should just add an achievements build for those who want them. This way the game still exists as originally intended by default, but those who want to unlock the achievements can do so by opting into the different build.

U1xoxxU.jpg

Exactly. Or put something in like The Stanley Parable where you have to enable achievements in the options menu. That developer/designer was a kind of a jerk in terms of mocking the achievement loving community with the achievement design... but at least he put some in, even if he was changing trigger conditions with every patch. :lol
 
Got it twice.

ModBot said:
Instructions for general dan:
Press the quote button to the left of this PM, select the quoted text, copy, and paste in the thread. You can remove these lines from the version you paste.

Instructions for participants:
I am giving away a Steam key. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line below containing the key.

Rules for this Giveaway:
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two:


Alien Spidy -- MB-901F32D4D507D762 - Taken by Chairmanchuck
 

Tellaerin

Member
If I didn't post on GAF so often I'd say "My work here is done" and come back under an alt. :p

I'm looking at your avatar now, and I'm not sure what's sticking out from her hair on the left hand side (a fingertip, maybe?), but because of the shape and placement, I keep seeing it as the tip of a very long, pointed ear.

Saoirse Ronan, blood elf. >.>
 
I'm extremely tired, so...

Have some games!

ModBot said:
Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 6 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line below that corresponds to the key you want (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering).

Rules for this Giveaway:
- If you are a lurker you are not eligible for this giveaway. You need five or more posts in either the current Steam thread or the previous one to be eligible
- This is a free for all! You can enter for multiple games on the list below. Send an individual PM for each game you'd like to win.
- This giveaway is a LIGHTNING raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 15 minutes after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two:


To The Moon -- MB-C9684C233506492A - Taken by PinkCrayon. 2 entrants total.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 -- MB-127EF1C42D8F620B - Taken by The Dear Leader. 5 entrants total.
Iron Grip: Warlord -- MB-C9E7D4646B64C9EC - Taken by VikasNarula. 1 entrants total.
Motte Island -- MB-9A513ED476F91364 - Taken by DaBargainHunta. 2 entrants total.
Skyborn -- MB-3B9DAD8A7FED1252 - Taken by Darkroronoa. 3 entrants total.
Alien Rage: Unlimited -- MB-A1AB92EB059BDE53 - Taken by Tellaerin. 4 entrants total.


t1401434220z1.png

I'm looking at your avatar now, and I'm not sure what's sticking out from her hair on the left hand side (a fingertip, maybe?), but because of the shape and placement, I keep seeing it as the tip of a very long, pointed ear.

Saoirse Ronan, blood elf. >.>

Romulan or Ronunlan? ;)
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
Exactly. Or put something in like The Stanley Parable where you have to enable achievements in the options menu. That developer/designer was a kind of a jerk in terms of mocking the achievement loving community with the achievement design... but at least he put some in, even if he was changing trigger conditions with every patch. :lol

Ah, that's an even better idea. Implementing the achievements would be trivial and the PSN version having them obviously ruffled a lot of feathers. A compromise isn't a tall order and would generate some good will (not that Klei is in dire need of it, but still).

I'm looking at your avatar now, and I'm not sure what's sticking out from her hair on the left hand side (a fingertip, maybe?), but because of the shape and placement, I keep seeing it as the tip of a very long, pointed ear.

Saoirse Ronan, blood elf. >.>

Haha, rest assured, it's a finger.
 

Tizoc

Member
So when exactly is the Groupees BM13 bundle gonna start? Bored at work and need something to...I dunno look forward to =V
 

Deques

Member
So when exactly is the Groupees BM13 bundle gonna start? Bored at work and need something to...I dunno look forward to =V

I thought it was gonna start a few minutes ago, since it's usually that time they start their bundles. But nope, I was wrong

It has been a while since I had a giveaway. Here are some spares
ModBot said:
Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 12 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line below that corresponds to the key you want (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering).

Rules for this Giveaway:
- This giveaway is a LIGHTNING raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 15 minutes after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two:


Rochard -- MB-D4D3EAD84202F5BB - Taken by Scorpion Soldier. 2 entrants total.
Time Gentlemen Please -- MB-1981471BE1D96715 - Taken by nature boy. 4 entrants total.
Gun Monkeys -- MB-2A7C45B6BEE18F5D - Taken by dave is ok. 1 entrants total.
Gun Metal -- MB-4ADAAD2E3790D9CB - Taken by factorone. 1 entrants total.
Dynamite Jack -- MB-E058BF65B7D32893 - Taken by Eanan. 3 entrants total.
Beast Boxing Turbo -- MB-394785CC1E1CABEA - Taken by Boom Boom Pow. 2 entrants total.
Shattered Haven -- MB-6195D138B1203306 - Taken by Shalashaska. 1 entrants total.
Naval Warfare -- MB-5F8FD5F14578B9A3 - Taken by nightstorm. 1 entrants total.
Ravensword: Shadowlands -- MB-93C65886C04B3EB3
Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World -- MB-6D7EA9F3BF6786DE - Taken by VikasNarula. 3 entrants total.
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream -- MB-D834355D704806A2 - Taken by thesaucetastic. 2 entrants total.
POSTAL -- MB-77368C91CBA7E60E - Taken by zerokoolpsx. 1 entrants total.


t1401434661z1.png
 
I'm looking at your avatar now, and I'm not sure what's sticking out from her hair on the left hand side (a fingertip, maybe?), but because of the shape and placement, I keep seeing it as the tip of a very long, pointed ear.

Saoirse Ronan, blood elf. >.>

She was actually supposed to play an elf in one of The Hobbit movies, think she dropped out or something, can't remember.
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
some of my favorite people on gaf are called somethingsomething frost

starting to think its multiple accounts
 

Copons

Member
True. But if PS4 architecture really is basically a PC in a console form, then the core functions of the game should be largely the same... in the interest of reaching larger markets with your product at lower costs, it really forces companies to try to keep as much of the code as general and abstract as possible... meaning that there should still be 1 main source tree with some flags or something that say what platform you're building on... if that were true, it could be as simple as adding an if then statement.

That's a bunch of assumptions, but working in the tech field and having extensive CS background, I can't really imagine a company porting their PC code to PS4 and not wanting to keep the core of the game code as shared between the two so that future DLC, such as the new EA DLC on Steam, could easily be ported over once it was fully "finished". Why leave the extra money on the table when porting costs could be minimal if done right, y'know?



Design design or not, it went out the window as far as I'm concerned when they sold out and ported to PS4. Making the deal with Sony and compromising your "design decision" to get your game on a new platform where it's given away for free (and you're compensated for it) and then choosing to ignore the numerous requests fans of the game have made to have the trophies ported to the Steam versions as achievements is straight up douchebaggery as far as I'm concerned. I haven't played my copy of Don't Starve yet and at this rate, I'll end up playing the PS4 version I got for free through PS+ when I buy a PS4 for Project Beast instead of playing the Steam version... and I won't be supporting Klei in the meantime. That's my choice. :)

I didn't know devs took a stance against achievements (even though MotN has them and IIRC Shank games too) just to contradict themselves to gain access to PSN.
Oh well, I'm fine with them trying to reach more platforms, but still it's actually weird.

(also, I don't know shit about porting games to different platforms, especially because I don't know if Don't Starve was built on a tool that allow easy multiplatform exports like Game Maker or something... maybe it's harder than we assume, maybe not, I dunno... most likely it's just me that don't really care about achievs :p )
 

Sajjaja

Member
Guys.. Of Orcs and Men is like...really good. I'm having a blast playing it. Just had like a 5 hours session. The dialogue is fun and the characters are great, mostly Styx because he always has something funny to say. Also, badass honor bound Orc is one of the player characters.

AA51EA4D4DEB688EA5EC27AE673119E1EED00A74


871E030343ED069E9A5C6ABEB6A0E17F8B2EE55C


Also, how cool is it that you can throw Styx into the air at an enemy and pause it so that you can plan your moves?

68CA948773AB50C5188C1DBB06A862F9856499A2


Highly recommended. Really is a gem. Cyanide continues to prove that they are a talented studio that should be eagerly watched for in the years to come.
 

Tizoc

Member
Guys.. Of Orcs and Men is like...really good. I'm having a blast playing it. Just had like a 5 hours session. The dialogue is fun and the characters are great, mostly Styx because he always has something funny to say. Also, badass honor bound Orc is one of the player characters.

AA51EA4D4DEB688EA5EC27AE673119E1EED00A74


871E030343ED069E9A5C6ABEB6A0E17F8B2EE55C


Also, how cool is it that you can throw Styx into the air at an enemy and pause it so that you can plan your moves?

68CA948773AB50C5188C1DBB06A862F9856499A2


Highly recommended. Really is a gem. Cyanide continues to prove that they are a talented studio that should be eagerly watched for in the years to come.

I beat this on PS3 and thought it was OK. Styx is getting his own game soon which I hope improves on this one. At best I'd recommend it if it ever goes on sale.
 

Sajjaja

Member
I beat this on PS3 and thought it was OK. Styx is getting his own game soon which I hope improves on this one. At best I'd recommend it if it ever goes on sale.

I got it for $5.99 USD at the Gamestop Digital sale a few days ago. Totally worth it.
 

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
i would have loved if it was a action rpg where you controlled Styx all stealthy like or the brute dude all fighty like. instead we get a real time/tun based (well, you can pause the action) thing with both at the same time that never worked for me

I liked the characters and it looked surprisingly good, but yeah :/
 
For the new page

ModBot said:
Instructions for participants:
I am giving away 2 Steam keys. To enter this giveaway, send a PM to ModBot with any subject line. In the body, copy and paste the entire line below that corresponds to the key you want (if you include more than one game, you will be blocked from entering).

Rules for this Giveaway:
- You must have given away a game through ModBot to become eligible for this giveaway.
- This giveaway is a raffle. The winners will be selected by random draw 3 hours after the draw was created. Any games not claimed after that point will be given away first come first serve.
- This giveaway has a manual blocklist. The giver has identified members who abuse giveaways and restricted them from participating.
- Do not trade keys you win off-site to enrich yourself. Don't try to claim games you have no interest in collecting or playing. Don't claim games to give them to friends off-site.
- If the key is already taken you will not receive a reply. Replies may take a minute or two:

header_292x136.jpg

Where is my Heart -- MB-0B57562833D2EB0B - Taken by Knurek. 28 entrants total.
Super Street Fighter 4 AE -- MB-1E635693EF98AA65 - Taken by CheesecakeRecipe. 31 entrants total.


t1401439719z1.png
 

Nzyme32

Member
There's nothing preventing Capcom from having Valve revoke the GFWL keys that were generated for a different account (although it'd probably be a bit of a logistical headache), but what you've described can't happen since games that use Steamworks for MP don't use keys. You have retail keys, sure, but these are just so Steam knows which product to add to your account -- the games themselves don't use them.

Cheers, I'm still learning!
 

Knurek

Member
Guys.. Of Orcs and Men is like...really good. I'm having a blast playing it.
Highly recommended. Really is a gem. Cyanide continues to prove that they are a talented studio that should be eagerly watched for in the years to come.

Don't forget about Spiders who co-developed with Cyanide, their own games (Mars: War Logs, Bound by Flame) also tend to be at least interesting.
 

Sajjaja

Member
i would have loved if it was a action rpg where you controlled Styx all stealthy like or the brute dude all fighty like. instead we get a real time/tun based (well, you can pause the action) thing with both at the same time that never worked for me

I liked the characters and it looked surprisingly good, but yeah :/

Ask and you shall receive :p

http://www.styx-thegame.com/

That's their next game. Styx: Master of Shadows.
 

Dr Dogg

Member
I really like Watch_Dogs but I disabled the online. I did the first tutorial invasion mission where you're getting hacked, which was kind of neat but then the game forces you into an online hacking mission immediately afterwards. You can't choose to continue on with the campaign or screw around in the openworld, you have to complete the hacking mission...unless you disable online, which I did. I re-enabled online immediately afterwards and was able to choose to progress through the game how I wanted. But then I started getting invaded while simply trying to complete openworld activities, the online component began to interfere with what I wanted to be doing. So I disabled it again, don't think I'll turn it back on until I've completed the campaign.

I've only been able to connect successfully 2 out of say 20 times firing the game up so I've got Uplay in offline for the time being. Got to do the online gubbins for 100% so I'll get round to them eventually.

Saying that I'll get round to the story missions eventually, I've only done the first act and 3 of the second. Been having way too much fun doing gang hideouts, ctOS towers, the wierd collectables where you hack in to someone's home and steal their funds whilst eavesdropping on their everyday goings on (brother and sister marriages, plumbers being 'serviced' you know everyday stuff). Plus I was going through the driving missions and random crimes before I moved on from them.

Get the feeling that rumoured 100 hours to 100% isn't as silly as it sounds.
 

JaseC

gave away the keys to the kingdom.
She was actually supposed to play an elf in one of The Hobbit movies, think she dropped out or something, can't remember.

Yeah, Jackson offered her a role as an elf but she declined due to the massive filming schedule and the fact it was a supporting role.
 
I didn't know devs took a stance against achievements (even though MotN has them and IIRC Shank games too) just to contradict themselves to gain access to PSN.
Oh well, I'm fine with them trying to reach more platforms, but still it's actually weird.

(also, I don't know shit about porting games to different platforms, especially because I don't know if Don't Starve was built on a tool that allow easy multiplatform exports like Game Maker or something... maybe it's harder than we assume, maybe not, I dunno... most likely it's just me that don't really care about achievs :p )

Yeah, it was somethning about "changing the way people were playing the game and forcing them to have fun because they weren't achievement hunting."

Here we go:

So was not including achievements a conscious decision from the beginning of Don’t Starve’s development?
Yes, it was. Jaime [Cheng, CEO of Klei] and I wrote an article together on the Penny Arcade Report on the relative merits of extrinsic and intrinsic motivations when designing a game. When the game was very young, before we had started showing it, there wasn’t much in it. You just sort of walked around and picked stuff up. The spiders and, I think, the pigs were there, and that was sort of it.

But we were having trouble teaching people how to play. So, as a first pass, we had a very mainstream, traditional way of doing that. We gave players a series of escalating tasks. Go find some food. When you did that, it would say “Go befriend a pig,” and so on and so forth as a teaching mechanism.

What we found was that, before we put that in, some people were confused because there were a lot of legitimately confusing things about the interface. But after we put it in, people would, like robots, just do the task. They would do nothing but complete them. They wouldn’t explore, they wouldn’t use their mind to think about what they could do, they’d just do what they were told. And when they ran out of tasks, they would stop playing and look at us like, “What’s next?” That’s because they didn’t learn how to play, they only learned how to follow the tasks. They didn’t internalize the values of exploration and discovery necessary to appreciate a game like Don’t Starve.

And so they went against all that to get their game on PS4 as a PS+ freebie. And because Sony forced them to include the trophies, they made them a kind of statement, trying to troll trophy hunters with them:

http://www.hardcoregamer.com/2014/0...nters-with-dont-starves-accomploshrine/69124/

If you search don't starve PC achievements or something like that, the first result is the Klei forrums and many many hits of threads where users are asking them to port the trophies to the Steam version... and yet, no.

So because they didn't like teaching people with "tasks", they got rid of achievements, then put them in to placate Sony and get on PS4, and now refuse to port them to the Steam version to placate their fanbase that's requesting them.

I think that about sums it up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom