Thanks Matrix! (Steam)

[wodin]

Sure it's alot easier to hack steam DRM than Matrix. Just a hunch. Matrix needs a serial, steam doesn't.

Like it or not being on Steam brings it into the mainstream which will then make it more likely to be pirated.

By the way I use Steam and have no issues with it, I'm not a Steam hater.

[histgamer]

If you guys had a chance to watch the Home of Wargamers Question and Answer sessions Steam was brought up and JD was it? Basically said because they know retail for games is nearing the end of its rope they are using Steam to replace retail, in many ways it makes sense since Steam is a very large shopping window like a big box store but very unfocused group of customers many of whom may not be interested in your games but a lot more exposure than you can get in your own little shop. He also seemed to indicate boxed and in house support wont end and many people still want fully boxed games which obviously isn't possible through steam so if people keep buying that then it would be silly to think they wouldn't keep supporting in house sales also.

[histgamer]

There's been a lot of evidence with things like itunes and netflix that if you make it convenient for people to buy games piracy drops. That's not to say there wont be any there will be but a storefront like Steam is so convenient and easy to use I don't know of anyone whose pirated a game there. I'm sure it happens but the know how needed and the ease and convenience of steams UI likely means the figures would be much smaller than otherwise.

ORIGINAL: wodin

Sure it's alot easier to hack steam DRM than Matrix. Just a hunch. Matrix needs a serial, steam doesn't.

Like it or not being on Steam brings it into the mainstream which will then make it more likely to be pirated.

By the way I use Steam and have no issues with it, I'm not a Steam hater.

[berto]

ORIGINAL: Iain McNeil

We are absolutely not going to stop releasing games through our sites. Steam is another shop window. We did this before Steam and we'll be doing it after they've gone

[DSWargamer]

In 2005 it was nothing for me to expend TB of data movement of video content, be it anime, or military documentary or just old movies.

I had superior internet service for a fraction of the cost from the usual big names services (which I have no love for).

Then Netflix arrived. I have downloaded so little since 2007, I have essentially forgotten how to do it
I used to buy blank dvds by the hundred count spindles and expend them in a month. It was nothing special.

It's been a few YEARS now since I burned anything to a disc other than to recompile some of my Slitherine Group installers for physical storage.

If you deliver a solid service, you get a return. If the service sucks, and piracy is simple, yeah, you can bet people will snub you.

I pay 8 bucks a month to Netflix. I'd likely pay twice that. It beats 65 bucks for cable which sucks regardless.
I pay 5 bucks a month to Unblockus, simply because I don't feel like acknowledging the idiotic notion that region means anything in the internet era. I don't care about the copy-write troubles of the industry, not my problem. If they can show it in the US, they can show it in Canada.

I don't know if Combat Mission the current era material is any good, couldn't care less, there DRM approach is a deal killer.
I'd have bought it if it was on sale here though.

[aaatoysandmore]

I use external portable hard drives now to store videos and game .exe setup files. I hardly use DVD's for anything anymore. I've learned to keep like a double backup of the stuff though because if one of those hard drives goes out you are sol without it. DVD's are nice but they don't store all that much compared to a 750mb hard driver or 1 tb and they aren't as convenient as a portable hard drive which is just a plugin or plugout away. Of course we have the members section here but they keep that whonky at best as I have games that showup in Plimus that don't show up in the members list and I registered them. But, all this online stuff is new so I expect some bugs and glitches. As long as I can store stuff outside of this site I'm fine anyways. Flashdrives are also becoming more popular with me. Especially for travel between friends houses to take data files or a game I like.

One problem or another problem I still have today is requiring consumers to buy an individual copy of a game for every person that plays it in your household or friends. I've never agreed with this as when growing up everyone didn't have to own a copy of monopoly or an Avalon Hill game to play them. That to me is just greed with that kind of requirement. If one person buys it then everyone that person comes in contact with (thats a friend or aquaintence) can play it. Never have liked or agreed with this licensing BS.

We also traded games and sold our games when no longer in use or wanted to play. I sold "Guadacanal" by AH a $3.64 game for $40 later on in life and then it went up to $200. I am sick. [:(] Back about 6-7 years ago I also sold my old copy of DOS Empire for $50, I was amazed a game so old and a computer game brought in so much money. But, if was mine and my right to sell it. Some bloke in Canada bought it.

That's the thing I don't like about STEAM though the most is non-property rights to a product I bought just like monopoly or AH games. I can't sell these games unless I use some sly method like make a new account and get an email for every indvidual game I buy there and then if/when I want to sell it I have to give the email address away also (which is tied to the account for that game)

Now, I hear some talk about making your accounts computer based and you have to have an account on that computer you origionally set the client up on to play your games only allowing for one other means of storage like a laptop for those that play on the run. If you upgrade or buy a new computer you have to register it with Steam for that account. It's a mess and that's the last thing I want to see happen. What I really want is it to be like in the UK. Consumers have the right to sell their games once used and Steam can do nothing about it.

[wworld7]

ORIGINAL: aaatoysandmore

I use external portable hard drives now to store videos and game .exe setup files. I hardly use DVD's for anything anymore. I've learned to keep like a double backup of the stuff though because if one of those hard drives goes out you are sol without it. DVD's are nice but they don't store all that much compared to a 750mb hard driver or 1 tb and they aren't as convenient as a portable hard drive which is just a plugin or plugout away. Of course we have the members section here but they keep that whonky at best as I have games that showup in Plimus that don't show up in the members list and I registered them. But, all this online stuff is new so I expect some bugs and glitches. As long as I can store stuff outside of this site I'm fine anyways. Flashdrives are also becoming more popular with me. Especially for travel between friends houses to take data files or a game I like.

One problem or another problem I still have today is requiring consumers to buy an individual copy of a game for every person that plays it in your household or friends. I've never agreed with this as when growing up everyone didn't have to own a copy of monopoly or an Avalon Hill game to play them. That to me is just greed with that kind of requirement. If one person buys it then everyone that person comes in contact with (thats a friend or aquaintence) can play it. Never have liked or agreed with this licensing BS.

We also traded games and sold our games when no longer in use or wanted to play. I sold "Guadacanal" by AH a $3.64 game for $40 later on in life and then it went up to $200. I am sick. [:(] Back about 6-7 years ago I also sold my old copy of DOS Empire for $50, I was amazed a game so old and a computer game brought in so much money. But, if was mine and my right to sell it. Some bloke in Canada bought it.

That's the thing I don't like about STEAM though the most is non-property rights to a product I bought just like monopoly or AH games. I can't sell these games unless I use some sly method like make a new account and get an email for every indvidual game I buy there and then if/when I want to sell it I have to give the email address away also (which is tied to the account for that game)

Now, I hear some talk about making your accounts computer based and you have to have an account on that computer you origionally set the client up on to play your games only allowing for one other means of storage like a laptop for those that play on the run. If you upgrade or buy a new computer you have to register it with Steam for that account. It's a mess and that's the last thing I want to see happen. What I really want is it to be like in the UK. Consumers have the right to sell their games once used and Steam can do nothing about it.

You may not understand but all the bunk above you spout off about is one of the reasons for DRMs. You don't get to make the rules. Of course you can do what you want and more than likely will never will
be caught or punished. Software theft costs many people their jobs. But, as long as YOU get what you want it is obvious that you don't care.
Move to the UK if you don't like the USA laws, or contact your members of Congress and try to have ours changed.

[aaatoysandmore]

ORIGINAL: flipperwasirish

ORIGINAL: aaatoysandmore

I use external portable hard drives now to store videos and game .exe setup files. I hardly use DVD's for anything anymore. I've learned to keep like a double backup of the stuff though because if one of those hard drives goes out you are sol without it. DVD's are nice but they don't store all that much compared to a 750mb hard driver or 1 tb and they aren't as convenient as a portable hard drive which is just a plugin or plugout away. Of course we have the members section here but they keep that whonky at best as I have games that showup in Plimus that don't show up in the members list and I registered them. But, all this online stuff is new so I expect some bugs and glitches. As long as I can store stuff outside of this site I'm fine anyways. Flashdrives are also becoming more popular with me. Especially for travel between friends houses to take data files or a game I like.

One problem or another problem I still have today is requiring consumers to buy an individual copy of a game for every person that plays it in your household or friends. I've never agreed with this as when growing up everyone didn't have to own a copy of monopoly or an Avalon Hill game to play them. That to me is just greed with that kind of requirement. If one person buys it then everyone that person comes in contact with (thats a friend or aquaintence) can play it. Never have liked or agreed with this licensing BS.

We also traded games and sold our games when no longer in use or wanted to play. I sold "Guadacanal" by AH a $3.64 game for $40 later on in life and then it went up to $200. I am sick. [:(] Back about 6-7 years ago I also sold my old copy of DOS Empire for $50, I was amazed a game so old and a computer game brought in so much money. But, if was mine and my right to sell it. Some bloke in Canada bought it.

That's the thing I don't like about STEAM though the most is non-property rights to a product I bought just like monopoly or AH games. I can't sell these games unless I use some sly method like make a new account and get an email for every indvidual game I buy there and then if/when I want to sell it I have to give the email address away also (which is tied to the account for that game)

Now, I hear some talk about making your accounts computer based and you have to have an account on that computer you origionally set the client up on to play your games only allowing for one other means of storage like a laptop for those that play on the run. If you upgrade or buy a new computer you have to register it with Steam for that account. It's a mess and that's the last thing I want to see happen. What I really want is it to be like in the UK. Consumers have the right to sell their games once used and Steam can do nothing about it.

You may not understand but all the bunk above you spout off about is one of the reasons for DRMs. You don't get to make the rules. Of course you can do what you want and more than likely will never will
be caught or punished. Software theft costs many people their jobs. But, as long as YOU get what you want it is obvious that you don't care.
Move to the UK if you don't like the USA laws, or contact your members of Congress and try to have ours changed.

You on the otherhand may not understand "greed" I certainly understand what's going on. DRM was created specifically because of it. Hey like twotribes says maybe you need to read some books. [:D]

Also from the Matrixgame man himself Iain McNeal
RE: OT The Venerable Civil War Generals 2 - 10/10/2013 10:58:36 AM


Iain McNeil
Administrator





Posts: 1897
Joined: 10/26/2004
From: London
Status: offline Guys abandonware or whatever you call is not legal unless you already own the game (in this case as I said I already own the games), or unless the original owner has officially released ownership of the IP and code which is not the case in the vast majority of cases. I am locking this up and removing the links to avoid any confusion.

< Message edited by Iain McNeil -- 10/10/2013 11:03:03 AM >

_____________________________

Iain McNeil
Director
Slitherine Software
Website http://www.slitherine.com

[/quote]

[DSWargamer]

There is little value, potentially no value, in mentioning anything connected to 'law' as law in one country may well not be law in another.

And that is one of the reasons a law degree is particularly valuable, as even the lawyers can't really explain most of it.

The thing with law, is it isn't exact or permanent, because in a flash a moment a whim, it is possible to just re write it and poof it is no longer what it was any more.

The world changed when the internet arrived. It really changed fast when www arrived. And when technology made perfect copies a simple matter, and the process something even a fairly clueless dolt could use, a lot of justifications for a lot of things became moot.

Making something a law, when the law is pointless, is precisely what it sounds like.

When I buy a product, and when the product can't be examined prior to the purchase, the whole legal agreement process of the installation of the product is voided in Canada. That's law. Canadian law. It's not a well known law. But it is law. In Canada. Which means every time I click yes to a legal process during an installation, I'm really just yawning and saying 'whatever' as I simply want the program installed. The agreement has no binding power, I have agreed to nothing, it is void, without power to be enforced.

That won't work outside of the reach of Canadian law is all. But I am sitting in Canada. I can copy whatever I want, however I want, I can employ it however I wish, whenever I wish, as often as I wish. It is mine to exploit as I see fit. Because I have not agreed to do otherwise, provided I bought it in the usual fashion. This falls apart if I downloaded it in a fashion that Canadian law would call illegal.

It's an important distinction. But it is those important distinctions that count eh.

I really DO own all of my games. Nope the jargon you might employ to 'explain' I only have the right to use them, nope, remember, I never agreed to anything. It is entirely mine. It was sold to me, and with no deal entered into.

Law, it is an interesting thing to discuss. But mastery of the language is usually more important than mastery of the law. I would tend to ask a university English professor about the wording of a law before I consulted a lawyer on it. The professor is a master of the words, not a master of just reading the laws.

[wings7]

ORIGINAL: flipperwasirish

ORIGINAL: aaatoysandmore

I use external portable hard drives now to store videos and game .exe setup files. I hardly use DVD's for anything anymore. I've learned to keep like a double backup of the stuff though because if one of those hard drives goes out you are sol without it. DVD's are nice but they don't store all that much compared to a 750mb hard driver or 1 tb and they aren't as convenient as a portable hard drive which is just a plugin or plugout away. Of course we have the members section here but they keep that whonky at best as I have games that showup in Plimus that don't show up in the members list and I registered them. But, all this online stuff is new so I expect some bugs and glitches. As long as I can store stuff outside of this site I'm fine anyways. Flashdrives are also becoming more popular with me. Especially for travel between friends houses to take data files or a game I like.

One problem or another problem I still have today is requiring consumers to buy an individual copy of a game for every person that plays it in your household or friends. I've never agreed with this as when growing up everyone didn't have to own a copy of monopoly or an Avalon Hill game to play them. That to me is just greed with that kind of requirement. If one person buys it then everyone that person comes in contact with (thats a friend or aquaintence) can play it. Never have liked or agreed with this licensing BS.

We also traded games and sold our games when no longer in use or wanted to play. I sold "Guadacanal" by AH a $3.64 game for $40 later on in life and then it went up to $200. I am sick. [:(] Back about 6-7 years ago I also sold my old copy of DOS Empire for $50, I was amazed a game so old and a computer game brought in so much money. But, if was mine and my right to sell it. Some bloke in Canada bought it.

That's the thing I don't like about STEAM though the most is non-property rights to a product I bought just like monopoly or AH games. I can't sell these games unless I use some sly method like make a new account and get an email for every indvidual game I buy there and then if/when I want to sell it I have to give the email address away also (which is tied to the account for that game)

Now, I hear some talk about making your accounts computer based and you have to have an account on that computer you origionally set the client up on to play your games only allowing for one other means of storage like a laptop for those that play on the run. If you upgrade or buy a new computer you have to register it with Steam for that account. It's a mess and that's the last thing I want to see happen. What I really want is it to be like in the UK. Consumers have the right to sell their games once used and Steam can do nothing about it.

You may not understand but all the bunk above you spout off about is one of the reasons for DRMs. You don't get to make the rules. Of course you can do what you want and more than likely will never will
be caught or punished. Software theft costs many people their jobs. But, as long as YOU get what you want it is obvious that you don't care.
Move to the UK if you don't like the USA laws, or contact your members of Congress and try to have ours changed.

Amen to that, also!

[z1812]

I don't like the Steam System and thankfully the games I want don't require it at the moment.

If that changes then I will have to think about it.

I wonder when you buy a Matrix game from steam if it is still available to you through your Matrix account.

[wings7]

ORIGINAL: z1812

I don't like the Steam System and thankfully the games I want don't require it at the moment.

If that changes then I will have to think about it.

I wonder when you buy a Matrix game from steam if it is still available to you through your Matrix account.

John, I believe it is, but I'm sure some from Matrix will answer this.

Patrick

[VPaulus]

ORIGINAL: z1812

I wonder when you buy a Matrix game from steam if it is still available to you through your Matrix account.

No it will not be available in Matrix and Slitherine accounts
If you want the best of both worlds, you'll have to buy it from Matrix or Slitherine webshops and then redeem a Steam key from the Slitherine account.

[z1812]

ORIGINAL: VPaulus

ORIGINAL: z1812

I wonder when you buy a Matrix game from steam if it is still available to you through your Matrix account.

No it will not be available in Matrix and Slitherine accounts
If you want the best of both worlds, you'll have to buy it from Matrix or Slitherine webshops and then redeem a Steam key from the Slitherine account.

If I read this properly, given that there was no difference in price, then this would amount to the same same thing, except that you would buy from Matrix first then register with steam afterwards.

This is very reasonable.

[Werewolf13]

I'm 62.

When I was a lad of 3 or 4 I was taught that if one takes something that is not theirs and takes it without the permission of the owner that they were stealing. It was a pretty simple rule and easy to follow. Stealing was/IS wrong and no matter how one rationalizes it is never the right thing to do.

Have times really changed so much? Do younger generations not understand anymore?

[wings7]

ORIGINAL: Werewolf1326

I'm 62.

When I was a lad of 3 or 4 I was taught that if one takes something that is not theirs and takes it without the permission of the owner that they were stealing. It was a pretty simple rule and easy to follow. Stealing was/IS wrong and no matter how one rationalizes it is never the right thing to do.

Have times really changed so much? Do younger generations not understand anymore?

In my humble opinion it can happen in all generations (we are all capable of greed or it does not apply to me), and it's up to us to point these things out...good comment Werewolf! [&o]

Patrick

[aaatoysandmore]

Remove the branch from thy own eye before trying to remove the twig of another. Cast ye the first stone he that is without sin (ever). Love they neighbor as thy would thyself. [:D]

[DSWargamer]

I come from the same bygone era, and the thing is, today's kids are not as bad as they are being painted.

Additionally, look at the problems with the world of today, the economic related ones. And now look at the ages of the people essentially responsible.

There is NOTHING intrinsically special about the people that were born before me, and nothing intrinsically special about my generation either.

They often refer to a generation called 'the greatest generation'. Actually, now aside from a lot of them were killed in 2 brutal world wars, which I doubt they really wanted to experience, there was nothing about them to make them any better than my son's.

I actually feel a lot of over all guilt for the world we've handed our youths. If they are guilty of downloading some songs and movies and some games, it just doesn't compare with the things the generations of the 40's and 50s have done to humanity and the world we live in.

[Deon]

I'm really happy it's on Steam now. How else would I find out about Distant Worlds?
I am just too used to browsing games on steam, so it looks like I missed a few really cool titles lately.