I won't be playing on Steam. In part because it has its own problems, and in part because I just don't like the way the Steam-concept is implemented.
For one, Steam is a backdoor into your system that you've only got whatever control over that Valve allows you to have. I doubt it will get hacked anytime soon, but the occasional stealth update shows that Steam can force updates through without asking permission and regardless of your settings.
On top of that, you've got zero version control. Maybe you're afforded the luxury of holding out on an update here and now, but reinstalls are with the latest version and I could swear that I've read about cases of games where you simply can't play, not even offline, unless you activate online and patch up. This won't be critical in all games but there are situations where you lose saved games with serious time investments and there are times where patches actually hurt the game more than they help.
And Steam's answer to both those problems is essentially "go fuck yourself", and if you make the mistake of complaining about it on their forums then you'll get swarmed with brats spewing nonsense about how consumer rights shouldn't be and all hail the mighty freaking Valve.
If that system appeals to you then fair enough. It doesn't appeal to me. I can patch my games manually just fine, I can mod my games manually just fine, and I sure can live without giving my money to Valve. If that means I can't buy certain games then that's really not my loss, is it?
Final thing, I do take some measure of offense from games that require online activation for offline play. And it pleases me when developers actually show me the respect of not treating me like a moron by stuffing the game they're hoping I'll like full of copy protection garbage that doesn't provide any value for me and also doesn't keep cracked versions off the pirate-infested shores of Sweden. That sort of respect and common courtesy makes me want to buy the game. The Steamworks DRM option? Not so much.
ORIGINAL: Tree Dog
I hope you didn't forget to also open up your Task Manager and hunt down everything Windows runs that's not useful when playing DW.
I actually do this regularly out of general principle. Never did like having crapware running for no reason and you'd be amazed how many application designers suffer from the delusion that their particular load of crap really is important enough that it needs to start together with Windows.
