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I wasn't going to respond, but then I saw this gem:

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triple_l: ps: isn't it ironic linux supporters promoting steam?
steam is the closest thing to monopoly and killing alternative and choice in personal computing gaming which is precisely the reason why linux was created in the first place, to fight against monopoly and give choice and alternative to personal computing
Do you know the history of Linux? It had nothing to do with fighting a monopoly. It evolved into that, but that's not at all why it was created.

Why shouldn't Linux users support steam? Valve have done a lot to promote gaming on Linux, and without Valve / steam, I would suspect that there would be a lot less big name games available on Linux today. Valve has actually allowed users to have OS alternatives in gaming.

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triple_l: steam is even beyond DRM, its a service based system
meaning you play the games as long as the service lets you, and in the term they set and those terms can change at any time
This is true, but only for games that actually use the steam DRM. An example: Papers, Please on steam is completely DRM free. Once it is downloaded, you can move it to another system that has never had steam installed, and will never connect to the internet, and it will work. I've personally tested this. It never needs the steam client again. Ever. Papers, Please is somewhat unique in that it also has a built in updater, so it truly never needs the steam client again, even for updates. In this case, steam is nothing more than a downloader.
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Ghostbreed: Typical reply from an Valve elitist.
Typical reply from someone who has no idea what's actually going on, otherwise the conversation wouldn't have gotten this far. I'm beginning to question whether or not you and others in this thread have ever even used Steam, or if you're just trying to sound tech savvy.
Post edited February 28, 2015 by pedrovay2003
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triple_l: how about DLL files needed and copied outside of the games directory?
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JMich: Part of dependencies, see installscript.vdf again
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triple_l: how about third party software needed to run the game?
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JMich:
These are keys points which I think should be added to the OP. Otherwise, it does become a little confusing as to whether some of these games are actually able to be installed/run on a system different from the originating one. The information may be somewhere within this thread, but it's not exactly efficient to go rummaging through 51 pages of posts to find it. Unfortunately, it also seems the thread creator has abandoned the thread so the OP might not be able to be edited any longer?

I'm also curious if there is anything within Steam's terms of service or any of the game EULA's which legally prohibit the use of the game files in this way?
Post edited February 28, 2015 by the.kuribo
low rated
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triple_l: [...]
for me only a version with a stand-alone offline installer can be called DRM-Free
that is precisely what DRM-Free is, a stand-alone offline installer.
[...]
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amok: Why installer? Arguable, an installer can be broken with OS / Software upgrades. Is not the most DRM free software packages those who are delivered 'as is' without any wrappers, such as an installer?

Also, if a game is delivered DRM free, what is the difference between a archived games (i.e. zipped folder) and one delivered as an installer?
Not this shit again
Try zipping up a 15gb folder. Who prefers installers? i DO.
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Ghostbreed: Typical reply from an Valve elitist.
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pedrovay2003: Typical reply from someone who has no idea what's actually going on, otherwise the conversation wouldn't have gotten this far. I'm beginning to question whether or not you and others in this thread have ever even used Steam, or if you're just trying to sound tech savvy.
To get your game from Steam you NEED to have Steam client installed .NO it isn't the same fucking thing as downloading from gog via the OPTIONAL downloader or via browser. The fact the game is DRM free is one thing. The fact you need the piece of shit Steam client installed in the first place to GET your paid software is another.
Sorry but you pro Steam supporters need to go shoot yourselfs. Sorry.
Post edited February 28, 2015 by Niggles
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Niggles: Sorry but you pro Steam supporters need to go shoot yourselfs. Sorry.
That seems a bit extreme.
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hummer010: I wasn't going to respond, but then I saw this gem:

Do you know the history of Linux? It had nothing to do with fighting a monopoly. It evolved into that, but that's not at all why it was created.

Why shouldn't Linux users support steam? Valve have done a lot to promote gaming on Linux, and without Valve / steam, I would suspect that there would be a lot less big name games available on Linux today. Valve has actually allowed users to have OS alternatives in gaming.

This is true, but only for games that actually use the steam DRM. An example: Papers, Please on steam is completely DRM free. Once it is downloaded, you can move it to another system that has never had steam installed, and will never connect to the internet, and it will work. I've personally tested this. It never needs the steam client again. Ever. Papers, Please is somewhat unique in that it also has a built in updater, so it truly never needs the steam client again, even for updates. In this case, steam is nothing more than a downloader.
To expand on this, SteamOS is Linux based. That's right, Steam loves Linux so much they've decided it is the base for their gaming OS.
Valve, Gabe Newell and Linux go back a ways. As far as patches go, don't try to vilify Valve when Gog just asks that you redownload 30GB in some cases to update your game. SRSLY? I'll take auto patcher anyday. And the version you get of DRM-Free games is patched up to the day, therefore if the service went offline tomorrow, you'd have the most uptodate version Steam had (and Steam, at least right now) gets its updates first.

Also, people fear Steam droppnig off line. What's to say they don't make a dummy client before they do that allows all games to play offline with no DRM check? I'm not saying they will or won't, but getting upset over possible hypotheticals is pretty asinine.

Steam is not consumer friendly, and have no care for quality control. But what they do well, they hit out of the park. And I'm glad that some people like at least a few games that are DRM free there.
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amok: Why installer? Arguable, an installer can be broken with OS / Software upgrades. Is not the most DRM free software packages those who are delivered 'as is' without any wrappers, such as an installer?

Also, if a game is delivered DRM free, what is the difference between a archived games (i.e. zipped folder) and one delivered as an installer?
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Niggles: Not this shit again
Try zipping up a 15gb folder. Who prefers installers? i DO.
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pedrovay2003: Typical reply from someone who has no idea what's actually going on, otherwise the conversation wouldn't have gotten this far. I'm beginning to question whether or not you and others in this thread have ever even used Steam, or if you're just trying to sound tech savvy.
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Niggles: To get your game from Steam you NEED to have Steam client installed .NO it isn't the same fucking thing as downloading from gog via the OPTIONAL downloader or via browser. The fact the game is DRM free is one thing. The fact you need the piece of shit Steam client installed in the first place to GET your paid software is another.
Sorry but you pro Steam supporters need to go shoot yourselfs. Sorry.
Uh, why are you quoting me here? This thread isn't about using an external program to get games, it's about what you can and can't do with those games once you have them on your hard drive. I never once argued against the fact that you have to actually install an external program to get those games, but most people really don't care about Steam being installed when you can literally get rid of it whenever you want to. If that's your big problem, then Steam is probably the least of your worries.

Also, as far as zipping vs. installers goes, to me, they're literally identical. An installer is just a glorified zip handler that copies files to where you tell it to copy them; I can just as easily right-click a zip file and tell my PC where to put the contents. Hell, I've zipped up The Evil Within, split the files into 4gb chunks, and burned everything to two Blu-ray discs, and that was a hell of a lot bigger than a 15gb folder. It took little to no effort at all to do all of that.
Post edited February 28, 2015 by pedrovay2003
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Niggles: Try zipping up a 15gb folder. Who prefers installers? i DO.
Check the Linux files for The Witcher 2. Or the Mac files for it. Or even the REDKit development extra.
A (proper) installer is a self extracting archive that also runs some extra commands. It may also contain a skinned GUI to pass the time.
You do not need to create a solid archive when backing up your folders, you can split it to any size you like. Do the sizes 15.000.000 or 15.001.911 mean anything to you?

P.S. Installers are nice and all, but not necessarily. Unless they pull some kind of trick like Raptor's did back in the day, 3 1.44MB disks for ~30MB of data.
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paladin181: What's to say they don't make a dummy client before they do that allows all games to play offline with no DRM check? I'm not saying they will or won't, but getting upset over possible hypotheticals is pretty asinine.
It is actual that most games on Steam are dependant on the service being around. What you are suggesting is a possible hypothetical to not get upset over, which to me is considerably more asinine.
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amok: Why installer? Arguable, an installer can be broken with OS / Software upgrades. Is not the most DRM free software packages those who are delivered 'as is' without any wrappers, such as an installer?

Also, if a game is delivered DRM free, what is the difference between a archived games (i.e. zipped folder) and one delivered as an installer?
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Niggles: Not this shit again
Try zipping up a 15gb folder. Who prefers installeres? I DO.
It is perfectly fine not liking something.
.
.
.
Doesn't make it DRM, though. (Unless you suggest DRM=eveything I do not like)

(Neither would I suggest that people who like sports game should go kill themselves just because I do not like them)
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Rixasha: It is actual that most games on Steam are dependant on the service being around. What you are suggesting is a possible hypothetical to not get upset over, which to me is considerably more asinine.
Not to me. Being negative is such a wasteful emotion. Enjoy what you have while you have it, and worry about it going away when the end is imminent or when it goes away. Life's too short to be angry at things that aren't negative at this time, and worrying about them is about as useful as trying to dig a ditch by sleeping on a bench. Just as futile, and far more damaging to you yourself. The only thing you can do is make your point heard to Valve via a petition or other message, and let it go. Burning energy thinking about how one day this might all be gone is wasteful and has a bad effect on your mental and physical health.
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paladin181: Also, people fear Steam droppnig off line. What's to say they don't make a dummy client before they do that allows all games to play offline with no DRM check? I'm not saying they will or won't, but getting upset over possible hypotheticals is pretty asinine.
Well, this is the primary issue I have with Steam, and why I treat all the DRM'd games I have on the service as long-term rentals. To put your faith in one company to always be around or to be able to "do the right thing" when the shit hits the fan is to be severely disappointed at one point or another in your life.

Particularly with the current state of licensing and publisher deals through Steam, I doubt it would be legal for Steam to just flip a switch and make all their games DRM-free without creating a fair number of lawsuits from their publishers due to the contractual terms they agreed upon to allow Steam to distribute their intellectual property.

Unless the games are backed up on your own devices with full usage license and the ability to install without the service existing, there are no guarantees as to whether or not you will be able to access the games you paid for in the future. This is clearly stipulated in Steam's terms of service.

Huge corporations, organizations, and even governments can and do fall all the time. Usually the bigger they are, the harder they and their customers/constituents fall.
Where's your DRM-free God now?

"Steam is an internet-based digital distribution, digital rights management (DRM), multiplayer, and social networking platform developed by Valve Corporation."
Post edited February 28, 2015 by Ghostbreed
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Ghostbreed: Where's your DRM-free God now?

"Steam is an internet-based digital distribution, digital rights management (DRM), multiplayer, and social networking platform developed by Valve Corporation."
Here
Steam's primary service is to allow its users to download games and other software that they have in their virtual software libraries to their local computers as game cache files (GCFs).[26] Steam provides digital rights management (DRM) for software titles by providing "custom executable generation" for executable files that are unique for each user; this allows the user to install the software on multiple computing devices via Steam or through software backups without limitations.[27] The user is required to be running Steam while connected to the Internet for authentication prior to playing a game or have previously set up Steam in an "offline" mode while connected to the internet, storing their credentials locally to allow play without an Internet connection.[28] Steam's DRM is available to software developers through Steamworks; the service allows developers and publishers to include other forms of DRM and other authentication services than Steam; for example, some games on Steam require the use of Games for Windows – Live and some titles from publisher Ubisoft require the use of their UPlay gaming service.[29]]
CEG is the DRM component of Steam. Any software that is not using CEG is not using Steam's DRM. It may be using a different DRM scheme, or it may not be using one, like Carmageddon: Max Pack.
CEG is Steam DRM, but Steam (by itself) is not DRM.

And if you don't see anything wrong with that, please explain where the multiplayer part of Alpha Protocol is, since Alpha Protocol is a Steam game, and your quote says Steam is multiplayer as well.
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JMich:
Then how do you explain how every game has its ID-number, which is bound to your account?