Alphy join:2001-12-31 Troy, MI |
Alphy
Member
2003-Sep-8 9:40 am
Got Pipe? I can only imagine how much bandwith they will need if they plan on offering to release HL2 via steam for a monthly fee. I think I read on a forum you can either buy it for $50.00 and have all the content as is (that is no CS2, no TFC2, no new content) or pay $9.99/month for access to Steam and all the content. | |
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| Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 10:18 am
Re: Got Pipe? | |
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| | KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little Guy Premium Member join:2000-01-17 Tulsa, OK Netgear WNDR3700v2 Zoom 5341J
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KrK
Premium Member
2003-Sep-9 10:02 pm
Re: Got Pipe?The way I read that is, "Only the people who pay the monthly subscription will get the mods, updates, new maps, etc etc"
The people who DON'T pay will be screwed.
Pardon me, but if that's true, there are two letters for it:
"B" and "S" with lots of "!!!!!"'s. | |
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| | | Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-9 10:28 pm
Re: Got Pipe?No, they'll get user made mods, updates, new maps but they won't get Valve made mods: TF2, DOD2(?) | |
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| | | | KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little Guy Premium Member join:2000-01-17 Tulsa, OK |
KrK
Premium Member
2003-Sep-10 11:15 am
Re: Got Pipe?I went back and looked again, and I think I see what they are saying. Add-ons and packs will be sold seperate, the same way they are now.
Ok, I'm happy, as long as I don't have to pay $10 a month to play, I'm happy. | |
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| | | | | PoopsmithThat's Mr. Smith To You. join:2003-03-12 Boulder, CO |
Re: Got Pipe?I may be wrong, but I remember hearing that if you buy the Radeon 9800 XT, you get all the content free until HL2 is released, in which case you will have to go on the monthly plan. | |
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| Speedy8 Premium Member join:2002-08-22 Alliance, OH |
to Alphy
Yeah, you can pay the monthly fee and download everything, including the original HL. Also they have a downloadable pay version, as well as 2 boxed versions, one for single player only, and one with multiplayer also. | |
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wentlancYou Can't Fix Dumb.. join:2003-07-30 Maineville, OH |
Need proximityThey need multiple locations and proximity, like Yahoo, in order to be effective. Unless you can send people to closer, less busy sites, they probably will not be interested in the wait. Now bandwidth will be a huge problem upon initial delivery, and new product introductions. But that should go away after.
puritan | |
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| Speedy8 Premium Member join:2002-08-22 Alliance, OH |
Speedy8
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 10:26 am
Re: Need proximityI was under the assumption that they use multiple locations for it already. | |
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| | Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 10:28 am
Re: Need proximityYou are correct, there are multiple locations and backbones for the Steam network. | |
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| | wentlancYou Can't Fix Dumb.. join:2003-07-30 Maineville, OH |
to Speedy8
That still does not mean that they are pushing you to the closest, fastest servers. I just looked at the server stats, and almost a third of their sites are down!
puritan | |
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| | | hroo772Darkness Fears Me Premium Member join:2002-04-05 Mclean, VA |
hroo772
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 6:30 pm
Re: Need proximitysaid by wentlanc: That still does not mean that they are pushing you to the closest, fastest servers. I just looked at the server stats, and almost a third of their sites are down!
The only reason is says that they are down is because they are changing the content on those servers. Also they are independently run so there can be problems every once and a while. Anyway all of the servers will be up on launch date giving them enough to max out a lot of peoples connections. | |
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to wentlanc
Sounds sort of like load balancing. Does anybody know if they were using any kind of load balancing? | |
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NightfallMy Goal Is To Deny Yours MVM join:2001-08-03 Grand Rapids, MI |
Phater PipeThey are going to need a bigger pipe in order to deliver all this content. At least initially they will. The multiple site thought is good so long as you have plenty of bandwidth to go around. Broadband users will also have to learn to be a little more patient especially when this service gets started. | |
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statecop Premium Member join:2002-09-16 Heflin, AL |
statecop
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 10:06 am
HL communityI like the features of steam but I dont think the community will be so willing to jump on board IF it becomes a monthly fee just to be able to play CS and other mods. I am not so sure I will and I have played HL mods since the very first beta of CS and Firearms. A lot of the people who play these mods are kids who do not have the money to put out for this not to mention adults that play it because it is still free to play unlike other game such as EQ, WWIIOL, and many more. | |
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| pnh102Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty Premium Member join:2002-05-02 Mount Airy, MD |
pnh102
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 10:20 am
Re: HL communitysaid by statecop: I like the features of steam but I dont think the community will be so willing to jump on board IF it becomes a monthly fee just to be able to play CS and other mods.
I agree... considering how much one already has to spend per month just to get any kind of practical internet access, I would be very hesitant to plunk down even more money per month per game just to play online, especially with a system that doesn't even work. Personally, I like playing network UT2003 games for free with my friends. Even over our cable connections, they work quite well | |
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| | Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 10:27 am
Re: HL communitySteam works well, it's just trying to estimate how much bandwidth you would need for the most popular game ever along with it being an open beta, didn't need to have half life installed, really surprised them. I've played 1.6b for a while and although it does get slow sometimes while connecting the constant updating really doesn't hurt me since I leave steam on overnight, thats when Valve sends the patches. And as I stated above, might want to read this » HALF-LIFE 2 NEWS: 3 different versions of hl2? | |
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| GlaiceBrutal Video Vault Premium Member join:2002-10-01 North Babylon, NY |
to statecop
I think Valve is beating a dead horse (for a 5 year old mod, heck even Sven Co-op is, but it don't have all the idiots/hackers/morons CS has) to continue supporting this mod. Move over and support something fresh or that has less players. » www.svencoop.com | |
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53059959 (banned)Temp banned from BBR more then anyone join:2002-10-02 PwnZone |
53059959 (banned)
Member
2003-Sep-8 10:25 am
expand it outtime to branch out Akamai style with multiple servers around the world to load balance and for redundancy. no single 500-mbit pipe will do when gamers unite. 1337 h4x0r | |
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| Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 10:27 am
Re: expand it outThey will be doing that, after the initial release they did exactly that. | |
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| | TransmasterDon't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus join:2001-06-20 Cheyenne, WY |
Re: expand it outDidn't cable try to roll something like this several years ago. Not a broadband system, of course, but a Gaming Channel. It didn't last long as I recall. I am not much of a gamer so I am not really sure why it croaked my guess would be content. If this stimulate broadband deployment then I'll become a gamer. | |
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lolIf you have a valid CD-Key I think it's free for any current mod's and games you have cd-keys to. | |
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| Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 2:16 pm
Re: lolWell yes, but others are talking about HL2 which you can do pay by month. | |
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| | GlaiceBrutal Video Vault Premium Member join:2002-10-01 North Babylon, NY
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Glaice
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 2:24 pm
Re: lolIf you PAY for it fully in the store, there isn't a monthly fee cause your not downloading the game. There is NO pay to play whatsoever. I'm buying the version that included both single and multiplayer. [text was edited by author 2003-09-08 14:25:02] | |
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| | | Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA
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Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 2:30 pm
Re: lolsaid by Glaice: There is NO pay to play whatsoever. I'm buying the version that included both single and multiplayer. [text was edited by author 2003-09-08 14:25:02]
Yes there, is. said by Valve press release: ... In the Steam world, some people will want to buy it once, like the middle SKU above. Other people will want to buy the game on subscription (e.g. $9.95/month).
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| | | KrKHeavy Artillery For The Little Guy Premium Member join:2000-01-17 Tulsa, OK Netgear WNDR3700v2 Zoom 5341J
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KrK to Glaice
Premium Member
2003-Sep-9 10:05 pm
to Glaice
said by Glaice: If you PAY for it fully in the store, there isn't a monthly fee cause your not downloading the game. There is NO pay to play whatsoever. I'm buying the version that included both single and multiplayer.
The link also seems to say the people WHO DON'T SUBSCRIBE will *not* get updates, new MODs, etc etc | |
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oliphant5Got Identity? Premium Member join:2003-05-24 Corona, CA |
Yeah great...pay the price for the softwareAnd get a letter from your ISP (eg Cox) for violating daily DL restrictions.
Unless it's 1/2 price or something...I'm just going to continue getting it at the store (and benefit from owning the actual media).
This is just Fileplanet with less titles. | |
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| Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 2:19 pm
Re: Yeah great...pay the price for the softwareIt's not a "Fileplanet with less titles.", it'll be a content delivery application that will also try to thwart cheaters/hackers from manipulating key .dll files since files will be redownloaded from servers every so often to make sure they are in fact genuine. | |
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| | oliphant5Got Identity? Premium Member join:2003-05-24 Corona, CA |
Re: Yeah great...pay the price for the softwareNo, it's a new money-tree...Fileplanet with less titles. | |
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| | | Combat ChuckToo Many Cannibals Premium Member join:2001-11-29 Verona, PA |
Re: Yeah great...pay the price for the softwareYou can either buy the title at the store or purchase the game for dl over steam. Either way steam will be free for you to use to update those titles you purchase, or to play mp.
Or you can subscribe for x amount of dollars per month and have access to all the games in valves library, until you stop paying.
How is that anything like fileplanet.
Content delivery systems are the future, weather you like it or not. You can either embrace them or let the rest of the world pass you by. | |
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| | | | oliphant5Got Identity? Premium Member join:2003-05-24 Corona, CA
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Re: Yeah great...pay the price for the softwareContent delivery systems AREN'T the future. They have failed miserably EVERYTIME they're tried.
Show me a successful content delivery system. Gigex? LOL.
It's the same thing as Fileplanet and Gamespy...pay for older software (I've tried Steam 2.0...there are no newer titles) and updates you would otherwise get for free. Oh...you want free updates...with popularity you will have to get in the 40 minute line behind the paying customers (just like Fileplanet). You want to find and open server? Be prepared to be barraged with ads (just like Gamespy). Gamespy started out like Steam...small, simple...now look at it...FULL of annoying and intrusive ad content. Even now...there seems to be some free game content...that's how these services start to attract users but soon resort to pay to play or make part of their "premium" services content that used to be free.
Valve doesn't have a large enough library to make this hugely successful...especially if they expect to actually get money for this nonsense. They aren't Activision. Sure they have 2 popular games (HL and CS)...but you can't build a pay to play service around 2 games.
People have been touting content delivery forever...just like online music services. Both have failed time and time again.
This latest incarnation of Steam is no different. Think about it...where's Steam 1.0 of content delivery was so bitchen?
The ONLY way content delivery will work is if the content is reliable (my Steam 2.0 TFC download failed to install Fatal error 108), ISPs don't enforce daily DL caps and it's CHEAP...WAY CHEAP and so far there are no publishers (including Valve) willing to go that route. They try to sell this garbage based on convenience...but that's not what people are looking for. Steam 2.0 may serve Valve well if they continue putting their classic titles up for free and run it ad supported, promoting their newest titles (eg Real Arcade). | |
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| | FLECOMBay Networks Freak Premium Member join:2003-03-03 Miami, FL |
to Jaime
said by Jaime: It's not a "Fileplanet with less titles.", it'll be a content delivery application that will also try to thwart cheaters/hackers from manipulating key .dll files since files will be redownloaded from servers every so often to make sure they are in fact genuine.
AHAHAHAHAH!!! then you didnt play beta 1.6 for CS using the Steam beta!!! had even more hacks than the current 1.5! and they were much worse!!! you could kill the entire other team from spawn with the 1.6 hacks rofl... Valve is stupid if they think im going to pay per month to play a game... the only people that pay for a game per month are the crazy obsessive people that play everquest etc... | |
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| | | Jaime Premium Member join:2001-06-03 Huntington Beach, CA |
Jaime
Premium Member
2003-Sep-10 1:57 pm
Re: Yeah great...pay the price for the softwaresaid by FLECOM:
said by Jaime: It's not a "Fileplanet with less titles.", it'll be a content delivery application that will also try to thwart cheaters/hackers from manipulating key .dll files since files will be redownloaded from servers every so often to make sure they are in fact genuine.
AHAHAHAHAH!!! then you didnt play beta 1.6 for CS using the Steam beta!!! had even more hacks than the current 1.5! and they were much worse!!! you could kill the entire other team from spawn with the 1.6 hacks rofl...
Valve is stupid if they think im going to pay per month to play a game...
the only people that pay for a game per month are the crazy obsessive people that play everquest etc...
Please read my comments more carefully. And I have played 1.6 since the day it came out. | |
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Minvaren Premium Member join:2001-07-26 Houston, TX |
Minvaren
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 12:39 pm
To check on the bandwidth...You can click here and check. Currently half of the content servers are offline as they prep them for release, so the number as of right now will be lower than is available for "prime-time" release. As far as using it? I cold-installed Half-Life, patched it to 1.1.0.6 (I think that's the current release) and then installed Counter-Strike 1.5. Steam client download : 10 seconds. Steam install (including downloads) : 3.5 minutes Counter-Strike/Half-Life initial update : 15 minutes (keep in mind that every major "point upgrade" to CS and HL require 2 70+MB downloads if you use the full installers, and 2 10+MB downloads if you use the upgraders) Subsequent CS/HL patches were roughly 30-60 seconds each. This is on 1.5M DSL, and the download was at more like 768k. I have no issue with the pipes available so far for the patching, it's the connect time (as all files get scanned for current versions) that is a bit slower than it was. As "Steam" won't be used for the Client-Server communication while playing, only the initial signon/patching/connect, it should work pretty well. | |
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| Maggs Premium Member join:2002-11-29 Jackson Heights, NY |
Maggs
Premium Member
2003-Sep-8 7:51 pm
Re: To check on the bandwidth...They could load balance the connections with a server in Europe, where not many have high speed access at home. Half Life would probably need a couple OC3s to work reasonably well with online content delivery.
They could place one OC3 with server farm in Ireland, with a population of 3 million people, not many are online. Then they could also try Austrailia, and Hawaii, and maybe British Colombia in Canada, that way the connections are spread geographically so that users nearest a point use those connections.\
In the US, they could have a server every 1,500 miles of land, one in NYC, one in the Midwest, and one in CA.
Also, they could license BitTorrent Technologies that could spread out the connection across a multiple of users. That way bandwidth would be less of a problem.
Maybe this config could work:
One Server/ Connection in British Columbia One Server/ Connection in California One Server/ Connection in Ohio One Server/ Connection in Florida One Server/ Connection in Virginia One Server/ Connection in NYC or Upstate NY One Server/ Connection in Ireland One Server/ Connection in Austrailia
That way people closest to a point could connect to the nearest area thereby reducing time of bandwidth usage. The more points that are accessible near you the better the bandwidth quality and reliability.
Just my take on things. I ain't an IT expert either, so don't shoot me. | |
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Not sure if Steam will be accepted...I think one of the reasons CS got so big was decentralization. Servers are everywhere: 11,000 of them the last time I checked!
But Valve wasn't making a whole lot off this massive community (besides the 1 time purchase) so the Marketing Dept. comes up with this. | |
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steam seems fine to me so far.....Personally, I have been using Steam and prefer the CS community there ( to date ) over GameSpy's ( or at least I think I perceive a difference). I do not see as many glitchers on Steam but they are there and that still is a major downer that has to be overcome... I don't have a problem in forking out cash for a title, but online play is not something I will ever pay for......... I am a dope, I believe that HL2 and DOOM3 will help turn the economy around or at least really help kill the time until it does........so I find it very exciting that HL2 might actually hit 09-30.......
(the above is my opinion and I assure you I will not be swayed by facts.....) | |
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B Si won't pay for sh*t that would make us pay to play a game of 6vs6 persons.... that would not even be hosted by steam.... just B S | |
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tWb
Anon
2003-Sep-11 2:44 am
Re: B STBH, i think valve just wants some money, look at it like this. CS has been around for years... its the largest multiplayer game ever and has more then 80,000 players at anygiven time. CS isnt free, to this day Half Life sits in retail store shelves for one reason, the MODS. Valve and sierra have a deal worked out for a percentage... Not one game as old as HL is still sitting in retail stores worldwide. Its kinda obovious that its all about the money, Steam is a nice piece of software, but like alot of people said it wont work out. Think about this, say you buy alot of content off of steam, then one day, they go out of business and shut it down... you lose everything you bought. And for those of you saying apps like steam are the wave of the future.. i pitty you, I would rather go to the store and buy a piece of software with the disk in my hand, then to use a credit card over the net, to buy software from a company that charges kids to play a 4 year old video game... its sad and pathetic, if valve does this it will be the end of CS and HL | |
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if u guys havent noticed... about csi played cs since the good ol days of 2000. (beta 5s)
back then i would get GOOD UNCHOKED 200 ping. then after that, EVERY DAMN version their "new netcode" would seriously f*ck things up. now comes 1.6, this is some laggy sh*t and makes scrimming hard.
no one wants this version to come out (well most of us), why cant we just all wait for hl2. omg | |
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rosmini join:2000-05-03 Albuquerque, NM |
rosmini
Member
2003-Sep-13 11:57 pm
I don't play it like I used to butI joined the beta shortly after it began and have used the half life cd to play online and I can say that not having to download 50 updates to make the cd version current was NICE and even with the updates on cd it can take awhile to get them installed with steam If you choose to you can begin playing within 20 minutes. You can do this with any of the mods it supports. To a certain extent it helped some with the cheating but only when the steam players were separated from the servers using the retail version. | |
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Synergy Games man
Anon
2004-Apr-6 11:25 pm
distributorsanyone know any web sites of video game distributors? I'm starting my own video game store, and want to find a company to buy bulk games off of. any help is highly appreciated | |
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