Valve's Steamworks
Posted By: Leonardo
Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 15:30
http://www.steampowered.com/steamworks/http://www.steampowered.com/v/index.php?area=news&cc=CAhttp://www.gameproducer.netAs I have read and understood, Valve is releasing a package containing all the tools a game developer needs, ranging from making the game to distributing it, and you don't even have to publish the game through Steam's channel's. And it seems that the package will be free!
Sounds like a dream come true? Well, we will just have to wait and see!
Leonardo
Posted By: Paul_L_Ming
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 17:21
Hiya.
That's the online download and authentication, and the "protection scheme" that they used for HL2, right? If so, all I can say is I *specifically* didn't buy HL2 because of this scheme. Actually, it's one of the 'copy protections' I watch out for. If I see a game that has "Steampowered" or "Steamworks" listed on the box, it goes right back on the shelf.
Posted By: Nems
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 17:36
Yup, me too, hate these systems, I just want the game.
Posted By: Leonardo
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 18:08
Could you please explain to me, why you hate the Steam system? I mean, if the Steamworks pack offered a possibility to customize the look and the name of the program you offer to the customers, then this wouldn't be a problem.
But actually I have nothing against Steam - it doesn't even take that much space on your HDD.
Posted By: lostclimate
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 19:48
it gives people a id on steam, and if you log on to steam from a computer you can download your copy of that game, but you have to have an internet connection to even play
Posted By: Nems
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 20:02
Heya Leonardo, for me here in NZ, Steam isnt fully represented by our service providers and needs to be requested to activate to use, then there are huge permance issues while using steam both single player and online.
It requires far too much on the user to actually play or take part in a game fronted by steam technology which is why I hate it, it denies me ease of use of which I am accustomed to from games that do not use it and because such games require steam, I cant really access them if they cannot be activated which is a common prob here.
Posted By: Leonardo
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 23:42
Hmm, weird... haven't had any performance issues on my side, but if it isn't represented by your service providers, then that can be a problem. Maybe you know how many people in your country COULD have the same problem? I mean, does this problem impact the gaming market a whole lot or are those numbers I shouldn't worry about?
And, speaking about the internet connection you need to have to play a game downloaded using Steam, that is not a problem personally for me, seeing as my original idea is distributing the games using the internet either way.
Also, why I will be definitely using Steamworks - the problems you mentioned might cause a drop in the number of my potential clients, but compared to one of my games that don't use any of the possibilities Steamworks offers, that number will still be significantly higher!
Posted By: Kasey_Dee
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/30/08 23:53
Quote:
If so, all I can say is I *specifically* didn't buy HL2 because of this scheme. Actually, it's one of the 'copy protections' I watch out for. If I see a game that has "Steampowered" or "Steamworks" listed on the box, it goes right back on the shelf.
Ditto. I do not have my gaming computer hooked up to the internet and I do not use antivirus memory hog. Why should I be on the internet for a single player game?
Posted By: Pappenheimer
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 00:42
It sounds magnificent to me, too!
I didn't have any problems with Steamm, alone to play the demos and see the high resolution ingame videos was worth to connect.
I'm curious how this will turn out. It is a matter of the ease of use to me.
Posted By: Nems
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 02:34
@ Leonardo, no dont worry about it, its a quirk of living in an area where floating IP's prevails.
Some can connect intially and some cant but lots of people here missed out on Half Life 2 because of it.
Posted By: Blattsalat
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 04:57
didnt bought hl2 because of steam as well nor will i buy such a game. the simple reason is, that for simply no reason in the whole world i should be forced to hand over my personal data for a bought item.
its like they would demand your personal id or passport whenever you buy a leaf of bread at the local bakery.
i do not trust companies so why should i send them everything about me (personal data, hardware info, logs,...).
companies force children to work for no money with the blink of an eye. do you really think they might have a problem doing "wrong" things with you as well.
bottom line: i will never buy games from the gestapo.
cheers
Posted By: Leonardo
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 07:18
Well, then let's hope that the Steamworks package will be fully customizable, so we may fix the problems mentioned in this post. I reckon that we will have the option to turn off certain parts of the software, that require the personal information of a buyer, at least that would make sense to me.
But I guess I just have to wait for the software to come out!
Quote:
i do not trust companies so why should i send them everything about me
If I would think so then all my internet income would not be possible. I could not create an internet shop and sell via paypal or 2checkout. I could not login into many forums and I could not buy games, software or even books via amazon.
Every internet user gives personal data away almost every day. If you dont want to do that then it is better to log off from world wide web 
Posted By: Cacti
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 10:43
So if we ignore the dislike for Steam here for a moment, what about this free package? Would it be a useful tool for indy games? What do you actually get and what do you actually give? What are the catches?
What I'm particularly interested in is WHY it is free. I doubt they would pay for all the bandwidth increase... Maybe you have to set up your own servers to be linked (or not) into the Steam network? So far the site isn't particularly filled up with details yet, only basic descriptions of the supplied services are given.
What is interesting is that it could mean that indy game developers could just "self-publish" easily and effectively instead of trying to find a publisher. Since it's "free" it seems more cost-effective too.
Posted By: Leonardo
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 10:56
As I understood from the small details written on their site, you are not obliged to link your game to the Steam network. The Steamworks package supposedly only helps you, as a developer, publish the game, it is like a tool. And why they are giving it out for free - well:
1) Valve rocks! ^^
2) The more people use their software, the more recognition they get and more people are getting used to using Steam, so more sales for Valve's games. If everything goes as planned for these guys, I believe Steam might become one of the top methods of publishing your games, and from a marketing point of view, that is always good!
Posted By: old_bill
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 14:43
In my opinion it's a mix of an anti-pirate, distribution control and user-connection package.
So whether you like steam or not, over 13 million people already joined the network,
which makes it very attractive as publishing channel, even for smaller games.
I think thats also the deal behind, the sdk makes it easier for valve to have games
which are ready to integrate in Steam, and with every sale they're participating in your success.
Quote:
• Real-time stats on sales, gameplay, and product activation: Know exactly how well your title is selling before the charts are released. Find out how much of your game is being played. Login into your Steamworks account pages and view up to the hour information regarding worldwide product activations and player data.
• State of the art encryption system: Stop paying to have your game pirated before it’s released. Steamworks takes anti-piracy to a new level with strong encryption that keeps your game locked until the moment it is released.
• Territory/version control: The key-based authentication provided in Steamworks also provides territory/version controls to help curb gray market importing and deliver territory-specific content to any given country or region.
• Auto updating: Ensures all customers are playing the latest and greatest version of your games.
• Voice chat: Available for use both in and out of game.
• Multiplayer matchmaking: Steamworks offers you all the multiplayer backend and matchmaking services that have been created to support Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2, the most played action games in the world.
• Social networking services: With support for achievements, leaderboards, and avatars, Steamworks allows you to give your gamers as many rewards as you would like, plus support for tracking the world’s best professional and amateur players of your game.
• Development tools: Steamworks allows you to administer private betas which can be updated multiple times each day. Also includes data collection tools for QA, play testing, and usability studies.
Quote:
Yup, me too, hate these systems, I just want the game.
why wouldn't you release 2 versions then, steam powered and non-steam on your website 
i like steam now, i used to hate it, but it's very secure and it's not much of a resource hog, it's also helpful to have the games that you bought set up that way
Posted By: lostclimate
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 01/31/08 15:33
i like it because I no longer have to keep track of disks.
i am unorganized
Posted By: Inestical
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/01/08 09:05
I'm grown fond of Steam. It's system works well. Even though there are The Steam Problems™ it still works.
Posted By: Nems
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/01/08 19:29
@ mpdeveloper_B, It might be worth looking at for sure (despite my current prejudices
) however, my target audience is specific to NZ first, the world second and most providers here do not like Steam either as it 1. registers as a viral type of application to them therefore, caution is on red alert, 2. They are principly business people and not willing to change something that works well for something they regard with suspicion as its 'New Tech' and 3. their engineers are of a similar mind too.
Mind you, my experience was some 3 or 4 years ago where having downloaded 2 gigs of data, the dam thing would not register after multiple tries, might have improved in the interim and so I never got a look at my all time fav game Half Life revisited
As it stands, I will await developments here and make an assessment on your guys experiences with this package
btw, steamworks is not just for selling through steam, i spoke with Mike Dunkle of steam and got this:
Quote:
To use Steamworks you do not necessarily need to have your game distributed on Steam. An example would be that you use our DRM/CD key solution and you sell the product through traditional retail. Customer takes the product home and Steam is used to verify and unlock your product.
We will be shortly post more information on the new Steamworks website. This is for all developers large and small.
Mike
as you can see he assured me that steamworks is for indie and bigname developers alike, and that you don't have to publish through steam, it would just verify that you bought the game, and you'd never have to open steam again...
Posted By: MaxF
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/02/08 07:16
Hi
I for one love it, great news from a development point of view and even better from a publisher view (13 million users)
Posted By: PHeMoX
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/04/08 14:26
Quote:
Hi
I for one love it, great news from a development point of view and even better from a publisher view (13 million users)
Yeah, that's probably the biggest pro... 13 million people are likely to see your product. I've seen all games available through Steam now, simply because I wanted to see what they offered and I'm sure a lot of people did so too.
Fortunately there is nearly no real crap on Steam, so mostly anything will be okey, but when in serious doubt the metascore gives a good and quite objective view too, let alone the trailers, movies and demos. All in all I think it's one of the best inventions, if not thé best invention of recent times for the distribution of games.
Cheers
Posted By: JibbSmart
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/04/08 23:37
love it too. same reasons as phemox.
julz
Quote:
Fortunately there is nearly no real crap on Steam...
Because of that we all should only be much excited of this new option when we have a real burner, a high quality game to offer.
Otherwise it is only another place to dream of.
Posted By: PHeMoX
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/05/08 17:21
For most people here yes (myself included), but I'm sure that if someone here manages to make an interesting game with a working concept behind it that it has a really good chance at getting accepted.
There's a bunch of 2D games there too and although those are great and polished games mostly it's perhaps not as dreamy as you think it is. I'm not talking about the 2D of the games, but I don't think all games on Steam are 'high quality games', there's just nearly no real crap. (Example: Culpa Innata on Steam)
Don't get me wrong, but I think your comment is a bit misplaced anyway because getting accepted on any game portal will require a 'good' game.
Cheers
Quote:
...any game portal will require a 'good' game.
That is what I am talking about. You got it 
Posted By: Nems
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/06/08 01:52
What interests me in this technology is the 'silent' updater process.
Our Tiltle (our = Team Abandoned) requires patches and updates so maybe this could prove to be enough to take a look at, by that I mean, develope with the thought in mind of using this package.
Posted By: PHeMoX
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/06/08 13:57
@Frank: Aah, okey, lol, then I've sort of misunderstood you, because I thought you were pessimistic about Steam as publisher in particular or something. My bad,
Cheers
Posted By: MaxF
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/19/08 05:32
Posted By: Leonardo
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/19/08 08:11
I already sent Jason a message, but seeing as he didn't reply to the one I sent before, I doubt he will now.... I don't see the point in saying that Steamworks is ready to be released and NOT putting a huge Download button everywhere!
If it is for free, then why make the process of obtaining Steamworks so hard for everyone?
Posted By: Nems
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/19/08 20:41
I'm still suspicious, its in my nature
so I wonder who pays, if not you the developer then would it be your client base?
I couldnt find clarifying statements at the site
i've asked mike about most of these questions, steamworks is just for using game protection where you can use cd-keys and other forms of verification, to make sure they bought your game, but with steam all you have to do is submit your game to them, they evaluate it and if they enjoy it, they put it on steam and you only pay percentage of sells, which i'm sure is taken out automatically.
steamworks is completely FREE, you don't pay for it
Posted By: Leonardo
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 02/20/08 15:07
Try asking him how to get our hands on this software!!
Because I have 3 games ready for distribution and all I need is Steamworks.
ok i just sent him an email, and he has yet to leave my questions unanswered, so i'm expecting a reply within a day or two, or maybe a few hours, i'll post it when i get it
Posted By: The_Clyde
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 04/23/09 03:34
[quote]Fortunately there is nearly no real crap on Steam
Was that BEFORE Team Fortress 2 and Left 4 Dead? I got the Orange Box a while back and have been playing TF2 a lot. I also had the opportunity to get Unreal Tournament 3 for like $10.
-----
IMO, SteamWorks looks to be the best thing that ever happened to Indie developers on the PC... A gazillion people use it, you don't have to get CDs/DVDs made, it lets you auto-update whenever you feel like it, and it will even HANDLE THE ORGANIZATION BEHIND ONLINE MATCHMAKING FOR YOU!!!
This seems like a great alternative to building a server farm in your basement to host your multiplayer deathmatch shooter.
Posted By: Quad
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 04/23/09 11:23
THREADNECROOO!!!!
last post was 1 year ago.
Posted By: lostclimate
Re: Valve's Steamworks - 04/23/09 19:08
