Shoutbox

I got Half-life 2 for Christmas and was wondering why I am required to download the game through steam because I am on dial-up and this will take approximately 6 days, what is the purpose in buying the disk if all i am getting is a nice shit account on steam?

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Originally posted by remember_987


I got Half-life 2 for Christmas and was wondering why I am required to download the game through steam because I am on dial-up and this will take approximately 6 days, what is the purpose in buying the disk if all i am getting is a nice shit account on steam?

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One of the things are that you can  download the game later if you want too, and that some games require Steam to be installed. However why you have to download the whole game, is a bit stupid, so that I'd also like to know.

Maybe you can download it at a friends house, and he/she may burn it on a CD/DVD for you.

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Originally posted by remember_987
I got Half-life 2 for Christmas and was wondering why I am required to download the game through steam because I am on dial-up and this will take approximately 6 days, what is the purpose in buying the disk if all i am getting is a nice shit account on steam?

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I agree with Nitro, that is a bit stupid
I'd send them a complaint, just saying that their streaming isn't suitable for your dail up conntection, and you'd like an alternative.

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Originally posted by .OxY
I'd send them a complaint, just saying that their streaming isn't suitable for your dail up conntection, and you'd like an alternative.

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If its in the requirements it won't help...

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Originally posted by Voldemort

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Originally posted by .OxY
I'd send them a complaint, just saying that their streaming isn't suitable for your dail up conntection, and you'd like an alternative.

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If its in the requirements it won't help...

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Well, that may be true.. but if it is, just ask if they have an alternative. If they don't, it's not really worth bothering with.

Don't file a complaint.

Are you sure it's downloading the entire game? Are you sure it's just not updating the game? HL2 updates aren't exactly small so you may be SOL until you get a better line.

Basically all the disk is doing is installing the base files of the earliest version of the game, so every time you want to reinstall it now, it'll need to download all of the downloads from when the game came out in 2004.

The updates that come out are always major, so the files aren't exactly small, so it'll take a few hours, even for people on 4mb broadband (like myself).

You'll have to set up the steam account too, so you'll never really need to put in the disk again other than to install the base files, your serial code will always be "imprinted" onto your Steam account, as with any other game that you purchase through steam.

hey all, thanks for the help I am sending in a complaint asking for an alternative to spending six days online straight (it can't hurt) and am considering going to my friends house to download if nothing turns up but wouldn't that take like multiple DVD's?

P.S. anyone know the e-mail for contacting steam?

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Originally posted by remember_987
hey all, thanks for the help I am sending in a complaint asking for an alternative to spending six days online straight (it can't hurt) and am considering going to my friends house to download if nothing turns up but wouldn't that take like multiple DVD's?

P.S. anyone know the e-mail for contacting steam?

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uhh... DVDs hold about 4GB or something...

Whats wrong with leaving you computer on for a few days downloading, i do it all the time..

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Originally posted by remember_987
hey all, thanks for the help I am sending in a complaint asking for an alternative to spending six days online straight (it can't hurt) and am considering going to my friends house to download if nothing turns up but wouldn't that take like multiple DVD's?

P.S. anyone know the e-mail for contacting steam?

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Well the minimum specifications for having Half-Life 2/Counter-Strike : Source are something like a 256kb/s minimum. They won't take your email seriously, they want you to have the security fixes and updates.

Also, going to your friends to download it would make no difference, you wouldn't be able to play it at your house, you have to download it on your machine.

It's not going to take six days, pause the update for Counter-Strike: Source, then download Half-Life 2, then when playing that, download Counter-Strike: Source files. Also, i'm sure you have other stuff to do while it's downloading.

I'm not sure there is an email to contact Steam, sorry. But keep looking if you want to make a complete pleb out of yourself.

Some advice for the future, before buying a game, make sure your machine has all of the recommended (or minimum) specifications, otherwise you'll just get pissed off when you either, can't update it quickly or can't run it without lag. Half-Life 2 is also a game that cannot be returned to the shop, as the serial number can only be used on one account.

So basically, unless you're willing to download it at your house, you're fucked.