Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Wishlist => Topic started by: Mister Fork on September 18, 2009, 10:00:58 AM
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Would be nice to simply use a common game service like STEAM to download updates etc. Plus their billing system is purdy nice. :rock
Just a thought.
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At a reduction of profit for HTC? Sure.....
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And you guys complain about squeakers now... Imagine the onslaught of squeaker that will jump into this game after seeing it on steam.
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It also takes more work than people think. It's just not a matter of submitting a game to Valve and just have them 'upload' to Steam so it can be available for digital distribution. It does take a bit of programming work and time.
ack-ack
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It also takes more work than people think. It's just not a matter of submitting a game to Valve and just have them 'upload' to Steam so it can be available for digital distribution. It does take a bit of programming work and time.
ack-ack
It may be worth the money if HTC wants more exposure
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No thank you to the OP.
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It may be worth the money if HTC wants more exposure
I would an exposure explosion - not a bad thing for HTC IMHO. It would be just a way to allow for easier game updates, installations, and outsourcing the payment methods. They would loose revenue money using Steam, but the client base would increase 10-fold.
:x
Besides, don't we all want more 'squeakers' to shoot down? I also enjoy their ranting text messages on the noob channel that always go unanswered until they PO another squeaker who thinks they're talking to them. That gets funny in a hurry.
Furthermore, with an increased player and subscription base, they could add more coaders and programors, and maybe hire a Skuzzy junior assistant nicknamed Squeaky. And with more coaders, it means more aircraft and vehicles and updates more often - and that's not a bad thing. :aok
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Besides, don't we all want more 'squeakers' to shoot down?
Read me like a book...
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Steam sucks... nuff said.
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Steam sucks... nuff said.
I disagree. Cheaper games, available allover the world at the same time, no media needed, and if you want to save the games on hard media you can. The friends system and integrated instant messaging (voice also) work well too.
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I disagree. Cheaper games, available allover the world at the same time, no media needed, and if you want to save the games on hard media you can. The friends system and integrated instant messaging (voice also) work well too.
I can just imagine how many people would start complaining because somebody is talking on tagalog, or romanian, or swahili :rofl.
semp
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steam SUX....and my pc bogged down so much, I tried to delete it.....but it just wont stop asking to be reinstalled....bugger!
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I still wish HT would let Xfire just see the game. Not able to join, just say that OI'm playing it.
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I would an exposure explosion - not a bad thing for HTC IMHO. It would be just a way to allow for easier game updates, installations, and outsourcing the payment methods.
It may be easier for the consumer to get the updates and installations but it is definitely not easier for the developer. Basically, two updates would need to be created, one normal one and one specifically for Steam. That means extra money and resources that need to be spent.
ack-ack
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I will never buy anything from steam. Every story I've heard about it is bad.
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I will never buy anything from steam. Every story I've heard about it is bad.
I have CSS, L4D and Team Fortress 2 from them, no problems but I don't rely on them for all my games.
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I will never buy anything from steam. Every story I've heard about it is bad.
I will never buy a 50+ euros game again as I can get it cheaper on steam (most of the time). Also I play doom likes so it's the only place to go.
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Also on steam you can find less known games that would never have a chance to get distributed otherwise.
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I'm confused. We have a game that is free to download. It patches automagically when you log on as needed. It's only $16.01 a month that goes directly and completely to the developer and owner.
What does STEAM do better?
wrongway
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I concur in part with the OP; STEAM is an interesting idea and has potential. That said, there would need to be a separate STEAM arena which we direct subscribers could access and our current ones that the STEAMers could not play in. I know, double standard and all that but would keep the current base of players and vastly expand HTC's exposure to a new base of customers. If the STEAMers like AH enough, they could convert to direct subscription and have all the goodies. The STEAM cost would need to be less than the current monthly subscription of course and only part of those monies would flow into HTC's coffers, but the potential for volume is there for HTC to make additional revenue even with a lower margin per unit. The biggest downside is that we would see is the kay-rap-ola increase on the BBS.
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I'm going to admit. I've had this idea before. Hell My AH is already launch able from my steam account. How ever three major issues come to mind.
1. It would be a large expense to HTC to nail out all the details, legal license and what not to get AH available on Steam. Time, money, and legal consultation that could be better spent updating the game
2. If on Steam then chances are what would they charge for the software? Aces high is free to download. What about those of us whom already have it now? Will we have to pay 20 dollars to use it on steam? On top of out 15 a month?
3. Aces high is a bit of a diamond in the rough. To much exposure degrades the game play quality. Games like world of warcraft are over populated with twinks and idiots that make the game nothing more than a grade school dis fest. "Yo momma and your such a newb." sort of stuff. I like the fact that a new comer can come on AH and feel welcomed. Hell even when our base is getting bombed to bits I find it more relaxing than say winning a COD4 game while the other team is winning about how teams are stacked. So exposure isn't necessarily a good thing as it weeds out those who are not committed to really learning to play.
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I'm confused. We have a game that is free to download. It patches automagically when you log on as needed. It's only $16.01 a month that goes directly and completely to the developer and owner.
What does STEAM do better?
wrongway
Nothing, absolutely nothing. The only thing it would bring is increased cost for HiTech and crew with very little or nothing in return.
ack-ack
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all the ah shareholders that want to go to steam say yey or nei, rest of us dont get to vote. You guys want to change the way AH management runs the business, talk directly to them, the rest of us that have no saying. U may also want to research what happened to AW once gamestorm went out of business.
semp
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I will never buy anything from steam. Every story I've heard about it is bad.
There are some games that I've gotten through Steam and frankly, for digital downloads, that the only place I'll go for them. Never had any problems with any of the games I've gotten from Steam but I'd rather buy the retail box version for the manuals and other things that come with the retail box.
ack-ack
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I will never buy anything from steam. Every story I've heard about it is bad.
Steam is actually a very stable, reliable platform for gaming.
Now if it was up to me, I personally would never let exist such a third party program in my gaming, but certain games I play are Steam Required (Red Orchestra, E:TW) and thankfully it's never a problem.
I am begrudged to say that sometimes I find the auto-patching convenient, too.
The problem is, as some have mentioned, that Steam itself has a community, and it is largely a community of underage Xbox gamers. Without awares of HTC's long-term playerbase preferences, I would venture to say that the Steam community would attract many of the "wrong type" of AH player. But who am I to say, it's not my game. I personally would love the kill padding from 13 year olds stalling P-51's with gamepads.
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I'm confused. We have a game that is free to download. It patches automagically when you log on as needed. It's only $16.01 a month that goes directly and completely to the developer and owner.
What does STEAM do better?
wrongway
That is all that needs to be said.
Let me give you all some History. Air Warrior, an early flight SIM, was owned by KESMAI. AOL got involved, then it was "assimilated" into Gamestorm. Gamestorm had many games. What ever happened? Well, EA, of Nintendo fame, bought out Gamestorm. Within a year or so, Air Warrior was scrapped. Many many players and programmers were let go. People who spent many years of their lives for a community that still lives today-in part and even partakes with Aces High.
HiTech and others here were a part of that enterprise.
I never want to see that happen here. You do not realize what the ramifications of "joining" or being "taken over" bring. Nothing good would come of it, mark my words.
wrongway and a few others said it right, I just gave you a bit more history.
EDIT: I might add too, the bureaucracy getting something "fixed" or changed would be like getting Health Care or Social Security reform in the Government. The recent update is a prime example of how this current system works. It Works!! The phrase "Two Weeks" came from the Air Warrior community and it was a joke, not funny - sad. :cry
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This is the first time I have heard of STEAM but it sure sounds like Gamestorm in new clothes.. I feel it would be the worst thing that could happen to AH. The support we get from Hitech is unmatched by any other online game I have seen in many many years.
As it was said, this works why fix it?
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I hate STEAM. They'd loose my $14.95 a month if they went with STEAM.
No thanks to this idea.
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This is the first time I have heard of STEAM but it sure sounds like Gamestorm in new clothes.. I feel it would be the worst thing that could happen to AH. The support we get from Hitech is unmatched by any other online game I have seen in many many years.
As it was said, this works why fix it?
It's nothing like Gamestorm. Steam is the digital distribution and game matching system created by Valve (the guys that made Half-Life) about 5-6 years ago. It started initially as a way to circumvent the big publishing houses to keep their independence as a gaming developer. Its worked great for them, Valve is now considered a power house in the gaming industry and still remains an independent studio/developer.
ack-ack
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It's nothing like Gamestorm. Steam is the digital distribution and game matching system created by Valve (the guys that made Half-Life) about 5-6 years ago. It started initially as a way to circumvent the big publishing houses to keep their independence as a gaming developer. Its worked great for them, Valve is now considered a power house in the gaming industry and still remains an independent studio/developer.
ack-ack
why dont you picth the sale to AH directly and come back and let us know how it went. Why is this posted here when we have zero/zilch/nada/nyet/pionyansen/tumocotaseco to do with how AH manages itself. You are just wasting the time that could be better spent trying to free the sheep, so It can roam freely on the game.
semp
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Have you ever seen a steampipe explode?
Stay away from steam, it's dangerous........
What the heck is STEAM?
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Squeakers?? YEAH MORE SQUEAKERS.
More minions for my GLORIOUS ARMY OF TWEENAGE TERRORS.
If more squeakers are the result, add us on steam, I need minions and friends to fly with and bomb people to heck with. Also vulch and pick and HO all you oldies to DEATH!!!.
lol. Seriously though Steam would be a nice perk bringer, more people, more players, more targets and as I said more minoins for all of us to recruit.
But Squeakers are fun....right up to the point when they flatten A1 and A3 in DA to the ground with B24s >:)
B6Pacman - CO of Squeaking Death
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Just to clarify guys - I don't expect HTC to abandon their current method of subscription, but to just offer a different channel via STEAM. For example, you can still go to GameSTOP and get a copy of Call of Duty: World at War for $49.95, or you can buy it online via STEAM for the same price, cept that STEAM will automatically keep it up to date for you, you can download a copy when ever you want no matter what PC you own or where you are (i.e. on a friends computer).
The same would apply here I think: you can still pay your $14 bucks to HTC and download the patches manually, OR, if you are running STEAM, (and find your squadmates online and message them before you get in), you can just go that route.
It's like the difference between those who like to drink coffee in a mug or in a thermos. It's still coffee, tastes like coffee, smells like coffee. What you drink it in is up to you.
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With steam doesn't it take a couple extra days to update too? I remember people saying they had to wait upwards of 2 days to get patches for WaW. If there is someone who plays the game nightly and they have to wait 2 days because it says "your version of Aces High is not up to date" I don't think they'd be happy. :P
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Have any of you ever played a non-mainstream, large-codebase game on STEAM? A few people said things about "faster patches"...hell no.
I play a game called X3. Space simulator. It came out on CD and STEAM simultaneously. Every time a patch is released, they post it immediately to their website for the disk gamers. Those of us on STEAM get to wait AT LEAST a week for the Valve programmers to put all of their junk back in it, rubber stamp it, and feed it to us.
At least with that game we can keep playing, drooling over the next patch. With Aces High, that isn't the case. Outdated versions are immediately out of the question for online play. Everyone that wouldn't mind waiting a week to play after a patch, raise your hand... :noid
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Have any of you ever played a non-mainstream, large-codebase game on STEAM? A few people said things about "faster patches"...hell no.
I play a game called X3. Space simulator. It came out on CD and STEAM simultaneously. Every time a patch is released, they post it immediately to their website for the disk gamers. Those of us on STEAM get to wait AT LEAST a week for the Valve programmers to put all of their junk back in it, rubber stamp it, and feed it to us.
At least with that game we can keep playing, drooling over the next patch. With Aces High, that isn't the case. Outdated versions are immediately out of the question for online play. Everyone that wouldn't mind waiting a week to play after a patch, raise your hand... :noid
My point exactly.
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steam is no option for me, one of the worst software systems i ever seen. I buy no Products which needs steam.
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steam is no option for me, one of the worst software systems i ever seen. I buy no Products which needs steam.
I'm curious of why its the worst software system ever.
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why dont you picth the sale to AH directly and come back and let us know how it went. Why is this posted here when we have zero/zilch/nada/nyet/pionyansen/tumocotaseco to do with how AH manages itself. You are just wasting the time that could be better spent trying to free the sheep, so It can roam freely on the game.
semp
You're either an idiot or didn't read the entire thread. Go back and read my posts, and if you're able to comprehend what you read (if not, have someone explain it to you very slowly), you will see that I am not in favor of having AH on Steam.
ack-ack
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With steam doesn't it take a couple extra days to update too? I remember people saying they had to wait upwards of 2 days to get patches for WaW. If there is someone who plays the game nightly and they have to wait 2 days because it says "your version of Aces High is not up to date" I don't think they'd be happy. :P
Yes, sometimes customers have to wait a little longer to update through Steam. That's because a seperate update has to be created so it will be compatible with Steam and sometimes results in game updates being anywhere from a day or so to a couple of weeks. Though, often the developers make sure that the update is ready on Steam at the same time the regular update is released by the developers but not always.
ack-ack
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I will never buy a 50+ euros game again as I can get it cheaper on steam (most of the time). Also I play doom likes so it's the only place to go.
If you use direct2drive, then you don't have to install bloatware on your computer. To me that's a much better alternative.
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1 Question , This is the first I have heard of steam. My question is simply , what games distributed on steam have a recurring monthly charge?
HiTech
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What's so hard about the update system HTC has? "Your current version is out of date, would you like to update?", click yes, and you're updated. The only thing I see HTC getting out of STEAM, is more exposure and advertisment (as said before).
1 Question , This is the first I have heard of steam. My question is simply , what games distributed on steam have a recurring monthly charge?
HiTech
I haven't seen any game like that yet on Steam. All the games I bought off them have been a 1 time deal.
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So there is no real reason to have it on some stupid "big brother" server that you all allow access into things such as Registry......... That sound right? Cause that's what it is.........
HTC would be better spending money on more History Channel commercials during Dogfights.
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1 Question , This is the first I have heard of steam. My question is simply , what games distributed on steam have a recurring monthly charge?
HiTech
They've added some MMORPGs like Everquest and the new Aion. I don't think Steam handles the monthly fee.
I don't know how much it costs for developers to distribute their games but I can't imagine it being too high since they have alot of indie games.
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Steam would never work from what I am seeing.
Steams purpose is to sell products online with a method of making the distribution secure with out the CD. I.E. I would bet products like EQ still do there own updating.
AH on the other hand is a free distribution unlike the other products. And hence steam would not be interested.
HiTech
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1 Question , This is the first I have heard of steam. My question is simply , what games distributed on steam have a recurring monthly charge?
HiTech
Our company recently put up our game (FINAL FANTASY XI) up on Steam. SOE has most of their games on Steam (EQ/EQ2/PotBS/Vanguard).
Other MMO games on Steam:
Age of Conan
Lineage I/II
GuildWars
Champions Online
Warhammer
Speaking of the experience we went through to get it up on Steam, it was kind of a pain in the ass. It took about 4 months or so to resolve the compatibility issues with the Steam wrapper that is used for games on Steam.
ack-ack
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Steam would never work from what I am seeing.
Steams purpose is to sell products online with a method of making the distribution secure with out the CD. I.E. I would bet products like EQ still do there own updating.
AH on the other hand is a free distribution unlike the other products. And hence steam would not be interested.
HiTech
For the MMO games, the Steam wrapper works like you describe. For our game that we put up on Steam, the only difference between the Steam version and our boxed version is the Steam launcher that installs the game without CDs but it still takes a bit of coding to get it to work properly. We had compatibility problems with the Steam wrapper that took quite a bit of time to over come because the game also has to be made compatible with the Steam system and launcher.
Valve would be interested in putting any game on Steam, as long as you're willing to pay the money (a lot of money) to get it hosted. There are a few free games available on Steam but mostly from small indie studios trying to get their name and product out.
ack-ack
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I know Pirates of the Burning Sea is a monthly paid game...
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My only experience is with ARMAII Demo. But it's a little annoying to click Exit or play offline every time the Steam popup opens on Startup. I know it can be fixed...but when I fix it it will be a permanent thing.
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My only experience is with ARMAII Demo. But it's a little annoying to click Exit or play offline every time the Steam popup opens on Startup. I know it can be fixed...but when I fix it it will be a permanent thing.
That means you need to take better care of your computer anyway. I'd hate to see your Startup list.
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1 Question , This is the first I have heard of steam. My question is simply , what games distributed on steam have a recurring monthly charge?
HiTech
As far as I know, Everquest 1 and 2, Aion, Champions Online, Eve Online, Lineage I and II, Warhammer Online, and Pirates of the Burning Sea (at least that I remember).
The thing these all have in common is an upfront price to buy the game, something AH has never had that I remember. I'd suspect there's licensing and hosting fees to valve, but the backend (i.e. Servers, network) is still controlled by the developer.
Also, for those with Steam that would like to still use your friends list and stuff, you can actually ADD Aces High II to the Steam games list (click Games -> Add non-Steam game), and as far as I've been able to tell, works fine for me with my Vista 64 system, and the "Shift Tab" Steam overlay works as well.
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My only experience is with ARMAII Demo. But it's a little annoying to click Exit or play offline every time the Steam popup opens on Startup. I know it can be fixed...but when I fix it it will be a permanent thing.
Unless you're referring to something I'm not understanding, you can stop Steam from starting on windows start, and not have it pop up messages in Steam's settings.
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That means you need to take better care of your computer anyway. I'd hate to see your Startup list.
Unless you're referring to something I'm not understanding, you can stop Steam from starting on windows start, and not have it pop up messages in Steam's settings.
Thanks guys, I am very aware of msconfig and how to customize it. The new PC isn't tuned or anything yet and Steam is likely short-lived. I keep those subtle reminders to remind me play the game or get off the pot. I am not sure I like ARMA II Demo and therefore it's life and Steam's are tentative at best. My startup list is minimal, rest assured. :)
:aok
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:) Alrighty then. Actually, thanks for that, because I couldn't for the life of me remember what that was called (msconfig). I use programs to do it, but I'm working on a machine that I don't want to put those on and I couldn't remember the old fashioned way! :D
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Actually, I was referring to inside Steam itself.
You can change how Steam starts (either manually or automatically with windows (as well as online or offline mode), notifications for new products turned on or off, or even notifications about friends coming online/offline/etc.
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What does STEAM do better?
Specific to AH, it would create a massive influx of new players. Massive as in several multiples.
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steam SUX....and my pc bogged down so much, I tried to delete it.....but it just wont stop asking to be reinstalled....bugger!
I use Steam for Left 4 Dead. My guess is you have out of date PC, so that will negate the "blame of the Software".
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Specific to AH, it would create a massive influx of new players. Massive as in several multiples.
I guess the argument here would be the new players vs the amount of work to be done to get them.
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I guess the argument here would be the new players vs the amount of work to be done to get them.
I cant comment on the cost/benefit side of things because I dont work at HTC and I dont know what it would actually take (cost) to involve a distribution system like Steam.
That said, any other, similar sort of distribution service would surely spark a great deal of interest.
Since the prospect of new players is obviously appealing from a business perspective - I wonder if HTC has ever considered something as simple as a Fileplanet promotion.
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Steam would never work from what I am seeing.
Steams purpose is to sell products on-line with a method of making the distribution secure with out the CD. I.E. I would bet products like EQ still do there own updating.
AH on the other hand is a free distribution unlike the other products. And hence steam would not be interested.
HiTech
I cant comment on the cost/benefit side of things because I dont work at HTC and I dont know what it would actually take (cost) to involve a distribution system like Steam.
That said, any other, similar sort of distribution service would surely spark a great deal of interest.
Since the prospect of new players is obviously appealing from a business perspective - I wonder if HTC has ever considered something as simple as a Fileplanet promotion.
I am guessing and hoping that Hi Tech will pass on any outside vendors or promos that would not be in the community and HTC's best interest. Having sailed on the Air Warrior ship and the Good Ship HTC, I'd rather walk the plank than see it get hooked to some other entity. Advertising on the History Channel and word-of-mouth does some recruiting. I also link him on 2 of my sites. While I am no huge hit magnet, I hope I promote folks to click the links now and again. Co-Workers know I fly Aces High and over the years I have brought on new folks.
Try promoting friends and family and then we won't need no stinkin' STEAM :)
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I loved the two week free trail of AH2 when I was a noob, I almost wet my pants when I didn't have to pay for the software. I've been hooked since.
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I am guessing and hoping that Hi Tech will pass on any outside vendors or promos that would not be in the community and HTC's best interest. Having sailed on the Air Warrior ship and the Good Ship HTC, I'd rather walk the plank than see it get hooked to some other entity. Advertising on the History Channel and word-of-mouth does some recruiting. I also link him on 2 of my sites. While I am no huge hit magnet, I hope I promote folks to click the links now and again. Co-Workers know I fly Aces High and over the years I have brought on new folks.
Try promoting friends and family and then we won't need no stinkin' STEAM :)
well said K-KEN, If i was with AW from when it moved away from aol till it made it to gamestorm then it dissapeared. I prefered to deal directly with the source, no middle man, beside If i wanted to play other games I already have pogo :)
semp
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I remember Skuzzy saying detrimental things about Steam some years ago, mostly of a technical nature....he tends to be correct about these things
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I remember Skuzzy saying detrimental things about Steam some years ago, mostly of a technical nature....he tends to be correct about these things
Now I'm very angry that I can't find the picture he posted years ago... :lol
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we can all visualize the one finger ok for steam :rofl :rofl
semp
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Nothing, absolutely nothing. The only thing it would bring is increased cost for HiTech and crew with very little or nothing in return.
ack-ack
+10
Looks like a lot of these "let's use steam" people have no clue why the steam system exists in the first place. It started out as Valve's way to manage licensing on their games, provide single point updating/patching and provide some measure of anti-cheat protection. The steam system was designed for first person shooters...not flight sims. It's currently a way for developers other than Valve to market their old games and a way for Valve to make some extra cash.
Steam sucks unless you're playing Half Life or some other old FPS.