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Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

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Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#101

Post by mortyseinfeld »

tokenizerrr wrote: post #43
goggles99 wrote: post #34

LOL... steam and all their holier than thou blog posts about being open and better than Microsoft - That was never anything more than a rant about the Windows 8 built in app market that they were afraid would undercut their profits and dominance (a scheme against competition). They are neither open nor respect rights of ownership. AFAIK, Microsoft themselves have never forcefully removed an app from Windows in this m…

Did you even read the article? The game was to become literally unplayable because its developers (Square Enix) decided to pull the plug on the DRM and multiplayer servers instead of handing out a DRM-disabling patch.

So you're justifying Steam deleting the game, even though you won't come out and say it.

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#102

Post by Fargren »

nhaehnle wrote: post #85
Havoc wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently GabeN commented on the forum a couple of years back that they would remove the DRM if Valve goes under & that they tested the patching already. I can't seem to find a good source for that though.

They are only able to remove the DRM on their own games (which is what he was surely talking about). The article is about a game that is not made by Valve but merely distributed via Valve's distribution channel.

For many games on Steam, Steamworks is the only DRM. Valve is technically (though probably not legally, unless there a provision for this in whatever contract they offer) capable of disabling this DRM.

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#103

Post by VLM »

K0nserv wrote: post #94
rtkwe wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the important point missing from that is that Challenges was a free multiplayer add-on given to the owners of the base game. That really changes the nature of them removing the game from user libraries from they removed software that users paid for to they removed a free program that's useless now.

Those circumstances does make the removal less controversial. However the better course of action for Square Enix would be to release the server software and let people host their own servers. Why destroy the whole community and prevent people from playing your game?

To sell the new game, of course.

Nothing ruins future sales like lack of demand due to past sales.

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#104

Post by VLM »

Silhouette wrote: post #8

There is a broader issue here than just gaming, too. Many high-end applications now have obnoxious DRM/copy protection schemes that require varying levels of Internet connectivity to work. I have asked a reseller about how this operates if the original developer of the $X,000/seat software my business relies on goes under, and they basically laughed my question off, saying that would never happen. I have also, in an…

"Still, I wonder at what point primary legislation is going to become necessary."

Could end up with a market based solution, once the MBAs know that paying more than three digits for business critical single source software that could disappear at any time is insane, which the techies already know, the market for extremely highly priced software will simply dry up and blow away in the breeze. This seems like a fairly inevitable outcome, which should be considered by devs and businesspeople thinking about entering that market space today. There's a "use by" date on that business model and once its time is up, its gone.

This applies to software as a service, too.

More than likely any .gov changes would be purchased by businesses currently in the dying legacy business model to support their obsolete business model, not to help out the general public. Think about it... when was the last time .gov did anything of any significance to help the general public, anyway?

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#105

Post by Havoc »

nhaehnle wrote: post #85
Havoc wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently GabeN commented on the forum a couple of years back that they would remove the DRM if Valve goes under & that they tested the patching already. I can't seem to find a good source for that though.

They are only able to remove the DRM on their own games (which is what he was surely talking about). The article is about a game that is not made by Valve but merely distributed via Valve's distribution channel.

No I meant removing the DRM that is Steam. i.e. They'd effectively need to enable a permanent offline mode.

Also: http://i.imgur.com/4sa1Ln6.jpg

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#106

Post by K0nserv »

VLM wrote: post #103
K0nserv wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Those circumstances does make the removal less controversial. However the better course of action for Square Enix would be to release the server software and let people host their own servers. Why destroy the whole community and prevent people from playing your game?

To sell the new game, of course. Nothing ruins future sales like lack of demand due to past sales.

Killing of a living active game is surely bad PR, no? Badwill ruins future sales too.

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#107

Post by kyrra »

teddyh wrote: post #100
baby wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

private servers on WoW are illegal, and you might have to downgrade to be able to join one.

Illegal ? What law is being broken?

Blizzard actively shuts down people that reverse engineer their servers[0].

[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bnetd

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#108

Post by mrjatx »

kyrra wrote: post #107
teddyh wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Illegal ? What law is being broken?

Blizzard actively shuts down people that reverse engineer their servers[0]. [0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bnetd

His point is that it's a EULA violation, not a criminal one.

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#109

Post by dm2 »

lsh wrote: post #47
dm2 wrote: post #40

I recently purchased a game from Steam (Max Payne 3) and after I download the full 30 gig game it tells me "cannot connect to key server". After several emails with their support they inform me that Steam doesn't have enough CD keys, yet they continue selling the game on their website. It has been about a week now and I still cannot even play this game. Plus, not only does that require a Steam account but you also ha…

I bought it on sale months ago, booted it up and was told I had to sign up for this Rockstar account and haven't got passed that yet. I'm sure it's a wonderful game.

I've only played single player but it's a pretty decent game, lots of cutsceens and loading screens though.

Re: Steam Removes Game 'Order Of War: Challenge' From User Libraries

#110

Post by Bjartr »

mandelbulb wrote: post #76
shangaslammi wrote: post #61

The article claims incorrectly that the game had 18 single-player missions. The FAQ linked from the article is for the game "Order of War". "Order of War: Challenge" is a completely separate, multi-player-only game that had its servers shut down and was removed from Steam. The original "Order of War" is still available ( http://store.steampowered.com/app/34600/ ). In addition, the "Challenge" add-on was given free to…

The issue at hand is that Steam removed something from the users library. Usually people consider anything on his computer to be his property, no matter at what cost it was purchased. While I don't know whether that was as claimed the first instance of content removal or whether under the terms of service any content is only leased it is certainly a wake up call. It is especially concerning if you bought your games f…

I'm confused, does the change remove the game's listing from Steam when not installed, remove only the listing if it is installed, or silently uninstall it if it is installed?

The first is reasonable, the second is iffy and would more likely be a technical limitation than a explicit choice on Valve's part, the third scenario is the problematic one.

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