Questions about steam

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I literally know nothing about this so:

1) Is it better to download games off steam than to buy the disc?- In other words can you access the game anywhere if using steam, do you need the disc to play and MOST IMPORTANTLY are there those lame reinstall limits that you get with a disc???
 
Soldato
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Is it better to download games off steam than to buy the disc?

Depends on your opinion. I'd say yes. Others would say no. :)

In other words can you access the game anywhere if using steam

On any machine with steam installed.

do you need the disc to play

No.

are there those lame reinstall limits that you get with a disc???

It depends on the individual game, but I'm sure for the very vast majority no limits apply.
 
Soldato
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Depends on your opinion. I'd say yes. Others would say no. :)

Hi! :p


In general, as above though. Many steam games have the option of installing from disk straight to steam, which is always a nice feature rather than having to download gigabytes of data or maintain a large backup all the time..

Steam as DRM > all else, bar laissez-faire. Just a shame that some (albeit a small amount of) stuff sold through steam retains a harsher, less effective form of DRM.
 
Associate
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Hi! :p


In general, as above though. Many steam games have the option of installing from disk straight to steam, which is always a nice feature rather than having to download gigabytes of data or maintain a large backup all the time..

Steam as DRM > all else, bar laissez-faire. Just a shame that some (albeit a small amount of) stuff sold through steam retains a harsher, less effective form of DRM.

Alright, I think that is what happened with my half life 2 and counter strike as they appear in 'My Games' in steam. Does this mean that I will no longer need the discs and codes when reinstalling in the future?
 
Soldato
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Just log on, right-click on the game you want and click install. It'll download the game files for you :)

The codes are now tied to your account and your account alone..
 
Soldato
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In general, as above though. Many steam games have the option of installing from disk straight to steam, which is always a nice feature rather than having to download gigabytes of data or maintain a large backup all the time..

I'd agree, this is the best way to do it, only certain games allow it though. (Dow2, MW2 etc.). You'll usually get these cheaper in shops too. :)

However given the choice betweena non-Steam disk version, and the Steam version. I'd get the Steam version every time. :)
 
Soldato
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No, you will no longer need the disks or cd key as they are tied to your steam account

But from the spate of threads recently, don't bin them incase you need a photograph of them to prove your ownship of account should it ever be hijacked from you.
 
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