[Ladyxxmacbeth]

Since everyone was talking about the death of PC gaming and since I used to be a PC gamer, I noticed with interest that there was a thing called Steam.......Why didnt I know anything about this already ??? Anyway I've registed and downloaded the stuff and went to play age of empires and it is taking so long ! is this normal ! It says something like you can play in 1 hr 12 mins do I have to do this each time I play? Because its a pest like when you have to wait for the immersion to heat up the water, but you want a bath now

[jjesso123]

No as It's digital service you have download the games. However ones you've done it the one time it should work straight away to you've got to download an update.

[Vast_Girth]

Once you get into your to -play list will get fuller and fuller. Those 75% off sales..shudder..

[Rolo Tony]

That's weird Ladyxxmacbeth! Which Age of Empires is it? I haven't had that happen to me before. It's probably worth a look on the Steam forum for support. There's a really good community that will help with anything.

Valve are just awesome, and Steam sales can be legendary. It's the only thing I look forward to at Christmas.

And, no, I don't work for them. Wish that I did though!

[Jen-B]

Is that the first time you've played it? If it is, it could be the game just downloading. It shouldn't happen again, once you play the game, it should load up. Be careful with Steam though, it's a wonderful, wonderful thing, but sometimes it can be a bit too good . It's all too easy to go "oooo", click, and a dent in your bank account starts to appear.

[Jimmy_McNulty]

Originally Posted by Rolo Tony

That's weird Ladyxxmacbeth! Which Age of Empires is it? I haven't had that happen to me before. It's probably worth a look on the Steam forum for support. There's a really good community that will help with anything.

Valve are just awesome, and Steam sales can be legendary. It's the only thing I look forward to at Christmas.

And, no, I don't work for them. Wish that I did though!

Yes indeedy, a guy gave me a game for free last night, i offered to get him something in the summer sale but he deleted me after the trade was complete.

[cat666]

Steam is amazing. Sales are epic, Summer one is due soon.

[ToomaMcC]

I love Steam, my bank does not!
Even Team Fortress 2 I end up spending money on.

[Premium-Onion]

The sales are very impressive on Steam. Love Steam.

[Sarah489]

Does steam work on Mac or is it PC only?

[darkthunder35]

Originally Posted by Sarah489

Does steam work on Mac or is it PC only?

It works on Mac

[sheep88]

I've been thinking about joining for some time because i want to play 'Dear Esther'. Can you use a controller for steam games? the keyboard hurts my hands when i have to press keys that are close together.

[Ash_735]

Originally Posted by sheep88

I've been thinking about joining for some time because i want to play 'Dear Esther'. Can you use a controller for steam games? the keyboard hurts my hands when i have to press keys that are close together.

Depends on the game itself, Steam leaves it up to Developers. Most games these days have pre-sets for the Xbox 360 Controller, but a good chunk allow any controller.

[Jimmy_McNulty]

Originally Posted by sheep88

I've been thinking about joining for some time because i want to play 'Dear Esther'. Can you use a controller for steam games? the keyboard hurts my hands when i have to press keys that are close together.

It has controller support;

shown in the box on the right hand side

[whoever,hey]

Originally Posted by Sarah489

Does steam work on Mac or is it PC only?

It does work on Mac, but not all games are ported to it.

[Regis Magnae]

Steam largely has nothing to do with actual mechanics of the games, except for automated patching and titles that use Steamworks. They function, once downloaded, pretty much as any other game would.

I think in many ways it has saved PC gaming, particularly for smaller companies that otherwise wouldn't be able to market to wider audiences.

[Lyricalis]

Originally Posted by Sarah489

Does steam work on Mac or is it PC only?

Yes, Mac as well. They are currently working on a Linux version. That's going to make things interesting. For many people the only reason the have Windows installed is for games.

[whoever,hey]

Originally Posted by Lyricalis

Yes, Mac as well. They are currently working on a Linux version. That's going to make things interesting. For many people the only reason the have Windows installed is for games.

Not that interesting considering the game still has to be written for the OS! Linux is hardly a straight forward platform to write for. Just look at the Mac steam store to see how few games make it off windows.

Linux does at least have OGL in common with mac mind.

[Lyricalis]

Originally Posted by whoever,hey

Not that interesting considering the game still has to be written for the OS! Linux is hardly a straight forward platform to write for. Just look at the Mac steam store to see how few games make it off windows.

Linux does at least have OGL in common with mac mind.

What's OGL? Do you mean OpenGL? As in the library that was originally developed by Silicon Graphics and ran on their variant of Unix (called Irix)?

OpenGL is available on Windows too.

The main reasons that the Mac Steam store is so empty is because there are fewer games for the Mac, there is already a shop available on Macs where you can download stuff, and Mac support in Steam is still relatively new.

The Linux version of Steam is very interesting, regardless of what you might think of it. It further loosens Microsoft's hold on the gaming market, which means it's more likely to up its game in order to compete.

It's also a possible step to Valve or someone else producing a Linux-based games console.

[MartinImber]

Originally Posted by Lyricalis

What's OGL? Do you mean OpenGL? As in the library that was originally developed by Silicon Graphics and ran on their variant of Unix (called Irix)?

OpenGL is available on Windows too.

The main reasons that the Mac Steam store is so empty is because there are fewer games for the Mac, there is already a shop available on Macs where you can download stuff, and Mac support in Steam is still relatively new.

The Linux version of Steam is very interesting, regardless of what you might think of it. It further loosens Microsoft's hold on the gaming market, which means it's more likely to up its game in order to compete.

It's also a possible step to Valve or someone else producing a Linux-based games console.

There is a lot of OpenGL support out there, Id use it

All PS3 games use a variant

[whoever,hey]

Originally Posted by Lyricalis

What's OGL? Do you mean OpenGL? As in the library that was originally developed by Silicon Graphics and ran on their variant of Unix (called Irix)?

OpenGL is available on Windows too.

Yes. But a lot of Windows games also use DirectX which is also on XBox.

The main reasons that the Mac Steam store is so empty is because there are fewer games for the Mac, there is already a shop available on Macs where you can download stuff, and Mac support in Steam is still relatively new.

Sure there are games on the Mac, but my point is that just because steam is on a platform doesn't mean you automatically get all steam games for free. Steam is just the distribution channel and online framework. The rest of the game still needs porting, whether it be Mac or linux.

The Linux version of Steam is very interesting, regardless of what you might think of it. It further loosens Microsoft's hold on the gaming market, which means it's more likely to up its game in order to compete.

I have no issue with that what so ever.

Originally Posted by MartinImber

All PS3 games use a variant

Some do, some dont.

[sheep88]

Originally Posted by Ash_735

Depends on the game itself, Steam leaves it up to Developers. Most games these days have pre-sets for the Xbox 360 Controller, but a good chunk allow any controller.

I have the Windows/Xbox controller so i will probably be ok to use it i tried to get the one that is the most supported when i bought it, i play Assassins Creed with it on onlive.

[cat666]

On the controller topic. Most modern Steam games support the Xbox controller, however most older games do not. A lot of the fun I've had with Steam is buying older games I no longer have for cheap. Therefore I ran into issues with there being no, or limited, controller support.

There is a free program called Xpadder, which basically maps your controller to keybinds / mouse movements. The free version takes a bit of setting up for complex games, but is easily do-able. You can also buy it, which allows access to the forums and use of pre-made congfigurations.

The only downside is I can't work out how to map something to the Xbox Live button. That would be awesome for a push to talk button.

[Arkudos]

I'm pretty sure there is no 'free' version of xPadder, you've surely just downloaded a cracked version. As for the guide button, no mapping software supports it so it will only work in Games for Windows Live games.

[Ladyxxmacbeth]

Yay bought my first game on Steam....Tropico 4 all the way ! surely better than on the Xbox