As far as Microsoft is concerned, this isn't a bug, it's a feature.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Looks like Total Annihilation.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Installing Windows on the Steam Deck is like attaching an anchor to your high powered sports car.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I think the best Stellaris purchase I ever made was the Complete Soundtrack on Steam. It's $6.99, and the great thing is, every time a new DLC is released with music, it gets added to the collection. At the moment, that adds up to around 90 tracks of music.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: MrSeatbeltNow just make jesters give you no points to stop incentivizing toxicity :wink:

I approve this message.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

This is great news. Can't stand the joke reviews.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: ToddLThis is why I avoid adding plugins or anything else to my Steam Deck because you can never tell what can go wrong.

Plugins that simply customize the interface are fine. Ones that add new features or change core functionality seem to be the culprits here.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I refuse to believe it until I see Half-Life 3 for sale on Steam.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Purple Library Guy

Quoting: Mountain ManThat some companies choose to do so without coercion is commendable, but it would be immoral to force them to do so.

No it wouldn't. Companies are legal constructs, not people.

Hard disagree. I strongly reject the premise that individuals can be denied fundamental rights just because they happen to be part of a company.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: Kimyrielle

Quoting: Mountain Man"Remove DRM and give us your server code" is to essentially demand that companies release their games for free after they are no longer commercially viable.

It's absolutely not, and I am pretty sure you know that.

Removing the DRM is just yet another patch against the already released executable. Companies are actually doing it every now and then. It doesn't make the game "free", since nobody is forcing them to put up the assets for free download. People who already bought it can still continue to play it, that's all this demand is about.

Same for the server code. I am not aware that releasing stand-alone servers has made any game "free". Same reason as above. The server code alone doesn't do anything. Again, check the Steam Tools page. There are plenty examples of released server software to counter your point.

Also the question remains why they would even care about releasing the game for "free", if they are no longer planning to sell it anyway (which is the assumed scenario here). The economic damage done is exactly zero, since you can't earn money with a game you're not selling. But hey, nobody is demanding greedy corporations to be not greedy. All that's requested here is people being able to continue to use a product they PAID FOR, and tell their makers that it's not ok to disable people's games on a whim, or when they had a bad day.

As a personal note: I get the idea where our positions on this matter are irreconcilable. You're a free-market advocate. I am pro-regulation when it's warranted, and it's remarkably often, IMHO. We won't agree on this, and that's ok. But maybe we can refrain from making misleading statements like "releasing server software makes a game free", when that's clearly not true?

I don't feel I've said anything that's not true, and I can think of any number of legitimate business reasons why a company would not wish to make its intellectual property and code freely available. That some companies choose to do so without coercion is commendable, but it would be immoral to force them to do so. As always, the power rests in the hands of consumers to support those companies who do right by them, and avoid those that don't.

View this comment - View article - View full comments