theyarecomingforyou wrote on Feb 20, 2012, 13:17:
Valve offers a better service than EA. Better value, better selection, better functionality, better experience, better community engagement, etc. But I'd like to see Valve improve their service - remove the online check before launching every game; remove the threat of a permanent VAC ban, which disadvantages those that keep all their games on a single account (dedicated cheaters will use disposable accounts); give users the option to revert to a previous version, as patches can break mods and system compatibility.
I've got several Steam games, including Skyrim (v1.4.x.x), that have no trouble booting up w/o an Internet connection & for which Steam simply does not run in that condition. The Gothic 2/3 games are others in this category. Yet, a game like Witcher2 v2.1 simply won't run at all w/o an Internet connection.
Looks to me that this is decided by each game's publisher as opposed to Valve.
As for the interview, it was a pretty difficult read. No offence to Gabe but many of the responses were verging on gibberish, with constant tangential detours and hard to follow sentences. Still, it reinforces what I already knew about Valve. The response to the Russian question was particularly interesting, as he stated that if true that Valve probably messed up. You wouldn't here that from EA - they'd be more likely to send the secret police round to your house to assassinate your dog.
I agree and was a bit disappointed with Ben Kuchera--great interview for him considering his recent promotion from games writer at Ars to Sr. Editor @ Penny Arcade--but his lack of experience shows in his decision not to ask Gabe any interesting questions--or to hold his feet to the fire, etc. I'm sure that certain topics were off the table as a pre-condition of the interview--although I really don't *know* that to be the case since I wasn't a fly on the wall anywhere near Ben...;)
But overall I have found Newell most impressive by way of what he does not say, and usually he just refuses to answer direct questions directly. A skillful interviewer can ask Gabe questions allowing the reader to piece some things together--but I think Ben was too impressed by Gabe to give this interview much in the way of thought. Gabe's answers were, as usual, rings around rings of virtually nothing...;) I've always been a HUGE fan of Valve, though, so I say these things wistfully and reluctantly. I only wonder that Gabe gives interviews at all because he generally has almost nothing to say when he grants interviews. Were it me, I'd only give interviews when I had something to say and then I'd make sure it got said.
It is well known that I cannot err--and so, if you should happen across an error in anything I have written you can be absolutely sure that *I* did not write it!...;)