Crassmaster: I'm sure there was a Civ V DRM thread at one point...I remember it existing.
The thing is, I have absolutely no issue with people talking about DRM issues...Christ, I write content for
a blog site entirely devoted to stuff like that and consumer rights and the like. The thing is, I'm just tired of seeing seemingly every thread about a game become a discussion entirely dominated by DRM talk. At a certain point, people want to talk about the game. And as tac said, it just seems like that's almost impossible lately.
Nothing person at all, Petrell, and I totally get that you're disappointed in the decision, it just sometimes gets to me. :)
Well the major problem with using steamworks is not DRM per se (while it may be major reason not to use steam), it's the fact that using it makes game Steam exlusive and deprives custormer the choise of where yo buy it as well as other DD vendors the sales and customers in the long run (no sane DD vendor will sell game with steamworks as it's basically advertising competitor as it would force/make their custormers use competing DD platform).
Using steamworks also makes it highly likely that the developer/publisher will continue to use steamworks in future games in the series as well as other games they'll develop and publish (see Empire: Total War and it's squels). As the steam userbase grows and other DD services shrinks even more developers and publishers will abandon other DD services in favour of Steam. Other multiplayer palforms also suffer from this trend as they lose users and and developers/publishers that formely used and funded the development of their platform.
If this trend continues more and more users, developers and publishers will move to use Steam exlusively to the point that other DD services are forced to make cuts in expenses and services and some may eventually be foreced out of business. Same goes for other multiplayer platforms out there as someone has to pay their bills as well. Also longer developers use steamworks features the harder it will be for them to cut ties with it as they either have fired the people that could program said features for them or it's been too long since their programmers programmed such features making them have to relearn how to do them from scrach.
I'm sure that EU or some other market monitoring agency will eventually step in and force Valve to detach steamworks from their store (so others may use it for multiplayer without ties to steam) to allow competitors change in the market but it will be too little too late as damage have been done by them. We should all know too well how slowly lawmakers gears work and how far behind laws and consumer rights are behind the times in current digital age.
Entertainment industry is also messing things up by spending billions of dollars in lobbying tighter IP laws and reduction of consumer rights all over the world (at the same time complaining shrinking profits :-p it's no wonder when they spend so much in lobbying, lawyers and fighting piracy). They don't seem to realise they're shooting them self in the foot in the long run as already it's difficult for them to do anything without stepping someone elses patent, intellectual property, copyright or trademark and thus we see them fight each other, their developers and artists in court almost everyday.
Sorry for the long rant :-p just felt like writing my view on the matter :-D
