what is STEAM

i know its a really plain dumb question but im almost brand new on the gaming scene and have heard about a program called steam, but i have no idea what it is. went to the site and still dont understand it. so what does it do? sorry for the dumb question and yes i did do a search but found nothing useful.

 

It's a digital distribution system. Buy a game and it becomes tied to your account. Your account can be accessed from any computer which allows you to download and play your games.

 

Basically, it's a client that allows you to download games from the Steam store. It manages and organizes you games for you, and even downloads patches without you needing to do anything but have Steam running. It also has a built-in chat function and just got a screenshot function. The downside is that it's DRM, and you can't play your games if Steam isn't running.

Also, what Lithus said.

 

It's like iTunes or Amazon Unbox for computer games. It lets you buy a digital copy of a game. You don't get a game shipped to you in a box with a CD or DVD, you download it instead.

Except with Steam, once you buy a game, you can redownload it as many times as your want, on as many computers as you want, for as long as you want. Also, all games are automatically patched without any need for user intervention.

Steam is operated by Valve, the private game company who created the Half-Life series, Portal, Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress Series, Counter-Strike Series, etc. Steam is highly regarded in the realm of computer gaming, and it has had a significant role in keeping PC gaming moving ahead strongly. It, as well as other competing download services such as Impulse, Direct2Drive, GoodOldGames, GamersGate, and OnLive are the future of PC gaming. (In my opinion)

Also, what City Pig said.

 

It's also a store that offers wonderful sales on certain holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July...), besides the Weekend and Midweek deals that go on during the rest of the year.

 

cool thanks for the help, if it dosent cost ill sign up and see what its like, even though i dont have a gaming notebook yet. you guys are he greatest

 

You don't have to pay for anything except games. Also, you don't have to download right after you buy, so if you find a deal you want you can buy it now and wait until you get your notebook to download it. Just remember to make a really good password and to never give it to anyone on the entire planet.

 

cool i just signed up, can i change my password later

im pumped to finally buy team fortress 2 YAY

 

Yeah, you can change you password and stuff later. Might as well put a good one on it now though.

 

this is cool, its like itunes of just games :O

I AM AMAZED!! thanks for all the help guys

 

Yay, also there are some freebies located on the Steam store somewhere, so if you find them try to test them out.
I bet they are linked in some thread here.

 

Also depending on you GPU

ATI: ATi Steam Offer

Nvidia: Portal: First Slice is free for all NVIDIA Gamers

Free games

 

if you are thinking of getting TF2 then i can highly recommend the Orange Box which includes TF2 http://store.steampowered.com/sub/469/?snr=1_4_4__13
5 full games of complete heaven. this is quite old now but still imo some of the best games ever made.

 

Free Steam games list

Enjoy

 

so im about to checkout with TF2 using a prepaid mastercard and im wondering why they need all my information including phone number, will they send a statement or something. seems a little to personal

 

its all for verification of the credit card/debit same thing ever online store does.

 

another good thing to note about steam is they always have amazing sales. every week they have a midweek madness sale (last week was half life 2 episode 2 for 75% off) and a weekend sale (this week all command and conquer games 75% off) and they usually have amazing summer sales and christmas sales as well as random holiday sales

 

I've never installed STEAM so a quick question for the uninitiated: is access to the website dependent on your location or is it possible to pick up games from whichever STEAM portal is nearby?

 

If you are referring to download locations, then yes, you can choose a download server location. There are a bunch in US and also a lot of international servers also, so it shouldn't be hard finding a reasonably close server close by no matter where you are.

 

I've used Steam for quite some years and I've been in different places (USA, Esat Asia, now Europe). You can buy from wherever you're located and download in any other place with no problems... but I only play single player games, I'm not sure if this is the case for MMOs or other heavily multiplayer-based games.

I hope this helps.

 

Steam installation will have to wait until I finally get a new laptop, but thanks to the users who kindly replied to my question.

 

why not check out the link to the Orange Box HERE which i posted earlier. for an extra £3/$4 roughly you can get an extra 4 games which imo are even better than tf2

single prices:
half life 2 £6.99
half life 2 episode 1 £5.99
half life 2 episode 2 £5.99
portal £9.99
team fortress 2 £13.99

Individual price:£42.95
Package price:£16.99

total Cost to you:£16.99

You save:
£25.96

 

They'll just send you an e-mail confirming your purchase, that's it.

 

ok thanks, the prepaid card i have dosent have enough for TF2 anyway but ill keep all this in mind

 

ahahahahahahaha
Steam is great. That's all you need to know