Which do you use and which do you prefer?
I have only played on the stand alone version of Banished. I don't use Steam so I didn't want to install another program on my computer just to play.
How about you?
I use the stand alone version ...
Have never really done a lot of gaming other than all of the SimCity stuff (except the last one that required you to be online).
I only use the stand-alone Banished.
Edit: If this game had only been released through Steam, my response would have been the same as it has been for all of the other games released only through Steam: "Oh well."
Stand alone version 1.0.1 & pirated version 1.0.2..
Wish I had gotten the bundle with the steam key though.
I'm on Steam, and I probably wouldn't have found the game had I not been.
I have been using the stand alone version until recently when I activated my Steam key so I could test if the beta would stop my hunger/starvation deaths in my one-road challenge town. Nothing else I had done had stemmed the deaths. The beta did.
So now I have both installed. Though I currently seem to be having some issues with the stand alone version so until the patch is officially released, I guess I will be playing on Steam.
I play both the standard from the developers page, and I chucked the steam key into steam so I can try the beta version.
I chose the Steam version, because I actually like Steam. It makes managing all my games so much easier (especially when reinstalling my computer) and does a pretty decent job in patching all the games.
I don't mind the DRM side of Steam and always have it online. I know people have (had) trouble with Steam, but I hardly ever have an issue.
I like having a lot of my games in one place with one login, without the need of install discs.
I started on Steam because I wanted Civilization V and that was the only way. At first I was angry and resentful, but slowly I've come to appreciate Steam. I've found several games that I enjoy that I might not have found otherwise--including Banished. I don't participate in the Steam fora for Banished because there is just too much, well, to be polite, let's call it silliness.
Steam version and Kaldir said it well about Steam. Its not rubbish like that Origin thing.
I'm using the Steam version, not because of any particular love of Steam, but because my kids (who use Steam almost exclusively) have decided that computer games are good B-day, father's day, xmas, etc... gifts. Mind you, I'm not complaining -- I've enjoyed everything they've gotten me -- but it did make me start using Steam more and more (my wife said I had to for the kids' sake). ;)
@salamander both my boys have computers full of steam games!
Exclusively steam. Updates automatically(except some beta's), all info in one place... no discs... no fuss... tons of sales.... multiple pc's, cloud saves with many games... I think it is a nice presentation layer. As well, you can opt out of stuff you don't like... In the near future... SteamOS....
I'm intrigued by the upcoming Steam system myself. But until then, I'll always opt for non steam. Too often I'm waiting for my kid at dance, or practice, or who-knows-what and I'm not a fan of using public WiFi, especially to play a game. So I have my "Dad" time reading or, at the moment, playing Banished.
I was slower to adopt Steam then my husband. I tend to be much more cautious with my computer then he is. So I let him test out new programs/technology before I decide if i want to adopt it too. I have not had reason to regret using Steam (unlike Origin) and have grown to like it enough that I got my son his own account (and games) as a reward for learning to read.
I play on Steam as well. I bought two copies of the game on Steam, and may eventually buy a standalone copy as well, to support the developer and as a failsafe in case I lose internet connection or something.
I have grown to love Steam...I tend to be disorganized so having a lot of my games in one place is nice...autopatching is nice...and the sales are NICE.
I'm ashamed to admit that I don't really know what Steam is. I guess I'm out of touch with some of the more modern sources of gaming.
That said... is there a difference in the game between offline and Steam as far as gameplay itself?
Steam is a platform where games you buy are linked to your account, and are available for direct download. So with just your Steam login you can download your previously bought games to any computer with internet access. No need to search for DVD's, and no need to separately download those patches from the developer's website that might not exist anymore, since Steam automatically patches your games.
To prevent you from 'lending' your games to friends, you need to login to Steam to play those games: the Steam DRM.
As for Banish, the game-play is identical in standalone and Steam version (except for the much talked about beta patch 1.0.2).
Edit: many major game developers as well as many indy developers work with Steam, sometimes optional (as with Banished), sometimes mandatory (for instance with Civilization V). Steam has it's shop, where you can buy the games directly, which often has sales. Depending on your country, those sales might be awesome or just meh.
@Demonocracy: Not at the moment, unless you count the beta 1.0.2 patch which is only available to Steam users. And don't feel ashamed of not knowing about Steam. It is mostly for people who want a certified scoreboard so they can compete with other players. Apparently it also doubles as a storehouse for people who can't locate their storage media when they want to re-install, and a no-brainer way to upgrade.
Quote from: slink on May 18, 2014, 01:23:33 PM
@Demonocracy: Not at the moment, unless you count the beta 1.0.2 patch which is only available to Steam users. And don't feel ashamed of not knowing about Steam. It is mostly for people who want a certified scoreboard so they can compete with other players. Apparently it also doubles as a storehouse for people who can't locate their storage media when they want to re-install, and a no-brainer way to upgrade.
This is not entirely true. While there are certainly some who use it for these reasons, not everyone does. For instance, I originally got my Sims 3 expansions on Steam because I did not want to get them trough Origin. With a then-small child (and being a tad forgetful myself) physical discs become less attractive to have around the house. It really is convenient to have many of your games in one place, as well.
I have stand alone versions of many games, as well, so I like being able to simplify things when I can. And I really hate having to reinstall everything! But I also like Battlenet for keeping my Blizzard games in one place. I was a later adopter of Steam, my husband had it for years before i would install it. I am not very quick to adopt new technology until it is proven to me. My husband also had Windows 7 (part of that time as a beta tester) for over a years before i was satisfied with it enough to install it on mine.
Steam does have DRM though, so it is not for everyone, and it is by no means perfect. Maybe it is because I am a long-time EA/Origin user that I find Steam so nice. Origin... bleh. If I weren't so addicted to the Sims games, I would not have it on my computer at all. :\
"To prevent you from 'lending' your games to friends, you need to login to Steam to play those games: the Steam DRM."
Steam actually has an option to lend your games to friends. I just did that for my friend who is just barely getting into Steam. He now has access to all of my 120+ games. It's pretty cool.
I got into Steam because that was the only way you could get Civilization V. For Civ V that has become the primary place to get mods, of which I have downloaded a few. I have no interest in seeing what other people do or how they score or in multiplayer, so I never access that part. I have no friends on Steam (poor, sad me). It is a good, centralized place to find out about games I might otherwise have missed--like Banished. I also don't have to go hunting for the CD when I want to play. I do long for the days when I didn't have to be connected to the web to play my favourite games.
Quote from: canis39 on May 18, 2014, 03:03:58 PM
"To prevent you from 'lending' your games to friends, you need to login to Steam to play those games: the Steam DRM."
Steam actually has an option to lend your games to friends. I just did that for my friend who is just barely getting into Steam. He now has access to all of my 120+ games. It's pretty cool.
I saw it recently yes. Trouble is that the other can only see and use your games when you don't use Steam yourself. That makes it much less appealing to me. But it's a neat feature for some.
@canis39, 120+ games! I thought I was being excessive with 7 or 8. Now I find that I have 120 more to go.
As to one's friends only using shared games (as I said I have no "friends," so no sharing) I have Steam installed on my desktop and on my laptop. Steam only lets me use one at a time, and if I use Steam on the laptop I have to do a full logon the next time I use the desktop (and vice versa). Steam is very strictly one at a time.
Thanks! I had not noticed that you could share games like that. This is good news as now I can 'lend' my son some of the games I had originally gotten for him on my Steam account (but refuse to pay for again without huge sales).
@rkelly17 I have not played Civ V in so long. Feels like I had barely begun exploring it before I had to uninstall it. Civ is the game with the most potential to just suck my time away; I get way too involved in it and too unresponsive to my family while playing! I miss playing it so much but I know I just don't have the kind of free time I would need to play it currently. :\
If you want friends on Steam you could add me, though I have actually never done much with the friend system there. I use the same name there there as here.
I would be interested in hearing what mods you like for Civ 5 and why. I've never actually modded any version of Civilization. And while I can't play it right now, I will at some point (hopefully not too far off!).
Kaldir, I'm not sure what you mean by "the other can only see and use your games when you don't use Steam yourself."
My friend can access my games whether I am using Steam or not. I can be using Steam to play Banished, and he can play one of my other games at the same time. We can't use the same game at the same time, but other than that there are no restrictions that I'm aware of.
rkelly - yeah, I am a little bit shocked at how quickly my Steam library has grown. It's mostly due to bundles (Bundle Stars and Humble Bundle primarily) and Steam sales. I am a sucker for buying games at ridiculously low prices.
I'm always open to new Steam "friends" so feel free to add me if you'd like. I don't do much on Steam other than play games, but I do find it interesting to see which games my "friends" are playing.
Quote from: canis39 on May 19, 2014, 06:58:23 PM
Kaldir, I'm not sure what you mean by "the other can only see and use your games when you don't use Steam yourself."
My friend can access my games whether I am using Steam or not. I can be using Steam to play Banished, and he can play one of my other games at the same time. We can't use the same game at the same time, but other than that there are no restrictions that I'm aware of.
Ow cool! I had read that only one of you could accesss your Steam library at the same time, so when you would be playing Banished, the other couldn't use your library or any games. The Steam FAQ isn't really that clear about it, but some article I read mentioned it like this. I didn't really try it after that. It will be much more useful this way. Thanks for the info.
@mariesalias and
@canis39, thank you for being willing to be my friends. It's probably because you don't know me very well. ;)
When I play Civ 5 (which I've only done once or twice since I got Banished) I use a few mods that do thing like add more ships, add more luxuries, add more great works of art, etc. I also like mods that give more information or allow greater customization of my civilization. I also have one that slightly changes Ethiopia's colour so that you don't mistake Ethiopian units for barbarians and start a war by accident. I use about 10 or so mods. I have several that I would like to use, but they seem to cause odd behaviour--probably conflict with other mods. I also have a significant amount of user-generated content for SimCity 4 which I have downloaded from Simtropolis and SC4Devotion.
I've played quite a lot of Civ V as well, but not anywhere recent. Mods I really liked for Civ V are:
Communitas Expansion Pack (previously aka Unofficial Patch and VEM [Vanilla Enhanced Mod])
This really changes a lot in game, and mostly for the better. But read up about it before installing.
Website: http://civmodding.wordpress.com/
Steam Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=86369999
InfoAddict
This adds and enhances several information screens, including some timeline graphs. Must have for the statistic and information addicts.
Website: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=391069
Steam Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=79000477
City-State Diplomacy Mod
Change City-State diplomacy from gold-giving to a unit-based system, where you have to build diplomats and send them to the city-state. Pretty cool, but haven't used it with the latest expansion, so no idea how good it still is.
Website: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=392543
Steam Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=159412005
Legendary Earth Mod
A very good Earth map with true (sort of) starting locations for civs, including "old world start".
Steam Workshop: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=78503985
This is slightly off-topic, but still a good example of how Steam can work with modding.
You are right, the Steam FAQ was not very clear! I only learned through trial and error.
I have been pleasantly surprised at how well Steam works with mods. I have about 80 mods for Skyrim, ~40 through the Steam Workshop and ~40 through the Skyrim Nexus, and they all work together through Steam.
I cannot wait until Banished mods start coming out. I love when already-great games are improved even more by user-created content.
Thank you rkelly17 and Kaldir! Very helpful. :)
I have Steam and Battle.net on my main system. I play Civ 5/Brave New World, Warlock 2 and Fallen Enchantress -Legendary Heroes from the Steam platform. Warcraft (since Nov of 2007) and Diablo on the Battlenet platform. Steam is very good with providing my upgrades for the installed games including Banished without my having to search for which ones are needed. Also as previously mentioned Steam is awesome at allowing Mods to be downloaded for Civ V. Which I use a lot, More Wonders especially. The one major drawback to Steam for me is its intrusiveness into this system. Steam reminds me of buying a product from a department store and when I get home with the product I have 3 salespeople wandering around my house seeing what appliances, dishes and linen I have stored and asking if I would like upgrades to them LoL. Steam is a department store to me. Keep your sales people away from my house.
The plusses for having Steam though far outweigh the negatives. So I have Steam only on my gaming system. I will never have it or any other outside interest on my other systems.
And Yes I did set my login to forever this time. :P
Quote from: ertira on June 03, 2014, 05:09:57 PM
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And Yes I did set my login to forever this time. :P
:P
Another necro post, but oh well, at least it makes it look like people are here reading, right lol?
I too have to admit I didn't really know what Steam was, until one of the posts in this thread. I certainly was familiar with the name and guessed at the purpose, but as a mac user who only ever played SimCity (until finding Civ IV and Tropico 3 this last year) I never really needed to know much about the gaming world.
The only modding I've done myself was in SimCity, creating buildings and adding flora and fauna into my own games, all done on 3d modeling software, which is a whole world of addiction in itself. What sort of difference will having a standalone or a Steam version make when it comes to the eventual modding kit? Hopefully something a mac user can play with as well, although I'm not sure how to go about integrating mods into wineskins. Ugh, too much to learn...
Since Civ came up, I'd like to make a plug for Civ IV, which is standalone and has some fantastic mods. It is VERY micromanagement oriented/friendly, so if that is your thing, definitely check it out. The History Rewritten mod, which is for mac and PC is excellent and utterly addictive and fascinating, almost a new game with new traits, tech trees, civs, really worthwhile.