Steam News - November 23, 2007

[CSN NewsBot]

This Friday brought about some wild Steam news update action by telling you about a couple of mods and deals. Slow news week? You bet your leftover turkey it was!

Two Source-powered mods worth your attention have just been updated.



Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat is a squad-based, multiplayer total conversion for Half-Life 2. Insurgency simulates modern infantry combat and encourages the use of teamwork and tactics to take down the enemy. The team updated their BETA 2 with a new commander promotion system, new classes, and a new night map (Ins_Samawah). Check out their new trailer.



The Empires team has released the second version of their Half-Life 2 mod, which combines real-time strategy and first person shooter genres. Each game team has four classes to choose from (scout, rifleman, grenadier, and engineer), each with unique weapons and skills. One person from each team becomes the Commander and leads his team to victory using an RTS-like game interface and an adjustable top-down view of the battlefield. Watch the trailer over here.



Weekend Steam specials: Bioshock and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars are available via Steam at a 20% discount off their regular price, through Monday.

I'll hopefully get the Left 4 Dead preview sorted out sooner, rather than later. So keep an eye out for that in the next couple of weeks!

[displayroxs]

Next couple of weeks?? Meh, good work tho, good work ;-)

[Renegade[CSR]]

Counter Strike: Source bug fixes anyone?



Day of Defeat: Source Content updates? Nothing?

[tcviper]

Renegade why update stuff (apart from the upcoming engine upgrade for old source games) for games that are old? Valve also looks forward new games are coming.

[Thortok2000]

The whole point of Steam is to be able to push small patches on a regular basis. If not for new features or content, fine, but at least fix bugs. In my opinion, it's unprofessional to have a game that you have made, on a platform that patches so easily, which you advertise to other developers, and then leave that game so buggy.



"Hey other developers! Use Steam! It helps you keep your games patched and up to date! (Just don't look too closely at CS:S...)"

[Grimbal]

Edited by [user="5847"] @ [time="1196143072"]

Thortok2000 wrote..

The whole point of Steam is to be able to push small patches on a regular basis. If not for new features or content, fine, but at least fix bugs. In my opinion, it's unprofessional to have a game that you have made, on a platform that patches so easily, which you advertise to other developers, and then leave that game so buggy.



"Hey other developers! Use Steam! It helps you keep your games patched and up to date! (Just don't look too closely at CS:S...)"

I cannot agree with you more mate



Its abit of a bloody shambles really..,Well lets have a look at this Gabe Newell interview a few weeks back.

RPS: How has Steam changed how you approach development?

Gabe Newell

The main thing is that anything that has helped us become closer to our customers has been a benefit.

Are Valve really that close to there customers?

We’re also interested in moving things into dynamic systems, like the weapon pricing in Counter-Strike, where the community is driving the price.

But look what happened to it?



There you can see clear as day Gabe Newell saying all this stuff about working with the community, But is it all true?



Cs:s should have been sorted along time ago it is still only a half a product really!. Maybe if Valve listened to the community instead of just ignoring us and telling lies, cs:s would of been finished ages ago..



How about the Grenade throwing bug?

Where are the rest of the original maps too?



Anyone up for de_Vegas?

And cs_747?



I sure as hell would be!



Btw lets not forget we want left 4 dead to!

[Thortok2000]

More CS:S maps, fix the dynamic weapon system so it actually is worth something, filter server browsers for clients so I can find the 'pure' game again instead of all those stupid modded servers, and fix the bugs. The only new content really desired is more maps and possibly to reinstate the as_ and es_ modes so at LEAST map makers can make maps of those types, right now they can't even do that. -.-

[Grimbal]

And put Counter-Strike:Source on the new source engine!!, were all paying customers...

[snkcube]

Well, you folks have to know that the CS:Source team (Turtle Rock Studios) are working on Left 4 Dead so take it easy.

[-:Nighthawk:-]

I'll be honest, my opinion is tainted by the fact that I don't really care that much about CS:S. As much as it's rejected by the community, I find CS:CZ's multiplayer to be the perfect blend of what I appreciate. With that disclaimer out of the way, I'll continue.



I've played CS:S plenty, and didn't find it to be an "incomplete" product any more than CS1.0/1.1/1.3/1.4/1.5 were incomplete projects. Yes CS:S is a rough port of the CS1.6 experience to Source, but honestly, it's evolved into a different game entirely. Are there still bugs? Yes. Are they bugs that the majority of users really notice or care substantially about? No.



Generally, the avid players are those who complain the loudest. The majority of their customers are average Joes who play a bit here and there but really aren't that concerned about an issue with a flashbang here and there. VALVe is a company. Companies exist to make money, not to appease the minority segment of the community by hunting down every remote issue that this vocal minority could possibly complain about.



There are more CS:S maps in existence by far than actually receive playtime, and the community as a whole is responsible for those not getting played. If servers didn't vacate as soon as a less-played map comes on, then we'd see more custom maps. You wanna talk about as_ and es_ maps? ES was a failure and we rejoiced at its demise. AS_ maps do exist and can easily be played on server-side VIP mod CS:S servers thanks to the community.



All in all, compare the game to the port of HL:S and you'll find that VALVe did a fantastic job of preserving the general feel of CS1.6 while providing an entirely new experience. If you look at the change logs you'll see it's been updated many times over as often as the original CS was. I know saying this won't change the complaints, but I couldn't handle hearing unbridled criticism of some honestly pretty minor points. Focus on what there is to enjoy about the game and you'll find there's a lot to like and your mood might even be a bit better.



Who knows, maybe VALVe shot themselves in the foot by providing such good customer support that now many of their customers feel entitled to have their every whim satisfied...

[Thortok2000]

At this point, some form of finding a server that is actually playing CS and not deathmatch zombiemod rpg warcraft gungame surfmod (and yes, I've seen a server with ALL of those mods on it), would be all I'd really want. Or whateverelse has come out since I stopped playing CS:S. That and fixing dynamic weapon pricing bugs...this is a feature they added, I think they should be responsible for fixing it.



Honestly, I like the core game of CS:S better than TF2...but I can't find it. All the servers I can find are playing some modded version of the game. I can't find a game of 'true' CS:S anymore. -.- So when I feel like an FPS, I go to TF2, which is new enough that all the servers are still playing the 'core' game.

[Grimbal]

Edited by [user="5847"] @ [time="1196232009"]

-:Nighthawk:- wrote..

I've played CS:S plenty, and didn't find it to be an "incomplete" product any more than CS1.0/1.1/1.3/1.4/1.5 were incomplete projects. Yes CS:S is a rough port of the CS1.6 experience to Source, but honestly, it's evolved into a different game entirely. Are there still bugs? Yes. Are they bugs that the majority of users really notice or care substantially about? No.

So you can't notice the grenade throwing bug? its kind of hard to miss really..., btw its easily to see if the community cares substantially about the problem's just look at the steam forums dude.

-:Nighthawk:- wrote..

Generally, the avid players are those who complain the loudest. The majority of their customers are average Joes who play a bit here and there but really aren't that concerned about an issue with a flashbang here and there. VALVe is a company. Companies exist to make money, not to appease the minority segment of the community by hunting down every remote issue that this vocal minority could possibly complain about.

Please can you tell me what the main reason for Steam was again?, Yes content delivery, but to also keep games up to date...



So they couldnt have released Counter-Strike:Source bug fix or fixes with the hl2 fix the other day?

-:Nighthawk:- wrote..

There are more CS:S maps in existence by far than actually receive playtime, and the community as a whole is responsible for those not getting played. If servers didn't vacate as soon as a less-played map comes on, then we'd see more custom maps. You wanna talk about as_ and es_ maps? ES was a failure and we rejoiced at its demise. AS_ maps do exist and can easily be played on server-side VIP mod CS:S servers thanks to the community.

I wasn't talking about as_ or es_ but i do understand about es_ maps, But as_ maps?, oh thats right we cant have abit of teamwork in cs anymore which was one of the main reasons for it's rise to popularity correct me if im wrong? and the community once again doing Valves job...but were is oilrig and highrise classic Counter-Strike maps?



Thortok2000 got it spot on,There isn't a true Counter-Strike:Source anymore



How about CS_ maps?



Which where the maps that i was on about....



Counter-strike wasn't a one gameplay style game thats what made it good "the choice" , Dont we have the right to have a choice as a customer to what we prefer ,if we are indeed as "Gabe Newell says" suppose to drive Valves games forward?



"Yes Valves games forward"



but who made Counter-strike.... Not Valve....

-:Nighthawk:- wrote..

All in all, compare the game to the port of HL:S and you'll find that VALVe did a fantastic job of preserving the general feel of CS1.6 while providing an entirely new experience. If you look at the change logs you'll see it's been updated many times over as often as the original CS was. I know saying this won't change the complaints, but I couldn't handle hearing unbridled criticism of some honestly pretty minor points. Focus on what there is to enjoy about the game and you'll find there's a lot to like and your mood might even be a bit better.

Indeed Valve did a great job of preserving the Cs 1.6 feel they got Turtle rock studios to produce Counter-Strike:Source?, It does infact feel tho like Valve are treating Counter-Strike:Source as not there own game..

-:Nighthawk:- wrote..

Who knows, maybe VALVe shot themselves in the foot by providing such good customer support that now many of their customers feel entitled to have their every whim satisfied...

The customer is always right....