Steam #17 - PC gaming, sales, discussion, etc.

[Desdichado93]

Ubisoft is giving away Assassins creed II for free until Friday. You can get it at Ubisoft Free Events

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

So along with the Wastelanders update, if you link your Steam account to Bethesda.net, you get FO76 for free on Steam.

 

[Oogie Boogie]

So it looks like source code for Valve games such as Team Fortress 2 and CS:GO have been leaked. Big yikes.

Edit: Turns out this was something that had happened a few years back and it wasn't the actual source code but something else? Can't remember what they said it was but looked into it and said people shouldn't have anything to worry about.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Chrono has Team Sonic Racing for $9USD until noon tomorrow.

Chrono.gg - One game. One amazing deal. Every day at 9AM Pacific.

I actually bought it during the Sega sale on steam a week or two ago. The physics are great if you're looking for a kart racer. I feel like the items feel a bit lacking and the whole team aspect is kind of weird since even if you win, you might not be the #1 team. On the other hand, you can draft with teammates and trade items which is pretty cool. I particularly like the drafting aspect. It's a good kart racer that tried something new that wasn't particularly great but also not bad. Definitely worth the $9 if you're interested in the game IMO.

 

[Osprey]

Alien: Isolation is only $2.00 (95% off $39.99) for the next two days (until roughly noon on Tuesday).

It's part of an "Alien Day" sale (click banner at the top). You can also get Aliens: Colonial Marines for $5.99 (though it ought to be that price even without 80% off) or the 2010 Aliens vs Predator for $2.99.

Edit: The sale is now over.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Hey all does anyone know how I can contact their support? I bought a game for my brother first time I used Steam and all of a sudden multiple charges have been placed on my debit card. I have never used it before and I'm not really into gaming too much so, not sure how this all works. I did send them a message a few days ago but that went no where to be honest. Any info will be greatly appreciated.

 

[mouser]

Now that's a bundle: Square Enix/Eidos anthology. 54 games and 50+ DLC for $35-39, Steam list price on everything is $700+. All proceeds to charity reflief.

Square Enix Eidos Anthology on Steam

1. Rise of the Tomb Raider
2. Just Cause 3
3. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided
4. Life is Strange: Complete Season
5. Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition
6. Tomb Raider (2013)
7. Tomb Raider I
8. Tomb Raider II
9. Tomb Raider III
10. Tomb Raider IV: The Last Revelation
11. Tomb Raider V Chronicles
12. Tomb Raider VI: The Angel of Darkness
13. Tomb Raider Legend
14. Tomb Raider Anniversary
15. Tomb Raider Underworld
16. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light
17. Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris
18. Just Cause
19. Just Cause 2
20. Kane and Lynch: Dead Men
21. Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days
22. Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Director’s Cut
23. Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition
24. Deus Ex: Invisible War
25. Deus Ex: The Fall
26. Thief
27. Thief: Deadly Shadows
28. Thief II: The Metal Age
29. Thief Gold
30. Battlestations: Pacific
31. Battlestations: Midway
32. Project Snowblind
33. Mini Ninjas
34. Order of War
35. Flora’s Fruit Farm
36. Supreme Commander 2
37. Conflict: Desert Storm
38. Conflict: Denied Ops
39. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver
40. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2
41. Legacy of Kain: Defiance
42. Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain
43. Dungeon Siege
44. Dungeon Siege II
45. Dungeon Siege III
46. Anachronox
47. Pandemonium
48. Deathtrap Dungeon
49. Daikatana
50. Omikron: The Nomad Soul
51. Goetia
52. Hitman GO: Definitive Edition
53. Lara Croft GO
54. The Turing Test

 

[Frankie Spankie]

There are some great games in that bundle but I feel like most people unfortunately have the majority of them. Sleeping Dogs, Deus Ex series, Life is Strange, and the newer Tomb Raider games are must haves if you don't have those. There are some other neat titles in there too, I personally enjoyed the GO games (Lara Croft GO, Hitman GO.) I'm sure some of those other titles that I haven't played are really good too.

 

[mouser]

There are some great games in that bundle but I feel like most people unfortunately have the majority of them. Sleeping Dogs, Deus Ex series, Life is Strange, and the newer Tomb Raider games are must haves if you don't have those. There are some other neat titles in there too, I personally enjoyed the GO games (Lara Croft GO, Hitman GO.) I'm sure some of those other titles that I haven't played are really good too.

If you already own the game then Steam subtracts it from the bundle price. e.g. List price for the bundle is $39, but I paid $35 because I had several of the games already.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Yeah, my problem is I also already own most of those games. I don't buy much DLC unless I get the GotY edition for like $2 more or something so it inflates the price of the bundle big time. I have no desire for skin DLCs under any circumstances and also have little desire to get any new playable content for a game I finished years ago as well.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Stellaris is free to play for the next four days. Downloaded it to check it out...it's basically an endless spreadsheet simulator in space.

Will probably pick up the new Metro 2033 game soon. Solid shooter action in the post-apocalyptic ruins of Moscow.

 

[Zodiac]

Grand Theft Auto V Premium Edition = free on the Epic store.

Epic Games Store | Official Site

they're also having a big sale, too ....runs from May 14 to June 11.

i must have around 100 free games from Epic on there now. amazing the amount of free stuff they've been giving out.


Witcher 3 Game of the Year Edition = $6.99 Canadian (after using their free Epic coupon) ...and they give you another coupon after you purchase. awesome deal.


edit: i have a couple of extra Steam keys here ...

Aegis Defenders = DHHK4-A5K5I-9M5VH

Hotline Miami = 6C6FN-6GLQQ-PQMB0

most of you probably already have em, but i'll put em here anyway.


edit: so Witcher 3 Game of the Year Edition for $6.99 Canadian ($4.99 US) was a mistake that they later corrected by lowering the sale price by 1 cent, so that you can't apply the extra Epic Coupon to the deal. The Witcher 3 no longer eligible for $10 Epic Store coupon after slight price cut - VG247

 

[aleshemsky83]

By the way, for this who like playing some of their PC games with controller, be aware that Steam supports PS4 and switch pro controllers by default. You may have to manually turn it on in big picture mode, but all steam games support them natively. I really, really, really hate the default xbox controllers so this is a life saver for me. The buttons feel so cheap and overly clicky, especailly the shoulder buttons and the a,b,x,y buttons.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

Not sure how many people here go to chrono.gg and redeem coins every day for their coin shop but their coin shop is going away at the end of June. Make sure to use your stock pile of coins before they go away! The last set of games is coming on Friday, May 29 at noon EST. There's going to be 5 games. There's still a good amount of games available now as well.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

Just got a gaming laptop after 3+ years without one (my last one was an ASUS RoG that was a beast but the hard drive died on me and I took $500 for it since I wasn't into gaming anymore at the time)

So I am now getting back into PC gaming. I got 40+ games in my steam library but mainly cheaper ones from bundles (fear trilogy, Stalker SoC+Pripyat,HOI 3, Mafia I and II, Witcher 1+2,Darksiders etc etc ) Anyone have any good recommendations for games to get on Steam? Not looking to break the bank, only want to spend $100 total on a few titles, don't care if they are a few years old either. I mainly like FPS but also like RPGs too.

Would like a beefy FPS with some RPG elements and RPGs...games that will give me 10-15++ hours each of game time. Not interested in 4-5 hour campaigns.

 

[Zodiac]

Would like a beefy FPS with some RPG elements and RPGs...games that will give me 10-15++ hours each of game time. Not interested in 4-5 hour campaigns.

The Steam summer sale is coming very soon ...like typically around the end of June, I believe. So you'd probably be best off waiting to spend the majority of your gaming money at that time.

If you're looking for a good deal on a highly recommend RPG (I haven't played it much myself yet but it always gets great reviews), then Witcher 3 Game of the Year Edition is on sale right now.
Save 70% on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition on Steam

Also check out the Epic store. They have a free game or two every week on there ...the current one being Civilization VI. They also have a sale going on now ...so you might find something cheap and decent on there, too.
Epic Games Store | Official Site

edit: here's a few other sites i've bought games from over the years, and they usually have good deals, at certain times.
Humble Bundle
Green Man Gaming | Buy Games, Game Keys & Digital Games Today
Fanatical

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

The Steam summer sale is coming very soon ...like typically around the end of June, I believe. So you'd probably be best off waiting to spend the majority of your gaming money at that time.

If you're looking for a good deal on a highly recommend RPG (I haven't played it much myself yet but it always gets great reviews), then Witcher 3 Game of the Year Edition is on sale right now.
Save 70% on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Game of the Year Edition on Steam

Also check out the Epic store. They have a free game or two every week on there ...the current one being Civilization VI. They also have a sale going on now ...so you might find something cheap and decent on there, too.
Epic Games Store | Official Site

edit: here's a few other sites i've bought games from over the years, and they usually have good deals, at certain times.
Humble Bundle
Green Man Gaming | Buy Games, Game Keys & Digital Games Today
Fanatical

Thanks for the advice...I actually had and beat Witcher 3 on console...awesome game. And getting my free copy of Civ VI was one of the first things I did with my laptop after I opened and set it up haha. I am definitely a thrifty gamer. Games are too expensive to constantly drop $60+ tax on. I will only pay full price on AAA++ must have type games that won't be lowered no matter what. Which is pretty much the generational games...the GTAs...RDR2s, Fallouts etc

Virtually every game aside from the GTAs and new CoDs will eventually see a $39.99 sale within 2 months or so of release so I usually hold off til then. Will def wait until Steam summer sale for the bulk of my purchases but will peruse for a good game or two in the ~10-20 range.


Is CheapAssGamer still a decent site to use?

 

[Zodiac]

Thanks for the advice...I actually had and beat Witcher 3 on console...awesome game. And getting my free copy of Civ VI was one of the first things I did with my laptop after I opened and set it up haha. I am definitely a thrifty gamer. Games are too expensive to constantly drop $60+ tax on. I will only pay full price on AAA++ must have type games that won't be lowered no matter what. Which is pretty much the generational games...the GTAs...RDR2s, Fallouts etc

Virtually every game aside from the GTAs and new CoDs will eventually see a $39.99 sale within 2 months or so of release so I usually hold off til then. Will def wait until Steam summer sale for the bulk of my purchases but will peruse for a good game or two in the ~10-20 range.


Is CheapAssGamer still a decent site to use?

yeah, i rarely buy games full price now ...unless it's a new Diablo or Dark Souls game (which are my favorite game series). i might not be able to wait for a sale in that case.

i'm a subscriber to the Humble Bundle Monthly (called Humble Choice now) ...which usually has a decent crop of games for a cheap price. if the current month isn't interesting to me, i just pause for that month.

between the humble bundles and buying the odd game on sale from Steam, etc ...that's pretty much had me covered for the last couple of years.

not familiar with CheapAssGamer at all ...never used it. someone else around here might know about that one.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I would definitely recommend working on your backlog and wait for the summer sale. It is about a month away after all. You have some great games listed there too, give some of them a go!

Since your library is obviously fairly small, give the Humble Bundle choice a look. You can get several really good games for $20/month. You can cancel at any time and keep the games in the bundle forever.

 

[542365]

Some great free to play options as you wait for the summer sale. Based on your description I think I you would enjoy Warframe quite a bit like I did. It’s free, and it’s a fun RPG with tons of customization and good shooting mechanics. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but there’s tons of info online.

Path of Exile is basically Diablo with an insane amount of content to get through. Very fun.

Next week Epic Games is offering Borderlands Handsome collection for free which includes all of the DLC for Borderlands 2 and The Pre-Sequel. BL2 is probably my favorite game ever. First person Looter Shooter RPG. Just endless amounts of fun. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t played through it yet.

 

[Frankie Spankie]

I just saw Sleeping Dogs is dirt cheap, definitely a must buy at that price:

 

[TheTechNoir]

So, I'm not much of a gamer. Played starcraft a lot for a while in the early-mid 2000s. Tiny bit of Diablo II back then. The odd SNES at friends places in the 90s, a bit of N64 in the 90s, golden eye and mario kart of course, lil bit of smash bros melee, some ps2 titles for a bit, some xbox360 - mainly nhl games. I like old jrpgs like final fantasy II for snes (I know there is version history screwiness, I mean the north american 2/japanese 4, THPS 1-4, tomb raider 1-2.

I have a laptop right now that won't pose any issues with playing any current titles on ultra or respectable settings (note: graphics are far from my top priority, I like games with arcadey or pick-up and play potential - I don't want every game to take 2 hours of cut-scenes and tutorials before I can start playing, I absolutely don't want micro-transaction driven psychology-exploiting games, I want games with a strong offline mode or multiplayer with actual other people present [that's more for console, that last part] and online isn't my priority either).

Go figure, I hadn't played GTA since san andreas and I decided to buy GTA 5 on steam. The only games I've bought since getting this laptop was Civ 5 (again), and Civ 6. Before GTA 5 even finished downloading, I saw it was free on whatever epic store was (I've been under a rock for gaming, I've heard of fortnight and have a vague idea of how it works, never played it, and that's about all I know of gaming for a very long time) but I was able to cancel download and refund it from steam and get it for free on Epic. Go figure that the next free title on Epic would be Civ 6, ha. Although I think it's only the vanilla game, so I still did alright.

Anyway, tomb raider was a pc fave of mine in the 90s, too. I come to this thread to see that square enix edios crazy anthology sale. I have zero of those titles currently. I was going to buy it for sure... I've been working lots of OT in health care lately, so been tired and busy. I know it's super lazy and takes 2 seconds, but I've just been crashing and getting ready for work mostly between shifts. I've had time to do stuff online during downtime at work, but can't use steam. I intended to buy it when I got home, but slept instead. I've seen that gaming these days has a lot of limited time free stuff or major sales, something that is new to me from the gaming world. Anyway, I figured I'll just buy it before the sale is over, and lazily deferred. Or that would turn into right away on my day off, but then I'd pick up OT. TLDR
By the time I had time off, I forgot to check for that bundle, and it was probably over by then, anyway. I missed out on the square enix edios bundle and have none of the titles. I saw that it seems like many, if not all of those titles are on a big sale on steam right now, for not much more time. Not as huge as that big bundle, but still big. 40 games or whatever, assuming I actually played them and enjoyed them, on it's own is enough to last me like years. I don't play that much. They would last me a long time if they were even worth having. So, I think that I could probably get most of the titles from that bundle that I actually would have gotten game play out of for a combined amount that matches the bundle sale price, or doesn't exceed it by very much. The only games I know from it are tomb raider, and I only played the first 2. I'm going to probably get all of the Tomb Raider titles - are there any that y'all rate much worse/not worth it? I'd rather miss out than get something I don't like.
Any strong recommendations from the rest of the bundle? Anything can't miss? I'm working today, but going to purchase a few now, and by the end of the day after work actually make sure I buy now and don't put it off. I'm going to check reviews out and stuff, but I can't thoroughly look into that huge list in a short span of time. Any must haves? Brief idea of what the game is about/genre? Thanks!

PS: I saw Alan Wake for like a dollar something on Epic store, I'm buying that right now, too. I had heard of it before, know nothing about it, but I get the impression it's a solid game and dirt cheap right now.

 

[TheTechNoir]

Oh, Serious Sam is on huge sale on steam right now, too. Going to grab some of those. Going to try Just Cause 2 that was in that bundle I missed out on. Going to give Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 a shot, as well. Thoughts on Deus Ex? I read it is a stealth type game? Thief is, too? I don't know much about the genre; I briefly played one of the metal gear solid games for ps2, wasn't really into it from what I saw. Although I played a bit of Farenheit, and I recall it having stealth qualities? I enjoyed the little I played.


EDIT: I'm skipping the spin-off tomb raider games for now. Just main series. I see that as the series progressed DLC started getting introduced... Including skins? These are just cosmetic, right? Going to skip those. I don't know how season passes work - gotta figure that out for Civ 6 since one has come out.

Anyone know if tomb raider 1 is the gold edition? If not, it's okay. I can't seem to tell on steam, it just says tomb raider 1 and doesn't mention dlc for gold or a gold edition alternative. Maybe it is just automatically included. I think tomb raider 2 had a gold edition too; basically an expansion pack for 4 extra levels I think it was.

Skipping chronicles based on weak reviews and angel of darkness.

Holy **** games aren't games anymore. It's like 1 game plus 3 dozen extra downloads for a tiny bit of money each. Adds up, too. The newest tomb raider on there is bundled with all the extras (I can only imagine there is no point in buying the vanilla game, either thats a ton of pointless extras, or the vanilla game isn't even a game, its a worthless fragment of a game) for $26... $150 before sale. That's bonkers. I remember the most expensive games at time of release were almost half that, and most much less.

 

[RandV]

Oh, Serious Sam is on huge sale on steam right now, too. Going to grab some of those. Going to try Just Cause 2 that was in that bundle I missed out on.


EDIT: I'm skipping the spin-off tomb raider games for now. Just main series. I see that as the series progressed DLC started getting introduced... Including skins? These are just cosmetic, right? Going to skip those. I don't know how season passes work - gotta figure that out for Civ 6 since one has come out.

They're basically releasing 8 (?) DLC's, but instead of just paying $5 each as they come you need to pay for all of them up front and will get them as they are released over the next year probably. The so called "season pass" has been a pretty common money making gimmick from other big game publishers for a while now.

Not sure how this will work for Firaxis. From the audience perspective it's a trend I really hate, but not the end of the world just yet. As long as they keep up the release of expansion packs and open modding then I'm good. Pretty much the same standard for a proper Elder Scrolls game here.

 

[TheTechNoir]

They're basically releasing 8 (?) DLC's, but instead of just paying $5 each as they come you need to pay for all of them up front and will get them as they are released over the next year probably. The so called "season pass" has been a pretty common money making gimmick from other big game publishers for a while now.
Not sure how this will work for Firaxis. From the audience perspective it's a trend I really hate, but not the end of the world just yet. As long as they keep up the release of expansion packs and open modding then I'm good. Pretty much the same standard for a proper Elder Scrolls game here.

My ignorant perspective: Games used to be released. Some better than others, obviously. Some were glitchy, broken, pieces of garbage. But they were released 'finished'. Then the odd game had an expansion pack released. Example: Starcraft and Broodwar. Broodwar introduced a new campaign, new units with new abilities, etc. It was a comprehensive expansion. And it wasn't like Starcraft was released as a worthless game pre-broodwar, just waiting for the rest of the game to be finished. Vanilla starcraft was a great game, just greater with Broodwar. I have no issues with a one time expansion pack, if it's really deserved/warranted. Though I would like that to be the exception, not the norm. Patches (free)? I have no problem with.

But I am getting the impression that these days some games are being released that are basically unfinished, or sometimes borderline playable, if at all. I would much rather a game be released when it's actually done. I don't want patches to be finishing a game, I want patches to be refining and slightly tweaking/bug fixing a solid product. I definitely don't want an unfinished game to come out, and then DLCs with the rest of it are periodically released at a cost. If it's strictly cosmetic stuff, fine. If it's an major expansion, fine. Minecraft as far as I can tell is fine, it isn't "finished" but seems to be in forever-development long-term. You buy the game, it is a playable, complete in it's own right game, that receives on-going additions/upgrades for free and adapts to player-base interests. I have no problem with that.

And if some of the DLC is borderline essential for the complete game, and some is useless or cosmetic, I don't want to see a vanilla game, then have to look into 30 different DLC items to figure out what they are and if they are worth it, tally up the price of all of them, and then compare to the price of the game bundled with DLC to see if it's cheaper or not.
So, I am looking at rise of the tomb raider. As far as I can tell, the game isn't available without season pass. You can buy the game with season pass, just season pass (I assume for previous owners of the game), or a 13 DLC pack, or pick from 13 individual DLC.

The description for Season Pass is:
The Season Pass for Rise of the Tomb Raider includes a range of content that will extend your single-player campaign, and also allow you to compete with friends.
...'includes a range of content'

wtf does that mean? Be a bit more specific?

The DLC, I don't know what *any* of it is. So I have to look into all 13 items to figure out what they are. What about Season Pass? Is this range of content they speak of, the DLC? Some of it? All of it? Separate? The game + season pass is $10. Game isn't even offered without season pass. That's fine, I assume because it's an older title now, the game + season pass is cheaper than just the game was originally anyway, so it's basically a free throw-in. And probably the original game is neutered without it, so they won't bother to put just the original on sale for cheaper minus the season pass? Feels like buying a skeleton of a game and picking and choosing how to build it.

I clicked on two of the DLC items, they just sound like cheat codes... Either they are fun extras/cheats (normally they would be in games I used to play, as, well, cheat codes... not pay for this extra) or the game is stupidly hard without them, and they charge you money to make the game a reasonable difficulty. I am assuming they are just fun/cheats? In which case, I have no interest.

From your post I got the impression a season pass is essentially a token for being automatically given DLCs as they are released, going forward, perhaps at a small discount? Or just convenient to get them as they come. What about an older game? IE: Rise of Tomb Raider, they have the game with the season pass, and there is DLC also that you can get. I assume rise of the tomb raider, or some older games, have no new DLC coming out? So would a season pass be a waste of money? Or would buying it now give you all of that DLC. Would it only give you future DLC from time of season pass release, or all the prior DLC, too?

Okay, so I read the description of game pass for rise of the tomb raider. I assume it works different for some games, but from what I got the impression of, it is some of the DLC up until the point of the season pass release, and then some other stuff which was at the time yet to be released (but since has been). I can look into later if it covers all of the DLC, or if some DLC wasn't included, or some DLC was released after the season pass stopped. See if any of it is worth getting. I know it's the responsibility of the game owner to research before spending money, but imo it should be more clear. Steam gives little indication of what the season pass entails, and then it offers the DLC below (much of which or all is included in the season pass). The DLC bundle is $13. The game + season pass is $10. Maybe the DLC is offered for early buyers of the vanilla game who just want to add one piece of content or something, but I could see people mistakenly buying the same DLC twice because of getting season pass and buying DLC which is included in the season pass.

Again, I know you should research first, but I'm used to games being a game... Maybe an expansion pack. Not having to sift through passes, bundles, double digit extra downloadables, etc...

I assume for some games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider which is $23 for the edition which includes everything, I imagine the bundle is cheaper than just the original on it's own would be without a sale, so they don't list just the original because there's no point. That I don't mind either. And I don't have a need to get a game once it comes out, so if the extras are released a bit after the vanilla game, and later auto-bundled with the game with the price coming down so that you aren't paying extra for it, compared to launch price of the game itself, I'm okay with that. If I knew in advance a game being released was going to be "complete" and at most have one significant non-free expansion offered, I would be cool with that. Otherwise, I think as a rule of thumb I will just hold off on buying games until they are a couple of years old. The vanilla game price will decrease a bit if it's older, and subsequent DLC will get bundled together into the initial cost.