Dances around computer chair as I bought CE of Elemental War of Magic in Aug of 2010.

Now question is will I have to use STEAM for the beta or will I get it through Stardock like my other games?

I was leaving it open because there could be other reasons (spending income as an example); but yes, the additional requirement of steam most certainly is a deal breaker for some. (myself included)

Also just saw that 1.3 was released, so we get about a week to go through my suggestion.

Thanks SD!

I am looking forward to it!

I am very much looking forward to FE:LH - it sounds like it has great additions to an already great game system.

However. I am sorry that it will be Steam only.    I recently started using Steam when the LH announcement came out with the mention of it being Steam only.  My brief experience is that Steam slows up shuting down my computer and on some ocasions slows down start up.     I am sure of both as my system tells me what programs are keeping it from closing.    On start up its Steam taking over to patch - rather that asking permission which would be much better program behavior.  I have not seen any added benefits to me as a gamer.

However, the real reason for being sorry that LH will be Steam only is that it forces those of us who would rather not to use Steam.    Don't get me wrong - I am not a Steam hater.    I just don't see it as a necessary part of playing games.   I would prefer a choice for everyone:   if you like Steam there should be a version for you.  If you don't like Steam there should be a game version for you too.  Lets not try to force each other to accept the others point of view on this.

I recognize that will not be happening for LH but the game is important enough to me that I will use Steam even though I don't want to.

As soon as the preorder goes up i'll be sure to order!

Funny huh? Frog answers the Q about the beta but is afraid to stand up and explain his decision to abandon his self proclaimed bill of gamers' rights by forcing steam dwon our throats!

Amen brotherman you tell him!

He explained it in another thread about a month agao. It was mostly about the reliability of cash flow, which can't be ignored by a company that want's to stay in business.

Other distributions methods were inconsistent and/or unreliable, whereas Steam is.

Simple solution: by the game through Stardock, never purchase anything on Steam, and Steam can't do anything to you.  I am pretty certain if Steam went belly-up in the next 10 years, Stardock would take the Steam DRM out.   I really wish just to be 100% certain, that future Stardock comes, like some other games distributed on Steam (Mount&Blade, Dredmor), would be playable by clicking on the .exe and not activating Steam if it isn't running.  That is very easy to do, and would make Steam no different than Impulse in terms of DRM.

As for the reasoning Brad gave: I understood it as this: doing it themselves was much more expensive/time-consuming than having Steam do it.   Given that there's a non-Steam way of purchasing, and Brad has promised that no one will get screwed by Steam.  If Steam went belly up, there would be much bigger problems in the gaming industry than getting a 5-yr copy of LH running, and we'd see it coming.  If Steam goes evil, I suspect very quickly an alternative to Steam would arise and do very well and quickly, I don't think the value of Steam itself is inelastic.

One thing I am curious about: was revenue for FE on Steam higher than WOM sales total?   Doubt Brad can/will answer that, but I wouldn't be surprised if the answer is yes, or at least close.

Of course it can. It will still need steam to be installed and running to even start the game. And if it fucks up your system coz you don't have internet, YOU are fucked up!

Very happy with the Steam only switch, because now it means I'll get a Steam key for my free copy. I hate FE being installed through a separate updater.

People having crashing issues with Steam, was your computer built in 1998?

I wonder if in another 10 years people will still be complaining about Steam.

Doubt it as Steam probably won't be around by then. Bankruptcy an all that. Surely you guys didn't think the Euro government and the US Supreme court were going to let them get away with taking away consumers rights forever?

*ROFL* Didn't I say so?! To quote myself from another thread:

Probably not. I am very grateful for Steam, GOG.com and to a much lesser extent, impulse (Their prices are usually too high on the games I like). I would be excluded from playing quite a few indy games or classics I loved if not for these services. Luckily, I've never had a bad experience with any of these companies and I am very surprised when someone who hates steam signs up just to have their puppy taken away from them. 

Judging by that sentence clearly you don't live in the United States. And whether anyone's rights are being infringed is entirely subjective.

So sayeth the guy with the german nick.

The is on its way.

Steam issues are most often PEBCAK, so it was a very safe bet to make.

I purchased FE via steam, so I can tell you steam does not even need to be launched to play the game: it's only used as a game content delivery system, and only needs to be used for installing and updating the game. All of which is just fine in my book (I don't like having steam run in the background when playing offline games such as civ SP)

That sounds good.  If LH runs the same way, then you would only load Steam when there is an update, and you could avoid the auto-update.  That would be great.

But there is a possibility that FE was just being sold through Steam, whereas LH might be integrated with Steam...

I believe Sins Rebellion was integrated with Steam, but that wasn't Stardock development.

I'm ok if things like achievements integrate with Steam, but it' the actual game running I want to work like FE.  I don't have a taste for cheevos.

Also it's possible the beta might be integrated with Steam, Stardock usually uses online activation checks for their betas (so they can change data on the fly- sometimes it leads to goofy stuff like Spear Maidens)

What I don't like about Steam is that it makes my games take much longer to load (especially if I have no or slow Internet connectivity), and it leaves itself running when the game is done.  I also don't like the in-game pop-ups it does.  

What I do like about Steam is it makes purchasing games, and managing installs and save games across two computers, easier.  The Workshop is a nice feature, as well.  It also highlights many indie games I otherwise wouldn't have known about (like Fallen Enchantress).  They could use a better browser, but when I'm shopping I just use a regular web browser.

So, Steam has both good and bad points.

I've asked this question and thought about it alot since I have not yet received response (not that one is owed in the first place).

If I knew I could count on the purchase of FE:LH from Stardock.com and install the game without the requirement of steam, than I most certainly would do just that. Problem is that I don't think we will have the option to buy FE:LH from Stardock.com. I'm also thinking that, even if it were offered on Stardock.com, steam will be required in order for the game to install and play.

While I understand Brad's reluctance in providing a second platform for installation (It costs money, plain and simple), what I don't understand is why Brad backed out of his declaration and conviction that all of his games would be DRM free to protect the customer. Does it really make that much of a difference in sales by only selling through steam? Is steam really crushing out all competition such that no developer will be able to sell games another way? Is it too good to pass up?

This is a slippery slop; one that I'm sure Steam has already realized and is actively pursuing. Once they control the market, even if it's officially a 'free' market, a developer won't stand a chance unless he sells through steam. They can set any price they want for game inclusion and can control which games are played and which are not, which games are advertised and which are not, which games will get big-fix attension and which ones will not. The corporation will rule the day...not the creativeness of the developer...because it'll be the big corps that will be willing and able to fork over the money to steam to be placed first in line.

See this happen somewhere else before? Yep. EA Games. Look at the number of excellant, creative, developing companies bought out (I only name a few): Westwood, Origin, Bioware. EA Games consumes the market to the point where you almost cannot get a game unless EA is stamped somewhere on the box. What does the customer get for it? The inability to resell your games as licences have to be repurchased by the new consumer. Low quality products that are ridden with bugs and defects, never a care in the world for the company to fix, dumbed down games that can be console compatable, forced updates or discontinued product support. Bad bad bad. Do we really want ALL games to undergo this abomination?

So in the end, perhaps my conviction is simply easier to achieve than Brad's. I will not install Steam, and so I will lose out on an excellant $40 game. But that's okay...I have a shelf full of games that I can pull out and enjoy; not to mention the myraid of other entertainment options outside of the pc gaming industry. I prefer to be able to aquire FE:LH because I really do enjoy where the game it headed in development, but I'll get over it.

Brad's loss I'm sure is and will be much higher if he chooses to kick against the goads. It must of been too high a cost though, for him to back out on his previously stated convictions and open the gates to good 'ole steam.

 You apparently didn't get the memo: This phrase is no longer cool.