What is steam and how to use it. What is steam? How to Verify Your Email Address on Steam

Steam is a digital service for sale computer games, programs and other similar content, developed by Valve. Distinctive feature stim is what is in it for sale exclusively licensed content, so that users do not have to worry about catching a computer virus, Trojan or other malicious software on their PC.

Why do you need Steam?

First of all, you will need Steam to purchases And launch the vast majority of computer games. Without this service you you can't officially play a number of games, because they are distributed exclusively using store Steam.

The application also gives access to multi-user features such as multiplayer, various user communities, reviews for various applications and much more.

It’s hard to imagine the modern game industry without Steam, because the service has completely occupied its niche among players, surpassing in popularity services such as Origin, Battle.Net, GOG.COM, Windows Store and other digital goods stores.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like any existing product, Steam has a number of characteristic benefits and cons. Despite constant development, the service is still very far from ideal.

Advantages stim:

  • Access to a huge amount of varied content, which would be incredibly difficult or completely impossible to obtain in other ways;
  • High stability system operation;
  • Quite democratic prices on content sold, such as computer games or programs;
  • Availability of various promotions and discounts, as a result of which prices may become even lower (in some cases, the discount on a game reached 99 percent);
  • Access to quality multiplayer thanks to servers provided by Valve;
  • Opportunity take advantage purchased content on any PC on which Steam is installed and logged into your account;
  • Opportunity to get acquainted with reviews for absolutely any product sold in a digital store;
  • Availability program versions not only for Windows, but also for Linux and MacOS.

Flaws Steam:

  • To install and run absolutely any game or application you need high speed access on the Internet (without it, all the content you purchased will be unavailable);
  • Terrible job technical support , in case of problems, Steam technical support workers may take weeks to respond;
  • Some games or programs not available on Steam (for example, all parts of the multiplayer shooter Battlefield);
  • The program is constantly in RAM and loads system resources, which is why Steam can force weak PCs brake or freeze;
  • If your account is lost or stolen, access to all games, programs and other purchased content will be lost. And given the terrible quality of technical support, it will not be possible to quickly restore everything.

The service replaced the earlier WON system, which was a more highly specialized service and was not a system for distributing data over the Internet (digital distribution). The history of Steam began in 1999 with success Team Fortress Classic And Counter-Strike. Even before the release of the final versions, these games became some of the most popular multiplayer games. At that time, the popularity of games reached a maximum of 2-3 thousand active players. Number of players TFC And C.S. a couple of years later it increased several times. As a result, Valve began to reconsider traditional methods of organizing online games. It was necessary to solve problems in light of the further influx of players. This mainly concerned automatic updates and improvement of the anti-cheat system. When the developers were working on this system, they came up with the idea of ​​using this platform to sell games. The implementation of this idea seemed too expensive, so Valve sought cooperation with various companies such as Amazon, Yahoo and Cisco, offering this approach, but everyone was limited to promises. Since the system was so necessary for Valve, the company decided that it would implement this idea itself.

Steam interface of the first version.

Steam was first introduced at the Game Developers Conference on March 22, 2002. Version Steam 1.0 became available during beta testing Counter-Strike 1.4. Steam installation was required for beta testers CS 1.4, but was only an additional component for the final version.

Further development

IN Steam 2.0 The user interface was slightly changed and an instant messaging system with friends was integrated. In late 2003, Valve announced its plans to shut down WON and make Steam installation mandatory for Valve's online games. This angered many players, who then created WON2 as a replacement. On July 26, 2004, World Opponent Network was closed and replaced by Steam.

Steam interface version 2.5

In September 2004, it became known about Vivendi Games' lawsuit with Valve. The first company argued that the distribution of Half-Life 2 through Steam violated the publishing contract. Vivendi lost the case and was banned from continuing to license Valve games to internet cafes. The contract between the two companies was later terminated and Valve chose Electronic Arts as the new retail publisher.

Standard interface of Steam version 3.

In November 2004, Valve released Half-Life 2, the first single-player game to require a Steam client. At the end of 2005, games from third-party developers appeared on Steam for the first time: Rag Doll Kung Fu(October 12) and Darwinia(December 14).

Library Steam games fourth version in a compact form.

At the end of 2009, the design of the official website was slightly changed - instead of dark yellow, blue tones appeared, and it was also possible to purchase games online through the Steam website without using the Steam program. At the same time, Valve began development of the fourth Steam versions with a completely new design. The beta version was released at the end of February 2010, and all interface menus were significantly redesigned. At the same time, the design of the official website was greatly changed for beta users. The design of the Steam shell, as well as the in-game overlay, was almost completely redesigned. In particular, instead of the three standard lists “Games”, “Trailers” and “Tools”, a new “Library” menu appeared, to which, in addition to these 3 subsections, a new one was added - “Downloads”. At the same time, 3 options for displaying games became available - a list with detailed information and background, a large list with updated icons and a grid with large icons. Compact view is no longer supported. In addition, many errors were corrected, the built-in browser began to use the WebKit engine instead of Trident, available only for Windows, which greatly increased the performance and security of work, and also made it possible to port it to other platforms. The format of skins for the fourth version has also undergone changes, which made the skins of the third version inoperative. Valve released a stable version on April 28, 2010. The design of the Steam community and the main Steam web page has also been updated for all users. In the release version, the ability to collapse the “Library” menu into a compact view was restored, while the old low-format icons were replaced with new colorful ones in a three-dimensional style. This update was the largest since the launch of Steam in 2003.

This version of Steam has received mixed reviews from the community. On the one hand, the interface has become more intuitive, logical, modern and colorful. On the other hand, there were many flaws, shortcomings, and there were also problems with performance on weak machines. This has been fixed in subsequent updates.

In March 2010, information about the future appeared on the official Valve websites Steam transfer and all Source games on Mac OS X. On May 12, 2010, the final version of Steam was released on Mac. For some time, performance problems were observed on Mac OS X. On August 18, Valve announced that updates had become available to improve performance. .

On September 10, a Steam wallet was announced and launched into beta test, with the help of which users could transfer certain amounts of money to it to use later. It finally appeared on Steam on September 30 along with an update to the game Team Fortress 2.

On March 3, 2011, Valve announced and launched into beta testing the Steam Guard service, which was supposed to provide additional security for user accounts. When this service was enabled, access to the Steam account became possible only from the current computer; to enter the recording from another computer, it was necessary to enter an additional code that was sent by email. Steam Guard was also shown at CeBit 2011 by Gabe Newell, who also published the password to his account and stated that no one could steal it. The service became publicly available on March 16.

On January 26, 2012, a beta version of the Steam client was announced for operating systems iOS and Android.

Name

Also, the spread of Steam influenced digital distribution in general. Immediately after the release of Half-Life 2 (which requires a mandatory Steam installation), this service attracted the attention of many players. Steam was the first successful project in this area (about 25% of Half-Life 2 copies were sold through Steam). Soon after, several large companies such as Sega, EA Games and 3D Realms announced the creation of their own similar services. Smaller companies such as Stream Theory and Virgin Games have also announced their projects.

However, some of them did not complete own projects until completion. Sega began selling its games on Steam, and Game xStream's Triton service, which distributed 3D Realms games, was closed (3D Realms games also moved to Steam). Electronic Arts also distributes some of its games through Steam, despite having its own trading platform Origin (in addition to digital distribution, this service is also intended for online sales of games on physical media).

At the end of November 2008, Brad Wardell (eng. Brad Wardell), the head of Stardock, which owns the digital distribution service Impulse, said that, in his opinion, “the undisputed leader in the digital distribution market game content for PC is Steam - it has approximately 70% of the market. Our Impulse service comes in second place with about 10%. Everyone else shares the remaining 20%." He also added that in 2009, publishers receive about 25% of the total income from game sales through such services.

Possibilities

Multilingual

Steam is currently available in the following languages: English, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Spanish, Korean, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Finnish, Turkish, French, Swedish, Czech and Japanese .

Steam has implemented regional protection due to the fact that in different regions, boxed editions of Steam games have different prices. That is, games purchased in Russia (in a boxed version) will not work outside the CIS (such protection was implemented for the release of Half-Life 2: Episode One in 2006). At the same time, this approach allows publishers to make any official voice acting available, since publishers do not have to worry about games being re-exported. Most games purchased on Steam are multi-region and have no restrictions since they are sold at the same price in all regions.

Network games

The responsibilities of the part of Steam responsible for online gaming include obtaining a list of servers, checking the client and server versions to ensure compatibility, as well as providing the server with Steam account information and blocking accounts found to be cheating by the Valve Anti-Cheat service. to all online Steam games that support VAC technology. Steam also blocks access to users who do not have a Steam account (No-Steam versions of games) or whose account does not have a purchased game, which is another component of DRM protection. This component cannot bypass hacked versions of Steam as it requires hacking or bypassing Valve's authentication servers.

Matchmaking

This feature appeared with the release of Left 4 Dead. Its essence lies in the fact that players do not connect directly to the server, but first to a lobby created by one of the players. The lobby leader can choose game parameters (map, difficulty level, etc.), “kick out” someone who has connected, and make the lobby accessible only to friends or by invitation. After the required number of players has been recruited, the lobby leader starts searching for a server. Steam selects the most suitable empty server on which it installs the required settings and connects players from the lobby to it.

Steam Cloud

This feature allows you to save game data (such as personal configurations, keyboard and mouse settings, logo sprays for multiplayer games, save files) on Valve servers. This feature is useful for those who use their Steam games on multiple computers. Currently Steam Cloud is supported next games: Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal, Portal 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Alien Swarm, Sid Meier's Civilization V, Plants vs. Zombies, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dota 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Fallout: New Vegas, Braid, Worms: Reloaded, Metro 2033 and others.

Steam Community

In 2011, the inventory was redesigned again, and it became possible to view and share game items directly through the Steam website. In addition, gifts, guest invitations, and discount coupons are also now associated with Steam category inventory items, and they can also be traded. The Steam category also includes special items (for example, coal) dedicated to special promotions and giving the opportunity to win prizes or exchange them for cheap game. By default, items from the Steam category are only visible to the account owner, while items from games may be visible to other players, depending on the profile privacy.

Currently, the inventory feature is used by Team Fortress 2, Portal 2, Dota 2 and a number of indie games.

Steam Workshop

The Steam Workshop is an item gallery made by Valve that is dedicated to creating and reviewing items created for various games by users. At the moment, you can upload items to the workshop for Team Fortress 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Sid Meier's Civilization V, Portal 2 and Dota 2.

Steam Greenlight

Achievement system

In some games there are achievements- optional game tasks, each of which saves information in the game. At the same time, if Steam is launched in online mode, the achievement is also saved on your Steam account, which allows you to restore previously obtained achievements when you reinstall the game. The first games to use this system were Orange Box. All games from this set, except for Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode 1 (for the PC versions of these games, achievements appeared only on May 26), offered players an arbitrary set of achievements, the completion of which carried absolutely nothing except information in statistics Steam. However, after some time, completing achievements was reflected in the gameplay of the online team shooter Team Fortress 2, which is currently receiving extensive updates that expand the weapons of each game class. Along with each such update, the developers supplement the list of achievements with a set specifically for the improved class. Completing achievements can unlock new weapons, in addition, tasks can force you to change game tactics. For now Team Fortress 2 is the only game that fully utilizes the capabilities of achievements. Another Valve online shooter, , after switching to the updated game engine, I also received a set of achievements, but their completion does not affect gameplay.

The system was later added to the Steamworks developer kit, allowing achievements to be added to any Steam game. The first game to support the system that was not created by Valve was Audiosurf.

In games whose engine is heavily integrated with Steam, achievements can only work when the Steam client is running online (mostly Valve games). In the majority third party games they can work without Steam, but they are not saved on the Steam account. For example, in Unreal Tournament 3, achievements are tied primarily to the game account and only when the Steam client is running online are they also saved on Steam servers. However, if achievements are deleted from Steam, they will be saved in the game itself.

There is a program for unlocking/blocking Steam achievements on game account- Steam Achievement Manager. With its help, users can add achievements to themselves without having to earn them in the game “honestly” or delete them. Moreover, this applies even to games for which achievements have not been released and are in the testing stage. The program has become widespread primarily among Team Fortress 2 players, since unlocking new weapons directly depends on the number of achievements received.

To make it easier to create a backup copy on Steam, the archive is split into files of 640 MB, 4.7 GB, or as specified by the user. Next, the archives are written to disks by any program. Steam does not have a built-in optical disc recording feature. However, you can also perform a backup manually by writing the contents of the SteamApps folder to disk.

Features under development

Developers periodically announce what features they plan to implement on Steam. Such declared but not yet implemented functions are:

The ability to select an alternative browser for running the Steam client was also promised (only Internet Explorer was used), but with the release new version client on April 26, 2010, which uses its own WebKit-based shell, the need to find an alternative browser disappeared.

Promotions

Passes Guest Passes)

From time to time, players who own any multiplayer game are issued a guest invitation, which can be sent to anyone via Steam itself or email. The person who receives the invitation, in turn, can activate it and play for several days. full version games.

Weekend discount Weekend Deal)

Every weekend there is a discount on one or more games. As a rule, this is 50 - 75%. This way, you can buy games much cheaper than usual.

Sometimes Steam holds major sales on games, usually around New Year's. Such actions were carried out at the end of 2009/beginning of 2010 and the end of 2010/beginning of 2011. Most games during the promotion period are sold at prices reduced by 33 - 75%, as a rule, with the exception of recently released ones. In addition, every day there are super discounts of up to 90% on certain games and a timer is turned on, after which the list of games with super discounts changes.

Sometimes the discount goes to a game from a developer who does not allow the purchase of games from Russia. You can't buy this game. However, if this game If purchased as a gift by a user living in a country where purchase restrictions do not apply, the game can be linked to an account and played.

Mid-week promotion

Every Wednesday, Steam offers a significant discount on one or more games. As a rule, the discount is 50 - 75%.

Offer of the day

Every day a game is selected for which a discount is provided. Moreover, on Wednesday, in addition to this promotion, there is also a mid-week promotion.

Publisher's Week

Periodically, Steam offers significant discounts for a whole week on games from a specific publisher (Ubisoft, EA, etc.).

Free weekend

In December 2006, Valve confirmed the introduction of advertising in Counter-Strike CS-Nation website and announced the imminent release of a beta version of the game with advertising. On March 5, 2007, an update was released for Counter-Strike that added advertising. On January 9, 2008, advertising was added to Counter-Strike: Condition Zero .

In an interview with the site GamesIndustry.biz Gabe Newell stated that advertising in C.S.- just an experiment to implement in-game advertising as a Steam feature. And this function can be used, for example, in free games that pay for themselves through advertising.

Account Operations

Account creation

The user can create an unlimited number of accounts. When you first launch Steam, the create account button appears automatically. The user must provide an account name and password, an email address that can be used to recover the password, and a security question and answer in case they forget the password. An account can be created either through the Steam program or through the store's website, but a restoration request can only be sent through the Steam client. The account name can contain Latin letters, numbers and underscores _ . In this case, the account name should not be already registered, and should not contain the word valve And steam- this is done to prevent the possibility of impersonating Valve employees and administrators in order to steal the password.

Activation

However, such a system has a number of serious disadvantages:

  1. To install the game, an Internet connection and a mandatory update to 100% are required. Otherwise, it is impossible to install the game. Thus, users who have a low-speed modem or an expensive (if paying for traffic) Internet connection cannot download updates and start playing, even if they have a boxed version of the Steam game.
  2. Inability to activate the game or download updates for it when the Steam servers are busy.

It is precisely because of these shortcomings that pirated No-Steam versions have become widespread, since such versions do not have Steam. Such games can be launched immediately, without connecting to the Internet and launching Steam. Pirates also created hacked versions of Steam for users with an Internet connection, allowing them to download games and play them without paying. However, such versions become outdated quite quickly, and it becomes impossible to download new games or updates for some existing games. Through such hacked Steam clients it is also impossible to play on licensed servers controlled by Valve. accounts Steam.

However, it was the activation that caused the most complaints from Steam users. As a bottleneck in Valve's game distribution system, the servers Steam activation were overloaded on the day of release Half-Life 2, despite all the efforts and assurances of Valve (in particular, the pre-load of a non-boxed version announced by Valve long before the release of the game), and many buyers were forced to wait for many hours, waiting for a stable connection with the servers and decryption of the game files.

Purchasing games

Instead of buying boxes of games, discs, CD keys, a Steam user gets the opportunity to download purchased games from Steam servers from any place where the Steam client can be used. Games can be purchased individually (with some exceptions) or as part of “packs” of several games (if available), costing less than the total cost of the games individually, sometimes even several times. It should be taken into account that the volume of such “packages” can be tens of gigabytes, which must be downloaded via the Internet, which, in turn, requires a high-speed cheap connection.

All purchases are made from the Steam client desktop or on the store website through any browser, and the data is transferred through an encrypted connection. To ensure greater security, payment information is not saved, so it must be entered again each time. Purchases are made through a virtual shopping cart. Steam has a wallet to which users can transfer money and keep it there. Payment for purchases is possible either through this wallet or by transfer of money. The following payment and wallet replenishment methods are supported:

Maestro debit cards, popular in Europe, are not directly supported, but can be used when paying via PayPal. For a long time, payment methods were limited only to credit cards and bank payment systems using accounts linked to credit cards. This was the reason for criticism of Steam, mainly in countries where obtaining credit cards strict criteria have been established (for example, age) and non-bank Internet payment systems have been predominantly developed (for example, WebMoney). For the Russian Federation and the CIS, the situation changed on November 2, 2010, when for these countries Steam allowed payment for games via WebMoney.

Price

Prices for games and downloadable content on Steam vary within some range. Now the lowest price for the game is $0.99USD ( Fortix), downloadable content $0.99USD ( Just Cause 2: Monster Truck), for downloadable manuals $1.99USD ( Portal 2: The Final Hours), or for the collection $2.99USD ( Cthulhu Saves the World& Breath of Death VII Double Pack) and the highest price for the game is $59.99USD ( Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3), downloadable content $39.99USD ( The Sims 3: Late Night), downloadable manuals $19.99USD ( Homefront: Prima Official Strategy Guide) or for the collection $49.99USD ( Valve Complete Pack).

The price may differ from the standard price in different regions or may vary for different titles of the same game. For example, the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. costs $9.99USD, but the same game in America costs $19.99USD, as it bears the name S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl. Thus, you can buy two identical games. First days after release Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had a huge range of prices: $49.99USD in Russia and America, $69.99USD in France and $88.50USD in Australia. Also, for example, All Points Bulletin in America it sold for $49.99USD, and in Europe for $28.99USD.

Retail keys

A CD key is a kind of code for activating a game on the Steam service, which is a set of 13 characters ( old version of the Retail version of Half-Life), 18 characters ( Prey), 25 characters ( SiN Episodes: Emergence) and 26 characters ( The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings), which in turn consist of Latin letters and numbers. Typically, the CD key is printed on a sticker under the disc or on the disc itself (Retail version), on the back of the booklet (DVD version) or on a separate sheet ( Collector's Edition). The key also confirms your purchase of the game when you enter it in the window Product Activation the game is immediately connected to your Steam account. In addition to Valve Corporation products, keys can be used to activate games from third-party developers. Some games that can be activated with keys:

Account blocking

STEAM displays this window if account blocked.

Valve reserves the right to block user accounts at its sole discretion. The main types of violations are:

Fraudulent actions with credit cards Any fraudulent actions with credit cards when paying for Steam products, including the use of other people's credit cards, the data of which was obtained by carding, as well as performing chargebacks (regardless of when the transaction was made ). Registration for an account of gifts purchased by carding. Until 2010, if a payment was refused, the gift was revoked, but the recipient's account was not blocked. However, in December 2009, Valve changed their policy and a massive wave of bans began. Valve themselves recommend not accepting gifts from unknown persons; Piracy and hacking This includes using a hacked Steam client program to access the Steam network, attempting to register fake CD-keys or those found on the Internet. Theft, sharing or trading of other people's accounts Any actions with other people's accounts without the permission of their owners: stealing and changing the password, using the account to log in, any operations with the account, disclosing account data, etc. But sharing is possible in turn. Phishing attacks and deliberate deception of users This includes communicating with Steam users under misleading names and e-mail addresses, purporting to be Steam or Valve employees (for example: “Steam Admin” or “ [email protected]"), in order to lure out the password and other confidential information about the account. Purchasing and selling Steam accounts Responsibility for using and ensuring the security of a Steam account lies primarily with the original user - all accounts subject to purchase or sale may be blocked if Valve determines the fact of purchase and sale. Any other violation of the Steam Subscriber Agreement or Steam Online Code of Conduct

Also, sometimes an account can be temporarily blocked if, for example, the account was stolen and Valve blocks it until the real owner is identified.

After blocking the account, the user is deprived of the opportunity to download and play all previously purchased games that are linked to Steam, including boxed versions. If your account is blocked, money will not be returned.

Collection of statistics

Sales statistics

The Steam platform provides publishers with product sales statistics (including for retail if the game requires mandatory registration). As a result, the developer receives up-to-date information on game sales, which can be used to evaluate the success of the game, as well as the effectiveness of promotions.

Hardware and software

Steam collects certain information from users' computers.

Gameplay
  • Information about ways to complete the game, places in the game that caused the greatest difficulties/mortality. This data, for example, can be used by developers to make decisions about balance adjustments.
  • If the game uses an achievement system tied to Steam system, then the game statistics page displays the percentage of players who have completed a particular achievement. Some of these statistics are available to users on the official website.
  • Information about the popularity of mods: the number of servers for the mod, the number of players currently, as well as the total number of minutes per month spent playing the modification by all players.

Technical features

System Requirements

System requirements required to use Steam:

  • , Vista, Windows 7 or ". On Mac OS X, game files are stored in the “/Users/name/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps/” directory. There are two formats: modification with changes in characteristics directly into the game. Also, using GCF files requires unpacking library (DLL) and application (EXE) files, as well as media files, which reduces free space on your hard drive. The GCF format is based on the use of modifications when saving original game, which makes it easier to restore, but does not allow you to change the base game files.

    Steam game files that do not contain cache (NCF)

    NCF (No-Cache File) files do not contain game cache, unlike the GCF format. All game files are located in the folder steamapps/common/game name, and inside the NCF file there is only a list of these files and information about their checksum. These files are located in the folder SteamApps along with GCF files and are needed to be able to launch and update games via Steam, but are not integral part games. Updates and searching for damaged files for such games are more difficult and longer than for GCF files. NCF files can also be opened using GCFScape.

    Installing modifications

    PlayStation 3

    Problems with localized versions of Steam

    The Steam interface has been translated into many languages, but this also causes certain problems.

Steam is a service that is primarily useful to people who are interested in computer games. What does Steam give us? Using it, you can activate your new toy, download its components via the Internet, download updates and news about the game.

Steam is the brainchild of Valve. Accordingly, Steam works with Valve products and products of those developers who have signed a contract with Valve.

In addition, through Steam, without leaving home and without being distracted from your computer, you can buy new games from Valve and other developers.

Who works with the Steam service?

  • Activision;
  • Codemasters;
  • Eidos Interactive;
  • EA Games;
  • Epic Games;
  • GSC Game World;
  • id Software;
  • Sega;
  • Atari;
  • Rockstar Games;
  • UbiSoft;
  • NCSoft;
  • and many others.

According to statistics for October 2010, up to 3 thousand products are sold through Steam, and the number of registered users reaches 30 million. The main products of Steam are computer games, trailers and modifications for games.

The word Steam itself means “steam” in English.

It is impossible to overestimate the influence of the emerging service on the modern computer games market. The most serious development was found by developers of independent games. Previously, large publishing houses were very wary of new non-standard games, since it was not known in advance how profitable these developments would be. Now the situation has changed. Indie games are distributed through Steam, which gives a start-up team of programmers a chance to get started serious business in the field of computer entertainment.

Steam is a new word in the sales of computer games via the Internet. The method by which Steam operates is called digital distribution. If a publisher uses this method, it significantly reduces its costs on a number of items. There is no need to spend money on producing discs, packaging, printing covers or transporting them. Now everything is possible via the Internet. Accordingly, the financial risk of independent games is reduced several times. Moreover, if independent game finds particular popularity among Steam users, then the developers will have the opportunity to get a contract with a major publisher.

There is no doubt that digital distribution is a step into the future. These technologies are used not only in the field of computer games, but also in the music business. The time is coming not for material values, but for ideas that bring material profit.

“You can break a sword, but you cannot destroy an idea.” (Victor Hugo)

A long time ago, when computers were large and games for them were very small, no one could have imagined what heights the industry of this kind of entertainment would reach. After all, at that time no one was seriously engaged in developing systems that would prevent the unlicensed use of games.

Moreover, there was practically no network games, since the Internet capabilities at that time were very stunted. The maximum that was available to gamers was to run a coaxial cable between their computers.

As time passed, it developed at an increasingly rapid pace. It is not surprising that developers in full height Both of these problems arose. To put it simply, they were faced with the need to provide players with a stable and reliable service for online battles, as well as protect their creations from illegal copying.

One of the most successful developments was the Steam service from Valve. By the way, what is Steam? Why is it even needed?

Brief historical background

Steam was created relatively recently, only in 2002. However, then it was known under the name Grid or Gazelle. Its revolutionary nature was that fans of Valve's creations could buy a digital version of the game without bothering with shopping trips.

At that time, the active development of Half-Life-2 was underway, so the company wanted to receive funds from royalties from the creators. This idea was a 100 percent success.

The first version of Steam was sent for testing right before the release of CS 1.4. At that time, the service allowed the following:

  • a person could independently search for the servers he was interested in;
  • Of course, registered games could be used;
  • buy (!) a digital copy of the program (we note once again that at that time this was a real breakthrough);
  • “cut yourself” into a simple chess or checkers client.

Further development of the service

A major event in the industry was Half-Life release 2. Counter-Strike: Source, released at the same time, caused no less excitement. But buyers of games on physical media (that is, on disk) faced a lot of inconveniences:

  • Internet was required to activate the product;
  • the game had to not only be installed, but also updated via the same Internet;
  • the size of updates and patches was considerable even by modern standards;
  • activation often failed;
  • in a word, everything was not entirely good.

The author of this article once bought the famous Orange Box. Hoping to play his favorite Half-Life 2, he inserted the disc into the drive... and spent the next two days agonizingly waiting for all the add-ons and updates to be downloaded via a stunted GPRS channel.

Main innovations of subsequent years

The main innovation was a seriously redesigned and improved store. All older servers have been permanently disabled.

Valve then began to attract third-party developers and offered them to sell games through their service. The release of the first part of HL2 was marked by the appearance of regional protection. The release of Orange Box pleased all fans with the Steam Community service, which soon turned into a real social network for gamers.

When the famous Left 4 Dead appeared, the service developed matchmaking (searching for suitable opponents in online games). However, a much more important innovation was the Steam Cloud, which finally made it possible to fully synchronize settings between user accounts. Since then, the need for physical media for games (that is, purchasing a disc) has almost completely disappeared.

Around the same time, iMac users learned about Steam. Today this platform has considerable weight in the community. Finally, last year a truly epoch-making event took place: Steam was released for Linux systems, and Steam OS was announced.

Where can I get it from?

So we found out what Steam is. It's time to turn to its direct use. There are two installation methods: if you purchased a game (on physical media) that can be linked to your Steam account, the operation will be performed automatically.

If you plan to purchase programs from the Valve brand store, then visit their official website and download the client installation package. The program “weighs” several tens of megabytes, which is simply ridiculous in today’s times.

Pay attention! We have already talked about the large size of patches and updates that will be downloaded after installation. If you don’t have a more or less sane Internet (minimum 1 Mb/sec), then you shouldn’t contact Steam at all. You will waste a lot of time and nerves.

By the way, what is a Steam key? This is a game permit that supports activation and assistance through this service. This possibility will be indicated on the disc packaging or on the manufacturer’s website.

How to install it?

Everything is simple here. Right-click on the installation file and select “Run as administrator.” An installation dialog box will open.

Very important! Under no circumstances install Steam on the C drive, as all your games will be installed there. Considering that the same Left 4 Dead 2 or Force Unleashed“weighs” more than 10 GB, your system disk will soon be filled to capacity.

Following the prompts of the “installation wizard”, thoughtfully click on the “Next” buttons. After it finishes working, the client will automatically launch, update, and then you can start buying games. However, you won’t always need to purchase it: Valve constantly has great sales and even gives away some programs as gifts. In a word, just have time!

By the way, about sales. The fact is that for the purchase you will need not only a credit card, the data of which can be linked to Steam. What is needed to confirm your order? This is your own home address to which bills or written notices can be sent. As a rule, filling out this field can be neglected. In this case, the company is relieved of some obligations.

Some problems

Let us immediately note that the author of the article personally, for the entire time he worked with the official Steam client no problems (except in cases with bad internet) didn't notice. However, if you download “broken” versions of No Steam Edition games, you will definitely see them. In particular, you will immediately learn about what a Steam dll is.

The fact is that when you try to launch a “broken” game, a window with a message about its absence often pops up. How to fix the situation? The easiest way is to simply buy licensed content. If for some reason you don’t have this option, you can try to launch the game not through its shortcut on the “Desktop”, but by double-clicking on the .exe file, which you will find along the path D: (or other drive)\ Steam\bin.

Viruses

It must be admitted that sometimes even owners of completely legal content that was purchased with their own money encounter problems when launching. So, you may well see a message about the same missing DLL in the case when a normal file was modified by some kind of virus.

In a word, if the problems started out of nowhere, immediately install a normal anti-virus package.

Developer Features

Do you know what the Steam api is? This is a unique service that allows players to try themselves in the field of creating entertainment. Speaking in Russian, this is a special tool that makes it possible to obtain data both about the game and modify its code.

Thus, the Steam Web Api mechanism is used in those games that have a corresponding icon in the store. This means that you can not only participate in online battles, but also produce your own content. Of course, in most cases this is limited to just drawing the famous hats in Team Fortress, but sometimes users create fashions that are incredible in functionality and beauty.

The creator of Minerva MOD for Half-Life 2 became especially famous for this. It was so good that it was almost immediately added to the official store, and its developer was invited to work for Valve. In short, thanks to this tool, the corporation finds its new promising employees, and gives ordinary users a unique chance for self-expression.

Identifier

By the way, is the presence of which sometimes required to connect to some internal servers? This is your unique network name, assigned depending on the characteristics of the computer’s hardware. Simply put, if you log into your account from a computer and then from a laptop, in both cases you will be assigned a separate ID.

What is a Steam id? This is the second name of the same identifier that we talked about just above.

To find it out, in the game (which supports this feature), press the ESC key, and then enter the Status command into the console that appears. A long list of recipients will open. Among them, find the one that starts with your game nickname. Next to it there will be an index like “STEAM_1:0:12345678”. This is the same identifier.

That's what Steam is and why you need it!

Steam is a service that is designed to distribute digital computer games and other programs that belong to quite famous company, which develops games - Valve. Steam is an activation service, and also performs the functions of downloading via the Internet, automatic updates and game news both from the direct company and from other developers who have signed agreements with the founders of Steam. For example: Epik Games, 2K Games, Rockstar Games, Sega and many others.

In short, with the help of this service you can purchase and install exclusively licensed and high-quality computer games via the Internet, regularly receive bonuses when placing pre-orders, receive the latest news from the world of your favorite computer games, and also receive updates without your participation, in automatic mode, find friends with whom you have a lot in common.

Steam program and its benefits

  • Open just one program and a world of interactive entertainment opens before you. One database that stores games. Having your account and being a client in this service, you will again and again be able to install, download and delete the entertainment you have purchased;
  • The owner of Steam no longer has to worry about the performance of purchased interactive products, look for and install patches, and fulfill the requirements of the developers for the correct display of the game. This service independently, without your participation, downloads and installs updates on your computer, and problems that arise after the update are eliminated by experienced programmers using special patches;
  • Another, no less important advantage of the service is that the entire game process is saved in a special Steam Cloud storage. You don’t have to worry, the entire path traveled in the game, as well as achievements, will be saved;
  • On the Steam service, you can often purchase a high-quality game at a significant discount, usually 15-75% cheaper;
  • Making game purchases on Steam is very easy. To do this, just use one of the existing seven methods: WebMoney, Visa, American Express, ClickandBay, Master Card, Qiwi wallet and Yandex money.

Steam: how to use?

  • Registration in the service

There is nothing scary or surprising in this section. Like other services where purchases are made, they require personal identification. By filling out a simple questionnaire, you create your own personal page on which you will be identified and with its help you will pay for purchased products.

To register in the Steam program, you should go to the official website of the service and click on the “Create Account” button. Next, in the window that opens, you will need to answer questions (address email, full name). If for some reason you do not want to answer these questions, then you will not be able to register for the service.

That’s all, registration of your account on the service is successfully completed!

The next point should not cause you any difficulties either. Immediately after activating your personal profile, you should download and install the application on your personal computer; for this you need, without leaving the official service, Find the button in the top header of the site - “Install Steam” and click on it.

After you click on this button, you will automatically go to another page to download the program; in a new window, click on a similar button again - “Instal Steam New”.

Immediately after the program has loaded, you need to click on the file called “SteamInstall. msi" and install the program. To launch the application, you will need to click several times on the Steam icon that appears on your desktop.

In the program window that appears, the owner needs to enter his registration data for the profile that was created at the very beginning. After entering the information, check that it is correct and click the “Login” button, then you will need to read the user agreement Steam program, after reading the text, you must click on the “I Agree” button.

Having completed all the above steps correctly, you will see the program interface. It is worth noting that your profile information can be changed after registration. If there are problems in correct operation program, you should update the program Steam Client Bootstrapper. The update can be found on the official website of the service. For this I'll have to use it detailed instructions which are given in the program. You can remove the application from your PC at any time and then install it, for example, on another computer. Information on how to remove a program from your computer can be found on the Internet.

Good luck using the program!

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