Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Why I really really dislike Windows & Steam
- Thread starter Huntn
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Update on my MBP: See this thread. I'm back in action. It may not be a Snow Leopard issue, but I need to give it another week or two before I feel comfortable saying that. 
Steam mostly aggravates me when I start playing a new game mostly because it goes online and checks in with the mother ship. I have the original Half Life CD but it won't run XP for some reason and it will run on Steam. Ok I guess that is good. What makes this a pain is that HL more or less takes over your desktop, firewall alerts do not jump to the front and if you have to force it back to the desktop, due to a firewall alert, the resolution stays at whatever the game is and everything gets very wonky, giant windows can't be closed, and you can't get where you need to go. If I was running this outside of Steam I would not be dealing with this. Of course outside of Steam it would not be running. After 5 computer restarts I ended up turning off my firewall.
You have my generation MBP and your thinking about installing Snow Leopard? Caution.
You guys may hoot, but I've found a dubious reason to like Windows, besides giving me the ability to play most AAA games these days, and still have a working computer and am now posting this message by way of Vista on my MBP.
I installed Snow Leopard 2 days ago and installed updates on my MBP (see signature). Everything went well or so I thought. I booted into 10.6 several times, no problem. This morning when I started up my MBP, the little icon spun and spun, and finally my gray apple was replaced by a circle with a diagonal slash through it. I waited about 5 min, then restarted it into Windows which launched no problem. I came to MacRumors and snooped around and found this thread Snow Leopard Grey Screen. Sigh... It implies some MBPs have a fautly intel chip in them that requires a motherboard swap with 10.6. I've arranged to talk to an Apple Expert tomorrow night. Fingers crossed it's not a motherboard swap, but I tend to be a pessimist about such things.
Steam mostly aggravates me when I start playing a new game mostly because it goes online and checks in with the mother ship. I have the original Half Life CD but it won't run XP for some reason and it will run on Steam. Ok I guess that is good. What makes this a pain is that HL more or less takes over your desktop, firewall alerts do not jump to the front and if you have to force it back to the desktop, due to a firewall alert, the resolution stays at whatever the game is and everything gets very wonky, giant windows can't be closed, and you can't get where you need to go. If I was running this outside of Steam I would not be dealing with this. Of course outside of Steam it would not be running. After 5 computer restarts I ended up turning off my firewall.
I'm confused. So you don't like gaming on Windows because when if you switch out of the game it keeps the resolution the same? This problem is down to your hardware, not Windows or Steam (which is just a DD channel, it has nothing to do with resolution changes - the only hardware interaction it has is with the microphone). I run L4D in a resolution lower than native. If I alt+tab out of the game, or any game, desktop resolution is restored instantly. If its firewall popups getting in the way then add an exclusion for Half Life.Steam mostly aggravates me when I start playing a new game mostly because it goes online and checks in with the mother ship. I have the original Half Life CD but it won't run XP for some reason and it will run on Steam. Ok I guess that is good. What makes this a pain is that HL more or less takes over your desktop, firewall alerts do not jump to the front and if you have to force it back to the desktop, due to a firewall alert, the resolution stays at whatever the game is and everything gets very wonky, giant windows can't be closed, and you can't get where you need to go. If I was running this outside of Steam I would not be dealing with this. Of course outside of Steam it would not be running. After 5 computer restarts I ended up turning off my firewall.
(FWIW I'm running an x1600 iMac on Windows XP)
It might be a good idea to write a proper reply rather than one word. That's against the forum rules too.
You are confused.
I don't like gaming on Steam, not Windows. When running a game that sits on my hard drive outside of Steam I never (hardly ever) have firewall issues. With Steam and new games, I have lots of firewall issues. And it's specifically because of Steam and onerous oversight. Plus I like being able to sell my old games. No can do with Steam.
Huntn,
Are you running the Window's Firewall, or a 3rd party one? I recall that when I was using a free 3rd party firewall under XP a few years back, that I had to constantly mess with it to keep it happy.
Most games automatically update the Exceptions under XP's firwall now days, so besides Warcraft 3, I have not needed to manually set any of the games I've installed this newer PC. Steam automatically set the exceptions it needed, as did all of the games I've bought from it and installed, like RE5 and now Tomb Raider -- bought it for $7.49. It's only the really old games that require I manually add them to the list.
Are you running the Window's Firewall, or a 3rd party one? I recall that when I was using a free 3rd party firewall under XP a few years back, that I had to constantly mess with it to keep it happy.
Most games automatically update the Exceptions under XP's firwall now days, so besides Warcraft 3, I have not needed to manually set any of the games I've installed this newer PC. Steam automatically set the exceptions it needed, as did all of the games I've bought from it and installed, like RE5 and now Tomb Raider -- bought it for $7.49.
It's only the really old games that require I manually add them to the list.
Huntn,
Are you running the Window's Firewall, or a 3rd party one? I recall that when I was using a free 3rd party firewall under XP a few years back, that I had to constantly mess with it to keep it happy.
Most games automatically update the Exceptions under XP's firwall now days, so besides Warcraft 3, I have not needed to manually set any of the games I've installed this newer PC. Steam automatically set the exceptions it needed, as did all of the games I've bought from it and installed, like RE5 and now Tomb Raider -- bought it for $7.49.
I'm currently using Net Defense which comes with System Suite and occasionally I use Zone Alarm (free version). I say occasionally because I keep changing my mind about having one or two firewalls going. I actually read somewhere that offers better protection.
However, I've always wondered if you are behind a router, do you really need a firewall?
Back to what you said, under the Windows firewall, I assume you have to give permission the first time you launch the game? My PC on which I'm having the Steam issues, is running XP. If you think the Windows firewall is better than 3rd party solutions, I'd be willing to give it a try. Is Windows firewall supposed to be robust? If so I might even try it on my MBP running Vista. Thanks!
I would love to see steam on OSX as much as anyone, and it seems possible with the recent jump in mac games. (thanks to intel)
But Valve is too lazy to program for even the PS3, let alone the Mac. It will take not only a large market share, but an SDK easier than Little Big Planet for valve to port steam to mac.
But Valve is too lazy to program for even the PS3, let alone the Mac. It will take not only a large market share, but an SDK easier than Little Big Planet for valve to port steam to mac.
I can't believe some people still think like this. Game developers aren't lazy if they choose not to support something. They go off publisher deals that may prohibit development of a certain platform, estimated sales and if its worth the money, the performance differences, etc. Everyone who has an intel Mac has the opportunity to install Bootcamp, Windows and Steam.
There are 34 million Xbox 360s out there, against 27 million PS3s. There are 58 million Wii's, but due to circumstances that you don't know you decide to put it down to "laziness". The same people who are constantly updating Team Fortress 2 and releasing new, free content. The same people who released a huge sequel to a brilliant game just 1 year after its launch. (and okay the same people who have also been working on Episode 3 for a few decades
)I can't believe some people still think like this. Game developers aren't lazy if they choose not to support something. They go off publisher deals that may prohibit development of a certain platform, estimated sales and if its worth the money, the performance differences, etc. Everyone who has an intel Mac has the opportunity to install Bootcamp, Windows and Steam.
There are 34 million Xbox 360s out there, against 27 million PS3s. There are 58 million Wii's, but due to circumstances that you don't know you decide to put it down to "laziness". The same people who are constantly updating Team Fortress 2 and releasing new, free content. The same people who released a huge sequel to a brilliant game just 1 year after its launch. (and okay the same people who have also been working on Episode 3 for a few decades
Sales of the console hardware have little to do with this. Sure, there are 58 million Wiis, but developers choose not to program for it because the majority of Wii owners aren't even aware that you can buy new games for it.
Anyway, Valve is clearly a lazy company, they outsources the porting of Orange Box (PS3) to EA, and Half Life (PS2) to Sierra. That's not being strategic, that's being lazy.
Lazy? Or maybe that's just a lot of work that you've oversimplified. They outsourced to get the games out while they were still relevant.
I like Steam. I agree if you don't have an internet connection then Steam becomes useless, but other than that I've never had an issue.
I guess one can never be to safe, so that's why I have a software firewall running along with my router.
As for weather XP's security is better than the 3rd party firewalls, I honestly don't know. I haven't had any issues under XP64 so far, so I guess things are good. But as it doesn't harass me like the free one I used under XP32 and is included on all XP PCs, I know that the developer will at least test for it, so that's why I use it now days. Anyways, It just makes things simpler for me. :]
As for permissions, I didn't as me for Tomb Raider, but I think I allowed it for RE5. I still need to download and reinstall SFIV, so I'll see if it asks my permission.
Would you say you have a better computing experience running 64 bit over 32 bit? If so how? Thanks!
Do you know how much work in the gaming industry is outsourced? A clue; the only game I've played in god knows how many years that was 100% developed inside 1 studio with no publisher demands is New Mario Wii.
And of course Wii owners know you can buy new games for it. Have you not seen the weekly NDP or similar sales charts? New Mario (released last month) is in 2nd, Wii Sports (1st) can be discounted because its bundled with the Wii console in every region except Japan.
So come on now. Don't spread FUD if you don't know how it works.
That was two words.
Would you say you have a better computing experience running 64 bit over 32 bit? If so how? Thanks!
I've had a better experience with 64bit Windows, ever since drivers caught up. You got the ability to use more ram, plus it always seems to run a little snappier for whatever reason (though the in-game performance differences are minimal save for anything cause by the additional ram). XP64 is the exception, driver support never really got at far as is has on Vista or 7.
I'm thinking about 64bit Vista, but I'll probably end up just running on the current 32bit install. Thanks!
Not to run this thread off a cliff, but outsourcing is evil. It lowers employees wages while raising top executives salaries. It is going (or has all ready) sunk the middle class of countries where outsourcing is rampant... end statement.
My brother runs Vista 64 and has been happy with it, as did my friend prior to jumping to Win 7 64.
If you have the extra ram, go for Vista 64. I didn't jump to XP64 until last year, so it's been great, but I really only use it for games, 3D, and the web when my MacBook Pro is its bag.
I've got 4GB RAM. I wonder if I could do an upgrade install and not have to shuffle stuff around? In other words keep my current games intact?
I don't think you can go from a 32-bit install to a 64-bit install via upgrade. You can back up your Steam folder though, it should recognize all the game data after the fresh install.
Oh, not good for a decision to upgrade to 64 bit Vista. I wonder if you can do an upgrade to a 64bit W7 (from 32bit Vista) without having to start from scratch? If I could find Win7 for $50, I'd consider it.