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Evil Avatar
03-12-2006, 10:44 PM
The most recent Valve Steam News Update (http://steampowered.com/Steam/Marketing/March10.2006/?l=english) has word that their Friends system will soon (ie, Finally) be working.

The Friends system is also nearing the end of its beta phase, and will soon be available to everyone running Steam. Friends allows you to see when your friends are playing games, and lets users chat with each other both inside and outside of many Steam games. There are also a number of additional features we'll be adding to it over time. Early next week, we'll be updating Steam with a convenient way to join the Friends beta.

We're also planning on going back to some of the older Counter-Strike: Source maps and giving them an HDR pass. Soon you'll get to play maps like de_dust with full High Dynamic Range lighting.
Dirty Harry
03-12-2006, 10:49 PM
Finally, one of the mythical steam features has been discovered.

There was a tottally awesome picture of something mythical but Evilavatar has rules that one needs to break to learn.
thecrazyd
03-12-2006, 11:00 PM
People start complaining in 5... 4... 3... 2... annnnnd, go!
Sl1pstream
03-12-2006, 11:35 PM
People start complaining in 5... 4... 3... 2... annnnnd, go!

I don't like the spacing between the contacts ;p
Opty
03-12-2006, 11:44 PM
I don't like the ease of which I can join a game a friend is playing in.

But seriously: I don't like how hard it is to know someone's messaged you wile you're gaming. I wish a little icon popped in somewhere to let you know you have x messages pending. Also Valve needs to update the SDK faster than it did (has it yet, even?) with the HDR lighting stuff so mod makers can add friends support to their games.
Suicidal ShiZuru
03-12-2006, 11:52 PM
Its called Xfire, get it.
ruprect
03-12-2006, 11:57 PM
While that sounds cool, I'm cautious of any update of Steam. I love Steam . . . when it works. There still isn't any other application I've ever encountered that can lockup a computer better than Steam can.
Every update is like Russian Roulette.
net7runner
03-12-2006, 11:57 PM
Actually...Xfire does have surprisingly good support for in-game chatting...
Suicidal ShiZuru
03-13-2006, 12:01 AM
While that sounds cool, I'm cautious of any update of Steam. I love Steam . . . when it works. There still isn't any other application I've ever encountered that can lockup a computer better than Steam can.
Every update is like Russian Roulette.

Ive never had any major lockups or crashes of Steam itself from normal use or during/after an update. Ever. Not including the Orignal whore version.
thecrazyd
03-13-2006, 12:11 AM
When it first came out, Steam gave me performance problems when I let it run in the background. That is the only problem I have ever had with it. I would be happy if I could buy all my games through Steam. Nothing beats the convenience of being able to install a game without disks on any computer, anywhere.

Oh, and if you are experiencing random lockups when using Steam, it is probably something else causing it.
Borys
03-13-2006, 12:11 AM
In before the STEAM haters.
Suicidal ShiZuru
03-13-2006, 12:22 AM
In before the STEAM hating retarded crack babies.

Fixed.
_________
fahrvergnugen
03-13-2006, 12:53 AM
Awesome. I think Steam's the best thing since sliced bread. A working in-game IM system can only make it better. I hope they make it cross-compatible with the big 4 existing instant messaging systems.

Since I have to complain, is there anyone else who thinks full HDR might just totally ruin de_dust? It'll pass control of the map over to whoever controls the inside of the central area, and it'll totally change the dynamic of the underpass. Stand in the sun outside the doorways and you'll be sillhouetted like daylight, but the people standing in the center will be invisible from the outside.

Plus not everyone has HDR, so players without it should get a nice advantage over players running with all the eye candy. I'm not super-keen on this.
Evil Avatar
03-13-2006, 01:13 AM
Finally, one of the mythical steam features has been discovered.

There was a tottally awesome picture of something mythical but Evilavatar has rules that one needs to break to learn.

Your image broke the forums. It was wider than even the 1280 I have my desktop set to.
Suicidal ShiZuru
03-13-2006, 01:33 AM
I really dislike the HDR. Not only does it blind me at times I think it looks horrible.
Morratut
03-13-2006, 01:35 AM
Mmmm glad they have finally done this.

I would've been even more impressed if they had done this a while back. Instead they concentrated on putting HDR lighting on everything.

:rolleyes:
MasterEvilAce
03-13-2006, 02:13 AM
I really dislike the HDR. Not only does it blind me at times I think it looks horrible.
Same.. especially racing games it's unrealistically BRIGHT! Can't see SHIT! I'm sure if I were actually racing in light like that, I'd have SUNGLASSES.

Someone said once that it could be awhile until people figure out how to correctly implement HDR and tweak it so it's there, but to where you don't notice it. More of an enhancement than a "LOOK AT THIS EFFECT LOL"

But um, yeah people with all the eye-candy turned OFF actually have abetter chance at domination in multiplayer. Quake 3 for instance.. people tweak the hell out of it and disable all the enhancements.. so there are practically no wall textures or anything. The game constantly pegs the frame limiter, so no slow down.. and people stick out like a swore thumb. Makes the game look like shit (and personally, make me not want to play it), but it is an advantage.

All the effects on in a game like the source engine will actually make it harder to see what it is you're looking for.. since you have the light blinding you, reflections and all that shit, it can make it particularly harder to spot what you need
Zeal
03-13-2006, 02:18 AM
I find the title of this thread extremely amusing.

I picture Mr. Rogers saying it. Dunno.

http://kidskornerfamilydaycare.com/mr-rogers.jpg
"STEAM GITS FRINDZZZZ"
bapenguin
03-13-2006, 04:16 AM
I really dislike the HDR. Not only does it blind me at times I think it looks horrible.

I've had this happen in GRAW lately. I'm trying to pick out who the hell is shooting me, unfortuantely I'm looking straight into the sun and can't see shit. It's damn realistic, but god damn it, where are my sun glasses?!?!?
Draft
03-13-2006, 04:25 AM
lols. way 2 go valve, hahaha.
Reanimated
03-13-2006, 04:58 AM
AIM says hi.
Heretic Machine
03-13-2006, 04:59 AM
You know, I don't hate Steam (I don't like it either, it's just a launcher for Half-life 2)... but it's pretty silly for a friends list to of taken this long.
Lord Dongkey
03-13-2006, 05:37 AM
Maybe the people at Valve don't have friends so it took them this long to figure out what they were...?


(P.S. - they make damned good games. I am not in the retarded crack baby Valve-hating club, similar to the retarded crack baby Steam-hating club)
Worldcrafter
03-13-2006, 07:10 AM
I really dislike the HDR. Not only does it blind me at times...

That's sort of the effect they're going for with HDR. It's an interesting little bit of realism that I don't mind, but I could see how it would annoy someone looking for a competative edge.

...I think it looks horrible.

I would agree Valve's HDR isn't as natural as it should be. The effect kind of feels like it's being too obvious, so you always know it's there. It's used very well in cs_militia however. I think the best implementation I've seen was in the 360 version of NFS:MW. I didn't notice it had HDR until I blew through a tunnel and was slightly blinded. I bought GRAW, but haven't played it yet, so I'm excited to see the HDR in that game (as well as the other graphics and the rest of the game).
DoubleUranium
03-13-2006, 07:14 AM
I wish they could implement this on top of an exisiting IM protocol rather than yet another buddy lists and message system. I understand it's a lot harder and perhaps even commercially impossible given that they probably can't legally use the AIM/etc IM systems, but hey, I can dream. One IM system to unite them all!
Citizen Philip
03-13-2006, 07:58 AM
I like Steam. I don't have any friends. I guess a friend's list is good.

If you have friends.
Varsity
03-13-2006, 08:33 AM
But seriously: I don't like how hard it is to know someone's messaged you wile you're gaming.It's a bug. The normal desktop sound will play when it's fixed.

Also Valve needs to update the SDK faster than it did (has it yet, even?) with the HDR lighting stuff so mod makers can add friends support to their games.
It's already there...
ruprect
03-13-2006, 08:50 AM
Oh, and if you are experiencing random lockups when using Steam, it is probably something else causing it.

It probably is something that Steam doesn't like on my system, but after upgrading the BIOS, the drivers, firmware versions on all the hardware that would allow it, changing from wireless to a physical network connection, killing "extra" resident programs, it can still freeze up.
F.E.A.R, Far Cry, WoW, Doom 3, Civ 4, Silent Hunter 3, Halo, and AoE 3 have had practically 0 problems. The rare occasion where one of them has crashed they haven't frozen the total system and can be started right back up without rebooting.

Reinstalling Steam fixes things for awhile, but it always seems to grind back down to a bad state.

Again, Steam is great to a point, but its overly touchy and when it crashes it explodes.
Suicidal ShiZuru
03-13-2006, 10:50 AM
I would think the best solution for the Friends list is just somehow getting Xfire integrated into Steam with new specific in-game features.
Gigadafud
03-13-2006, 12:34 PM
Valve has been too busy counting all their money, hence they had no time to work on the Friends network part of Steam.
TheKeck
03-13-2006, 01:22 PM
Finally
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Varsity
03-13-2006, 01:46 PM
It probably is something that Steam doesn't like on my system, but after upgrading the BIOS, the drivers, firmware versions on all the hardware that would allow it, changing from wireless to a physical network connection, killing "extra" resident programs, it can still freeze up.
It can use 100% of the CPU in some situations, but I've never heard of it truly locking a system up in all of my time in the support forums. Are you sure that's not what's happening?
Furtive
03-13-2006, 02:42 PM
This really is just too little too late. Xfire has already claimed this spot so unless valve can add some extra spiffy stat tracking into it (and no i don't know what more stats i'd want) its just not going to be for me. I would be much happier if they would fix the in-game Favorite Servers issue.