Zenman12: .........

Luisfius: And it somehow runs and looks better than Oblivion. And is more stable. Damn.

Rodzaju: The only problem I have ever had is Steam adding a game to my Library that I hadn't paid for.

Zenman12: Basically what have been your experience? Is it worth it? Addressing specific concerns from above would also be useful.

Thanks for taking your time to reply.

DodoGeo: You have Private messaging disabled so I can't send you a reply considering your question.

dksone: Well, about offline mode, I've already stayed offline for about a year without steam calling home (due to me lacking an Internet connexion)
But the offline mode sometimes doesn't work when you simply have a temporary downtime. It want you to get online to be able to go offline.

And about updates adding more bugs, it doesn't happen too often, as the goal of update is usually to correct the existing bugs, not to add more.
dksone: And it has autoheal. Fuck.

Beside, define your vision of stable :|
dksone: You mean like the free weekend games? They're added in everyone library, for the duration of the sale.dksone: Is it worth it? In my opinion, only if you get the game cheap enough.

They are some free games on steam, beside the free to play, here's a list:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=851573
You could try some, and see if Steam downsides are ok for you or not.

dksone: Well, about offline mode, I've already stayed offline for about a year without steam calling home (due to me lacking an Internet connexion)
But the offline mode sometimes doesn't work when you simply have a temporary downtime. It want you to get online to be able to go offline.

And about updates adding more bugs, it doesn't happen too often, as the goal of update is usually to correct the existing bugs, not to add more.
dksone: And it has autoheal. Fuck.

Beside, define your vision of stable :|
dksone: You mean like the free weekend games? They're added in everyone library, for the duration of the sale.dksone: Is it worth it? In my opinion, only if you get the game cheap enough.

They are some free games on steam, beside the free to play, here's a list:
http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=851573
You could try some, and see if Steam downsides are ok for you or not.

dirtyharry50: I've had nothing but positive experience with Steam and I have been using it since its inception. I don't recall having issues with it when it was new either. If I did, they could not have been anything all that bad that didn't get corrected within a reasonable amount of time or I'm sure I would recall it.

The only catch I can really see with Steam for some people is the need in general for an always on Internet connection. Yes, there is an offline mode but it is problematic in that you must be online to go offline. Once that is accomplished you are good to go offline but the requirement that you be connected to do it is unfortunate. Why? Because if my ISP fails me and my service goes down for a while, I cannot tell Steam to let me play my games. I have to be online to go offline! So there is the one thing I would criticize about Steam. Otherwise, I have always been very pleased with it.

I like the Steam store, the support for Indie titles which sometimes are quite good, the time tracking when I play games is fun for me and the convenience of having one launcher for many of my games is something else I like. I also like very much that it patches my games for me automatically so i don't have to bother checking for updates, downloading and installing them. Steam just takes care of it. For me personally, I have never not wanted the latest updates so I don't care that it does it automatically but as has been stated elsewhere, you can turn updating off if you like which maybe you'd want to do if you install some major mod to a game or something. The important fan patch for Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines comes to mind here. There's a time I will turn it off when I get around to playing that one.

I consider GoG and Steam complimentary to one another for my gaming needs. Between them I can find anything I want to play for great prices. In a perfect world, Steam would not be a DRM but it is at least a painless one for me so I don't really mind it.

I have not seen the Steam client crash in years. I am not sure I have ever seen it crash but if it did, it was a long time ago.

Steam can be overwhelmed when they have a huge number of people coming to the servers during sale times at Christmas and in the Summer. This hasn't happened to affect me but I know it can sometimes cause issues with being able to access your games. These are temporary however and rare. This is why I haven't ever been affected by them personally I'm sure.

I wouldn't hesitate to enjoy Skyrim with Steam. Don't sweat the small stuff as they say. It is not some evil malware out to ruin your life. Basically, they want to run a successful business and keep you happy and I think they endeavor to do so. That's been my impression as a long time user.

For those rare times I might run into Steam not being available due to some outage or whatnot, I have plenty of GoG games to play so I'm fine. This is one reason why I feel using GoG and Steam is complimentary. With GoG games I don't have to worry about whether I am online or not, etc. It will be nice when GoG starts releasing newer titles DRM free though, won't it? ;-)

Zenman12: What do you mean by temporary having downtime?

dksone: I live in the middle of nowhere, so I'm force to use a semi-public company to get Internet, and having a good installation for low populate area isn't a priority for them. So, my Internet connexion stop working from time to time, and when it happens, if I'm not already in offline mode, I may not being able to swith it, 'till my ISP fixe the line. dksone: You don't have to store your credit card information on steam, you can choose to input your info everytime you do a purchase. dksone: Offline mode work when you chose to activate it through the menu while being online. And once you're offline, it apparently won't try to go online again, if you don't try to install a new game. dksone: The game is still bugged, yes, it's a Bethesda game after all, though they are for once apparently trying to fix them. Plus, the community will probably fix whatever they don't. Meanwhile, the game is playable. dksone: Mainly, you can't install those you haven't already while it happens. And it doesn't happen that often, except at 7 PST on the beginning of xmas and summer sales.

dksone: You mean like the free weekend games? They're added in everyone library, for the duration of the sale.