sell on Steam?

[m0317624]

The "immature" part was regarding age and not behaviour. I just find a bit strange that someone is freely choosing actually less freedom (this is how i see Steam). No harm or disrespect intended to anyone. 

 

No offence taken if that was your intent, and no offence meant either. But there have been certain commenters in this thread who tried using both the "age" and the "behaviour" interpretation of immature to simply dismiss posts made by the Steam supporters here.

 

And I don't see Steam as less freedom, at least not in the case of Battlefront. If these games were on Steam, we would no longer be limited to a handful of DRM activations without having to beg BF support for more. We would not have to go through complicated installation and licensing procedures to update our games, it would happen automatically. We would not have to search patches on third-party websites. We would have unlimited downloads of the latest game version at far faster speeds than BF provides and would continue having so even if BF went out of business, while in the current case all CMx2 titles become uninstallable without BF's activation servers. That in my opinion is a lot more freedom than we have today.

[average]

Long time lurker here. I think the comments at RPS are entirely on the money about the problems with BFC. 

 

I love BFC games, but I want a more convenient and streamlined way of buying, installing and keeping them up to date. BFC is essentially asking its customers to pay more for less over time (for instance by way of paid "feature" patches, modules), while not delivering more in terms of the quality of the SP content or the customer service experience. 

 

So I haven't purchased any additional content for CMFI. I haven't purchased CMRT. I am probably going to purchase CMBS, but I don't really want to pay for the patches, the modules and the rest that will mean over 2 years spending about $120 on something I have very limited time to play. I have found that many of my attempts to play the game have been limited by the time it takes to install various modules, patches and deal with activation problems. And assuming I do play it then having to try and sort the good content out from the bad content. 

 

My sense is that many former BFC customers would feel exactly the same way. I think many of Steve's early experiences as outlined in that Polygon feature shouldn't rule out moving to a better distribution platform. Rise of Flight, Matrix, Eagle Dynamics etc are all on Steam and probably selling more than ever. Maybe its time to move on from 2002 on the retail front. 

[sburke]

Trust someone like Valve who makes their business handling these kinds of transactions over the BFC store page which is the internet equivalent of a burnt out gas station?

~~~~Hyperbole. I have bought on both, the difference between the two is not all that significant.

Convenience? I have too many bloody accounts on the internet as it is, just counting games, not personal or professional. I don't want any more.

~~~~~Really? I have multiple on line bank accounts, online social security, medical care , email accounts, storage, photo sharing etc etc. nah this one is just silly. Especially when I think it was you who told me you wouldn't bother being on steam forum, but would instead be directly on vendor forum. Sounds like there are significant discrepancies there.

Value doesn't necessarily mean price. Being able to reinstall the game without begging for another activation being one that jumps out at me immediately.

~~~~ I have reinstalled the game probably twice as often as all of the folks here requesting steam combined and have not had to ask for an activation yet. Twice I have completely rebuilt my system. This includes reinstalling CMSF which is a little more problematic.

Again hyperbole

Edited January 9, 2015 by sburke

[Jane's]

No offence taken if that was your intent, and no offence meant either. But there have been certain commenters in this thread who tried using both the "age" and the "behaviour" interpretation of immature to simply dismiss posts made by the Steam supporters here.

 

And I don't see Steam as less freedom, at least not in the case of Battlefront. If these games were on Steam, we would no longer be limited to a handful of DRM activations without having to beg BF support for more. We would not have to go through complicated installation and licensing procedures to update our games, it would happen automatically. We would not have to search patches on third-party websites. We would have unlimited downloads of the latest game version at far faster speeds than BF provides and would continue having so even if BF went out of business, while in the current case all CMx2 titles become uninstallable without BF's activation servers. That in my opinion is a lot more freedom than we have today.

 

I fully agree about the DRM. This has to be the dumbest idea. When you have such a small and faithfull community like BF has, you should do everything to keep them happy and treat them as adults. Existing DRM is everything but that. 

Remember that lot's of Steam games still uses their own DRM (some with activations limit like DCS). So i would expect that even if BF go with Steam they'd still keep theirs.

 

Also agree on the quality of BF services. The website, store and the whole installing, patching and upgrading dance is a pain in the but and a bit of a joke considering it's XXI century.

 

But i maintain mine opinion about Steam. Yes, it's very convenient but it comes with a high price. Not be able to sell or trade a game that i bought or a possibility of actually loosing it because of some corporate bs is to much for me. Like i said, i've been using it for years but not because i like it but because i have to if i want to play certain games. Whenever i can i buy games on GoG. That's my definition of freedom.

 

I'd be very happy if BF got rid of this atrocious DRM. That  would be enough for me. I know that lately they changed the way you install and upgrade CM's. Haven't tried that yet but i think every change is very welcome in this field.

 

And ofc no disrespect taken:)

Edited January 9, 2015 by Jane's

[Battlefront.com]

So I haven't purchased any additional content for CMFI. I haven't purchased CMRT. I am probably going to purchase CMBS, but I don't really want to pay for the patches, the modules and the rest that will mean over 2 years spending about $120 on something I have very limited time to play.

Note that this has 0% to do with if we are on Steam or not. You are in fundamental disagreement with what we develop and us trying to earn a living off of it. Being on Steam won't change what we make or how we seek compensation for delivering content. So it seems that if we switched to Steam tomorrow you would still not be a customer.

And as a point of clarification, we have never and will never charge for "patches". We release patches constantly and consistently without charge. We do charge for "upgrades", just like all other software companies.

I have found that many of my attempts to play the game have been limited by the time it takes to install various modules, patches and deal with activation problems. And assuming I do play it then having to try and sort the good content out from the bad content.

I call "poppycock" on this. For sure auto updates are a great connivence and something that I do hope we can integrate (without Steam) in the near future. But to make a case that a game designed to provide hundreds of hours of gameplay is somehow equalled by hundreds of hours of reactivations and patch installs is... well... it's not a credible claim.

 

My sense is that many former BFC customers would feel exactly the same way.

There's no absolutes so I am sure you are correct. We certainly lost lots of CMx1 players when we made CMx2, and probably have only got back a portion of them since we returned to WW2. That's a problem for those people, but it isn't for us because overall our sales improved after going to CMx2. I am sure we would make some people happy if we went to Steam, just like we would have made some people happy to keep making CMx1 games. But we would have gone out of business if we kept making CMx1 games, therefore we're more interested in doing what we feel is right for our business and not a subset of our customer base.

I think many of Steve's early experiences as outlined in that Polygon feature shouldn't rule out moving to a better distribution platform.

We haven't ruled out a better distribution platform. We just haven't seen one yet that is better for us. And if something doesn't work for us, guess who else it ultimately doesn't work for? Yup, the customer.

Steve

[Doug Williams]

No offence taken if that was your intent, and no offence meant either. But there have been certain commenters in this thread who tried using both the "age" and the "behaviour" interpretation of immature to simply dismiss posts made by the Steam supporters here.

 

And I don't see Steam as less freedom, at least not in the case of Battlefront. If these games were on Steam, we would no longer be limited to a handful of DRM activations without having to beg BF support for more. We would not have to go through complicated installation and licensing procedures to update our games, it would happen automatically. We would not have to search patches on third-party websites. We would have unlimited downloads of the latest game version at far faster speeds than BF provides and would continue having so even if BF went out of business, while in the current case all CMx2 titles become uninstallable without BF's activation servers. That in my opinion is a lot more freedom than we have today.

 

The most recent changes that BFC has implemented regarding their installation procedures have eliminated most, if not all, of your complaints. BFC has, for some time now, allowed unlimited downloads of any game purchased from them. BFC has stated before, in these very forums, that should they ever "go out of business" they will make sure that all software purchased from them will be installable and playable. 

 

Like I said earlier, I'm not against Steam. I have purchased probably 20 games from Steam. It's just that, to me, whether or not a game is on Steam makes little difference to my purchasing decisions. All this "give me Steam or give me death" nonsense makes me just shake my head.

[Jargotn]

*Enters room, puts hat on a desk*

 

You guys still talking? I thought we moved on. Well, let's keep hitting that horse.

My sense is that many former BFC customers would feel exactly the same way. I think many of Steve's early experiences as outlined in that Polygon feature shouldn't rule out moving to a better distribution platform. Rise of Flight, Matrix, Eagle Dynamics etc are all on Steam and probably selling more than ever. Maybe its time to move on from 2002 on the retail front. 

Steam is the better distribution platform. No questions asked.

 

Buy with one klick? Yep.

Install with one click? Granted.

Patch with one klick? Included.

Play with one klick? Done and done.

 

But that's not the point. The point is that BF has to think as a business because it has to survive as a business. From a consumer perspective there is (almost) no reason not to put CM on Steam for the reasons stated above. Steve isn't a consumer, though. He is a business (Well, he is the guy who represents the business in this thread). As a business his primary concern is not to give you the best product he could possibly produce at all costs. His primary concern is to make a living. He has to produce something we want to buy AND he has to do that at a price <= his production costs. Steam does not change the equasion in a favourable way for him.

 

And in the end, if Steve fails to make the right choices we won't need to talk about how hard or easy it is to patch our games. Because there will be no games.

 

Also, I'm incedibly proud that we managed to switch from a rather agressive tone to a "No offense meant/ no offense taken" tone. You guys are great.

[Battlefront.com]

I fully agree about the DRM. This has to be the dumbest idea. When you have such a small and faithfull community like BF has, you should do everything to keep them happy and treat them as adults.

I have seen this attitude towards DRM a lot and it saddens me because it is so seriously flawed I don't even know where to start. I could start by asking you to apply your logic to air travel. How about we have no security screenings, no background checks, no baggage X-Ray machines and "treat everybody like adults". I know I would not so much as set foot into an airport that had such a policy. I would not live in a town/city that has no police force. I could drone on and on about how bad the logic is of statements like this, but I'll just stop there.

DRM protects you, the customer, from us going out of business. And yes, I am absolutely certain that if we did not have DRM we would have been out of business a long time ago. Positive of it, in fact. You can create your own niche within a niche game company and experiment with no DRM... but I sure as heck don't recommend you try.

That is not to say that some DRM is a fun thing for any of us. It isn't. I don't like using it, I don't like paying for it, I don't like having to support it. But I'd rather be doing that than spending my days asking people if they want fries with their burger or if they prefer paper or plastic. These are the kinds of issues I have to ponder, not just if putting in a license code one time is annoying.

 

 

Also agree on the quality of BF services. The website, store and the whole installing, patching and upgrading dance is a pain in the but and a bit of a joke considering it's XXI century.

We have limited development time and limited resources. We have consistently (since day one) invested the bulk of our time and resources into making the best possible games, not the best possible storefront experience. We think you guys would rather have a superior game and an average online shopping experience than the other way around. Or the best of both and $10 more per game? Or am I mistaken?

 

 

But i maintain mine opinion about Steam. Yes, it's very convinient but it comes with a high price. Not be able to sell or trade a game that i bought or a possibility of actually loosing it because of some corporate bs is to much for me. Like i said, i've been using it for years but not because i like it but because i have to if i want to play certain games. Whenever i can i buy games on GoG. That's my definition of freedom.

Some view this as heresy, but I'll let them say that

 

 

I'd be very happy if BF got rid of this atrocious DRM. That  would be enough for me.

On the grand scheme of things, our DRM is pretty good. We've looked into plenty of other options and we've not found one better. But if you have a fundamental problem with DRM, then obviously nothing is going to satisfy.

 

I know that lately they changed the way you install and upgrade CM's. Haven't tried that yet but i think every change is very welcome in this field.

The new "all in one" approach we rolled out with CMBN v3.11 is definitely better for everybody. We have expended considerable development effort to make the "all in one" installs a reality because we know that, at least or CMBN, things were getting too complicated for those who had to reinstall from scratch. Especially the ones who own everything dating back to v1.00.

We do listen to you guys and we do try to make life easier for everybody, including ourselves. The problems some of you guys in this thread have is that you want it to be only about yourselves, not realizing that is simply impossible. What harms Battlefront harms its customers.

Steve

[Baneman]

...

I love BFC games, but I want a more convenient and streamlined way of buying, installing and keeping them up to date. BFC is essentially asking its customers to pay more for less over time (for instance by way of paid "feature" patches, modules), while not delivering more in terms of the quality of the SP content or the customer service experience.

I respectfully disagree with this point - a lot of us who have played most of BFC's games feel we get a lot more for our cash due to the replayability of the game - one of the commenters on the article said he had 750 games on Steam.

I already struggle to find enough hours simply to play BFC's 3 CMx2 offerings + the 2 CMx1. That guy clearly isn't looking for replayability. I can't see him investing 10-20 man-hours in any of BFC's games' learning curves. We inhabit different worlds.

 

So I haven't purchased any additional content for CMFI. I haven't purchased CMRT. I am probably going to purchase CMBS, but I don't really want to pay for the patches, the modules and the rest that will mean over 2 years spending about $120 on something I have very limited time to play. I have found that many of my attempts to play the game have been limited by the time it takes to install various modules, patches and deal with activation problems. And assuming I do play it then having to try and sort the good content out from the bad content.

...

Again, I fail to see the difference to Steam. On Steam, many patches are free and Modules aka DLC is not.

The time to install modules, patches and activation problems is a once-off issue unless you move your stuff from hard drive to hard drive regularly. Bad content ? I don't quite know what that is. Is that scenarios you don't like or what ?

 

The number of Steam accounts is currently around 65 million, with a daily peak of nearly 8 million online at a single moment. The difference in exposure would be immense.

It has been said many times in this thread, but exposure is not the same as sales. Especially if many people who didn't like the game ( cf. learning curve ) give it bad reviews.

 

We would have unlimited downloads of the latest game version at far faster speeds than BF provides and would continue having so even if BF went out of business,

This one has been mentioned before, but I just don't see the relevance - What if Steam went out of business ? Exactly the same applies.

 

 

Edit: Dang, majorly ninja'd. Oh well.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Baneman

[von Luck]

Steve,

We spend allot of time postulating over whether or not steam can make you money. Wouldn't it just be better to cement this in fact. Try selling a game on steam... I can't imagine selling one, older platform, is going to break the bank and what if CM sold like hotcakes. I mean all of this speculating - the uncertainty could be capped in fact. You would know the terms for potential future dealings, you would greatly expand your advertising footprint, and you could finally put to rest whether or not 100M gamers want to play CM.

von Luck

[Doug Williams]

The point of the lobby system is to have everyone there who is looking for a game regardless if you know them or not beforehand.

 

But I don't really want to play a game of CM with "Some Random Person". That's fine for a game that takes about ten minutes to finish, but, for a game like CM that needs to be savored like a fine wine, I like to get to know my opponents a bit before I crush them like a bug, or (more likely), have them drop game when they start losing. 

Edited January 9, 2015 by Doug Williams

[BlackAlpha]

Steve,

We spend allot of time postulating over whether or not steam can make you money. Wouldn't it just be better to cement this in fact. Try selling a game on steam... I can't imagine selling one, older platform, is going to break the bank and what if CM sold like hotcakes. I mean all of this speculating - the uncertainty could be capped in fact. You would know the terms for potential future dealings, you would greatly expand your advertising footprint, and you could finally put to rest whether or not 100M gamers want to play CM.

von Luck

 

That's the thing that perplexes me about this whole thing. Why beat around the bush? Why hasn't Battlefront done more research into this whole thing and actually tried to sell something on Steam to see what's up?  

 

I just can't take the whole "Steam is death" argument seriously...

[Jane's]

Steve

 

I have to say that there's a bit of contradiction in what you say. We all know that CM games have very faithfull and loyal fan base. It has been for years. So i think we can agree that CM players would simply never steal/pirate a CM game. And as a developer you must know that DRM is always only a problem for folks who BUY a game. Always has been. Those that are downloading from torrents don't have to bother themselves with any of these restrictions. They have cracks and other stuff. So my question is, for whom this DRM is? Pirates will be pirates, they'll have this game anyway if the want to. Those who pay have to deal with the DRM. That is not fair if you ask me. 

[Baneman]

That's the thing that perplexes me about this whole thing. Why beat around the bush? Why hasn't Battlefront done more research into this whole thing and actually tried to sell something on Steam to see what's up?  

 

I just can't take the whole "Steam is death" argument seriously...

 

Thought experiment  : The trouble is not the $100 or whatever, it's the work that would need to be done to get CM in synch with Steam's method.

Say it took 3 months ( made-up figure of course, but unlikely to be a trivial amount of time ). That's 3 months of work for HALF of BFC's programming staff ( assuming 1 person could do it ). That's time they're not spending releasing new game, be it Black Sea or Bulge or whatever's next or patching bugs or adding new features. Maybe they can't financially factor in that kind of extra non-productive time - in that scenario, already the Steam experiment HAS to work or they're in deep do-do.

 

It's just not as simple as "just sell something on Steam".

 

So i think we can agree that CM players would simply never steal/pirate a CM game.

 

Existing CM players probably wouldn't pirate a CM ( or any ) game. But what about new potential customers ? They might. They're not loyal fans yet.

 

Edited January 9, 2015 by Baneman

[BlackAlpha]

Thought experiment  : The trouble is not the $100 or whatever, it's the work that would need to be done to get CM in synch with Steam's method.

Say it took 3 months ( made-up figure of course, but unlikely to be a trivial amount of time ). That's 3 months of work for HALF of BFC's programming staff ( assuming 1 person could do it ). That's time they're not spending releasing new game, be it Black Sea or Bulge or whatever's next or patching bugs or adding new features. Maybe they can't financially factor in that kind of extra non-productive time - in that scenario, already the Steam experiment HAS to work or they're in deep do-do.

 

It's just not as simple as "just sell something on Steam".

 

But if a three month down time will kill the company, then I'd say they are borderline dead and they need to start looking at new ways to make more money to stay afloat.

[von Luck]

Imagine if after 3 months the revenues allowed for another staff member. Think of the faster patches, releases, improvements.

von Luck

[Jargotn]

That's the thing that perplexes me about this whole thing. Why beat around the bush? Why hasn't Battlefront done more research into this whole thing and actually tried to sell something on Steam to see what's up?  

I'd compare it to jumping into water to find out if you can swim.

 

Will you know if you can swim afterwards? Probably. Will it help you? Nah. You took the risk and you either swam or, well drowned. Drowning is not an option for BF. It's not a diceroll you can repeat. "What if" is not how you should run a company.

I don't claim that I know how good BF is standing financially, but if they say that they don't want to take the risk because they think that they might drown... Well. I believe them.

 

 

Steve

 

I have to say that there's a bit of contradiction in what you say. We all know that CM games have very faithfull and loyal fan base. It has been for years. So i think we can agree that CM players would simply never steal/pirate a CM game. And as a developer you must know that DRM is always only a problem for folks who BUY a game. Always has been. Those that are downloading from torrents don't have to bother themselves with any of these restrictions. They have cracks and other stuff. So my question is, for whom this DRM is? Pirates will be pirates, they'll have this game anyway if the want to. Those who pay have to deal with the DRM. That is not fair if you ask me. 

But the DRM makes it harder to pirate a game. A LOT.

 

I'd like to do some research on the subject and find out if there are free copies of Cm games around the internet but I never pirated before and therefore I don't really know how to find those copies. And honestly, I don't want to know.

 

DRM can be annoying and it often is. I never ran a company that produced software and therefore I can't claim that I know how effective BFs DRm is. However, they don't get the DRM for free. And if they pay for it it probably is necessary.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Jargotn

[sburke]

Steve,

We spend allot of time postulating over whether or not steam can make you money. Wouldn't it just be better to cement this in fact. Try selling a game on steam... I can't imagine selling one, older platform, is going to break the bank and what if CM sold like hotcakes. I mean all of this speculating - the uncertainty could be capped in fact. You would know the terms for potential future dealings, you would greatly expand your advertising footprint, and you could finally put to rest whether or not 100M gamers want to play CM.

von Luck

Rather than ask BF to take the risk, put up some money and you take the risk for them. Yes I am kidding, but seriously you are aking them to put up something financially to try something they have repeatedly said they are not interested in doing at all. What if it doesn't work? Let's just assume BF didn't take a hit in time and resources and it was simply a minor inconvenience to them. Do you think it would stop this thread? I don't. The arguments would then move to, well you didn't suffer too much and it was so much more convenient for us folks. If it were a newer game it would establish you better ....... Any one of a number of responses. In other words BF has really nothing to gain by making the effort of putting it on there to prove folks wrong because no matter how it goes there will be reasons given as to why that one didn't achieve expectations. They will never win this argument until they are fully on steam and have either succeeded or failed. That just isn't worth it to them.

As to what you said Baneman, I agree. Someone who has 750 games doesn't really know what they want. That is basically obsessive compulsive behavior. I am at the point now of not buying anything else unless I think it is really really good. Price is no longer the driving factor, time is. It is hard enough choosing which CM title to play. I have a couple others that I like and maybe one or two that are pure nostalgia (Task Force 1942!). After that I seriously need to get off my butt and do something else.

[Battlefront.com]

Steam has a lot of good services to offer to customers. We definitely understand that. Auto updates and multiplayer game matching are the two ones I see as being right up to the top. For game developers who have no experience selling their games or infrastructure to process orders, then Steam is one of the most important sales/distribution systems for a new PC game developer. Especially those who have relatively low development investment in their products. I think for developers like that, Steam is pretty much a no-brainer.

But for established game developers with niche products and existing experience and infrastructure for selling their own products? I think Steam is a good option for such a developer only if they find their own sales efforts are not delivering enough revenue to remain comfortably in business.

Which is why Battlefront and Steam are not a good match for Battlefront. And as I just said in my previous post, if it isn't a good match for Battlefront then it is not a good match for Battlefront's customers. Even if they refuse to appreciate that fact, it is still a fact.

I have repeatedly heard people put forward the suggestion that we pick an older product, that we can afford to have risked, and put it on Steam to see how it goes. This sounds fine in theory, but in reality it isn't that simple.

Do you guys think that Steam's primary features like the auto update and multiplayer matching functions just magically work? I think some of you do, but they do not. We, the developer, must recode our games so that they can work with Steam's APIs. This might require completely rewriting our multiplayer code for all I know. Even exploring the coding aspects takes time away from other things. Things which we know everybody wants and not just a vocal minority. Which means even if we did toss an older product over to Steam, guess what? It wouldn't be very different than buying it from Battlefront except you'd be paying Steam and we'd be losing ~30% gross revenue.

Seriously, who sees this as such a terrific and awesome idea that we should drop everything and go out and try right now without further delay?

Steve

[Battlefront.com]

Steve,

We spend allot of time postulating over whether or not steam can make you money. Wouldn't it just be better to cement this in fact. Try selling a game on steam... I can't imagine selling one, older platform, is going to break the bank and what if CM sold like hotcakes. I mean all of this speculating - the uncertainty could be capped in fact. You would know the terms for potential future dealings, you would greatly expand your advertising footprint, and you could finally put to rest whether or not 100M gamers want to play CM.

von Luck

See my previous post. Sounds good on paper, likely not in reality. In fact, it is more likely to do the opposite of what you would like to see happen. Meaning, putting out an old product without any effort to support the reasons for buying the game on Steam is far more likely to produce a negative view of Steam than a positive one.

Steve

[BlackAlpha]

 

I don't claim that I know how good BF is standing financially, but if they say that they don't want to take the risk because they think that they might drown... Well. I believe them.

 

 

Well, Steve is giving us the impression they are "healthy", not drowning and won't be drowning in 3 months either.

[von Luck]

Steve,

Its the potential you refuse to recognize. It might sell ... A lot.

von Luck

Edited January 9, 2015 by von Luck

[BlackAlpha]

Rather than ask BF to take the risk, put up some money and you take the risk for them. Yes I am kidding

 

You don't have to be kidding about that in this day and age. They could very well try a crowd funding campaign. It can also double as a survey to find out the potential of their product.

[Baneman]

But if a three month down time will kill the company, then I'd say they are borderline dead and they need to start looking at new ways to make more money to stay afloat.

 

Well, it IS just a thought experiment. But they don't have to be borderline dead if they've factored in their revenue stream versus time to get the next game out the door and so forth.

But 3 months downtime increases pressure. Mistakes happen under pressure, game has major bugs, game flops, now you enter the downward spiral...

6-9 months later, tired of working 10-12 hour days just to keep from going backwards, they start to consider "£%^£$%^ this "£%$£$, I'm out of here".

 

Lots of small companies ( not necessarily software companies ), operate on margins that you classify as "borderline dead", but they survive and thrive.

I personally know someone who worked for a small outfit. One day, their major customer decided that they would pay them after 3 months instead of after 1 month. Of course, they still had to pay their suppliers after 1 month. They staggered on for about 6 months after that, then they were defunct. Up until then, they were regarded as "successful".

 

 

Edit: lol, dammit Ninja'd by Steve again!

Edited January 9, 2015 by Baneman

[SgtHatred]

 

 

 

lol, you are right. Battlefront.com and Steam are practically the same thing anyway. I've spent nearly $500 on Battlefront.com this year, and easily that much on Steam purchases. I'm pretty sure one is a better storefront than the other.

 

 

You don't need a forums account somewhere to read information, only if you want to interact with people who are there. Usually, I don't bother, because I run into people who will, for example, compare Steam with a subway.

 

 

Congrats on rebuilding your system twice. I'll probably be doing that a couple times myself this year, what with the Windows 10 preview, retail, and Intel's next generation cpu expected near Christmas.