Steam udpates: steamed again

[Amy]

Steam News

Source Multiplayer Update Released
March 12, 2007, 4:50 pm - Jason Ruymen

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Updates to the Source Multiplayer games have been released. The updates will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. The specific changes include:

Source Multiplayer


Improved multiplayer voice communication, now using a much clearer codec

First release of a completely reworked in game text chat to which now includes a chat history and a filter to only see important chat messages

Fixed not being able to use sounds, decals or models if they were downloaded from the server

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I KNEW IT! I hit it on the head, I knew they changed the codec the first time I heard someone talk.

Chat has to go, much like the new radar, its a PITA.

Stop UPDATING OUR GAMES.

oh, and they screwed up some people on the rates, They got completely reset from what a couple of people had before this.... but that might be me. I KNOW Jill's rates were good yesterday and she wasn't as laggy.... stupid updates.

[Night Owl]

Chat history? Why the hell did we need that the console did it just fine...

[princessfuzzball]

*sigh* It was "updating" for a while last night and crashed crossover.... I hate Steam so.

[ŞíŘ]

From a networking point of view these updates are actually very welcome.

[agentx]

From a listening to other people talk point of view or a PLAYER point of view, these are quite unwelcome. I adjusted to the new radar well enough, but the chat is just obnoxious now.

[Caboose]

admin said:

Improved multiplayer voice communication, now using a much clearer codec

FREAKING YES

[F1r3f0x]

I played CSS for the first time in a while and I thought the chat thing was really annyoing, though I think I can get used to it =P.

[Caboose]

OMG the mic codecs suck, everyone sounds like a freaking bot and I'm getting more static than ever through CSS.

[ichi23]

they are trying to encourage not talking! what a piece of steam..

[Jayne, The Hero of Canton]

This is bad. This is really bad.

The new codec is awful, and robs the personality from everyones voice. We all sound like unclear artificial speech synthesizers now. You can hardly hear what anyone is saying, and when you can, you can't tell one voice from the other.

Voice communication was a huge part of AC community. Think of all the times bantering over the mic, fudges catch phrases, or when everyone exploded laughing after a stupid self-nading.

Steam seemingly has destroyed all of that in one update.

I suspect they are intentionally implementing bad decisions in an attempt to get people to stop playing counterstrike. This way they don't have to continue supporting an old game, and it encourages more sales of the newer steam applications.

The sad thing is, they may be successful. I've seen steam make a lot of bad moves, and I've never seen them once go back on one. If people are unable to talk clearly over mics, it may destroy any enthusiasm people have left for this game.

I suspect its time for AC to find a new playing field. A game less repetitive, and with multiple modes of play, perhaps. Either that, or investing in a ventrillo server, which costs money.

It might be time to seriously start discussing this.

Cheers,
-Jayne

PS. Then again, maybe I'm just over-reacting and being paranoid.

[B8]

Yes and it is off of all of the Major stores shelves. Now it is only avaialble in the computer stores. This is going to kill it if nothing else will kill it off.

Bye bye CSS and all of HL if they keep this up, no one will buy the new game either. Most of the older players will be tired of the steam BS and give up on the new game before it is released.

Grow up Steam and stop rolling over us.