Valve

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, I have a couple of quick questions about Steam:

Does it cost anything to be a member? (If not then I'll at least create an account for myself right away)

Do they have sales/deals happen as a regular occurrence (like once a week or something) or only once in a while at random times. I know that they won't necessarily always have deals for games that I'm interested in, but if they have really good sales prices on a regular basis then they would be bound to have some games that I'm interested on sale at some point in time.

Also, do they have a lot of older games for download, besides just older Valve games?

While my PC is complete crap for most modern PC games (I do know that it can at least handle something like Starcraft II on its lowest settings, since a friend of mine has the exact same laptop and it can handle that game with minimal lag at its lowest settings), I'm pretty sure that it can at least handle some much older games that I have wanted to try, such as the original Half-Life and Max Payne 2 (I've already played this game on the XBOX but I wanted to try it on the PC if I could).

Of course one problem I have is that I'm not sure if a lot of older games will be compatible with Windows Vista, which is the OS that I have. I looked into getting DMC3 for the PC a while ago but it clearly said that it wasn't compatible with Vista in the list of its PC requirements, so I'm afraid that the same may apply to a lot of other older PC games as well.

[Daxdiv]

So, I have a couple of quick questions about Steam:

Does it cost anything to be a member? (If not then I'll at least create an account for myself right away)

Steam accounts are free for everyone. Anyone can get one. The only thing is if I think you might have to buy something before you can add people as friends. I remember that happening on Strong World when Team Fortress 2 went Free-To-Play.

Do they have sales/deals happen as a regular occurrence (like once a week or something) or only once in a while at random times. I know that they won't necessarily always have deals for games that I'm interested in, but if they have really good sales prices on a regular basis then they would be bound to have some games that I'm interested on sale at some point in time.

Steam has a variety of deals. They have daily deals, mid-week deals that last from Tuesday-Thursday, and weekend deals that last Friday-Monday. Sometimes they have special events going on, like Quake-Con or the Summer Camp Sale where a variety of games will be on sale.

Also, do they have a lot of older games for download, besides just older Valve games?

Define older games? They do have a good backlog of games from different publishers and such. It varies from game to game, so that would be something I would check within the store search.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

By older I just meant older PC titles from the last 2 game gens (like stuff from the late 1990's such as Half-Life, and stuff from the early 2000's such as Max Payne and other titles that came out around that time). At any rate I can just search for what games they have after I create an account, which I suppose I'll do sometime soon.

Thanks for the info.

[Foggle]

So, I have a couple of quick questions about Steam:

Does it cost anything to be a member? (If not then I'll at least create an account for myself right away)

Nope!

Do they have sales/deals happen as a regular occurrence (like once a week or something) or only once in a while at random times. I know that they won't necessarily always have deals for games that I'm interested in, but if they have really good sales prices on a regular basis then they would be bound to have some games that I'm interested on sale at some point in time.

There's a new one almost every day! They're usually good sales, too... anywhere from 33%-80% off select games (and sometimes even packs of games!). The sale games are usually good ones, too.

Also, do they have a lot of older games for download, besides just older Valve games?

A shitload. Deus Ex, Max Payne, Vampire: Bloodlines, KOTOR, Doom, Quake, all the old GTAs, Serious Sam (as well as the new HD versions!), SiN, Red Faction, Far Cry, F.E.A.R. ($10 for the first game AND both expansions), Morrowind (I think, anyway), all the old Valve games (of course), and more! There's tons of great older titles on there, and ones they don't have can usually be found on http://gog.com for very fair prices. And let's not forget the cheap and undemanding indie games!

While my PC is complete crap for most modern PC games (I do know that it can at least handle something like Starcraft II on its lowest settings, since a friend of mine has the exact same laptop and it can handle that game with minimal lag at its lowest settings), I'm pretty sure that it can at least handle some much older games that I have wanted to try, such as the original Half-Life and Max Payne 2 (I've already played this game on the XBOX but I wanted to try it on the PC if I could).

The Max Paynes can be a bitch to get running properly on newer PCs, but I can help you with that if you decide to buy them. It's not really a lot of work.

Of course one problem I have is that I'm not sure if a lot of older games will be compatible with Windows Vista, which is the OS that I have. I looked into getting DMC3 for the PC a while ago but it clearly said that it wasn't compatible with Vista in the list of its PC requirements, so I'm afraid that the same may apply to a lot of other older PC games as well.

Even games that "aren't compatible" usually work just fine. For instance, Steam warns that Far Cry is "not supported" by Windows Vista/7, but it runs perfectly on my Win7 computer and performed alright back when I had Vista.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Thanks for the additional info. That's extremely helpful.

I'll create an account tomorrow and probably try and download the original Half-Life (as long as it will be able to run on Vista) after I complete BioShock 2 (which will probably be by next weekend).

[Foggle]

You should get the HL1 pack if possible. It also comes with Opposing Force and Blue Shift and is only $10 total I think. Opposing Force is just as good as Half-Life, if not better, while Blue Shift is decent enough to warrant a playthrough.

HL1 and all its variants work just fine on Vista/Win7, btw.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Sounds awesome, and I can't imagine beating a price like that anywhere else, so I'll definitely download it off of Steam when I get the chance.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yeah, Steam is 100% free. I created an account for that L4D1 and 2 deal and even though I haven't been able to really use the account since, it was really easy to use.

[Daxdiv]

Remember the Steam Trading Beta? Well, it just went public and now you can also trade in game items from not only TF2, but Portal 2 and Spiral Knights with actual video games or just games for games and shit.

http://teamfortress.com/post.php?id=6202

[Daxdiv]

Posting in this thread to say that Portal 1 is free on Steam for a couple of days. If you wanted to play this game on the PC or get it and save it for when you get a better PC, now's your chance.

[The Shadow Gentleman]

This seems like the appropriate place to post this.

New TF2 short.

[Daxdiv]

This is probably their best one yet. Liked how they got Ashly Burch to voice Ms. Pauling. Ever since playing DOTA 2, I always thought that she would sound like someone being voiced by Jen Taylor or Gin Hammond. Also, during that one part where Solider said that he teleported bread, I'm pretty sure that was Nolan North.