Origin and adding games.

[Toploader]

Thought I'd share this for those of you that are not aware, you can use your EA keys, both Retail AND from Steam, to add games to an Origin account. 

'But why the fuck would I wanna do that?' you maybe wondering. 

I've done it to the 9 EA games I own pretty much so I had them in another place, should Steam melt down or something at a time I wanna play, but the main reason for me is the games all support cloud saving on Origin (when none of them do on Steam).  As I often go between 2 gaming rigs, it works out great. You can play all these game without Origin running too (whereas you do need Steam running in most cases to play them).  In a way it makes them DRM free.

If you have an EA account you already have an Origin account so it's worth doing even if you do never use it.

[ExtremeSwat]

I really hate Ea's personal vendetta with Valve.
They try to do somethingit's unachiaveble,they can't compete with steam even if they give battlefield 3 for free on origin.
Even if i like steam,and own lots of games from them,i miss the times when there were no drm's.

[Toploader]

I think people are unfair on EA tbh.  They didn't agree with Valves very restrictive policies on how the publisher should be able to sell their DLC so they pulled out, which is entirely fair.  In my opinion, in the long term, Steam losing a major publisher like EA will hurt Valve more than it will hurt EA.  EA publish some fantatic games on the PC and I'm glad they are going to be forever committed to doing so with Origin.

I actually think they have a good chance of catching up with Steam unless Valve get their act together.  I stopped using Steams community features some time ago for a massive host of reasons such as the unreliability of the chat, the final straw was that I can't even edit the font size of the chat for IM.  I am a regular user of Cloud saving as I go between two PC's almost daily, and Steams Cloud saving is not very reliable at all and does not support nearly enough games.   As Origin runs all my EA games with the could where as Steam does not, it means all EA games I play in future will be on Origin, not Steam (and so far, the cloud for EA games has worked 100% of the time I've tried it).   Considering how old Steam is, it's not a good bit of software at all.

Either way, Valve were getting complacent, there is no doubt about it, so the fact that EA are presenting an alternative to Steam using the exact same methods Valve themselves used (forcing it on you via a game install) means that they will have to work hard to make sure that Steam remains the main place to download.

When all is said and done though, given the option I'd always buy my games DRM free or Desura or GoG.com, but if we must live in a world of download portals that acts as DRM, then having only one with a monopoly is NOT a good thing.

[ExtremeSwat]

I think people are unfair on EA tbh.  They didn't agree with Valves very restrictive policies on how the publisher should be able to sell their DLC so they pulled out, which is entirely fair.  In my opinion, in the long term, Steam losing a major publisher like EA will hurt Valve more than it will hurt EA.  EA publish some fantatic games on the PC and I'm glad they are going to be forever committed to doing so with Origin.

I actually think they have a good chance of catching up with Steam unless Valve get their act together.  I stopped using Steams community features some time ago for a massive host of reasons such as the unreliability of the chat, the final straw was that I can't even edit the font size of the chat for IM.  I am a regular user of Cloud saving as I go between two PC's almost daily, and Steams Cloud saving is not very reliable at all and does not support nearly enough games.   As Origin runs all my EA games with the could where as Steam does not, it means all EA games I play in future will be on Origin, not Steam (and so far, the cloud for EA games has worked 100% of the time I've tried it).   Considering how old Steam is, it's not a good bit of software at all.

Either way, Valve were getting complacent, there is no doubt about it, so the fact that EA are presenting an alternative to Steam using the exact same methods Valve themselves used (forcing it on you via a game install) means that they will have to work hard to make sure that Steam remains the main place to download.

When all is said and done though, given the option I'd always buy my games DRM free or Desura or GoG.com, but if we must live in a world of download portals that acts as DRM, then having only one with a monopoly is NOT a good thing.

Come on man,you really belived that crap they told? "restrictiveA DLC policy"?
I own battlefield 2 bc on steam,and dlc's can be aquired.So there's no restrictive policy's Valve's enforcing,lots of publishers release dlc's for their games on steam.
They also pulled off Crysis 2 for no actual reason,but they added the new game they sell on Origin(amalur..etc) with achievements,cloud ,etc.They still collaborate but in the same time they try to make their distribution platform go over steam.Not to mention their app acts like a spyware(google/tube it).
The chat is looking pretty well,and the font change is not something that should be updated by Valve beacouse lots of newcomers can be scammed(even without font change ,i encounter lots of scammers who write messages with coloured font using /r "message" command).I own lots of games using cloud support and they work flawlessy(except Call of duty black ops).
Anyways i've never used origin and i really wanted to buy their Battlefield,but the way they smuggled off all their games and pasted them onto their own origin bs(it also failed few years ago as a project) made me say pass.What was wrong with EA Manager? It was not restrictive at all.They could've implemented cloud onto game itself,so there was no actual drm/external programm necessary for that.

[Toploader]

The point was that EA wanted to sell the games on Steam but only sell the DLC themselves, which Valve didn't agree too.  Either way, it's entirely up to EA if they think it's better for them as a company not to use Steam.  Some people say they didn't buy BF3 / ME3 because they were not available on Steam, but that's their loss.

I didn't say change the font, I said resize the font.  You try reading the default Steam font size on a 17" monitor at 1080P and tell me it's not an issue,  and I know those with bigger monitors that just want the font bigger because they sit far away from the monitor sometimes.  There is no reason you should not be able to resize the font, if fact you can if you edit config files, but it resets it every update. It's just lazy program updating.  Don't even get me started on the fact you can't install games on different drives without using third party junction software. 

Yeah, it's not great that EA are making a new DRM, and the Manager was better, but they are just doing what Valve did (releasing HL2 with Steam to push it on people).  If you are unhappy about that too, fair enough, what gets me is people painting Valve as some kinda savoir / saint when they are the ones that championed this system and I feel have in recent years not done much to advance the community features much.   I'll never fullly understand why some people think Steam is the best thing ever yet a similar system like Origin is an outrage.

Glad your cloud support works well, I've had lots of failed could saves on Steam, but that's just my experiance and it might be isolated, I've not really read up on it.  I know one issue that many users get from PC to PC is losing the catogoies you have set, which is an old bug Valve have yet to address.

The spyware issues is totally overblown (yes, I have looked into it).  It searches through your system to see what EA games are installed, and then even sometimes gives you the option to add them to your Origin account which is nice. They do need to make this optional like it is in other programs, but it's not a big deal.  Funny how most of those kicking off about it still use Google / Facebook ect and somehow think that Origin is their main privacy concern.

[Duck-and-Cover]

I love steam and use it almost every day, if not for games then just for chatting.  That being said, I agree with a lot of things Top said.  I also remember in the not too distant past when Valve was catching a lot of flak for steam and the requirement to attach games to your account (even for boxed copies).  never really bothered me, but it pissed a lot of people off.  Now EA is taking heat for trying to establish themselves with Origin.

Its hard for me to begrudge EA just for trying to pull away from Steam.  And even if its to be competitive, so what?  They are a game publisher, and it is a market.  Whether I or anyone else likes it, it is their right.

Either way, I've had nothing but good times with Steam, so with Steam I'll stay.  But opening an Origin account on the side couldn't hurt.

[Toploader]

If only just to add your existing Steam games it's kinda worth it (and Mass Effect 3, of course).  And even for those that don't wanna use it, they should be grateful it's there come the end, because it will hopefully mean an improved Steam client with even more competitive sales.

[FaTony]

I hate Valve. I hate EA. Steam is a bloatware. Origin is spyware. I'd rather have bloatware than spyware.

[Toploader]

The spyware thing was greatly exaggerated, but in general I agree, I'd rather not have to deal with any, here is hoping GoG.com takes over the world of Digital distribution.

[FaTony]

Just found this on the net:


Of course, the most interesting part is in fine print, I'll quote the whole thing:

Code expires on 32st December 2022. Good only for new purchases of UEFA Euro 2012. Offer may not be substituted, exchanged, sold or redeemed for cash or other goods or services. Valid only in EU. May not be combined with any other offer, gift card, rebate or discount coupon. Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law. Internet connection and Origin account (EA) required. You must be 13+. EA may retire online features after 30 days notice posted on www.ea.com/2/service-updates.

Let's go sentence-by-sentence:

Code expires on 32st December 2022.

Oh wow. Interesting. Well, by common sense tells me that if I don't redeem the code before this date, the code is void, however, if I do, I will still be able to play. But this draws some unwelcome potential implications. What if you wouldn't be able to download game/DLC/whatever after that date? What if there will be license expiration date in the future?

Good only for new purchases of UEFA Euro 2012.

No used games. Not big surprise.

Offer may not be substituted, exchanged, sold or redeemed for cash or other goods or services.

What the fuck? I can't sell this on ebay even if I didn't open the box?

Valid only in EU.

Region lock. Not big surprise either.

May not be combined with any other offer, gift card, rebate or discount coupon.

So I can't gift this with other games to my friend?

Void where prohibited, taxed or restricted by law.

Got taxed? Void! Lmao

Internet connection and Origin account (EA) required.

Well yeah, forget about offline games although I'm nitpicking here.

You must be 13+.

Funny to read this with big PEGI 3 on the left. But it's well-known law. I wonder how many kids lied about their age when they've registered.

EA may retire online features after 30 days notice posted on www.ea.com/2/service-updates.

All your money are belong to us. All our intellectual property are belong to us too. You have no rights, we can do whatever we want.

EA, as usual.

[Toploader]

Well, that's any big publisher for you, including Valve.  Last I looked Valve had a section in their agreement that stated they could, at any time, implement a subscription charge for Steam.  Whilst I don't see them doing that in the foreseeable future, can you imagine if they did?  Many of us would simply pay it because we already have so much invested in our accounts, and when there is no other option people will pay it seems (see XBL users, who do so and seldom grumble about it now). I generally don't like where all of this is headed.

[FaTony]

Many of us would simply pay it because we already have so much invested in our accounts

I know I wouldn't. To me "buying legally" is showing some respect. I'll just pirate all my games (thankfully, there are several Steam emulators out there) and live happily ever after.

[SlimDurst]

The bad thing about steam emulators is that they barely work,can only natively download broken valve games,and require you to torrent the GCF files of other games to play them,if steam charged 5 bucks a month i'd just suck it up so i dont have to lose all of my games

[FaTony]

For comparison, here are some bits from UT2004 EULA:

Thanks. Congratulations and thank you for licensing our software. We’re sorry to cramp your style, but out lawyers tell us that if we want to keep control and ownership of the cool stuff we’re developing, we have to make sure you understand and agree that you are just buying a right to use it and that that right is limited in certain ways. So what follows is what you need to know and agree to.

CHEATING. Nobody likes a cheater. It’s a disgraceful way to earn a win and really is an insult to those players who earn their wins in on-line games the old-fashioned way—WITH TALENT. We’re pretty hard on cheating in on-line games using the Software because it sullies the overall gaming experience and is JUST PLAIN LAME. With that in mind if you are caught cheating in an on-line game using the Software we will immediately and permanently ban your CD Key. At that point this License Agreement is automatically terminated and you must immediately delete this software from your PC. Failure to comply with this last bit (deleting the software) may bring on the wrath of the lawyers. Trust us…you don’t want that.

We just LOVE the idea of you using and distributing content or script from any prior Epic Games, Unreal franchise game in your Mods. Therefore we grant you a license to use content from any prior Epic Games Unreal franchise game in your Mods. For the sake of clarity you will not gain any ownership whatsoever in any Epic content or script nor can you use any Epic content or script outside the scope of the rights granted here. Any attempt to do so will bring about the wrath of our attorneys.

Enjoyment Requirements. We are aware that there are rumblings and grumblings within the gaming community about heavy handed, legally onerous license agreements. You have our word that this one is as fair and even handed as it gets and, as you have read this far, you know it to be true. Now, be gone from this screen and enjoy the Software, including the UnrealEd.

Eh, back in the days when corporations respected gamers.

[FourDegrees]

Interesting. I have tried with my EA games bought in 2005 (Medal of honor pacific assauld, Need for speed most wanted) and their codes were not accepted in Origin. should i write a complaint email to their support perhaps?