49 replies to this topic

[DreamedArtist]

Will we be seeing a return of a version of Hawken that does not require steam in anyway?
I am sure a lot of people would want to see this happen.

Back before Hawken was ported to steam it lost a lot of players due to the update and steam client move and was a lot of talk wanting the old standalone launcher back.
I am sure this will be good for people who want to play Hawken and not have to use steam. As amidatelion stated bellow you have an option but not many tech savy people know how to do this and won't bother to.

option is always good

Edited by DreamedArtist, 24 March 2015 - 09:02 AM.

[Jakyll]

What's wrong about that?

 

For my taste a single-sign-on via Steam would be comfortable, but since it was advertisement on Steam which brought me to Hawken I can't understand why you want to get rid of it.

[Amidatelion]

Unlikely in the short term and personally, I'm not a fan of it in the long. I dislike having multiple portals.

 

Also, you are aware you can launch Hawken without Steam? (though you do need to install via Steam)

 

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Hawken\Binaries\Win32\HawkenGame-Win32-Shipping.exe

[SigmaOmega]

+1

[DreamedArtist]

Unlikely in the short term and personally, I'm not a fan of it in the long. I dislike having multiple portals.
 
Also, you are aware you can launch Hawken without Steam? (though you do need to install via Steam)
 
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Hawken\Binaries\Win32\HawkenGame-Win32-Shipping.exe

hawken lost a good amount of players due to steam from back in the move and a lot of other major games do this option for people knowing not to force the steam platform down on people. that space ninja game warframe uses the optional client and from numbers more use the one from the site then steam.

remember make options to get more people to join the game.

[Silk_Sk]

I'm fairly confident in assuming that Hawken gained far more players than it lost in the move to steam.

[ReversusRex]

Unlikely in the short term and personally, I'm not a fan of it in the long. I dislike having multiple portals.

 

Also, you are aware you can launch Hawken without Steam? (though you do need to install via Steam)

 

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Hawken\Binaries\Win32\HawkenGame-Win32-Shipping.exe

I don't think the install is even necessary. I've copied Hawken's game directory on to a flash drive and loaded it on different computers without any problems.

[DreamedArtist]

I'm fairly confident in assuming that Hawken gained far more players than it lost in the move to steam.

nope ask any of us old members they will tell you it was pretty bad and after that hawken died slowly after that

[SigmaOmega]

I like steam due that I have been using it for 5 years. But I would love to have hawken on a separate launcher. I do get a lot of spammers trying to trade with me or add me as a friend. So its nice to have it turned off at times.

[Ashfire908]

nope ask any of us old members they will tell you it was pretty bad and after that hawken died slowly after that

 


Massive spike is Steam F2P launch. Hawken only was slowly dying due to lack of development.

[comic_sans]

hawken lost a good amount of players due to steam from back in the move

 

[citation needed]

 

I've heard this said before, but curiously only by a handful of people.

[Gishank]

Personally I don't really see the issue with having both? Not everyone wants to download Steam, in fact there are some rather odd people out there who feel that Steam is a blight on PC Gaming (heresy, I say). Should be noted that currently as far as I can tell the Steam version of Hawken doesn't automatically authenticate you based on your currently logged in steam account, something of which would be a nice tweak.

[Amidatelion]

 


Massive spike is Steam F2P launch. Hawken only was slowly dying due to lack of development.

 

Boom goes the dynamite.

[DreamedArtist]

Personally I don't really see the issue with having both? Not everyone wants to download Steam, in fact there are some rather odd people out there who feel that Steam is a blight on PC Gaming (heresy, I say). Should be noted that currently as far as I can tell the Steam version of Hawken doesn't automatically authenticate you based on your currently logged in steam account, something of which would be a nice tweak.

I hate DRM and never purchase games on steam I only get it on GOG thus knowing I own everything I buy not like steam where you dont own anything. and I prefer to have one less client on my pc that does nothing useful.

Edited by DreamedArtist, 24 March 2015 - 10:59 AM.

[DreamedArtist]

Massive spike is Steam F2P launch. Hawken only was slowly dying due to lack of development.

not just the lack of development... please look more into it. and why the hell is everyone attacking this? we need more openings not close it to one client... I need to take a vacation somewhere soon..

Edited by DreamedArtist, 24 March 2015 - 11:06 AM.

[StubbornPuppet]

Again, you do not have to be signed in to Steam to launch Hawken.  I haven't logged in to Steam to play Hawken since like 2 days after the launch.

 

You could have players coming to and launching Hawken through 10 different places and it would still play the same.

 

And I didn't need the awesome chart above to tell me how much of a surge in player the move to Steam brought to Hawken.  Just the fact that it's on Steam at all still brings in players browsing for free games. It's not a bad thing.

[bacon_avenger]

Pilots, he's not saying that being on steam was a bad thing, overall anyway, he's stating that...

• Some players did quit because of it (which is true, I do remember some people leaving because of it)
• An option to not have to install Steam would be good to have

No one is saying scrap the current Steam requirement, just to add an option.

 

Unless Valve has some kind of 'you will not have any other launchers before me' clause in their contract, I can't see how having a stand-alone option would be a bad thing...  once the game is stabilized, of course.

Edited by bacon_avenger, 24 March 2015 - 12:00 PM.

[Luaq]

Thank you Bacon_

I was about to sum that up. People argue and don't listen the big idea.
The heck if steam was bad or good, it's the past, now what do we do, give more options? Why not?
Does anyone have anything against having another launching option? If you don't care fine and if it doesn't affect you, what's wrong?

[RespawningJesus]

Damn, bacon beat me to it.

Anyways, yeah, no problem in giving more options to people.

[Amidatelion]

Pilots, he's not saying that being on steam was a bad thing, overall anyway, he's stating that...

• Some players did quit because of it (which is true, I do remember some people leaving because of it)
• An option to not have to install Steam would be good to have

No one is saying scrap the current Steam requirement, just to add an option.

 

Unless Valve has some kind of 'you will not have any other launchers before me' clause in their contract, I can't see how having a stand-alone option would be a bad thing...  once the game is stabilized, of course.

 

I don't think they do, but the issue still remains that it is twice as much work, twice as much bandwidth to push an update to two separate launchers. The effort required to a) build the launcher and b) maintain it, especially with a small development team, is not worth supposedly retaining a few players. 

 

Especially when it is evident those players will continue to play Hawken through Steam.

[ReversusRex]

I don't think they do, but the issue still remains that it is twice as much work, twice as much bandwidth to push an update to two separate launchers. The effort required to a) build the launcher and b) maintain it, especially with a small development team, is not worth supposedly retaining a few players. 

 

Especially when it is evident those players will continue to play Hawken through Steam.

They definitely don't, because Elder Scrolls Online didn't scrap original client functionality when it was released on Steam.

 

Personally I don't really see the issue with having both? Not everyone wants to download Steam, in fact there are some rather odd people out there who feel that Steam is a blight on PC Gaming (heresy, I say). Should be noted that currently as far as I can tell the Steam version of Hawken doesn't automatically authenticate you based on your currently logged in steam account, something of which would be a nice tweak.

You can have Hawken automatically authenticate you by typing -login=useremail -password=userpassword in Hawken's launch options.

Launch options can be accessed by left clicking Hawken on Steam, then clicking properties. In the new window click on the "set launch options..." button. 

Edited by ReversusRex, 24 March 2015 - 01:05 PM.

[bacon_avenger]

I don't think they do, but the issue still remains that it is twice as much work, twice as much bandwidth to push an update to two separate launchers. The effort required to a) build the launcher and b) maintain it, especially with a small development team, is not worth supposedly retaining a few players. 

 

Especially when it is evident those players will continue to play Hawken through Steam.

 

Agreed.  That's why I added the "once the game is stabilized, of course." bit.

 

I don't know how much work it would be to make this happen, but if it's possible to do once things are back on track, why not offer it as an option?

 

And it's only evident that some players will still play via Steam.  Not everyone who disagreed with the move to Steam stuck around.

 

 

You can have Hawken automatically authenticate you by typing -login=useremail -password=userpassword in Hawken's launch options.

Launch options can be accessed by left clicking Hawken on Steam, then clicking properties. In the new window click on the "set launch options..." button. 

That's a good way to get around the need to have the Steam client running when starting, but it also doesn't address the main point of the post, a way to get Hawken and play without needing to download and create a Steam account.

 

For some people, this is a big deal, regardless if one agrees or fully understands it.

[ReversusRex]

Agreed.  That's why I added the "once the game is stabilized, of course." bit.

 

I don't know how much work it would be to make this happen, but if it's possible to do once things are back on track, why not offer it as an option?

 

And it's only evident that some players will still play via Steam.  Not everyone who disagreed with the move to Steam stuck around.

 

 

That's a good way to get around the need to have the Steam client running when starting, but it also doesn't address the main point of the post, a way to get Hawken and play without needing to download and create a Steam account.

 

For some people, this is a big deal, regardless if one agrees or fully understands it.

Actually, I was addressing one of the posters on this thread who said an automatic authentication through the steam version of Hawken would be a nice tweak (and it actually does require the steam client to be running, because it is effectively using the launch options set by steam).

Also, as I stated earlier on this thread, you don't need a Steam client or account to run the game. Although its not particularly convenient, someone who has the game installed through Steam can just share their Hawken install directory files with you and then you can boot the game up on any non-Steamified computer with just one click of the Hawken.exe file.

[DreamedArtist]

THANK YOU !  SOME OF YOU GET WHAT I AM SAYING...

[ReversusRex]

THANK YOU !  SOME OF YOU GET WHAT I AM SAYING...

LOL i'm sorry that I couldn't help much. ):

When I think about it, the original Hawken client wasn't really something too special. 

All it did was host some patchnotes, run the .exe, and of course patch the game. 

I don't think it'd be difficult to create an unofficial client which launched the .exe and listed 

the patchnotes. actually patching the game would pose a barrier though. I'm not too knowledgeable as 

to how game clients patch games, but wouldn't it just be a matter of someone uploading the new steam releases 

to a patch server that links to the unofficial client? This might violate Steam rules though, even if it is a free game...

Edited by ReversusRex, 24 March 2015 - 04:35 PM.

[bacon_avenger]

Actually, I was addressing one of the posters on this thread who said an automatic authentication through the steam version of Hawken would be a nice tweak (and it actually does require the steam client to be running, because it is effectively using the launch options set by steam).

Also, as I stated earlier on this thread, you don't need a Steam client or account to run the game. Although its not particularly convenient, someone who has the game installed through Steam can just share their Hawken install directory files with you and then you can boot the game up on any non-Steamified computer with just one click of the Hawken.exe file.

Oh, my apologies, I misread that post.

 

Interesting, I wasn't aware that worked.  Of course, it might run afoul of relevant IP laws and such, and isn't very conducive to patching the client, but it is an approach I wasn't aware of.

[TinyBubbles]

Linux port.

[Luaq]

Yeah linux, so true, didn't think about this, maybe the "stand alone" launcher should be compatible. I'm no programmer, Can it be compatible with linux while not asking for much more work to be so?

[Rmait]

I loved Hawken,  until it went to steam.  steam is just too intrusive IMO,  its runs in the background updating and downloading unless you pause it or stop the updating.  Maybe I have too many games on steam ,  but I think Hawken should have an option for launch without steam.  If they baulk and you have to stay there,  it was nice knowing you all.

 

In my dealings with them,  its always the other companies fault or yours,  their support sucks,  but thats just me.

[Saturnine]

You can launch Hawken without Steam - you just have to install it through it in the first place. Steam is really important for the developers because it lets them push out updates to tens of thousands of users without having to pay for hosting and maintenance of that kind of thing themselves. If you don't want things updating on steam, you can turn off all automatic updates with an option in the Steam settings. From that point forward, you can launch Hawken from a shortcut without using Steam at all, and the only time you'd need to turn it back on is when there's an update you need to get.

[ReversusRex]

Yeah linux, so true, didn't think about this, maybe the "stand alone" launcher should be compatible. I'm no programmer, Can it be compatible with linux while not asking for much more work to be so?

I don't think it's possible to have a single client that is natively compatible with both the linux and windows enviroment because most windows programs are executables (.exe) which doesn't run natively on linux. However, there's a program that basically every regular linux user knows about called Wine which allows you to run .exe's like a windows machine. In the old days before Hawken moved to Steam I used to launch Hawken from its client using WINE just for fun but the performance was bad and there were a lot of visual artifacts or general inconsistencies while I played (textures were distorted and what-not).

[OdinTheWise]

I hate DRM and never purchase games on steam I only get it on GOG thus knowing I own everything I buy not like steam where you dont own anything. and I prefer to have one less client on my pc that does nothing useful.

steam is not the one that controls DRM. if you want to talk DRM, lets talk about ubisoft. when purchasing games through steam, you are subject to the terms of service of the publisher of the game. thus it is no different then buying games through the publisher as far as a legal standpoint goes. all steam does is check if you have purchased a game through them. you still can add non-steam games to your personal library. this is a very silly argument in todays age because you dont own any software, but you do own a license for the copy of a intalectual property.

 

the reason that there was a move to steam was because the original way for updating was too expensive and was too dificult to push small updates because of the cost.  steam offers a better platform for distribution than the old method. moving to the old method alongside steam would take more resources than the new overlords probably have available. going back to the old launcher would be a huge step back for reloaded and hawken.

 

but this is just my 2 cents 

[SmaCkexe]

I think that there are bigger problems with this game than Steam.  If anything ... Steam prolonged its life and made it more appealing for Gamers First to pick up... otherwise it was just a small indie game.  

 

Lets focus on making the game more fun.

[Silk_Sk]

nope ask any of us old members they will tell you it was pretty bad and after that hawken died slowly after that

Been playing since alpha 2, so I do not need to "ask." I was far more successful in getting people interested in Hawken after the steam move.

[Luaq]

Been playing since alpha 2, so I do not need to "ask." I was far more successful in getting people interested in Hawken after the steam move.

I second that, mostly my friends were excited that it went to steam and were whining that it wasn't before. Ironically though, my friends quit playing when hawken came back on their decisions about the Tuning points on mech. (let's not start another debate here, but I agree that, as a player, I felt I had more options for making my mech unique even if there was a "better build". I was stubborn enough not to use it. As much as today we all know the repair charge is the best option, a lot a people just use that. So in the end, the argument of taking out tuning point because everyone used about the same better build, well today it's the same...just without tuning points)

But to stick to the topic, when hawken came to steam, that's when me and my friends played the most.

Edited by Luaq, 28 March 2015 - 09:43 AM.

[SigmaOmega]

If I am not mistaken, it would be a ton of work and almost a complete recode of the backend for this to work. I think its been mentioned somewhere by someone, I cant remember. Even if they were to have an addon layer for this, it still might need the computer recode.

[Ashfire908]

If I am not mistaken, it would be a ton of work and almost a complete recode of the backend for this to work. I think its been mentioned somewhere by someone, I cant remember. Even if they were to have an addon layer for this, it still might need the computer recode.

 

The actual challenges with offering a steam-less client would be patching (creating a launcher, distributing the patches) and adding another payment provider (steam handles all transactions atm for MC and stuff). It would not require a complete backend rework. Storm is fairly standalone.

Edited by Ashfire908, 28 March 2015 - 12:45 PM.

[teeth_03]

PC Gaming = Steam

 

They don't need to cater to like the 3% that might think otherwise.

[SigmaOmega]

The actual challenges with offering a steam-less client would be patching (creating a launcher, distributing the patches) and adding another payment provider (steam handles all transactions atm for MC and stuff). It would not require a complete backend rework. Storm is fairly standalone.

Thanks <3

[crockrocket]

No sorry, that would require a lot of work on the backend and we'd rather spend our time fixing higher priority items.

From the forum feedback thread, with regards to non-steam hawken.