Invest DCS World from ED download directly or through Steam, no differences?

Hello DCS fans!

Post #1.

Looks like i may have just missed a recent May 2020 promos from ED.

Quick questions to pro's is, does it matter if i invest the DCS World by downloading directly from ED versus through Steam?

Looks like both places allow same amount of add-on's but i'm curious about these "Steam Incompatibilities" on items purchased from DCS E-Shop.

In other words, if ED is running promo's on add-ons (planes, terrains, etc.) but i'm invested in DCS World through Steam then i will not be able to take advantage of those deals? And vice a versa, if i'm running ED's DCS World but Steam has promo's on add-on's?

Although i do see that one can get the DCS World keys off the Steam purchases and apply to DCS World installed from ED download?

But i won't be able to say purchase from DCS E-Shop and apply that key to the DCS World installed through Steam?

Bit confused.

Thanks much.

Quick questions to pro's is, does it matter if i invest the DCS World by downloading directly from ED versus through Steam?

I can only answer this question since i don't have Steam.

Yes it does matter, Steam takes a x% (20%?) cut to offer and distribute DCS through their platform. If you buy directly from Eagle Dynamics, all of your investment goes directly to them. Steam does not develop DCS, ED does.

Just 2 cents...

I can only answer this question since i don't have Steam.

 

Yes it does matter, Steam takes a x% (20%?) cut to offer and distribute DCS through their platform. If you buy directly from Eagle Dynamics, all of your investment goes directly to them. Steam does not develop DCS, ED does.

 

Just 2 cents...

Quite.

Hopefully the additional revenue will result in an overall better product

Supporting ED is literally the only real "advantage" the standalone version comes with. That's why you won't find any other arguement for the standalone version than the "steam takes 20% of your money" thing. Besides that, DCS has 10.000 reviews on steam, means Steam draws a lot of people to DCS and ED benefits massively from steam, even while steam takes 20%. So no one needs to feel as if he's not supporting ED if purchasing modules on steam.

I started DCS with FC3 on Steam in 2014 and never had any real disadvantages compared to the standalone version. Discounts sometimes come a bit delayed, but they always come. Only very few updates had a 1 or 2 day delay. 99% of all updates come without any delay.

The most important thing for me is download speed. I have a 1000Mbit connection and i'm downloading DCS updates via steam with full speed. The update from 2.5.5 to 2.5.6 was 10GB wich took me 100 seconds to download. Exaggerated, even with a 1 day delay, my download is finished before most people with standalone finished their downloads. Standalone download speed is total crap compared to steam.

If you're unhappy with a module, refund on steam is a walk in the park.

afaik, Steam decides about it and the game developer has no right of co-decision. And steam always decides in favor to the customer (at least that's my experience).

edit: another advantage is switching between open beta and stable version. With steam there is no need for 2 installations if you want to use both. switching between both versions is a simple click on a button.

Long story short: purchasing standalone version is better for ED, purchasing steam version is better for you.

Supporting ED is literally the only real "advantage" the standalone version comes with.

It’s not the only one:

2) With the ED version I can purchase models on both ED store and on Steam’s, taking advantage of Sales on both. With Steam you can only purchase on their Store.

3) purchasing at ED, they give you back 10% with their miles program.

Long story short: purchasing standalone version is better for ED, purchasing steam version is better for you.

Not really .. if ED ever struggles economically and folds, it will not be better for you, as your hard earned DLCs will stop to function. So, it is better to more fully support them (and Steam’s cut is 30% not 20 ... source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/07/report-steams-30-cut-is-actually-the-industry-standard)

Eduardo

Welcome to the forums f14ftw

Aside from the dis/advantages for ED, these are the pro's and con's for you to consider:

• Modules bought on Steam can be transferred to standalone (which gives you basically two available platforms to play DCS)
  
• Modules bought from ED can't be transferred to Steam
  
• From my experience, Steam modules are usually slightly cheaper than standalone (talking about single €/$ though). Might be caused by $ to € conversion on Steam.. not sure..
  
• Pre-purchase is pretty much always later available on Steam than on ED's website. Sometimes people start worrying if the pre-purchase comes available on Steam at all (but until now I don't think that ever actually happened)
  
• Purchases directly from ED will give you bonus points, which can be used for discounts on next purchases). E.g., this way, many of us were able to purchase the Supercarrier for about €25,-/$25,-.
  
• Standalone doesn't require Steam to run in the background (unless you use SteamVR of course)
  

Fwiw:

Since a few months I switched from Steam to standalone

Reasons:

Bonus points and supporting ED (more money to ED is more funds for improvement :smilewink: :thumbup:)

Quite.

Hopefully the additional revenue will result in an overall better product

1) First and foremost Steam has Regional pricing, You don't have to pay currency equivalent of dollars.

2) Steam has more payment option. You can pay with domestic cards, Internet banking, even cash on delivery. Just insert all payment methods your closeby dominoes accepts, it is there.

3) Download speed is more in steam. I have two installation (steam/standalone). I always have to download update in steam first, then let Standalone updater copy those files from steam to update it faster.

4) You can transfer steam product to standalone without a hitch, you can't vice versa.

5) Changing build version from stable to Open beta or vice versa is more of a 2-3 clicks.

6) There are many more which I can't think of.

So don't go listening to one sided stories. If you live in USA or any other developed country, go for standalone. But there is also another option available available which has many advantages.

Yeah you are supporting Devs also when buying from steam. If devs were struggling, they would have removed the game from steam. You are just paying small fee to a distributor (steam) which brings this advantages. Think about all the third world country gamers who couldn't even able to play games, since the game cost more than their monthly income(not talking about dcs itself, other games also). Steam has bring the platform for them.

...

6) There are many more which I can't think of.

this argument, trumps all others :smilewink:

this argument, trumps all others :smilewink:

Lol, You get to Worship Gabe:D

It’s not the only one:

 

2) With the ED version I can purchase models on both ED store and on Steam’s, taking advantage of Sales on both. With Steam you can only purchase on their Store.

 

3) purchasing at ED, they give you back 10% with their miles program.

1.) Are you sure? I think i can transfer my steam modules to the standalone anytime and have both versions, but not vice versa.

2.) The ED miles almost completely equals the price difference for single modules on steam. At least here, and i'm in central europe and by far not in a 3rd world country. I don't see any advantage here

Not really .. if ED ever struggles economically and folds, it will not be better for you, as your hard earned DLCs will stop to function. So, it is better to more fully support them (and Steam’s cut is 30% not 20 ... source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/07/report-steams-30-cut-is-actually-the-industry-standard)

 

Eduardo

Excuse me? For me (and i guess a lot of others) ED is a software developer as any other. I love DCS and wish ED all the best, but i play dozens of other games (and also other sims) and if ED shall ever fail economically, then it shall be and it will have various reasons. But for sure not because ppl have purchased their modules on steam instead of standalone.

Not really .. if ED ever struggles economically and folds, it will not be better for you, as your hard earned DLCs will stop to function. So, it is better to more fully support them (and Steam’s cut is 30% not 20 ... source: https://www.ign.com/articles/2019/10/07/report-steams-30-cut-is-actually-the-industry-standard)

 

Eduardo

#1 So... as evidence it's bad for DCS and might kill it... you cite a link that says it's the industry standard? I.E. all the franchises that have been just fine with the industry standard?

#2 Your DLCs and DCS.EXE will not magically suddenly stop functioning. Development will simply cease, and you'll be limited to whatever the last version was.

#3 I seriously doubt ED itself will cease to exist, or that their download servers will ever shut off anytime soon. They could lay everyone off and just coast on all the hard work that's already been done, as for the forseeable future there is no competition (and no, MSFS's airliners are not direct competition for F-18s and such)

#4 It is 100% guaranteed that EVENTUALLY DCS as a product line will end. Just like every other piece of software.

Buy from ED and help support development. Steam is there to introduce the game to people who wouldn't have heard of it otherwise. There is no advantage from steam...

#2 Your DLCs and DCS.EXE will not magically suddenly stop functioning. Development will simply cease, and you'll be limited to whatever the last version was.

You are wrong, if ED's authentication servers dissapear your DLCs will not work … give it a try .. disconnect from the Internet and see how long your DCS modules still work .. ¿3 days?

1.) Are you sure? I think i can transfer my steam modules to the standalone anytime and have both versions, but not vice versa.

Did you read what I wrote? … I said "With Steam you can only purchase on their Store." .. try to purchase a DLC at ED's and see if it runs on your Steam DCS.

The main advantage of Steam actually is that it does advertise. I think there are quite some people who found DCS by that, and having those pay as well makes up for the 30% that Lord Gaben gets (and to be fair, he gave us HL:A which is awesome, and the Index which is also awesome).

But I think another advantage hasn't been said yet: You can give back things you buy within 2 hours and use that time to try things out. I know this isn't lots in DCS, but well, you can give a module a try there and then come here and buy directly from ED

I'd say payment methods (I know a lot of guys who prefer to use paysafe for example) and download availability are the biggest pros you'd notice on Steam.

I think the cut is 30% and reduced to 20% if the sale goes over $50 million.

Developers can chose not to put it up on Steam. But they're putting them up because the increased revenue clearly outweighs the cut. That means Steam deserves their cut just as developers deserves theirs.

I'm not sure if it applies to DCS but for other games I played, there are advantages to Steam version. For driving sims for example, it saves all my profiles, controller settings, and even car setups on their cloud so even after deleting the game and reinstalling after couple years, I can just jump right in and don't have to restart everything.

Also much faster download speed for updates and reinstalls.

I'm not sure if it applies to DCS but for other games I played, there are advantages to Steam version. For driving sims for example, it saves all my profiles, controller settings, and even car setups on their cloud so even after deleting the game and reinstalling after couple years, I can just jump right in and don't have to restart everything.

This is an advantage for sure but...i'm not that a fan of cloud based stuff to keep things.

Steam has an almost monopoly on race sims. Wanna drive on your computer, one direction to follow...Steam.

I would like to have a bit more choice from which "store" (i'm not using the word platform) i can buy, because you also have to install their software to make that happen. I prefer standalone stuff.

Did you read what I wrote? … I said "With Steam you can only purchase on their Store." .. try to purchase a DLC at ED's and see if it runs on your Steam DCS.

I misread that, my fault.

But still, on one hand you're saying standalone is better because one avoids the steam cut and on the other hand you're calling it an advantage that one can buy modules on the steam shop as well with standalone. And then again have the 20 or 30% steam cut? Where is the point? If you buy standalone to support ED, you should not take advantage of the opportunity to buy from steam at the same time. That would be a little bit two faced, wouldn't it? You could just delete your standalone install and stay completely with steam, no difference at all.

Another advantage of steam in general is IMO, that steam does not require any reinstalls after reinstalling windows or getting a new PC. Plug in your Steam SSD and all games will run without having to reinstall them. I'm using the same steam install for like 6 or 7 years now. And within that time frame, i upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10, reinstalled windows several times after getting a new SSD etc. and i never had to reinstall Steam (or any containing apps/games) for a single time. Just double click the steam.exe, steam will create a new registry entry on it's own and every game will run as before. I can copy paste my Steam install to a different SSD and it will perfectly work. I could even unplug my Steam SSD, go to a friend and plug my SSD into his PC, start the Steam install on my SSD and it will run on his PC without any issues. Try that with a standalone installation and report the result.

You can turn it how you want, literally steam has only advantages over standalone. ED would not be the first software studio that sells more copies on steam than standalone.

From experience, my main beefs with Steam are-

1- the download time is hugely long for most games.

2- they won't refund you if you've spent over 2 hours struggling to get a game to run properly.

3- They update games automatically (I haven't found an option to turn auto-updates off), which means you boot up your computer and sit down to play a game, only to find you've got to wait til its stopped auto-updating, which could take hours, grrr.

So on the whole I usually try to buy direct from the game manufacturers rather than Steam.

PS- If we download the DCS base game directly from DCS , does that mean any DLC's we buy from Steam later on won't work?

From experience, my main beefs with Steam are-

1- the download time is hugely long for most games.

2- they won't refund you if you've spent over 2 hours struggling to get a game to run properly.

3- They update games automatically (I haven't found an option to turn auto-updates off), which means you boot up your computer and sit down to play a game, only to find you've got to wait til its stopped auto-updating, which could take hours, grrr.

 

So on the whole I usually try to buy direct from the game manufacturers rather than Steam.

 

PS- If we download the DCS base game directly from DCS , does that mean any DLC's we buy from Steam later on won't work?

Modules you buy from Steam will work on DCS standalone. But doesn't work the other way around.

With all steam Merits, One of the biggest is Regional Pricing. Not everybody has ability to donate. I'm a college student and live with pocket money. Hopefully when I get a job, I'll buy my dlcs from ED store. But ED is giving choice to buy from steam with all it's advantages, I see no reason to not buy from steam. If they were struggling, they would have pulled the plug on steam.

It's not like majority of playerbase are dollar earners. Btw it's better to have both standalone and steam than one. This is the flexibility of steam.

Sent from my Redmi K20 Pro using Tapatalk

Thank you guys.

Been hectic past days, trying to now catch up.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

What's this?

Summer Sale 2020! :thumbup:

Just uninstalled DCS from Steam and downloading now...

Interestingly the download, well, maybe i'm just catching busy time, don't recall taking this long when installed from Steam... hrm...

(i do have 1 Gbps up/down...)

Heading over to ED e-shop to pickup out few modules...

See you guys soon...

Thanks much.

Hrm, the installation is at this state for >1 hour ...

And i just purchased DLC's too...

What's happening with the DCS World installation...

With steam was able to install, up and running doing instant action in no time... urgh...

The D:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\autoupdate_log.txt shows at the bottom,

<snip>

03318.207 INFO : MKDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\Mods/terrains/Caucasus/l10n/en/

03318.210 INFO : MKDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\Mods/terrains/Caucasus/l10n/en/LC_MESSAGES/

03318.213 INFO : INSTALL Mods/terrains/Caucasus/l10n/en/LC_MESSAGES/messages.mo

03318.214 INFO : RMDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\_downloads\Mods/terrains/Caucasus/l10n/en/LC_MESSAGES/

03318.214 INFO : RMDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\_downloads\Mods/terrains/Caucasus/l10n/en/

03318.214 INFO : RMDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\_downloads\Mods/terrains/Caucasus/l10n/

03318.215 INFO : RMDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\_downloads\Mods/terrains/Caucasus/

03318.215 INFO : RMDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\_downloads\Mods/terrains/

03318.215 INFO : RMDIR d:\Program Files\Eagle Dynamics\DCS World\_downloads\Mods/

03318.216 INFO : Installed 39108 files.

03318.745 STATUS: Installing runtimes...

Searching online, what should follow is following log,

INFO : distr/vcredist_x64.exe succeeded with code 0

STATUS: Cleaning up...

=== Log closed.