Very cool maps in here--must be checked out by everyone--you will like them.

Truncating (getting rid of) the bad file path names in mesh, and particles is a very good thing. Saves a little memory in slightly reduced file sizes, Load times, and avoids Endless Search Loops for non existent files. One of the key things we dealt with in TSOP.

This patch is awesome! Finally the Coronata has some serious teeth!  

ABSOLUTELY ASININE THAT I DON'T GET A WARNING BEFORE STEAM DOWNLOADS THE UPDATE THAT IT WILL RUIN MY SAVE GAMES.

Had at least 20 hours into a huge map that is just totally gone now.  I love Sins, but this problem has ALWAYS turned me off of it for a long time.  I left the autopatch on on Steam because I thought, "no, they wouldn't be that stupid to at least give me a warning and a check that I want to proceed"  Obviously I was wrong. 

At least before Steam I could choose between finishing the map I was on and getting some bugs fixed or new features....now I don't even get a choice.  TOTALLY F@#($ STUPID Stardock.  Absolutely lame.

Anyone know how I can go back to previous version?

right click on game icon in steam library

go to updates tab

change automatic update off

the option is there.

Even before 1.3 was released they said that update 1.04 will break save games and that 1.4 is scheduled for beginning of August. So you had plenty of warning. 

So you had a more than a month of notice by delays and including change log which was posted almost full week in advance with notifications when update is going live and that update will break save games ......

I hate steam. I spent hours trying to get it to work with two games--without success--and I am done with it. No more... That said, I enjoyed the previous Trinity: SoaSE and would like to get the latest expansion SO LONG AS I DON'T HAVE TO USE STEAM!

Can I still use the old electronic software distribution system? Or have I bought my last Stardock game?

No, what you need to be displeased with is Steamworks. It gives the devs some extra libraries and online feature support in exchange for their games being Steam exclusives. Unfortunately, Rebellion was a steamworks game, so it is almost impossible for it to be brought to another distributor.

That said, Rebellion is the only Stardock game this way. And as much as I dislike how much of an anticompetitive policy steamworks is, I'll admit steam really has worked well for me. What exactly isn't working for you?

When Steam works, it's not bad. I used to have it on old machines.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work on this one.  Installations complete one step per restart of the installation up to the point where it goes to compare the key at the en of the process, then it simply won't complete. When I say, "it doesn't work", I mean, "it's broken in a way to maximize inconvenience and hope, then it invalidates the purchase." Pretty frigging broke.

I was initially told that it was probably a problem with my graphics drivers, so I updated those. Then I was told that I had either a virus or problem with anti-virus software. I ran three anti-virus packages without finding anything then uninstalled all of them, all to no avail. I devoted hours to this, and I am unwilling to waste another second on Steam.

So, Rebellion is not an option for me.

I'm not pissed at stardock, but if they go "all Steam", I still won't bother with their products.

Query: how exactly do you know steam is causing the problem?  How can you be sure it's not some problem between your bopx and Rebellion rather then your box and steam?

Well I understand your frustration, and for this specific case the above question is largely semantics as regardless of the cause the simple fact is you are unable to play this game.

That said, swearing off all steam only games sounds  a tad extreme if you don't have conclusive evidence that steam is causing the problem.  I've just seen quite a few people who blame every problem they have with a  game on steam only on steam, even if the bugs/problems are caused by the game it's self-usually these are the sort who already hate steam and are quick to jump on any new vindication.

He said it has happened with two games. Its hard to say without knowing what the other one is, but it seems to be a likely it is steam. Or perhaps more likely steam not setting up some of the other software it is supposed too, like direct X or something like that, which games are going to assume are installed correctly on the computer.

Fair enough.  I'm just by nature often skeptical on this particular subject- perhaps a bit too much so.

 Between me and a few friend I live with we've bought and played hundreds of games on steam spanning 9-10 computers over the years between the three of us, and none of us have ever had a single problem caused by steam.  by contrast the people who hate steam seem to miraculously hit problems caused by steam 50% or more of the time as it's often told.  That seems a pretty tough set of statistics to swallow- Hard to attribute to mere chance.

of course problems with steam exist- this is true of any program- But they seem to occur uncharacteristically often with those who already have a grip with Steam.

So either something is different(which is likely to say either the user or computer in question), resulting in a different probability of problems, or people are misattributing their problems.

That is not to say this is necessarily the case for the OP- I'm only speaking in generalities.  Of course to be fair, I'm likely too quick to judge because of all the steam hate around these parts.

Anyway to OP: I don't really mean to be a jerk on the matter- sorry if I vented any spillover annoyance on you built up by the general anti-steam sentiment that seems so prevalent on these forums.  Your posts were very reasonable and polite, and I shouldn't be snapping at you over generalizations.

Well on the bright side, you can probably get a refund if you don't intend to play at this points.  Valve will generally give you one if you explain the situation.

Or maybe the only reason they hate steam is because it didn't work for them the first time they tried it? Also since your first experience with steam was positive, you'd likely not remember any problems with steam that were fairly quickly resolved afterwords. The first rule of statistics, a correlation does not mean a causation.

That's sort of a misrepresentation of that phrase.  It's meant to be used to describe that not every set of statistics that follow the same pattern are necessarily related.

It is not meant to say that when comparing two sets of trials on the same essentialy format (in this case whether games work on Steam as a platform) have no underlying meaning.

And frankly all the examples you gave for alternative possibilities are themselves correlations.  All I really surmised was that the gap was too large to be attributed to mere chance- so either something has to have been different in the setup of the set of trials pertinant to myself and the other parties respectively or data is being misinterpreted somewhere.

Yes, I have a generally positive view of steam.  But frankly if problems occurred 1/10 as often as these other players say they encounter them there's no way I wouldn't remember- Heck if I had even a 10-15% rate of having steam related problems I wouldn't have a positive disposition towards steam.  Not to mention in general it's more often the opposite- people remember the bad experiences more consistently then the good.

And that said I don't doubt a player's first experience with software shapes their perception of it.  I was never trying to explain "why the people hate steam," but merely that people who hate steam already are prone to blaming any and every problem they have related to a game on steam on steam specifically, resulting ina vicious cycle in which their hatred of the program will be further fueled by problems it didn't even cause. 

Again though, I do acknowledge that there may in some cases be an entirely different probability- It's just as likely to be some key difference in the user/computer involved as it is to be a misinterpretation of problems.