Why do i need to play a game for 2 hours just to buy stuff from the point shop?!

[Jayk0b]

WTF, is this? I buy a game, and want to spend my points and then Steam is really fkin forcing me to let that ♥♥♥♥ idle for 2 hours!? Whats the point....

[Wayward]

Probably to prevent people buying a game just to get the items through the points shop, and then refunding it (and before anyone mentions it - yes I know if you refund then any points from the purchase itself would be deducted and the items would be returned if you didn't have enough points, but you could have points from previous purchases or from community awards and would not lose those or the items as long as your point balance doesn't go negative).

[Jayk0b]

Originally posted by Wayward:

Probably to prevent people buying a game just to get the items through the points shop, and then refunding it (and before anyone mentions it - yes I know if you refund then any points from the purchase itself would be deducted and the items would be returned if you didn't have enough points, but you could have points from previous purchases or from community awards and would not lose those or the items as long as your point balance doesn't go negative).

well, thats something i didnt thought about.
If ppl refund than they should reset all the stuff they bought.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by Jayk0b:

Originally posted by Wayward:

Probably to prevent people buying a game just to get the items through the points shop, and then refunding it (and before anyone mentions it - yes I know if you refund then any points from the purchase itself would be deducted and the items would be returned if you didn't have enough points, but you could have points from previous purchases or from community awards and would not lose those or the items as long as your point balance doesn't go negative).

well, thats something i didnt thought about.
If ppl refund than they should reset all the stuff they bought.

They wouldn't even have to reset it. They could just lock it.

"You no longer meet the requirements needed to use this item. Please repurchase required perquisites to unlock this item for use."

[BJWyler]

Originally posted by Jayk0b:

Originally posted by Wayward:

Probably to prevent people buying a game just to get the items through the points shop, and then refunding it (and before anyone mentions it - yes I know if you refund then any points from the purchase itself would be deducted and the items would be returned if you didn't have enough points, but you could have points from previous purchases or from community awards and would not lose those or the items as long as your point balance doesn't go negative).

well, thats something i didnt thought about.
If ppl refund than they should reset all the stuff they bought.

Originally posted by D. Flame:

Originally posted by Jayk0b:

well, thats something i didnt thought about.
If ppl refund than they should reset all the stuff they bought.

They wouldn't even have to reset it. They could just lock it.

"You no longer meet the requirements needed to use this item. Please repurchase required perquisites to unlock this item for use."

Why? When the simpler method is simply to limit the purchase until the refund period has passed. Keep it simple is still a viable means of implementation. If someone feels the need to idle a game they bought for two hours, instead of, you know, actually playing a game they paid for, they are probably buying the game for the wrong reasons. Funny how that two hours is suddenly too much time now.

[Jayk0b]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

Originally posted by Jayk0b:

well, thats something i didnt thought about.
If ppl refund than they should reset all the stuff they bought.

They wouldn't even have to reset it. They could just lock it.

"You no longer meet the requirements needed to use this item. Please repurchase required perquisites to unlock this item for use."

yeah, that would be easier, i agree.

Well i wasted the 2 hours and got my background to complete my profle, i guess the 2 hours were the "anticipation" (correct term?)

Im happy now and will never touch the game again xD

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by BJWyler:

Originally posted by Jayk0b:

well, thats something i didnt thought about.
If ppl refund than they should reset all the stuff they bought.

Originally posted by D. Flame:

They wouldn't even have to reset it. They could just lock it.

"You no longer meet the requirements needed to use this item. Please repurchase required perquisites to unlock this item for use."

Why? When the simpler method is simply to limit the purchase until the refund period has passed. Keep it simple is still a viable means of implementation. If someone feels the need to idle a game they bought for two hours, instead of, you know, actually playing a game they paid for, they are probably buying the game for the wrong reasons. Funny how that two hours is suddenly too much time now.

They aren't buying the game. They are buying the profile item. The game is just an annoying hanger on.

[Lithurge]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

They aren't buying the game. They are buying the profile item. The game is just an annoying hanger on.

And it's still less hassle for Steam to limit it until after the refund window than it is to build a system to lock and unlock it when somebody buys/refunds a game. It also removes any of the associated costs a refund creates.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by Lithurge:

Originally posted by D. Flame:

They aren't buying the game. They are buying the profile item. The game is just an annoying hanger on.

And it's still less hassle for Steam to limit it until after the refund window than it is to build a system to lock and unlock it when somebody buys/refunds a game. It also removes any of the associated costs a refund creates.

False.

[Jayk0b]

Originally posted by peppermint hollows:

Ah, I see now. The game itself is literally cheaper than what people are selling one of its background for on the community market...lmfao.

in my case i wanted the "black" background from "Wave shaper".
Since the BG isnt sold on the martket i bought the game for 2€, let it idle for 2 hours and then bought the "black" background.

Now im happy with my profile ^^

[BJWyler]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

Originally posted by BJWyler:

Why? When the simpler method is simply to limit the purchase until the refund period has passed. Keep it simple is still a viable means of implementation. If someone feels the need to idle a game they bought for two hours, instead of, you know, actually playing a game they paid for, they are probably buying the game for the wrong reasons. Funny how that two hours is suddenly too much time now.

They aren't buying the game. They are buying the profile item. The game is just an annoying hanger on.

Incorrect. The game is the requirement. You either satisfy the requirement, or you don't get the bonus. If someone wants to waste money buying a game they don't actually want, that's a "them" issue, as is requiring 2 hours of play time before they get the window dressing.

Originally posted by D. Flame:

Originally posted by Lithurge:

And it's still less hassle for Steam to limit it until after the refund window than it is to build a system to lock and unlock it when somebody buys/refunds a game. It also removes any of the associated costs a refund creates.

False.

Not false. It's simpler simply to have a 2 hour playtime lock then to implement a bit more overhead to gauge locking and unlocking of items with refunds and purchases.

Less overhead, less problems; the KISS method is viable every time.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by BJWyler:

Originally posted by D. Flame:

They aren't buying the game. They are buying the profile item. The game is just an annoying hanger on.

Incorrect. The game is the requirement. You either satisfy the requirement, or you don't get the bonus. If someone wants to waste money buying a game they don't actually want, that's a "them" issue, as is requiring 2 hours of play time before they get the window dressing.

Originally posted by D. Flame:

False.

Not false. It's simpler simply to have a 2 hour playtime lock then to implement a bit more overhead to gauge locking and unlocking of items with refunds and purchases.

Less overhead, less problems; the KISS method is viable every time.

False, and the system is already in place. Everything on Steam has licensing checks. It literally just, at its most basic, flips one bit from 0 to 1 and back again.

[Lithurge]

Originally posted by D. Flame:

False, and the system is already in place. Everything on Steam has licensing checks. It literally just, at its most basic, flips one bit from 0 to 1 and back again.

Congratulations on ignoring the refund costs I mentioned. Every time you make a payment they charge Steam a fee. When you refund Steam does not get that fee back. So whether your speculation on how easy it is to implement is true or not there are still extra costs they have no need to absorb.

But I'm sure you'll come up with some other justification so you can tell yourself you know best.

[D. Flame]

Originally posted by Lithurge:

Originally posted by D. Flame:

False, and the system is already in place. Everything on Steam has licensing checks. It literally just, at its most basic, flips one bit from 0 to 1 and back again.

Congratulations on ignoring the refund costs I mentioned. Every time you make a payment they charge Steam a fee. When you refund Steam does not get that fee back. So whether your speculation on how easy it is to implement is true or not there are still extra costs they have no need to absorb.

But I'm sure you'll come up with some other justification so you can tell yourself you know best.

No, its just irrelevant. You can refund the game in both cases and in both cases, you lose the ability to access the items. Nothing changes.

[76561198407601200]

Originally posted by BJWyler:

Originally posted by Jayk0b:

well, thats something i didnt thought about.
If ppl refund than they should reset all the stuff they bought.

Originally posted by D. Flame:

They wouldn't even have to reset it. They could just lock it.

"You no longer meet the requirements needed to use this item. Please repurchase required perquisites to unlock this item for use."

Why? When the simpler method is simply to limit the purchase until the refund period has passed. Keep it simple is still a viable means of implementation. If someone feels the need to idle a game they bought for two hours, instead of, you know, actually playing a game they paid for, they are probably buying the game for the wrong reasons. Funny how that two hours is suddenly too much time now.

Eh

Originally posted by Jayk0b:

WTF, is this? I buy a game, and want to spend my points and then Steam is really ♥♥♥♥ forcing me to let that ♥♥♥♥ idle for 2 hours!? Whats the point....

You aren't forced to do anything, you purchased the game and you can play it when you wish. If you are wanting to receive points then you simply must wait.

[cinedine]

Originally posted by Lithurge:

Originally posted by D. Flame:

They aren't buying the game. They are buying the profile item. The game is just an annoying hanger on.

And it's still less hassle for Steam to limit it until after the refund window than it is to build a system to lock and unlock it when somebody buys/refunds a game. It also removes any of the associated costs a refund creates.

Or they could just not lock point shop purchases behind owning the game in the first place.
On a refund Steam already retracts the points associated with the purchase and rolls back any point shop transactions if necessary, if that would bring you into a negative balance.

The 2-hour lock is just Steam's sledgehammer one-size-fits-all solution to the first problem: point shop items requiring you to own the game.

The whole point shop idea is just stupidly implemented. You have what could have been microtransactions for the Steam community locked behind major investments on top of having to acquire the points. And considering that a lot of newer games don't feature trading cards anymore, no, buying on the community market or trading for the items is no longer an option.
And the market has already shown them that people are willing to pay 1.99 or so for a background or an animated avatar. But certainly a lot less are interested in it if it requries a 70 dollar purchase.