Install Steam
login
|
language
简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)
繁體中文 (Traditional Chinese)
日本語 (Japanese)
한국어 (Korean)
ไทย (Thai)
Български (Bulgarian)
Čeština (Czech)
Dansk (Danish)
Deutsch (German)
Español - España (Spanish - Spain)
Español - Latinoamérica (Spanish - Latin America)
Ελληνικά (Greek)
Français (French)
Italiano (Italian)
Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
Magyar (Hungarian)
Nederlands (Dutch)
Norsk (Norwegian)
Polski (Polish)
Português (Portuguese - Portugal)
Português - Brasil (Portuguese - Brazil)
Română (Romanian)
Русский (Russian)
Suomi (Finnish)
Svenska (Swedish)
Türkçe (Turkish)
Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
Українська (Ukrainian)
Report a translation problem
Discussions Rules and Guidelines
Report this post
Steam cant force devs to do something if they don't want to use it
> Devs can post announcement/news.
> Devs can post in their forum.
> The what's new is encouraging devs to post announcement/news.
> The patch notes within the download section for when update happens also encourage devs to post announcement/news.
Steam not gonna put a gun to their head to force them to post immediately whenever an update is made. Devs can post at their own pace about update, as well when they want to push an update, there some devs that give patch notes in advance before update, or after, some may take over a day to give patch notes, if not sure if an try asking community for the game if anyone knows about it. Or you can just contact Dev what the update about.
So, Valve already does what you want, encourage developers to do it. Up to them to actually do it.
How about you encourage them too? Make your voice heard and let them see that there is a demand for that.
Ironically you see that patch note a lot with Google apps.
Changelog done.
Usefulness? None.
Wasted time? For everyone involved.
Example issue on google play store.
https://imgur.com/a/YeE0yyS
^This, because they can be vague on google play / ios, they're not require to give breakdown info what they meant exactly, and not to say they don't do it either on Steam, and everywhere else, still ultimately comes down to the dev to give the patch notes to explain, or not exactly.
The other issue if look on google play, just go to it, no really just go to it, and check any app you haven't installed, and won't see patch notes, only way to see it is having it installed, and can't view past notes either so no way to know if something was fixed in the past so only way to figure it out, is doing the problem to see if it been fixed. There some 3rd party services that keep track of notes, but someone charge a fee to use their service, and some are limited, so give or take how they work out for you.
In EU member states as of 01-01-2022 patch notes; informative patch notes that clearly state what the patch modified, are actually a legal requirement for software updates:
Forced application of patches that modify digital content must comply with this requirement, or they are forbidden by law. This trumps anything a contract or general terms of service might state, effectively making it illegal for a trader or their representatives to distribute patches to consumers where patch notes are missing.
The fact that Valve doesn't enforce this for publishers is a fine case of stupidity on their part, as they are in the EU and its member states also the liable party that is in breach of contract and in danger of being reprimanded through administrative fines from appointed supervisory authorities.
The really interesting part here is the fact that consumers must be informed reasonably in advance and on a durable medium. A last-minute notice when the download has already started is insufficient. And a website or application under the trader or publisher's own control does not qualify as a durable medium according to the ECJ. You have to actually be notified in advance via something like e-mail to an e-mail account not under their control, which Valve doesn't do.
So technically all those mandatory patches on Steam that you as a consumer cannot refuse, have been illegal within the EU for at least a year, it seems.
The ramifications of that one are mind-boggling, yet somehow it managed to slip under the radar.
Every MMO and SaaS game would love to know how that works and why the EU magically hasn’t shutdown literally every F2P game in existence
It is indeed a hot take if you intentionally remove all the context as part of a bad faith argument. Mandatory patches can be perfectly legal in the EU, if you keep to the actual legal requirements. It only becomes illegal when you don't.
I mean you’re the one saying it so like hey you know maybe don’t say things you don’t mean
No, I did not make a carpet statement that all mandatory software updates are illegal always, in the general sense. And I will thank you kindly to not try to insinuate that I did.
I stated that until Valve heeds the technicality of the new EU legal requirements, the updates they've distributed since the new legal package had to go into effect on 01-01-2022, could be considered illegal.
And to come full circle: the implied suggestion/idea in all that, is that they actually fix it before it rubs the EU or one of the supervisory authorities of one of its member states the wrong way again.
Remember that case the EU brought against those 5 publishers and Steam facilitating them, regarding geo-fencing and price-discrimination within the EU internal market? That case took over 2 years to prepare before it started. And the actual legislation involved had been in force for longer than that. The particular legislation that applies here has been in effect for just over a single year.
Wrong: Steam is the platform by which developers of 3rd party games distribute THEIR patches, including Ubisoft, an EU company.
Secondly it is the developer such as Ubisoft, an EU company, not Valve to ensure patch notes are included as Valve already provides the tools to do so.
And finally Valve cannot be held accountable for non-compliance by 3rd party developers despite your need to have the directive fit your narrative.
By law in the EU it is the trader which modifies the content and is legally liable and responsible to ensure the conditions under which the content may be modified are fulfilled. The trader is the one to which the receipt is made out: Steam. The publisher is merely acting as their representative in this manner.
Yes; it may well be the reverse in the US. Don't care. US law doesn't apply to EU consumers buying on Steam. Contracts with a consumer are under the jurisdiction of the EU member state where the consumer is domiciled. So say the treaties of Rome on international contract law, which are honored also by the US.
Yet, if that doesn't satisfy you then here's a different angle: it is also Steam which puts in its own terms of service for the platform, the article and requirement that it will update purchased content from time to time. That signals that also from Valve's own perspective they are the party that is performing the updates; and not the publishers.
(And try as you might your staple "Ubisoft, an EU company"-adage isn't doing anything for you other than slowly turning into a silly point-and-laugh meme.)