Wiz - The long install time was not entirely due to the fact that you had to connect to Steam, but was also due to fact that the installation process required the unbearably long decryption or "activation" *rolls eyes* of the game files.
Chips - It's is not the fact that they are attempting to stamp out piracy, it is the method they are using that is the problem. When they attempt to protect their "intellectual property" in this fashion, they make the security measures so complicated, lenghty and invasive that the average user is inconvienced to the nth degree. Despite the fact that "it's the pirates what done it!" as many people seem to claim, as a consumer who has paid full price for a legitimate copy of the game, aren't people entitled to a quick and worry-free installation, regardless of the "evil forces" trying to acquire the game without paying for it?
What's the alternative? I hear you ask. I do not have an answer for you, however it is unequivocal that the Steam PA system is badly designed and an inconvenience for all concerned. It's great to fight piracy, but not to torment the average user by doing so
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