Project CARS approda su Steam

[VELOCIPEDE]

Con il comunicato che potete leggere integralmente qui sotto e assecondando i desideri degli utenti membri che hanno votato a suo favore, il team Slightly Mad Studios ha annunciato la prossima integrazione del suo Project CARS nel sistema di Steam. La già nota ed apprezzata piattaforma di digital delivery gestirà in modo totalmente automatizzato tutti i vari aggiornamenti del software e le diverse autentificazioni dei vari utenti membri, assegnando ad ognuno un livello compatibile al proprio grado (ovvero Junior, Manager ecc...). Il gioco d'altra parte beneficerà di tutte le opzioni presenti in Steam, come ad esempio la chat vocale e gli inviti.

Steamworks Integration Announcement
Dear WMD members,
As discussed in other threads, Steam has already been identified as a viable authentication & digital delivery platform. With this in mind, we're pretty excited to take exploratory steps with the Steamworks SDK by integrating it into Project CARS. Now as pCARS is within the WMD platform we won't be performing this work behind closed doors - we work openly which means you will be along for the ride and have the opportunity to test, suggest and feedback your experiences with these developments!
For those unaware, here are some of the benefits of the Steamworks platform:

• Authentication
• Friends system
• Invitation system
• Achievements
• Matchmaking
• Ranking system
• Leaderboards
• Ghost storage for all players
• VOIP
• DLC packages
• DRM
• Community portal
• Digital delivery and automatic updates

You'll notice that a good few of the above we don't have yet within the WMD platform, notibly: Authentication (our current forum system is not viable for the final product), Friends, Invitations, Achievements, Matchmaking, Ranking, Ghost storage for all players, VOIP, DLC, DRM, and production-ready digital delivery of the game. The cost-savings for SMS to avoid reinventing these well-oiled wheels is significant. Additionally, Steamworks is a mature platform used successfully in thousands of games and has become to be widely accepted by the PC community.

How it will work: In the beginning you will be need to install Steam and we will provide each member with a digital key. Within Steam, you will notice (when the structure is created) a number of download options available (configured as Steam "branches") from which you will select the one that matches your membership tier. The game will then download and furthermore will auto-update when new packages are uploaded.
Authentication will be the first feature to be ported over after which you will need to run Steam to launch the game. The standard WMD builds will cease and it will no longer be possible to authenticate via any other method.
Going forward, we will then migrate our existing features over such as leaderboards and ghost storage before touching on more advanced options such as friends, invitations, matchmaking and ranking (it is still TBD if advanced matchmaking/ranking is in scope for Project CARS).
We hope this direction is well received by you all. In summary, it is very good for the success and profitability of Project CARS, so it's good for us and good for you too.
There are bound to be many questions, so we will try to answer as many of them as possible (and an FAQ is already being prepared). For those of you wondering whether this will affect our title's multiplayer ambitions... it will not. We've examined Steamworks' capabilities very carefully and we strongly believe we can deliver large multiplayer fields via a Steamworks-integrated dedicated server app.

This post has been promoted to an article

[Guest Uff]

Pregio. Usano qualcosa che funziona senza dover reinventare la ruota. Una preoccupazione in meno!

[ulukaii]

Mi permetto di aggiungere la FAQ ufficiale, può tornare utile a chiarire eventuali dubbi sulle build o su come verranno distribuite le nuove key da associare a Steam.

Q: Will Steam be required to run the game?

A: Yes, you will need to install Steam and create an account if you do not have one already. You will need to have Steam running to be able to launch and run the game.

Q: Will I need to be always online/connected?

A: Initially yes, we will still have our servers verifying all users running the game, same as now. Only instead of using forum login we will verify the users with Steam servers. Later we would like to support Steam's offline mode for singleplayer gameplay. You will need to be online to download and install the game, then you can switch Steam to offline mode and still run the game. Multiplayer will not work in Steam offline mode of course.

Q: Will I need to download the whole game again?

A: Yes, we will be switching to Steam-based game updates. This means that everyone will have to download the game again via Steam after we migrate it to Steam.

Q: Will older builds of the game still work?

A: After we migrate to Steam, non-Steam builds of the game will no longer work. You won't be able to login from older builds anymore.

Q: How will I get access to the game on Steam?

A: We will distribute Steam keys to all current WMD members on the forums. The exact details have not been decided yet, but the game key will probably appear in your profile.

Q: How will WMD tiers work on Steam?

A: All WMD members at tier above Junior will receive additional Steam key. Activating this after the game key will enable extra game features specific to your tier.

Q: How often will builds be released on Steam?

A: Standard updates of the game on Steam will happen at "Junior tier frequency", i.e. usually first Friday each month. We will still also have weekly, bi-weekly and daily builds available to members at higher tiers. These builds will be accessed by switching to weekly/bi-weekly/daily branch in the game's Steam properties. To switch to build that's updated more frequently than montly, right-click on the game in your library, select Properties, change to the BETAS tab and choose the build you want to use.

Q: I am a Junior member and I can see all build branches on the BETAS tab. Will anyone be able to use non-montly builds?

A: While anyone can see all build branches and select any of them, only members with corresponding tier unlocked via Steam key provided to them will be allowed to run that build.

Q: Will I still be able to opt-out from pCARS WMD?

A: Yes those rules won't change. We still offer refunds to people who want to leave the project. The game will be removed from your Steam library if you decide to do so.

[fed]

L'installazione tramite steam sarà obbligatoria?

[ulukaii]

Ovviamente sì, diventa a tutti gli effetti un titolo Steamworks (Skyrim, Tomb Raider, etc.).

[fed]

Peccato. Avrei preferito essere libero di scegliere

[bito]

Ragazzi aiutatemi, ho riscosso il codice dal mio profilo, l'ho inserito in giochi , attivazione prodotto su Steam, ma da ieri che ci provo, mi dice sempre" il computer non riesce a collegarsi ai server, o il servizio è stato temporaneamente disattivato, riprova più tardi" che vuol dire, sbaglio io?

Saluti e grazie.

[thecure]

PROVA dove hai messo il codice, sopra' c'e una tendina,li devi mettere il pacchetto che hai comprato....senior ...team ...ecc.....a me in questo momento funziona sto scaricando l'update 530 oppure prova qui ,perche' altri utenti hanno questo problema http://forum.wmdportal.com/showthread.php?15366-Steam-startup-issues-testing&p=517778

Edited August 2, 2013 by thecure

[bito]

Grazie, finalmente ho risolto.

[Guest Gallardo]

comunque potevano ritardare un altro po questa migrazione su steam, non vedo il motivo di tanta fretta, mi trovavo meglio col vecchio launcher, 2 clic e in un attimo scaricava l'aggiornamento se disponibile, ora è un tantino più macchinosa la cosa...