Valve introduced a Steam UI beta recently and the prospect of eventually being forced to use it during my games is absolutely horrifying. It is like going from OPEN LOOK to Motif while breaking every GUI/window standard since 1994 (obviously, it wasn’t designed by a Californian). *L* Everything is so graphics-choked and cluttered (not to mention resource-intensive due to the Steam cloud) that the overlay now takes twice as long to open or close during a game. The more graphics-intensive the game, the more likely the overlay is to crash.
The purpose of the Steam overlay (to me) has always been communication; having a means of organizing things with your friends when you are already in a game. The browser was a welcome addition in that it provided a quick and forgettable distraction from L4D2 lobbies when you were waiting for people to join. Valve however seems to have re-evaluated the overlay’s purpose and concluded that it needs to be more browser (and distraction) oriented. They’ve provided “helpful” links to game groups and the forums in the upper-right of the overlay, since apparently we all can’t live without reading/making “+1 rep” posts during a game. If you’re the type of person to have more than one chat window open at a time, you’re likely to accidentally click one of these links while moving/closing the windows — which is as distracting as it is resource-hogging.
This all might be acceptable to me if some of the additions to the overlay were necessary improvements or beneficial to me in some way as a user, but they’re not. They do nothing to improve the appearance or functionality of the overlay and only serve to make it more unstable. Why would I need to see my most recent Achievement for a game in the overlay, when I could review that information in my Control Panel, or on my Steam Profile? Why do I need to read a three-month-old news feed for the game when I already belong to the Official Group and receive news in the form of Announcements? Why do I need to see a horizontal display of four random friends (who aren’t even playing the same game) when my vertical Friends List does a better job?
I really hope that we’ll have the option of continuing to use the old overlay once the new one is released.
I hate worrying about getting my riding boots dirty outside of the arena (leather and mud don’t mix), so I bought these wellies to wear when I’m lunging, brushing, picking, and otherwise seeing to the care of horses. I have no intention of wearing rubber boots with no grip in an English saddle; so without needing to worry about soles, I gave myself an excuse to browse Hunter’s RHS collection. I picked out this monochrome floral pattern to match my riding habit, which usually consists of dark grey or black jodhpurs in the winter. However, I forgot to pick a size larger than I normally wear (so that I could slip them off easily when muddy); so they’re tight around the calf. I already purchased a different pair to wear in the meantime, but I still haven’t decided what I want to do with these yet. It isn’t economical to return them and they’re too pretty to sell at loss. =(
Oh! I was reading about Battlefield: BC2 on
Kotaku yesterday when something familiar caught my eye. XD
6 Responses to “ArGh Valve!”
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Not one of my more stellar Kotaku posts…I think people took me too literally, and I got a bit…annoyed. >.< Did you leave a comment? lol
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I like how all of the replies to your comment totally missed the point. XD It is like every Kotaku commentator is so intent to instigate some kind of argument that their reading comprehension disintegrates into tunnel vision. Of course there are other games and other genres, but the article is about comparing the PC communities of MW2 and BC2. When we’re talking about an observation in trends on CURRENT military shooters, it is accurate to say that people are migrating from MW2 to BC2.
Some of those comments make me laugh BTW…
“Mass Effect 2, Supreme Commander 2, Borderlands, L4D2, Bioshock 2…”
I mean those are all totally analogous to military-style FPS like MW2 and BC2, right?! LOL *rolls eyes*
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I don’t really know about the valve stuff so…X_x
But…!!! I really like your Hunter boots! I love love LOVE Hunters but I can’t really justify them because I’m never at the barn when I’m not going to ride because I just do lessons… and it rarely ever rains here! ):
Your boots are really pretty though! Is the other one pair that you got identical?
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That is the same problem I’m having right now too! I just can’t justify them if I’m not using them for their intended purpose. *L* The boots that I bought to replace them aren’t identical, but they get the job done for now, so I was trying to decide on what I want to do with these in the event I do decide to replace them with an identical pair in the future.
When you take lessons do they just involve learning how to ride, or do they include caring for the horse? One of my girlfriends gives riding lessons (western) and she involves her students in everything from feeding and grooming the horses to cleaning out their stalls. I’m always being ushered into indentured servitude whenever I go riding with her so I don’t look bad in front of her students. =P LOL!
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One of the barns I go to involves us in everything- but it’s well out of town (takes about an hour and a half to get there) so I don’t get to go that often anymore. Especially since lately they are more into polo lacrosse and while it’s fun I feel my heart goes to jumping and that’s what I do primarily. I feel like my regular horse and I are both bored and blank throughout flatwork lessons but once the jumps get set up we both perk up and suddenly get energetic!
My regular barn does nothing of the sort. When I go to tack up or check the horse’s tack, they shove me away and do it themselves (the grooms). Some of the newer students keep asking “they let you bring your horse yourself?” meaning from stable to arena, and I look at them funny like why do I need anyone to do that for me? All people do is stand at the mounting block and wait for someone to bring their horse for them….lol >_>
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Haha it is funny because I’m the exact opposite! I’ve always loved polo (even before riding English), but jumping rails terrifies me! XD IIRC, you were jumping even before learning to canter? Or while you were still becoming confident while cantering…? I can’t remember, but I recall a post like that years ago from your LJ, so I knew even back then that it was something you were really passionate about as a rider. =)
Wow… it sounds so… orderly! But kind of impersonal. =( I think that prep/care for a horse, especially one that is shared (among students), helps to familiarize/acclimate it to you prior to riding. Having a groom service kind of takes away from that whole experience for you and your horse IMO. It is too bad that the other school is so far away and not as focused on jumping, because I have a feeling you’d appreciate having more hands-on involvement in caring for and prepping your horse.
I would be sooo paranoid if someone did all the tack for me and I wasn’t even involved. XD I always check my straps and stirrups after getting in the saddle anyways, but I would need to check the girth and everything before getting on the block if someone did everything for me! I’d be worried, “what if the girth is too loose” or “what if something is pinching the horse” or something…
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