Why Impulse sucks -- Impulse vs Steam

from Stardock Forums

Why do I believe impulse is vastly inferior to steam? It has to do with pretty much every feature that steam has other than the online store and downloading.

 

Both Steam and Impulse provide a download game platform, but steam offers much more:

 

1) Find people you recently played with and add them to friends.

2) Look up games by steam friends (maybe thats just Left 4 Dead, but its a wonderful feature)

3) An IM and VOIP client for communication outside of the game itself, and also ties into the VOIP in the game as well.

4) Ability to invite friends right into your current game.

5) Ability to add non-steam executables as shortcuts to steam, so steam can act as my one-stop-shop for all games I play as a list. I already have it open for L4D, but now it allows me to also see all the games I have installed including demigod.

6) Closes when closed. I notice the impulse executable never really dies even if impulse is shut down. I do not like that. I wind up killing using process explorer the last impulse executable.

7) Set up a "steam" profile, including avatar, and its can be propagated to games.

 

While i read some information stardock provided about impulse being nicer for developers than steam, I don't see the value as a gamer. I don't care what awesome APIs are designed, as a gamer I see less reason to use impulse than steam!

 

The only thing I do hate about steam is that if you buy a game though non-steam methods, you can't activate it on steam. You get steam bonuses only if you contribute to valve by buying it from them. Hopefully you guys will do better in this category.

 

FYI: If you guys package google chrome into impulse it would definately start up faster, IE is really weighting you guys down.

Also forms often gets into a state where impulse keeps throwing errors on every page load. The only way to end the errors is to kill all impulse processes and IE processes.

12,142 views 17 replies
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Not sure where the logic is in having this in 'Support'....but by and large much of what you claim is lacking in Impulse actually isn't [lacking, that is].

From what I've seen/heard it's all about horses for courses....some will like 'Steam'....others will like 'Impulse'.

It's a bit like just about ANYTHING, really....."freedom of choice" ...;)

Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Right on, TG. Most people realize that offering a harsh judgment like that just alienates the Admin and others here who genuinely feel it's a good platform that took alot of time, thought and effort to accomplish.

It's sort of like the difference of speaking softly and politely and in doing so attracts people and honors them by offering understanding or the effort to understand their viewpoint as well.

An example - you're in someone else's home...perhaps someone you'd enjoy having as a friend and his/her Mom invites you for dinner. The other person works to make the food (including the work to earn the money to buy it), set the table and make everything conducive to your pleasure in dining.

You're not crazy about the meal, but doesn't all the effort and caring merit appreciation and a smile? Instead, say, you say, "This food sucks."

Do you imagine you're making friends? Can you appreciate that your carelessness hurts the other person who performed the labor to please you? Doesn't that person merit some appreciation?

Say you like more garlic...so why not say, "Mr. W., thanks for this food and all the work you went to so I could feel good...I like more garlic, so could I have a bit to season my food with?"

See what I'm trying to say? You can change this into a win-win....so, maybe you'd like to change this post around a little? I don't think you wish to sound as churlish as you came across as being.

;)

 

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Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Why do I believe impulse is vastly inferior to steam?

Let me change that around... Why do I believe Steam is vastly inferior to Impulse?

I cannot download any of my other software through Steam. It is therefore useless.

Not much else you can say really ;)

You may like to work on your presentation a little. You attract bees with honey, at the moment, all you are doing is attracting flies...

Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top

5) Ability to add non-steam executables as shortcuts to steam, so steam can act as my one-stop-shop for all games I play as a list. I already have it open for L4D, but now it allows me to also see all the games I have installed including demigod

Have you tried dragging and dropping your game executables into Impulse?  ;)

As far as your multiplayer complaints goes, Impulse is due to have quite a feature-rich MP options in future updates.  I woud suggest taking a read through this and see what is yet to come.

https://www.stardock.com/media/stardockcustomerreport-2008.pdf

 

Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top

This thread sucks :thumbsdown:

Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top

 

omg the trolls are taking over...

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Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Hey John, are your hurting today my friend?

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top


6) Closes when closed. I notice the impulse executable never really dies even if impulse is shut down. I do not like that. I wind up killing using process explorer the last impulse executable.

 

Click on the blue Stardock orb in Impulse.

Untag Enable Fast-Start

 

That should stop your "problem"

I have not noticed Impulse being left active after closing..

 

steam on the other hand, I find anoying, crude and yust a waste of space and resources..

Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Steam sux - I can't download any customizing programmes, office programmes or backup programmes from it.

Impulse is not just a game downloader - RTFM.

Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Why this thread sucks:

 

Pick a reason.

Reply #12 from Stardock Forums Top

Meh . . I'll chalk this up to lack of info and bias.  It's cool.  Hopefully time will fix both issues.

Steam was not born fully formed.  It took time to get where it is.  I'd say that Impulse has matured very quickly since launch in June (I think) and much of that maturatity is due to user feedback.

While presented very poorly, osme of the things asked for would be an improvement to Impulse and should be looked at in any case.

Reply #13 from Stardock Forums Top

Why Impulse is better than Steam:

 

They don't charge 1$ : 1£ which is possibly the biggest ripoff in gaming history

 

Automatic updates for all games

 

You can redownload games as many times as you like once they are registered

 

Its Stardock, and we all love Stardock here :inlove:

 

This thread could be quite a useful debate if a) it was in the right forum and b ) it had a title like 'Possible improvements to impulse - comparison with Steam rather than the inflammatory title thats only going to get one response

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top

why u suck because u just do and because u bash impulse over steam when clearly steam has ran out of what they are selling

impulse is the future and the new biggest wave jump on it and ride it out you may find u like it in the arse like the rest of us

Reply #16 from Stardock Forums Top

Where I think Impulse shines, in comparison to Steam that is, is in it's stability.  I love Hl2, TF2, and l4d, but lets face it; Steam is NOT exactly the most stable piece of software.

 

Also, think of the time difference the two have been out.