Comments Locked

44 Comments

Back to Article

  • haldolium - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Well that is kind of a uncritical article, isn't it? During the first ~24h the Origin servers were crushed and you could not redeem your codes (who would have thought of THAT, right?). On top of it, I have no clue where you get your experience with Origin but during the short time I used it just now for this bundle it caused more problems as Steam did within the past 8 years... and by now, one would expect Origin not being a total piece of shit software after more as 2 years being public. But well, another reason never support EA again. This time, at least they did not saw a penny of that money. Sadly one could not chose to give it to the developers.
  • JarredWalton - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    I've used Origin regularly for the past several years -- all of our Battlefield 3 benchmarking required it, for example. Other than short-term downtimes (something which Steam has also had on occasion), I never had serious problems. So, three questions:

    When did you purchase your codes for the bundle, what problems did you encounter (other than the overloaded servers), and are the problems still ongoing or have they been resolved?

    If the answer to the last one is that, yes, things are now working, I can't get particularly worked up about it. I mean, they're giving games away for charity, so even if the experience isn't perfect I'm okay with that.
  • chizow - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Yeah I'd just ignore it. I never understood the anti-EA, anti-Origin vitriol you see from some people who then turn around and praise Steam. Steam was a total PITA piece of bloatware when it first launched yet people seem to forget that. Not to mention its not immune at all from near-complete shutdown during Steam sales. I had no problem redeeming my codes after the initial crush of orders, and I was getting games at a full 7mbps, so no complaints here.
  • Mr. Pedantic - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Well, I already have Steam, why would I want something extra? If we accept your premises that Steam is a PITA, and that it's improved over time, why would I want something else that's LIKE Steam, but crappier? Part of the advantage of Steam is that I have all my games accessible in one place, since I can even add non-Steam games into my Steam library. So why would I want to install another piece of software whose only purpose is to fragment this unity?

    Also, regardless of whether it's better than Steam or worse than Steam, I don't understand why Origin forces me to open my browser to run Battlefield 3. I just don't.
  • JarredWalton - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    That's not Origin, that's Battlefield 3. As for an alternative to Steam, while I'm not suggesting Origin is awesome, why would you ONLY want one place to go for all of your games and gaming needs? I like Steam a lot, but having other options out there is never a bad thing, as it forces Valve to continue to improve. Where would Intel be if AMD, Cyrix, ARM, etc. never existed?
  • f0d - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    my problem with origin is that it isnt a GOOD alternative to steam - with all the issues it has like simcity and when pretty much any game is released on it it has issues (even bf3 had issues when it first came out) or even when the humble bundle was released it was non functional and the fact that pretty much only EA games are released on it (although they do have other indie games on there i think) makes it not really an alternative to steam for me also the game library is small
    so to sum it up

    *small game library
    *just about only EA games on it
    *server issues when a new game is released (never had any issues redeeming the same humble bundle games on steam)

    if you include the time it was called EA downloader in 2005 onwards it has been around long enough to have these issues resolved imo
  • THizzle7XU - Sunday, August 18, 2013 - link

    The server issues for each specific game have nothing to do with Origin itself. Those are the servers provided for those games that were not adequate enough. If those games were sold on Steam they would have had the same problems.
  • GiantPandaMan - Saturday, August 24, 2013 - link

    As a resident EA hater, I don't like Origin just because I dislike EA as a company. The DRM is horrendous on their games. You can't just separate Origin from their in game DRM. For example, yesterday I was playing Mass Effect 3 online with some friends. I lost connection to the multiplayer servers because they crashed. I know they crashed because every single person I was playing with had the same issue. I had to quit Mass Effect 3 just to reconnect Origin to their servers. Origin would NOT connect unless I did a full quit out of Mass Effect 3.

    Origin has gotten better, but it's still very dodgy. It crashes, it has weird issues where certain friends may or may not show up to certain other friends on any given day. It's not that they're not online. It's not that I can't see both of them. They just can't see each other. Ultimately, I picked up the humble bundle because the money won't go to EA and I already have an Origin account. However, I've pretty much put on a personal boycott of EA games because of the horrendous DRM they put on. Using Origin supports EA so it gets a long look before I'd ever buy anything from it as well.
  • chizow - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Simple, because it offers alternatives and potentially better prices not only for older games, but new releases also. This bundle is a good example of it. If EA wasn't 1st party publisher for these titles, they would never be able to essentially give them away for free. Similarly I have also bought digital downloads from GameFly, Amazon, and GreenManGaming because they all have offered product at cheaper prices than Steam. So who cares, if I have to keep track of a few more client installs, no big deal, especially when EA has franchises that are absolutely worth maintaining just for their client. Now that the client is in place and I have some games in my Origin library, there's no downside to having it as a 2nd client since I'm going to have it regardless.

    Also, Origin is not without benefits. One of the coolest things Origin did from the outset was allow boxed DVD owners to register their games on Origin for a digital download version. For the few legacy games that didn't auto-activate, they issued new keys and de-commissioned the old ones.
  • f0d - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    "One of the coolest things Origin did from the outset was allow boxed DVD owners to register their games on Origin for a digital download version. For the few legacy games that didn't auto-activate, they issued new keys and de-commissioned the old ones."

    they wont let me use my bf2142 keys on it and they wont give me any new ones i have tried a few times - not sure about other older games but i did try it with 2142 and was denied
  • althaz - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    It's still bloatware and a very average piece of software (Origin is better in some ways, that's how crap it still is). However, it doesn't force you to connect to the internet (so having the servers down makes no difference, unless you are trying to download a game) and makes DRM easy (except for Ubisoft games, which I will never spend money on again). It also is your only way to access the Steam service - which it totally fucking awesome.

    I also use Origin (and the EA servers seem to be down a LOT), but it would be a lot better if there was some universal program that could collate all of my game libraries together.
  • nikon133 - Tuesday, August 20, 2013 - link

    Origin works fine for me, but I do have some anti-EA sentiments. Not letting players to host servers for BF3, while renting most of official servers... or, in my case, all (Oceania region for PC BF3). Not that you cannot find decent games, but pretty much every one of them is at least slightly modified (usually much higher number of tickets), and some of them are ridiculous with rules (no explosives, no shotguns, no this, no that), kicking people out for lag, for being better than "owners", moving them from one to another team for balance (quite often "balance", IMHO).

    Looking at all the maps available in all the updates, I'm pretty sure I haven't played a few of them at all. No one hosted them in my region, and other regions are very keen of kicking me out for lag, even if game is perfectly playable for me.

    So I bought both PS3 and PC versions. Got all updates for PS3 individually and Premium for PC... and I cannot play the game the way it was intended to be played, and - by the way - the way I liked it, which is why I purchased all extra content.

    And now, if I want to play proper game with normal number of tickets, map rotations as well, I'd have to rent my own server as well. Really... how much money does EA want me to spend on single game?

    In addition - what will happen when EA stops supporting BF3? My friends and I still play BF2 on lan parties. Will EA release home server for BF3 once they shut down their servers, or upgrade them to BF4 when renters move to BF4?
  • ol1bit - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link

    I've had steam since day1. It rocks, I have over 200 games.
  • Bob Todd - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Rabble rabble rabble! I want all of the old games I paid pennies for available right this f$cking instant!!! Get a grip. It's for charity. The games are stupid cheap. The world will not stop spinning if people have to wait a few days for Origin's lame infrastructure to be able to cope with the load.
  • Moishe - Saturday, August 17, 2013 - link

    Origin is indeed VERY crappy. EA needs to stop being arse-clowns and understand that the future is in digital delivery and people expect quick downloads and proper support.
  • Wolfpup - Monday, August 19, 2013 - link

    I would normally never support Origin, but since it went to charity...

    I've had zero luck downloading anything so far. I started downloading Battlefield 3 Friday night. It made it to 38%, then fell back to 30%, then fell back to 20%. I've tried restarting the client, but at best it makes it up into the 30s, then falls back to 20%.

    Color me incredibly unimpressed. It's a good thing this went to charity...
  • idealego - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    You have to pay at least $1 for this bundle or you get nothing.

    For people who don't like Origin, keep in mind that you can pay $1, get five Steam games, and not bother with the Origin-only games.

    If you don't like EA, also keep in mind that all the money is going to charity.

    Overall it's an amazing deal.
  • JarredWalton - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Edited; thanks!
  • Bob Todd - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Thanks for the tip. I owned some of them already but I picked it up for the Dead Space games.
  • JarredWalton - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Same here - a friend posted it on Facebook and I thought, "Hey, I was always curious about Dead Space and Burnout..." For $4.81, why now? Now I have an extra copy of BF3, Mirror's Edge, Crysis 2, and a few digital paperweights that I'll never download like Sims 3 and Medal of Honor. Haha
  • JarredWalton - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    In related news (not worthy of an actual post though), Steam has sales on the Kalypso catalog this weekend, as well as the Red Faction series. I'm not a major fan of many of their games, simply because I don't care for the genre, but I did play through Jagged Alliance: Back in Action last year and had fun doing so. Might be worth the $7.49 if you enjoy pausable real-time tactical games.
  • chizow - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    The dead space games are a hidden fem although some of the gameplay and upgrade mechanics aren't as fresh as they were then. If you are using Nvidia hardware be sure to set vsync in the driver and off ingame or you will get really bad input lag. 3d vision gamers should also check out the amazing work HeliX did with these games using his mod.
  • chizow - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Er hidden gem
  • apertotes - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    So, EA, why doesn't this depreciate video games IPs like Steam's offers?
  • kwrzesien - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Just pulled the trigger for $5, charity money well spent. Doesn't hurt to build a library of games at this price even if I don't play many of these FPS types.
  • Daniel Egger - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Now if only more than one of those games would run on Mac or at least Linux. The Sims isn't really my cup of tea... and buying Windows games without even owning a Windows machine doesn't appear to be a very bright move.
  • jasonelmore - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    dont buy a mac expecting to game on it efficiently.
  • wavetrex - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Origin just disabled code redeeming. No surprises here...
  • Impulses - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    Is it one code to redeem the whole package or is it like other bundles where it's one code for the main stuff and another for the bonus? I bought it when I got the email, didn't even check, figured for $5 it was worth some charity even if I already had BF3.
  • JarredWalton - Friday, August 16, 2013 - link

    You go to Humble Bundle via the link and get codes for each game. The codes are "for you only", but I wonder if you can give the ones you don't need/want to someone else? I already have BF3, for example....
  • Impulses - Saturday, August 17, 2013 - link

    Huh, even better, I imagine anyone can redeem the codes (at least the Steam ones, dunno if the Origin ones could somehow be pre-bound to your email).
  • piiman - Saturday, August 17, 2013 - link

    " So who cares, if I have to keep track of a few more client installs"

    You don't even have to do that. Just place a shortcut on desktop and it will launch the right client.
    I don't buy many games on Origin unless I have to as they are pretty high priced there and they keep that high price for a long time. But I have bought some game there and I bought the bundle for 1.00 and its was real worth it even though I had half of them on Steam already. DeadSpace3 for a buck alone is a steal. For a deal like that I'll install anyone’s client lol.

    And yes they were flooded and their code redemption server was down for a time, BIG DEAL! it happens even with Steam. Ever buy a hot title on Steam on release day? If you had you would know they almost always have trouble on launch day for big titles.

    I also think people hate EA because they seldom patch games. DeadSpace 3 has a problem with some Hid game controllers and crashes on start up yet EA hasn't fixed it and probabaly never will. I have to unplug my Throttle to get the game to even launch but hey I only paid a $1.00 so I don't give rats ass. lol
  • piiman - Saturday, August 17, 2013 - link

    "You have to pay at least $1 for this bundle or you get nothing."
    Is that a complaint?!

    And all the money does not go to Charity.

    But yes it was a GREAT! Which is why their servers were slammed.
  • sweenish - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link

    By default it doesn't, this is correct. But you can definitely make it happen that way.
  • eastyy123 - Sunday, August 18, 2013 - link

    just never expected to see the word humble in conjunction with ea
  • Bromsin - Monday, August 19, 2013 - link

    Unfortunately, I refuse to use the Origin service as it collects way too much data. Until they change their data collection policies, I am forced to not play EA games. It is a real shame as I love the Battlefield series and cannot play anymore.
  • flyingpants1 - Wednesday, August 21, 2013 - link

    I sure hope you don't use any Google products, or FB, or Amazon, or just about anything else on the internet!
  • yhselp - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link

    Just a side note about redeeming the Sims 3 expansions. You can actually do it through the Sims webpage, it's just that you have to click "Register A Game" rather than "Redeem A Code" and it works like a charm - you just need to refresh your Origin library afterwards. The "Register A Game" section has five blocks. Hope this clears the issue.
  • sweenish - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link

    I was able to redeem the game and both expansions directly through origin without issue. I'm surprised the article would mention otherwise in the first place.
  • biassj - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link

    Are you guys having trouble launching the game? I hit the green play button on the Sims 3 launcher and the game doesn't start. =(
  • JarredWalton - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link

    The fact that Origin's/Humble Bundle's instructions are wrong might have something to do with it.... ;-)
  • Sivar - Thursday, August 22, 2013 - link

    "Anything that requires DOSbox to run might be better served living in your fond memories instead of being dusted off to discover how badly it's aged. Well, except for Wasteland...."

    Wasteland and X-Com. :)
  • JarredWalton - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link

    I backed the Wasteland 2 Kickstarter (as well as the Torment Kickstarter); I can't wait for them to finish making the games!
  • ol1bit - Friday, August 23, 2013 - link

    I always loved: Crusader: No Remorse and Crusader: No Regret

Log in

Don't have an account? Sign up now