The Steam Deal Thread V7 - The soda wars have ended, but the deals rage on.

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Welcome to the Steam Deal Thread V7! You can find link to past threads at the bottom of this post. Read post #2 of this thread for Steam FAQs and more.

Since the V6 thread, we've decided to leave regular minor sales out of the OP. This post will keep track of major sales (Summer sale, etc.), Steam deals available through other sellers (like Amazon), Preorder deals, and Group Buys.

I would still greatly appreciate help from you folks at home in keeping this smaller-scale OP up-to-date. This is a Wiki post so anyone can contribute. Wiki instructions:
Thanks for your help! If you notice a sale has ended, feel free to delete its line from the sale list. Of course, if you see something does need to be added, then kindly add it to the list.

Make sure your changes match the thread's format! For example, every game that's on sale is part of an unordered list. When adding a game to the list, copy an existing line and update the link, title, and prices. That way, the format stays correct. Do not list percentages off! We list the original price and the sale price here. If you have any suggestions for major changes to the post/thread, PM me (EastX) about them.

Steam Sales - Updated 5/20


CAG Threads Featuring Steam Games on Sale Elsewhere - Updated 1/9


Preorder Deals - Updated 1/10
Group Buy Deals - Updated 1/9/13
Several multiplayer Steam games are available in 2-packs or 4-packs. These packs offer a discount over buying multiple copies of a game separately. We also maintain group buy trade threads for several games, so please use those threads if you're interested in setting up a group buy.


Free Stuff - List needs updating with F2P games!
There are several free games and mods on Steam. These are a few choice ones; you can find a full list here. Note that free games are not permanently attached to your Steam account like actual purchases would be. You'll need to manually download a game again from the website if you uninstall it.


Steam around CAG

If you are interested in joining the Steam CAG Community or participating in a trade or group buy with fellow Cheap Ass Gamers, please do so in the dedicated threads and not in the deal discussion thread. In the dedicated threads you will find CAGers with the same specialized interest who will be much quicker (and happier) to respond than in the Deals thread.

Past Special Sales

Visit www.steamgamesales.com to check previous sale prices on Steam games. We do keep track of some older sales here though:

Steam Retail Key List

What is a CD key and where can I find it?

Steam's explanation and list of Steam-activatable keys

The CD Key is a serial number with a combination of 13, 18, or 25 letters and numbers - it can be found on a sticker inside your game's case or printed on the game's quick reference card. The CD Key acts as your proof of purchase for the game - Steam Support may ask for it if you need to establish your ownership of an account. It is recommended that you keep your CD Key in a safe place to ensure the security of your account.

Other Keys that can be redeemed on Steam (CAG tested & verified)
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  • The Ball (bought @D2D, tested by voken)
  • Supreme Commander Forged Alliance (gives both FA and original, bought @amazon, tested by vism)

Indie Bundles thread on Steam forums (link)

Past CAG Steam Deal Threads
 
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[quote name='MysterD']I just still don't know why many PC games just don't have their own (offline) Built-In Achievements system that the game decides to track for the player.

And what they could do is if the same game does have a Steam-version you can buy, the Steam-version could take from your In-Game Achievements and upload them into Steam's Achievement System.

About automatic-updates - that's really only good for games w/ MP components you actually are playing (to keep gamers all on the same version) and/or patches that just don't break the game. I like what Impulse used to do - alert the gamer w/ an "Exclamation mark" that the game has an update and then you can tell it to do the update all at your own will. For SP games, that's good to update when you want - just in case a patch totally ruins, borks, crashes, and/or screws up your game from working correctly.
Of course, Impulse (now GameStop PC App) has a terrible "archive system" namely b/c it's OS-specific.[/QUOTE]

The most important feature IMO is cloud sync. I like that. Origin have that feature too... a bit clunky, but is there.

As you said, auto update is important mostly on MP games. With SP I can live if at least they gave me the latest patched version the moment I download the game (I don't usually play newer games, because the price xD). In this aspect, I believe Origin is the worst offender. I downloaded Dragon Age and I had to manually apply the patch, and it was an old patch. I don't know if that changed, but I don't think so. When you buy a somewhat old game, at least you expect it to have the last patch the moment you download it...
 
[quote name='juanjava']The most important feature IMO is cloud sync. I like that. Origin have that feature too... a bit clunky, but is there.[/quote]
Oh, yes - Cloud Sync is important.
But, IMHO - Saves should save automatically LOCALLY (to your PC) AND to the Cloud if you're online.

As you said, auto update is important mostly on MP games. With SP I can live if at least they gave me the latest patched version the moment I download the game (I don't usually play newer games, because the price xD). In this aspect, I believe Origin is the worst offender. I downloaded Dragon Age and I had to manually apply the patch, and it was an old patch. I don't know if that changed, but I don't think so. When you buy a somewhat old game, at least you expect it to have the last patch the moment you download it...
Click to expand...
Yeah, DAO is a royal pain to patch up.

That's b/c there's Patch 1.05 (which you need to fix the DLC Activation issues, if you don't know to manually fix it);
and b/c you need to re-download Witch Hunt DLC to Version 1.01 from your Entitlements Page to update that (b/c that had all kinds of issues in V 1.00).

For those who need DAO patches - the DAO (PC) patches are here.
And here is where you go to get to your Entitlements Page so you can re-download Witch Hunt (for V 1.01).
 
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Quick question, checked Dishonored on Steamgamesales.com and Gamestop priced 20.39 at 66% off seems to be the lowest it's been. Can anyone help me edge it under $20 with a coupon code or PUR exclusive info?
 
[quote name='asheskitty']For CAGS like myself with old gaming PCs...

I stumbled across this interesting article on HotHardware examining FPS gain from upgrading from a GTX 260 to a GTX 660 on a Q6600 system.[/QUOTE]

If that's a price range you're into consider getting the 650 Ti Boost. Reviewed quite well at Tom's Hardware http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-650-ti-boost-gk106-benchmark,3463.html

and it also boasts a decent amount of video memory. The Superclocked EVGA gets good praise on Newegg.
 
[quote name='Xaliqen']That's quite an upgrade and is probably worth it for multiple reasons (TXAA being one of them). You're pushing significantly more pixels at 1080p, so that would explain the boost in performance at the lower resolution. I'd stick with the upgrade, the 600 series are solid performers and much better with power consumption than my old 470 GTX.[/QUOTE]


Thanks! Ii know from a *lot* of reading that a GTX 660 is a FPS-doubling upgrade over a GTX 260. It's also a decent bit ahead of a GTX 570 which I considered back when.
Pro: a GTX 660 should net me a nice performance boost. The GTX 660 is the sweet spot for performance/dollar (in Nvidia cards).
Con: My Phenom II X3 720 OC'd @ 3.2 GHz is getting old. (But not slow enough for me to consider upgrading it yet.)

[quote name='Necrotron']I noticed a very nice noticable improvement from my GTX 260 to my GTX 660 Ti. Most notable being DX11 and Tesselation (that Lara Croft hair in Tomb Raider
 
[quote name='asheskitty']


^_^ Thanks for that! Yeah, I've been drooling over tessellation for quite some time. ...polygon counts haven't been growing enough for my taste (sick of blocky/pointy heads) -- tessellation is the solution.

Actually, I kinda want to see (Hitman) Agent 47's head be *round* (though Hitman Abs did throw quite a few polygons at it).

May I ask what CPU & resolution you are running?

[/QUOTE]

I run everything at 1920x1200 resolution, usually with SSAO and all the bells and whistles, because I like things to be pretty. Just did a Tomb Raider benchmark (1920x1200, anisotropic x16, FXAA, ultra details/shadows/etc normal SSAO, got 29 minimum FPS, 56 max). Major difference I've noticed between this and my GTX 260 is that nearly every game becomes fluid enough to be playable at 1920x1200 resolution, not to mention DX11 support which is gorgeous.

Not everything gets 60 FPS though. Guild Wars 2 hovers between 25-40 FPS, for example, with noticable dips in town when turning.

Of course, my CPU is merely an i7 2.66 ghz 920, so not sure if that is bottlenecking anything.
 
[quote name='Necrotron']I run everything at 1920x1200 resolution, usually with SSAO and all the bells and whistles, because I like things to be pretty. Just did a Tomb Raider benchmark (1920x1200, anisotropic x16, FXAA, ultra details/shadows/etc normal SSAO, got 29 minimum FPS, 56 max). Major difference I've noticed between this and my GTX 260 is that nearly every game becomes fluid enough to be playable at 1920x1200 resolution, not to mention DX11 support which is gorgeous.

Not everything gets 60 FPS though. Guild Wars 2 hovers between 25-40 FPS, for example, with noticable dips in town when turning.

Of course, my CPU is merely an i7 2.66 ghz 920, so not sure if that is bottlenecking anything.[/QUOTE]


Thanks for that! Your i7-920 is noted as still being a reasonably strong CPU and rather better than my similarly old P2 X3 720. MMOs tend to be hard on the CPU, so that might be cause of the GW2 dips (also texture loading from the hard drive can be an issue when first logging in / entering population centers.

^_^ I too usually prefer eye candy over high fps (exceptions being racing games and BL2 in TVHM),

Thanks that gives me some confidence in upgrading GTX 260 -> GTX 660. :bouncy: I suppose I should give some more weight to finally jumping on the DX11 wagon, as opposed to just my FPS based weighting.
 
Been wanting to get Counter Strike - Global Offensive. If anybody knows of any deals on this game at the moment, I would appreciate it.
 
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[quote name='LazyTriangle']was hoping for a deal on FC3 Blood Dragon when I saw Far Cry 3 as the daily deal, but no such luck[/QUOTE]


It hasn't even been released yet.
 
Poking around, here's another HotHardware article comparing upgrading an E6850 (Core 2 Duo, dual core) from a GTX 260 to a GTX 660. It's an interesting read since it adds in the comparison to the Q6600 as well as overclocking. Also CPU bottlenecking rarely gets decent examination.


When I saw the FC3 daily I was simply reminded that FC1 has been in my backlog since gettting it free in 2007. FC2 is in the venerable backlog as well...
 
[quote name='spoderman']wats a preorder[/QUOTE]

He must be talking about postorders. You know, when you order a game and get it after (post) the order. ;)
 
[quote name='Severose']He must be talking about postorders. You know, when you order a game and get it after (post) the order. ;)[/QUOTE]


Oh, so means that "preordering" is the term for downloading the "demo" off TPB before buying it on a CAGalicious sale? ;)
 
[quote name='asheskitty']Oh, so means that "preordering" is the term for downloading the "demo" off TPB before buying it on a CAGalicious sale? ;)[/QUOTE]

1ae5.jpg
 
[quote name='BigSpoonyBard']There are ads? :whistle2:s[/QUOTE]


I was thinking this too. Clearly the poster never dealt with late-90s p0rn ads (usually Russian). Also the poster clearly could not write a five paragraph essay on the effects of the end of the Cold War on the US pr0n industry.
 
Err...I think they use AdChoices or some other form of tracking software that only shows ads relevant to your history of searches and visited websites. :rofl:
 
[quote name='Blade']Err...I think they use AdChoices or some other form of tracking software that only shows ads relevant to your history of searches and visited websites. :rofl:[/QUOTE]

I use incognito mode ;)

Edit: But I did let a friend use my computer...
 
[quote name='asheskitty']I was thinking this too. Clearly the poster never dealt with late-90s p0rn ads (usually Russian). Also the poster clearly could not write a five paragraph essay on the effects of the end of the Cold War on the US pr0n industry.[/QUOTE]

Considering that I wasn't even born until the late 90s... Probably not.
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']I never use adblockPlus because I want to support the funding of CAG.[/QUOTE]

You can disable it on specific pages, such as CAG.
 
for $0.99 I'm really thinking about getting Cthulu Saves the World/Death of Fire, but I have absolutely no real RPG experience. Will I still enjoy it? I've heard the writing is great, but thought it might be lost on me without the nostalgia and knowledge of games in the genre.

ThoughtS?
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']Does anyone here bitcoin mine?[/QUOTE]

I did until about 2 weeks ago when the ASICs started hitting consumers and the difficulty has gone up 15-20% per week since. Now it's hardly worth doing without specialized equipment.
:wall:
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']Does anyone here bitcoin mine?[/QUOTE]

No, I don't. Read this article about mining. Just a tip that virtual currency has no physical backing; if I gave you a coupon that was redeemable for nothing and only indicative of social status, yet these coupons were tradable for physical goods in exchange for said status, and I could create these coupons at will, they would eventually become absolutely worthless and the economy built around them would crumble.

(the FBI has noted that many illegal transactions, such as hits or drug money exchanges, are conducted through Bitcoin, and it's been under investigation for almost a year now)
 
[quote name='Blade']No, I don't. Read this article about mining. Just a tip that virtual currency has no physical backing; if I gave you a coupon that was redeemable for nothing and only indicative of social status, yet these coupons were tradable for physical goods in exchange for said status, and I could create these coupons at will, they would eventually become absolutely worthless and the economy built around them would crumble.

(the FBI has noted that many illegal transactions, such as hits or drug money exchanges, are conducted through Bitcoin, and it's been under investigation for almost a year now)[/QUOTE]

never heard of bitcoin mining, but it just reminds me so much of Ready Player One, which is actually a pretty fun read IMO. Seems like a rather unstable and expensive hobby, and I agree, it's just going to fall apart one day and it won't be pretty:cold:
 
[quote name='Blade']No, I don't. Read this article about mining. Just a tip that virtual currency has no physical backing; if I gave you a coupon that was redeemable for nothing and only indicative of social status, yet these coupons were tradable for physical goods in exchange for said status, and I could create these coupons at will, they would eventually become absolutely worthless and the economy built around them would crumble.[/QUOTE]

I thought there's a limit on how much can be generated, and a maximum on how much can exist at once.
 
@Blade
The US Dollar has been a fiat currency since exiting the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971. So is the Euro, and other world-famous currencies such as the Weimar Republic Deutschmark and more recently the Zimbabwe Dollar. This is a pretty complex topic of monetary controls. Bit coin is intended to be a transactional currency, not a currency one would hold wealth in. (Somewhat analogous to Amazon Gift Cards.)

Governments and law enforcement do not like anything that they cannot control, hence the smear campaign.

This article in the MIT Tech Review from December, accurately sums up the current state of bitcoin mining. Also there are Other Cryptocurrencies.

I'm honestly a bit surprised Butterfly Labs actually got those ASICs made (verified: yep, with VC backing). FPGAs, sure that's a no-brainer (also reconfigurable to other tasks/cryptocurrencies with deferred design work).
 
[quote name='hal']Public Service Announcement:
Witcher 2 $19.99 $7.99 daily deal[/QUOTE]

Witcher 2 just had a price-drop and has been -75% at the higher price in the past. We can anticipate a $5 sale sometime soon, probably at the summer sale.
 
[quote name='asheskitty']@Blade
The US Dollar has been a fiat currency since exiting the Bretton Woods Agreement in 1971. So is the Euro, and other world-famous currencies such as the Weimar Republic Deutschmark and more recently the Zimbabwe Dollar. This is a pretty complex topic of monetary controls. Bit coin is intended to be a transactional currency, not a currency one would hold wealth in. (Somewhat analogous to Amazon Gift Cards.)

Governments and law enforcement do not like anything that they cannot control, hence the smear campaign.

This article in the MIT Tech Review from December, accurately sums up the current state of bitcoin mining. Also there are Other Cryptocurrencies.

I'm honestly a bit surprised Butterfly Labs actually got those ASICs made (verified: yep, with VC backing). FPGAs, sure that's a no-brainer (also reconfigurable to other tasks/cryptocurrencies with deferred design work).[/QUOTE]

The thing to remember about bitcoins is that the market for them is very volatile. If you start mining with that kind of mindset (i.e. you might get something out of it sometime down the line, you might not) then I think it's fine. It's an interesting experiment; honestly I don't expect it to pan out in the long run but it's a cool thing to talk about.

3 things come to mind if you are trying to get into the game right now.

1) As mentioned above, it's pretty mandatory that you have a good hardware setup to mine, preferably one separate from what you use on a day to day basis. Main reason is that bitcoin mining takes up a lot of computing power, you are basically using your computer to solve complicated encryption algorithms. Not the type of thing you can do while playing games on your computer.

2) If you seriously start mining for bitcoins your power bill WILL go up. So if you are looking for short term gain I'd advise against it, chances are you'd be stuck with a noticeable increase in power -- if you are on your own then you are stuck with the bill, if your parents are paying for it then... they are gonna be pissed depending on how much they pay attention to such things. Since bitcoins are not as liquid as regular currency exchanging them for cash to pay your power bill can be tricky. Expect to eat the cost of an increased power bill.

3) At this point we are long past the point where users can expect to solo-mine and actually gain some coinage. This was possible when there were fewer bitcoins in the market. Since the amount of "power" needed to increment bit coins increases with each batch generated there is no telling how many you'll be able to create solo. You need to join a mining group to spread your risk and actually get paid.
 
[quote name='confuseousprime']The thing to remember about bitcoins is that the market for them is very volatile. If you start mining with that kind of mindset (i.e. you might get something out of it sometime down the line, you might not) then I think it's fine. It's an interesting experiment; honestly I don't expect it to pan out in the long run but it's a cool thing to talk about.

3 things come to mind if you are trying to get into the game right now.

1) As mentioned above, it's pretty mandatory that you have a good hardware setup to mine, preferably one separate from what you use on a day to day basis. Main reason is that bitcoin mining takes up a lot of computing power, you are basically using your computer to solve complicated encryption algorithms. Not the type of thing you can do while playing games on your computer.

2) If you seriously start mining for bitcoins your power bill WILL go up. So if you are looking for short term gain I'd advise against it, chances are you'd be stuck with a noticeable increase in power -- if you are on your own then you are stuck with the bill, if your parents are paying for it then... they are gonna be pissed depending on how much they pay attention to such things. Since bitcoins are not as liquid as regular currency exchanging them for cash to pay your power bill can be tricky. Expect to eat the cost of an increased power bill.

3) At this point we are long past the point where users can expect to solo-mine and actually gain some coinage. This was possible when there were fewer bitcoins in the market. Since the amount of "power" needed to increment bit coins increases with each batch generated there is no telling how many you'll be able to create solo. You need to join a mining group to spread your risk and actually get paid.[/QUOTE]

I only mine when I'm already using my computer so my power bill isn't going to jump. Maybe a slight increase is all. Sure bitcoins are volatile but so is money, gift cards, stocks etc. I'm definitely considering buying a ButterflyLabs ASIC, the $274 Jalapeno.

Do people really solo mine?

Edit: If you want to make money with bad hardware, check out bitvistor.com. You "explore"(do nothing) a website for 5 minutes and they pay you. You can have many bitvistor.com tabs open and you will receive bitcoins for all of them. All you have to do is enter a captcha, do something for 5 minutes, click next and then your bitcoins are processed.
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']I only mine when I'm already using my computer so my power bill isn't going to jump. Maybe a slight increase is all. Sure bitcoins are volatile but so is money, gift cards, stocks etc. I'm definitely considering buying a ButterflyLabs ASIC, the $274 Jalapeno.

True enough but the Bitcoin market is quite a bit more volatile than money, stock, bonds, ect... Unless you are in a developing market, that is, I would expect somebody with zero experience to freak out a bit.

Do people really solo mine?

People used to, back when it was newer. It's impossible to do it now. Well, not impossible, but impractical.

Edit: If you want to make money with bad hardware, check out bitvistor.com. You "explore"(do nothing) a website for 5 minutes and they pay you. You can have many bitvistor.com tabs open and you will receive bitcoins for all of them. All you have to do is enter a captcha, do something for 5 minutes, click next and then your bitcoins are processed.[/QUOTE]

Even though it's gotten decent press coverage it's still a pretty underground thing -- anecdotaly nobody I know has even heard about the stuff unless they are super anti-govt. types. Libertarians love the stuff, heh. That's one reason why I like talking about it, plus it's got a lot of juicy theoretical implications, just really good topic to get your brain around.
 
[quote name='confuseousprime']Even though it's gotten decent press coverage it's still a pretty underground thing -- anecdotaly nobody I know has even heard about the stuff unless they are super anti-govt. types. Libertarians love the stuff, heh. That's one reason why I like talking about it, plus it's got a lot of juicy theoretical implications, just really good topic to get your brain around.[/QUOTE]

I'm not anti-government but having the value of your money depending on a system that owes trillions.... yeah. Plus it's just a unique concept.
 
[quote name='MrNinjaSquirrel']for $0.99 I'm really thinking about getting Cthulu Saves the World/Death of Fire, but I have absolutely no real RPG experience. Will I still enjoy it? I've heard the writing is great, but thought it might be lost on me without the nostalgia and knowledge of games in the genre.

ThoughtS?[/QUOTE]

It's fun and enjoyable, even if you're not a big traditional RPG fan. I'm not, and I enjoyed Breath of Death VII
 
Been playing God Mode today. It's a fun shooter. I mean it's not a deep game (well I mean it's walk into room, fight the hoard, walk into next room etc), but it still has a layer of depth to it (as of each room you walk into has a random modifier to the room so it adds challenge). Plus it has a ton of unlocks to get and you get xp to level up.

It's one of those games that is fun in short busts like a hour or two here and there but I wouldn't call it a I need to play this all the time game. $10 is the perfect price.
 
[quote name='aShufflinZombie']I'm not anti-government but having the value of your money depending on a system that owes trillions.... yeah. Plus it's just a unique concept.[/QUOTE]
Isn't the value of bitcoins based on that system that owes trillions? It's not as though I can take one and buy some coffee or pay my mortgage. Aside from some very limited applications, their "worth" is entirely theoretical until they're converted into money someone actually wants.
 
[quote name='Syntax Error']Isn't the value of bitcoins based on that system that owes trillions? It's not as though I can take one and buy some coffee or pay my mortgage. Aside from some very limited applications, their "worth" is entirely theoretical until they're converted into money someone actually wants.[/QUOTE]

First time I heard of bitcoins was on NPR when they were talking about a website called the Silkroad where you could buy drugs
 
I saw people on here talking about computer upgrades and Adorama through Ebay is selling a Samsung 250GD 840 SSD for $140 that is the cheapest I have found for a SSD of that size. It is great for me and people with SATA II because the write speed is horrible from reviews. I will not be upgrading my laptop for the next 12 months (you can probably guess why) so it works for me.
 
[quote name='headpiece747']I saw people on here talking about computer upgrades and Adorama through Ebay is selling a Samsung 250GD 840 SSD for $140 that is the cheapest I have found for a SSD of that size. It is great for me and people with SATA II because the write speed is horrible from reviews. I will not be upgrading my laptop for the next 12 months (you can probably guess why) so it works for me.[/QUOTE]


Just ones that increase FPS! ^_~ That's a pretty good price, I've seen a few other similar SSD prices like that lately.

...though Shogun 2 load times are rather obnoxious on a spinning HDD.

Waiting for Ubuntu 14.4? ...I really have no clue, please enlighten me.
 
Poker Night 2 Unlockables Trailer

Looks like Winslow is still around and in charge of special objectives. Also, Moxxi appears to be tending bar throughout the night. The trailer also seems to show that using unlockable locales within the game causes the players to interact with the environment and vice-versa. This is making my hopeful that there will be much more to see than in the first game with the additional characters (including Max) on hand.

Just gonna go and prepurchase it now, methinks...
 
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