Steam multiplayer update and Civilization IV

[emperor]

You may be aware that 2K recently announced that Steam versions of Civ4 will no longer support Direct IP. This means only players with CD versions of the game will be able to play Direct IP and Pitboss games.

I have made a post in the official 2K forums about this topic. Here it is:

http://forums.2k.com/showthread.php?563191-Steam-multiplayer-update-and-Civilization-IV-Pitboss

To everyone who plays Direct IP games: Please take a minute to register an account, and make a short post in the thread linked above.

I suggest to write in your short message:

- Your username and which civ fansite(s) you hail from.
- Which version of the game you purchased (CD or Steam).
- Mention how this issue affects all players, because even CD users can't continue Direct IP games with Steam users. The removal of Direct IP from Steam divides an already small multiplayer community down the middle.
- End with a strong request that Direct IP be re-integrated into the Steam version of Civ4.

Feel free to use your own words. Be firm, but civil - profanity won't help the cause.

For example, in my case:

I am Lord Parkin from Civfanatics and Realms Beyond. I purchased the CD version of Civ4. I am deeply disappointed with the removal of Direct IP from Steam versions, because all of my friends with the Steam version can no longer play in our Pitboss games together. This issue has needlessly divided our community. Please re-integrate Direct IP into the Steam version of the Civ4.

Please register an account and post your own quick message in the thread linked above now. It only takes a minute, and it could make a real difference!

[Aeson]

What is their reasoning behind removing direct IP? It seems a really weird thing to do, to remove a functional feature from a game so many years later.

[emperor]

I have not seen an official reason given, but I suspect it must have to do with legal stuff - e.g. Steam requiring exclusive control over multiplayer functionality for its games. I can't see any logical reason why Direct IP should have been removed for Steam users otherwise... it had nothing to do with Gamespy services.

[WarningU2]

Is it not possible to play pitboss games through the steam version?

[emperor]

Is it not possible to play pitboss games through the steam version?

I have heard that some folks have managed to tinker with their games to get a hacked version working. However, the fact remains that anyone with the Steam version of Civ4 who didn't turn off automatic updates before June 5th and is unwilling to mess with their installation will be unable to play in any of the many existing Pitboss games currently hosted by other players. Already one player has dropped out of a game I am involved in which he has spent a month playing because he has the Steam version, and it looks like several players may drop out of a larger game which has been running for several months.

[Arslan230]

Thanks for updating about it. Now I am using this multiplier.