# Steam Winter Sale **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [December 19, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746 "2013-12-19T18:37:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d26b3c/32.png) [@Johnny\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Angel)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/161 "2013-12-31T05:14:16Z")
> [@chargerrich](#): > > Feel free to add me as a Steam friend - Chargerrich > > Looking to add some dopers! That brings up four profiles. You’re the one that begins with a capital letter, for sure? Years ago, shadeedge gave me his spare copies of Half-life 2 and Episode One. Subsequently, I’ve bought a package that included these, and now I can apparently re-gift them. So, if anybody needs these… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/162 "2013-12-31T05:40:12Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > SO what do I do with these snow globe trading cards? > Do I need to collect them all to make a badge, and if I do what does a badge get me, anything? You need one of each (10 total) to craft the badge. Crafting the badge gets you one random item from among a handful of games, the “snow globe” badge itself, and some experience points. The whole trading card/badge crafting process is a vanity project and nothing more (you get badges, experience points [which mean nothing except to eventually help you get cards slightly faster], emoticons, and background images), but I’ve got to hand it to Steam: the cards are common enough that the price to buy a couple cards to complete a badge is very low. I’ve probably spent three total dollars to craft myself a handful of badges because the pricing is reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/163 "2013-12-31T05:45:57Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > SO what do I do with these snow globe trading cards? > Do I need to collect them all to make a badge, and if I do what does a badge get me, anything? I sold a few early on, but that was before the floor dropped out of the market. If you have all ten you can craft them and get a random item for one of their games. If you’re looking for cards, I have: 2\*#2 1\*#3 1\*#5 3\*#6 1\*#7 1\*#9 ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/164 "2013-12-31T06:49:39Z")
On the subject of SimCity: It’s an odd game. It’s _almost_ a great game, and yet somehow not even a good game. The GlassBox engine was a valiant but failed attempt to bridge the gap between the city builder and town builder genres. When it works, it’s really nifty. When it doesn’t work, it wrecks your city. That said, bashing the game has been fashionable lately and is generally exaggerated and/or inaccurate. You can have a lot of fun with the game, but you first have to come to terms with the fact that it’s really not a new iteration of the previous SimCity games. The Cities of Tomorrow expansion was clearly made in a way that acknowledges the flaws of the game, and tries to compensate for the flaws that can’t simply be fixed with a patch. And for the record, the AI (especially pathfinding) has improved considerably since launch. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/165 "2013-12-31T07:09:54Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > You need one of each (10 total) to craft the badge. Crafting the badge gets you one random item from among a handful of games, the “snow globe” badge itself, and some experience points. So when you say a random item, are we talking like a hat for a character to wear in Team Fortress? 'Cause if that’s the case I have cars anyone who want’s them can just have. I have a #3 a #4 a #5 2#6 and a #9. Can you give them away? ---
**Author:** ![sweet\_chemist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@sweet\_chemist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweet_chemist)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/166 "2013-12-31T09:26:06Z")
**Zoid** you could trade them to another person without asking for anything back, but if you really don’t want them you can just sell them in the market. It is easy to do, just go to your inventory click on the card, and there should be a sell button on the right. You will get money for your Steam wallet which you can use for buying your next game. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/167 "2013-12-31T10:35:53Z")
Interesting Flash sale. There’s Sang Froid, a sort of tower defense/action hybrid for 80% off. Witcher 2, an RPG I’ve decided to get, which is 75% off. Poker Night, which is 99 cents and has items for Borderlands 2 and Team Fortress 2. And a weird looking horror adventure called Deadly Premonition that wants to be Twin Peaks or something. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/168 "2013-12-31T19:31:19Z")
Today they have a betagame™ up that looks interesting called **Planetary Annihilation** ; it looks like Starcraft (or C&C or AoE, etc.) but set on multiple planets. Has anyone seen this game or played it? Know anything else about it other than what’s in the trailers? It’s on sale for $40 (down from $60) but that’s a lot of money to shell out for a betagame™ without knowing much about it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/169 "2013-12-31T21:25:46Z")
Castlevania Lords of Shadow is back down to $10, it’s record low. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/170 "2013-12-31T21:32:50Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Today they have a betagame™ up that looks interesting called **Planetary Annihilation** ; it looks like Starcraft (or C&C or AoE, etc.) but set on multiple planets. > > Has anyone seen this game or played it? Know anything else about it other than what’s in the trailers? It’s on sale for $40 (down from $60) but that’s a lot of money to shell out for a betagame™ without knowing much about it. Yeah, I’ve been considering this one. It was pretty expensive for an unfinished game at $60, but at $40 it’s coming down into the range where I might have to jump in. It’s the progression from the old Total Annihilation line of games, much like Starcraft or C&C, and looks pretty cool. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/171 "2013-12-31T21:46:16Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Yeah, I’ve been considering this one. It was pretty expensive for an unfinished game at $60, but at $40 it’s coming down into the range where I might have to jump in. It’s the progression from the old Total Annihilation line of games, much like Starcraft or C&C, and looks pretty cool. Aye, if they had a $20 sale I’d be in but $40 makes me say “waitaminnit” and the actual $60 price tag makes me say “no way, not until I know more about the game than ‘its a 4x’”. For one thing, the online multiplayer doesn’t appeal to me at all. I like campaigns and setting up games against AIs, but trying to play these online is futile for me; I can’t compete with people who can issue 300 commands per minute. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/172 "2013-12-31T21:48:58Z")
Yeah, $20 is about what I’m willing to pay for something like this. It’s what got me to finally go in with the Kerbal Space program. I’m not really into multi-player online games either anymore, but I figure this one will be similar to Company of Hero’s 2, which I play all the time by myself and really enjoy. I played the Total Annihilation games when they came out years ago and remember them as being fairly enjoyable. If they lower the price a bit I’ll probably get this one. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/173 "2013-12-31T21:49:39Z")
Hmmm, I picked up Xcom a short while ago (for the same price it is now) but Enemy Within wasn’t on sale. I’m guessing 50% is about as low as that DLC is likely to go this sale, much as I hate the idea of getting DLC that’s more expensive than the base game currently is… ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/174 "2013-12-31T21:52:24Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Hmmm, I picked up Xcom a short while ago (for the same price it is now) but Enemy Within wasn’t on sale. I’m guessing 50% is about as low as that DLC is likely to go this sale, much as I hate the idea of getting DLC that’s more expensive than the base game currently is… Honestly, it makes the game much more enjoyable to play. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/175 "2013-12-31T23:29:27Z")
Slightly on topic: Europa Universals IV is on sale right now for much cheaper than at Steam, here at the Humble store ($9.99): [Your Humble Bundle Receipt : Europa Universalis IV](https://www.humblebundle.com/store?uidverify=a4c37774285f43a7ca19098dc4a8c42575b40d2145a89efe61db9496277f20fa&s=thanks&m=az&uid=X35WBV2Y7HJNK) I put it in this thread because I figure it’s full of people hoping to catch a deal on that game. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/176 "2013-12-31T23:36:32Z")
AWESOME. Thanks, Frylock! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/177 "2014-01-01T00:42:13Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Honestly, it makes the game much more enjoyable to play. I had the same problem as **dzeiger** with the latest DLC for Civ 5, but I sucked it up and I have to admit that it makes the game much better, more interesting and offers new variables to consider when formulating strategies. I paid like $5 more for just the latest DLC than I did for Civ 5 and all the previous DLC, but ultimately it made my playing experience so much better that I forgot how much it hurt me to click “purchase”. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/178 "2014-01-01T04:12:13Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Honestly, it makes the game much more enjoyable to play. Oh, I agree, I’ve seen Let’s Play’s both with and without it. For me, it’s largely a matter of the fact that I still have games I bought in the 2012 winter sale I haven’t played yet–so it’s not a matter of if I play without the DLC or not, it’s a matter of if I think the DLC will have dropped much more in price before I get around to playing it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/179 "2014-01-01T04:29:04Z")
I just got a Snowglobe #10 if anybody wants it. You can just trade me a card you already have or something throwaway - I’d give it away but it appears you have to trade. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2014, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746/180 "2014-01-01T04:34:15Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I just got a Snowglobe #10 if anybody wants it. You can just trade me a card you already have or something throwaway - I’d give it away but it appears you have to trade. You can “trade” without asking for anything in return. Steam will ask “is this a gift?” I know because I gave card #8 to a friend a couple days ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/steam-winter-sale/676746.md?page=10)