[dioxholster]

at some point im gonna have to pre-order BF3 but i dont want another box and in the past ive had disc problems. Ive heard EA only allows you to download the game for 1 year after purchase, not sure if its true or not. And how does EA download manager work?

 

[Skoltnik]

For the 1 year thing, it's not like that anymore. You will be able to download has long as their servers are up. I've never used the download manager so I can't comment on it. Why not wait to buy it off steam?

 

[roadlesstraveled]

I use EA for a few games and I rather like the software. It does what it was designed for pretty well and it doesn't look half bad either.

 

[MIKEVALL]

Had some good luck with it myself!

 

[dioxholster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skoltnik For the 1 year thing, it's not like that anymore. You will be able to download has long as their servers are up. I've never used the download manager so I can't comment on it. Why not wait to buy it off steam?

I was until they announced their plans to lock my account to one computer and just basically i dont trust them.

 

[canoners]

It does its job pretty well IMO.

 

[IcedEarth]

It is 'ok' for the most part. Allow me to explain my experience.

I was downloading Dead Space 2, and it reported the file to be 16GB.

Due to me sharing my internet connection I can't continuously download, I do it in incremements. The software has a download pause feature which at first I thought was quite good.

I got 50% of the way through the download, hit pause and went to continue it later, once I hit continue it reported the download to be only 25% complete.

Which would be about 4GB, and I checked the download destination and it indeed contained 8GB which is the 50% it reported earlier. I hit pause again, and continued the download once more and it reported it to be only 10% complete this time!

After that I just deleted the 8GB I had previously downloaded and just downloaded the file in one chunk to ensure it wasn't corrupted. In the end it was only 9GB in size too, even though it stated it was meant to be 16GB.

I'm not sure if that was a one off, but I haven't experienced any more problems like that since.

So other than that small issue I have had no problems. I also back up the games on my external HDD and even when you re-install Windows the games don't need re-downloading, simply pull them off your back up HDD and they are good to go. I didn't even need to re-install Dead Space 2, it ran straight off the external HDD with no installation required.

It's nearly up there with Steam in simplicity. I definitely don't think you should avoid the software.

 

[rsfkevski]

I've had good experiences with it. I've had to download BF:BC2 a couple times, due to reformatting, and I haven't seen anything negative so far

 

[dioxholster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IcedEarth It is 'ok' for the most part. Allow me to explain my experience. I was downloading Dead Space 2, and it reported the file to be 16GB. Due to me sharing my internet connection I can't continuously download, I do it in incremements. The software has a download pause feature which at first I thought was quite good. I got 50% of the way through the download, hit pause and went to continue it later, once I hit continue it reported the download to be only 25% complete. Which would be about 4GB, and I checked the download destination and it indeed contained 8GB which is the 50% it reported earlier. I hit pause again, and continued the download once more and it reported it to be only 10% complete this time! After that I just deleted the 8GB I had previously downloaded and just downloaded the file in one chunk to ensure it wasn't corrupted. In the end it was only 9GB in size too, even though it stated it was meant to be 16GB. I'm not sure if that was a one off, but I haven't experienced any more problems like that since. So other than that small issue I have had no problems. I also back up the games on my external HDD and even when you re-install Windows the games don't need re-downloading, simply pull them off your back up HDD and they are good to go. I didn't even need to re-install Dead Space 2, it ran straight off the external HDD with no installation required. It's nearly up there with Steam in simplicity. I definitely don't think you should avoid the software.

that sounds like my blizzard experience downloading SC2. whenever something weird like that appears, i just start over just in case. I think ill be trying EA download manager, BF3 sounds like a game iwould be playing for years and i dont want to have to worry about losing the disc.

 

[levontraut]

i like steam... everything under one folder.... and you can make backups and all and if u do not have a back up... log into your steam acc and dl then play when dopen... also steam has a pause function that does work

 

[letsgetiton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IcedEarth It is 'ok' for the most part. Allow me to explain my experience. I was downloading Dead Space 2, and it reported the file to be 16GB. Due to me sharing my internet connection I can't continuously download, I do it in incremements. The software has a download pause feature which at first I thought was quite good. I got 50% of the way through the download, hit pause and went to continue it later, once I hit continue it reported the download to be only 25% complete. Which would be about 4GB, and I checked the download destination and it indeed contained 8GB which is the 50% it reported earlier. I hit pause again, and continued the download once more and it reported it to be only 10% complete this time! After that I just deleted the 8GB I had previously downloaded and just downloaded the file in one chunk to ensure it wasn't corrupted. In the end it was only 9GB in size too, even though it stated it was meant to be 16GB. I'm not sure if that was a one off, but I haven't experienced any more problems like that since. So other than that small issue I have had no problems. I also back up the games on my external HDD and even when you re-install Windows the games don't need re-downloading, simply pull them off your back up HDD and they are good to go. I didn't even need to re-install Dead Space 2, it ran straight off the external HDD with no installation required. It's nearly up there with Steam in simplicity. I definitely don't think you should avoid the software.

NEVER stop any download or install until finished. It will always be corrupt when restarting. Start the download/install and let it run over night if need be.

 

[letsgetiton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by levontraut i like steam... everything under one folder.... and you can make backups and all and if u do not have a back up... log into your steam acc and dl then play when dopen... also steam has a pause function that does work

OK, maybe. I never tried pausing at Steam, I have a fast connection and download games in a hour or so. Although I prefer the DVD so I have something physical for my money that I can use over and over again. I think Steam downloads are only good for 6 months, if I'm not mistaken.
The only time I bought a Steam game is when it was on sale for a few dollars after release.

 

[Lefty67]

EADM is crap, after installing Win7 last year, the game (bc2) disappeared off my games list. Tried EA support for over 6 months and even a DICE dude tried to help but EA support was just, how can I put this in a nice way, not helpful.

I rebought the game on steam and downloaded it and logged into my account, so I was able to give away my extra key to my nephew.

I wont use that program anymore if I can help it. I had to use it again when I bought Crysis 2 retail but I dont see myself getting worked up over that game. I could lose it and not even care atm.

 

[Zero4549]

I haven't used it since Battlefield 2 and 2142 expansions. It was "EA Link" back then and **** I wanna kill it with fire. It let me download each one... ONCE... and didn't keep the install files on my computer.

Guess who has to re-buy 3 games?

Hopefully this is a thing of the past but I dont trust them.

 

[Princess Garnet]

It's much better than it was in the past. It's a more proper, and simple, download manager/client now. It's not quite Steam, but it's proper now and they do often have good prices if you look. Before, it was a cryptic/unintuitive service where you lost the game after a while. It's not that bad anymore in my experience.

All in all, yes, it's good. Some people have issues with it, just like they do Steam. I prefer Steam, but if it's your only digital option and/or has better prices, don't limit yourself against it! It's a simple but clean and effective service/client.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Zero4549 Hopefully this is a thing of the past but I dont trust them.

Yes, it's a thing of the past. I have a few games on it (seen above). The earliest was in 2007, when they supposedly still had that time limit in place (since it asked for purchasing an extension). I never purchased the extension, yet I still have the game.

 

[Zero4549]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Princess Garnet Yes, it's a thing of the past. I have a few games on it (seen above). The earliest was in 2007, when they supposedly still had that time limit in place (since it asked for purchasing an extension). I never purchased the extension, yet I still have the game.

Oh well thats good to know... funny thing is it wasn't that i waited till after the expiration period (which was total bs), it just vanished off my list the second i installed it. REALLY odd, but you can go to one of those spec webbys for BF2 and see that I have hours logged on expansion maps, but down own/have never played any of the expansions.... LOL!

(and by that I mean they say i dont own them.... I in fact do... er.. did?)