Valve Steam is a platform for digital distribution, digital rights management, communications and multi-player. It is a product created by Valve Corporation that is designed to distribute games and other related media for online use. This software is integrated with an automatic management and install management of software across numerous computers. It also has features for socialization like the groups and friends lists, as well as cloud saving. The in-game voice and chat capabilities are added features of Steam also. Like other programs created by Valve, Steam has programming interface that is easy to use and manipulate. There is also Steamworks which is helpful in integrating different functions of Steam within their own products, which include networking, copy protection, matchmaking, micro-transaction and in-game achievements. Steam is compatible with Microsoft Windows PCs as well as Mac OS X computers and iOS devices. This product also works for some Linux operating systems.
GCFExplorer, as its name suggests, is an application that lets you open GCF files and examine their components. It is a free software. It can extract any GCF file or directory. It can explore encrypted GCF files using the appropriate decryption key. It can validate any GCF directory or file. It can preview [shell execute] any GCF file. It can defrag GCF files. It can fix GCF headers. Its interface is configurable. It supports drag and drop. It can detail and save logs. It provides detailed information about a GCF file or directory. It performs searches for GCFfiles. GCF [Game Cache File] are files used by Valve’s Steam game application that contains a virtual file with metadata, file fragments, checksums and other game data. It stores game updates and downloaded games from the distribution service of Valve. GCF was originally short for Grid Cache File. It is not intended for editing or alteration by user.
GCFScape
GCFScape
GCFScape is an application that can open and extract GCF files used by Steam for storage of its game contents.GCFScape is required to open files with VPK format. When GCFScape is installed, you have to associate GCF files with GCFScape for them to be opened right away. The files will have icons when this step is done. Other supported formats by GCFScape are NCF, Half-Life BSP, PAK, WAD, VPK and XZP. GCFScape can validate all or part of GCF files. GCFScape can perform the following functions: File Mapping [by default], Quick File Mapping, Verbose Logging, Volatile Access and Write Access.