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GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

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Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#251

Post by roxolotl »

legitster wrote: post #152
roxolotl wrote: post #12

I always search GOG before Steam. It’s slightly less user friendly in the most minor ways and sometimes a bit more expensive. But getting DRM free games is worth every penny and extra few moments. Steam is really great for what it is but you’re not buying games you’re leasing them. Excited to hear GOG might get more focus and investment.

> you’re not buying games you’re leasing them Counterpoint, the cost of "owning" offline games is not zero and their lifetime is not infinite. I have a stack of old games on CD (or older) and getting them to run on anything is a massive pain in the neck. (In fact, for nearly all that I care about I also have bought a Steam license in addition). Ultimately, everything comes down to user experience. We can pat ourselve…

Yea 100% it’s not as easy to use. But as far as I’m aware Steam doesn’t provide any guarantee games will keep working and GOG actually has it as a mission statement that, as least those selected as “Good Old Games”, will[0]. Now of course that requires GOG to survive so it’s sorta the same thing like you’re saying.

But I’d argue there is a material difference between “if you try hard you can run an original copy of Doom” and “if business X decided so you can never access those things again”.

0: https://www.gog.com/en/gog-preservation-program

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#252

Post by EA-3167 »

kgwxd wrote: post #207
EA-3167 wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Piracy is widespread, that's undeniable. The question that industry groups and lawmakers love to avoid or lie about however is how much of that piracy represents lost sales, and how much represents people in the third world finding a way to participate with all of the people who can afford it. I pirated a lot as a kid because I had no money, there were no lost sales there. As an adult I don't pirate at all, because I…

Once you pay who? Money going to the wrong people is far worse for "creators" in the long run than if you had just copied it. Every digital industry has proven the argument billions of times over. If you're going to bother feeling guilt, aim it at actual injustice.

You’re adding a lot of dimensions to the act of buying something than I care about. I’m not trying to fight injustice when I buy most things, I’m just following the realistic legal requirements to use the thing.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#253

Post by yeputons »

basisword wrote: post #193
computerex wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People only pirate games because the publishers make it too painful to play games legally. I have pirated games that I own simply because it's easier to play. This pattern has been shown time and time again. When people pirate, it's usually due to a problem with the experience. People pay for convenience. Now a days a lot of people are pirating games because the quality of games has gone down the drain. Publishers ar…

>> I have pirated games that I own simply because it's easier to play. Can you share some examples of instances where the legal route is too difficult? I haven't felt this way in a long time. What are the changes necessary for you to purchase?

One does not have a debit/credit card at all (e.g. they're young, or don't have enough documents, or are an immigrant from a sanctioned country).

Alternatively, the card is rejected because "fraud prevention", see e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46424584

Or the game is not available in my "account's region", which is chosen arbitrarily based on God knows what.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#254

Post by dundarious »

izacus wrote: post #234
dundarious wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heroic works perfectly, in a manner identical to Lutris (from a user perspective). I tested both several years ago and have been a happy Heroic user since. However, neither support 2 key features of GOG Galaxy: 1. cloud saves 2. achievements These are 2 of the most significant features of competitors like Steam, IMO, so missing them for GOG on Linux is unfortunate.

That's simply not true at all, Heroic Launcher supports both cloud saves and achievements. I've been using them for a long time on Deck now. Please don't lie :/

I was mixing up the fact that "Linux native games do not support GOG's Cloud Saves feature" (direct quote from the app itself), with a general lack of support. Given it says "Use the Windows version instead", I am quite wrong, it clearly does support them for Windows games.

If you think that's a "lie", consult a dictionary.

As for whether my general point stands, I think it's a reasonable inference that if GOG Galaxy supported Linux, it would support Linux games and cloud saves for those games, and only then would Heroic and the like be able to implement such a feature. I could be wrong, as it depends on details I don't know, and I'm just making an educated guess.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#255

Post by trvz »

I started building up my digital game library on Steam.

I then gradually switched to GOG, sometimes buying things again (it's not that bad with the identical deep discounts for most games on all platforms), because of the better DRM situation and because I like to be in relationships with public companies, so that I can buy their shares.

When GOG messed up their cloud saves functionality (reduced the granted storage to the point where I had to delete old saves – sure, I'll never need them, but I still want [someone else] to keep them), I switched back to Steam.

When I got tired of sitting at a desk to play I ended up switching to the Switch.

Switch 1 games running on the Switch 2 have bad resolution, the Steam Machine is interesting, and hopefully there'll be a lighter Steam Deck – I might end up at Steam again.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#256

Post by yeputons »

transcriptase wrote: post #205
Fiveplus wrote: post #23

> Can I still download offline installers? Yes. This is the only line I was looking for. I stopped buying on Steam sometime ago because I realized I was just renting licenses. GOG is the only major storefront where I feel like I actually own the product. As long as offline installers remain a core tenet, I don't care who owns the company. That said, it helps that it's someone returning to their roots rather than a pr…

People said the same thing when Steam launched, yet my profile sits there with a badge saying 20+ years and I can’t recall a time I’ve encountered an issue that was the fault of Valve versus a developer or publisher. At this point the games I “own” on physical media like CDs have theoretically started to degrade before the threat of Valve revoking my ability to install or play has come to pass.

> I can’t recall a time I’ve encountered an issue that was the fault of Valve versus a developer or publisher.

Does it really matter if it's developer/publisher removing the game from Steam, not Valve? The end result is the same: one can't play.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#257

Post by yeputons »

kgwxd wrote: post #236
Gormo wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what you're trying to say here. The distinction is pretty clear: GOG distributes standalone installers without any DRM, and Steam does not.

What does the installer matter for DRM-free software? For software with other forms of DRM built-in anyway, who cares if the installer has it?

Correct, but GOG provides games without _any_ DRM, both in the installer and in the game itself.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#258

Post by benoau »

prmoustache wrote: post #173
fernie wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can assure you that offline installer you got today from GOG will not work on Windows 20 or whatever OS will be the dominant for PC in 30 or 60 years time.

Most C64, MSX, Apple,Amiga, Atari ST and Dos games can still be played on all majors operating systems. In fact I used "most" but I can't name one that couldn't be played.

If anything it will be easier than ever to run those games, the platforms you mention can be run in a web browser these days with nothing at all to install or configure or download.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#259

Post by SirMaster »

daedrdev wrote: post #108
SirMaster wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>practically there is little difference since they provide offline installers Well it makes it hard or impossible to sell your copy of the game to someone else after you are done with it like we used to be able to do with console game discs and cartridges? Seems like a pretty big and practical difference to me.

Yes but if you set up a website to do this they could sue, which I think is reasonable as many if not most people would be happy to both sell and keep a copy

But it was so much simpler when you had the disc. Whoever had the disc had access to the copy and it could be sold and resold as many times as people wanted.

I don't think people are so against DRM, because a disc like that was essentially a form of DRM. They are against an online DRM scheme which could change in the future. I know there were sone disc DRM that could like revoke the disc license, but let's go back before that was a thing to like the Xbox/360 and PS1/2/3 era style.

Re: GOG is getting acquired by its original co-founder

#260

Post by nalekberov »

cogogo wrote: post #176
ninth_ant wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They don't because too many people pirate games to make that a viable business. This is an opinion, stated as if it’s fact. There are many factors contributing to the ongoing success of steam. Ease of access, a strong network effect, word of mouth from satisfied customers, a strong ecosystem of tools and a modding platform, willingness to work across many platforms and a variety of vendors including competitors, an…

I grew up playing pirated games on the Apple II 35 years ago. The fact that many people pirate is not an opinion.

Games are cracked at day one, sometimes hours after. Apparently DRM is not a solution here. If pirates know that, people at Valve certainly do.
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