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The existence of GOG and Steam is why gaming is bearable in 2024
this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2024
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Yeah, I should have gone with GoG every chance I could. I guess it's never to late to switch
Thor from Pirate Software must be absolutely seething rn
why?
He hates StopKillingGames, because he thinks it will make bad actors try to ruin devs because he expects people to try to profit from being able to provide game access to players when the devs are out of the picture. So therefore we can't stop killing games, we need to just let games die and stop feeling entitled to the necessary code to run servers. And besides we need to get comfortable buying games with temporary licensing deals that are more convenient and cheap for the developers so they can not renew them if the game isn't successful, and if the license runs out then we need to accept that the music or car or whatever legally needs to be removed. And we need to accept that if corporate wants to delete our accounts or sew our mouth to somebody's ass then that's just gonna have to happen because it's what we agreed to. Turns out the man is a business bro shill cunt totally cool with the new bullshit because it's preferred by the suits.
He was strawmaning the stop killing games initiative.
I need to get those Resident Evil remasters, the REMASTERS NOT The remaKES from dese guys.
Maybe it’s great, but I cant even download the installer on linux.
Um, yes, you can actually.
Installer file is a direct link to an executable file from their website. They contain the full game inside the installer. There's no reason you can't download that on Linux as long as you have internet and a browser.
GoG homepage > (your name [drop down menu] when logged in) > "Games" > Click on any game in your collection > Download offline backup game installers
You can download installers for whatever systems the game supports -- usually that's just a Windows .EXE installer (+ several .bin files if the game is large). For games intended to run on Linux w/o WINE, you can select "Linux" from a drop down where it says system and it will give you an .sh file.
If it's an EXE and you just want extract it you can use https://github.com/dscharrer/innoextract
It supports the special GOG Inno files. And it's a lot faster than the official installer with less temp files.
Just make sure you download them and back them up yourself because they certainly can revoke your ability to download them from their servers, is what they are implying here.
Sure, just like other brick and mortar stores can refuse to give you backups of a DVD you own.
As long as the installer works offline this is just as good. It's up to you to store it in whichever format you prefer so that you don't lose it - hard drive, thumb drive, DVD...
If you nuke your computers hard drive with the installers of your games, or you step on your blu rays with games and break them, then you lose access to them. As it's always been, no matter the format?
yeah, keep backups.
i've got some a few old games bought on floppies or cds that are knackered now. A few of them i've ended up buying again from gog.
Yeah, like when you buy a physical copy of a gane, it's up to you to make sure you keep that copy somewhere you can find it again, assuming it hasn't started decomposing.
Luckily there are some friendly people with eye patches and peglegs on the internet backing them up for you.
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Well yes, of course. They sell you an installer and it's on you to download it. That the servers could be turned off at one point in the future because the company doesn't have money any more should be clear. It's on you to save the installer on your own hard drive, not the companies!
The missing context here (I think) is that California passed a law saying that digital storefronts (like steam and gog) can't say things like "buy game" because you aren't actually gaining ownership of the game, but instead just buying a license to access it. Some people were questioning if this law should apply to gog since their games are drm free and can be freely installed on any compatible devices once you download the installer.
It should because their use agreement makes it clear that you don't own the games but are licensing them. That's pretty much why they had to clarify what they said I'd imagine. IMO, proving the point of the law, really.
This is equally true for almost any game ever sold, including physical ones. You only ever own a license that specifies what you can and cannot do with the game. The difference is in what this license is tied to, for example either a physical copy of a given game or an account that can be remotely deactivated taking away all your games. In GOG's case once you grab the installer, the game license cannot be easily forcibly revoked, just as with the physical copy.
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trying not to cry
cry a lot
give those people some cookies !
bursts in tears
Can confirm for both Gog and steam I have always had access to the original fallout which went missing off store fronts for a number of years
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licensing issues
I understand that the buyer doesn't lose the de facto ability to install the game from a local copy of the installer, but is it possible to lose the de jure right to install the game in that way due to licensing issues on GOG's end? I'm not saying it is, I'm just curious.
is it possible to lose the de jure right to install the game in that way due to licensing issues on GOG’s end
Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that no, you can't. When you buy the game, you've obtained a perpetual license to install and play that game, similar to what you'd have if you bought the game on a disk. You can lose your ability to download the game, that isn't guaranteed to be unlimited or perpetual, but installing it via the installer you downloaded, and playing it once you do, are forever. (This is in contrast to something like Steam, where you rely on their servers granting you permission to install the game, and that permission can be revoked.)
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Did people think they meant something else? Or was it more that they didn't really elaborate and folks didn't know quite what they meant?
I think they are clarifying due to what has happened with Ubisoft. They're also using it as an opportunity to spread the word farther that they won't do the same thing.
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Well GOG should drop the dark pattern to get you to download Galaxy. Besides that they're alright
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