It seems that you're using an outdated browser. Some things may not work as they should (or don't work at all).
We suggest you upgrade newer and better browser like: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Opera

×
Glad I got this on Steam then.
avatar
JudasIscariot: Hi all,

The various DLC for The Escapists will be here for the GOG version as soon as possible. That is all.
That's great! Thank you very much. I don't know if this was already going to happen or if something has changed, but either way this is good news.
avatar
Marioface5: In my opinion, choosing to sell a game here (or on Humble, or anywhere else) should be seen as a commitment and not taken lightly. If a developer or publisher doesn't know for sure that they can and/or will keep the GOG version of a game up to date, then they should hold off on releasing it here.
avatar
Kardwill: So, you mean if they have any doubt about the viability of their game here, they shouldn't bother with us and go steam exclusive, that's it? How would that not be "second class customers" if they don't even bother to sell the game here?

Personally, I prefer to see them take theyr chance and try to release a game, and then sometime changing their mind for the DLC, than to see every small-to-medium release go Steam only because GOG is too "dangerous"
I feel that they should either commit to the release and keep the GOG version equally updated regardless of the game's success here, or they shouldn't sell it here until they can make that commitment. You can't be a second-class customer if you aren't a customer. This is only an issue for a tiny handful of games on GOG. The vast majority of developers here, small or not, treat all of their customers equally. There's no excuse for the handful of developers that don't do that, and I would much rather see their games be Steam-exclusive than have them dumped here to take advantage of GOG's users.

Every time a game on GOG gets abandoned, buying from here becomes riskier. These games hurt GOG's users, they hurt GOG, and they hurt other game developers. If people start to see buying a game on GOG as taking a chance, then they'll be less likely to do it. I myself bought The Escapists and Hand of Fate near release, and though I'm glad that we now have confirmation that both games will get their DLC here eventually, the lack of equal treatment has made me question buying new games here on release in the future.

As for the idea that "every small-to-medium release" could "go Steam only", I don't think that would ever be a concern. Like I said, this is only an issue for a tiny handful of games here, like maybe 5 or 6 to my knowledge at the time of writing, so clearly this is no problem for the vast majority of developers. For the few that it is an issue for, well, not every game should or will be on GOG. There are great games out there that aren't sold here, and that's something that has to be accepted. If we can miss out on those games, in some cases for no reason other than GOG rejecting them, then I think we can definitely miss out on the games that would end up having GOG users treated as second-class customers. It is far worse to have such games here than to not have them.
Post edited September 16, 2015 by Marioface5
avatar
Marioface5: As for the idea that "every small-to-medium release" could "go Steam only", I don't think that would ever be a concern. Like I said, this is only an issue for a tiny handful of games here, so clearly this is no problem for the vast majority of developers.
Yeah, but the "tiny handful" are the games that tried to get here, and didn't succeed. Many other tried, succeeded, and got enough money on GOG to keep doing business here.
If they don't have the possibility to "pull back", many of those successful devs wouldn't have taken the financial risk, and those games wouldn't be there either. So the impact would be far greater that this handful of games and devs.

Keep in mind that these failures are games that the dev AND GOG thought would make some good business here, like any other.
avatar
Marioface5: As for the idea that "every small-to-medium release" could "go Steam only", I don't think that would ever be a concern. Like I said, this is only an issue for a tiny handful of games here, so clearly this is no problem for the vast majority of developers.
avatar
Kardwill: Yeah, but the "tiny handful" are the games that tried to get here, and didn't succeed. Many other tried, succeeded, and got enough money on GOG to keep doing business here.
If they don't have the possibility to "pull back", many of those successful devs wouldn't have taken the financial risk, and those games wouldn't be there either. So the impact would be far greater that this handful of games and devs.

Keep in mind that these failures are games that the dev AND GOG thought would make some good business here, like any other.
Is there really much of a financial risk though? I get the impression that it doesn't cost much to keep the GOG version of a game properly supported, especially because again there's not even 10 games that I know of where it's an issue. Let's look at the games I do know of, and maybe that will give us a clearer picture:

1. Slender: The Arrival - This game, according to GOG users, is over a year out of date and is missing free DLC on here. There is no paid DLC for the game, just free updates which aren't here.

2. Luftrausers - This game apparently can't be completed due to a bug that the game had on release. The Steam version was fixed just days after release, but the GOG version wasn't. No paid DLC involved, just one free update to fix a major bug.

3. Sam & Max Save the World - This game has a near game-breaking bug that the developer won't give GOG a patch for despite having the bug fixed elsewhere. Again, no DLC, just a free update to fix a major bug.

4. Hammerwatch - This game is missing its latest update, though I'm not sure why since until then it was properly supported. It's missing one free update, no DLC involved, and that free update makes some nice gameplay improvements. Additionally, because of the version difference it is currently impossible for GOG and Steam users to play online together.

5. The Escapists - The DLC is out on Steam but not here. However, it is confirmed that we will be getting it.

6. Hand of Fate - The DLC is out on Steam but not here. However, it is confirmed that we will be getting it.

Notice anything weird about these six games? Four are missing free updates with no DLC involved. Updates that should cost little, if anything, to get to GOG. Meanwhile, the two games that are missing DLC are now confirmed to be releasing it here in the future. I don't think this has anything to do with financial issues or financial risk. I think these examples make it clear that it's just about whether or not the developers care about their GOG customers. They could update their games if they wanted to, but they don't care, so those games are abandoned. Developers who are okay with abandoning their GOG users don't deserve to sell their games here.
avatar
JudasIscariot: The only way I can think of would be to send the developer or publisher a courteous email asking about these kind of things :)
avatar
omega64: I tried with Slender the Arrival, it's more than a year behind in patches and never got a response.
Don't give up, my octofriend. It works, if done right. Be persuasive, but not invasive.

Everytime I see an interesting game -an indie one most of the time- getting released on steam/xbla/elsewhere I immediatelly say "hi, why don't you put your game on GOG.com, they're awesome and the community there is superb" and, to not-so-much surprise they all seem to know GOG pretty well.
Lots of 'em, due to GOG's supreme curator process or something say "well I tried, but they say my game wasn't par to their demands or expectations". I dig that, yep, and I understand. We don't want GOG filled with tons of indies who just can't simply, uh, shine :P

That's why we see some new/better games from some of these devs and, sometimes, even the old ones get here, due to popular demand.
My humble opinion? GOG should (I politely say) use the same "method of approval/pricing" they did with Super Hexagon :)
Period!
So the developer noticed that despite of the sale no one buys the game .
Man, I hope we get the Shovel Knight Plague of Shadows DLC tomorrow!
avatar
Pheace: Until your last sentence there was no statement from you that the DLC will actually come here, that's what I'm trying to make clear to you. That final sentence would have been the better way of stating it.
avatar
JudasIscariot: Unless my English skills have failed me, the statement "The various DLC for The Escapists will be here for the GOG version as soon as possible." states quite frankly that DLC will be here. I am not sure where the problem is with that previous statement.
Indeed, by convention in English we do assume that it's possible. So, as you stated it does imply that at some point in the future the DLC will be here.

If you knew it to be impossible or that it was possibly impossible, that would be a terrible way of putting it though.
avatar
JudasIscariot: Hi all,

The various DLC for The Escapists will be here for the GOG version as soon as possible. That is all.
Did you just buy team 17 too ? ;-)
avatar
JudasIscariot: Unless my English skills have failed me, the statement "The various DLC for The Escapists will be here for the GOG version as soon as possible." states quite frankly that DLC will be here. I am not sure where the problem is with that previous statement.
Don't worry, it was perfectly clear!
avatar
JudasIscariot: The only way I can think of would be to send the developer or publisher a courteous email asking about these kind of things :)
Sometimes they don't pay attention to their customers... they might pay more attention to official correspondence from a company they have a contract with though. Of course, it could be that GOG already pesters these developers, but if you're getting ignored or fobbed off with excuses is there anything in the contract that would allow you to exercise a bit of leverage? I don't expect you to give us any info about the contracts, but it would be good if GOG could do *something*.
Post edited September 16, 2015 by SirPrimalform
avatar
Marioface5: Four are missing free updates with no DLC involved. Updates that should cost little, if anything, to get to GOG.
Err, why? Paid or not, work hours are work hours. They are money spent (with nothing gained apart from goodwill and potential future sales in the case of unpaid patches). If there are not enough customers that bought your game on a webstore, and you are already in the red there, it can be difficult to justify spending more money on that particular version.
Post edited September 16, 2015 by Kardwill
avatar
Marioface5: Four are missing free updates with no DLC involved. Updates that should cost little, if anything, to get to GOG.
avatar
Kardwill: Err, why? Paid or not, work hours are work hours. They are money spent (with nothing gained apart from goodwill and potential future sales in the case of unpaid patches). If there are not enough customers that bought your game on a webstore, and you are already in the red there, it can be difficult to justify spending more money on that particular version.
The main work on the update is already done for the Steam version, and I can't imagine that GOG would charge developers to release free updates to their games here. So the only cost would be, what, disabling Steamworks for the GOG build again? Maybe copying and pasting some files? I would have a hard time believing that it would take more than an hour, if that long, to do whatever work is required to get an existing update ready for the GOG version of a game.
avatar
fortune_p_dawg: Man, I hope we get the Shovel Knight Plague of Shadows DLC tomorrow!
You will :)
avatar
fortune_p_dawg: Man, I hope we get the Shovel Knight Plague of Shadows DLC tomorrow!
avatar
JudasIscariot: You will :)
How about a discount (anything!) on the base game to celebrate?