https://www.gog.com/en/game/age_of_wonders_4_primal_fury (as an example of AoW4 DLC) is sold as DRM-FREE;

but when I download the DLC it is an executable that demand's a GOG version of the game installed. This doesn't sound like it is DRM free, it is linked to a copy of the game bought strictly on GOG.

i think it's impossible to mix a gog version of any base game or dlc with a steam one becuse of a missing or extra dll file

"Please note that you are required to own Age of Wonders 4 on GOG.com to be able to purchase and play Age of Wonders 4: Primal Fury"
Hmmm....

Cross-compatibility across different service/store versions of games is not what DRM-free is about.

You could just as well claim that because you can't run GOG games on PS5 or Nintendo Switch, they are not really DRM-free games.

The installer should prompt for the location of my game install; that's common sense. Not expecting a copy sold by GOG. It shouldn't matter where I got my copy from as long as I give it a path with a valid game installation. It should care only about the folder I point it to having the necessary DLLs, executables and assets. Have you ever installed any mod ever? Did Steam complain about you running a mod on your Steam bought game? What you said makes no sense. Steam only cares that when I tell their launcher to run an executable, that I have the license for it; which I do (the main game license). So it's not DRM-FREE. It's not "cross-compatibility"; I want the executables and content for the DLC no questions asked. If there is an installer asking me to prove I own something else from GOG, it's not DRM free. Forget about Steam. I bought the DLC and I wan't it's content; what I do with it is my own concern. GOG uses a 3rd party installer that encrypts the contents of the DLC unless you prove to it you own another GOG license. This is DRM

How did you download it if you couldn't buy it in the first place?

Yeah I can download it and not do anything with it unless I prove I have a SEPARATE LICENSE to a DIFFERENT PRODUCT.

For a second I thought this was a thread created by Geralt/The Nameless One. :P

So you pirated it? Or what are we missing?

DLC is not a mod. If it was, it would be called a mod. See how that works?

Let me quote you because you seem to have forgotten what you wrote a couple minutes ago:

"You also can't expect a DRM protected Steam version to accept content that is not from Steam."

And I ask you again. Is a MOD "content that is not from Steam"?

And does Steam accept that you use a mod with their games?


What? I told you I have bought the DLC on GOG what are you on about.

The content you are talking/posting about is DLC, not a mod.

It doesn't matter if it's a mod, a DLC or a hamburger; Steam doesn't care and that's the point and why your argument is wrong. It only cares that the game I launch from it's launcher has a valid license, which I own.

What other code that game is running is none of Steam's business and they don't give a fuck about it.

If the DLC sold on GOG was DRM-FREE I would have access to the files and I could drop it in the game folder and that's it. The problem here is not Steam; it's GOG selling software that depends on a secondary license and claiming it's DRM-FREE.

whatever. I'll just crack the stupid installer and get it over with. useless arguing with a bunch of corporate simps.

The DLC is very small. So it's possible it modifies the executable or some other file to unlock the content rather than actually add it. In which case it may not be possible for it to work across different builds of the app.

In any case unless you get some weird pleasure out of arguiing with people to justify your purchasing mistakes you should probably move on at this point hopefully having learned not to assume you can assemble parts of games from different platforms and have it work.