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General discussionBoycotting DRM and Game Censorship on GOG, 2021-2022(5216 posts) (5216 posts) 
(5216 posts) 
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 05, 2021
low rated
I've thought long and hard about it (does 1 second count?) and I've decided what my answer will have to be.

No.
.
[Sorry lol, I couldn't help it. Sometimes threads like these just tickle my funny bone. No offense intended]
.
Post edited January 05, 2021 by gog2002x
Posted January 05, 2021
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Breja: I totally respect anyone who in the light of the events of the past year boycotts GOG altogether.
Remember when games were educational? :P An elegant attitude, for a more civilized age.
Post edited January 05, 2021 by WinterSnowfall
Posted January 05, 2021
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eando52: I am very dissapointed to hear that GOG is letting DRM in, and also prioritising Galaxy users.
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toxicTom: 99.9% of the games here are still 100% DRM-free for single player. The issues are a bit more complicated.
Gwent is an MP game with micro-transaction, so it's tied to your online account.
No Man's Sky had (additional) content in one of its (many!) updates that only unlocks if you enable multiplayer once. That content is basically single-player - that's why the outrage about it.
Absolver - I don't know for sure, but as I understood it, some additional SP content is only unlocked after playing MP, which requires playing online through Galaxy.
Cyberpunk 2077 has a couple of arbitrary bonus items which only unlock through Galaxy. Those items are pure cosmetics, but that GOG/CDPR of all people would have this silly Galaxy-requirement in their game has caused quite some disappointment.

So the status is still: If you're only into single-player, GOG is still a safe choice, although there are a handful of games where you might miss out on optional stuff. And yes, that should be fixed too, do you hear me, GOG?

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eando52: Hope I'm not rambling too much; I'm a pensioner and this is the first post I've ever done on a forum. I've played legal free games such as Match 3's, basic Arcade, etc, but these games are far more sophisticated and interesting. I'm not a gamer as I have no real experience. Is there a quick bit of advice anyone can offer to get started, or is it a matter of patience and trial and error?
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toxicTom: Welcome to the forums then. I encourage you to open a separate topic where you can ask for advice as a newcomer in "serious" gaming. My first advice would be to try to find out what games you would like to play... there's really a lot of choices in terms of mechanics, design, stories, backgrounds...
Many thanks for your advice. The games I bought from GOG are the kind I might enjoy. I can relate to Star Wars, and have a fair idea of the genres I may like.
Posted January 05, 2021
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Breja: I love how smug everyone in this thread is, how full of contempt for someone having principles. If anyone wants an explanation for why GOG wen the way it did, this arogant contempt for someone having principles is the best answer there is.
It's disappointing. It seems the site these days is populated by people who are happy to turn a blind eye and sweep GOG's misdeeds under the carpet, rather than try to hold them accountable.

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Lifthrasil: These are the reasons why I stopped spending money on GOG as well. I have always supported them because they stood for DRM-free. They don't do that anymore, so I don't support them anymore.

It would be very nice if many more would think likewise and if GOG would feel that dropping their last principle hurts their sales - but alas, I don't have much hope. Most customers seem either to go 'meh. Don't care'. Or they hop through lots of loops to justify themselves that each new broken promise by GOG 'isn't really DRM yet!'.

Well, to each their own. I won't support the new GOG and we'll see how they fare as smaller and less important copy of Steam and key-reseller for Epic.

I migrated to zoom-platform as well.
Yes, it seems they have made a corporate calculation that they will make more money as a weak Steam clone than as a principled DRM-free store. I guess we'll see in time if their calculations are accurate ...
Post edited January 05, 2021 by Time4Tea
Posted January 05, 2021
low rated
Why do you hate Gwent? It's a fun card game and generous too.
Posted January 05, 2021
low rated
I am a bit confused when people think needing an internet collection is equals to having drm. I mean, if you don't have one, how did you get the games in the first place?
Posted January 05, 2021
Well is there any other way to tell gog they are on a wrong path and should turn back?
Posted January 05, 2021
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Time4Tea: Is anyone else intending to boycott GOG? Who is with me?
Nopeity nope, with an extra helping of not a chance.
Posted January 05, 2021
high rated
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I downloaded them in the public library.
Posted January 05, 2021
high rated
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myconv: With them specifically having games that have Linux versions but GOG doesn't provide the downloads for, along with what you describe, I certainly find Steam more attractive than GOG much of the time.
That isn't the fault of GOG, this has been discussed in other threads and the primary issue is that the Linux ports were done(outsourced to) by companies who prefer DRM (Feral with there Linux ports of Square/Enix games is an example)
Posted January 05, 2021
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Time4Tea: I would like to announce that I have decided to boycott GOG for 2021. This is in response to several decisions the site has made over the past year that I believe have been deeply misguided:

Is anyone else intending to boycott GOG? Who is with me?
I have debated with myself whether to do the same and your well-written post has helped me to make the move. Thank you.

I don't plan to buy games from GOG anymore until I feel they have --- as you've said --- changed trajectory. I don't really expect them to do so, though. I don't think it will be easy for me, but I do plan to give it my best. I may allow myself to buy DLCs for games I already own (because I have always maintained that DLCs are artificially-separated parts of the original game) and perhaps also to participate in giveaways.

As many already know, I have also taken MaGog down, to make it easier for myself not to buy games.

The last game I bought was on 31 December 2020.

To give some perspective, according to my records, I have spent more than $7,000 on GOG over the past 12 years, buying games for myself and gifts for others, during which time I have not bought a single video game, physical or digital, anywhere else.

Since at the moment I don't see any reasonable alternative to GOG, I don't plan to buy video games at all. My backlog is large enough to last me several lifetimes, not to mention replays.

I also don't plan to leave the GOG forum.

May I suggest that you add a list of "People who have joined me:" to your OP, and add me to the list.
Post edited January 05, 2021 by mrkgnao
Posted January 05, 2021
low rated
mrkgnao will you buy games elsewhere now or just stop buying games for now ?
Ill just limit buy purchase down to cooperative/multiplayer games.
Posted January 05, 2021
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Orkhepaj: mrkgnao will you buy games elsewhere now or just stop buying games for now ?
Ill just limit buy purchase down to cooperative/multiplayer games.
Since at the moment I don't see any reasonable alternative to GOG, I don't plan to buy video games at all. My backlog is large enough to last me several lifetimes, not to mention replays.

I believe the main reason that they act the way they do, is because they are essentially a near-monopoly in the pseudo-DRM-free market.
Post edited January 05, 2021 by mrkgnao
Posted January 05, 2021
Honestly, I'm not at all hung up about games which have multiplayer components needed to activate some content for single player. While this wasn't a thing in the "good old" days, more and more developers have been doing this for the past 10 years as a yardstick for engagement statistics, and driving people into their ecosystem. Mass Effect 3, a few of the middle boat-sailing Assassin's Creeds, and many others, have all had single-player campaign content locked behind online access.

So, when a game comes to GOG, the team have three choices.
1) Disable that content altogether (actually, they likely often don't have a choice about that, the game simply won't come without it),
2) Negotiate/acquire offline access for that content (eg, as done with Deus Ex Mankind Divided bonus content),
3) Leave the content in, with the caveat that while the game is playable without it, that component necessarily requires online access.

Given the games are primarily DRM-free, and can still be played in their entirety in almost all instances, it's hard to find the latter overly objectionable. Absolver is an interesting case because the game is designed around continuing past a certain point requiring online play. In short; this is an online game and should cleared be advertised as such. Online multiplayer with any sort of security is always going to be a "drm in effect", whether we want it to be or not. It's generally accepted that on-line play in many cases necessitates access control, and this is going to be a form of DRM. Absolver needs to have a prominent disclaimer that gameplay past a certain point requires on-line PVP grind. Really, GOG should have thought harder about ever including this game in their catalog, but that alone is not boycott-worthy.

However, in all other cases, we're pretty much just talking inconsequential cosmetic bonus content. Games with online access for bonus content are only becoming more common, and if the choice for GOG is to either not have the games, or to keep the online requirement for the bonus content, I'd rather the latter. For example, I'd rather have Assassin's Creed Black Flag DRM-free and with the option to go online to use the "fleet" mechanic (which I'd never use), than to not have the game at all.

Unless a large swathe of game content requires online access (such as Absolver, not prominently positioned as an on-line game; they need to fix that or remove it) I'm not going to get too upset. The point where I'd get upset is if a single-player offline game ever needs online access or Galaxy to just play it.
Post edited January 05, 2021 by Raennik
Posted January 05, 2021
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Raennik: So, when a game comes to GOG, the team have three choices.
They could do a fourth thing, which in my book would earn them quite a few brownie points, and that is clearly indicate which games are fully DRM-free (i.e. 100% content available without online access or galaxy) and which are not, just like they identify which games have Linux support or achievements or controller support or Hungarian audio or DLCs.
Post edited January 05, 2021 by mrkgnao
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionBoycotting DRM and Game Censorship on GOG, 2021-2022(5216 posts) (5216 posts) 
(5216 posts)