How much time on average does it take to do a "crack"?

Finding the crack might be the harderst part... a google search for a reputable old "nocd site" is a good source for some, since a majority of the cracks nowadays are for steam versions (that was a hint without revealing names)... for the rest... probably gotta hit the sea-bearing torrent sites. Also gotta be careful of game versions to the appropriate crack. Sometimes takes 2-3 drifferent crack downlads to get one that works.

Then it only takes a minute to replace a few files usually the game.exe (or gamelauncher.exe) and the Steam_api.dll

Then you launch the game exe directly without Steam running.

Most Steam games are available on non-reputable sites, so I'm guessing going through these loops is fairly easy. I was told about some emulator that actually worked on legal copies with no issue, but never really got around to make it work with my games (Hey, we got GoG's DRM-Free policy, so whatever, right?).

I'm.. not exactly sure if the software itself is legal for what it does (A console emulator, for instance, it is legal, and its source code its available at gitlab, although its giving me some issues to clone the repo now and I've had enough programming for today after my workday, lol), but it seems pretty much a one-stop for any actual offline backup/drm-free version of most games.

From what I have found, an Emulator or a Steam crack is nearly the same thing. Both usually replace the steam_api.dll file. The difference is that Emulators usually also let you do multi-player on a LAN and have a few other features. Since i don't want anything running in the background, I prefer cracks even though they take a little more effort to find. Also some games don't work in emulators without being cracked anyway.

Either way... one is still legitmately purchasing the game... just circumventing the DRM and Store Launcher Data Mining. I'm definitly not advocating downloading whole games for free.

The working week is almost over, still no answer?
And GoG caved to the german censorship as well, so likely not a chance to get uncensored Subverse...

So, there is absolutely no reason at all to still buy here. At least they fixed the broken offline installers. I think it's time to backup all my GoG games.

Not the same thing, but a way to achieve the same thing, which I guess was the objective of richlind33. IMHO the emulator looks to be easier and safer (The code is available and is game-agnostic while these "fixes" come from god-knows-where and are game-specific).

Anyway, to each its own and all that. Still, last time I checked (mid 2000's) using a crack was against the TOS on most retail games (Although there has been some hilarious news on Steam games like Max Payne using the no-cd cracks on their official releases), so take that into account. (And yeah, it's your computer. I'm just talking about the "official" point of view and providing some alternatives).

So you weren't using the term loosely, which means we're likely to incur the management's wrath if we persist.

Cracking your own games it 100% legal, as if getting someone to do it for you. BUT, it has to be your games. They can't just give you a cracked version of the game, you have to either do it yourself or find someone who does. And like any form of DRM, how difficult this is depends on the skill of the guy in charge of encryption and the general programming team. So yes it is actually quite difficult the legal risks involved are not insignificant given the blurred lines we're dealing with here.

I think we also keep focus on forcing an answer from GoG, perhaps further discussion onto this is DRM and the collapse of faith this will have, as well as an agreement to 1-star any game with DRM on it as non-functional with a full explanation in those games as they appear. since, you know, it is non-functional as far as I think most of this thread is concerned.

stealing this for when i run a game on high and it refuses to co-operate.

this is a great term. thanks :)

also, given the other conversation about what to do with steam drm:

[this is a massive derail, so pardon me]:

i would avoid sailing the seven seas. that'll just get your computer into trouble.

if you desperately want to buy from steam and have the games end up drm-free, the two projects i'd look into are:

goldberg - which is a steam emulator
steamless - which actually attempts to remove some of the steam drm.

they're both on gitlab, which means you can actually inspect the code [or other people can] - those are both FAR safer options.
in that case, please accept my reply:

nothing has changed. i continue to boycott your store and will update you when you decide to change your stance. [i'm sincerely hoping you will, but i somehow doubt it.]

From what I've read if you guys can somehow get Hitman 2 or 3 on GOG you can remove Hitman 1 because 2 and 3 already have all the missions. I'm still not sure how the unlocks in those games work. Please keep us posted.

Eh, 60 FPS is fine enough, imo. I was running it at sub 25FPS before I adjusted the settings....now THAT was a pain.

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As you probably know, EULAs are unenforceable(in whole or in part) in a number of countries.

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Why would GOG get mad? I thought GOG was all about DRM free. ;)
(but agreed, time to move back to the primary topic)

Sure, 60fps is fine...but games can do better than that. Especially shooters & fast-paced action games, which needs as much performance as possible.

I used to think like that of "Nobody needs more than 60fps...." until I actually experienced it for myself, in games (Especially fast-paced ones) that support it properly.

And also, Id engines normally can do better than this, especially on Higher End Hardware. Games like DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal (on newer Id Engines) run like champs or better hardware - i.e. better video cards, better monitors w/ G-Sync and/or FreeSync support; and high framerate support built for 90-240+ performance - where the gameplay is super-duper smooth. No screen tearing, no input lag from turning on junk like VSync, butter-smooth performance, and even high-FPS losses are unnoticed once you get that high and still stay over 60fps, as many won't see other that. You get no input lag from KB/mouse; no worries if millions of explosions, fog, RT and other stuff can kill your framerate; etc etc.

It's Gaming Heaven - and one should definitely experience it for themselves.

Licenses are not leases. A license only defines the physical state of ownership to immaterial ownership. If you signed an end user LICENSE agreement, it it not a lease. If it was, you wouldn't be allowed to have a backup on if, and thus it be illegal to make a backup of your hard drive. you have full legal rights to modify any file you own, which includes cracking. Valve or anyone else doesn't even have a right to file against you, let alone actually defend anything in court.

90% of EULAs are unenforceable. It's to the point they are jokes. From all legal standpoint cracking your own files is 100% legal.