Not Steam Games, but has anybody noticed Epic games will run without launching the client.
I only own two games on Epic, but they are two of their biggest AAA titles, so you'd expect Epic to get it right.
Doesn't mean they are DRM free, as Metro Exodus is one of them, Crack Watch states the DRM Protection is Denuvo v5.6.
Indeed every few days (three days, I think) it fails to load from my exe shortcut, throwing an error window up.
One load through Epic, and you can shut down, and play store free once again.
The other game is Control, which has no Denuvo, and Crack Watch states the DRM Protection is EpicGames
However Apart from launching the Epic Store to download updates, I don't need the store at all.
I have played the entire game without running the store in the background.
So I just tried copying the entire game to a new location, unknown to Epic client.
I can run the game with both DX11, and DX12 exes, being blocked from accessing the internet, by my custom firewall settings.
They do try to connect constantly, cycling during my quick test, through source ports (51854 to 51904)
Having five blocked attempts per IP Address.
Destination IPs
3.225.193.206 - 35.168.37.167 - 35.153.165.117 - 34.199.42.144 - 3.94.67.65 - 35.171.99.140 - 34.232.151.54 - 3.224.143.153 - 52.3.214.110 - 52.5.135.24 - 3.213.158.248 - 52.4.200.136 - 52.3.199.88 - 52.22.167.223 - 52.4.186.227 - 52.3.98.22 - 34.195.26.210 - 34.199.66.0 - 3.226.82.184 - 54.164.134.61 - 18.210.64.195 - 34.201.188.116 - 52.45.88.73 - 34.201.203.98
The IP addresses repeated on different source ports, but destination port was always 443.
Regardless of whether the Internet access is blocked, or not, game runs, and Epic Store client does not.
Neither appearing in System Tray, or as a background App, I used Process Hacker to check that.
So though the game is clearly meant to run through the Epic store, and even requires the Epic SDK:
eossdk-win64-shipping.dll
Much like spme games on GOG require the steam_api64.dll (or steam_api.dll)
Conarium (GOG)\Engine\Binaries\ThirdParty\Steamworks\Steamv139\Win64\steam_api64.dll
Divinity - Original Sin II - Definitive Edition (GOG)\DefEd\The Divinity Engine 2 DefEd\steam_api64.dll
Vampyr (GOG)\Engine\Binaries\ThirdParty\Steamworks\Steamv139\Win64\steam_api64.dll
SpellForce 3 (GOG)\steam_api64.dll
Metro 2033 - Redux (GOG)\steam_api64.dll
Remothered - Tormented Fathers (GOG)\Engine\Binaries\ThirdParty\Steamworks\Steamv132\Win64\steam_api64.dll
Q.U.B.E. 2 (GOG)\Engine\Binaries\ThirdParty\Steamworks\Steamv139\Win64\steam_api64.dll
Metro - Last Light - Redux (GOG)\steam_api64.dll
Oxenfree (GOG)\steam_api64.dll
Oxenfree (GOG)\Oxenfree_Data\Plugins\steam_api64.dll (REALLY Oxenfree? You love it so much you had to be a 64-bit bigamist)
It's not just the 64-bit games
Titan Quest - Anniversary Edition (GOG)\steam_api.dll (Ancient game, but got new DLC added last year)
Virginia (GOG)\steam_api.dll
Virginia (GOG)\Virginia_Data\Plugins\steam_api.dll (REALLY Virginia? You love it so much you had to be a 32-bit bigamist)
Now it may look like overkill listing so many, but this is just a fraction of the games that require Steam's API on GOG.
As I was looking, one thing occurred to me, these are all, games added, or updated through Galaxy.
I blame that cursed plague of every store client, Achievements. How I detest them.
The main point, I intended to make, before I got distracted, hunting "Achievement Hunters", was that inclusion of the API, or SDK, does not mean the game has DRM, and though I have no doubt that Epic Store is intended to include DRM, it appears it does not work.
As far as I'm concerned, not having to use the store client, is far more important than any game being DRM free.
It's why I get 80% of my games from GOG, DRM free is just a nice added bonus..
I don't give a damn about The Epic Stores lack of features, I would never use any of them anyway.
This one "feature" would be enough to make Epic my second choice, but it's just a SNAFU, so they drop back to last, where they belong.
So I'm happy that Epic Games is so incompetent that it can't even force their crappy client on me.
Post edited September 16, 2019 by UhuruNUru