I got a PM stating that the Gothic 3 physical box version didn't require a CD to run, so I was wondering if all the Gothic games were like that, including the Gothic 3 expansion, and if so, I could just get those versions. Also, any other Nordic games that also don't require a CD?

I'm going to test Gothic Universe and SpellForce Universe. I assume you are asking about Steamless CDs, right?

You mean there are CD versions that do require Steam?

Is there a way to run the GOG version of Spellforce Shadow Wars under Dragon Storm kind of like how it is done in Spellforce Universe?

I'd be pretty confident that Gothic 1 - 3 physical versions don't require Steam. I don't know the exact dates but I'm pretty sure. Arcania aka. Gothic 4 probably would. Many games require activation these days. Even so, if you have physical copies that do require the CD, just crack them.

oh yeah the spellforce series. I don't know. but Nordic has been supporting that series up to recent times so I don't know if the older ones were updated to use Steamworks and or CEG I find it unlikely. Spellforce 2: Faith In Destiny and Spellforce 2: Demons of the Past will likely be DRMed. I can't really say for Shadow Wars and Dragon Storm.

Yes. There are new versions of Supreme Commander and Titan Quest published by Nordic, that require Steam. There is a SpellForce collection that also requires Steam.

In the end you will install Gothic 3 Community Patch anyway. It removes all DRM, if any exists.
edit: but, yeah, i heard that Gothic Universe dvd-box has no drm. Can't confirm it though.

I'm not sure, since I haven't played Dragon Storm, even though I own it both on GOG and the Universe CD.

I have a physical copy of Spellforce Shadow Wars that doesn't require steam, but i haven't actually touched it since i got it... since shortly after i bought the GoG version.

The Universe Edition doesn't use Steam, while the Complete Collection is fully Steamed. Faith in Destiny is Steam-only, while Demons of the Past isn't. Don't know if Demons of the Past has a CD-check though.

Gog`s release says it includes Dragon Storm. I don`t know if that helps you I have no idea what you mean.

Nevermind I got confused it was Steam that the two were included on. Might even be a result of the implementation of DRM.

What, really? I wanted to get that Spellforce Complete Collection. I didn't think the first three games (1, 2SW, 2DS) would be DRMed. wow. I won't be getting it now anyway thanks to having Demons on GOG.

Spellforce 2 Universe (or Gold or whatever) includes Dragon Storm and Shadow Wars from the same loadup. You can run Dragon Storm and Shadow Wars with the same application. A lot of the mods on the Spellforce forums are designed for this setup, so will work with the GOG Dragon Storm but not with the GOG Shadow Wars.

I was wondering if there was a way to sneak the GOG Shadow Wars into the GOG Dragon Storm like the Gold/Universe version.

Alright, SpellForce Universe doesn't have a CD check. Now to test the Gothics...

Ah thanks for the explanation.

Done. Gothic Universe also doesn't use a CD check. Keep in mind, though, that the Universe collection doesn't contain Gothic 3 Forsaken Gods. Whether this is good or bad, is another matter altogether.