amcdermo: It belongs here and I'd rather buy that age of game on GoG because that way I'd know it'll work on modern computers.
erm, the game works just fine on modern W7x64-based computers. the Unreal engines are amazing in terms of compatibility.
jamyskis: You see, I think this is going to be a bit of an inverse problem. Steam has released a re-worked version complete with achievements, Steamworks multiplayer and so on. I'd be worried that GOG would release a semi-functional fixed version based on the retail version that suffers from constant crashing and hardware incompatibilities.
have you actually ever tried the original on a modern system? there are no issues.
jamyskis: Not that I know if there have been tech probs with the Steam version, but rereleased on Steam until now had always been straight up releases of the original without any modification.
not entirely true. DOS games are provided with pre-configured DOSBOX. which is exactly what GOG is doing 90% of the time.
macuahuitlgog: I wonder if they made it so the game works well on modern systems with Vista or Windows 7?
why do people keep bringing this up? i can find no issues with the original.
jamyskis: Nope. Steamworks integration is - comparatively speaking in terms of the overall development process - a fairly trivial process. To the best of my knowledge devs always create a Steamworks-independent build regardless of whether they're only going to release on Steam or not, and removing it is not a problem,.just as long as the devs have retained the source code.
from what devs have been saying (the Stardock guy comes to mind) it doesn't seem to be THAT trivial. apparently, devs go SteamWorks because it saves them huge amounts of money and time since they don't have to develop and set up their own solutions (for multiplayer, patching and activation infrastructure, DLC distribution, etc.).
i'm not a dev, though, so i can't really say what's true. are you?
jamyskis: Just check out some of the Humble Bundles, which had what was previously Steam exclusives.
they've never been full SteamWorks titles, though, just like Alan Wake. with some games, SteamWorks usage is limited to trivial matters like achievements. that ought to be easy enough to remove. it gets more difficult when multiplayer and DLC are involved.
grviper: It could go the same way AvP Classic 2000 was released. Steam edition got reworked multiplayer, other versions were DRM free but the MP was cut out.
that would be pointless in this case, wouldn't it? considering Rune Classic comes with the multiplayer expansion... you'd have to cut at least a third of the game.
