I really do like the game Armello, but sadly the new DLC is not coming to GOG. The reasons are quite odd.
Speaking in August a developer said this on their official forum:
QuoteThe reason we're not sure how to manage DLC on GOG is because of the nature of DRM free platforms.
I find that very, very odd. There are plenty of games outside of Steam and on GOG specifically that handle DLC perfectly well.
A few days later the developers said this on their forum:
QuoteWe've had fantastic meetings with GoG about the future of Armello on the platform and although there's no way for us to provide DLC for DRM Free users or to attempt to retain parity with the Steam version of Armello, Armello DRM Free Edition will see features that best suit a DRM Free experience picked across from other platforms into early-mid 2017, helping LoG & GoG (lol) reach our mutual goal of providing users the best possible DRM Free Armello experience.
I literally don't know what they are doing now. This "no way for us to provide DLC for DRM Free users" just makes zero sense.
Three days ago, the the game was re-named on GOG:
QuoteArmello, the digital tabletop/role-playing/strategy game, has now been updated and renamed to Armello - DRM Free Edition.
The game now has a 16 page topic on GOG rammed full of complaints about it, as customers feel completely let down.
I completely understand where people are coming from, as they essentially purchased a game on GOG that is late with patches and isn't getting the DLC. So "hey we gave it a new name, but you're not getting the DLC!". The new name makes literally zero sense too, since GOG is a DRM free store.
I do wonder if the developers have seen low sales on GOG and just don't want to openly state it in case it sours relations with the store. Either way, it sucks for people who purchased this on GOG.
Both League of Geeks and GOG will suffer due to this. I expect a fair few people will look to another store, and another developer in future.
Another stinky situation, such a shame.
lucifertdark Sep 3, 2016
Shugyousha Sep 3, 2016
Quoting: Mountain ManQuoteAn email I got from the devs:
"Hi Kristian,
We closely monitor who engages with Armello and it's no longer viable for us to continuously update the DRM Free version of Armello. The game will continue to exist in it's current state and we're proud of how far we've been able to take it.
As online services are required to verify if any given player has access to the DLC heroes, it's not compatible with the DRM-Free version of Armello.
Thanks,
Lisy Kane
Producer"
This doesn't make sense at all.
They can have a switch in the code for "HasDLC" and check that switch both on their own copy and on the copy of the players they play with (since they have a network connection).
My guess is that they are using a Steam-specific library (Steamworks?) to distribute the DLC which obviously is not in their GoG version. They just don't want to invest the time to build a non-Steam-specific distribution functionality into the DRM-free version of the game.
If all the content is contained within the game, then the DLC is basically just a validation key. Which is DRM by definition and therefore incompatible GoG.
The alternative would be to actually include the content in the DLC and not allow players without the DLC to play with those that enabled it.
If they really wanted to, they could separate the content for GoG and have a mix of both options.
Quoting: EhvisIt makes perfect sense.
If all the content is contained within the game, then the DLC is basically just a validation key. Which is DRM by definition and therefore incompatible GoG.
Or they could’ve made it so characters in a network game are limited to what both players have (and having actual content in DLCs, duh). Still better than that.
Last edited by Ignis on 3 September 2016 at 11:44 am UTC
Mountain Man Sep 3, 2016
Quoting: IgnisThat would just piss off players who had bought the DLC and fragment the multiplayer community between the "haves" and the "have nots". League of Geeks is obviously trying to avoid this.Quoting: EhvisIt makes perfect sense.Or they could’ve made it so characters in a network game are limited to what both players have (and having actual content in DLCs, duh). Still better than that.
If all the content is contained within the game, then the DLC is basically just a validation key. Which is DRM by definition and therefore incompatible GoG.
Quoting: Mountain ManThat would just piss off players who had bought the DLC and fragment the multiplayer community between the "haves" and the "have nots". League of Geeks is obviously trying to avoid this.
And throwing the whole chunk of community out in the cold is not doing that, sure.
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