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DRM-free store GOG has launched a huge Spring Sale with thousand of games going real cheap. They've also put the Witcher Goodies Collection on a 48 hour giveaway which has art, books, soundtracks and such (no games in it).

They've sorted out a bunch of big collections for this sale like:

You can also build your own bundle from Beamdog, 1C Entertainment and Deep Silver.

XCOM 2 also released on GOG today, sadly only for Windows. I spoke to Feral Interactive, who ported it to Linux and they told me today "We do not have any plans to distribute our games through GOG. If this changes, we'll make announcements through our usual channels.". A real shame, so if you want Feral's Linux ports it's Steam only.

See all the deals over on GOG.com.

The GOG Spring Sale runs until March 30th, 2 PM UTC.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: DRM-Free, GOG, On Sale
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Ehvis Mar 20, 2020
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Quoting: Shmerl
Quoting: LinasAlso there may be things that we are completely unaware of, like contractual obligations, and licensing terms. I am sure it is difficult enough for Feral to convince the publishers to allow a Linux version in the first place, without them trying to impose their own terms, like publishing DRM-free on GOG

It shouldn't be hard, if the game is already on GOG, like XCOM series for example.

Only one game out of the entire catalogue. Because the rest isn't there. And since GOG has "special requirements" for handling Linux, people have to jump through hoops to get there Linux build on there. Not to mention all the missing features because of their refusal to support Galaxy. Seriously, GOGs attitude to Linux is more detrimental than DRM. The only thing we can do is to stay away until GOG takes Linux seriously.

(and yes, I'm exaggerating by means of applying your black and white logic to GOG. Although to be fair, I mostly bring it in practice for the exact reason cited.)
Shmerl Mar 20, 2020
Quoting: EhvisOnly one game out of the entire catalogue. Because the rest isn't there.

Should we care how many? We are talking about cases where it's clearly up to Feral and the argument of original publishers being opposed to it is not the case.

And it's not one game, there are more.


Last edited by Shmerl on 20 March 2020 at 2:40 pm UTC
Ehvis Mar 20, 2020
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Quoting: Shmerl
Quoting: EhvisOnly one game out of the entire catalogue. Because the rest isn't there.

Should we care how many? We are talking about cases where it's clearly up to Feral and the argument of original publishers being opposed to it is not the case.

And it's not one game, there are more.

Not really. I highly doubt Feral is the unwilling party. In my estimation, it is GOG that refuses two publishers on a single game, thereby not making it impossible for Feral to get their builds up on GOG.
Shmerl Mar 20, 2020
Quoting: EhvisNot really. I highly doubt Feral is the unwilling party. In my estimation, it is GOG that refuses two publishers on a single game, thereby not making it impossible for Feral to get their builds up on GOG.

In this case, Feral is the unwilling party. They said that much themselves.
adamhm Mar 20, 2020
Could someone with Feral's games on Steam check if any of them are actually DRM-free please?

Close Steam, go to the game directory and try running its executable/start script directly - if it runs and has full single-player/offline functionality, then it's DRM-free. Some games might require certain tricks to run without Steam e.g. creating a steam_appid.txt or providing a command-line argument. There's a list of many such games here: https://steam.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_DRM-free_games

Failing that, the "DRM" on many Steam games is often more of a laziness or accident thing than real DRM (either throwing an error message & exiting when SteamAPI_Init() returns 0 or not taking it into account and subsequently crapping out when the API doesn't respond as expected) and in such cases these games will at least run with something like the Goldberg emulator. Proper DRM requires more significant effort to implement and its presence would suggest that Feral does actually care about DRM... so even if they're not outright DRM-free will any of Feral's games at least work with an emulator?


Last edited by adamhm on 20 March 2020 at 3:53 pm UTC
adamhm Mar 21, 2020
I decided to test the few Feral-ported games I have in my Steam library:

  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown: Binaries will try to launch Steam if SteamGameId and SteamAppId environment variables are not set. After setting those it subsequently quits after SteamAPI_Init() fails. I was able to get this working using the Goldberg emulator with the default setup I use for that (set it to offline mode & generate steam_interfaces.txt).

  • Total War: Medieval II: The start script performs a crude check to see if it has been started from Steam and will try to start the game through Steam if it has not. This can be bypassed by either setting SteamAppId or editing the check out but the game quits after SteamAPI_Init() fails. As with XCOM, using the Goldberg emulator with it was successful.

  • Tomb Raider: Same as above.

  • F1 2015: Same as above.

  • DiRT Rally: This quits with SteamAPI_Init() failing even with the Goldberg emulator library.

  • Total War: Shogun 2: Same as above, but it also attempts to start Steam.


So from this it looks like Feral's newer games are likely to be more strongly DRM'ed than their older games...
Comandante Ñoñardo Mar 22, 2020
Quoting: adamhmI decided to test the few Feral-ported games I have in my Steam library:

  • XCOM: Enemy Unknown: Binaries will try to launch Steam if SteamGameId and SteamAppId environment variables are not set. After setting those it subsequently quits after SteamAPI_Init() fails. I was able to get this working using the Goldberg emulator with the default setup I use for that (set it to offline mode & generate steam_interfaces.txt).

  • Total War: Medieval II: The start script performs a crude check to see if it has been started from Steam and will try to start the game through Steam if it has not. This can be bypassed by either setting SteamAppId or editing the check out but the game quits after SteamAPI_Init() fails. As with XCOM, using the Goldberg emulator with it was successful.

  • Tomb Raider: Same as above.

  • F1 2015: Same as above.

  • DiRT Rally: This quits with SteamAPI_Init() failing even with the Goldberg emulator library.

  • Total War: Shogun 2: Same as above, but it also attempts to start Steam.


So from this it looks like Feral's newer games are likely to be more strongly DRM'ed than their older games...

Can I install my steam games OFFLINE from backups using this Goldberg Emulator?
adamhm Mar 22, 2020
Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoCan I install my steam games OFFLINE from backups using this Goldberg Emulator?

Yes, as long as the game has no proper DRM. The Goldberg emulator is basically an open source reimplementation of the Steam API.

It was reported about on GOL previously if you want to take a look at it - https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/the-goldberg-steam-emulator-has-a-new-release-marking-one-year.14787
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