In the end it doesn't matter. I for my part can copy (nearly) all Steam games I have installed. The license terms, specified by GOG and already posted by someone else above are not materially different from those by Steam. They *do* have a termination clause and govern the use of your license. Just because they are written in a funnier, less legalese way doesn't mean they are less binding.

GOG (highlight by me):

2.1 We give you and other GOG users the personal right (known legally as a 'licence') to use GOG services and to download, access and/or stream (depending on the content) and use GOG content. This licence is for your personal use. We can stop or suspend this licence in some situations, which are explained later on.

10.1 GOG services [...] and all legal and exploitation rights regarding them are either owned by us or we license them from third parties. GOG content is owned by its developers/publishers and licensed by us. All rights are reserved except as we have explained in this Agreement. You may not use or exploit any part of the GOG services or GOG content except as explained in this Agreement.

17.2 Our right to terminate the Agreement. If you materially breach this Agreement, we reserve the right to suspend or cancel your access to GOG services and GOG content. By material breach of the Agreement we mean a serious breach which could cause significant harm to GOG, GOG users, as well as, in particular breach of the provisions of section 11 above. [...]

Steam (highlight by me):

B. Hardware, Subscriptions; Content and Services

As a Subscriber you may obtain access to certain services, software and content available to Subscribers [...] on Steam. The Steam client software and any other software, content, and updates you download or access via Steam, including but not limited to Valve or third-party video games and in-game content, [...] are referred to in this Agreement as "Content and Services;" the rights to access and/or use any Content and Services accessible through Steam are referred to in this Agreement as "Subscriptions."

2. LICENSES

A. General Content and Services License

[...]Valve hereby grants, and you accept, a non-exclusive license and right, to use the Content and Services for your personal, non-commercial use [...]. This license ends upon termination of (a) this Agreement or (b) a Subscription that includes the license. The Content and Services are licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Content and Services.

C. Termination by Valve

Valve may restrict or cancel your Account or any particular Subscription(s) at any time in the event that (a) Valve ceases providing such Subscriptions to similarly situated Subscribers generally, or (b) you breach any terms of this Agreement (including any Subscription Terms or Rules of Use).

It is worded differently, but really materially they are the same. You get a license to use the software. It is governed by the respective services terms of use, that may include termination of the User Agreement (GOG) or Subscriber Agreement (Steam). If terminated the license granted by that agreement also expires. No longer being able to download is only part of the issue and also affects both services. The only difference is that on one the downloader is the browser (GOG) on the other it is a dedicated application (Steam).

Really the "you own your games on GoG" story is nice and all, and kudos for them for keeping this up and so well repeated by everyone, but it is just that: a story and it is wrong. You "own" nothing more than you do on Steam and the files you download you can copy in both instances for many games (though on Steam not for all, admittedly)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

To my knowledge, it is not possible to install a game purchased from Steam or Epic without their respective launchers.

For Steam it is. You can just take the game directory of any game that is not tied to Steam hard (i.e. uses it as DRM) and run it wherever you like. If it integrates achievements you might have to load a shared library to avoid it trying to contact the achievement services, but most games will actually gracefully ignore that and not track achievements if they are found to be running without Steam running. I have many games that are like that. It is a common misconception that all games bought on Steam would be tied to Steam.

This receipt, coupled with the offline installer, is, effectively, a perpetual right to install and play the game legally.

This is just wrong. You *always* buy a license to use the software. While you may be *able* to install the software with an offline installer if your license gets revoked (often that license is from the publisher and not actually from GOG or Steam) then you are using the software illegally.

If the license gets revoked on Steam and you do not have an offline copy because a game was tied to Steam, which is not always the case, as explained above, then you could just as well get a pirate copy and be on the same legal grounds as you would be with Steam. Yes, it is less cumbersome on GOG, but it is not more legal there. Your "receipt" means nothing. You also get one from Steam. But in all cases that is a receipt for a license which is *not* perpetual.

It is just disingenuous from GOG to pretend that it is perpetual when really, it is not.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Wow great news!

I got my invitation for the 512GB version to Germany today at 20:42 CEST! Reserved on 2022-07-04. So this was way quicker than expected and now I'm eagerly waiting for it to arrive at my door :)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Just saying this here as a long time reader: Thank you for everything Liam! GOL is truly the best linux gaming news site there is. And thanks for putting up with our not always constructive or civil discussions and letting us comment!

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: HoolyDoesn't matter, the private key has to get there somehow. And how would you verify server-side that the client uses a specific individual TPM? The client could just lie to the server and then reroute the attestation request again.

The private key is generated by the TPM and never leaves it. The public key transmitted to the server for encryption is signed with the private key from the TPM vendor and thus cannot be "spoofed". The server knows all "known good" TPM vendors and their (public) signing keys.

Quoting: HoolyIf your security model involves placing trust onto the client in any shape or form, then it is deeply flawed, period.

Then FPS are basically impossible to make cheat proof. You *need* to trust the client to actually render walls ...

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: HoolyThe problem is that even a TPM or Pluton would be unsuited to combat cheaters.

A cheater could simply modify one system and keep another "legit" one. When something asks for a verification, you send that request to the legit machine, have it attest that everything is ok and send that back instead.

This is also why TPMs aren't used to enforce DRM, btw.

Right! I missed that. This is often a general problem in TPM / remote attestation implementations, that after the check you can exchange the system and thus "spoof" the check that it has not been tampered with.

The standard way to combat this in a normal TPM / remote attestation scenario is to encrypt the communication with a key where only the TPM has the private key to decrypt it. So only the trusted non-manipulated software can read the communicated data. However, routing FPS gaming network traffic through a TPM admittedly is prohibitive ;)

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Thanks for the write-up! Interesting read. I still think that if Valve provided a measured boot facility where a user-program could verify that it is running on an un-modified kernel then EAC could assume that there are also no kernel-level cheats present and that all kernel-level introspection APIs present correct and unmodified results.

So I'm not sure that a kernel level component is actually required. Mind you that measured boot does not imply that the platform is locked down. It only implies that user programs can check that the system was booted in a known good configuration. You are still free to modify it, however a cheat detection program such as EAC could then refuse to run.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

I would also be very happy to win one of the keys.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: elmapuli know that most people will not care on that aspect so they have no reason to rely on google, but think for an moment: how many of those discontinued google products were paid?

Google Music was paid.

View this comment - View article - View full comments

Quoting: GuestHard pass if you want a game that is fully fleshed out and complete rather than largely empty and waiting for the inevitable billions of price-gouging DLCs to be jammed into the game later as Paradox LOVES to do.

What a horribly abusive and very annoying business model.

I whole heartedly disagree. I have every EU4 DLC and I can assure you that this is still the game where I spent the least amount of money per hour played. The model ensures that the game is continually improved upon and most of the improvements get into the base game free of charge. Usually only flavour goes into the DLC (at least during the last few years). So unless you want to support the developer you do not even have to buy the DLCs.

Even better, when you play multiplayer only the host needs the DLC. All others get the features that the host has no matter which DLC they own themselves.

I prefer this model very much compared to other games where you get a new installment every one to three years and everyone partaking in a multiplayer match needs the same DLC.

View this comment - View article - View full comments