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Latest Comments by Hamish
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition Now In Beta For Linux
13 December 2014 at 10:02 am UTC Likes: 2

Quoting: SkullyIt's a form of copy protection. Clearly DRM.

Sadly nothing is clearly DRM, which is one of the reasons why these arguments keep coming up, as the definition is unfortunately rather muddled. Nothing in Pirates! ties it to an outside service or allows MicroProse access to an installation on my hard drive. If having to consult something from a manual constitutes DRM than the original Postal game has DRM due to the fact that the F1 key was never documented in-game, despite it being needed to switch levels.

It is because of this ambiguity that people can and do argue that what Steam imposes on certain titles is not actually a form of DRM, because to them it does not fall under their own personal definition. This is fair enough on its own, but as an argument it does fall apart somewhat when Valve themselves go out of their way to classify what they are doing as such.

Quoting: SkullyHow confident are you now? You can try and twist it however you want, your money will likely have helped them supply more games with one of the most annoying forms of DRM ever made.

Whether an element of a game is annoying or not is subjective; my criteria for deciding what distributors I chose to support are not. I am not willing to have my money go to any developer or distributor that creates an acknowledged DRM system. This is what excludes me from using Steam while still allowing me to use GOG.com, Desura, and Humble Store. I would rather that none of them sold content that could be found questionable, but that is outside of my stated criteria.

Quoting: SkullyAlso I own Pirates, it didn't stop me from buying it. As I would rather play games than hope that one day there will be a DRM free version ... I think it's totally fine that you steer away from DRM, that's your decision.

Yes, it is my decision. Just as how your own buying habits are also your own decision, something I have never disputed here or anywhere else on this website. I have never personally gone after you or anyone else for buying a game on Steam.

Quoting: SkullyI am just sick of seeing you spew crap on here about steam. Almost every article you have replied to has you talking some crap about it. You remind of a bible basher always trying to impose your views on others.

Once again, I must ask you to hold a mirror up to yourself.

You are constantly turning these threads into arguments about Steam or DRM, something I myself never actually brought up here or in the comments section of the other Baldur's Gate article. It really is an argument that is not worth having anymore simply because it has been rehashed so many times, and I only respond to it because I know that despite this there are still some things I have to address even though I know that they are all still just the same old, tired, boring, talking points.

Nothing I have posted in this thread or anywhere else has been dishonest or blatantly untrue, and in the other thread I even went so far as to honour your request by backing myself up with some of the official documentation as provided by Valve, something you quickly discarded. You may disagree with my position, but you can not honestly disagree with the facts I have produced.

Hundreds of Steam games get mentioned on GOL without me passing my judgment on them. A few people decide to purchase a game on GOG.com instead and you chose to deem them to be crazy, lying, fanatics. If there is anyone trying to impose their views on someone, it is you. I have only been explaining my positions. You decided to attack them.

EDIT: Just to make everyone's life a little easier, I will include a link back to the original discussion:
http://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/baldurs-gate-enhanced-edition-now-available-drm-free-from-gog.4638/page=2#27847

Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition Now In Beta For Linux
13 December 2014 at 8:36 am UTC

Quoting: SkullyDRM is DRM so your not against DRM entirely just Steam.

You notice I do not use Origin or Uplay either....

Quoting: SkullyAlso once you know how to play the game your idea is shot out of the water. This is a terrible form of DRM and always was.

It is a terrible bit of game design, but I would still argue it is not really DRM.

Incidentally, my main argument was also not actually based on there being no titles with DRM on GOG.com, but rather the fact that Valve and Steam produce DRM systems themselves. I still buy games on Humble Store and Desura even though they sell Steam only games for this very reason.

Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition Now In Beta For Linux
13 December 2014 at 8:19 am UTC

Quoting: SkullyIt requires you to look up answers to questions in the manual (supplied as .pdf) if you accidentally answer the question wrong your game is ruined and you have to start again.

Ah, old fashioned Sid Meier copy protection. Stupid yes, but no more DRM than dying because of a failure to use any other game mechanic you did not bother to look up in the manual.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Now Available DRM Free From GOG
13 December 2014 at 8:13 am UTC

Quoting: SkullyThey simply provide it for developers who wouldn't otherwise put there game on steam.

Which includes themselves.

Quoting: SkullyYour whole unrelated beef story is fascinating but totally unrelated and off topic.

Just because you fail to draw parallels does not make it off topic. This entire conversation is though.

Quoting: SkullyProbably better we just agree to disagree.

Well, I can agree with that much at least.

Quoting: SkullyAt least until you show me a link of steam promoting DRM that you said you could provide.

I showed you a link created by Valve themselves, something which you refused to accept because you then shifted your argument. I have already fulfilled this requirement.

Quoting: SkullyWith out that you just have made yourself sound like a misinformed crazy person.

Again, holding up a mirror and all that.

Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition Now In Beta For Linux
13 December 2014 at 7:33 am UTC Likes: 2

The versions sold on Steam may be DRM free, but I still personally will not buy the game from Steam because I do not wish to support a distribution platform that provides a DRM service for developers to plug themselves into regardless of whether they chose to use it or not.

Keep in mind that Valve gets a 30% cut from every game sale on Steam, meaning that 30% of your money will end up going to a DRM distributor. GOG.com takes a similar cut, but with them I can have complete confidence that none of my money will go to the promotion of DRM systems.

Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition Now Available DRM Free From GOG
13 December 2014 at 7:32 am UTC

Your entire argument is based on some pretty weak semantics Skully.

I breed, raise, and sell beef cattle. By doing so I am implicitly supporting and promoting the practice of eating beef by providing a service to butchers, slaughterhouses, and meat packing plants. Just because I do not actually sell processed steaks or ground hamburger to consumers does not mean that I can personally detach myself from the practice.

Valve provides a DRM layer for developers to use through Steam. This is one of the "advantages" they try to sell to developers in order to make them use their service. By doing so they are implicitly supporting and promoting the practice of using DRM.

I have also personally eaten butchered and processed beef that has been raised by my family, which in its own way is also analogous to Valve using their own DRM layer when they sell their own products, which of course is something they do with most if not all of their games on Steam. By applying their own DRM layer themselves they are also supporting and promoting the practice of using DRM.

You can try and hide from this all you want, but Valve and Steam are supporting and promoting DRM.

Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition Now In Beta For Linux
12 December 2014 at 5:18 pm UTC

I saw the first one available for half-price on GOG.com during a flash sale last night, but I decided to wait until both were made available for Linux so that I could potentially nab them as a series later on.

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams Is Set To Be Released For Linux This Month
10 December 2014 at 4:44 pm UTC Likes: 1

Quoting: PublicNuisanceWill the GOG version be getting the Linux edition or just Steam ?

To fulfill their obligation to HIB 11 customers they are going to need a DRM free version of it produced anyway, so I suppose one could assume...

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams Is Set To Be Released For Linux This Month
10 December 2014 at 4:32 pm UTC

Quoting: SkullyLooks to me like it's done by Icculus. I am guessing it's his unannounced port 2 based on this https://trello.com/c/3RyR2Hly/8-unannounced-port-2

Well, considering that we were promised a Linux release with Humble Indie Bundle 11, that would stretch the meaning of the word "unannounced" a little bit though.

Desura's Linux Client Will Finally See An Update Soon
7 December 2014 at 6:27 pm UTC

Good timing, since Desurium is no longer launching for me on Arch.

We still need to see how Bad JuJu are planning on dealing with the licensing though.