⨯ Every article tag can be clicked to get a list of all articles in that category. Every article tag also has an RSS feed! You can customize an RSS feed too!
  • Profiles
  • Shmerl
  • Viewing more comments
Latest Comments by Shmerl
Campo Santo, developer of Firewatch has joined Valve
23 April 2018 at 4:29 pm UTC
Quoting: BOYSSSSSThat's really confusing, so Steam TOS don't allow you to backup your games, and yet in my steam library when I right click a game there is "Backup Game Files"

And I assume same Steam client is needed to perform restore from it? I said TOS doesn't allow manual backup restore which is a requirement for DRM-free.
The new GOG profile system is out, looks quite slick
23 April 2018 at 4:09 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: x_wingWell, looking at the answers it's clear that they don't care about Linux.

They explicitly said they'll help Linux users with the change to their Windows packaging. They don't even have to (since it's for Windows installers). How you can see in it that they don't care is beyond comprehension. For me, it's obvious they are going beyond their strict support requirements here to help.

If their management decided not to prioritize Galaxy - so what. It doesn't mean their Linux developers don't care about their Linux users.
The new GOG profile system is out, looks quite slick
23 April 2018 at 4:07 pm UTC
Quoting: obscurenforeignYou still can't change your name there, can you?

You can (if you mean the user name). At least it was possible in the past.
Campo Santo, developer of Firewatch has joined Valve
23 April 2018 at 3:17 pm UTC
Quoting: DuncOkay, but as others have pointed out above, all vendors have Terms of Service.

Yes, and it's important what those terms are. I don't agree with claims above that GOG terms are the same.
Campo Santo, developer of Firewatch has joined Valve
23 April 2018 at 3:14 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: BOYSSSSSLet me get this straight, you are saying that you can buy a game on GOG and then go to piratebay and download it from there, and the GOG TOS allows that? I thought that you still need to download it from gog.com ....

GOG allows you to install the game from the personal backup. Steam does not (they don't necessarily enforce that for each game, but they still don't allow it). Analyze the difference.
The new GOG profile system is out, looks quite slick
23 April 2018 at 1:18 pm UTC Likes: 9
Quoting: x_wingThe low to nil involvement of GoG with Linux users

Not sure what you are talking about. GOG developers are quite actively helping Linux users, even with issues like this.

Galaxy is something Steam users probably expect, but that's not what most GOG users care about. Personally, I'm not going to use their client even if they provide it, unless it will be open source or community will make an open source alternative.
The new GOG profile system is out, looks quite slick
23 April 2018 at 12:51 pm UTC
It's quite useful that you can see forum activity feed for those who are in your friends list.
Campo Santo, developer of Firewatch has joined Valve
23 April 2018 at 2:43 am UTC
Lock-in is surely a problem, and Steam has it too. But DRM and lock-in aren't the same thing. Though they can be related in practice (such as DRM causing lock-in).
Campo Santo, developer of Firewatch has joined Valve
22 April 2018 at 9:16 pm UTC
Quoting: tuubiI think the term DRM generally only applies to technical measures that restrict the use of a product. Licenses and legal restrictions are a related but separate subject.

If TOS requires you to use Steam to install the game, and then you go ahead and install it without it, DMCA-1201 and similar anti-circumvention garbage would treat it as a violation, which indirectly indicates that something like Steam is DRM because of that TOS. DRM was always about a combination of "measures" with legal garbage attached to them.
Campo Santo, developer of Firewatch has joined Valve
22 April 2018 at 8:15 pm UTC Likes: 2
Quoting: Doc AngeloThis is how I see it: The games are neither owned by the user nor Steam/GOG. The developer/publisher is the only one actually owning the game in its entirety. If a developer/publisher releases a game without DRM, they are OK with you to back up this game and use it however you want for personal usage.

It's complicated. Full ownership can only be attributed to the publisher / creator or whoever holds the rights on this work. They give you partial ownership of it. I.e. you can use it, but you can't for example start making copies of it for others. Your ownership can extend to something like first sale doctrine, though it's a moot topic for digital goods.

But overall yes, you don't have complete ownership. However focus on DRM-free doesn't imply that you need full one (i.e. like copy to others). DRM-free simply means that the owner should not prevent / restrict you from using it, if you legally paid for it. So it means ability to back it up, not depending on any service existing / not existing and so on.
★ Support Us
Popular this week
Search or view by category
Contact
Latest Comments
Latest Forum Posts
Misc