I agree, the third way is good, a little thank you for faith. But too many times, the pre order exclusives are just that. I'd muchg rather they be made available, even if at a much later date (say 6 months down the line) and for a small charge. But this requires forethought and possibly supporting a game after release, something some companies are loathe to do. I'm looking at you, Square Enix.

The answer is fairly obvious. Steam is the standard, GOG the exception. For the few backers who prefer a GOG key, they'd have to create a whole new sorting process, possibly manually, which is a hassle. And after that, they'd likely have to deal with a whole lot of people who change their minds when the other backers have been playing for a few hours and start posting their impressions on diverse forums. They're backers. They (justly) believe they have bought the privilege to play this game first.

Besides, it fucks up the backer statistics if people play on GOG.

I agree with your assessment of the video (which is 19 months old after all), but not with the call for fantasy elements in every single fictional Middle Age scenario. Compelling gameplay doesn't need overt fantasy elements and a compelling story set in the Middle Ages doesn't either. I strongly believe that Kingdom Come doesn't have compelling gameplay based on the videos I've watched, but I can't say anything at all about the story they're trying to tell.

Yup, got windmills, middle-european landscapes and swordfighting.

Wait, what? Those two games have nearly nothing in common. KC:D uses LearningByDoing, hist. Swordfighting, Dungeons & no Dragons (magic-free world), a nobody as a protagonist, ...

I think people underestimate how much focus there is on the historical sword-fighting system.
It's the reason why all historical fencers are interested in this game and also the point nobody else cares about.
A lot of work has gone into that and it resembles pretty much what I learned/did when practicing it in RL, at least from what I have seen, no idea whether the Meisterhäue, Versatzungen and the "Ringen am Schwert" are in there too, I hope so.

I backed this on Kickstarter, but got a refund when they cancelled the Linux version. Glad to see it releasing here though - I'm still hoping to see it on Linux at some point but now that it's releasing here I'll eventually pick it up, either when it gets a native Linux release, or a deep enough discount.

kickstarter but from authors of mafia I and mafia II... after all, partial financing by crowdfunding is common today.

Aye. We're talkin' authentic fighting techniques from medieval manuals, a layered armor system with helmets that obscure vision and attire that draws out differing reactions from NPCs, a faithful reconstruction of 1400s Bohemia and its buildings (some of which still stand today). This is a game where a low reading skill makes books and letters appear as gibberish.

'Boring!' some uncultured lout in the back just shouted. I can accept some people get more enjoyment out of a theme park ride than walking around a medieval castle, even if I don't fully understand it.

Been following this game for years. Glad to see they will be putting it on GOG.

"reading skill"? I'm sorry, but if this game is historically accurate, the "son of a blacksmith" should be completely illiterate.
Not to mention, there should be almost no plate armor unlike what I see in the screenshot (it was prohibitively expensive at the time), and, again unlike what I see in the screenshots most people should fight with axes, maces or spears rather than swords (which were both much more expensive than other weapons, and a status symbol for nobility).

So I'm sorry, but I laugh at your claims of "faithful reconstruction". This game is, from I've seen, the theme park version of Medieval Europe rather than anywhere near accurate.

It is certainly not "historically accurate" since it is still fantasy, or does it claim to reenact some specific happenings in actual history?

Imho less plate armour and more usual weapons - like the Langes Messer, which was more common than both axes and swords in some parts - would be desirable indeed though.

So it's like a more RPGish Mount & Blade? Color me intrigued.

Not a game for us common folk then, eh? Ohhhhh noes. Me wants der play a gaim too!!!

I mean, to be completely honest, Kingdom Come does sound like a game exclusively for us certainly more "cultured" German gamers, and I'm convinced it will be successful over here, mainly because apparently since the advent of video games we were totally into needlessly complicated rulesets, bible thick instruction booklets and especially drab "historically accurate" reimaginations of medieval times. We're also still totally into the elitist artifice of "fencing" and consistently seem to believe that medieval battles bore any semblance to what some "cultured" nobleman wrote into some snotty little manual to be exclusively read by overly privileged boys in Burschenschaft bondages today.

The game will certainly find its audience, in Germany, Poland, the Czech republic, Russia, the UK, and it will likely be torn to pieces by US or Canadian reviewers, and that's all good and well. But there's no shred of historical accuracy or even realism in its gameplay mechanics, and not liking the game doesn't point at a lack of interest in medieval times and culture. At all.

Damn. Months wasted charting the local topography, taking pictures, examining ancient combat techniques, and working closely with historians and universities.

I think you take a shot at the ARMA series next. Some of the devs faced up to 20 years in prison for their research.

Well, it's actually based on historical events, as King Sigismund of Hungary did invade Bohemia and imprisoned his brother Wenceslas, who was both King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor at the time.
However, Sigismund wasn't any more evil than any noble of the time, and the war was over who should be Emperor, he never tried to actually usurp the crown of Bohemia from his brother. He did inherit Bohemia, but that's because his brother had no children.

So it's a historical setting, but with, apparently, a romanticized view of said historical events. And, as I said, it doesn't seem to portray actual medieval times anywhere near accurately.