speakk: ...You always have to go read through the comments to find out if the game actually implements a DRM scheme or not, GOG often will not tell you.
Multiplayer aside, the only time this has happened that I recall, it has been a developer error (
Mysteries of Westgate).
speakk: Update notifications? An awesome feature that literally kept me coming back every day. Well, after silently dropping them as a feature, indeed without letting anyone know...
Still seem to be working for me - in fact, I'd like the ability to *reduce* them by e.g. ignoring updates that just add a new language, cloud saves or just a new installer.
speakk: The client? At its current state the client is something I can ignore...
I'd agree here - the continual pushing for Galaxy I do find obnoxious, but since it will almost certainly pose similar security and privacy risks as Steam's client, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole (plus it doesn't work on WinXP anyway). However, GOG's inclusion of the galaxy.dll even in single-player games has been
causing problems.
The problem here is that for GOG to offer a "competitive" mutliplayer service, it has to get as many people using its client as possible. Then the likelihood of successful player match-ups increases, boosting the value of multiplayer on GOG. Doing so without alienating those customers who are only interested in single-player, who don't care to open their system setup to third parties or who don't want their gaming behaviour tracked is something that GOG has managed poorly so far, and there seems little chance of improvement.
Vakudaka: There's DRM games on GOG? Can you give an example?
GameRager: Also some games(a few) like FEAR have some DRM remnants left in them which GOG & the IP holders refuse to clean up(or don't feel like cleaning up).
I presume you are specifically referring to SecuROM/SafeDisc drivers that still remain - this was a problem with
Flatout also due to GOG (or the publishers Strategy First) using a (poorly) cracked .exe.
speakk: All in all, GOG used to be a place I would, without reservations, recommend for everyone, telling them this is the only way not to let DRM become the only thing people know. Nowadays though, I'm starting to hope a viable alternative might pop up, because I'm certainly losing hope with GOG itself.
The "GOG is going downhill" sentiment is certainly one I'd agree with. In particular:
* it gave up on fixed price points;
*
abandoned fair pricing;
*
shares customer purchase data with Google;
* shares further activity with Google due to their use of CAPTCHAs (on support and key redemption pages);
* is breaking content that used to work for some users (WinXP compatibility, Win7 users should expect similar treatment shortly);
* has a broken forum (e.g. it can't handle more than one hyperlink per line in a post);
* a increasingly sluggish website (mainly due to front page Javascript).
AB2012: GOG don't need "giving up on", but they do currently get filed under "needs work" or "could do better" regarding the tunnel-vision obsession with Galaxy and "offline installer = 2nd class experience" thing.
Ancient-Red-Dragon: There are no viable alternatives to GOG.
The couple of other DRM-free stores that exist do not offer games that are of the same quality as GOG does.
So if you do like your OP suggests and "give up on GOG," you'd have to either give up on games entirely, or else go to a DRM-infested store...
Well, not buying new games and enjoying your existing collection can be a perfectly good choice - especially given how many games can be given a new lease of life courtesy of modding.
However the lack of alternatives is a relevant point. It would seem extraordinarily difficult for a new store to make headway given that GOG have satisfied much of the pent-up demand for out-of-print games - unless they can provide a compelling reason to "buy again" or provide an enhanced product (e.g. old games with modifications to run at higher/widescreen resolutions) it would seem that they'd be dead on arrival.
And we have seen the disappearance of stores like
IndieGameStand and
Desura so there's a clear element of risk in switching to a new arrival (even with offline installers, you'd still lose the option of re-downloading if you had catastrohpic data loss).
GameRager: Zoom is coming soon with a new site and around 200 new games(from suggestions and such alone)....people might go there if they want to for some reason(if even to buy games GOG doesn't sell while sticking with GOG).
Thanks for the pointer, and I've had a look.
And Gawd, they need a new site *fast*. I've criticised GOG for being slow, but this makes GOG look like Lance Armstrong on acid, whoops there's the
cat out of the bag. :) A 27MB download for the front page probably outstrips the size of some of the games they have. And all at pretty high prices too, given their age. Their webmaster needs to be tied up with phone cable and whipped with a v.92 modem. :D
Probably worth keeping an eye on but unlikely to become a major player unless GOG really screws up.
amok: I'm allowed my opinion, and my opinion is - who the feck cares
Clearly you do, given the frequency of your posts in this thread...
