This is so dumb. If you don't want to see an overlay, turn it off in galaxy settings or don't use galaxy in the first place.

And FYI, your preferences do not determine if something is a fad or not. It's based on time. And achievements for gaming dates back to the 80s and have been coded directly into software since like 1990. So it's nothing new or short lived and thus not a fad.

Well, as us true gamers know, there is gamers and then there is gamers. LOL

No doubt ... that can certainly ruin a lot of things in many ways ... though I am not suggesting it is all negative. It's like progress I guess ... two steps forward and maybe at least one back.

We just have to hope, that maybe in the end, things are better overall, if not specifically.

It's important to recognize that the gaming industry is diverse, and different platforms cater to different audiences and preferences. While mobile games might have a different focus and monetization strategy compared to PC or console games, it doesn't necessarily mean they are of lower quality or value. Mobile games have found success by providing accessible and convenient gaming experiences that suit the on-the-go lifestyle of many people.

Your point about the limitations of pie charts is valid. They indeed only represent proportions within a specific timeframe and don't illustrate trends over time. The example you provided regarding the increase in the number of games released on Steam and the growth in player counts on PC gaming platforms highlights that the gaming landscape is multifaceted and constantly evolving. Different platforms can coexist and even thrive concurrently.

In the end, the choice of platform for game development depends on the target audience, gameplay mechanics, and business goals. Each platform has its strengths and weaknesses, and what matters most is creating a compelling and engaging experience for players, regardless of the platform chosen.

Heh. Bot above me. :P

and it's a brand new account from Pakistan.

Yes, that's exactly why I'm always insulting and snarky- it's so people know I'm real. But what happens when the bots actually learn that too? It's only a matter of time. We'll even end up with bigot bots and woke bots. They will start reporting each other. And why do they all seem to come from Pakistan. If I was a bot and could come from anywhere that I want, I'd come from somewhere nice (see? that insulting to people from Pakistan, proves I'm real).

Sea of Stars does look okay. It may not be on GOG, but it is on Game Pass. I think I'll play it soon.

Seems alright. I'm more intersted in Sea of Stars than Starfield. That game seems so uninteresting to me. I'm not the audience for it I guess but it just feels so sterile, big yet empty, and boring. I guess it's expected to be popular but to me it seems like Mass Effect minus any personalty.

The price asked, for me, is not innocent too: About 40 USD (converted)! It surely is a good game but not a scale that will justify such prices. I can get comparable games for around half this price. Some of them even got a bigger playtime, but most of them are about comparable playtime and quality. It is simply adding up to the general behavior i seem to notice at the current time.

Re. the possibility of a SoS release in future, jlibster (Kickstarter backer) has commented on the wishlist about communications with the devs. The game 'won't be on GOG for now'; releasing here 'has been part of the plans early on' but they 'don't have an ETA for now'. (None of which reveals whether they've actually been in contact with GOG at any point.)

It does mean that there hasn't been any movement these past six months though, and it will be interesting to see how they're planning to provide DRM free versions for their backers. :|

Well, Hades was DRM free on several platforms... except GoG. I dunno what was happening there but this publisher surely is not our best friend. I actually could care less because as soon as this studio had a very high success they even was raising their prices by a lot.

However, a game DRM free on GoG is not automatically DRM free elsewhere, this is just a myth. In some cases this is true but those games are still a minority.

Not that i really care prices, dont get me wrong. My original mentality was "always to pay full price for any real good game released on GoG, for example Darksiders 3". However, at some point i noticed the sometimes pretty big regional pricing, even affecting GoG.. my dear Brazil-users... with the exception that it may not go below the US prices by a lot, but it can still become up to 20% or even more higher than that, dependable on country... yes on GoG too. Additionally, some publishers are notorious for not updating their freshly released games on GoG, which is a non necessary "hit in taking out the value". So, because of such matters i decided for myself using sells a lot... way more than i usually, by heart, would be doing. However, i still have no intention using keys on GoG, this is reserved for some other shop we all may know.

Besides, not that i enjoy the greedy NIS attitude, however, they are always updating their games on GoG and so they are usually in a very good shape, which is always worth a bonus.

Back to "Sabotage Studios": I think there might be a release at some later time. Yet, it is certain it is not a high priority to them because they already got so many other "income sources" and apparently they want to add some DRM for a certain time.

Why is there no GOG release?

I've been following the development of this game for a very long time now.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem like there will be a GOG release (at least not in the foreseeable future) despite the previously made promises to some kickstarter users that there will be.

Now this is very surprising because The Messenger was released on GOG at the same time as other platforms. So there was already a reasonable expectation that this game also will be. The difference here is that The Messenger was published by Devolver Digital, and Sea Of Stars by Sabotage Studio itself. Therefore it's the studio itself that has decided not to release on GOG (at this time).

So what is the reason for Sea Of Stars not being on GOG?

Fear of piracy? Can't possibly be that because the game has been already pirated since it was released, and they are all steam rips.

Fear of doing additional work with the files for GOG? Again, unlikely. GOG has tools which can adapt the game files for manual installers and Galaxy, so the work on the developer's part would be minimal.

https://www.gog.com/submit-your-game

Or perhaps was there some sort of back alley deal made with steam for PC exclusivity? Because the game is not only unavailable on GOG, but also unavailable on itch.io, Epic Game Store and other PC retailers. Steam is the only one.

Sea Of Stars is currently the most upvoted game of the week on GOG.

https://www.gog.com/wishlist/games/sea_of_stars

I fondly remember playing games like Golden Sun or Chrono Trigger and this game reminds me a lot of them. There is a certain level of nostalgia when looking back on those games.

And owning a game such as this one without any DRM is part of that nostalgic feeling. I think that the team really missed the mark on this one.

To be honest, and i do not enjoy it to admit, you made a valid point: There could be some agreements "on the back" of everyone else, for example "If you make it Steam only on PC you will get better conditions"... things like this are not unlikely at all and it is known that Epic was doing this sort of "limited time deals" already... Hades was a good example... and Hades has never been released on GoG anymore after it has been done by Epic (previously we had Supergiant releases here). Steam, from what i heard, made some comparable actions but in a more sensitive way; for example "you may get advantage if you only support them"... it goes into this direction. And, lets say the advantage is worth maybe up to 10% of your possible revenue... you will avoid releasing it on the PC-competition at all. To them the matter is simple: "We can barely avoid Steam, as the hit in revenue will be visible so we have to make every effort pleasing them". Anyway, i still hope we might be wrong with this unfortunately very realistic "conspiracy-theory", but the actions they are currently doing... without any clear statement, does not sound very confident in taking away any dirty-actions.

I already heard, there can be certain penaltys if you release a game on another platform first... but it might not include consoles... as those are rather a "indirect competition", because in most cases not the same customers (only few people use consoles and PCs for gaming both at once... Steam users even becoming upset if a game is console-only).

However, we rarely will hear anything what is happening at our back because the ones able to hand out informations will keep quiet for their own good... else they can go home; this is how might is working and it can be very effective. I already told... in the long term any sort of monopoly will not be good for the customers and not even for the industry at some point; so i surely do not approve.

I still want to say, in general the GoG support is not bad and actually, when it comes to the selection of great games (even in the AAA territory) there is a pretty solid amount available. More than i actually did expect in the past... given the difficult circumstances. There are some black sheeps, mostly rather big sheeps but even some small ones... but in general i am happy with the games available today.

As long as they do not attach a custom DRM on it (which is a pricy matter) this DRM is almost useless. However, there is still enough of publishers, actually the majority, placing some trust on it for whatever reason.

For me it is clear, i am not gonna buy this game until i see a release on a smaller platform.

Wow, the new "Sea of Stars" price, for me, is 38,99 now which is 44 USD... and i mean i have been used to high prices but i surely can say i do not feel pleased adding up all those "bad factors"... it does not seem to be customer friendly at all if this dev is handling it "by their own".

US price is currently 34,99 (USD of course), no joke. At least the Brazil-people are smiling: They pay 99.99 BRL which is around 18 USD.

"Messenger" was about half this price and currently, on sale, around 5 bucks. They surely are now very confident, the direction is actually even more visible than the Supergiant-stuff.

At least, they have been "misguided" by their own greed, and i clearly feel zero urge buying it...
Of course if you do not use a key you are stupid, but thats not the point... as "this is not the usual way... at least not always".

Besides: Nope, i do not "shit" money into my toilet at a daily rate because of my country... this is not exactly true, but i still are trying hard... because of those "expectations".

Ah yeah, this "Steam streamer": https:/../www.twitch.tv/itslemonsquares/about
I somehow was curious regarding "how those devs behave".. but i surely can say, "itselemonsquares" is just a influencer trying to make some advertisement and she surely got the game for free.