And here in lies the problem too many have too loose of a desire on drm-free and too much a soft stance on drm-free as you are content with a very mild form of drm as you yourself pionted out so long as its a game that in someway doesn't need the launcher you see it as drm-free when if something iether needs downloaded via a launcher but not needing it otherwise to play it is a ''drm-light'' as in its still legit drm just a very mild form of it..Thus you have a soft stance on drm-free and thus as a result willing to give money to places that focus on drm and drm-light factors rather then drm-free
By that I mean Multiplayer and the multiplayer only maps and multiplayer only costemtics .. where as say singly player cosemtetics for example should not be locked away and anything else that is singleplayer content should not be unless its user generated content that is hosted on say I don't know a companies side like whoever owns Spore or something for example as multiplayer only content is fine locked behind drm thats obvious as in stuff that is multiplayer only and only user made content locked away behind a say net connection or something is understandable to a degree
And again both Epic and Steam is drm just different levels of it in your example .. I would if I was you say niether choice as its drmed just one has a lesser degree of it existing.. So if you must have it iether go the lesser of two evils .. But I would just full on refuse to get the game till full on drm-free as plenty of drm-free games exist and its easy to get a huge backlog on truly drm-free games to wait it out and if it never happens its far better then buying into any level of drm period in my mind in terms of single player games

Im also against drm but the most important thing for me is if the game also runs once the launcher dies.You always had some copy protection with games even with discs and yeah its still the better option to buy a launcher free version https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Death_Stranding even the pcgaming wiki describes it as drm free after its intalled

I don't care what PCgaming wiki says honestly as it legit has had enough misinformation on games I bought on Gog on specific features I don't trust it that well.. At best its a good reference for some features as its a better trusted side for info then most others.. besides its still drm-lite when one has to iether have the launcher running or the like to download it as like I keep saying when one can't use say ones browser to download the game rather then a launcher its still drm just a very lite form of it if the launcher isn't needed after.. thus my hardline stance on drm and drm-free in this case with only exception being multiplayer content pretty much

keep in mind that there is no clear definition on what DRM is or is not, which means everybody just makes up what they think is DRM or DRM free. So what you may see as DRM, somebody else see as DRM free.

how do you define what DRM is?

The defacto defection should be simple no lauincher needed at all for a game even once to get it on a pc .. just needing a account to buy it and then install it via a browser or similar atleast in this digital age of media.. the disk or floppy side of thing is a whole convoluted mess do to varies attempts and levels of drm over the years making it far far more complex to explain on

I think you misunderstand what DRM-Free Lite means.

For me and many others, any DRM element makes it DRM. There is no such thing as DRM-Free Lite in that regard.

What DRM-Free Lite means in the context I use it, is that it is DRM-Free, but might require a little work to make it so.

Whether you download via a client or via a downloader or a browser, all three require an account and login. A client of course does other things, but it doesn't automatically make a game DRM game just by using it to download the game. What counts, is the state of the game after you've downloaded it. If you can run the game without the client on another PC that has never has never had the client installed, it is DRM-Free. You might also need to tweak a file or delete a file, and of course it means backing up a decompressed folder. You can however zip it up. That's the effort that signifies the LITE element ... it's not an installer all set to go out-of-the-box.

All that said, sometimes there is more to it, like Registry entries and external requirements ... Phys-X etc.

Yeah im on the same page like timboli

Thats strange as many used to not think or view Drm-free lite in that sense.. But its still not truly drm-free so I don't see why anyone should even legit go for drm-free lite in the modern sense of it .. Like ever as it still encourages a form of drm even if a very light one from a workaround method .. which fyi used to be when needing to do work arounds like the examples you gave still seen as drmed just a poorly excuted one when a workaround is done .. from not downloading via a browser

Side note the fact is when say having a Gog or other drm free storefront account to buy games legit its while not welcome for some its understrandable concession one has to made in this age do to digital era of downloading stuff.. So usually how Gog does it and even other drm-free platforms does it .. Is more so protocall for online business in digital goods .. even for truly drm-free gaming anymore do to varies factors ..

As humm to explain by account to ensure no confusion lets take and say for example a Ebay or Amazon account you buy stuff on there to ensure safety and payment method security basically and to get the goods one paid for.. I say this as with some talks of accounts I have seen people link accounts to literally meaning just a login for some extra service feature .. Kind of thing rather then to buy something sort of account meaning

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I disagree with this, there is or there is not DRM, nothing in between, it's like saying you are dead-lite..... or pregnant lite.... it is a state of being for digital goods.

saying there is DRM-lite to me just means you are not really clear about what DRM is

so a launcher makes any digital product DRM? Why? what if the launcher does not check your ownership rights, is it still DRM? what about software that checks your ownership rights, but do not need a launcher, do they exist and are they not DRM?

Why is simple the drm is required on some level be it to download it once and then transfer files or otherwise even if its not needed otherwise where as no launcher needed for playing when factored in with no launcher needed to download its truly drm free.. anything less is not truly drm free



Browser not needed drm I assume you are talking floppy or disk based correct? If so its still drm if its some program or even if we go super archaic the ''image wheel '' or ''code wheel'' that hame with games to allow one to properly get the game going or whatever to prove its a proper copy despite the physical based methods was in the old methods not so much drm as they was just more like a attempt at a middle ground .. where as the programs in the disks or floppies indeed was drm hard coded into the games that needed ripped out or tricked to work thus my stance on workarounds for gaes bought on a drm storefront needing tweaked to run without a launcher is truly drm as its basically tricking or bypassing the coding needed for even the minor drm to kick in.. Its still full on drm when that just a less intrusive version of drm.. which I am against drm full and only use drmed products from limited choices in terms of comptablity without truly getting good at stuff like emulation or Wine and product/distro differences and the like .. Thus why I only begrudgly put up with the few drm factors I can't easily shake for comptability reasons otherwise I'd go full on drm-free

that made no sense... for the rest, i did a little edit. i am tired and used wrong word.
so things like persistent online autnetication, limited downloads, anti-tampering softwares, encrypted files, prodruct keys and limited activations, region locking, copy restrictions et.al. are not considered DRM?

First thing towards me then we agree to disagree and on the second thing to me .. Very well on that as I had not refreshed before my reply to see the edit as usually edits arent that major.. So ya my bad in that case as again usually edits to messages aren't changing context that much ..

i am asuming English is not your first language, that's fine, but you are a little bit difficult to understand.

If you say we have to agree to disagree, then you are kind of acknowledging that there are different perspective and definitions on what DRM is or is not. so you cannot assume that the person you are talking to have the same view on what DRM is, and neither of you would be right or wrong, just a matter different oppinions.

Eh more like I am saying seeing as neither side can agree .. nor seems to be willing to budge on the matter to not go in circles arguing something both sides have a stance on.. Best to just agree to disagree to not waste time and not annoy each other