Yes yes yes, I get it. Was around during the days of sharing the floppies.

I think maybe I've been a bit sensitized to the matter over the years since we're on this site where we're asking publishers to trust us to pay for their easily-copied DRM-free games. Anyway, y'all are right, though I still think most people are going to equate "shareware" with "freeware" or "abandonware", meaning paying for these things will not even cross anyone's mind.

I see your point, though I don't feel any obligation to walk on eggshells or relinquish preexisting privileges due to the possibility of misunderstandings. Not that I'm overly enthusiastic about downloading executables from some Internet rando, mind you. Just saying; I think it should be adequately self-evident that most of us are here in the first place because we feel that right holders deserve remuneration. If they require additional proof of my loyalty, then I guess they can have my firstborn, as stated in the EULA.

I too understand how some ppl may equate shareware with freeware &/or abandonware so pls allow me to give my opinion on their difference.

Shareware is usually a small portion of the complete games. They r welcomed or even encouraged by the developers to be shared freely as long as it is not modified in any way, as in eg, the contact info of the developer is removed & so on. The person who receives the shareware upon playing it & is interested to play more can pay the developer to either buy the complete version or in some case, get a code to unlock the full game.

Freeware r games that r generously released into public domain by their creators. They r also welcomed to be freely distributed with the same exception that they r to be modified in any way.

Abandonware is a grey subject. While the developers may not care abt whether such games brings them any profit anymore, they technically still own the rights to them. My personal feeling is that as long as the developers r not interested in going aft anyone who download or share their games 'illegally' we shd be able to play them but if they ever change their minds then we shd respect them & delete the games.

Anyway, back to the topic. Shareware is simply that, games that r meant to be shared (freely) so i dun c any issue downloading & playing them. However, we'll do well to ensure wat we r downloading is indeed shareware & not some games that r falsely distributed as so when they r not 1st. Just my thought on this. :)

Freeware games are not in the public domain and (usually) cannot be redistributed. For example; Ultima IV here on Gog: you can download it here for free, but if your friends want a copy, they are also expected to acquire it from an authorized source. In other words; offering something at no cost does not imply that the right holder has waived any rights.

Yeah, of course Freeware is different from Public Domain. Freeware is how the creators use their copyright. They do no weave it.

But as I understand things, freeware was originally the same deal as shareware, only without the limitations. Before the internet became mainstream, freeware needed to permit redistribution, in order for people to get to the stuff. I think the definition has changed over time:

Wikipedia, 2004: "Freeware usually carries a license that permits redistribution but may have other restrictions"

Wikipedia, 2016: "Freeware may usually not be (...) re-distributed"

Todays free games - which may not be redistributed - are very seldom called "freeware".
No, doesn't sound like it - it's a singleplayer fight-in-arena game - see screenshot!

Yeah, I was afraid of that. Damn. I've been wanting to find something on that game I'm thinking of for a long while now, but searching for "Arena game" and various, more-specific variations either lead to stuff related to the very first Elder Scrolls game, or to useless stuff.
And any multiplayer game where the players take alternating turns can be "single-player", if you're bored and/or desperate enough! (That's the only way I was ever able to play the game I was talking about. :( )

This would be an even cooler idea if you gathered all the shareware versions of the full games being sold on the store here, and linked to them directory-style.

While I have a back log of games that need playing, and lack of time in general I appreciate you taking the time to compile the package.

Shareware= Great concept= Worked great for a little game called DOOM a while back :-)

So often these days the mindset is "pay first" and if it doesn't work, big ha-ha on you... we aren't giving your money back.

I think that all the current wiz-bang games should be required (yes required) to offer a shareware version / and or there should be laws in place (yes laws) that if xyz game doesn't "run" on the purchasers computer money gets refunded.

Think it's really a insult for STEAM games especially that the STEAM client which is transmitting who knows what doesn't have a built in function to after so many game "crashes" / failed starts to generate a "pop-up" that has wording to the effect
"Hey, we've noticed xyz title is being problematic... Do you want to submit a trouble ticket and see if the problem can be resolved... OR would you like your money back?
(For those that balk at this developer is given a reasonable amount of "time")


REFUND?
* Refund if problem is (gasp!) on customer's end? Yep. People "buy" stuff to fulfill a "need"... If the product isn't "working" for them, even if the problem is on their end obtaining a no-hassle refund should be possible...

IQ test:: Two factories... One factory there is ZERO responsibility (STEAM/VALVE INC), the other for each reject part they make they are penalized (GOG.COM).

Q: Which factory would you want making airplanes, medical devices, brake pads for your car for example?

I sure as heck wouldn't anything that STEAM /VALVE INC is offering for sale.



BRING BACK SHAREWARE, additionally within 360 days of a games release there needs to be laws that state DRM has to be stripped out / and or when price drops to a certain percentage it gets stripped out.
*************************


*Purchases thru GOG.com being the exception for the first 30-days.
*On a STEAM game, Currently the mentally is we've got your money sucker.
* IIRC STEAM allows you to obtain (1) refund... (1) per lifetime of account?
.

This, also I detest shareware, ever since comet curser and MEF=Magic Encrypted Folders to name a few, nothing inspires me ailing the ocean on my pirate ship than trialware and shareware ending up with my freeware searches...

Like a ticking timebomb in my program files...And DON'T get me started on this new trend of fuckin' rent-ware!...(Scowling at you Adobe/Autodesk!) Plus, shareware hides too many components from normal uninstalls for my liking...

GNU FOR LIFE!!

Does every single thread on this forum have to be about Steam? Talk about having an obsession...

And bloody well read this -http://store.steampowered.com/steam_refunds/, it makes most of your post/rant redundant. Steams refund policy is arguably better than gOgs now.

14-days, less than 2hrs?

Wonder if they count time game is "loading" / and or stuck in a endless bootloop.

Point I was trying to make is SHAREWARE (I.E DOOM as a example) allowed someone to get a good grasp if the game was going to run / if the game was stable / any good / to the purchasers liking prior to purchase.


PS: How does that return process work for titles say early on / or in first sections runs "ok", and say a update breaks things and developer drags their feet on fixing problems... beyond 14-days?

How about titles in which the developer promises updates, and never delivers?
How about on titles there is no support?

Q: How many refunds are you allowed?

.

All these questions apply to gOg as well as Steam, the difference is that Steam have the 2 hour limit, for gOg there is no refund if you downloaded the game.

Apologies, i confused freeware with free or open-source software. They r indeed not in the public domian but may still be licensed to be redistributed freely as mentioned here. However, i did not in any way mentioned the rights holder has waived any rights to it, i merely meant that users r able to obtain a copy either fr an authorised source (eg, GOG) themselves or thru some other channels that r licensed to distribute them.

Anyway, i thk & appreciate ur reply. I'll take note to check before posting in future.

I get your point - but I don't think this has much to do with what shareware meant in the DOS era. For instance, back then you 'uninstalled' the game by deleting the game folder. That simple. There wasn't any hidden components. And none of the games I have found have any of that "you have x days left" crap. Okay, there was often a 'this is shareware' nagscreen after the game, but you could just click past it. It didn't even have a timer.

I feel that yesterdays shareware had a much nicer atitude that the more speculative "free" games today - freemium, free-to-play, free-to-download-once-you-registered-on-our-site-and-redistribution-is-prohibited ...