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I am also quite sure that nothing at all will happen. All GOG wanted to say by #15 in their connect FAQ is that you should not try to buy a game on Steam then connect it and then refund it on Steam (or get your Steam game in other illegal ways) so you can keep it on GOG. I am also quite sure that even then nothing at all would happen but GOG reserved the RIGHT to do something. Nothing more nothing less. It's a simple legal issue.

Try to look on the technical side of it. Whenever there is a GOG connect offer available you will have to sync your GOG library with your Steam library and GOG will tell you which games are eligable (simply by comparing if you already own them on GOG and if you actually own them on Steam). Then you will have to click on the "add game to library" button. So you really think that GOG developed any mechanism to remove just those games from your library that were added by connect to it at an earlier time and then removed from Steam afterwards? In this case they would have to keep a history of which games you got through connect and compare this list with the games in your library and Steam. I absolutely doubt this. Keep in mind that we are talking about the people who run a still broken forum and did not find the time to even add a checkbox to default to classic installers yet. It's hard to believe that they would implement such additional mechanism just to make sure that the game you received from connect will be removed from your library (leading to additional complaints and support work as well).
Post edited December 26, 2017 by MarkoH01
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MarkoH01: I am also quite sure that nothing at all will happen. All GOG wanted to say by #15 in their connect FAQ is that you should not try to buy a game on Steam then connect it and then refund it on Steam (or get your Steam game in other illegal ways) so you can keep it on GOG. I am also quite sure that even then nothing at all would happen but GOG reserved the RIGHT to do something. Nothing more nothing less. It's a simple legal issue.

Try to look on the technical side of it. Whenever there is a GOG connect offer available you will have to sync your GOG library with your Steam library and GOG will tell you which games are eligable (simply by comparing if you already own them on GOG and if you actually own them on Steam). Then you will have to click on the "add game to library" button. So you really think that GOG developed any mechanism to remove just those games from your library that were added by connect to it at an earlier time and then removed from steam afterwards? In this case they would have to keep a history of which games you got through connect and compare this list with the games in your library and steam. I absolutely doubt this. Keep in mind that we are talking about the people who run a still broken forum and did not find the time to even add a checkbox to default to classic installers yet. It's hard to believe that they would implement such additional mechanism just to make sure that the game you received from connect will be removed from your library (leading to additional complaints and support work as well).
But they must have thought about what happens if the Steam library that's linked to the GOG account doesn't exist anymore. No one will ever simply close his Steam account just to experiment and try, so they should give us that kind of information. They are not legally obligated, but it's not such an absurd question to make. Since unlinking is not allowed, how does it work?

Ps: btw, the games you get through GOG connect are all marked as "GOGCONNECT" in their order receipts, it'd not be that hard to find them.
Post edited March 12, 2023 by user deleted
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Desmight: But they must have thought about what happens if the Steam library that's linked to the GOG account doesn't exist anymore. No one will ever close its Steam account just to experiment and try, so they should give us that kind of information. They are not legally obligated, but it's not such an absurd question to make. Since unlinking is not allowed, how does it work?

Ps: btw, the games you get through GOG connect are all marked as "GOGCONNECT" in their order receipts, I'd not be that hard to find them.
They simply won't compare already to the library added games at all (other then seeing that you already own them) - I am pretty sure.

And yes, searching through the order history would not be that difficult but how difficult to you think would it be to add a simple checkbox on the website. Well - they did not do that until months of waiting so I am really sure that they won't do the other. It's just not worth the effort of additional programming because how often do you think such things will happen? Like I said - it's just not worth it and maybe that's why GOG told you "we don't know" because nobody actually thought about it for real.
Post edited December 26, 2017 by MarkoH01
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Desmight: But they must have thought about what happens if the Steam library that's linked to the GOG account doesn't exist anymore. No one will ever close its Steam account just to experiment and try, so they should give us that kind of information. They are not legally obligated, but it's not such an absurd question to make. Since unlinking is not allowed, how does it work?

Ps: btw, the games you get through GOG connect are all marked as "GOGCONNECT" in their order receipts, I'd not be that hard to find them.
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MarkoH01: They simply won't compare already to the library added games at all (other then seeing that you already own them) - I am pretty sure.

And yes, searching through the order history would not be that difficult but how difficult to you think would it be to add a simple checkbox on the website. Well - they did not do that until months of waiting so I am really sure that they won't do the other. It's just not worth the effort of additional programming because how often do you think such things will happen? Like I said - it's just not worth it and maybe that's why GOG told you "we don't know" because nobody actually thought about it for real.
I find it amusing that we rely on the low programming skills and resources of GOG team. "They will not be able to care because they never do" seems to be the most quoted solution around here for a lot of concerns, lol.
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MarkoH01: They simply won't compare already to the library added games at all (other then seeing that you already own them) - I am pretty sure.

And yes, searching through the order history would not be that difficult but how difficult to you think would it be to add a simple checkbox on the website. Well - they did not do that until months of waiting so I am really sure that they won't do the other. It's just not worth the effort of additional programming because how often do you think such things will happen? Like I said - it's just not worth it and maybe that's why GOG told you "we don't know" because nobody actually thought about it for real.
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Desmight: I find it amusing that we rely on the low programming skills and resources of GOG team. "They will not be able to care because they never do" seems to be the most quoted solution around here for a lot of concerns, lol.
I was talking more about "priorities" and it's hard to imagine for that the priorities of removing a game from a library could be quite high on their list. Especially given the fact that I did not witness such behaviour at all while I am here (of course I might have missed the "GOG has removed my game from the library" but even if that would be the case it obviously is not a thing that happened often).
Post edited December 26, 2017 by MarkoH01
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Desmight: But they must have thought about what happens if the Steam library that's linked to the GOG account doesn't exist anymore. No one will ever simply close his Steam account just to experiment and try, so they should give us that kind of information. They are not legally obligated, but it's not such an absurd question to make. Since unlinking is not allowed, how does it work?
Maybe look at it this way: what happens to your gOg games if your gOg account gets deleted / banned / sun explodes?

Same problem, same solution.

Really, it comes down to the point of DRM-free, and it need not be any more complicated than that. Simply embrace what DRM-free gets you and don't sweat the what-ifs. Because the what-ifs don't matter if you have the files stored somewhere outside of the online gOg library.
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Desmight: I find it amusing that we rely on the low programming skills and resources of GOG team. "They will not be able to care because they never do" seems to be the most quoted solution around here for a lot of concerns, lol.
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MarkoH01: I was talking more about "priorities" and it's hard to imagine for that the priorities of removing a game from a library could be quite high on their list. Especially given the fact that I did not witness such behaviour at all while I am here (of course I might have missed the "GOG has removed my game from the library" but even if that would be the case it obviously is not a thing that happened often).
If I remember correctly, there have been some cases in the past, mostly because the games were purchased outside of GOG, on grey market sites, or because they were paid with fraudolent methods (like stolen credit cards). But they always involved 1 or 2 games per user, not the whole Connect library. As others have said, that is highly unlikely to happen, but that doesn't mean that they don't know how their system works in such cases...
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Desmight: But they must have thought about what happens if the Steam library that's linked to the GOG account doesn't exist anymore. No one will ever simply close his Steam account just to experiment and try, so they should give us that kind of information. They are not legally obligated, but it's not such an absurd question to make. Since unlinking is not allowed, how does it work?
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HereForTheBeer: Maybe look at it this way: what happens to your gOg games if your gOg account gets deleted / banned / sun explodes?

Same problem, same solution.

Really, it comes down to the point of DRM-free, and it need not be any more complicated than that. Simply embrace what DRM-free gets you and don't sweat the what-ifs. Because the what-ifs don't matter if you have the files stored somewhere outside of the online gOg library.
What happens to your GOG games when GOG implodes is the same thing that happens to your Steam games when Steam implodes. You can't download them anymore, you can't sync your saves, you can't get updates for them anymore etc. For Steam games, you'll not even be able to play most of them, because they require Steam DRM.
But that's not the point. I just want to know if a big part of my GOG library is or will be tied to my Steam account, and what happens to those games if I close my Steam account. I embrace GOG as a platform, not only as a store, thus I'm concerned about my digital library as well as my backups.
Post edited March 12, 2023 by user deleted
Nobody truly knows what GOG will do(perhaps not even GOG), which makes me question these opinions of some folks who sound so sure. It makes me wonder how non-employees can say with 100% complete certainty what GOG will do. Psychic powers perhaps? Personally I think it helps more to give the reasoning behind your prediction as Marko above me did.

When companies are handling my property/information/money, I prefer to know beforehand how everything works. I am curious about this potential problem because I am mostly transitioned from steam to gog already. I could over time rebuy every one of the KotORs and elder scrolls games, et cetera, I think it's obvious why I'd rather not if they can be "moved over" for free. As an aside, it's clearly not "getting a free game" when you already have and can play that game-BUT, since GOG is giving up the possibility of ever selling you that game you enjoy I could say that they are giving a free game. Giving me free toys and working with me on past technical issues are reasons that I like and somewhat trust(they are a business still) GOG.

Ultimately, humans mess up. Things humans make will mess up too. One guarantee in life is that stuff will malfunction and go wrong(and others right of course). There could be property rights or other legal trouble getting a game pulled from the store, or a hard drive could die with your whole media library on it. It seems like Desmight and some people want to try to head off future problems by getting GOG to act proactively and state that a current Steam account is not necessary to keep games gotten through connect. Other people are saying to just try to head off problems by copying your games. Do both of course, and if you can think of any extra ways to ensure your property is protected do that too is my stance.
Post edited December 26, 2017 by Sturleson
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Sturleson: Nobody truly knows what GOG will do(perhaps not even GOG), which makes me question these opinions of some folks who sound so sure. It makes me wonder how non-employees can say with 100% complete certainty what GOG will do. Psychic powers perhaps? Personally I think it helps more to give the reasoning behind your prediction as Marko above me did.

When companies are handling my property/information/money, I prefer to know beforehand how everything works. I am curious about this potential problem because I am mostly transitioned from steam to gog already. I could over time rebuy every one of the KotORs and elder scrolls games, et cetera, I think it's obvious why I'd rather not if they can be "moved over" for free. As an aside, it's clearly not "getting a free game" when you already have and can play that game-BUT, since GOG is giving up the possibility of ever selling you that game you enjoy I could say that they are giving a free game. Giving me free toys and working with me on past technical issues are reasons that I like and somewhat trust(they are a business still) GOG.

Ultimately, humans mess up. Things humans make will mess up too. One guarantee in life is that stuff will malfunction and go wrong(and others right of course). There could be property rights or other legal trouble getting a game pulled from the store, or a hard drive could die with your whole media library on it. It seems like Desmight and some people want to try to head off future problems by getting GOG to act proactively and state that a current Steam account is not necessary to keep games gotten through connect. Other people are saying to just try to head off problems by copying your games. Do both of course, and if you can think of any extra ways to ensure your property is protected do that too is my stance.
Just to be clear: if they state that closing your Steam account leads to the loss of your connected games, it's fine. It's their business, they do what they want with it. But they should make it clear; as it is now you are forced to keep both accounts alive and functional, because "they don't know". If those games remain tied to my Steam account, I prefer to have them removed and rebuy them over time. It's better than losing 100 GOG connected games 3 years from now because maybe then "they will know".
Yes. Sorry, I did not really put that clearly enough.
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Sturleson: Nobody truly knows what GOG will do(perhaps not even GOG), which makes me question these opinions of some folks who sound so sure. It makes me wonder how non-employees can say with 100% complete certainty what GOG will do. Psychic powers perhaps? Personally I think it helps more to give the reasoning behind your prediction as Marko above me did.

When companies are handling my property/information/money, I prefer to know beforehand how everything works. I am curious about this potential problem because I am mostly transitioned from steam to gog already. I could over time rebuy every one of the KotORs and elder scrolls games, et cetera, I think it's obvious why I'd rather not if they can be "moved over" for free. As an aside, it's clearly not "getting a free game" when you already have and can play that game-BUT, since GOG is giving up the possibility of ever selling you that game you enjoy I could say that they are giving a free game. Giving me free toys and working with me on past technical issues are reasons that I like and somewhat trust(they are a business still) GOG.

Ultimately, humans mess up. Things humans make will mess up too. One guarantee in life is that stuff will malfunction and go wrong(and others right of course). There could be property rights or other legal trouble getting a game pulled from the store, or a hard drive could die with your whole media library on it. It seems like Desmight and some people want to try to head off future problems by getting GOG to act proactively and state that a current Steam account is not necessary to keep games gotten through connect. Other people are saying to just try to head off problems by copying your games. Do both of course, and if you can think of any extra ways to ensure your property is protected do that too is my stance.
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Desmight: Just to be clear: if they state that closing your Steam account leads to the loss of your connected games, it's fine. It's their business, they do what they want with it. But they should make it clear; as it is now you are forced to keep both accounts alive and functional, because "they don't know". If those games remain tied to my Steam account, I prefer to have them removed and rebuy them over time. It's better than losing 100 GOG connected games 3 years from now because maybe then "they will know".
If you really need to know for a 100% why don't you just take a game that you got here using GOG connect and remove this game from your library on Steam. Should be possible to try this on a game that maybe is not that important for you. I am still quite certain that it's only important if you purchased the game in a legal way and that you did not refund the game. There is nothing morally wrong in closing your account or removing games on one platform you don't want to use anymore.
Post edited December 26, 2017 by MarkoH01
Connect is such a simple concept, why do people find it so hard to understand?!! It's just silly.
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Desmight: Just to be clear: if they state that closing your Steam account leads to the loss of your connected games, it's fine. It's their business, they do what they want with it. But they should make it clear; as it is now you are forced to keep both accounts alive and functional, because "they don't know". If those games remain tied to my Steam account, I prefer to have them removed and rebuy them over time. It's better than losing 100 GOG connected games 3 years from now because maybe then "they will know".
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MarkoH01: If you really need to know for a 100% why don't you just take a game that you got here using GOG connect and remove this game from your library on Steam. Should be possible to try this on a game that maybe is not that important for you. I am still quite certain that it's only important if you purchased the game in a legal way and that you did not refund the game. There is nothing morally wrong in closing your account or removing games on one platform you don't want to use anymore.
I've already tried that, the game doesn't get immediately removed, but of course they "reserve the right to remove it". And that's not the point. They have already clarified what happens if a game is not in your Steam account anymore. What is not clear (and I think it should be) is what happens when it cannot access you Steam library anymore because it doesn't exist. In other words, what happens when the Steam account that you connected gets closed, deactivated or locked. And, for the time being, I can't delete my Steam account "just to try", I'm mainly buying on GOG but I still have some games there to play.
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darthspudius: Connect is such a simple concept, why do people find it so hard to understand?!! It's just silly.
Do you know, for certain, what happens to the games you got through Connect if you delete your Steam account? If so, please enlighten me, seriously
Trying to re-post here what I posted in the wrong thread by mistake but it won't let me. I've tried and tried but it just says "Please wait. Processing..."