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General discussionWhy is there steam_api dll in GOG games(64 posts)(64 posts)
(64 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted November 04, 2015
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darthspudius: The chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one he said
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tinyE: Assuming he was being literal he is wrong because anything is everything,
No it isn't.

The chance of everything coming from Mars is precisely zero. :-P
Posted November 04, 2015
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tinyE: Assuming he was being literal he is wrong because anything is everything,
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blakstar: No it isn't.

The chance of everything coming from Mars is precisely zero. :-P
ULLA! Says otherwise!
Posted November 04, 2015
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blakstar: Don't make me dig up old posts, please. Or are you now a Martian monkey? :-P

EDIT: Sorry, accidentally replied to the wrong post! :-)
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darthspudius: The chances of anything coming from mars are a million to one he said
Aye but it dont stop me!

*grabs another kleenex

o____________O7
Posted November 04, 2015
Proof of Martian life!
Posted November 04, 2015
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blakstar: No it isn't.

The chance of everything coming from Mars is precisely zero. :-P
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darthspudius: ULLA! Says otherwise!
Sshhhh... You're part of the anything camp, so please be quiet! :-D
Posted November 04, 2015
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tinyE: Assuming he was being literal he is wrong because anything is everything,
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blakstar: No it isn't.

The chance of everything coming from Mars is precisely zero. :-P
Yes but if anything could be anything then technically the number Of things in anything is infinite thus opening itself to the possibility of being everything in that everything is in turn limitless and therefor OH NO I'VE GONE CROSS-EYED!
Post edited November 04, 2015 by tinyE
Posted November 04, 2015
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darthspudius: ULLA! Says otherwise!
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blakstar: Sshhhh... You're part of the anything camp, so please be quiet! :-D
Watch what you say child or i'll infest your computer with UPlay!
Posted November 04, 2015
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blakstar: Sshhhh... You're part of the anything camp, so please be quiet! :-D
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darthspudius: Watch what you say child or i'll infest your computer with UPlay!
Well, the unimportant game-playing one's already got it for Far Cry: Blood Dragon, so do your worst! :-)
Posted November 04, 2015
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Sachys: You realise I am not, nor ever was English?!
Oh, right, like this wasn't you. [url= English bulldog clearly requires English chimp, or else the entire context is nonsensical! ][/url]
Attachments:
sachys.jpg (80 Kb)
Posted November 04, 2015
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Sachys: You realise I am not, nor ever was English?!
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OneFiercePuppy: Oh, right, like this wasn't you. [url= English bulldog clearly requires English chimp, or else the entire context is nonsensical! ][/url]
Thats not a Bulldog!
Posted November 04, 2015
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OneFiercePuppy: Oh, right, like this wasn't you. [url= English bulldog clearly requires English chimp, or else the entire context is nonsensical! ][/url]
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Sachys: Thats not a Bulldog!
Yes it is. I've had five of them and that's what they look like. :D
Post edited November 04, 2015 by tinyE
Posted November 04, 2015
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Sachys: Thats not a Bulldog!
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tinyE: Yes it is. I've had five of them and that's what they look like. :D
No... you are making the usual cockup of mistaking a bulldog for Winston Churchill you muppet!

*tuts at the muppetosity of it all
Posted November 04, 2015
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tinyE: Yes it is. I've had five of them and that's what they look like. :D
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Sachys: No... you are making the usual cockup of mistaking a bulldog for Winston Churchill you muppet!

*tuts at the muppetosity of it all
Which I guess would make this a Margaret Thatcher.
Posted November 04, 2015
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BobMorane: I've noticed this in a few games i bought on GOG. Most recently it's in Wastelands 2 DC. steam_api.dll (or maybe some other steam related file) is included in the install. Why is there such a file? Is it a real full working steam file or just some placeholder because the game was originally released on steam and looks for such a file? Is it even legal for gog to have steam files (or maybe dummy files with steam name) or is there a risk this might cause them troubles? Does the gog team knows some of their games come with steam stuff?

Lots of questions, i know, but this has bothered me ever since i noticed it. There was even one game that had a link on the main menu to get their DLC on steam (i think it was Eador : masters of the broken wolrd)
Most likely they produce a single executable of their game to reduce quality control testing, and either dynamically load the Steam DLL when it is running on Steam, or it is statically linked into the executable and must be present for the dynamic loader to resolve symbols in the executable at load time. Alternatively it could just be a stub DLL so that the executable loads. Another possibility is that it isn't loaded at all and is just accidentally included. Moving it out of the way and trying to start the game should determine that easily enough, just move it to another subdirectory on your hard disk, then start the game. If the game starts and everything seems to work including any online functionality, then it is probably just a file that got included by mistake. If the game does not work, then they probably build a single executable as I said before in which case the loader would need the DLL (or a stub named the same filename) in order to resolve symbols at startup.

This approach makes software modular at runtime rather than having to recompile it for various different platforms, and reduces the amount of work to maintain everything. There are probably dozens of other DLLs and files included with various other games in the catalogue also which are either no longer needed or are needed for loading but otherwise not used.

As for the legality of shipping the DLL, I believe that Valve's Steam license allows for redistribution without special application, but as always consult Valve's Steam license directly on their website for the complete list of terms. The most likely scenario is that the game company knows what they are doing and there are no problems.
Post edited November 04, 2015 by skeletonbow
Posted November 04, 2015
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Sachys: No... you are making the usual cockup of mistaking a bulldog for Winston Churchill you muppet!
I doubt TinyE gets his cockup for bulldogs or Winston Churchill. Happier to think that, anyway, whatever the case.

[url= TOO EASY. It's all your fault for throwing that one so low and slow. ][/url]
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionWhy is there steam_api dll in GOG games(64 posts)(64 posts)
(64 posts)