Wow.... This thread has just exploded. It's already on page seven. I thought my Review of Broken Sword 5 (SPOILERS) from last week might mildly stir the pot--and nobody even noticed that post(oh well, lol), but--jeeeeez--just mention my first real encounter with DRM and/or online gaming and suddenly--KA-BOOM! I've gotten everything from friendly "atta-boys" to literally being called a troll and a liar and essentially an idiot who has no right to call himself even a casual gamer. Apparently some people are personally offended by my unfamiliarity with Steam, so I guess that settles it: I suck as a human being. I admit it. I had suspected it all along, but grasped onto the thin hope that because I had once, twenty years ago, managed to solve the coo-coo clock inventory puzzle in Gabriel Knight 2 without a walkthough, maybe..<sniff>...just maybe <sniff, sniff>...OH GOD, this is hard for me!...just maybe I might be, you know...accepted? <Scott falls to the ground, crying and begging forgiveness.> ;-)

(Oh, and to the fella who felt it necessary to spell out that he was making "kind of a slight" at me: Yeah, thanks, I got it the first time.) Jeez, where's the sense of humor around here?

So, as the "OP" who started all this (OP--another little term I just picked up on this board; you learn something new everyday), let me see if I can sum up my end of this and turn down some of the heat. (We're verging on flaming--let's relax...take a deep breath...let it go...everything is going to be fine.)

First, let me back up a bit and reintroduce myself to those who may be unfamiliar with me (which is probably most of you because I've been on this board less than a month--so I only have a few posts out there). And then, I think you might understand me a little better and where I'm coming from. I'm Scott. In years past, I've called myself "Moonjumper" or "Moonjumping in Texas" on other BBS's, but I ended up (kind of accidently) with hscott2hughes as my GOG board name (because I haven't yet had time to figure out how to change it in my account settings)--but anyway, Scott is actually my name, so feel free to call me Scott. I used to be a music teacher, I still sing semiprofessionally, I run a restaurant, and I work in independent film. As such, technology is a major part of my life. But in a lot of ways I'm pretty old school and full of ironies when it comes to tech. I have workstations with the best processors and HDDs available so as to run my film editing and sound design suites all which are state of the art...but I'm the guy who still doesn't even own a smartphone (mine flips--it prevents butt dials). I have a DVR and Blu-Ray player and a Roku (I use them all), but I still rely on my trusty ol' VCR. And unlike a majority of my film and media colleagues, I'm very much a solid PC man. So sue me, I just prefer Windows to Mac (and my Mac buddies--including my own brother, lol--also think that makes me less than human). It's purely personal taste, personal comfort. I have nothing against Mac, it's a fine machine, I just don't *worship* it. Contrary to myth, there is absolutely nothing a Mac can do that a PC can't do as well (I know, because, that's, well, what I use! (quite successfully)--but try convincing a fanboy of that and he'll hurl obscenities at you--or call me a liar. I couldn't have edited that film on a PC, it looks too good.) Whatever. Believe what you want to believe. I swear, every time I buy a new PC (not saying a word to anybody, minding my own business) a Mac fanboy *attacks* me!--because he's personally offended by my choice. I mean, really, dude--why do you care what computer I use? It's *my* computer. It doesn't affect you. (Anyway, I'd better shutup about that, coz the Mac boys are already grinding their teeth and typing--don't bother, I won't reply, I DON'T CARE! LOL!)

I'm simply making a humorous analogy in reference to the current topic. No, I'm not really up to speed on things like Steam and online gaming. (That does NOT mean I'm lying about having played some video games along the way--and yes, going back 25-plus years to the present. My shelves stuffed with CD/DVD-ROMs (and even some floppies) should be testimony to that. It's just that I haven't played any *online* games and GOG was only recently my first experience with actually *downloading* a game for the very first time (Broken Sword 5).) That's WHY I'm not familiar with Steam. I had never even heard of *GOG* prior to a month ago when I purchased BS5. It's only been recently that I've begun having an increasingly hard time finding hard copy games that I've never *needed* to know anything about Steam or any other download vendor. All of my games prior to BS5 have been on traditional disc. And no, I am NOT a *hardcore* gamer. I don't do multiplayer. The only shooters I've ever played happen to be Star Trek games (how's that for ironies?). As I have stated on other threads, I am a casual gamer of almost exclusively traditional adventure games. There's never been reason for me to encounter Steam (because I don't buy multiplayer online shooters). I buy games like Runaway and Broken Sword. Thus, I like what I see on GOG. (I just finished downloading the entire Tex Murphy series, including the latest just released yesterday--FMV!!!)

What brought on my original post on this thread was that I purchased a DVD-ROM of the Abramsverse Star Trek
game, not knowing that it was attached to Steam (not even knowing what a Steam was, lol)--and there was nothing in the product description to clue in a casual gamer like me to expect anything other than a DVD-ROM game like I have always played before. I know that makes me the biggest dumbass in the history of gaming, apparently. So be it. I'm a dumbass and I'll know what to expect and watch out for next time. Fair enough.

It really wasn't my intension for this to be so blown out of proportion. I bought a game that caught me by surprise with its DRM features--which was annoying, but not a crises. DRM seems to be a frequent topic on these boards because GOG is proud of being DRM-free. So, my eye-opening experience with the Star Trek game seemed apropos.

To clarify, my issue is not with Steam. They're probably a fine company with some great games. My issue was a DVD-ROM (PC-DVD) labeled "Star Trek: The Game" that had no freakin' game on it (which I wrote about somewhat tongue-in-cheek). So, for me, it was a complete WTF for having never encountered this situation with the type of games I normally buy in hard copy form.

I am going to play the Trek game and it will doubtlessly entertain me. I'm not angry (not as angry as some because not being familiar with Steam is somehow a personal insult to them, and also somehow equates to trolling. Uh...wait, huh??) But I do miss the simpler days of gaming.

Happy Gaming.
Scott