Yes it is semantics and we could go on for quite some time, but it does technically allow their claim of a DRM free version to hold water.....regardless of whether or not you think it's fair for the patches to possibly be updater only.

It also seems silly the way people seem to feel a lack of trust for CDPR/Gog for doing this as if they pulled an always online UBI-DRM fiasco out of a hat or something at the last minute after everyone has purchased from them. They have actually been very clear as to what they're doing(the updater for patches...et al.) and did so before anyone bought a single copy, which in my mind makes them much better than other more intrusive DRM peddlers. (P.S. I still don't think this is DRM in the normal sense of the term, though(like with UB-DRM, SecuROM, etc)....just to be clear on that point.)

I don't care, but think of the hell CDP is going to get for it, and for no good reason, too.

Looking at the CDPR trend and record, DRM is really of no issue when they would probably release a patch to remove the DRM later.

Reason pre-ordering from GoG is to support CDPR for me honestly. Also, when can i make payment? I have already pre-ordered but surprisingly it didn't ask me to pay?

You pay when you download. No charge at pre-order, GOG stated that.

http://www.gog.com/en/page/tw2v3

To be more specific, May 10th is when you can actually pay.

I'm guessing some pirate master will crack that updating thing right after the first patch. It just seems to be what happens with these things (or alternatively he/she makes some sort of a comparison thing between the versions and magics a patch executable out of thin air). Those crafty pirates, they can crawl through the tiniest cracks.

I'm not too bothered by this update scheme, at least yet. If the vanilla game's full of crazy, possibly even game breaking, bugs, then I might get concerned about the distant future usability of the game. The way I see it, the game has no DRM, but the patches do. So it all depends on whether the game needs them patches.

Of course if the so called cd-keys are invalid like was the case with some of the games I've bought, it might cause distress.

I'd prefer an honest expansion pack over those... DLC monstrosities. There is totally a difference!

If you have access to more information, could you clarify a few things for me about the patching and DLC systems?

• Does the serial key simply need to be entered into the game launcher to be checked only upon patching, or does it need to be associated with a created account?

• If there's an account that needs to be created is DLC then associated specifically with this account? And if so does it only need to be checked against the account upon initial installation, or does it try to check on a more frequent basis (like the Dragon Age DLC)?

• Regardless of whether it's a serial or a registered account that needs to be associated with an installation, are there any additional limitations that could result in the game refusing to patch? (e.g. is there any association with hardware configuration, such that changing hardware or installing and updating the game on a new machine could cause issues)

• If the serial registration process requires the serial to be tied to a created account, what besides the serial will be associate with this account? Will DLC need to be associated with this account? Are there plans to have future CDP games associated to the account (similar to what Bioware's done)?

• Are there any plans to release patches in a standalone form sometime in the future? Or update the GOG installer to include patches?

Just to be clear, I'm not trying to get involved in all the pedantry about whether or not this is DRM, I'm just hoping for a bit of clarification on what precisely I'll be dealing with when I buy the game, and any additional information you can provide would be appreciated.

Just for the sake of argument, if it was DRM you wouldn't be able to back up your entire game install and have it work when you restored it. Presumably you can with TW2. So if you patch it you can back it up. The patch itself shouldn't be encrypted either, I'm better you can grab the patch files as they expand if you really want.

I can see why people think this is annoying, I really do. Calling it DRM is a bit unclear though, and I'm pretty much as anti DRM as people get. It's not ideal, but let's recall, TW2 is a massive step in the right direction, let's not be too pissed we need to meet them 10% of the way when they've gone 90%.

...or you can just download a cracked update. Which one is easier?

Anyway, let's wait and see, too much has been written already. I just hope that GOG will at least acknowledge that the game is not 100%-completely-absolutely-positively-DRM-free

Thank you very much. And enjoy the remainder of your vacation.

Pointless if the reasons you can't update is because the patch server is down. In some circumstance, this could prevent someone playing the game completely (e.g. if it won't run without the patch on their machine).. DRM free means never having to rely on a 3rd party to play the game.

My criteria for defining DRM are very simple. I relate it to my off-line gaming rig:

- do I have to be connected on-line to install/activate my game?
- to update my game do I have to be on-line with that machine or take some kind of unreasonable measures to get it updated?

If the answer is 'yes' to one or both of those, then the game has DRM.

For what it's worth, I don't feel that having to pull my hard drive and connect it to some other machine in order to update the game is a reasonable measure.

Simple question from me:
Why don't you plan to update the GOG downloadable of TW 2 after some reasonable time including the latest patches as you do with every other game here? For no other game you have to apply patches from an external server.

In the way you describe it, for every installation of the TW 2 GOG copy in order to obtain the final patch version, you'll require an internet connection and an authentification. If you cannot see any possible bit of DRM there, then, frankly, you don't want to see it. For a man of your intelligence it would be outright impossible not to see it. :)

That's of course only how I see it. :)