Thank you for clearing that part up. Since I just got a (somewhat) high-speed internet connection today (FINALLY! OH GOD IT FEELS SO GOOD) getting the patches through the auto-updater shouldn't be a problem, and since I now know the GOG installer will eventually be updated, I'm alright with it.

I still feel bad for those who are stuck with dial-up at home though. Auto-updaters absolutely suck when you can't get speeds above 5kb/sec

Awesome. Is that The Bard: Saviors of Queens guy at around 0:55?

Awesome, all I needed to know was that the GOG installer would be updated eventually.

Well, Head of PR and Marketing, I appreciate you looking out and getting some answers for our questions. This is one reason I respect and use GOG.com all the time.

One last question for clarity though:

Are the patches themselves delivered DRM free?

I ask because I would like to know if I can back up the game to disc or other format after being patched online.

Thanks!

This are better answers than I expected, so I am positively surprised. However some tiny bits are still not right in my eyes.

I would guess that pirates who share whole games probably have bandwith enough to also share patches. And in the past patches used to be freely available, there are whole sites which only offer downloads of software or patches and are ad paid. Or there were community sites which hosted patches. Somehow it worked out at these times.

I understand that CDP doesn't want to pay bandwith for the pirates, but that's how it was in the past and bandwith certainly has not become more expensive since then. Or how big will the patches be?

Besides I have free unused bandwith - so give the patches at least to me and even save some bandwidth money. ;)

Well, when this becomes true it will be simply great and it will make the GOG version indeed a 100% DRM free! :))) To be honest: Everything else is a shame. I will take you up on this.

Is wanting to archive the game and all patches part of the use? If so, then only because you somehow managed to convince them to allow including patches in the download, it makes it unlimited archiving abilities

Okay, so is the meaning of procuring these files, that I download non-executables and can archive them separetely from the installed game? Because only then I can use them as I like? If they are applied directly and deleted afterwards or if they are only recognized at this point and not at a later installation, I cannot use them really as I like.

Once you speak of the game which is provided and then you speak of the rest of the game which still needs to be delivered. So is this game kind of a schizophrenic being? I will need to be very careful then. :)

And, on that day, my friend, is when gog will get my money.

I think it sounded pretty clear that once the downloadable content is downloaded, no checks will take place. Regarding patches, see my discussion with the big T above, answers on monday.

I can understand not wanting pirates to download the patches directly from you because it costs you money, but concerning point 5. Why not make them standalone to save money? You'd still only be letting legitimate purchasers download them from you (unless someone robbed a walmart or something, but they would get the patches rather they are standalone or not since they appear legitimate...) and at the same time you could save some money because you wouldn't get people to redownload the patches every time they reinstalled or for every computer that they want the game one.

If it is to stop pirates, it wont work. They will have their backup copies of the patches and everyone else will be forced to either pirate the patches or only patch when they have internet access and the servers are up.

Okay, this means, you just have to copy them. Make a diff from before and after. I even guess there is a patchmaker software out there, that can make this things automatically.

But then, if there would be registry changes or only part of the patch is applied depending on some obscure conditions (e.g. existence of a certain DLC) it can become complex.

This is just to much mud work. I want it the easy way: download an executable.


It might work to some extent, because the pirates have to create a new version for every patch (unless they themselves invent the art of a standalone patcher) but for the legal customer it means some hustle because he cannot archive his game completely and must insert a seriel upon each update.

I bet it'll be a single file per patch that you drop in the game's directory or a subdirectory called "patches" or "updates", then when you launch the updater it'll see them and apply them. In fact, I'll bet you a $5.99 GOG about it.

I have no facts whatsoever about this (hence why I asked the big T), but it just seems logical, and not much more work than if they were stand-alone executables (maybe even less work since you'd probably just run the updater once).

By my own very strict requirements, this is more than acceptable. I understand wanting to prevent pirates from sucking up bandwidth from legitimate customers, and since GOG will eventually be giving us a completely unrestricted release, I don't see any long term issue. This is essentially like me buying an older game with a cd-key, and then years later getting the unrestricted GOG version. (Except I don't have to pay for it twice.)

Thanks, Enigmatic and the rest of the GOG guys! This is the awesome service I've come to expect from GOG!

My God, that looks amazing. It's almost like watching a nature documentary, especially with the background music. I didn't want it to end :(

This is what I wanted to hear! :D Please scratch my "cancel my preorder" request from the other thread. While I still have my doubts about the downloader, it is acceptable to me if it becomes redundant in time.

Is using Merriam-Webster to define technical jargon a good idea? ;)