I purchase GoG games to support the company I love, and the three main reasons I feel this 3A

1.) GoG has excellent ethics which run parallel to my own.
2.) GoG provides extra "goodies", most often I find these more important than the game.
3.) GoG provides DRM free.

While comparing PILLARS OF ETERNITY: CHAMPION EDITION (which I was about to pre-order) vs PILLARS OF ETERNITY: HERO EDITION I realised that the HERO Ed doesn't come with OST. Of the hundreds of GoG games I've purchased I've only played about 3 or 4, but I download every single OST and add them to my collection of background music.

I WILL NOT pay an extra $20 for a Soundtrack, it's never going to happen. Considering the monetarism driven changes I've noticed over the last few months I'm now starting to worry that "DRM Free" will soon be the only item left on my list.

Your 100% correct :/

Having done a little research I realised I spoke too soon, it appears to be the developer who is enforcing the "pay extra for extra's" policy. I came back to leave a reply of apology :)

That said, GoG has made some changes which are really annoying, this game just doesn't happen to be one of them. I'll consider purchasing a copy just to show how terrible I feel.

Well, my point was definitely not to make you feel terrible :P

You aren't wrong to disapprove of these practices, you just were looking at the wrong person (group) this time (which you've already pointed out).

I'm not crazy about these types of trends in gaming, but we have to realize that (almost) EVERYONE is doing it, so I can't really be too upset with any one company (although I'd love it if one took a stand, in the end it just means less money for them and more for other companies).

Doesn't make it okay, doesn't make any one company evil, it just... well, it's just gaming now. :(

I know, but I still feel bad :/

I bought the deluxe edition, for the soundtrack & extras, and because of my callous words :)

The fact that it's almost $70 AUD is what is killing me. They're ripping us off something chronic...

This isn't directed at the OP, but at anyone who wonders and it applies to.

Here's what I sort-of *know*:

That when I buy a movie on DVD, I don't get the soundtrack CD with it at no cost and that if I want the soundtrack (or a poster, or a novelization), I have to pay extra for an extra product from somewhere else (packaged separately at least if not a different store.) For music, the rights are in 2 different places: the movie producers and the music producers. The movie producers contracted out to the music producers to get the music they wanted made (whether in the form of an original soundtrack or a collection of already existing songs or both) to make a piece of entertainment/art at the discrection of a director who has decided what music they want. While often being owned by the same mega-corporation, those 2 parts (movie and music) operate individually as a business AND creative entity. You buy the DVD and the money goes 1 place and is distributed accordingly to those involved. You buy a movie soundtrack and the money goes through a completely different distribution. Actors do not make money when a soundtrack sells and musicians don't make money when the DVD sells (I'm talking in general, normally, for the most part, there are always exceptions and independents and other stories to be heard.) There is no "issue" with needing to create different "versions" so that $% can be distributed appropriately; with games on here there is. However, if you were to buy a "special edition" of a movie that included a poster, soundtrack, cloth map, and whatever else, you'd better believe you would pay more for that edition than you would for just the standard movie. Are you having a hard time reconciling the fact that for a video game you don't actually get to hold physical goods in your hands and touch them? Just because you can't touch it, doesn't mean someone didn't put time and effort into creating it as an extra for you to BUY. Perhaps you are having a hard time understanding why sometimes GOG releases a game and the soundtrack is part of the purchase (there is only 1 version, and it has a soundtrack) and other times you have to pay extra? It all has to do with rights (sometimes the music rights have run out and they are able to provide it for free, other times not) and how each individual game and their company writes their contracts both within creating the game+music and then with the companies that are distributing their game+music. You have singular composers and creators vs. entire orchestral studios where 1st violin is getting paid more than 3rd oboe and the conductor/composer is making more, and rightly so. They're different beasts and you have to realize with all the variety of possibilities for music to be made and used in a game, that there are going to be different ways the money has to work so it can all work and producers have all the options that may suit them for their creative wards.

The likes of Obsidian and inXile, despite the fictional image they paint of themselves, are very tied in with the modern gaming industry and it's mentalities. So it's not surprising that their games in particular are trying to peel away more money from the customers they pander to with words alone then the other games that pop up here. Prob doesn't help their staff is overbloated and their companies are failing so they really want money.

GOG tries it's damnest to stick to it's values, but when a high profile release makes conditions for their inclusion and they're given the choice of making a minor compromise or losing the high profile game to competition, the answer seems obvious.

If this becomes a trend, then they'll have to set their foot down and accept the losses... or lose their image and thus the main reason people buy from them instead of other platforms.

I wouldn't mind it too much if the actual game wasn't expensive as hell.

20€ for normal edition, 25€ for edition with OST would be more acceptable for me. It just means that people who don't really care for OST or extras can get what they want (the actual game) for cheaper.

Ermm, Not that I would condone such practices, BUT...

Couldn't a clever gent find the music files in the game data, and extract/convert those files into a format that could be added to a playlist?

Just saying...

(Actually, maybe i do kinda condone them.. If you bought the game, you technically own them.)

Being a layperson you might Think you own what you Buy, but legal minds allot more educated, and whos careers are alot more funded by lobbyists representing the industries theyre supposed to be ruling on for the good of all have determined that you dont own the software you purchase and that reverse engineering can be a crime. yay consumers of the world! :)

It's because of the kickstarter campaign.
The soundtrack was a reward (along with all the other bits and bobs) for certain kickstarter tiers, so they probably limited them so that backers wouldn't get annoyed about everyone getting it for free anyway.

Obvioiusly gog.com is only deploying what they have been given by the publisher Paradox. They only execute their business deal. That's all there is to it.
I would have thought the difference between an old game no one cares about anymore (as far as companies are concerned) and a new, just released game would be impossible to miss.

For more information just check out the KS page, all rewards are listed there: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity?ref=nav_search Naturally all packages will be built to reflect the original reward tiers. :) The full game was available for $20 [1], which were about 18€, so... Have to say this is really cheap for a game that has around 80 hours of playtime. A Dragon Age DLC that offers about 4 hours costs the same...

[1] https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/obsidian/project-eternity/description

Exactly this, perfect way to end this discussion!

I agree with op on the 20$ for soundtrack is batshit.
I'd pay 5 dollars for soundtrack AND artbook.

All gog games should already have other goodies, even in basic version without extra cost.
LIke the map of the world... that should be in the basic version.

I remember getting baldurs gate 2 as a kid and having all those interesting oodes, plus a full manual.
Now that was nice.
Physical coppies of that stuff maybe hard to produce, but if you are making one of those and put it in as a digital goodies, it actually costs NOTHING extra.

There's no good reason to disclude goodies from the base game.

Dragon age dlc is a ripoff at that price, btw.