Atlantico: This is not a cracked version, it's released without any copy protection or other DRM with the approval and help of the publisher of the game.
Lucasarts/Disney has the game in-house without any DRM or copy-protection what-so-ever. That is the version given to gog.com
What do you think this is? A glorified pirate-bay??
yyahoo: I can't speak to this specific situation, but his question had complete merit because, yes, GOG has been a glorified pirate-bay in the past...
http://www.gog.com/forum/general/gog_uses_crack_to_remove_flatouts_protection http://www.gog.com/forum/general/gog_arcanum_release_uses_warez_scene_crack You owe him an apology.
The links just lead to some idiots claiming that Arcanum that's sold here is a "crack" because the code is similar to a cracked version, allegedly.
To quote cogadh: "just like most everything on Codex, it has a healthy dose of bullshit mixed with nerd rage. So GOG either removed the DRM or was provided with an executable that had the DRM removed. What are the odds that the removal of the DRM by GOG or the publisher might look exactly like a warez version that has had the DRM removed, only without the identifying headers? Pretty damn good actually. There are only so many ways the DRM could be removed in the first place. Until the GOG guys openly say they used the warez crack, it is nothing more then yet another pile of crap from Codex."
Anyway, it's policy that gog.com tinkers with games that need tinkering with. That may or may not include removing manually DRM. This is done in 100% cooperation and with the approval of the relevant rights owners.
Setting that aside, it's pretty clear that gog.com tinkered with the code of X-Wing and TIE Fighter for Windows, because they work on modern Windows without any issues, hardly any old game here is an original build. They're all modified to some extent.
But gog.com does not and has never used third party warez to crack a copy protection - that's not saying gog.com hasn't resorted to removing copy protection manually, in a few cases.
There's a difference between grabbing a crack from a warez site and removing the copy protection with explicit permission and assistance from the relevant rights holders. However, this was not the case with any of the Lucasarts titles. This was the answer to the OPs question. Unfounded and idiotic nerdrages because of allegations that are clearly unmerited just don't enter into this discussion.
By your logic, because some idiots were whining on a third party forum, it's completely appropriate to ask in all seriousness: hey is this game licensed from Disney/Lucasarts cracked? No. Not that's not right.
You can stuff your demand for apology where appropriate.