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General discussionDo you prefer physical media or DRM-free digital downloads?(79 posts)(79 posts)
(79 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted 2 days ago
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Timboli: Are you talking about PC emulators or hardware replacement emulators?
In my admittedly limited experience, PC emulators don't work that great.
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PookaMustard: In my experience PS2 is hit or miss, PS3 I haven't tried because my laptop isn't that powerful, and PS1 is mostly covered except for very few edge cases with DuckStation.
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Timboli: I'm not sure how you are just getting by with only the No CD crack.
Perhaps you are just talking about those games that install fully, never needing to access the disc again.
In my experience, you also often need to either create a virtual drive copy of the disc or burn such with decent cloning software, and manage to incorporate that crack (EXE) in the resulting disc. It will be a bit simpler if the original disc isn't encrypted.
Admittedly my experience is mostly based on a no whirring physical disc scenario, provided by virtual discs.
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PookaMustard: Most games just behave with a no-CD, few might still nitpick - these games might have tiny virtual discs for the purposes. In the case of games where the data isn't fully installed, there could be mods to alleviate that. Admittedly I'm not too big on these aspects of physical PC games and prefer just popping the disc in and being done, or a simple no CD process.
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This was the first thing I thought about when I read the title of this conversation.

It's all well and good to have an original disc with the game image but, if the game requires an OS that no longer exists or hardware that has long since disappeared, you will need a new configuration to replay it.

I do have a couple of old Windoze licences (XP, 7, and now 10) that I could multi-boot onto a PC, which would allow me —( with an optical drive )— to re-install the game onto a system that it was tested to operate and is compatible. Short of this hardware-cum-software duplication, the original firmware is only good for display. (Or a frisbee.)
Posted 2 days ago
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scientiae: I do have a couple of old Windoze licences (XP, 7, and now 10) that I could multi-boot onto a PC, which would allow me [...]
Jeez....

Or you could just install Linux, and just use Wine, which has superior compatibility with older games, better than modern Windows itself, instead of triple booting your PC with obsolete OS versions that probably won't even install unless you have period correct hardware.

Wine and Linux are doing more for old Windows games preservation than Windows, so you should take advantage of it.
Posted 2 days ago
Physical, easy. While if you have downloaded you GOG game that means you own it until you delete the files, or they get corrupted, but the truth is that your ability to even download the game in the first place is a revocable license. Free games have already bugged out of people's libraries before, it's only a matter of time until paid games are intentionally removed by publishers. Physical media lasts until the final copy of the game has been destroyed, which is a huge W for preservation. Publishers really need to start publishing games on USB sticks, otherwise some of our favorite games can be lost to time, the GOG team can't find every single game that has been lost to time.

On a side note too, you can buy and sell physical games, meaning you can just sell your game when you are done with it, or give it to family / friends.
Posted 2 days ago
Physical games, hands down.
Sure, digital games are more convenient and I might run out of physical space at some point, but I love collecting physical copies for their box art...and sometimes the goodies that come with a physical copy. :)

Not a fan of steelbooks though. It's highly unlikely, but I always fear bending the disc too much will snap it in two. :P
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionDo you prefer physical media or DRM-free digital downloads?(79 posts)(79 posts)
(79 posts)