Socratatus: Something really, really weird is going on with the review section of this game. I`ve done lots of reviews and sometimes they just don`t show up, but I have never seen this level of craziness with reviews until BattleTech.
Also, What is this trick that you can`t use the DLC skin unless you log into Paradox? I don`t remember seeing that warning until
AFTER release.
There`s some kind of sweet little lying crap going on here. I don`t want to go to conspiracy theories, but I`m beginning to think GOG is in suspcious cahoots with Paradox over this game.
You are getting dodgy, GOG... It`s worrying me.
Explain what`s going on, GOG, with no white lies, because I`m not afraid to Walk and do without modern games if I have to.
Yup there was no warning, it was a surprise even for backers. We got our GOG (or Steam) keys, but without the DLC extra content. The same release day we went again to out backer kit account to get that extra content, and then we had a note telling us how to claim that DLC through a Paradox account...on the very last minute.
Even the warning they added (too late) on the store pages (both here and on Steam) are worded to not clearly say that you are forced to be online on a Paradox server to use your extra content. It just say you need an account to claim your keys, nothing more.
It is all strange, and my assumption, given thow it went all, is that HBS's initial plans were nothing like this and it has been a last time decision.
As Paradox want nothing with GOG since a few years and refuse to release nothing here, they are having problems each time they publish a game not from themselves but that was promised to be here: Pillars of Eternity (and Obsidian has said goodbye to Paradox after that and went back to self-publish), Surviving Mars, Tyranny, Age of Wonders 3...
You will see no Stellaris, Crusader Kings 2 or Europa Universalis 4 here, anyway. They dropped support for GOG and went just for Steam because, as themselves said we are: "only a 5% of our customers" (thank you, Johan, that was very nice...)
Some of their old games that were released here still have problems, also, and will have for eternity. Look at Majesty 2 and it's awful online verification of the extra content. And you ask today (i did just a few months ago) to the original devs, that are not working anymore with Paradox, and they will tell you they tried (even recently), but can't do nothing about it (can touch the code, but can't touch the code and release a patch, they need Paradox for that) so we had to do it ourselves (community work FTW)
In Majesty 2, some of the content is still locked for GOG version. And you know? It is exactly the same thing that happens today with Battletech: you need to go online in-game and connect to a external server to activate the content...sounds familiar?
Despite that, it seems they have power around here one way or another. I also don't like talking about conspiracies, but what happens in general with Paradox here, despite the treatment the publisher does to GOG, is a bit strange.
So it is sad to see that all the people who was very worried after the HBS announcement of a partnership with Paradox (not me, i still trusted in HBS given their past with GOG) were right and we are starting to see the consequences.
Look at Shadowrun titles here. They have extra content, DLC's (expansions they called it, i'm sure from now on we will just see DLC's to BT, no more "epxansions") and all are a patch you download here and claim the extra content, as with the majority of the games on GOG.
Now they change all of that way to do things and start talking about "our security" and the "value" of our extra content, so it needs to be "protected" with DRM...they never talked like that, and rushed 2 days ago to say everyone (without allowing any discussion or questions) that they, HBS, were the unique responsible for this decision, and that Paradox has nothing to do with it...ahem lol, i'm starting to really see conspiracies and i don't want to. But it all smells so weird...
Oh, and better don't talk about the technical state of the release. It's like they were until the same day of release coding and coding to try to solve all the problems it has, because, of course, they couldn't wait a bit more and polish and test their game (no conspiracies, again, but this is a constant with some devs after a partership with a big publisher)
Lastly, for the store i still don't own anymore my Battletech game :S if that's not weird...