Agreed, unless all they provide is a link that doesn't seem to work. And what are they going to do about patches for the drm free version? Is there going to be a kickstarter update about it and then I have to wait a few weeks before I can download it from their website because of the traffic?.

Its no skin off their nose to provide a drm free version through a distributor (be it gog or humble bundle or someone else) that can handle people downloading their game, updates, etc. To not give the people who risked their money to support a project like this the best version of a game is extremely poor marketing and very short sighted.

I won't be supporting this studio again.

but does it mean gog keys for backers or just "hey we're gonna distribute this through gog and screw people who backed the game, you get a link on our website, good luck downloading the game"

Just so that you know, Stoic is a three-man team and they out-source their marketing as well as bunch of other stuff. Feel free to blame them, though, your whining won't change a thing. Where do you get that FUD from? Stoic never denied they would offer a GoG.com version, quite the opposite, actually. Give the guys some rest.

Honestly, the fact that people convinced them to offer a GOG/DRM-free version is good.

Stoic is a company made from people that came from... was it Bioware or Blizzard? Either way, it's made of people that came from a DRM heavy background. The fact that they were convinced to try out a DRM-free release, even if it was late, is a good indicator. The most we can do is show support for that sentiment by getting the game here, or at least saying, "yeah, it was messed up that it took forever to get here, but it DID happen".

From the interactions I've read about them, they seem kind of skittish about pulling away from the giga-corporation style. They might not have performed their actions very well, but they did, in the end, deliver what has (so far in my playthrough) been a great game.

I dunno what else to say in my little rant. I'm procrastinating really hard right now.

According to Briareos262, they did.

People have been asking about gog keys for weeks (on their forums, on twitter, on the kickstarter forums). Stoic have not responded to any of those questions. I know its not just their marketers who look at their own forums. I suggest if they were going to distribute gog keys, they would have said that they will do so by now.

Maybe there will be a backlash and they will change their mind. Right now, though we have someone who says they got a PM saying they won't be distributing gog keys and absolute silence (again after weeks of requests) in response to requests for gog keys. You believe what you want though mate.

I was holding off on getting the drm free version from their website in the expectation backers would get a gog key, but given the recent posts about that maybe not happening after all, i grabbed it just to be safe. It works and saves are compatible with the steam version.
I find it surprising if they end up not giving gog keys to backers given how other ks funded titles did it without problems, but its their choice if they go with it, and how it will affect their reputation.

I believe nothing but my own eyes and cold hard facts, and suggest that you do the same. At this moment there are none, only nonconstructive FUD.

Well there's plenty but if you want to ignore them, go for it.

Sorry I've been stuck at work for 8 hours.

I did send them a message via messaging however deleting it due to circumstances. Believe what you will......

I am very sad this is the route this company has taken in not honoring a better viable option for a DRM free version . I pledged in the $50 tier. I got a damaged poster that I couldn't get a replacement for and now I won't be getting a GOG key for a DRM free version, where I'm fairly certain in the comments during the kickstarter that it would be an option.

I would have even been okay with a humble bumble key honestly. I won't be supporting this company after this fiasco.

This sucks.

Should have it been an "almost not funded game which miraculously got released but had to go through hell", I would have said "sorry to hear that, but rejoice at least you got a nice game that almost didn't see the light of the sun".
But in the actual context, this really sucks and I am sorry to ear that, who will save kickstarter from these guys (EDIT: I don't mean just Stoic) who take your trust and your money, and deliver the bare minimum because ..... thet are not accountable for much things.

Thanks for posting this Briareos. What absolute dickheads.

I guess this doesn't mean shit "A DRM-free version of the game is under development now and we are still working with GOG to distribute soon. This will also be available to all backers even if you downloaded a Steam copy."

I doubt there will be enough complaints from the community at large, however. Really disappointing.

Keep on the good fight against the DaRhMa inititative.

I did what I could. I posted via kickstarter in their comments update about it, hopefully enough will complain so I can get my GOG key. I'm not holding my breath tho. They seem to love STEAM =P and my only way of getting a DRM free copy is through their shoddy server.

I put up with alot of their crap, I didn't complain about factions their free mini game with their wonderful option to buy advanced unit and such =P delaying the main game for so long. I'm not happy with this whole situation at all.

A few facts:
- Factions was planned from the beginning and announced in the Kickstarter campaign, it helped build the foundations of the game as well as design and balance combat.
- I don't remember seeing any mention of a GOG.com key during the campaign. Sure it would have been better to have a GOG.com key, but, hey, we still have the DRM-free installer. You already had to wait a few weeks to get the DRM-free installer, you sure can wait a few days if the servers are saturated.
- I indeed read on the forum that some posters were not in a perfect state. Mine was a bit "damaged" on the corners, but not really an issue for me.

Sure, one can continue to post on their forums to request GOG.com keys but I think some people here tend to over-react to this.

Factions was only meant to be a test bed for the combat mechanics. It was never meant to be anymore than that (as far as i know).
I never saw them mention providing GOG keys either. DRM free yes. Im going to guess distribution via GOG meant being an available sales outlet rather than reference to backers.
The problem is there are always too many people who either dont care about drm or who run around "Yes please put in on steam" " please achievements and trading cards" or bullcrap like that.I see it in every good or decent kickstarter.
Devs try to cater to the majority which really should not be the case since they have a lot of different people who back their ideas to make it a reality.


I just realised something.
They promised drm free copy to ALL backers at one point. Which sure in hell surprised me. Im wondering they did that instead of asking people to choose Steam OR Gog/drm free instead of coughing up?. Maybe one reason they wont cough up gogkeys is people could give either one away thereby decreasing opportunity for a sale to be made to an interested customer (who isnt interested in torrenting it).