iamthetot

"Game preservation only works if people care" As GOG doubles down on its commitment to saving old games, it's asking players "who give a s**t" to support its crusade

https://piefed.ca/c/games/p/545818/game-preservation-only-works-if-people-care-as-gog-doubles-down-on-its-commitment-to-saving

"Game preservation only works if people care" As GOG doubles down on its commitment to saving old games, it's asking players "who give a s**t" to support its crusade

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Feb 23 at 8:22pmWeb
Show threadtidderuufFeb 23
“I care” … “Sorry let me check my latest game download from limewire.”
Show threadKiwiTBFeb 23
Seems the new GOG owner doesn’t care as they push AI use in the company
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23
Something tells me the “double down” is to distract from that fallout
Show threadKiwiTBFeb 23
I suspect so… But not everyone knows so it’s still worth mentioning.
Show threadampersandrewFeb 23
I know it, but I’m not sure why one would affect the other. I still get DRM free games on GOG that I’m not going to find on itch.io or elsewhere.
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23
Because supporting GOG now means supporting unfettered AI usage. If you disagree with such policies, the only way to voice that discontent is with your wallet.
Show threadampersandrewFeb 23
I suppose so, but even if that bothered me, it would still mean I’m not owning the games I buy when I shop elsewhere.
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23

Depends on the game. As I mentioned in another thread, there are many games on Steam which are DRM-free and do not require the client. GOG’s advertising suggests they are the only method for getting such games, but as always, the devil is in the details.

Mostly it comes down to how much you feel about one issue over the other, but I don’t see how they can be unrelated if there’s a monetary transaction involved.

The big list of DRM-free games on Steam - PCGamingWiki PCGW - bugs, fixes, crashes, mods, guides and improvements for every PC game

Show threadampersandrewFeb 23
Considering games with no DRM can have it added retroactively, that Steam pushes updates I may not want with no option to decline, and that that wiki can’t even load in its entirety without erroring out for me and comes down to user submitted data, GOG’s DRM free promise is more than just advertising.
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23
Maybe. If you trust them, though now… I don’t.
Show threadampersandrewFeb 23
The reason why this doesn’t concern me at all is that the very nature of the business they run means that I explicitly don’t have to trust them.
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23
Does it? What recourse do you have if they change their policy and you don’t have local backups of your games?
Show threadTallonMetroidFeb 23
If ownership is what you’re worried about, why wouldn’t you already have the installers downloaded and backed up?
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23

Oh, I absolutely would – I’m just making a point based on a previous statement earlier in the thread:

Considering games with no DRM can have it added retroactively, that Steam pushes updates I may not want with no option to decline

If the practice is that you need local backups on purchase anyway, then I fail to see the difference between non-DRM games on Steam and those on GOG. It feels like a different goalpost is being used depending on what service is being discussed.

Show threadampersandrewFeb 23
Undoing DRM-free quickly enough that I couldn’t download my remaining installers would be speedrunning the failure of a company faster than Unity, but other than that, they can’t take away what I and others have already downloaded.
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23
Neither can Steam. Then the difference is down to those games on Steam which are not DRM-free.
Show threadampersandrewFeb 23
The difference is that even with the convenience of a launcher, I can decline an update that would undo DRM-free rather than manually copying every vetted DRM-free game on Steam to another directory every time there’s a patch. And that’s only to entertain this apocalyptic what-if that would never happen because it would trigger false advertising law suits that would instantly destroy the company.
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23

I leave my Steam update settings to only update on Play. This allows me to pretty easily review what is being patched in to any particular game and choose when to apply it.

It’s also trivial on Linux to keep the Proton prefixes and game installs backed up automatically. This has the added benefit of making all game installs portable.

Unfortunately GOG still has no official Linux client, though there are workarounds. The “apocalyptic scenario” would ultimately kill either company, so you’re right to think it is moot.

Show threadIlixtzeFeb 24
Push slop and lose your business there will aways be other services that are more ethical.
Show threadVogiFeb 24
Was there another incident besides the 2026 sales promo image? I was a bit disappointing of their “response” if you can could call it that. But I don’t really see this as “pushing AI”, as far as I can tell this might just be an intern who was given the task to make a promo image and did not care at all.
Show threadKiwiTBFeb 24
They are hiring someone to advocate for us use
Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23
I care. Enough to abandon my qualms about AI usage? Yes, but it means GOG is not the answer.
Show threadKorhakaFeb 23

Do you not but games anymore then, or do you think steam is better?

Though if you only play FOSS or self published games, that would be kinda based.

Show threadcircuitfarmerFeb 23

I’m guessing by your wording that you’re aching to bash Steam, so I’ll preface this with: no corporation is ever going to get this 100% right; the world is drawn in greys, and only a Sith deals in absolutes.

“Better” is not very useful without context. In the context of AI usage, Steam is better. In the context of GOG, their main claim about game preservation is “no DRM”, but there is an important point often missed: lots of games on Steam also do not have DRM.

I have no issues “buying” games on Steam which have no DRM. For others, I factor the DRM into the price I’m willing to pay for access. These tend to be larger titles anyway, so I’m not terribly worried about it long term.

Long term game preservation? More about unofficial channels than relying on yet another corporation. GOG wasn’t changing that before, and they definitely aren’t now.

The big list of DRM-free games on Steam - PCGamingWiki PCGW - bugs, fixes, crashes, mods, guides and improvements for every PC game

Show threadKorhakaFeb 24
If you are ok with steam despite stuff like this then why is GOG somehow worse?
Valve Is Officially Going All-In on AI, and Steam’s New Rules Prove It

Valve’s Steam policy rewrite makes one thing clear: AI is here to stay. Discover how the new rules reshape game development.

FandomWire
Show threadpaultimate14Feb 24

What incredible hyperbole. It is superisleading to describe that as going “All-In on AI”. It’s a change to the disclosure rules Valve requires for publishers, not that Valve is using AI themselves like GOG is.

I would prefer if they required disclosure of the use of any AI tools involved, but at this point AI has been so thoroughly shoved into every piece of software you can really just assume that some AI somewhere touched anything made after 2022. Generative AI is the bigger problem and this move focuses the attention on that.

Show threadGoatboyFeb 23
If there’s someone else doing the same work, by all means give to them instead.
Show threadI Cast FistFeb 23
archive.org and their collections to the rescue!
Show threadGoatboyFeb 23
The true GOAT.
Show threadWilcoFeb 23

GOG needs to copy Steam a bit more.

Give us game based discussion boards, a mod workshop, and most importantly a friends notification system. Steer into the social experience of old games.

Show threadltxrtquqFeb 24

game based discussion boards

These already exist, every store page has a “Forum discussion” link. You can also go here and you should find the “game specific forum” section where you can search for whatever game.

Forum - GOG.com

Download the best games on Windows & Mac. A vast selection of titles, DRM-free, with free goodies, and lots of pure customer love.

Show threadTalkingFlowerFeb 24
It’s very sluggish compared to Steam; everything is slower in GOG client. I wonder if it is a server problem or my region.
Show threadBobbyTablesFeb 24

Apart from the fact that all things you listed exist in one form or another on GOG, have you considered that there are people that prefer not having all those random bullshit social features in their game store? Stream may be more popular, but getting out of their niche and copying steam will alienate their fans without attracting steam users.

Also fuck the workshop, it’s the worst thing that ever happened to modding. It’s a total pain in the ass to download and apply a mod that is only available there to any non-steam version. Additionally it produced a generation of gamers that is unable to trouble-shoot even the tiniest problem with the mods they applied.

Show threadTalkingFlowerFeb 24
GOG forums are mostly technical topics. Different builds for different storefronts can cause different problems, and good luck getting help from devs and mod authors on Steam if you have a GOG problem.
Show threadRightHandOfIkarosFeb 23
Its true, but also “please give the big business more money” isn’t exactly the thing anyone but business owners and shareholders want to hear.
Show threaddukemirageFeb 23
all this stupid publicity makes me feel dirty for buying there
Show threadI_JediFeb 24
Only games I bought from these guys are the games I can’t get on Steam.
Show threadshaneFeb 24

For me it’s the opposite.

My preference is itch.io, then GOG, then Steam.

Show threadI_JediFeb 24

The way I specialize is:

  • JAST USA for the rare occasion they have a game I want, and I don’t want to bother with getting a patch.
  • DLSite for the robust catalog of R18 games that are outside of my government’s snooping.
  • DMM (with some special browser cookies to even get in) if I want to be sure my government isn’t snooping when I buy games.
  • itch io for free games or games made by small time creators
  • GOG for games released around 1995 - 2005
  • Steam for general purpose
  • Patreon if there’s a particular paid early access game I’m looking for.
Show threaddoublahFeb 24
Offer a good service and people will buy from your store, most customers either don’t care about DRM or care somewhat but don’t want to inconvenience themselves with a worse product for it. GOG have to catch up to Steam with stuff like family sharing and controller support for me to consider buying stuff there.
Show threadWispy2891Feb 24

Why do you need family sharing if the games are DRM free? If the kid wants to play a game from your account you just pass him the exe, what’s the issue

Controller support depends from the game, if you mean a controller remapper like steam, then you either use a third party remapper or you simply add the shortcut in steam. With heroic launcher you can add gog games in your steam list with a single click

Show threaddoublahFeb 24

You don’t just pass the exe though, modern games are huge with a lot of files required. With Steam it’s a 2 step process:

  • I look in the tab in my library for games in my brother’s account I have access to with family sharing.
  • I download a game from the list.

    • That’s despite the fact my brother lives in the other side of the country, and it offers me all the Steam features I make use of like cloud saves as if my account had bought the game.

    With GOG it’s

  • Find the right webpage for my brother’s games (you can’t see them from within the GOG client for some reason.
  • Ask my brother to download the installer
  • Get my brother to send me the installer file over discord
  • The installer is too big
  • Say nevermind just give me your login info
  • I try to login to his account with the GOG client
  • Ask my brother for his 2FA authenticator code
  • Finally login, and can download the game
  • Remember to turn off cloud saves so you don’t override your brother’s cloud saves.

    • Based on a true story btw.

    There’s probably things we could’ve done that would’ve made it easier and less steps, but it still wouldn’t have been just as simple as what Steam does, and I’m missing cloud saves and I’d have to do several of those steps again if I wanted the game on say my Steam Deck as well as my PC.

    then you either use a third party remapper or you simply add the shortcut in steam

    If I’m just going to use Steam or extra software to compensate for Steam features, I might as well just use Steam.

    Show threaddukemirageFeb 24
    Every solution that doesn’t need an external proprietary app is a better solution.
    Show threaddoublahFeb 24

    For most people, that’s not the case if the alternative solution is worse or less convenient.

    Every piece of free software that has ever attained some level of mainstream success and popularity has done so by offering a better product, not something worse with the excuse of “well at least we’re not proprietary”.

    Show threaddukemirageFeb 24
    GOG allows you to download an unprotected installer. I don’t think they will ever go beyond that in the name of fair use and big publishers are reluctant enough to release on GOG. You were about to use a 3rd party app anyway, Discord. Just use WeTransfer or another filehoster/cloud service to send the file.
    Show threaddoublahFeb 24

    See that’s kind of my point, when we’re on the 100th “oh just use this other external service/software”, most users (myself included) are just going to stick to the simple solution that just works.

    Being able to just access family and friends games straight from my library without wasting all that time having to ask beforehand, manual downloads and file management/transfers and lack of cloud saves like it’s still the 90s is worth whatever moral cost you associate with using a piece of proprietary software.

    Show threaddukemirageFeb 24
    I kinda miss the 90s
    Show threadWispy2891Feb 24

    you can login in heroic once and then install what you need, and disable cloud saves as default option

    with family sharing the DRM does not allow two people to play at the same time, don’t ignore this huge inconvenience

    Show threaddoublahFeb 24
    Can you use Heroic with multiple accounts? Because if not that’s meaningless.
    Show threadWispy2891Feb 24

    No, but the workaround is to let the launcher use a different config

    We don’t have plans to support multiple accounts, but you can still run Heroic pointing to a different config folder by using the XDG_CONFIG_HOME=~/.config2 env variable. You could create a shortcut to something like XDG_CONFIG_HOME=~/.config-user-1 heroic to open Heroic for one user and XDG_CONFIG_HOME=~/.config-user-2 heroic to open Heroic for another user.

    Show threadasmoranomarFeb 24
    To be fair, ‘you can do whatever you want with your games’ is totally different from ‘we should add features that actively support piracy’
    Show threadampersandrewFeb 24
    My family share for GOG is an SFTP server, which I’m pretty sure you can also do just using FileZilla and forwarding one port. Or you hand them the files on a flash drive.
    Show threadFizzFeb 24
    Family sharing? You download the games they are installed for all users.
    Show threaddoublahFeb 24
    Family sharing isn’t just for your local machine, I have family who live in the other side of the country.
    Show threadFizzFeb 24
    Send them the file?
    Show threaddoublahFeb 24
    How is sending someone a file gonna help me access their games?
    Show threadFizzFeb 24
    Gov gives you the installer. You can share it with as many people as you like.
    Show threadProdigalFrogFeb 24
    They have the opportunity to right their wrong of bailing on the StopKillingGames campaign, but they’re likely more worried about appeasing the corpo publisher more than they are defending their supposed core mission.
    Show threaddukemirageFeb 24
    I don’t think they have even one game in their catalogue that StopKillingGames is about.
    Show threadradiouserFeb 24
    Not sure that was their point. It’s about the principal of it.