GoG actually implements something the rich tool* behind steam once said: “piracy is a customer service issue.”
Broadly speaking, folk only private games for three reasons: either the DRM limits how they can play their game, they don’t want to make such a purchase sight unseen, or they haven’t the funds to purchase the games they want.
There’s very little that will turn the third type into paying customers, but the first and second can be converted by some combination of.the straight removal of DRM and a generous return policy.
It’s also worth noting that pirates of all three groups will on occasion make a game purchase, due to a desire to support an especially liked game or studio or behavior.
I’ve re-bought games on GOG before just to have that backup DRM free copy for piece of mind, and to use for machines that will never connect to the internet :)
Repacks are sourced from the scene, and the scene cracks video games. The fact that you get free video games out of it is a side effect.
Could you explain what you mean by this? Are the cracks just done for fun / for clout? I do admit I have wondered what keeps people so reliably cracking new games. Seems like a thankless job.
can I buy it and share with many people so they can play it on their PC?
Yes
Or there’s something that prevent me to do that?
Not being a dick? And understanding that the reason a lot of studios use DRM is because of this mindset.
If so, I wonder why pirate sites like FitGirl still use cracked Steam version of games, why don’t just share GOG version?
Part of it is because a lot of highly anticipated releases never go to GoG because of exactly the above. But also? Steam DRM is a very solved problem. And most of the time it is solely related to distribution. Which gets us to…
since it’s DRM-free
CD Projekt’s PR was on fire when they pushed this marketing line. The reality is that GoG DOES have DRM. It is a fully server side model that restricts who can download what. Which… is also what Steam does (not necessarily the DRM model Valve offer on top of that). And it is basically exactly the same model that Stardock had with GOO back in the day. The idea is that you auth to download the game and any updates and, after that, do whatever you want.
And… that is still the model a LOT of games use even when they distribute on Steam.
Hold on mister moralism, why do I need to not be a dick?
That is a decision each person needs to make and it is clear you have never shied away from doing so.
I’ll pirate and I don’t give a single fuck
Cool. I also pirate some stuff. Doesn’t mean it isn’t a dicky move. Especially when it is an outlet trying to minimize the detriment to consumers
I play because I can
Got it. You take things because you can. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader as to what other kind of people have that mindset
If GOG provides DRM-free, well, good for me, bad for them.
Actually bad for all of us. Because while I have a lot of Thoughts on how CD Projekt manipulate the consumer base, at the end of the day they are selling a minimally invasive DRM and often going out of their way to let me grab the games of my youth without needing to resort to torrent sites or search archive.org.
The more poeple who pirate that and the more their installers end up on trackers, the less likely newer games are to release GoG builds. Which suck from both a “I can keep a copy of this if it ever gets edited or they go under” and from a “there might be more of these in the future” perspective.
It is similar to the people who exploit regional pricing. All you are doing is making things shittier for everyone else, including you.
we’re talking about stealing from insanely big companies that take advantage of people.
No. We’re talking about wanting a luxury item and not wanting to pay for it. Simple as that.
When they’re new and “incomplete”, it’s no different than how patches used to work for games before clients like Steam. I bought Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and I can get updates through Heroic or Galaxy, or I can use the installers for each patch or DLC.
It’s a bit of the shopping cart paradigm: no one is stopping you, but it’s a bit of a dick move since GOG literally allows you to keep perpetual copies for yourself forever.
Also, because of that exact scenario, many high profile steam game publishers are wary of being sold on GOG - and I suspect this exact instinct in the community is exactly why they are going to avoid the platform as long as possible. Even if it’s a repack, it’s a lot more work to find that release than to just use a GOG installer, and that ease of piracy scares them.
GoG doesn’t have a lot of new games for one. It’s still copyright violation to distribute the game to others as well. It’s generally easier to just buy the game from GoG than find a link to download the game. You could get the files from a friend and that could work for a few games, but paying gets more convenient if your library is bigger than your hard drive.
Pretty much. It would violate copyright etc, so still illegal to share (as far as I know, I’m no expert). Sites do exist for gog cracked games. FitGirl etc take from steam, as not all games are on gog. But there are dedicated sites for gog piracy.
Note that you can share games from GOG, but it is illegal probably everywhere where GOG is available and if law enforcement ever catches on, you’re fucked.
Afaik this is not happening right now, but there’s nothing stopping GOG from poisoning your downloads in a way that ties all copies to your account
Surely someone out there is paranoid enough to be wiresharking constantly. Sony games get hit hard in GOG reviews for telemetry that I’d probably never think twice about.
I can think of two reasons the scene doesn’t use GOG when the GOG version is always available. One, the Steam version is likely to be updated more recently. Two, the pride of breaking a lock rather than going in the unlocked door.
Third, and this is just unfounded speculation, but since you have to trust the crack anyway and let it by your security software, maybe it’s doing something on the side? Scene don’t work for free. You’ll never really know until it slows you’re computer down, or does someone obvious.
On the other hand, technically Mac software is also DRM free as you can just copy the .app, but they do work stuff out so this can be defeated. But ideally Mac stuff is super simple. The .app is basically a container (like a zip file) that contains everything the application or game requires. It’s a fundamentally better system. Windows users souls be asking why they don’t get the same treatment. Portable apps and games have always existed but it’s not standard on Windows. And it’s a shame.
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DRM-free games can be freely copied, nothing’s stopping you.
Pirates have to crack games that don’t have DRM-free versions available, games that aren’t on GOG.
GoG actually implements something the rich tool* behind steam once said: “piracy is a customer service issue.”
Broadly speaking, folk only private games for three reasons: either the DRM limits how they can play their game, they don’t want to make such a purchase sight unseen, or they haven’t the funds to purchase the games they want.
There’s very little that will turn the third type into paying customers, but the first and second can be converted by some combination of.the straight removal of DRM and a generous return policy.
It’s also worth noting that pirates of all three groups will on occasion make a game purchase, due to a desire to support an especially liked game or studio or behavior.
I’ve re-bought games on GOG before just to have that backup DRM free copy for piece of mind, and to use for machines that will never connect to the internet :)
Same. Any game I find so good I know I’ll wanna reinstall them in 10+ years, I get on GOG even after the original purchase on Steam.
Otherwise, I pirate a backup copy or get a crack plus Steam backup my game files, just in case.
Is online only, then fuck them, I’m not touching it…
You are not supposed to
Nothing technically
Yes
Repacks are sourced from the scene, and the scene cracks video games. The fact that you get free video games out of it is a side effect.
Could you explain what you mean by this? Are the cracks just done for fun / for clout? I do admit I have wondered what keeps people so reliably cracking new games. Seems like a thankless job.
Yes
Not being a dick? And understanding that the reason a lot of studios use DRM is because of this mindset.
Part of it is because a lot of highly anticipated releases never go to GoG because of exactly the above. But also? Steam DRM is a very solved problem. And most of the time it is solely related to distribution. Which gets us to…
CD Projekt’s PR was on fire when they pushed this marketing line. The reality is that GoG DOES have DRM. It is a fully server side model that restricts who can download what. Which… is also what Steam does (not necessarily the DRM model Valve offer on top of that). And it is basically exactly the same model that Stardock had with GOO back in the day. The idea is that you auth to download the game and any updates and, after that, do whatever you want.
And… that is still the model a LOT of games use even when they distribute on Steam.
deleted by creator
That is a decision each person needs to make and it is clear you have never shied away from doing so.
Cool. I also pirate some stuff. Doesn’t mean it isn’t a dicky move. Especially when it is an outlet trying to minimize the detriment to consumers
Got it. You take things because you can. I’ll leave it as an exercise for the reader as to what other kind of people have that mindset
Actually bad for all of us. Because while I have a lot of Thoughts on how CD Projekt manipulate the consumer base, at the end of the day they are selling a minimally invasive DRM and often going out of their way to let me grab the games of my youth without needing to resort to torrent sites or search archive.org.
The more poeple who pirate that and the more their installers end up on trackers, the less likely newer games are to release GoG builds. Which suck from both a “I can keep a copy of this if it ever gets edited or they go under” and from a “there might be more of these in the future” perspective.
It is similar to the people who exploit regional pricing. All you are doing is making things shittier for everyone else, including you.
No. We’re talking about wanting a luxury item and not wanting to pay for it. Simple as that.
deleted by creator
Just because you lack empathy doesn’t mean that guy isn’t serious.
deleted by creator
Unfortunately, he followed the logical impact of your decision (even at a micro level). You would do well to think about it.
deleted by creator
Yes, pirating GoG games is as easy as downloading the installer and transferring it.
Games being DRM free is a main reason as to why some games are not on the platform. Especially fresh, big releases.
GOG isn’t really recommended for games still being actively worked on. At heart it’s meant for complete games ready for archiving.
When they’re new and “incomplete”, it’s no different than how patches used to work for games before clients like Steam. I bought Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, and I can get updates through Heroic or Galaxy, or I can use the installers for each patch or DLC.
It’s a bit of the shopping cart paradigm: no one is stopping you, but it’s a bit of a dick move since GOG literally allows you to keep perpetual copies for yourself forever.
Also, because of that exact scenario, many high profile steam game publishers are wary of being sold on GOG - and I suspect this exact instinct in the community is exactly why they are going to avoid the platform as long as possible. Even if it’s a repack, it’s a lot more work to find that release than to just use a GOG installer, and that ease of piracy scares them.
GoG doesn’t have a lot of new games for one. It’s still copyright violation to distribute the game to others as well. It’s generally easier to just buy the game from GoG than find a link to download the game. You could get the files from a friend and that could work for a few games, but paying gets more convenient if your library is bigger than your hard drive.
Decency perhaps?
Even if it was DRMed you could still pirate it, so what’s the point?
Pretty much. It would violate copyright etc, so still illegal to share (as far as I know, I’m no expert). Sites do exist for gog cracked games. FitGirl etc take from steam, as not all games are on gog. But there are dedicated sites for gog piracy.
Note that you can share games from GOG, but it is illegal probably everywhere where GOG is available and if law enforcement ever catches on, you’re fucked.
Afaik this is not happening right now, but there’s nothing stopping GOG from poisoning your downloads in a way that ties all copies to your account
Surely someone out there is paranoid enough to be wiresharking constantly. Sony games get hit hard in GOG reviews for telemetry that I’d probably never think twice about.
I can think of two reasons the scene doesn’t use GOG when the GOG version is always available. One, the Steam version is likely to be updated more recently. Two, the pride of breaking a lock rather than going in the unlocked door.
Third, and this is just unfounded speculation, but since you have to trust the crack anyway and let it by your security software, maybe it’s doing something on the side? Scene don’t work for free. You’ll never really know until it slows you’re computer down, or does someone obvious.
On the other hand, technically Mac software is also DRM free as you can just copy the .app, but they do work stuff out so this can be defeated. But ideally Mac stuff is super simple. The .app is basically a container (like a zip file) that contains everything the application or game requires. It’s a fundamentally better system. Windows users souls be asking why they don’t get the same treatment. Portable apps and games have always existed but it’s not standard on Windows. And it’s a shame.
“Scene don’t work for free”
It’s been ~35 years since I cracked games but we most certainly did everything “for free” back then (or, “for bragging rights” as it were).
I seriously doubt things are that much different now. I’d wager you’re one step removed from “the scene” and only seeing shady repacks from scammers.
You can do that but it’s still illegal and probably against ToS