And I'm not sure why these developers forgot how to add LAN and direct IP connections to their games, but it sure does muddy the experience of buying "DRM-free" games.

[–] naticus 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

While I agree it can be painful to do anything multiplayer without dedicated network support in the game itself, it's a nontrivial thing for devs to add. Expecting every dev studio to be network experts as well as having the infrastructure for the cloud peer connections is why Steam finally added a way for games to simulate couch co-op between remote players. I try to buy games on GOG as my first choice but there are definitely factors (including price) where I'll consider Steam instead.

[–] ampersandrew 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

It's a nontrivial thing to make a good product for your customers, but it should still be done. If only GOG had the market muscle to require this without shooting themselves in the foot, like when Apple pretty much universally made digital music purchases DRM-free.

EDIT: Wait, what does this mean?

as well as having the infrastructure for the cloud peer connections

What infrastructure? You need some port forwarding know-how, but other than that, you type in an address and go.

[–] naticus 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Doing things with a direct connection to friends is something no one does anymore. Port forwarding for a game? Yeah it's fine for people who are technically minded like I'm sure anyone in the community is, but walking a friend through it on their router just to play with them is a nonstarter. No, the cloud connection is how this is handled now. I haven't seen a game in a decade do it via a direct connection from player to player.

[–] ampersandrew 8 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The unanimous game of the year did it just last year. No one uses seat belts or air bags until you have to either. LAN, direct IP connections, private servers, etc. are essential for when services like GOG's or Steam's are no longer functional or available. Without them, some part of the game will effectively always have DRM.

[–] naticus 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That's news to me, but looked it up and confirmed you're absolutely right. That blows my mind, because in many circumstances it can be impossible for players to connect, especially in a double NAT situation or you're playing on a network you have no control over (e.g. university network).

But comparing a safety feature to a technical requirement is a bit misleading here, no? This is more about making sure gamers can just play rather than having to reconfigure network equipment, which they may or may not have access to.

Honestly if Steam is down at this point, I've got bigger things to worry about personally. Does it happen? Do I curse the name of GabeN? Sure, but it's such a rare instance and happens maybe once a year for a matter of an hour or so typically.

But let's not confuse using a client app as being DRM. On GOG Galaxy, it's not doing anything DRM related other than providing you access to download the game itself. All the client is doing is providing a "friends network" that everyone is connecting to and creating a cloud bridged connection. This solves any double NAT problems, obfuscates your IP, removes any need to make network config changes, and no one has to think about it.

[–] ampersandrew 1 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

It's convenient for players, who don't need to know anything about networking to play, which is why we all use it despite its downsides. But it always has downsides. Steam networking goes down for regular weekly maintenance and kills your multiplayer session in a lot of cases. If you and a couple of friends are on a train or in a rural area with terrible internet, you can still play with LAN.

But these online connections are in fact DRM. If you need to connect to your store's servers to play multiplayer, I imagine that reduces piracy compared to being able to copy paste the executable a few times and send it to a few friends that can all play together. Still, I want the guarantee that what I'm buying is built to last, which means no DRM, which means requiring that connection to my store's servers is not it.

[–] naticus 0 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I completely agree with you that Steam itself is DRM and that we use it for convenience.

But I do disagree with the same statement about GOG Galaxy because it doesn't provide the same digital decrypting functionality that all DRM provides. They don't do it because they don't have to, proven by the ability to download the EXE and BIN files directly even in Galaxy. I liken the Galaxy app to using a VPN or other network tool like Hibachi people have used when a game only had couch co-op support.

Either way, your point is made, but I don't see an issue with running a client app that provides so much. I don't inherently trust Valve or GOG, but they haven't done anything that I know of to betray me as a gamer or consumer. I do NOT however see a point in running a client app that also has additional launchers required afterwards like all Ubi games. DRM on top of DRM is anti gamer imo.

[–] ampersandrew 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Steam itself can be DRM but isn't always. I would use GOG Galaxy if I could, but they don't let me. What bums me out is that it's required for multiplayer functionality in some cases, and I can no longer just assume that the entire library of GOG fits my values the way that it used to. A lot of this information I'm looking for is often not clearly communicated on store pages and requires lots of extra research.

[–] naticus 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I don't know of an instance where it's not used as DRM. Maybe on F2P games since there's no license management? Would be interested in knowing where you've found it isn't used. And yes, more clarity on what is happening under the hood would always be welcomed by me. I do feel I have a decent grasp of things just because of my IT background and work with cyber security, but closed source software will always have its secrets.

Also, definitely like the play on words with your username lol. I have a domain that is a pun on my last name, so I always like seeing creative ways people use their own names.

[–] ampersandrew 2 points 4 months ago

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_big_list_of_DRM-free_games_on_Steam

It's not exactly an advertised feature when a game is DRM free on Steam, so this list may not be comprehensive or accurate for every game. DRM is optional on Steam. You can copy these game directories out of Steam and run them on a totally separate computer with Steam not even installed, and they'll still work.

And I'd have just made my username &rew if they let me, but this is the one I use when that one is taken or they have limitations on special characters. With the special character, it has the benefit of fitting in old-school four character clan tags as well as Smash Melee names (and I don't like going by Drew).