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GOG's Preservation Program Is the DRM-Free Store Refocusing on the Classics

(arstechnica.com)
161 points m463 | 3 comments | 14 Nov 24 06:30 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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IseardMi ◴[14 Nov 24 09:05 UTC] No.42134350[source]▶
I have flip-flopped between GOG and Steam for many years. This has correlated with my use of Linux and Linux's support for gaming.

When I first learned of GOG and I was still primarily gaming on Windows I tended to choose GOG over Steam since I prefer their DRM-free games. However since it became much easier to game on Linux (thanks to Proton and the work of Valve), I tended to start buying more on Steam since it was so much easier to get games working through their platform. Since Heroic launcher came out I have now switched back to primarily buying from GOG again.

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tpoacher ◴[14 Nov 24 09:34 UTC] No.42134489[source]▶
The big difference is being able to download games / installers locally and expect them to work without having to first sign in to an account.

you can only do that with gog, not with steam

ps: however, there have been a few games where multiplayer features required a gog galaxy instance, which I don't agree with given their whole no-DRM spiel

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nottorp ◴[14 Nov 24 09:52 UTC] No.42134598[source]▶
The problem is convenience; I've been using Steam streaming quite a bit lately, for example.

Plus you get Linux/Proton too on Steam [1]. And the Deck if you're into that.

I used to go to GoG first but convenience is winning lately :(

[1] I remember, but can't provide links, that CDProjekt/GoG got called out for their bad "port" of Witcher 2 to Linux/Mac. Guess what, instead of improving things with 3, they simply dropped any pretense of official "ports". Not good for cross platform customers...

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onli ◴[14 Nov 24 11:07 UTC] No.42135069[source]▶
https://www.phoronix.com/news/MTY5ODM reports on the reception of the witcher 2 port. https://www.pcworld.com/article/416185/broken-promises-games... mentions the missing, but shortly promised witcher 3. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/articles/the-witcher-3-didnt-c... would be the source for the witcher 3 being cancelled because of witcher 2, but the article is down. Might have never been true.

Edit: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2017/07/the-witcher-3-didnt-co... is the new link, so the article wasn't retracted.

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1. nottorp ◴[14 Nov 24 11:24 UTC] No.42135164[source]▶
For Witcher 2 I did have a Windows gaming PC available so I just ignored the Mac "port". Mind, I was hackintoshing at that time so I actually had a decent GPU. But it was laggy and stuttery on Mac OS while it worked just fine(tm) on the same machine in Windows.

Generally, my gaming is very delayed as per this xckd:

https://xkcd.com/606/

So at the point i wanted to play Witcher 3 it was crypto price crisis then covid chip crisis and console availability crisis and I simply did not have a modern GPU in the house. I played W3 on a PS4 :)

Dunno about cyberpunk, I tried it on PS5 but all that inventory and menus are no good with a controller. One day I'll get the Windows version.

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2. onli ◴[14 Nov 24 11:28 UTC] No.42135184[source]▶
Patient gaming is a virtue :) But do yourself a favour and get Cyberpunk ASAP, in the Christmas sale at the latest. As a deus ex fan, Cyberpunk has been the best game I have ever played, ignoring nostalgia. And it looks like there won't be a further extension or big patch, so nothing to gain by waiting now.

Ryzen 5 3600, radeon rx 6600 should be the performance baseline hardware for 1080p.

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3. nottorp ◴[14 Nov 24 14:11 UTC] No.42136266[source]▶
I actually have ps4 discs, which got me a free upgrade to the ps5 version. Credit to CDProjekt when it's due.

I now do have a desktop with windows and a geforce 4060, so i should be fine.

I just need to figure out which edition to get on Windows. Because as a negative credit, I had Witcher 3 and both addons and I never got access to the super duper whatever edition on GoG, in spite of actually having already paid for the content.

I'll one day figure out which is the super duper whatever Cyberpunk edition, add it to my wish list and wait for a sale.