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> GOG's Galaxy platform is what I wish all gaming platforms to be.

A DRM medium that claims to be DRM free? That's a weird thing to want.

Plenty of games that GOG sells will refuse to run, or disable features, if Galaxy isn't running in the background.



I, honstly, was not aware of that. A GOG game that refuses to run without require drM is anathema to its only distinction from any other service.

Can you provide an example of a game that refuses to run without GOG Galaxy in the background?


https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singlep...

> Beat Hazard 2 - online DRM. The game can't be started at all without being online. It is fully DRM-ed!

> Fishing: North Atlantic - Scallops Expansion. - does not work without Galaxy. In other words: this DLC is COMPLETELY DRM-ED! (Update 08/2022: GOG said that it was fixed, but it's only partially. The DLC can be installed and played offline, but it still requires Galaxy running in the background to be recognized as installed.)

> King of Seas - Possibly a bug, but it isn't possible to save the game without Galaxy.

> Spellforce 3 - Skirmishes against the AI require an online connection.

> Tempest - crashes when started without Galaxy since the last update. Possibly a bug, but so far GOG's only solution is 'Use Galaxy'.

> Two Point Hospital - part of the single-player content is gated through online connectivity. I.e. one has to register online and be online to unlock. Plus: core gameplay mechanics (staff handling, diagnostics) are bugged in offline mode.

> Northgard - solo mode required Galaxy. But according to GOG and the devs, that was a bug and as of 02.04.2021 the solo mode is DRM-free again. ... However, it was still not possible to select opponents for skirmishes in offline mode. You need to be online to select an opponent for offline skirmish mode. But as of 05.06.2022 solo mode now doesn't require Galaxy to select opponents anymore. Northgard is finally DRM-free again.

> Absolver - Boss re-matches are locked behind an online requirement. Boss loot too. As well as some techniques that can be used in offline play but can only be learned online. Absolver also installs the invasive EAC anti-cheat software even for single player and won't start without it.

> A list of multiplayer games with DRM will get very, very long.

> just assume that all multiplayer games, that aren't on the 'DRM-free multiplayer list', are DRM-ed.


Disabling features is reasonable if they require the service to operate.


The only feature that requires Galaxy to operate is registering Galaxy achievements.

Galaxy is adding almost zero value for players. And we keep getting games that won't run unless it's running. (Or -- forgive me if I overspoke -- games that will run but won't let you save the game.)

The cost-benefit balance is very clearly far into the negatives. Why would you want another platform to implement something similar?


Achievements are a value add. Galaxy offers other social features, as well, which are value adds. Cloud saves are also a value add.

And again, disabling those features is reasonable.


Could give examples?




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