Hello everyone,

I have read a lot those past days and got involved in the all GoG.com community thing but after some search and readings there are touch points that are still missing from my complete understanding of what GoG can offer.

First question/clarification, I get that the hype on GoG was initially the one distinguishing topic, the DRM. People got sick of being limited to install only 3 times a game or limited to only one PC. Indeed, with my old CD, I was able to install games so many times as long as I had the CD in hand. Now with digitalizaiton, it became easier to restrict freedom (surprisingly).

But anyway, why are all games labelled as DRM-free even for those without any DRM to begin with? Quick example, GoG.com makes its marketing on DRM-free label, like Anno 1404 is strongly restricted on Steam with the DRM but is DRM-free on GoG, so the label makes sense. But for Caesar 3, it is DRM-free on both platform so it is little misleading.
The full DRM-free campaign looks like the games on GoG were freed of all DRM imposed by devs, which is not the case. (I get that it is correct and accurate it is a bit of a stretch and surfing on this bad Steam wave).

Now, the connect thing, when you go on the GoG.com/connect page and you do not link with your steam account, the list is empty. Does this list will be filled only by connecting your steam account or is this just the sign that there is nothing to connect for the moment?

Thanks for the answers.

DRM-free is GOG's schtick, so they tag all their games that way. It's marketing, and likely would cause people to ask if a game has DRM if GOG didn't label tham that way now. Means there's nothing available at this time. Connect only occurs sporadically and is always (so far, anyway) time-limited. It also only includes titles that certain publishers allow GOG to offer. And there's no guarantee that once the offer expires that any particular title will show up again on Connect. Generally, Connect is active during big sales or possibly when a big new set of titles or publisher gets on board GOG.

Just keep an eye out and jump on it when it's available.

Connect only shows games active at the moment, and most of the time, there is nothing active. It will show all games available on connect (at the moment - usually none), but I think it will also show which games you (you, specifically) can redeem on GOG (of those currently available).

As for DRM-free, some people just don't like using clients at all (which Steam requires), and you can't go to Steam and download games off the web site, as is possible here (though they seem to prefer that we use Galaxy nowadays - and many of us are naysayers).

Ok ok, that I get, does not want to pick a fight but I hope you got my point? It is a bit of stretch to advertise a game as DRM-free if it is not a specific distinction offered by GoG.com,. Feel like, people argue the benefits of GoG as DRM-free first when Steam has DRM-free games too. The inclusion of the connexion to the platform to install the game is bit of a stretch too as you have to log in your GoG account to DL the installer (the process is shorter and the platform different but still a bit the same). Yet I get the ideology even though it would reinforce the concept if the DRM-free labelled was used with parcimony.

Another question poped up then, the versioning of the games. It is also advetised that no patches or updates are forced to users but only one version of the games is available after purchase. So how do I pick the version I like?

Why? If a car as advertised as having power seats at one dealer, can another dealer also not advertise power seats on the same model?

For the version question, well, you're stuck using Galaxy and its rollback feature to get older versions. Or diligently download every version / patch when a game first arrives here. For games already here that have received multiple updates then Galaxy is the 'solution'. At this time. Hopefully gOg will eventually add similar access for those not using Galaxy. No reason not to, but that's another issue.

Why? No one claims it's an exclusive offer. It's just an information on what is being offered here. Not everyone uses Steam and knows what they offer, not everyone cares. You're acting as if a pizzeria listing ham as an ingredient on their pizza was misleading you, becuase other pizzerias also have ham on their pizza. So what, should they not mention the ham in the menu and lead clients to believe that there is no ham on the pizza?

Ad execs everywhere are shitting themselves laughing over this guy. XD

Kudos to Breja's pizza example though I'm sure we can come up with countless more.

"Where does that theater get off advertising they are showing the new Star Wars movie if another theater across town is also showing it!? That's outrageous!"

"Holiday Inn offers free unlimited WiFi. BULLSHIT! Motel 6 also offers it! That's not right!"

Not sure what is your point. Are you saying that those games, which are DRM-free on some other store/service besides GOG.com, should not be marketed as DRM-free on GOG.com? They are still DRM-free here, even if they happened to be DRM-free on some other service as well.

Even more important, they are _officially_ supported as DRM-free on GOG.com, but not on Steam. If you have some problem running the game as a DRM-free product on Steam (like e.g. trying to run it without using the Steam client), then you are on your own. Valve nor the publisher on Steam never promised they are DRM-free on Steam, but on GOG.com you have grounds to e.g. a refund if you feel GOG had been lying to you, or GOG should fix it.

You can already see this in e.g. the "Steam games you can play without the Steam client"-discussion. There are cases there where someone has reported some Steam game as DRM-free, while later someone else has said it still requires the Steam client validation in order to run, or there were also cases like that the base game would work without the Steam client, but DLCs bought for it wouldn't. Possibly something has changed with the game between those reports, or the original reporter made a mistake, or whatever. But whatever the reason, Valve never promised those listed games are DRM-free, so that's it. But the Steam versions are not supported as DRM-free products. The GOG versions are.

It's not the same, there's a difference: With GOG you only have to log in to download the installer, and then you can transfer the installer to any other (possibly offline) computer and install whenever you like, without ever needing to log into GOG for it again. Steam on the other hand is needed to install the game on the computer you want to play on. Granted, with a DRM-free game you could probably install it on one PC, then transfer the game folder to another, but that's not quite the same as installing it (only) on the second computer. And for downloading the file from GOG you only have to use your browser, you don't have to install third party software. It's a matter of definition whether having to use a client in order to install the game is a form of DRM already or not, but it's not the same as downloading an unprotected installer from a website account.

That being said, Steam doesn't officially sell DRM-free games. Some games on Steam are DRM-free, but Steam doesn't tell you which ones. They don't encourage you to separate the game folder from Steam and play the games independently. So I don't think it's wrong for GOG to put an explicit "DRM-free" label on their games even if they are 'secretly' sold DRM-free elsewhere as well; it's definitely more customer-friendly that way - you know what you're getting, without having to do any research first.

I forgot: Humble Bundle has had "DRM-free bundle" sales, and also they routinely market their own versions of games as DRM-free (those you can download directly from them, ie. they are not Steam keys). If you go to the Humble Store, there is even a specific filter to see only the games marked with the DRM-free tag.

Similarly, I remember that GamersGate.com at least used to tag which games are DRM-free (even though in reality they were DRM-free only with certain workaround, ie. save the files that GG downloader client has downloaded into a temporary folder, before exiting the client). Also I am pretty sure DotEmu used to market their games as DRM-free too.

Do you similarly object these other stores marketing DRM-free games? After all, those same games are DRM-free on GOG.com, so those other stores are not allowed to say anything about DRM-free? Should Humble Bundle abolish any "DRM-free bundles"?

I guess you got me all wrong.

To take back the example of the Pizzeria, I would put it as this:

If GoG.com was a Pizzeria and said: "All our Funghi pizzas have mushrooms on it, we certifiy it". This is to me a bit of a non sense, of course the funghi has mushrooms, it is the recipe.

I said also specificly that the DRM-free label is strictly speaking true on every items of GoG's store (even though some claims it is not), it is not a lie nor of any trickery.

The point is that through my few hours wandering on the forums I spot a lot of people advertising the adventage of going through GoG for some purchase (e.g. The Witcher 3 or Caesar 3) to be DRM-free but that is not a strong plus point as those games are generally DRM-free on the other shops.

That is why it confuses me at first to see all tose visible label on single store page as DRM-free. Giving the feeling that it was something done by GoG. Now that I got into the subject I get that it is some kind a wide marketing tag, some kind of GoG DNA thing. Was just sharing my view here no big deal.

And thanks for the versioning and connect inputs by the way.

Let's consider the opposite approach: What would happen if they did not write "DRM-FREE" for games that are already DRM Free? I am guessing people would assume it has DRM because every other game that is DRM-FREE has that tag.

Look at it this way.

What if the pizzeria menu just said;

Funghi
Hawaiian

Most of us know that means mushroom and ham and pineapple, but for someone new to buying pizza they might have no clue.
A clearer menu description would be;

Funghi - Pizza with mushrooms
Hawaiian - Pizza with ham and pineapple

You could even go as far as listing tomato sauce and cheese as ingredients if you want.
For many people that extra information is unnecessary, but it will help a lot of people too.

Now if you apply that to GOG, some people will know that (to use your example) Caesar 3 has never had DRM anywhere and is available on Steam DRM free. Most people won't. So specifically adding the DRM free label here is providing that extra info to those who don't know which games do or don't have DRM free normally.
GOG do not claim to be the only store selling these games DRM free, or even to have played any part in making them DRM free. They are just telling you that they are DRM free.

Just a quick comment, even though it still says so on the Steam Store page, the DRM has been completely removed from it already in 2014. At least that's what it says here:
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_Big_List_of_3rd_Party_DRM_on_Steam#Removed_DRM

I have never tested this myself, though, and now I have the game here on GOG, so I probably never will. But I read on a different page as well that it is now DRM free.