No, it is not tweaking the games, like applying any compatibility patches etc. It is about running the original (GOG) games in an emulated or virtualized environment. I have already done it, e.g. running GOG games like Icewind Dale 1-2 in WINE (which was running in Ubuntu). Worked great.

If there is absolutely no virtualized/emulated environment available, or you don't have an old system around, then yes, obviously you can't run GOG games anymore. That is still a far cry from Pheace's claim that your original, backed-up GOG games can't be played in the future, period.

Steam games, on the other hand... ;) no, you most probably will not be able to play the original games in the future, even if you tried to run them on an emulated or virtualized Windows environment (and even if Steam/Valve were still around then). Well ok, unless Valve keeps updating all the Steam games to run on all future Windows versions, OR keep supporting all legacy Windows versions with all their future Steam client versions (which they won't, because they've done the opposite already).

Irrelevant, because the original question was whether the games you bought back in the day will be playable in the future. Without trying to hunt them down and redownload them from hazy pirate sites.

So you just proved my point: only the DRM-free versions will be playable in the future, including Steam games where the DRM has been removed afterwards.

I can today still play the same DOS games I bought two decades ago, without pirating or re-purchasing them. Yay for them being DRM-free! :)

Just a random update.

At 2 days in, 500,000+ sold now, 2.85 million earned.

I thought "white knighting" was defending someone/thing under the (often insulting) presumption that they were incapable of doing it themselves.

I'm really not sure what you're trying to disprove here. I said that the GOG library is not future proof as the way the files work now are not guaranteed to keep working without tweaking/fiddling with files/emulators/outdated OS'es, something you even reaffirmed yourself.

This is why we go to GOG. Not because I can't dosbox a DOS game I used to play 'back when' on my own, but because they did it for us and have it run nicely and smoothly without having to bother with tweaking. (and in rare cases where it was extremely difficult or even impossible to do that without serious coding skills)

I don't think I mentioned anything about rebuying but that's a possibility for sure. Not because we strictly CANNOT get the games to work. But because they don't work right out of the installer without fiddling and tweaking (the thing I mentioned).

For example this claim by you: Ok, so your argument changed from

"you will most probably have to rebuy all your GOG games again in the future anyway"

to

"Even if you could somehow run your GOG games in the future, you might still choose to rebuy many of them in an updated form."

Ok, noted, and I don't disagree with the latter argument.'Necessity' and 'choice' are not synonyms.

Yes, it changed from C to D even though I said Y. I think you're getting my point but are just choosing to work past it somehow.

Ah yes, you definitely didn't say: Look, you just said a stupid thing. Get over it.

You're willfully overlooking my point and forcefully twisting it into something else but sure, you have fun with that.

Awww the martyrdom. I already said that I agreed with your revised argument, ie. that people may choose to buy a same game again, even just for the ease of use.

But just remember (not just you, but overall the pro-DRM folks active in this discussion): if GAG (Great Ancient Games) decides to re-release e.g. Alan Wake or Chronicles of Riddick in 2025 for Windows 12 (only through Windows Store, of course), it most probably will not be based on the original Steam, or other DRM-fied, versions. It will probably be based on e.g. the GOG versions where there was no DRM to begin with.

Just remember that when you laugh here how stupid the idea behind DRM-free gaming is.

True, but with the work GOG has put in I bet the emulation and Abandonware scenes will have a much easier time keeping compat going forward and that's worth something. These games come out of an era that the younger crowd probably won't ever encounter, of baffling bullshit, undocumented APIs with inconsistent behavior, non-standard ways to connect to other players... or do anything really. It was a fucking mess and GOG has pushed a lot of titles out of that mess (albeit many of them already less messy than most).

That's worth something (I know you agree, I'm just stating it) and it should be a boon towards the effort of keeping these games working well into the future.

If I ever do I'm sure I won't remember but feel free to remind me if the moment ever arises.

I doubt it'll bother me much either way. I've grown quite accustomed to 'updating' my games. Did it to go from Disc -> Digital, did it to get rid of Hassle -> Ease of install/play, did it to get the enhanced versions (HD, Widescreen versions etc).

I have no doubt I'll be upgrading my collection with some games I most likely already owned at some point, for something either better or more convenient. And very likely, it'll cost me very little to do so. Well worth it to me.

That's certainly true and I certainly praise GOG for what they have done to put classic gaming into the Digital age :)

Hell, I bought several games digitally just because I was too lazy to look for my CD. It was usually a game for pocket money, but still :P

Most of my GOG purchased fall into this category:)

Do I pay ten bucks to get a game version that is running without a hassle or am I willing to spend an hour tinkering to get it run?

An hour of my free time is worth a lot more than ten bucks.


That is what I pay GOG for. And I do it gladly.

And the exact point that you apparently missed again was that when you promote DRM-gaming so much, the less chances there will be for you in the future to buy them again in an updated form (at least so that some third-party, like Great Ancient Games, has performed the rework instead of the original developers).

After all, all those reworks would most probably have to be based on DRM-free versions before they can be re-released without the original publisher existing. There's a reason why many older GOG games are based on cracked (ie. DRM-free) versions of games. If the DRM-free versions hadn't existed, you most probably wouldn't have had GOG versions of them either.

Good luck trying to do the same in the future with e.g. games that used to be streamed in their original form (ie. the ultimate form of DRM).

But I am quite sure you still didn't get it. :)