Random Gaming Thoughts

[Jmustang1968]

What kind of computational gymnastics are required to get the original games to run on a modern PC?

I guess just the willingness to let Steam violate your PC:

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/964/

Although I would use DOSBox myself.

You mean liberate and unlock your PC to welcome in thousands of cheap and great games?

[Exhuminator]

You mean liberate and unlock your PC to welcome in thousands of cheap and great games?

Strangely enough my PC already does that without Steam.

[Ack]

You mean liberate and unlock your PC to welcome in thousands of cheap and great games?

You mean GOG?

[Jmustang1968]

You mean liberate and unlock your PC to welcome in thousands of cheap and great games?

You mean GOG?

GOG is cool too, but only scratches the surface. Much of my steam library cant be had on GOG.

[Sarge]

Y'all know I plug GOG a lot, but I've also got Steam, and for a good many games, it's the only place to find them. I realize Steam is DRM, and thusly you don't actually "own" anything, buuuuut... that's probably true for digital purchases tied to a console as well. All else being equal, I choose DRM-free, but Steam is still a really good place to snag games.

(Case in point: The only place to get Castle in the Darkness is on Steam.)

[Exhuminator]

If more people boycotted Steam and chose GOG instead, we'd see a lot less Steam exclusives though.

[Jmustang1968]

Y'all know I plug GOG a lot, but I've also got Steam, and for a good many games, it's the only place to find them. I realize Steam is DRM, and thusly you don't actually "own" anything, buuuuut... that's probably true for digital purchases tied to a console as well. All else being equal, I choose DRM-free, but Steam is still a really good place to snag games.

(Case in point: The only place to get Castle in the Darkness is on Steam.)

I am the opposite, with a few exceptions, I own everything on Steam if available for both. I like the Steam interface, and makes tracking, friends list, downloading updates etc a breeze and convenient. The DRM that is involved is an almost laughably light DRM to get upset over, especially considering all the benefits it brings.

[Jmustang1968]

If more people boycotted Steam and chose GOG instead, we'd see a lot less Steam exclusives though.

I wouldn't want that. Like my post right before this, I see Steam as a superior service. Gog is cool, and serves its purpose but they coexist nicely.

If Steam wasnt around, we wouldn't have had this PC gaming resurgence we have had in recent years.

[Exhuminator]

If Steam wasnt around, we wouldn't have had this PC gaming resurgence we have had in recent years.

Yeah I don't know why people needed Steam to learn PC gaming is awesome. It's always been awesome, way before Steam was a thing. I guess because Steam made accessing/playing PC games more dumbed down and approachable for the masses. That, and its social connection stuff (which has zero enticement for myself).

Anyway, I am anti-DRM to the bone (trivial or not), so it's a GOG's life for me.

[CRTGAMER]

If more people boycotted Steam and chose GOG instead, we'd see a lot less Steam exclusives though.

I wouldn't want that. Like my post right before this, I see Steam as a superior service. Gog is cool, and serves its purpose but they coexist nicely.

If Steam wasnt around, we wouldn't have had this PC gaming resurgence we have had in recent years.

There are tons of ways to purchase games, absolute crap that the gaming market has resorted to the "rental" DRM route to protect as well as control their games. Steam has gotten so huge attracting so many exclusives. No, I will never get Steam considering they have the option of locking out ALL your games without even giving notice.

This years old message still needs to be known by the unknowing.

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 24#p651024

I am sure many of you will think this apology is not necessary, and I know others will think I'm being ridiculous or melodramatic. That's fine. I still feel I have to say it because I actually feel guilt for recommending Steam to you all.

I have recently had a dramatic shift in terms of how I feel about the Steam service. I have promoted it greatly in the past, and there are many things that Steam still does well. However, Valve recently blocked my entire account (and many others) over a disagreement over what should be allowed in the Steam Subscriber Agreement (*details about that controversy here*).

The result of this is that Valve has made it abundantly clear that we do not own our Steam games, Valve does. Any game that you purchase either through Steam (or via a Steam key purchased elsewhere) is a "subscription" to use a "license" for an indeterminate amount of time. Your "subscription" can be cancelled at any time as can your entire account. They are not purchased products. You cannot get a refund for any reason. You must agree to any new changes they make to their subscriber agreement or you will lose all your games without warning.

Many of you know all of this already, but trust me, it seems a lot more real when it actually happens to you. When you put a game in your "shopping cart" and "purchase" it, you are renting the game as a service, not buying it as a product (confusing, right?). There is an often-repeated story online that Gabe Newell once said that if Steam were to go out of business that your games would be unlocked. I'm afraid I have repeated this story in the past as well without really finding the source material. Your Steam Subscriber Agreement (SSA) makes no such reassurances that Valve will make sure you have access to your games in the event of company bankruptcy. In fact, the SSA is very clear that they make no promises or guarantees and you are strictly agreeing to a subscription service.

Though I regret missing out some very cool games exclusive in Steam, I also am rediscovering so many thru DOS Box and Virtual PC (Win 95 games).