GOG thread of wonderful DRM free games to check out

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
So GOG, love it to bits, probably the best thing i've had the pleasure to see and take part in in my gaming lifetime. I was a strict 'CD/DVD' only guy until GOG, and had all manner of archaic tricks up my sleeve to get older games to run on my constantly getting newer hardware. Steam was a no go for me from the outset (i did try it in the early days, but the 'always online' aspect did not work for me, nor the 'buy to rent' kind of business model). Anyway, i've been a non Steam guy except for a 'test' stage early on. It was not and is not for me.

So GOG came along and addressed all my concerns about Steam, not only that but they got a bunch of old games to run nice on new hardware and OS, and all without any kind of DRM. I buy a game on GOG and it is 100% mine, fully under my control and no-one can ever decide for me if i can play those games :) It's awesome.

Anyway one drawback of not using Steam is the shear number of games on that platform, and there are some notable examples over the years of games i'd love to play, but could not due to the Steam requirement. One such game was Distant Worlds, that crazy massive 4x space game from a small NewZealand team.

Well it is now on GOG, as the Universe Edition (all expansions) so i'm just here to have a thread about cool games that are on GOG and might be of interest to others. Here is the link for the GOG version of Distant Worlds Universe Edition:

https://www.gog.com/game/distant_worlds_universe

It's on a huge discount, so hurry along if you do not have this game and are a fan of titles like MOO etc.
 
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Fishy

Fishy
Pretty sure you could purchase DW:U on the Slitherine store long before it went on GoG (ie yesterday). It is an incredible game alright, have fun.

As for the "100% mine fully under my control without any kind of DRM", well, it's not as simple I'm afraid. Any game with a company-server-based online component comes with its inherent DRM, irrespective of where you get it (like, say... the Frontier Developments store...). Then, in some cases, the loss of client/account authentication provided by the "DRM platform" (Steam is one, but not the only one of course) means that what you get from GoG may be an incomplete version of the game. An example would be Offworld Trading Company where the GoG version doesn't allow you to play against friends, only random matchmaking, as the social/friend structure used is Steamworks. Same for leaderboards in some games, and of course, mods when they're integrated to the Steam workshop. So make sure you do your research before buying from GoG, it's a great platform, but they're a bit slack in allowing a fair amount of subpar versions of games (some games are simply not updated with the patches the devs push to the Steam version...). Here's an old list to give you an idea: https://www.gog.com/mix/games_that_treat_gog_customers_as_second_class_citizens

On the research side, and though it might not concern you if you're philosophically opposed to Steam, it's worth noting that a lot of games on Steam don't come with any DRM. Once downloaded, once can launch the game from the directory where it was installed, even without Steam running. Or backup that directory, copy it to another pc, etc... Worth investigating if one feels like picking up something there but is worried about the DRM layer. I also note that you seem convinced that Steam requires one to be always online. I guess that goes back to your testing of the platform long ago, because Steam runs perfectly well offline, can even be manually set offline, and doesn't block anything. That's how I used to deploy games on multiple pcs in the house for my kids to play at the same time before my GoG library (and Galaxy) made it easier.

So yes, as a rule, GoG is a much less DRM-encumbered platform than Steam. But it's not a 0% vs 100% thing.
 
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Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
One of the concerns about GOG Galaxy is that it moves GOG in the direction of Steam, which may impact the no DRM aspect, one day.

And you are correct not all Steam games require always online access, they do however still require the Steam client to be installed (iirc), the majority certainly, whereas with GOG (the non Galaxy downloads) you do not need anything other than the game installer, which runs completely independently.

Also you have the slight annoyance of the Steam Client auto-updating your games (which can break modded versions etc).

Foe myself, going back to when i first tried Steam, it was the erm 'philosophical' outlook of Steam that i had issue with. Talking to the devs back then, it was clear it was a system about control over the games (as that is where they could inject their profits) first, and a gamer-centric option second.

GOG was founded with the gamer first and foremost in mind, and as a sort of opposite to Steam in many ways (re the DRM aspect), a re-action to Steam in some ways, and a way that a gamer can (historically speaking, we will see what 'shackles' the Galaxy Client brings!) have full control over their game (where it is installed, how many times, not possible to 'block' etc). Whatever happens to GOG, ALL the games i've bought on it will continue to work.

Still i think for the sake of the thread we should just accept that i have my reasons for not using Steam, other people have their own and indeed the majority of gamers use Steam and love it. I just bought it up as a general introduction over why i had not played Distant Worlds yet, in part to stop the 'you could have got this on Steam years ago' posts etc.
 

Fishy

Fishy
Since you're new to DW:U, here's my generic advice for new players... The game allows a ton of micro-management. 'Allows' because very single facet can independently be automated to the AI at any time in the game. This is great because it allows everything from full micro-management to simply watching the AI play by itself and enjoy the show. That means you get to choose and play exactly the facets you like: want to design ships and control the fleet? You can. Want to do the colonisation, resource management, industry building and design civilian stations, while leaving the whole military and diplomatic aspect to the AI? You can. It really is amazing.

But... That's where the trap lies for beginners. Too many newcomers burned themselves by automating too much on their first game, not taking enough control, and ended up finding the game boring as it played itself, never finding the motivation to wrestle some control of the various facets they didn't understand enough. If you google around, there is a "full manual" tutorial for newcomers lying around. The original was a series of posts in a thread on the Matrix Games forums, and the author has since copy/pasted it as a Steam Guide (available through the web, no need for the client). It is pretty good, and takes you from zero to hero, manually controlling everything from the ground up. Now, this is not my favourite way to play, but it's the best way imho to get a good tour of how everything works, and will massively help you in finding out what you enjoy micro-managing or not.

Oh, and pay those early pirates. Really. Even better, after a few games under your belt, try playing as one. It's an asymmetric type of faction, and playing one will help a lot in understanding them when you go back to standard empires.
 

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead

CMDR Cosmic Spacehead
I love GoG. But I also love Steam.

I hate Origin and UPlay.

I own games on both platforms. Lots and lots of games. Lol
(I also own games on Origin, but we won't go there).
 

1500

1500
If you are new to Distant Worlds Universe, this is a good series of videos to help you learn how to play.

[video=youtube;ImB1MBJeGLo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImB1MBJeGLo[/video]
 

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
Thanks for the pointers Fishy and 1500, certainly going to be handy in a week or two when i pick it up. I found this on the Steam Forums:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/261470/discussions/0/540742667270309571/

Which looks like it might be what you were talking about Fishy? It's funny how old this game is now, even as the 'latest' Universe version, and surprising how modding did not expand more than it did. I see myself doing a few more down the line, probably graphical ones at first as i love making planets look better in older games (did a few for Moo3 etc). Happy Xmas to me - thanks to GOG and Distant Worlds devs :)
 

1500

1500
One of the better mods. All mods work on the steam version as well.

Distant Worlds: Universe ~ STAR TREK THE PICARD ERA v2.0
Click to expand...
http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=3794736

6F1F88CE527D4D93B8F431A6609EDF99.jpg

[video=youtube;Iy53jDKaz0U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy53jDKaz0U[/video]
 
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Fishy

Fishy
Zak Gordon said:
Thanks for the pointers Fishy and 1500, certainly going to be handy in a week or two when i pick it up. I found this on the Steam Forums:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/261470/discussions/0/540742667270309571/

Which looks like it might be what you were talking about Fishy? It's funny how old this game is now, even as the 'latest' Universe version, and surprising how modding did not expand more than it did. I see myself doing a few more down the line, probably graphical ones at first as i love making planets look better in older games (did a few for Moo3 etc). Happy Xmas to me - thanks to GOG and Distant Worlds devs :)
Click to expand...

Nope, that's not the one, but here it is:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266988099
 

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
@Fishy, great awesome :) And thanks all for the advice on Distant Worlds, i am now the proud owner of it. It also all installed and ran perfectly (some people have issues over not having IE or WMP installed that are required!), so will be slowly going through the guides and manual and seeing how it plays. Xmas holidays for me.

In other news i just noticed GOG's xmas/winter sale is just on:

https://www.gog.com/

I've seen a few things so far, and it is set to run until the 26th December.
 

Fishy

Fishy
Grim Fandango remastered is free right now on GoG, so get it while you can (not sure if it's today or all-sales long).

Pity, wanted to recommend AI War, but it's not on sale this time. Might want to keep an eye on it, it goes on sale for cheap very often and AI War 2 is just around the corner, so expect the old one to be sold even cheaper soon. It's an alternative space RTS where you play what's left of mankind against the AI that has taken over the galaxy. You start small, and expand carefully, against a semi-dormant incredibly powerful AI that each agression alerts a little more. It's fun because it's completely asymmetric. The AI doesn't play by your rules and has vast resources available. It supports coop-multiplayer too, pitting the multiple human players all together against an AI scaled up according to the number of players. If you're interested, watch a few videos first, because it's a bit alternative and it's a long game.
 

Zak Gordon

Zak Gordon
Also it is worth noting that there are a huge number of titles on sale that will not appear on the front page 'winter sale' thing. You need to scroll down until you can see the 'All Deals' tab. This will open up all the discounts when clicked on. There is also a '-75% & more' tab for those biggest discounts :)

Well i snagged:

Distant Worlds Universe (and various mod options are available for this on the Matrix site)

Jade Empire Special Edition (will look to mod this)

DeusEx Special Edition (will add the GMDX mod, link below):

http://www.moddb.com/mods/gmdx/downloads

F117A Stealth Fighter (one of my favourite flight sims of yor)

Pirates! Gold (still the best version of Pirates imho. Although i have a soft spot for Cutthroats: Terror of the High Seas by Eidos)

All for less than a few sherbets on a night out :)
 
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1500

1500
Fishy said:
Grim Fandango remastered is free right now on GoG, so get it while you can (not sure if it's today or all-sales long).

Pity, wanted to recommend AI War, but it's not on sale this time. Might want to keep an eye on it, it goes on sale for cheap very often and AI War 2 is just around the corner, so expect the old one to be sold even cheaper soon. It's an alternative space RTS where you play what's left of mankind against the AI that has taken over the galaxy. You start small, and expand carefully, against a semi-dormant incredibly powerful AI that each agression alerts a little more. It's fun because it's completely asymmetric. The AI doesn't play by your rules and has vast resources available. It supports coop-multiplayer too, pitting the multiple human players all together against an AI scaled up according to the number of players. If you're interested, watch a few videos first, because it's a bit alternative and it's a long game.
Click to expand...

I will 2nd that AI War is an amazing game. I also backed AI War 2.
 

1500

1500
Zak Gordon said:
Also it is worth noting that there are a huge number of titles on sale that will not appear on the front page 'winter sale' thing. You need to scroll down until you can see the 'All Deals' tab. This will open up all the discounts when clicked on. There is also a '-75% & more' tab for those biggest discounts :)

Well i snagged:

Distant Worlds Universe (and various mod options are available for this on the Matrix site)

Jade Empire Special Edition (will look to mod this)

DeusEx Special Edition (will add the GMDX mod, link below):

http://www.moddb.com/mods/gmdx/downloads

F117A Stealth Fighter (one of my favourite flight sims of yor)

Pirates! Gold (still the best version of Pirates imho. Although i have a soft spot for Cutthroats: Terror of the High Seas by Eidos)

All for less than a few sherbets on a night out :)
Click to expand...

F117A Stealth Fighter was one of my favorate games back in the day. I still have the box sitting on my shelf with its 5 1/4 inch floppies. Thanks I ended up picking it up on gog.

3LT23EA.jpg

R64oYHc.jpg
 
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hunvagy

hunvagy
For me the big problem is that every time I click on a bundle, the page tells me I already own it :p I think i have a GOG problem. Anyway ,this seems like a worthy buy, as it includes all versions (floppy, classic collector's CD and the remake with the x v. tie engine)

Star Wars Flight Bundle

Other then that for those that like classic CRPGs the D&D bundle is a must have, with Dark Sun and Ravenloft. And ofc do the search and grab Star Flight 1-2 ;)

1500 said:
F117A Stealth Fighter was one of my favorate games back in the day. I still have the box sitting on my shelf with its 5 1/4 inch floppies. Thanks I ended up picking it up on gog.

https://i.imgur.com/3LT23EA.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/R64oYHc.jpg
Click to expand...

Heeey, that's not the same game :p You have F-19 which came out around the time of F-15 Strike Eagle 2, and F117A came a bit later ;)
 

hunvagy

hunvagy
1500 said:
lol you are right.
Click to expand...

Hehe sorry, I know I was a bit nickpicky but as an ex forumite of Abandonia I've been doing this for a while ;) What matters in the end is that you enjoy the game you bought, and the old Microprose flight sim titles are excellent. Which is why it drives me crazy that Nightdive released both F-14 Fleet Defender and Lightspeed on Steam, but not GoG. Steam and DOS gaming just doesn't work properly >.>
 
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