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GOG has begun using encrypted RAR files in their Windows installers for various games to enhance their security. This however has caused problems for some Linux users.
The new installer format uses password protected RAR files that are encrypted to stop pirates from adding malware to the installer and then spreading that package throught torrents to users. The password protection is also meant to prevent user stupidity where the user would unpack the RAR file without running the installer like it's meant to (on Windows) thus breaking the installation package.
Source
The problems arise when Linux users attempt to use the extraction utility innoextract to unpack the installers of the games without having to use Wine. This is useful when using some versions of Wine that don't support GOG's installers or when you only want to access the game's data files to use them with an alternate game engine. The password protection put in place by GOG effectively prevents innoextract from extracting the package, making users reliant upon GOG's own installers which, like I said, might not work in Wine.
Some users consider this behaviour DRM-ish and against GOG's promise of being a DRM-free game store and they have put up a wishlist entry on GOG to make them revert back to the old installers. You can vote and add your comments here: https://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/dont_slip_into_drm_swamp_stop_using_password_protection_on_installer_packages
Known affected games include games such as Assassins Creed, Wasteland 2, Heroes of Might and Magic 5 and The Bard's Tale along with other games. Note that this doesn't affect Linux packages of the Linux supported games, only the Windows installers. You can also check the full list of games that are affected and also report your findings here:
https://github.com/dscharrer/innoextract/issues/37#issuecomment-67915715
Some Thoughts
The line between DRM and no DRM might not always be absolutely clear. In this case the password protection doesn't prevent you from making copies of your games, as you can just copy the installers around, but it does prevent you from messing around with the installer and makes you depend on their own installer.
But in any case I do side with the crowd against these measures. The way I see it, they are trying to protect pirates from malicious pirates and users from themselves which I find quite ridiculous. Normal user who purchases a game from GOG (on Windows) will most likely go for the big file that contains words like “setup” or “installer” instead of clicking random .bin files. And protecting pirates? Now that is just plain silly. Prevention of malware is of course good but if you are going to pirate games you have to be ready to pay the price of potentially installing something nasty on your system and many pirates are aware of this and throw their anti-virus scanners at every piece of warez they download.
Is preventing legitimate customers that use Linux from playing the games worth saving a couple of minutes of support time and the computers of a handful of pirates? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
The new installer format uses password protected RAR files that are encrypted to stop pirates from adding malware to the installer and then spreading that package throught torrents to users. The password protection is also meant to prevent user stupidity where the user would unpack the RAR file without running the installer like it's meant to (on Windows) thus breaking the installation package.
Source
The problems arise when Linux users attempt to use the extraction utility innoextract to unpack the installers of the games without having to use Wine. This is useful when using some versions of Wine that don't support GOG's installers or when you only want to access the game's data files to use them with an alternate game engine. The password protection put in place by GOG effectively prevents innoextract from extracting the package, making users reliant upon GOG's own installers which, like I said, might not work in Wine.
Some users consider this behaviour DRM-ish and against GOG's promise of being a DRM-free game store and they have put up a wishlist entry on GOG to make them revert back to the old installers. You can vote and add your comments here: https://www.gog.com/wishlist/site/dont_slip_into_drm_swamp_stop_using_password_protection_on_installer_packages
Known affected games include games such as Assassins Creed, Wasteland 2, Heroes of Might and Magic 5 and The Bard's Tale along with other games. Note that this doesn't affect Linux packages of the Linux supported games, only the Windows installers. You can also check the full list of games that are affected and also report your findings here:
https://github.com/dscharrer/innoextract/issues/37#issuecomment-67915715
Some Thoughts
The line between DRM and no DRM might not always be absolutely clear. In this case the password protection doesn't prevent you from making copies of your games, as you can just copy the installers around, but it does prevent you from messing around with the installer and makes you depend on their own installer.
But in any case I do side with the crowd against these measures. The way I see it, they are trying to protect pirates from malicious pirates and users from themselves which I find quite ridiculous. Normal user who purchases a game from GOG (on Windows) will most likely go for the big file that contains words like “setup” or “installer” instead of clicking random .bin files. And protecting pirates? Now that is just plain silly. Prevention of malware is of course good but if you are going to pirate games you have to be ready to pay the price of potentially installing something nasty on your system and many pirates are aware of this and throw their anti-virus scanners at every piece of warez they download.
Is preventing legitimate customers that use Linux from playing the games worth saving a couple of minutes of support time and the computers of a handful of pirates? Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Thats why I stopped buying games which do not support Linux by default.
Edit:
As for the password protection I do not see any reason why they could not do with their installer whatever they want as long games stay DRM-free.
Quoteor when you only want to access the game's data files to use them with an alternate game engineAnd I am too lazy to do this :). If I can not install game with one ore two clicks I do not bother,
Edit:
As for the password protection I do not see any reason why they could not do with their installer whatever they want as long games stay DRM-free.
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StianTheDark Dec 30, 2014
I never use Wine or GOG so it doesn't affect me :)
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hardpenguin Dec 30, 2014
QuoteIs preventing legitimate customers that use Linux from playing the games worth saving a couple of minutes of support time and the computers of a handful of pirates?Legitimate? Just pointing out that those 'legitimate' ones want to play games that are not in any way supported for Linux...
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StianTheDark Dec 30, 2014
Quoting: hardpenguinQuoteIs preventing legitimate customers that use Linux from playing the games worth saving a couple of minutes of support time and the computers of a handful of pirates?Legitimate? Just pointing out that those 'legitimate' ones want to play games that are not in any way supported for Linux...
I mean, not supporting Linux is a stupid move and they should do everything they can to make it work on Linux. And if GOG prevents people from playing it in Wine, then they prevent Linux users from playing the game.
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This all seems like a confected outrage. This isn't DRM. And by all accounts it's a trivial matter to bypass. (Why wasn't this mentioned in the post?)
By the sounds of it, this would work:
By the sounds of it, this would work:
GAMENAME=neverwinter_nights_diamond_edition
GAMEID=`curl -s -o- http://www.gog.com/game/$GAMENAME | pcregrep --buffer-size 1M -o1 "addToCart\('/cart/add/(\d+)'\)"`
unrar x p`echo $GAMEID | md5sum | cut -d ' ' -f 1` $FILE
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Quoting: neffoThis all seems like a confected outrage. This isn't DRM. And by all accounts it's a trivial matter to bypass. (Why wasn't this mentioned in the post?)I might have overlooked that bit when I went through the forum thread. Based on the messages I read and the tip that was given to us I got the impression that the password wasn't general knowledge.
By the sounds of it, this would work:
GAMENAME=neverwinter_nights_diamond_edition
GAMEID=`curl -s -o- http://www.gog.com/game/$GAMENAME | pcregrep --buffer-size 1M -o1 "addToCart\('/cart/add/(\d+)'\)"`
unrar x p`echo $GAMEID | md5sum | cut -d ' ' -f 1` $FILE
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for authenticity, they could just sign and checksum their files like everyone else?
It seems as if in trying to make a turn-key install process they made it more complicated and harder to install for people who know what they're doing. Not a good sign.
And definitely a breaker for some Linux WINE runners.
It seems as if in trying to make a turn-key install process they made it more complicated and harder to install for people who know what they're doing. Not a good sign.
And definitely a breaker for some Linux WINE runners.
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Quoting: pd12for authenticity, they could just sign and checksum their files like everyone else?
Indeed. Just open source your client and use it to authenticate the downloads so clueless people can benefit too...
Easy peasy. This actually makes the teachie guy in gog looks pretty useless. What else is this guy in charge of to be aware?
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This is why I only buy games on Steam... Let the Steam client do the installing.
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Quoting: pd12And definitely a breaker for some Linux WINE runners.
couldn't you just use the GOG installer in wine anyway?
Quoting: SamsaiI might have overlooked that bit when I went through the forum thread. Based on the messages I read and the tip that was given to us I got the impression that the password wasn't general knowledge.
it was in the github post (like one post after the one you linked to), not trying to sound like an arsehole here, but i didn't read the thread much either. it just seems like a bizarre change, yes, but the response is completely overblown (like every linux gaming issue).
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