It seems Valve are quite serious about getting back into making games, as Campo Santo the developer of Firewatch has joined them.
Writing on their official website in a post, the team from Campo Santo confirmed that the news is true. They said they found that people at Valve share the same values that they do, so it became an "obvious match". Expanding on that, they said this:
We had a series of long conversations with the people at Valve and everyone shared the satisfaction we take in working with people whose talents dwarf our own to make things we never thought possible. Both sides spoke about our values and how, when you get right down to it, we, as human beings, are hard-limited by the time we have left when it comes to making the things we care about and believe in. They asked us if we’d all be interested in coming up to Bellevue and doing that there and we said yes.
They confirmed that their next game, In the Valley of Gods, is still being made and so it's now a Valve game.
Personally, I think it's great that Valve are bringing in some obviously talented folk to make games. Valve have a lot of resources and contacts that can help for sure. It should also mean they have good Linux support, since Valve are still committed to Linux gaming.
Since it will now be a Valve game, it will be interesting to see if In the Valley of Gods will make it to GOG. I wouldn't expect it to now, but maybe Valve will surprise us there.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
orochi_kyo Apr 23, 2018
Quoting: BOYSSSSSSigh, I get what you mean, you need the client to install or restore and Valve don't have an official position on what they will do if they close (although I remember they said there would be a way for steam users to play their games if that ever happened)Completely agree with you, these people want Linux going back to those days when there wasnt worthy games for the OS.
Then again you assume they are just evil and will make sure their users lose all their games, which would make no sense, GabeN would become the most hated person on the planet :D
Simple the DRM part of the Steam is optional, devs can release their games on Steam with an executable file that doesn need Steam to be working for running. Actually DRM attract many developers which want at least some protection from piracy.
Face it you bunch of hipsters, DEVS LIKES DRM, GOG will never be a standard.
I have copy many of my games from my backup harddisk to my new steam installation, steam recognizes the games so I dont have to download them again, much better than consoles and other systems who needs the game to be downloaded again because strong DRM.
Keep crying about DRM, I just here enjoying my LINUX STEAM games.
Last edited by orochi_kyo on 23 April 2018 at 10:22 pm UTC
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Mblackwell Apr 23, 2018
I can make a tar.gz of any steam game I have installed (which, like with GOG can be installed via command line tools) without DRM, move it anywhere I want, and expect it to work later.
So not only is it like GOG, but in some ways it is better because I can make my own packages of whatever version is on Steam in whatever way I want at any time I want. Steam just gives me files, what I do with them is my choice.
Last edited by Mblackwell on 23 April 2018 at 10:43 pm UTC
So not only is it like GOG, but in some ways it is better because I can make my own packages of whatever version is on Steam in whatever way I want at any time I want. Steam just gives me files, what I do with them is my choice.
Last edited by Mblackwell on 23 April 2018 at 10:43 pm UTC
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Quoting: MblackwellI can make a tar.gz of any steam game I have installed (which, like with GOG can be installed via command line tools) without DRM, move it anywhere I want, and expect it to work later.
That much is known, the question is, are you allowed to do it or not. According to Steam TOS - IMHO not. Analysis was already brought above. And it fits very well with the way their official backup tool is implemented which has DRM. You can bypass it by manual copying? So you can as well break various forms of DRM too to make personal backups. That doesn't make those cases DRM-free.
It is not like GOG who by design let you making personal backups that don't rely on any client or service to be installed.
Last edited by Shmerl on 23 April 2018 at 11:20 pm UTC
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Mblackwell Apr 24, 2018
The GOG ToS specifies that they have a right to revoke your access to their services for any large number of reasons. How will you download your games then?
Btw, you specifically skipped the passage where Steam clarifies what the automatic updating is for and that you are agreeing to THAT as part of the ToS. And the ToS also doesn't specify whether you are or are not allowed to copy software, except to explicitly state in a few places that they expect you to maintain backups yourself and without warranty.
Last edited by Mblackwell on 24 April 2018 at 12:19 am UTC
Btw, you specifically skipped the passage where Steam clarifies what the automatic updating is for and that you are agreeing to THAT as part of the ToS. And the ToS also doesn't specify whether you are or are not allowed to copy software, except to explicitly state in a few places that they expect you to maintain backups yourself and without warranty.
Last edited by Mblackwell on 24 April 2018 at 12:19 am UTC
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Quoting: ShmerlAnd DRM free means, that you now can make a backup, and legally install it later, even if the store closes down.I don't think that's what DRM means, though. Legality, while people who use DRM schemes often count on it to give teeth to their DRM measures, in itself is not DRM. If I publish an ebook as a .pdf along with a legal document threatening massive retaliation if the buyer does anything with it that might constitute acting like they owned the thing, the legal document does not constitute DRM. And, absent any DRM measures to circumvent, it cannot trigger the draconian legal penalties for circumventing DRM; it would have to rely on copyright, contract law or whatever.
Similarly if you have a Steam game that has no technical encumbrances to doing with it as you will, their policies would not constitute DRM even if they were considerably more blatant in their restrictions than seems to be the case. They would just be bad policies. If you want to say "Steam games without DRM are still hedged about by Valve's bad/questionable policies and they should not be", sure, fine. But that is a different thing from DRM.
As to Steam backups requiring the Steam client to un-backup . . . that's really not unusual for backup software. Backup tools work like that--you use the tool to back the stuff up, then you use the same tool to push the stuff forward again. Nobody calls Linux Mint's backup tool "DRM" (I've been known to call it "crap" though). It is bad if Steam's terms of use imply making your own backups is a violation, but again if there's no technical barrier to doing so, that's not DRM, just a bad policy. Maybe an intentionally bad policy, maybe just an accidentally bad policy.
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Comandante Ñoñardo Apr 24, 2018
Imagine GOG and Steam being shutdown in the next three months...
About GOG, You have three months for to download your entire library for Linux (and Windows and MAC too, just in case), and as long as you have backups of your gog games, you can install them in the years to come in your new machines, even if the store doesn't exist anymore, because the games are DRMFREE...
With Steam, You have three months for to download your entire library too.. Once Steam is down, you can play offline most of the games on that machine.. Even you can move some games to another machine and play them without the client...
But that's all.. even if you manually copy all your library to new PC, You will need to authenticate your Steam account credentials on that machine, but You can't, because Steam is down...
That's it.. You loose the games you paid for...
This is why I purchased Firewatch on GOG... And, as long as I have my backup, even if GOG is shut down, the game Is mine for the years to come.. ^_^
About GOG, You have three months for to download your entire library for Linux (and Windows and MAC too, just in case), and as long as you have backups of your gog games, you can install them in the years to come in your new machines, even if the store doesn't exist anymore, because the games are DRMFREE...
Quoting: GOG's sloganYou buy it- it's yours...
DRM-free means no copy protection, on-line checks, or any other annoyances. It’s all about just you and your games and movies. You should feel you own the products that you buy - just like a book, or a DVD.
On GOG.com, no matter if you are online or offline, you will never be locked away from your purchases.
With Steam, You have three months for to download your entire library too.. Once Steam is down, you can play offline most of the games on that machine.. Even you can move some games to another machine and play them without the client...
But that's all.. even if you manually copy all your library to new PC, You will need to authenticate your Steam account credentials on that machine, but You can't, because Steam is down...
That's it.. You loose the games you paid for...
This is why I purchased Firewatch on GOG... And, as long as I have my backup, even if GOG is shut down, the game Is mine for the years to come.. ^_^
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Quoting: MblackwellThe GOG ToS specifies that they have a right to revoke your access to their services for any large number of reasons. How will you download your games then?
The idea is that you download something after you buy it, and you legally can back it up (as long as you legally purchased it). As far as I understand Steam TOS, it doesn't say you can legally back up anything in DRM-free fashion even if you legally purchased it. They explicitly say, that the automatic installation is needed (I understand it as referring to their client). And their official back up tool in their client is DRMed as we established above. This leaves no clear option for DRM-free backup. Again, I'm basing it on what TOS says, not on guessing what it doesn't say.
Last edited by Shmerl on 24 April 2018 at 1:58 am UTC
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Quoting: Purple Library GuyAs to Steam backups requiring the Steam client to un-backup . . . that's really not unusual for backup software. Backup tools work like that--you use the tool to back the stuff up, then you use the same tool to push the stuff forward again. Nobody calls Linux Mint's backup tool "DRM" (I've been known to call it "crap" though). It is bad if Steam's terms of use imply making your own backups is a violation, but again if there's no technical barrier to doing so, that's not DRM, just a bad policy. Maybe an intentionally bad policy, maybe just an accidentally bad policy.
For me, if legal backup is DRMed, and manual one is outlawed, the service is surely not DRM-free.
Last edited by Shmerl on 24 April 2018 at 3:08 am UTC
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Liam, you need a tool to move a bunch of posts from a comment thread into a new (linked) forum thread. We can not and need not avoid debating DRM, but whenever one gets going, discussing anything else becomes almost impossible.
I'm not very familiar with Firewatch (it's still on my wishlist and I'm good at avoiding spoilers), but to me it seems Valve is gathering narrative design talent for their upcoming games.
I'm not very familiar with Firewatch (it's still on my wishlist and I'm good at avoiding spoilers), but to me it seems Valve is gathering narrative design talent for their upcoming games.
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Doc Angelo Apr 24, 2018
Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoWith Steam, You have three months for to download your entire library too.. Once Steam is down, you can play offline most of the games on that machine.. Even you can move some games to another machine and play them without the client...
But that's all.. even if you manually copy all your library to new PC, You will need to authenticate your Steam account credentials on that machine, but You can't, because Steam is down...
That's it.. You loose the games you paid for...
This is why I purchased Firewatch on GOG... And, as long as I have my backup, even if GOG is shut down, the game Is mine for the years to come.. ^_^
If you download Firewatch with Steam and back the game directory up, you can also play it for ever - no matter what happens to Steam or Valve. I don't understand why you still believe that this is not true. Test it for yourself (if you have Steam games without DRM). I've tested it with a few small indie games. It simply works.
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