Recently, GOG added the Windows version of XCOM: Enemy Unknown to their store and since it has a Linux version on Steam, I reached out to the porter to see about their plans for the Linux version.
We've seen a lot of speculation in the past, with people wondering if Feral Interactive will ever get their Linux ports onto a store other than Steam. Here's their official stance, which they sent me this morning:
We don't have any plans to distribute our games through GoG. If this changes, we'll make announcements through our usual channels.
We can speculate all we like as to why they're not doing it, even if the decision does strike me as a little odd. Hopefully they will reevaluate this stance in future, considering it's not exactly a new game and the Linux port from 2014 isn't exactly new either.
A shame for everyone who prefers their games on GOG.
Quoting: HoriI am a little upset too knowing that Torchlight 1 for Linux is available on GOG but not on Steam - but that's just one single game.
Torchlight 1 is not available for Linux on GOG either.
1. Feral has decided to not put any more of their ports on GOG. They did not say why.
2. Shmerl has superpowers that lets him/her read the minds of the employees of Feral.
3. Using this superpower, Shmerl has determined that the sole, solitary reason for Feral's decision is that they're married to the idea of DRM. No other reason. At all. The rest of us who conjectured other possibilities are just plain wrong, for we do not possess the same superpowers as Shmerl and could not possibly understand the burden this superpower places upon him/her.
4. This discussion was always about DRM and how evil it is. Why, just look at the title of the article! Oh wait...
Quoting: ArthurAnyway, DRM is one thing, but how about the fact you're running proprietary code you don't know what's doing even if you use GOG. If you're gonna be a hardliner, do it properly.
Ding ding ding ding ding ding!
--------------------- END OF DISCUSSION, CUT HERE ---------------------
Last edited by Ryblade on 20 June 2018 at 2:00 pm UTC
Quoting: RybladeNo other reason. At all.
Does it matter what other reason there is? They still left DRM-free users out. Ding ding ding, but you clearly don't think it matters, since you are OK with DRM apparently :)
Last edited by Shmerl on 20 June 2018 at 2:31 pm UTC
Quoting: TheSHEEEPOr reading the same book dozens of times.
I do this all the time. I've read Lord of the Rings at least a dozen times. And I do it for the same reason I replay games.
I'm not very patient. When I read a book, or play a video game, I always start out planning to experience it all. Inevitably, I get impatient, I skim what I'm reading. I ignore side quests or speed through things. I get to the point where I'm speeding to the end.
Then, I play / read it again, and pick up more of what I missed the first time around. And again. And if I really like it, again and again and again.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPTo me, replaying a game despite it not offering anything new would be like visiting the same holiday location every year. Or reading the same book dozens of times. What's the point? What new knowledge or skill is being gained?To be honest I don't go on holidays either, and I find those that do often only get a very shallow understanding of the places they end up travelling to, just as a how a lot of people only seem to gain a shallow appreciation for the games they play. For me there is no argument; games are art, and art is not something I feel comfortable engaging with once and then throwing in a bin.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPWhy would you replay a game that doesn't even offer replayability?I don't, it is just that I seem to find more value in the games that I play than you do.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPIf you know the story, you know everything that will be coming, there will be nothing surprising or interesting.Good writing can always be appreciated and reevaluated. Even bad writing can be fun to learn from.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPIf you have beaten the game, there will not be any new challenges to put yourself against.That is not really true for a start, as there is almost always more then one way to approach a challenge in a game, but again I can still derive value by simply reengaging with solid puzzle design and appreciating the thought and care that went into making it.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPIf you have seen the world of the game, there will be nothing new to see.Even if this were true, and there really was nothing you might have missed, someone spent days, weeks, months, or even years building that world for you, and for me that craftsmanship can still be worth revisiting.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPI'm not trying to offend anyone (for once ;) ), I am just really irritated.I am so sorry that how I derive enjoyment from the games that I pay for has become an irritant for you.
Quoting: Alm888Different people have different tastes. You do not need to "get" their reasoning on thisWhich is probably all I really needed to say, so thank you Alm888.
Last edited by Hamish on 20 June 2018 at 3:28 pm UTC
I was willing to have a real conversation with you *because* we're on differing sides. But no, for you, there's only "us" and "them". That's no way to live because then we can't grow past the ends of our own noses and learn nothing new. We can't humanize our opponents in our own eyes, which is important, otherwise we've reduced the "other side" as something less than human. Not to mention fighting so much fosters tensions on either side... eventually there's nothing but digging in heels, plugging ears and nothing improving between anyone.
(Presuming you're not perfectly aware of all this already and are just trolling us, I can't tell.)
Wake up.
Last edited by namiko on 20 June 2018 at 3:26 pm UTC
However I don't see a point in whitewashing bad practices. That's actually harmful and if you see it as aggressive - that's a wrong impression. Such positions simply must be firm. Those who accept DRM can get angry when DRM is criticized, but it doesn't mean it can't be criticized as a corrupt and bad practice.
Last edited by Shmerl on 20 June 2018 at 3:42 pm UTC
We shall agree, that we do not have to agree…
I hope you understand what I'm saying.
This have turned into this GOG vs Steam debates.
Even worse - it turned into DRM vs DRM-free.
Neither are needed. And there are planty of places for that, to begin with…
I hope both sides see what they actually say. You have went extreme.
I guess nobody likes when nature get's extreme… Pond on that one. At least for a second.
Quoting: Shmerl...if you see it as aggressive... such positions simply must be firm.I quit. Thanks for showing you don't give two shits about anybody posting here.
I'll remember that.
Quoting: TheSHEEEPI'm not trying to offend anyone (for once ;) ), I am justbragging.
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