GOG.com, the store that prides itself on offering "DRM FREE" builds of games has recently released Hitman - Game of The Year Edition from IO Interactive and GOG fans are not happy.
To set the scene a little, this is a single-player stealth game about running around assassinating various targets across a bunch of different missions. It's actually a pretty good game and it has a Linux build available on Steam ported by Feral Interactive, which is not up on GOG.
Here's the problem: many features in HITMAN require you to have an internet connection. This is different to a game that has online modes which would of course need the internet. This is a game you play by yourself. Story missions and bonus mission can be played offline but you have to be online for most of the progression for item unlocks, new start location unlocks, special contracts, featured contracts, escalation missions and more.
It might not fall under the technical meaning of DRM but forcing players to be online in a single-player game to access content never really goes down well, and so it's not surprising on a store like GOG for users to be unhappy. It didn't help that GOG did not mention any of this at release, simply slapping the usual "DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play. " tickbox on the store page. While it's still somewhat true it doesn't quite sit right. This has led to the Hitman release gathering one of the lowest ever user-ratings on GOG (1.4 / 5 right now).
GOG users wasted no time telling the store how they felt with over 1,000 comments on the release forum topic, with IO Interactive being aware of it stating in a recent livestream that they're following it and they say they're in discussions on it. Two days after release GOG posted this small statement in that same topic that reads " Thank you for bringing this topic to our attention. We’re looking into it and will be updating you in the coming weeks. In case you have purchased HITMAN and are not satisfied with the released version, you can use your right to refund the game. At the same time, while we’re open for meritful discussion and feedback, we will not tolerate review bombing and will be removing posts that do not follow our review guidelines.". Another post later clarified that " We will not remove reviews like that, only those that are against our review guidelines.".
Stating that unhappy users writing about actual technical features of the game is "review bombing" of course is really not going to go down well. The base price of the game on GOG (when the sale ends) is noticeably more expensive than on Steam too.
Later GOG added a notice to the top of the store page that reads "Please note: Internet connection is required to access Escalation missions, Elusive Targets or user-created Contracts. Story and bonus missions can be played offline.".
How do you feel about this?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: AnzaTo me based on where the checks are, it's designed more like an anti-cheat measure. Based on the discussions though, anti-cheat is no longer effective.
How do you define an anticheat in a single player game? Many of such games historically had built in cheats / consoles and allowed mods that change all kind of behavior. I wouldn't even touch a game that actively tries to prevent that.
Last edited by Shmerl on 26 September 2021 at 11:00 am UTC
Quoting: ShmerlQuoting: AnzaTo me based on where the checks are, it's designed more like an anti-cheat measure. Based on the discussions though, anti-cheat is no longer effective.
How do you define an anticheat in a single player game? Many of such games historically had built in cheats / consoles and allowed mods that change all kind of behavior. I wouldn't even touch a game that actively tries to prevent that.
I explained the scenario where there's at least some kind of reasoning for anti-cheat. Leaderboards can be more fun it they're online, they have just risk of having cheaters. With officially sanctioned cheats and mods using official integration, there can be different leaderboard for each cheat or mod. Or leaderboards could be disabled altogether in those cases.
Line is bit blurry with that leaderboard example as technically it's multiplayer (you're playing against other people). But if only multiplayer component in the game is leaderboards, it's practically misleading to call it multiplayer game.
So the point stands, there are online features in single player that make sense. They're not all there to spy on users (it's just that collecting telemetry is always a possibility with online connections).
Last edited by Anza on 26 September 2021 at 8:29 pm UTC
Quoting: AnzaSo the point stands, there are online features in single player that make sense. They're not all there to spy on users (it's just that collecting telemetry is always a possibility with online connections).
I'd say argument of anticheat for leaderboards is a very poor justification for requiring on-line connection for actual in-game features.
Quoting: ShmerlQuoting: AnzaSo the point stands, there are online features in single player that make sense. They're not all there to spy on users (it's just that collecting telemetry is always a possibility with online connections).
I'd say argument of anticheat for leaderboards is a very poor justification for requiring on-line connection for actual in-game features.
Hitman has so called elusive targets missions, missions which are timely exclusive and can only be played once (I guess per online account). I could be wrong but for having this watertight I could imagine an always online connection helps a lot.
(You really have just one attempt for such a mission, like perma-death extreme version, this adds a complete new dimension on how to approach such a mission ;) )
Last edited by jens on 26 September 2021 at 11:43 am UTC
DaiKaiser93 Sep 26, 2021
What I don't understand is why they didn't added the note of it needing to be connected to the internet even when they have previously done it in other games (Victor Vran & Battletech come to mind, as they need and external account to play online), so my guess is that they just received the binaries and uploaded them without checking?
I mean, I don't know how many of you guys remember the broken Linux LIVER build of Death Road to Canada (were you couldn't even run the game past the title screen) so I cannot really see this coming from a place of malice, but incompetence.
I'm biased, not gonna hide it, but always online is kind of what you're going to deal with if you want online games, is it not? Prison Architect comes to mind, who is responsible of the addition of the Paradox launcher, GOG or Paradox? should GOG just remove the game from the store once it was updated?
Escalation are only required for steam achievements and unlocks a few useless but funny items and costumes.
I can only imagine illegal versions of the game managed to severe the connection so it doesn't get banned ? Not to mention you can probably blacklist your legit legal version from the windows firewall ?
I don't condone pirating, it just to say it could strictly technically be done.
But anyway the game was aiming to release episodes as DLC and seasons (finally seasons didn't get in they made new games instead because episode release is at best an ineffective business model). So in a sense it was a very clumsy move from IO Interactive how the game was online-oriented by design since the beginning.
But on the other side, I consider a thousand angry comments (despite the game actually be fun) to be comment bombing. :/ (I'd be surprised there isn't any other solo online features, for example Dragon's Dogma has a online pawn NPC system that let you play along user created characters AI.)
Last edited by a0kami on 26 September 2021 at 12:57 pm UTC
But here's the really funny thing: they could just as easily download a completed save file to completely circumvent all these pieces of content that are locked. You can literally just slide a single file into AppData and have every "online-only" gun and item in the game. Imagine being this low-agency lmao. Pirates, everyone.
Quoting: Mar2ckQuoting: audioboysYou know what's so funny about this? And, hey, I don't advocate piracy or anything, I bought all three games. But you know that's why gamers are mad. They pass around these installers like candy knowing they can just use them to install the full game no problem. Don't pretend that's not what this is about.
But here's the really funny thing: they could just as easily download a completed save file to completely circumvent all these pieces of content that are locked. You can literally just slide a single file into AppData and have every "online-only" gun and item in the game. Imagine being this low-agency lmao. Pirates, everyone.
"New user" posts obvious bait on GoL, in other news water is still wet
They're not wrong though. This is an example of the usual corporate crap where the pirates get to have it better than the legitimate, paying customers. Would it be so difficult for IO to have removed these online checks before they released their game on GOG and thus allow players to enjoy a truly DRM-free experience playing it, especially if these online checks were only there to serve a purpose that's long since become irrelevant due to the game being old? No it wouldn't.
Regarding GOG, I have to agree with the poster who called out their crappiness. I used to love their service, but nowadays I feel like they've been steadily going down the wrong path in more ways than one, from sloppy handling of releases, to neglecting Linux with Galaxy 2.0, to Galaxy 2.0 being half-finished crap anyway, to Cyberpunk 2077 being the blunder that it was (CDPR is GOG's parent company)... I hope they'll reverse gears before it's too late, but until then I can't say I'm enthusiastic about supporting them and buying my games from them anymore, even with the games being DRM-free (which is an admittedly priceless feature).
apocalyptech Sep 26, 2021
Definitely a shame that something like that slipped through GOG; I still don't really buy much through GOG, but I've always appreciated their relatively unusual stance about things like DRM. Hopefully there's not too much more of this boundary-pushing going on in the store -- always-online requirements may as well be DRM, even if it might be technically not. GOG's still more principled than any of the other major options at the moment, so it'd be a shame if they were inching towards the other norm.
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