steam isn't drm other than needing a connection to download the game, after that you can play in offline mode.
Which...makes it DRM. And the fact it has to phone home once in a while.
steam isn't drm other than needing a connection to download the game, after that you can play in offline mode.
steam isn't drm other than needing a connection to download the game, after that you can play in offline mode.
As Slim pointed out, Steam IS DRM, because the fact is though if you uninstalled steam, the games would not work, thus you actually require the 3rd party software to run the game. Online or Offline are of no consequence.
No. DRM-free means that I can still install and play a game in 200 years when I'm zombified regardless of whether or not a client, digital distribution service, or authentication server is still around.Which is not the same as what DRM means. Just because you need the program to launch the game means absolutely nothing if you can still use the program while offline, which you can.
Which is not the same as what DRM means. Just because you need the program to launch the game means absolutely nothing if you can still use the program while offline, which you can.
As a side note, I personally I love having steam be able to do that because it means no matter what I can always log into steam and my games will always be there, even if I switch computers or wipe my hard drive.
Really don't see what the problem is that you guys seem to have with steam.
No. DRM-free means that I can still install and play a game in 200 years when I'm zombified regardless of whether or not a client, digital distribution service, or authentication server is still around.
It's not like Steam will be around forever, because nothing ever is, but something like GOG going down wouldn't affect the games I've downloaded from them and burned to discs/copied to external HDDs. If Valve/Steam fell apart (as so many companies have before), on the other hand, all anyone has is a mysterious, rumored promise that they'll magically patch Steam out of games using some kind of technological magic that pirates have inexplicably not thought up yet. Thus DRM.
No, it isn't. That's the point; DRM-free means that you can freely install games whenever you want without needing to rely on systems that may not be around anymore, and giving up that ability means putting an unnecessary expiration date on games. I still have Game Boy cartridges from 20 years ago that work (and that I occasionally revisit), so why should I accept a completely unnecessary restriction that could potentially lock me out of what I've similarly paid for?Yeah, you won't be able to install a game that you don't already have installed, that's the digital world we live in though.
Steam is what, a little over 10 years old? Companies crash and burn all the time, and current popularity is no indication of longevity. Besides, even if Steam doesn't cease to exist within our lifetimes, different people with a different business philosophy could end up in control of the company and turn it into something completely different than it is now. With games tied to the service, the user would be completely helpless should something like that happen. To contrast that, in 200 years I'll be able to install version 1.0 of The Witcher 2 without any problems and play it forever and ever and ever because of my GOG backup.Also, you, me, and everyone else here posting in this thread will likely be in the ground LONG before steam ever gets terminated as a service. It won't happen in our lifetimes.
Run your holodeck in compatibility mode. Duh.So I worry less about DRM crippling my future ability to play old games and more about those games running on my Intel Mirage Alpha Holodeck in 2050.
Backed up on DVDs and multiple external hard drives, yes. I have no need to download them because they're all backed up.So, wait....Steam could go down at any minute because "companies crash and burn all the time", ( which is a whole other hilarious idea - trust nothing ever because entropy!), but your GoG backup will be around 200 years from now?
So, wait....Steam could go down at any minute because "companies crash and burn all the time", ( which is a whole other hilarious idea - trust nothing ever because entropy!), but your GoG backup will be around 200 years from now?
Makes perfect sense.
My holodeck won't run compatibility mode with Winnux 12 - patch incoming, har.
Not just that, but both 1 and 2, with all patches and DLC backed up. I could even patch W2 to version 1.3 if I wanted to; I'm a bit of a control freak, so having that kind of freedom makes me happy (especially since I like some of the older patches better for blur/performance reasons). Of course, that could also be considered a bit of a criticism aimed at GOG because they don't offer older versions for download anymore, but the DRM-free element allows me to still play the vanilla game without any DRM while anyone who bought on Steam is unable to play using older versions.I find it amazing to think you backed up Witcher 1 on multiple external hard drives.