Steam-exclusive AGAIN?

[Omgaar]

If it's any consolation, the idiots at GOG turned down Degica's localizations of Cave's classic Bullet Hell arcade shmups, so you're in very good company.

This is refused, starward rogue refused, hatred refused. But at the same time, Gone Home, Goat Simulator, Surgeon Simulator, and Consortium are all on GOG.
I really do not understand their curation system. If you're allowing bad games on, but not allowing decent or good games, something is wrong.

Steam curation seems to be messed up to, but they allow everything at this point, so for them it's more about why even have it anymore.

[x4000]

I think a lot of what you mentioned was on there before their sharper curation began, but I'm not sure.

[ERISS]

If it's any consolation, the idiots at GOG turned down Degica's localizations of Cave's classic Bullet Hell arcade shmups,

$20...: It won't sell on GOG, as there are already better shmups for $9 (Revolver360, CrimzonClover, RaidenIV...)

[Misery]

If it's any consolation, the idiots at GOG turned down Degica's localizations of Cave's classic Bullet Hell arcade shmups,

$20...: It won't sell on GOG, as there are already better shmups for $9 (Revolver360, CrimzonClover, RaidenIV...)

Better ones?  No.  In turning down a Cave game they turned down one of the absolute best, easily... and, frankly, convinced me that they have no idea what they're doing; I suspect now that their knowledge of genres has a lot of holes in it, because they sure as hell dont know this one. I can almost see half of the shmup community doing some sort of cataclysmic facepalm all at once over that.

I've played all of those others, and... honestly, they dont match Cave's stuff or even come close.  Hell, Crimzon Clover is actually a Cave-styled game (uses ALOT of mechanics that Cave has used in their games; it does next to nothing that's new) but it's nowhere near as good.  Raiden 4 is... Raiden 4.  I like it well enough, quite a bit actually, but again, not as good. It's also not a bullet-hell shmup at all (meaning the comparison doesnt entirely make sense; the two are almost seperate genres).  Revolver 360 was kinda meh.  Too gimmicky for me.  Also.... blue.  It REALLY likes blue things.  All is blue.  Blue is all.

And honestly, to me, $20 for something like Mushihime or Deathsmiles is a freaking steal.  Know how much *I* paid for those originally, for each?  $120.  And then international shipping.  It was still worth it.  I'd happily do it again.  Mushihime in particular has gotten well over 1000 hours out of me and is, frankly, the key reason I've been able to work on this game here. Or on TLF's expansion, doing the Obscura.  I learned the basics of most of what I know from it and then expanded from there.

Deathsmiles I didn't play quite as much, but that's not for a lack of quality or good gameplay; it's just too easy for me.  Final boss just died in my general direction the very first time I got there; think I got hit like, once. Got a video of it, too.  But I'd still gladly recommend that game to absolutely anyone.  Beginners in particular that look to get into the genre should play that one.  Though, I'm betting that the PC version of Deathsmiles will include the Black Label version, which certainly adds some difficulty...   The PC version of Mushi has the 1.5 Matsuri modes available, for that matter.

The PC version of Mushi also is a good port.  I expect Deathsmiles will be too. 

And that's my thoughts on those. 

[ERISS]

About the so offline Steam mode again:

I get Brown-shirt Steam-slammed about Steam offline mode - offline mode does not work for extended periods of time as Steam requires a heart beat for updates and the EULA requires an internet connection with Admin privileges to your system. Being offline for extended periods causes your account to fall out of sync and in the end it is corrupted -- according to Steam this is a feature not a bug and is working as intended consistent to Steam use policies-- having to repurchase my library twice due to corrupted game files has made Steam a non-option for me when I am working/travelling.

http://www.grimdawn.com/forums/showpost.php?p=342123&postcount=154

[Misery]

Still never seen it happen.  It either takes a really freakishly long time, or... that's not entirely correct.

And even if it did, I'd just run the games directly from the folders they're in...  I do that on my laptop on occaision if good ol' Windows is being slow as dirt again (makes me not want to load things much... usually makes me want to just turn the damn thing off really), the stupid thing.  Makes me impatient.

Either way though I personally still wouldnt use GoG at this point, particularly with their screwball selection process.  Too much chance of missing out.  My thoughts on them have gone from "meh" to outright disliking them.  Not fond of not being able to buy something because "Feh, we PERSONALLY dont like it or dont understand such-and-such type of game" or "it's too niche" or "ZOMG GRAFIX".  Or because of a lack of caring.  Or whatever other reason.  I can understand the desire to do "quality control", but... considering they're refusing things that are of DEFINITE high quality (and I very, very strongly doubt it's JUST something like Cave's games... chances are, it's WAY more than that, with that type of policy), that, to me, is a big load of crap.  Not about to support it.  Instead I just recommend to friends that they buy from... absolutely anywhere else.  didn't used to do that.  Now I do.

Honestly, nobody has figured out a good way to do quality control yet.  I'm thinking it'll be a LONG time before anyone does.  Steam's "let everything in" idea can be annoying... or at least it would be, if it wasnt so easy to search for the ones that dont suck.  So that's not been an issue.  I buy games *really* frequently.  I think I bought like 9 in the last week and a half (I was bored).  The ONLY game purchase I've regretted in the last YEAR was Anno 2700 or whatever number it uses.  2070 was really good, that one was really not.  But other than that?  It's easy enough to sniff out the bad ones before buying them that I've not regretted anything else.  Heck, I dont even know how to do the refund thing on it (and I'm too lazy anyway).

Though, one thing about the "always online" complaint always bugs the hell outta me:  This is 2016.  Most computers (as in, any that arent ancient) are basically online at all times ANYWAY (and if they're not good enough to handle Steam, or whatever, running in the background without imploding, they arent going to be playing much in the way of games as it is).  When they ARENT.... way more than just Steam tends to break down. Particularly with the internet being so important nowadays. So I tend to not see the problem.  And if someone's internet is so bloody broken that they cant get it connected.... they're not going to be buying from GoG or anyone else ANYWAY. 


I will say though, I kinda miss the days when I could just buy games in boxes at stores.  Though... that had it's problems too.  I know people say "well if it's DIGITAL it's not guaranteed you'll have it later!" but at least digital games arent CDs that break if you look at them too hard. Makes them way more iffy IMHO.  But there was still something satisfying about getting them in a box.

[chemical_art]

I will say though, I kinda miss the days when I could just buy games in boxes at stores.  Though... that had it's problems too.  I know people say "well if it's DIGITAL it's not guaranteed you'll have it later!" but at least digital games arent CDs that break if you look at them too hard. Makes them way more iffy IMHO.  But there was still something satisfying about getting them in a box.

I've lost far more games due to losing CD's then I have from digital means. Plus there is the hassle of changing CD's, worrying about scratching them, etc.

I found having a shelf of CD's like having a shelf of books: They seem great until you have to move...or clean. Then they become a huge headache. Eventually I just have enough and chuck them for digital means. I still can appreciate books, there is a very physical presence to them. For a digital media like CD's, that benefit is far reduced.

[Misery]

I will say though, I kinda miss the days when I could just buy games in boxes at stores.  Though... that had it's problems too.  I know people say "well if it's DIGITAL it's not guaranteed you'll have it later!" but at least digital games arent CDs that break if you look at them too hard. Makes them way more iffy IMHO.  But there was still something satisfying about getting them in a box.

I've lost far more games due to losing CD's then I have from digital means. Plus there is the hassle of changing CD's, worrying about scratching them, etc.

I found having a shelf of CD's like having a shelf of books: They seem great until you have to move...or clean. Then they become a huge headache. Eventually I just have enough and chuck them for digital means. I still can appreciate books, there is a very physical presence to them. For a digital media like CD's, that benefit is far reduced.

Yeah, pretty much the same here.  Just without the shelf.

I'm about as organized as a tornado and things end up just all over the place.   Just a quick glance around my desk, or what passes for a desk anyway, and I see I've got one CD wedged between the 3DS and a random figure that's here for no good reason, another seems halfway under this keyboard, dunno how that got there, I can see like 3 in the back that are covered in dust with a stack of NES games on them, not sure why those are there either, and.... yeah.

The digital stuff just ends up being so much more reliable.  Even if you're really organized instead of super messy, it takes hardly anything to make a disc permanently stop working.

Books are definitely just easier to deal with in any form too, yeah.  Though, I've got those all over the place too.... sigh.  I'd say "one of these days I should really organize this" but I'd really be lying if I said that'd happen at some point...

[Draco18s]

My ridiculously large bookshelf has two rows of books on each shelf (except one because large format books) and I still don't have enough room. I've got a partial third row on one shelf, a file for high stack next to the shelf, multiple small stacks, and two for high stacks, and that's just the ones I've finished. I've got a box of 17ish that I haven't even started yet.

[doctorfrog]

I've long wished that GOG would make some limited edition boxed games available, including stuff like old Infocom games with all the feelies. Something like Loot Crate, once a month make a limited number of game-themed boxed stuff, all centered around one game. Either it faithfully mimics the original boxed copy (for older games) or you get a cloth map or t-shirt, a collectable zorkmid, minifigs, stuff like that.

It wouldn't be a huge moneymaker, but it would certainly endear them to a certain demographic. The same subset of customers who like looking at their games on a virtual bookshelf and feel good about having installables on their hard drive instead of the cloud.

[chemical_art]

I've long wished that GOG would make some limited edition boxed games available, including stuff like old Infocom games with all the feelies. Something like Loot Crate, once a month make a limited number of game-themed boxed stuff, all centered around one game. Either it faithfully mimics the original boxed copy (for older games) or you get a cloth map or t-shirt, a collectable zorkmid, minifigs, stuff like that.

It wouldn't be a huge moneymaker, but it would certainly endear them to a certain demographic. The same subset of customers who like looking at their games on a virtual bookshelf and feel good about having installables on their hard drive instead of the cloud.

Sadly, the market for such a thing is absolutely, minusculely small even upon release. I preordered Skyrim. A great game out of the box all things considered, and even better given the freedom mods give it. But the cloth map included in it? Gone within a month due to chaos. There is a reason the "deluxe" editions cost an extra 20 $ for 5$ of materials; the economics of scale barely apply. That is for a fresh release: for a rerelease the cost could easily add 50% of cost.

Tabbing on 30 dollars for a 10 dollar game would not garner many sales.

[doctorfrog]

I've long wished that GOG would make some limited edition boxed games available, including stuff like old Infocom games with all the feelies. Something like Loot Crate, once a month make a limited number of game-themed boxed stuff, all centered around one game. Either it faithfully mimics the original boxed copy (for older games) or you get a cloth map or t-shirt, a collectable zorkmid, minifigs, stuff like that.

It wouldn't be a huge moneymaker, but it would certainly endear them to a certain demographic. The same subset of customers who like looking at their games on a virtual bookshelf and feel good about having installables on their hard drive instead of the cloud.

Sadly, the market for such a thing is absolutely, minusculely small even upon release. I preordered Skyrim. A great game out of the box all things considered, and even better given the freedom mods give it. But the cloth map included in it? Gone within a month due to chaos. There is a reason the "deluxe" editions cost an extra 20 $ for 5$ of materials; the economics of scale barely apply. That is for a fresh release: for a rerelease the cost could easily add 50% of cost.

Tabbing on 30 dollars for a 10 dollar game would not garner many sales.

This isn't an insurmountable issue, though. With Skyrim, you have to think in millions of sales, tens of thousands for metal boxed collectors edition stuff that's hardly worth even looking at these days.

You could mint a boxed game with nothing more than cardboard extras (a punch-out model of a house in the game, stuff like that) for relatively little, in 500 or a 1000 copies. Or a cloth map, let's say. Or even a paper map. And video games people with money will do nearly anything to get a t-shirt. So host a contest, fan favorite design gets 500 prints, limited edition to people willing to fork over $25, digital and physical versions of the given game included. Even if it's a flop, the investment is relatively small.

But the evidence that you're doing something that no one else is bothering to do could be worth the risk. And it creates a precedent where people are looking to see what you do next.

The bigger question is probably legal wrangling over who owns and controls those little extensions of intellectual property. So if GOG were to do this, they'd first probably try it with The Witcher or something.

[chemical_art]

I've long wished that GOG would make some limited edition boxed games available, including stuff like old Infocom games with all the feelies. Something like Loot Crate, once a month make a limited number of game-themed boxed stuff, all centered around one game. Either it faithfully mimics the original boxed copy (for older games) or you get a cloth map or t-shirt, a collectable zorkmid, minifigs, stuff like that.

It wouldn't be a huge moneymaker, but it would certainly endear them to a certain demographic. The same subset of customers who like looking at their games on a virtual bookshelf and feel good about having installables on their hard drive instead of the cloud.

Sadly, the market for such a thing is absolutely, minusculely small even upon release. I preordered Skyrim. A great game out of the box all things considered, and even better given the freedom mods give it. But the cloth map included in it? Gone within a month due to chaos. There is a reason the "deluxe" editions cost an extra 20 $ for 5$ of materials; the economics of scale barely apply. That is for a fresh release: for a rerelease the cost could easily add 50% of cost.

Tabbing on 30 dollars for a 10 dollar game would not garner many sales.

This isn't an insurmountable issue, though. With Skyrim, you have to think in millions of sales, tens of thousands for metal boxed collectors edition stuff that's hardly worth even looking at these days.

You could mint a boxed game with nothing more than cardboard extras (a punch-out model of a house in the game, stuff like that) for relatively little, in 500 or a 1000 copies. Or a cloth map, let's say. Or even a paper map. And video games people with money will do nearly anything to get a t-shirt. So host a contest, fan favorite design gets 500 prints, limited edition to people willing to fork over $25, digital and physical versions of the given game included. Even if it's a flop, the investment is relatively small.

But the evidence that you're doing something that no one else is bothering to do could be worth the risk. And it creates a precedent where people are looking to see what you do next.

The bigger question is probably legal wrangling over who owns and controls those little extensions of intellectual property. So if GOG were to do this, they'd first probably try it with The Witcher or something.

I ran some numbers:
You can get 1000 t-shirts for 5.83 (http://www.customink.com)
You can get a fabric design (so a cloth map like) for 9.45 (http://www.spoonflower.com)

That is before you have to up charge  royalties for using intellectual design, etc. So adding a bit more you get closer to 9.00 for a t-shirt and 15.00 for a cloth map, before shipping. Doing a run of 1000 means dropping 9000 dollars of 15000 dollars. That is not a minor investment. That is assuming you sell every design, which is easier said then done.

[Misery]

Well this got confusing fast.

[Wacky Willy]

Well this got confusing fast.

To sum up, GOG are dicks, we want SR DRM-free and aren't picky where we get it.