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Please work to make this available on GOG.com

DaverianDaverian Member Posts: 12
edited October 2014 in Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition
I started a DRM thread back in 2012 (http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/2254/drm/p1), discussing the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editions in an attempt to clarify what DRM schemes were/would be put in place for these games. Once I found out that Internet connectivity was mandatory to perform an "activation", I decided not to buy for this reason.

I discovered that today, the Baldur's Gate Enhanced Editions were released DRM free on GOG.com. I've been looking forward to this for a year or two now, and I immediately purchased both games. I ask that you please consider bringing Icewind Dale Enhanced Edition, and any other Enhanced Editions you create, to GOG.com DRM free; This will guarantee a purchase from me almost immediately, and I'm sure many other fans of these games feel the same way.

Thanks for all of your great work! I can't wait to revisit the Sword Coast.
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Comments

  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    I'd say the chances are better than average since the ice has already been broken.
  • WigglesWiggles Member Posts: 571
    edited October 2014
    Sorry for double post, but I'll leave this here for ya.

    http://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_baldurs_gate_enhanced_edition_and_baldurs_gate_2_enhanced_edition/post55
  • ElectricMonkElectricMonk Member Posts: 599
    Dee said:

    bengoshi said:

    Although I support the OP's plea about the availability of IWDEE on GoG.com, I still can't pass by and not say that BG1,2EE didn't have DRM. As soon as you download a game, you can play without any Internet at all.

    What @bengoshi said. Beamdog uses the same level of security (i.e. account sign-in at the time of installation) as GOG. Once the game is installed there's no additional activation required.
    With GoG, you don't need to be signed in at the time of installation, only at the time of download. Installing works perfectly fine offline and requires no sign-in. I can't now remember exactly how it worked with BG:EE and BG2:EE with the stand-alone launcher (sans beamdog client), but it's worth differentiating needing to be online to download vs. needing to be online to install... I bought all three games now through beamdog to support the devs as much as possible, but I'm sure I'll also have all three on GoG eventually as I prefer to have all my games in my GoG library if possible.
  • CasadoomCasadoom Member Posts: 68
    jaysl659 said:

    With GoG, you don't need to be signed in at the time of installation, only at the time of download. Installing works perfectly fine offline and requires no sign-in. I can't now remember exactly how it worked with BG:EE and BG2:EE with the stand-alone launcher (sans beamdog client), but it's worth differentiating needing to be online to download vs. needing to be online to install... I bought all three games now through beamdog to support the devs as much as possible, but I'm sure I'll also have all three on GoG eventually as I prefer to have all my games in my GoG library if possible.

    You realize you can just copy-paste the game right? You can, in essence, "install" the game on a new PC without ever going online.

    But I understand, since they do not seem to mind about the lack of DRM, a GOG version would not be a bad idea.
  • ElectricMonkElectricMonk Member Posts: 599
    Casadoom said:

    jaysl659 said:

    With GoG, you don't need to be signed in at the time of installation, only at the time of download. Installing works perfectly fine offline and requires no sign-in. I can't now remember exactly how it worked with BG:EE and BG2:EE with the stand-alone launcher (sans beamdog client), but it's worth differentiating needing to be online to download vs. needing to be online to install... I bought all three games now through beamdog to support the devs as much as possible, but I'm sure I'll also have all three on GoG eventually as I prefer to have all my games in my GoG library if possible.

    You realize you can just copy-paste the game right? You can, in essence, "install" the game on a new PC without ever going online.

    But I understand, since they do not seem to mind about the lack of DRM, a GOG version would not be a bad idea.
    Yes, I do know that. Either way, you have to authenticate your identity at some point, but you have to do so twice if installation requires it as well. The point being that if you have to authenticate upon initial installation (not talking about subsequent installations), then that's a layer beyond what is required with GOG, which clearly matters to the people that care about such things, so the difference is worth mentioning as a part of the discussion.
  • FryFry Member Posts: 9
    I thought GOG had some kind of policy against selling games they considered remakes. Guess not. Or they changed it.
  • ElectricMonkElectricMonk Member Posts: 599
    Dee said:

    With the Beamdog installers, the download is the installation; you only authenticate once.

    That's right, I remember now. So the required authentications is the same as on GOG... Still a good thing that the games are there as some people prefer to have all their games in one place (apart from their hard drive). Also, with the implementation of GOG Galaxy I'm guessing that some people will move from Steam to GOG.
  • ArthandasArthandas Member Posts: 29
    If you sell your EEs via Steam, there's no reason to not sell them via GOG where they belong (along with originals). I think releasing both BGs on GOG made everyone happy and I sincerely hope it also boosted your overall profits.
  • DaverianDaverian Member Posts: 12
    edited October 2014
    Very happy to see this come to GOG. Will be a purchase for me.

    I understand that the DRM was extremely light from Beamdog, but I like it on GOG.com for several reasons:

    1) I can download it from GOG.com, store it on my PC, get rid of Internet, and install it 10 years later without ever having to connect to the Internet

    Now, that's a bit insane. More and more communities, even the tiniest ones, are getting Internet connectivity, and it will only increase as we move into the future. But:

    2) Beamdog has a few games. If they belly-up, and authentication is required like it is, all is lost. With the game on a bigger platform like GOG.com, this is less of a concern.

    and

    3) I like to keep all of my games in as few of places as possible. I'm currently spread out among GOG, Steam, and (unfortunately) Origin. GOG gets my money first, and if I ever have a bit of hope the game is coming to GOG, I'll wait it out and won't buy it on any other platform. I want to keep it to these three if possible though, without other sites to log into and download games from.

    I'll add another:

    4) I just like supporting GOG.com where I can. The more games that go there that I want to spend my money on, the better.
  • diggerbdiggerb Member Posts: 132
    Fry said:

    I thought GOG had some kind of policy against selling games they considered remakes. Guess not. Or they changed it.

    I wouldn't quite call EE a remake. It's still the same materiel, based on the same resources.
  • nbnmarenbnmare Member Posts: 15
    Exactly - these are Enhanced Editions, not Remade Editions.
  • BelanosBelanos Member Posts: 968
    Fry said:

    I thought GOG had some kind of policy against selling games they considered remakes. Guess not. Or they changed it.

    It seems that GOG is changing the way they distribute games. I'm guessing they're gearing up to compete with Steam and planning to cover a wider variety of titles, not just the older ones. They're in the process of developing a new platform called GOG Galaxy, which will have many of the features that Steam does.

  • ElectricMonkElectricMonk Member Posts: 599
    Dee said:

    With the Beamdog installers, the download is the installation; you only authenticate once.

    Jalily said:

    Daverian said:

    I understand that the DRM was extremely light from Beamdog, but I like it on GOG.com for several reasons:

    There isn't any DRM in the Beamdog version. You have to be signed into your account to download it, but it's the same with GOG. Once downloaded, there is no separate installation step; the game is ready to play. You don't even have to use the client again (if you used that instead of the standalone installer).
    Daverian said:

    1) I can download it from GOG.com, store it on my PC, get rid of Internet, and install it 10 years later without ever having to connect to the Internet

    You can do this with the Beamdog version too.
    Daverian said:

    2) Beamdog has a few games. If they belly-up, and authentication is required like it is, all is lost.

    The copy you have downloaded will work forever. Well, not technically forever due to changing technology, but you know what I mean.

    It's completely valid to prefer getting the game from GOG. I just wanted to clear up a very common misconception I keep seeing about the presence of Beamdog DRM.

    Well I had to sign in once to the Beamdog site to download the stand-alone installer for IWD:EE, and then I was asked to sign into the installer as well (though already signed into the site) to begin downloading/installing the game. The difference here is as minimal as it gets, and it certainly doesn't bother me, but it is a difference: with GOG I would download the setup file while signed into the site and no further authentication is required upon installation.

    Having to authenticate twice instead of once is the difference here. I actually prefer this in the case of these games because having the stand-alone installer makes patching easier with the "update now" button conveniently available.

    It may be that with the Beamdog client the process is only one step for each game (since the client is already installed), but you still would have had to sign into the Beamdog site at some point before getting the client. Again, I'm not sure how that works because I use the stand-alone installer. GOG doesn't have a separate client outside of their site that must be signed into (yet), and the authentication of being signed into your account on the site is the only authentication you'll need to download and install your game with GOG.

    People keep dropping by to explicitly state that there is no difference between GOG and Beamdog on this matter and they get 20 or so upvotes and those pointing out potential differences get resistance? I don't get it. There seems to be some difference to me, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Feel free to correct me if I'm somehow wrong about this difference, but stating that there is no difference whatsoever and that the same number of authentication steps are required seems like a misrepresentation to me.
  • BGLoverBGLover Member Posts: 550
    I signed in to the Beamdog Site to access my account, and then downloaded the game. I wasn't asked to sign in again, or input any further details. I can't say is this is the same/different to the method GOG uses, as I have never used the GOG site, but from my experience of Beamdog, it was easy-peasy lemon squeezy!

    So if you are saying that there is a difference between GOG and Beamdog because on GOG you can install the game after signing in once, with no further sign in or authentication required...... well.... that is my experience of beamdog and installing IWDEE yesterday!

    Anyway... the most important thing is to enjoy the game! Which I'm doing right now!
  • ElectricMonkElectricMonk Member Posts: 599
    BGLover said:

    I signed in to the Beamdog Site to access my account, and then downloaded the game. I wasn't asked to sign in again, or input any further details. I can't say is this is the same/different to the method GOG uses, as I have never used the GOG site, but from my experience of Beamdog, it was easy-peasy lemon squeezy!

    So if you are saying that there is a difference between GOG and Beamdog because on GOG you can install the game after signing in once, with no further sign in or authentication required...... well.... that is my experience of beamdog and installing IWDEE yesterday!

    Anyway... the most important thing is to enjoy the game! Which I'm doing right now!

    That's interesting, do you use the client or are you saying you donloaded the stand-alone installer and it didn't ask you to sign in when you loaded it the first time? Well, perhaps there was an error of some sort on my end (or perhaps this has something to do with pre-loading), but I was required to sign into the installer before my download/installation would begin. I would love some clarification on this from someone if possible...

    Also, I agree, enjoying the game is the most important thing here; time to take my party of adventurers through Icewind Dale. I'm pretty optimistic about the quality of the state of the game based on the reviews I've seen. Great work on this release guys!
  • ElectricMonkElectricMonk Member Posts: 599
    Thanks for the response @Cerevant, I agree with you about choosing Beamdog vs. GOG (And that's good to know about the client), but could you shed some light on the situation I mentioned with the stand-alone installer? I had to sign into the installer, but @BGLover apparently did not; do you know why that would be? I'm just curious.
  • CerevantCerevant Member Posts: 2,314
    I know that on the Mac, the Beamdog login credentials are cached in the OS keychain and can be "borrowed" by different stand-alone clients. (BG:EE login re-used by IWD:EE) I imagine something like this is possible on PC, but I haven't confirmed it.
  • RAM021RAM021 Member Posts: 403
    jaysl659 said:

    Well I had to sign in once to the Beamdog site to download the stand-alone installer for IWD:EE, and then I was asked to sign into the installer as well (though already signed into the site) to begin downloading/installing the game. The difference here is as minimal as it gets, and it certainly doesn't bother me, but it is a difference: with GOG I would download the setup file while signed into the site and no further authentication is required upon installation.

    Having to authenticate twice instead of once is the difference here. I actually prefer this in the case of these games because having the stand-alone installer makes patching easier with the "update now" button conveniently available.

    People keep dropping by to explicitly state that there is no difference between GOG and Beamdog on this matter and they get 20 or so upvotes and those pointing out potential differences get resistance? I don't get it. There seems to be some difference to me, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Feel free to correct me if I'm somehow wrong about this difference, but stating that there is no difference whatsoever and that the same number of authentication steps are required seems like a misrepresentation to me.

    jaysl659 said:

    could you shed some light on the situation I mentioned with the stand-alone installer? I had to sign into the installer, but @BGLover apparently did not; do you know why that would be? I'm just curious.

    PEBCAK

    The fact of the matter is that you only need to sign into Beamdog ONCE, just like GoG: there is NO difference.
  • TrentOsterTrentOster Administrator, Developer Posts: 433
    Heh, have you guys checked GoG? We shipped it there at the same time.
    -Trent
  • ElectricMonkElectricMonk Member Posts: 599
    RAM021 said:

    jaysl659 said:

    Well I had to sign in once to the Beamdog site to download the stand-alone installer for IWD:EE, and then I was asked to sign into the installer as well (though already signed into the site) to begin downloading/installing the game. The difference here is as minimal as it gets, and it certainly doesn't bother me, but it is a difference: with GOG I would download the setup file while signed into the site and no further authentication is required upon installation.

    Having to authenticate twice instead of once is the difference here. I actually prefer this in the case of these games because having the stand-alone installer makes patching easier with the "update now" button conveniently available.

    People keep dropping by to explicitly state that there is no difference between GOG and Beamdog on this matter and they get 20 or so upvotes and those pointing out potential differences get resistance? I don't get it. There seems to be some difference to me, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Feel free to correct me if I'm somehow wrong about this difference, but stating that there is no difference whatsoever and that the same number of authentication steps are required seems like a misrepresentation to me.

    jaysl659 said:

    could you shed some light on the situation I mentioned with the stand-alone installer? I had to sign into the installer, but @BGLover apparently did not; do you know why that would be? I'm just curious.

    PEBCAK

    The fact of the matter is that you only need to sign into Beamdog ONCE, just like GoG: there is NO difference.
    Your snarky "PECAK" ("Problems Exist Between Chair And Keyboard" for those that don't know) is totally uncalled for, and mistaken. There's no need for you to get so emphatic, the militant attitude is particularly pointless as you happen to be wrong.

    I clearly stated that I signed in twice, I wasn't making an accusation or complaint, but the fact of the matter is that in the course of installing IWD:EE I was required to authenticate two times: once to download the stand-alone installer, and then again in the installer. On a side note, I've discovered that with the client, only one authentication is required (I still prefer the stand-alone installer). I have no interest in arguing this point with anyone further, it's pretty annoying to me that I get attacked like this for making a factual statement about my experience. I'm a loyal customer and supporter of Beamdog, and I happen to be a loyal customer and supporter of GOG as well, I'm not sure why this is such an incendiary issue that I'm expected to put up with rude and mistaken comments like yours just because I made a few factual observations and asked some questions. I'll go ahead and excuse myself from this thread now to avoid any further issues.
  • RAM021RAM021 Member Posts: 403
    The fact is, the problem was you. There is no need to sign in to Beamdog to download the client. You CAN sign in if you want and you apparently did, but just because you went through a needless step does not mean it is required.

    You need only sign into Beamdog ONCE, just like GoG. How many times you mistakenly do so is irrelevant.

    The only problem was the mistake YOU made.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    Folks, let's keep it civil here.

    Both the Beamdog client and the GOG.com Downloader require you to be logged into your account.
    Both the Beamdog client and the GOG.com Downloader can be downloaded without being signed in.
    Once installed, neither the Beamdog client nor the GOG.com Downloader are need in order to run the game.

    The only difference between the Beamdog client and the GOG.com Downloader is that the Beamdog client downloads and installs at the same time, whereas the GOG.com Downloader downloads the installer that can then be run at any time to install the game.

    If GOG's version is DRM-free, then so is Beamdog's. People are welcome to prefer whichever platform they prefer (yes, even if it's Steam), but don't make it personal.
This discussion has been closed.

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