Playing with a friend using a gog version of the game?

[Buntkreuz]

Hi, i own this game on steam and gog. I once played the game in splitscreen with a friend, but that was about 3+ years ago and now we are living quite far away. He doesnt own the game, but with me owning two copies it probably would be no problem to give him access to the game.
So my questions are:
Is it possible to have him play with the gog version and connect to a server that i set up using my steam version (meaning it has "crossplay")?

Is it possible to just install the game on both PCs using the gog version and play together using the gog version alone? Since gog normally has no DRM it should treat it as if it were two separate games right?
Are version discrepances a problem for server connectivity? Meaning, do we have to have the exact same version to play?

With the nessecary things being set up, is it possible for me and my friend to get a server running and play the game in coop?

Would really help me to get the info, as i would like to play the game with him in coop again, but due to distance we cant. I am asking and not trying it out, since i already tried that and couldnt really figure out whether it would work. I have no experience in setting a proper server up for PZ and i would like to know whether it works before we start the hassle of him downloading and setting it up.
Since we dont have much time to play anyway and he has a quite slow connection, some hints could really help out to get it working.

[Buntkreuz]

Originally posted by EnigmaGrey:

Yeah, probably easiest to copy the GoG install and run it.

The in-game Hosts function should still work. The host will just need to provide their IP to those that want to connect.

Port 16261 might have to be forwarded as UDP and opened on the host's firewall.

Thanks for your answer.


I will try it out sometime this week maybe next week. But thanks for the input, i will do as suggested as far as i can.

[Raku]

Far as i know you need to run project zomboid with a special parameter if you dont want to use the steam servers, or otherwise neither of you could connect to eachother games. But then you have the problem that you might not even have the same version / hotfix due to steam forcing updates all the time most likely. So your best bet is to share the same installer.

[Buntkreuz]

Originally posted by EnigmaGrey:

Originally posted by Raku:

Far as i know you need to run project zomboid with a special parameter if you dont want to use the steam servers, or otherwise neither of you could connect to eachother games. But then you have the problem that you might not even have the same version / hotfix due to steam forcing updates all the time most likely. So your best bet is to share the same installer.

Version will mismatch, yep.

Though I am forgetting build 37.14 is available in the beta tab now.

yeah if we would use different installers, lets say Steam and Gog, we would make sure to opt. into the beta tab of the version needed.
Especially since i believe the gog version isnt as frequently updated as the steam one (which definetly should change).

I think if we try it, we will both use the gog version. But again, i hope the gog version receives the more recent updates because i hate playing older builds that lack needed changes or fixes. Even more since the game desperately needs fixes all over the place.

[Buntkreuz]

Maybe there arent because of that.
I frequently see that people would love to buy games preferably on GoG, as do i, but the lack of continued and frequent support with updates, that really have the latest changes, puts so many off.
Why would you play the gog version when that version is the one with the least up to date versions? And because of that many just either play the steam version or just dont play it at all and just wait.
Same for me. I know theres more to it than just uploading and that it depends on many factors how fast it goes.
But at the same time its kind of expected isnt it? You are used to put out only "few" updates and very small ones aswell. Instead of larger ones. So it kind of also is a problem due to how you do your work. Larger updates would obviously be worth the long upload time if they consisted of enough changes to warrant it. Experience with PZ shows though, that over the years the updates ever only were babysteps, often in the kilobyte size. Im not saying "its your fault", but it kinda aswell is caused by you aswell and not only GoGs system.
However, i think gog should update and change the system to make it friendlier for these InDev titles. With a better system in place this wouldnt be an issue.

Also and thats my opinion on your game:
I can see that you fear that something might go wrong and updates cause problems and so you keep all those earlier builds to make sure you have it there for the audience.
Out of experience i can say, that sometimes its better to just make a clear cut and abandon the old versions and run with the new, if something happens dealing with it.
PZ sometimes gives me the impression that you guys work on it just like i do on scientific work.
I also, when writting my work, save all the old versions of it because im feared that i might need to roll back and might have made a bad change to it and so on.
In the end though, it ever is better to just get rid of these one dozen files of previous versions and just run with the actual one. It gives me a much better feeling and also cleans the work, otherwise its somewhat a mess.
So maybe be more confident in your work and just upload even if there are bugs and issues. Till now i never had any big problem with your game and im now with you since the time at Desura when the game barely had anything. So it could be that you are just overly careful(?).

[Buntkreuz]

Originally posted by EnigmaGrey:

Because you want a DRM-free copy of the game and hate Steam, mostly.

If that's not you, buying through Steam or Humble Bundle doesn't really matter.

Dont know if i interpret that correctly, but i dont "hate" steam, i hate what it causes.
Its a DRM system and i prefer to be able to buy my games from the store with the best offer.
GoG has a much better offer to give than Steam, however, its a far smaller vendor without much of the convenient things Steam offers. I personally mix my purchasing decisions. I dont rule out anything because it isnt available on one store (like "i only buy games that are on Steam").
IF all games were equally available on GoG as they are on Steam though, i would ever pick the GoG version. And it does matter a lot where you buy a game. Like in every possible way.
Steam sadly tends to turn PC gaming into a consolized platform, i mean, lets face some ridiculous facts, its even supposed to be an achievement that a game has "crossplay" when you can play with others who bought it on a different store.
I grew up with PC gaming as a free platform where it didnt matter where you buy a game as each version was the same. Itreat "crossplay" as a given feature that has to be there and not see it as a special feature. Today its important to consider many different factors when buying a game. I personally prefer playing a game i have from GoG, not Steam.
Let alone because without DRM i have more freedom with my games, like lending a friend a game so he can try it or just play it. Which often enough also convinces that person to buy it aswell. Especially with a lack of demos giving a friend access to the GoG library can help alot to make a decision.
But thats just me.
PZ is a perfect example. We were able to once play games locally together, but cant now due to distance.
We can still play together via online though, but that often enough needs a second copy.
Which is no problem with having a game on GoG.

[Raku]

I miss the old days when you could run games on your pc on the multiplayer mode but only the guy with the CD could host the game. Good old times.

[MangAnimE]

Indeed, used to be anyone could run a dedicated server & the clients would buy the game. These days almost no free dedicated server software & your technically only renting the games you've played full price for [once the servers decide you don't own the game it's gone]. I still have DOS games that I can install & play when I want.

I too read crossplay as gaming between Windows & Playstation, or Linux & xBox, not different stores running on the same OS.