Possibility of a GoG release?

[<3 farmers cuz füd]

Since I don't plan on upgrading to a new Windows version, Steam support will eventually be dropped. As a result, I am slowly migrating my library over to GoG with its offline installers.
One of the games I'm missing over there is Spirit Island, so my question is: Are there any plans to eventually release the game on that platform as well?

[MigrantP]

There are no plans for that at this time, we are happy with Steam.

[<3 farmers cuz füd]

Releasing on multiple platforms doesn't require you to be unhappy with at least one of them, just like you don't need to dislike pc to release on mobile.

Too bad the game will most likely join my pile of dead media (due to DRM-requirements) next year when W10 support gets dropped.

[Aelis]

Originally posted by <3 farmers cuz füd:

Too bad the game will most likely join my pile of dead media (due to DRM-requirements)

I don't think this game has any DRM, nor have I seen or heard any requirements that you must be on Windows 11 in order to play it. I've also not heard that Steam is going to drop support for Windows 10, though granted I've not kept up very well since I don't use Windows. I'd be very surprised to see that drop off any time soon given how many people lack the hardware to run Windows 11 with its new TPM 2.0 requirement.

[<3 farmers cuz füd]

Originally posted by Aelis:

Originally posted by <3 farmers cuz füd:

Too bad the game will most likely join my pile of dead media (due to DRM-requirements)

I don't think this game has any DRM, nor have I seen or heard any requirements that you must be on Windows 11 in order to play it. I've also not heard that Steam is going to drop support for Windows 10, though granted I've not kept up very well since I don't use Windows. I'd be very surprised to see that drop off any time soon given how many people lack the hardware to run Windows 11 with its new TPM 2.0 requirement.

Steam is quite literally DRM, to the point where you don't buy games, you buy a license to access them. If you disconnect your computer from the internet, Steam will eventually clear its cache from your credentials and you won't have access to anything you have installed in the past.
Storefronts like GoG allow you to download fully offline installers so you can play your games on offline environments. Steam, Epic, etc. don't allow for this, hence you simply don't own what you pay for and they will develop a massive catalogue of dead games (ones that require an older OS than the client supports). This is part of the reason why people say sailing the high seas is crucial to the preservation of digital media.

If Microsoft drops support for Windows 10, then it won't get security updates. Steam cannot guarantee account safety if the OS you use to access their services does not receive security updates, but they will be held responsible for accounts being hacked. As a result, Steam will drop support (relatively) soon after Microsoft stops updating the OS. If they wouldn't, they'd be liable for the security leaks of an OS they have no authority over.
This is why Steam dropped support for Windows 7 and 8 in January this year.

[Gorgo Primus]

Notwithstanding your legitimate concerns about what to do when Steam potentially drops support for the decade old OS that is 10 (a thing games themselves are probably going to increasingly do in the many years to come), Steam being a form of DRM has nothing to do with questions of if you own this or any other game.

I hate to tell you this but you only ever owned a licence for any of the games you bought before (and the otherwise worthless physical medium like a 2 cent cd-rom the files were stored on back when we used those). That's what all the EULAs you clicked past every time you installed a game declared, and it's a thing you agreed to every time you did so.

When you buy from GOG you also will only be buying the license; they're just handling the files used by the game you bought the right to play differently - and in a way some publishers aren't interested in allowing for their games. I won't claim to know if that's a factor here for Handelabra or not though cause I have no idea.

[<3 farmers cuz füd]

Originally posted by Gorgo Primus:

Notwithstanding your legitimate concerns about what to do when Steam potentially drops support for the decade old OS that is 10 (a thing games themselves are probably going to increasingly do in the many years to come), Steam being a form of DRM has nothing to do with questions of if you own this or any other game.

I hate to tell you this but you only ever owned a licence for any of the games you bought before (and the otherwise worthless physical medium like a 2 cent cd-rom the files were stored on back when we used those). That's what all the EULAs you clicked past every time you installed a game declared, and it's a thing you agreed to every time you did so.

When you buy from GOG you also will only be buying the license; they're just handling the files used by the game you bought the right to play differently - and in a way some publishers aren't interested in allowing for their games. I won't claim to know if that's a factor here for Handelabra or not though cause I have no idea.

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. If I'm in possession of the files and they can be used independent of anything else, then it can be said that I own that software instance (it isn't managed by anyone else). This is comparable to how ownership as a general concept works.

Let's say GoG revokes your access license, you can continue to use the offline instances that you've downloaded without fear of any legal repercussions (because you own those instances).
I run several of their games in a Windows 7 VM that is completely detached from the internet. You can't do that with any DRM-based platform, because they can't manage anything that's on it.

[Evil_Kote]

Yeah, that'd be nice to have gog release as well. I oftentimes buy an extra copy there for truly fine games ;)

[Magnnus]

Steam has a lightweight DRM-implementation that developers can _opt into_. Most games on Steam have no DRM. You can copy the files, back them up, play them without Steam, etc. Even if Steam drops support for your OS, you can still play your games.

[<3 farmers cuz füd]

Originally posted by Magnnus:

Steam has a lightweight DRM-implementation that developers can _opt into_. Most games on Steam have no DRM. You can copy the files, back them up, play them without Steam, etc. Even if Steam drops support for your OS, you can still play your games.

When I close Steam and start Spirit Island (via the .exe), it closes itself after the intro, then starts up steam and starts the game properly.
After this test, I copied the folder over to a different system that lacks Steam. It starts, but doesn't load assets properly so the game gets stuck at a black screen with a custom cursor. Too bad since that did seem like an interesting alternative.

[truhlik]

Another +1 for GoG release. Even if it's currently not in ToDo list, I hope you'll change your mind one day.
To have trully DRM free version alongside with our tabletop one:)

[Asmodeus]

Thread starter, if and only if you are interested in pragmatic solutions:
(your lengthy posts somehow indicates otherwise to me)

1. Steam has an offline mode.
You install all your steam games. Enable offline mode.
Now you can stay on Windows 10 forever.

2. Spirit Island has a native Steam Linux version.
So if you are fed up with MS forcing Win11 with TPM down your throat, just install Linux.
Run Spirit Island from Steam from there.
You even don't need to dual boot or something for Linux. The most simple solution is to install a VM like VMWare Player or VirtualBox. Install Linux into this virtual machine. Run as guest on top of your existing Windows. Done. Performance issues are almost none existant due to hypervisor technology present in every modern hardware.

[zyxomma100]

I know there's a roughly 0% chance of it happening, but just throwing my feedback out there: I'm also one of the people that highly prioritize GOG releases over Steam. I'll pay a premium and/or rebuy things if it means I get a fully DRM-free version. There's dozens of us!

[slothrop]

It will be unsafe to continue to use Windows 10 when Microsoft support of it is dropped. Stay on an updated OS. Whether that is Mac, Linux, Windows, BSD, or whatever, just stay on something that is maintained for your own sake.