Not DRM-free?

[lukaself]

Hey there! The game is absolutely excellent, no problem there. However, Devolver releases are usually DRM-free and it looks like this game is crashing after the Massive Monster logo if the Steam client isn't running. (I'm using Family Sharing, not a pirated copy, if anyone's getting the wrong idea )

Is this intentional or an oversight? To my knowledge, this would be the first Devolver game I purchased to not be DRM-free, i.e. unable to run without the Steam client. Thanks in advance!

[lukaself]

Trying a single bump then moving on. It's weird for the game to not be DRM-free since it also released on GOG.

[Fido]

The Steam client is the DRM. This is known. The client itself is required to verify and run games, whether online or offline, this is simply how Steam operates.

[lukaself]

Originally posted by DANGER☠POSSUM:

The Steam client is the DRM. This is known. The client itself is required to verify and run games, whether online or offline, this is simply how Steam operates.

Steam also sells DRM free games. Most Devolver Games do not actually require the client to function and it's very easy to test this yourself by uninstalling Steam after installing one of their games. However, since the game crashes AFTER the studio's logo, it means that there's something else than Steam's DRM interfering or it would simply not start at all.

https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_big_list_of_DRM-free_games_on_Steam

[lukaself]

No answer? I guess I'll just have to accept the game is simply not DRM-free and move on then.

Still it's really great. Have fun everyone.

[<:)]

Is anything on steam DRM free?

[Bowi]

Originally posted by lukaself:

Trying a single bump then moving on. It's weird for the game to not be DRM-free since it also released on GOG. :happyotus:

GOG is stuck with version 1.00 of the game. Worst Devolver Digital release for customers.

[lukaself]

Originally posted by Bowi:

Originally posted by lukaself:

Trying a single bump then moving on. It's weird for the game to not be DRM-free since it also released on GOG.

GOG is stuck with version 1.00 of the game. Worst Devolver Digital release for customers.

What? That's not good. Even though it was very late, it looks like the GOG team still had to roll back the latest update[www.gog.com] due to QA concerns... I wonder if it has anything to do with that weird extra DRM check making the game crash after the logo if the client is not running?

The game is really great but not quite the consumer-oriented experience I came to expect from a Devolver release.

[Bowi]

I just asked for a refund from Steam because the game is not DRM-free. I only have 2 minutes of "play time". Hopefully I get refunded. I'll wait for GOG, otherwise I'll just not buy the game.

[TamanduaGirl]

You don't need to uninstall Steam to check. Just go into task manager and turn everything steam off.I just did and you're right. It does crash.

That does suck some because then if the internet's out it wont let me play, has been my experience on some games. Like oh you want to play in offline mode, cool lets just log you in to steam first, oh sorry can't log you in right now due to your internet not working. Definitely sucks when I'm in an area where we lose power a lot(which means no internet as well) but I have a laptop that could let me play for awhile till power comes back.

Not a deal breaker for me but it is annoying not to be able to play a game you own offline.

[Bowi]

Originally posted by TamanduaGirl:

You don't need to uninstall Steam to check. Just go into task manager and turn everything steam off.I just did and you're right. It does crash.

That does suck some because then if the internet's out it wont let me play, has been my experience on some games. Like oh you want to play in offline mode, cool lets just log you in to steam first, oh sorry can't log you in right now due to your internet not working. Definitely sucks when I'm in an area where we lose power a lot(which means no internet as well) but I have a laptop that could let me play for awhile till power comes back.

Not a deal breaker for me but it is annoying not to be able to play a game you own offline.

I think you are confusing "offline mode" with genuine "DRM-free".

[TamanduaGirl]

Originally posted by Bowi:

I think you are confusing "offline mode" with genuine "DRM-free".

No they are two separate things that effect each other. If it has to log you in due to how the DRM is set up then you can't play it without internet because it can't log you in. Steam wont run without internet(doesn't for me anyway) and this wont run without steam working. I'm able to work around this with some games by going to the game exe and launching without steam. That wont be the case with this one.

If you're not worried about being able to play off line then how is it a problem?

[lukaself]

I was looking for good games to gift around and this one definitely qualifies so I thought I'd check up on that particular issue before potentially gifting a game some of my friends wouldn't be able to use.

It seems the devs recently confirmed that the game crashing after the logo when not online and connected through the Steam client is technical issue and not a deliberate choice. Not even the GOG version runs DRM-free currently: you have to be online AND run the Galaxy client.

While that's good to know it's not on purpose and that Devolver's policies did not suddenly change, I think that after nine months it's still problematic. It would be awesome if a dev or a mod passing by would chime in on this topic, just to know if there are plans to address it.

[lukaself]

Most of the negative reviews on GOG are about what they assume to be an always online DRM crashing the game. I've seen quite a number of people refunding the game on both GOG and Steam citing exactly that.

Maybe at least make an announcement to clear the misunderstanding? You guys might be losing a number of sales over a simple bug, just saying.

[Kohanis]

In fact, gog version tied to galaxy, yeah. "DRM-Free" btw

[Stinky Sack]

Originally posted by lukaself:

Most of the negative reviews on GOG are about what they assume to be an always online DRM crashing the game. I've seen quite a number of people refunding the game on both GOG and Steam citing exactly that.

Maybe at least make an announcement to clear the misunderstanding? You guys might be losing a number of sales over a simple bug, just saying. :yikes:

its not a bug. See the dev reply here
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1313140/discussions/1/3761104049342941821/