Probably A Stupid Question, But...

[MoDon]

...as they say. There are no such thing as stupid questions. Only stupid people. Or something like that.

The high school my son attends has a LAN party once a month where they hook up a bunch of computers in the common area after school on a Friday and they plan LAN games on them for several hours. It is very popular.

My son would like to make an upcoming LAN party a Factorio party, but they would need roughly 20 copies of the game and the school would not be able to buy them.

Is there a download version of Factorio that would preferably work without Steam, but would work for their LAN party and maybe only be functional for a specific period of time?

I know there probably isn't, but I am just hoping there is a solution short of the school needing to come up with $400 for the game night.

[piccolo255]

If you want to keep it legal, which would probably be a smart choice for such an event, I don't think there is. There is a demo, but it doesn't have multiplayer. There are DRM-free versions that you can get from the official website or GOG, so you can get around Steam, but you'd still need to pay for them.

I'd suggest that you try and contact the devs directly ( https://www.factorio.com/contact ), maybe you can work something out with them. Or buy the keys and for the next few months add a tournament to the LAN party, with Factorio game keys as prizes :)

EDIT: Actually, handing out game keys as prizes may be against the ToS. If you want to try that idea, check with the devs beforehand!

[AlexMBrennan]

use drm-free version

The fact that DRM isn't use to enforce license requirements doesn't mean that you are allowed to hand out DRM free Factorio binaries to millions of people. People like you is why we have DRM.

[impetus_maximus]

have a fund drive. if i saw a bunch of kids asking for dontations to game, i would put 5 bucks in the jar.

[Horoai]

There is a DRM free version to be downloaded on their website but as others have said:
1 Bought license = 1 player if you want to keep it legal.

[Killcreek2]

@MoDon ~ email the devs as piccolo suggests. Tell them what you are planning ~ they may agree to a time-limited permission for the event, or possibly a cheap bundle deal.

This thread on the main forums may be worth a read ~ https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=54204

[PunCrathod]

Definedly contact the devs. They are really nice people and there have been similar situations before where someone wants copies of the game to an event and they often come to some mutually agreeable solution.

[KatherineOfSky]

Originally posted by Denadan:

Originally posted by AlexMBrennan:

The fact that DRM isn't use to enforce license requirements doesn't mean that you are allowed to hand out DRM free Factorio binaries to millions of people. People like you is why we have DRM.

yes, but in this case IMHO this is like a demo of the game. more people see it and more people will buy it. this is small limited event, not "that you are allowed to hand out DRM free Factorio binaries to millions of people"

That is NOT a demo.

The number of people is irrelevant. You are condoning piracy, which is illegal.

ANY discussion of piracy is forbidden by Steam rules.

[MoDon]

Thanks to everyone for the responses. I have read the other thread, and it was quite useful until it devolved into a gun discussion. I have reached out to the [e-mail] and posed my dilemma. Now I just need to wait for a response.

[Tackleberry]

Mind to keep us posted on the answer? :)

[Horoai]

Originally posted by Tackleberry:

Mind to keep us posted on the answer? :)

yeah that would be awesome.

[MoDon]

This was the response:


Hi,

For LAN parties/clubs etc. we generally don't require a license for each player,
We would allow just installing the DRM free version, for only school use

To setup the server you would then have to set the 'verify user identity' to false,
So it won't require online authentication to join the local server

We can process the purchase of a single game license,
It may be worth trying it first to see if it all works correctly on the school PC's

Kind regards,
Scott

[piccolo255]

Originally posted by MoDon:

This was the response:


Hi,

For LAN parties/clubs etc. we generally don't require a license for each player,
We would allow just installing the DRM free version, for only school use

To setup the server you would then have to set the 'verify user identity' to false,
So it won't require online authentication to join the local server

We can process the purchase of a single game license,
It may be worth trying it first to see if it all works correctly on the school PC's

Kind regards,
Scott

Very nice! Kudos to the awesome devs. It's always refreshing to see some common sense from a software company :D

Thanks for the report, and good luck with the event! I'm so jealous that my school had nothing like that :)

[MoDon]

Me too! I am jealous every time I visit this school.

LAN party this Friday! We will hopefully have Factorio on the menu.

[impetus_maximus]

set up the server, and test before game night so you are ready. ;)

[Follow Lord Jesus, He saves]

great idea, I wish my school would have gaming parties! Sadly we only have one game day in a whole year(IF WE ARE LUCKY) and this party is only for tablets so it kinda sucks. But thanks for posting this to let us help you out, glad you did!