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This is why I'm not a fan of Steam-type stores... they'll eventually be gone, and the games I've paid for won't be accessible. Occasionally I love going back t

This is why I'm not a fan of Steam-type stores... they'll eventually be gone, and the games I've paid for won't be accessible. Occasionally I love going back through my old CD-Rs (copied to hard drive, of course), finding old troves of files, projects, and games. That's why I always get the latest Factorio as direct download - I know someday in 20 years time I'll be hankering to bust that out again!

PostOnce 8y ago
Not only that, but Steam games get fucked with after release, so you can't even necessarily get the original game if Steam is still operating. https://www.pcgamer.com/au/grand-theft-auto-san-andreas-steam-update-removes-songs-resolution-options/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/grand-theft-auto-san-andreas-stea... (songs removed from San Andreas due to time-limited music licenses, apparently at some point the renderer was replaced with the one used for iOS) I think you can't downgrade to an old version of Stranger's Wrath either, but I could be wrong there. https://www.destructoid.com/oddworld-stranger-s-wrath-finally-goes-hd-on-steam-235041.phtml https://www.destructoid.com/oddworld-stranger-s-wrath-finall... Then there are games like Diablo III where you need to be online to play single player, and therefore need a current patch, which means they can nerf or fuck with in any way they want a game you already liked and may no longer like after the changes. Having to follow patches sucks, and piracy is often the only way to avoid it.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- nzbahz 8y ago
  Happened with GTA 4 this last year too: https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/27/17292836/gta-4-soundtrack-removed-song-list-patch https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/27/17292836/gta-4-soundtrack-...
- profmonocle 8y ago
  WoW is a pretty good example of this too. Patches and expansions changed so much over the years that many players feel like it isn’t the same game anymore. Blizzard fought against private servers running the classic game for years, until the pay finally decided to make official classic servers. (But if your favorite iteration of the game was something between classic and current, you’re still out of luck.)
  - bausshf 8y ago
    Sounds like RuneScape too. They even killed the official classic version not too long ago.
- breakingcups 8y ago
  San Andreas version history is particularly convoluted and messy, as you can read here: https://gtamods.com/wiki/San_Andreas_Versions https://gtamods.com/wiki/San_Andreas_Versions Short version: 1.0: Various bugs 1.01: Patch, fixed a whole bunch of issues 2.0: Only introduced a (easily defeated) tampering check after the Hot Coffee controversy 3.0: First steam release, is not based at all on 1.01 or 2.0 but on the Xbox version. Fixes from 1.01 are thus NOT IN THIS VERSION(!). Also contains many Xbox UI changes. newsteam r1: Removes the aforementioned songs, drops support for DirectInput controllers, blacklists 5:4 resolutions. Doesn't actually have a version number anymore (and is named by the community) newsteam r2: Unlocks 16:9 resolutions. Also doesn't contain an official version number. Then there is the Microsoft Store version, which is based on a mobile version!
dbg31415 8y ago
> This is why I'm not a fan of Steam-type stores A lot of games are multi-player. Even if the software existed, once the community dies it's not the same game. It's fine, nothing lasts forever. We use it, we enjoy it, and we move on to the next thing that's enjoyable. You can't go home again, but you can always find a new home.
- vertex-four 8y ago
  A huge amount of games - most, even - are not multiplayer. It’s only within the current AAA environment that multiplayer is placed as a primary feature of many games, but even there there’s plenty of options for single-player experiences. And in any case, there’s still dozens of communities around old arena shooters and the like. If those had an arbitrary lifespan applied to them based on when some company or other shut down, that’d be impossible.
  - dbg31415 8y ago
    I have "X-COM: Terror from the Deep" on Steam. The game came out in 1996. And every so often, it'll popup and ask, "What is the icon on page 37 of the manual?" It's a cute throwback to what copy protection used to be. But it's a bit obscene that they didn't run the crack to take out the copy protection checks once they ported it over to Steam. Once the window pops up, the game is unplayable until you type in the right code. I was furious my first time through. I spent all night reliving nostalgic fantasies, only to get pretty far in and hit that wall. And, because I left the game on when I went to bed on Friday, it looked like I had played it for like 48 hours, so by the time I got around to filing a complaint with Steam to get a refund, they were like, "You've clearly been playing the game for 48+ hours..." Frustrating. The person on the other end of the phone thought I was a babbling idiot when I said the game had copy protection and asked for a copy of the manual. It was one of the funniest moments of tech support I've ever been on. Luckily, I found a a PDF of the user manual with all the symbols.
    - voltagex_ 8y ago
      Although CD Projekt Red is far from perfect, GOG's version https://www.gog.com/game/xcom_terror_from_the_deep https://www.gog.com/game/xcom_terror_from_the_deep is DRM free and includes the manual. Unsure if the old copy protection has been patched out. Looks like there's also an engine reimplementation: https://openxcom.org/ https://openxcom.org/
michaelchisari 8y ago
There was a game for iOS by Squaresoft called Chaos Rings that was quite good. It felt very nostalgic in it's design, reminding me of SNES/PS1 era role playing games. It's no longer in the Apple Store (along with Chaos Rings II) even though I paid $15 for each. Not cool.
- careersuicide 8y ago
  Something similar happened to Sega's Shining Force for iOS. I paid $1.99 for it around 2013 or 2014 and it was great. Shining Force is one of my favorite games for the Sega Genesis and it's perfect for on the go mobile since it's a turn based strategy game. I hadn't played it in a couple of years and got an itch about a month ago so I loaded it up with much anticipation. Turns out sometime last year (or late 2017?) Sega had updated it to include ads and in the process wiped all saved games for all users. Now there is a premium upgrade to remove ads which, from what I can gather from the reviews, doesn't actually remove all of the ads, just some of them. Oh and you can't play without an Internet connection now since all save games are stored off device on Sega's servers. I don't ever leave reviews for apps, but I was so angry I had to vent somewhere. This kind of shit is absolutely unacceptable garbage and everyone involved in the process that led up to it happening should be ashamed. At least I'm not out $30 though. Yikes.
  - tangue 8y ago
    Same thing happpened with Streets of Rage And Columns. I won't buy any Sega game anymore.
PurpleRamen 8y ago
Steam is only a distributor and package-manager/launcher. It's up to the selling company whether the game will have DRM-mechanisms. As I read, half of the fames are already DRM-free, not sure whether it's really true. There is also GOG which is a store dedicated to selling only DRM-free games. Sadly, they have their own package-manager/launcher too. Same goes for blizzard, twitch, EA, epic games... Sometimes I wonder ifvthe world wiuldn't better with sone kibd of centralized digital-content-managment platform, and all those stores and launchers just tap into it.

PostOnce 8y ago

Not only that, but Steam games get fucked with after release, so you can't even necessarily get the original game if Steam is still operating. https://www.pcgamer.com/au/grand-theft-auto-san-andreas-steam-update-removes-songs-resolution-options/ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/grand-theft-auto-san-andreas-stea... (songs removed from San Andreas due to time-limited music licenses, apparently at some point the renderer was replaced with the one used for iOS) I think you can't downgrade to an old version of Stranger's Wrath either, but I could be wrong there. https://www.destructoid.com/oddworld-stranger-s-wrath-finally-goes-hd-on-steam-235041.phtml https://www.destructoid.com/oddworld-stranger-s-wrath-finall... Then there are games like Diablo III where you need to be online to play single player, and therefore need a current patch, which means they can nerf or fuck with in any way they want a game you already liked and may no longer like after the changes. Having to follow patches sucks, and piracy is often the only way to avoid it.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
nzbahz 8y ago
Happened with GTA 4 this last year too: https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/27/17292836/gta-4-soundtrack-removed-song-list-patch https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/27/17292836/gta-4-soundtrack-...
profmonocle 8y ago
WoW is a pretty good example of this too. Patches and expansions changed so much over the years that many players feel like it isn’t the same game anymore. Blizzard fought against private servers running the classic game for years, until the pay finally decided to make official classic servers. (But if your favorite iteration of the game was something between classic and current, you’re still out of luck.)
- bausshf 8y ago
  Sounds like RuneScape too. They even killed the official classic version not too long ago.
breakingcups 8y ago
San Andreas version history is particularly convoluted and messy, as you can read here: https://gtamods.com/wiki/San_Andreas_Versions https://gtamods.com/wiki/San_Andreas_Versions Short version: 1.0: Various bugs 1.01: Patch, fixed a whole bunch of issues 2.0: Only introduced a (easily defeated) tampering check after the Hot Coffee controversy 3.0: First steam release, is not based at all on 1.01 or 2.0 but on the Xbox version. Fixes from 1.01 are thus NOT IN THIS VERSION(!). Also contains many Xbox UI changes. newsteam r1: Removes the aforementioned songs, drops support for DirectInput controllers, blacklists 5:4 resolutions. Doesn't actually have a version number anymore (and is named by the community) newsteam r2: Unlocks 16:9 resolutions. Also doesn't contain an official version number. Then there is the Microsoft Store version, which is based on a mobile version!

dbg31415 8y ago

> This is why I'm not a fan of Steam-type stores A lot of games are multi-player. Even if the software existed, once the community dies it's not the same game. It's fine, nothing lasts forever. We use it, we enjoy it, and we move on to the next thing that's enjoyable. You can't go home again, but you can always find a new home.

vertex-four 8y ago
A huge amount of games - most, even - are not multiplayer. It’s only within the current AAA environment that multiplayer is placed as a primary feature of many games, but even there there’s plenty of options for single-player experiences. And in any case, there’s still dozens of communities around old arena shooters and the like. If those had an arbitrary lifespan applied to them based on when some company or other shut down, that’d be impossible.
- dbg31415 8y ago
  I have "X-COM: Terror from the Deep" on Steam. The game came out in 1996. And every so often, it'll popup and ask, "What is the icon on page 37 of the manual?" It's a cute throwback to what copy protection used to be. But it's a bit obscene that they didn't run the crack to take out the copy protection checks once they ported it over to Steam. Once the window pops up, the game is unplayable until you type in the right code. I was furious my first time through. I spent all night reliving nostalgic fantasies, only to get pretty far in and hit that wall. And, because I left the game on when I went to bed on Friday, it looked like I had played it for like 48 hours, so by the time I got around to filing a complaint with Steam to get a refund, they were like, "You've clearly been playing the game for 48+ hours..." Frustrating. The person on the other end of the phone thought I was a babbling idiot when I said the game had copy protection and asked for a copy of the manual. It was one of the funniest moments of tech support I've ever been on. Luckily, I found a a PDF of the user manual with all the symbols.
  - voltagex_ 8y ago
    Although CD Projekt Red is far from perfect, GOG's version https://www.gog.com/game/xcom_terror_from_the_deep https://www.gog.com/game/xcom_terror_from_the_deep is DRM free and includes the manual. Unsure if the old copy protection has been patched out. Looks like there's also an engine reimplementation: https://openxcom.org/ https://openxcom.org/

michaelchisari 8y ago

There was a game for iOS by Squaresoft called Chaos Rings that was quite good. It felt very nostalgic in it's design, reminding me of SNES/PS1 era role playing games. It's no longer in the Apple Store (along with Chaos Rings II) even though I paid $15 for each. Not cool.

careersuicide 8y ago
Something similar happened to Sega's Shining Force for iOS. I paid $1.99 for it around 2013 or 2014 and it was great. Shining Force is one of my favorite games for the Sega Genesis and it's perfect for on the go mobile since it's a turn based strategy game. I hadn't played it in a couple of years and got an itch about a month ago so I loaded it up with much anticipation. Turns out sometime last year (or late 2017?) Sega had updated it to include ads and in the process wiped all saved games for all users. Now there is a premium upgrade to remove ads which, from what I can gather from the reviews, doesn't actually remove all of the ads, just some of them. Oh and you can't play without an Internet connection now since all save games are stored off device on Sega's servers. I don't ever leave reviews for apps, but I was so angry I had to vent somewhere. This kind of shit is absolutely unacceptable garbage and everyone involved in the process that led up to it happening should be ashamed. At least I'm not out $30 though. Yikes.
- tangue 8y ago
  Same thing happpened with Streets of Rage And Columns. I won't buy any Sega game anymore.

PurpleRamen 8y ago

Steam is only a distributor and package-manager/launcher. It's up to the selling company whether the game will have DRM-mechanisms. As I read, half of the fames are already DRM-free, not sure whether it's really true. There is also GOG which is a store dedicated to selling only DRM-free games. Sadly, they have their own package-manager/launcher too. Same goes for blizzard, twitch, EA, epic games... Sometimes I wonder ifvthe world wiuldn't better with sone kibd of centralized digital-content-managment platform, and all those stores and launchers just tap into it.