5 ms·

When possible, try to prefer DRM-free versions of games. If there's DRM, then one doesn't really own it. PCGamingWiki [1] is a great resource that will list the

When possible, try to prefer DRM-free versions of games. If there's DRM, then one doesn't really own it. PCGamingWiki [1] is a great resource that will list the DRM status of a given game for different distributors (yes, some stores may have DRM while others do not). In general, GOG [2] is all DRM-free games. [1]: https://www.pcgamingwiki.com https://www.pcgamingwiki.com [2]: https://www.gog.com https://www.gog.com

tjoff 5y ago
Lack of DRM wouldn't help if you don't have any way of getting the copy or getting past the license check.
- deelly 5y ago
  Wait, but DRM free means that there no license check..
  - tjoff 5y ago
    Not what we usually mean when we say DRM though. The check can be done entirely offline.
    - f1refly 5y ago
      Who is "we"? How is checking for a licenso offline not drm? If there is no license key present the software still misbehaves in that case, no?
- falcor84 5y ago
  Doesn't DRM-free literally mean that you get a full local installation without any reliance on online licensing or any other digital restrictions?
  - tjoff 5y ago
    Sure, just like the olden days. But you still need a license key or equivalent - for an offline check. And in the case of an app store that is handled by the app store, you never get or see the key. So if you are banned that doesn't help. And even if you had a key you still don't have access to the install media. You could try to extract it from your drive but there is no guarantee that will work on another computer or OS-install since the installer might optionally install what is needed on that computer.
    - lc5G 5y ago
      This at most technically right and definitely wrong in practice. I am unsure if there is an existing exact definition of DRM (free) or you're using an uncommon definition of "license" but in practice services like GoG advertising DRM free and people buying DRM free all mean that there is no licensing check whatsoever. A GoG game comes with a single installer executable (single as in it is the same for everyone, no built in license) that and the resulting game it installs can be freely copied and used on as many machines as you like without any requirements. For example you do not need to have an internet connection or be running the GoG store application. So if you have downloaded and backed up the installer of the game you bought on GoG then for all intents and purposes you own this game. It does not matter what GoG does from this point on. You will always be able to use it.
      - tjoff 5y ago
        I will concede that the meaning might has changed with time. But at a point DRM was synonymous with online-checks and/or invasive spying and infecting the operating system. And that holds in spirit in today given all the criticism about DRM. It has never been about the inconvenience of entering a serial number (even though that indeed is a bit inconvenient it is most certainly not the source of the (justified) DRM hate we have today). The license key you entered and the following offline check when installing from CD/disk was/is considered something entirely different. I'd argue that the only reason that games today skip the license-check has absolutely nothing to do with DRM but with it being out of fashion and not considered to fulfilling its purpose anymore.
  - ghusbands 5y ago
    You still need to download it. There are plenty of situations in which you might not have downloaded it yet or might have lost/deleted your copy, knowing you can download it again. Also, I think the DRM people are referring to here is the kind that consists of rootkits, monitoring software and similar or, in simple cases, refuses to run or gives you some kind of penalty when it detects certain other software.
    - amarshall 5y ago
      Imagine if someone bought something for pickup from a store, never picked it up, and the store went out of business and liquidated. Did they ever really own it? I don’t know. I don’t expect any guarantees from digital goods being stored for free in a digital warehouse, unfortunately many do. One doesn’t own the nebulous copy on the distributor’s server, they own whatever copies they downloaded.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- rocqua 5y ago
  If you get the game legally DRM free. You get an installer you can just backup. If license keys are needed you get that too. From that point on, even if you get banned you can still use your local installer copy.
- amarshall 5y ago
  DRM-free games generally do not have any license key (I’ve never seen one with it, but that’s anecdotal). I’m not sure if an offline-only key check would be considered DRM; maybe is. Realistically such a check doesn’t do much, so what’s the point in including it. Back in the day it was often required to have one of the discs inserted to play—that is definitely DRM.

tjoff 5y ago

Lack of DRM wouldn't help if you don't have any way of getting the copy or getting past the license check.

deelly 5y ago
Wait, but DRM free means that there no license check..
- tjoff 5y ago
  Not what we usually mean when we say DRM though. The check can be done entirely offline.
  - f1refly 5y ago
    Who is "we"? How is checking for a licenso offline not drm? If there is no license key present the software still misbehaves in that case, no?
falcor84 5y ago
Doesn't DRM-free literally mean that you get a full local installation without any reliance on online licensing or any other digital restrictions?
- tjoff 5y ago
  Sure, just like the olden days. But you still need a license key or equivalent - for an offline check. And in the case of an app store that is handled by the app store, you never get or see the key. So if you are banned that doesn't help. And even if you had a key you still don't have access to the install media. You could try to extract it from your drive but there is no guarantee that will work on another computer or OS-install since the installer might optionally install what is needed on that computer.
  - lc5G 5y ago
    This at most technically right and definitely wrong in practice. I am unsure if there is an existing exact definition of DRM (free) or you're using an uncommon definition of "license" but in practice services like GoG advertising DRM free and people buying DRM free all mean that there is no licensing check whatsoever. A GoG game comes with a single installer executable (single as in it is the same for everyone, no built in license) that and the resulting game it installs can be freely copied and used on as many machines as you like without any requirements. For example you do not need to have an internet connection or be running the GoG store application. So if you have downloaded and backed up the installer of the game you bought on GoG then for all intents and purposes you own this game. It does not matter what GoG does from this point on. You will always be able to use it.
    - tjoff 5y ago
      I will concede that the meaning might has changed with time. But at a point DRM was synonymous with online-checks and/or invasive spying and infecting the operating system. And that holds in spirit in today given all the criticism about DRM. It has never been about the inconvenience of entering a serial number (even though that indeed is a bit inconvenient it is most certainly not the source of the (justified) DRM hate we have today). The license key you entered and the following offline check when installing from CD/disk was/is considered something entirely different. I'd argue that the only reason that games today skip the license-check has absolutely nothing to do with DRM but with it being out of fashion and not considered to fulfilling its purpose anymore.
- ghusbands 5y ago
  You still need to download it. There are plenty of situations in which you might not have downloaded it yet or might have lost/deleted your copy, knowing you can download it again. Also, I think the DRM people are referring to here is the kind that consists of rootkits, monitoring software and similar or, in simple cases, refuses to run or gives you some kind of penalty when it detects certain other software.
  - amarshall 5y ago
    Imagine if someone bought something for pickup from a store, never picked it up, and the store went out of business and liquidated. Did they ever really own it? I don’t know. I don’t expect any guarantees from digital goods being stored for free in a digital warehouse, unfortunately many do. One doesn’t own the nebulous copy on the distributor’s server, they own whatever copies they downloaded.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
rocqua 5y ago
If you get the game legally DRM free. You get an installer you can just backup. If license keys are needed you get that too. From that point on, even if you get banned you can still use your local installer copy.
amarshall 5y ago
DRM-free games generally do not have any license key (I’ve never seen one with it, but that’s anecdotal). I’m not sure if an offline-only key check would be considered DRM; maybe is. Realistically such a check doesn’t do much, so what’s the point in including it. Back in the day it was often required to have one of the discs inserted to play—that is definitely DRM.