What Are You Playing 5: New Thread+

[Anteros]

The country of origin, or more specifically major corporate backer is an important factor with a lot of deeper implications that, again, veers into a discussion we cannot have here.

What I can say is that Epic's business practices are not ones that make me comfortable contributing to giving them the monopoly on the gaming market over Valve. Even in the absolute best case scenario giving Epic distribution supremacy would be similar to giving control to EA or another scummy major publisher.

I'm all for there being rival distributors, and if a service like GOG were to rise up and be the dominant distributor I'd have no issue.

I will not, however, contribute to Epic specifically becoming the top dog in the market.



This, by the way, is a supremely irresponsible mindset for security and a big reason why identity fraud becomes more and more common every year.

Good news. Epic isn't anywhere near to having any sort of monopoly on the market. If anyone has a monopoly, it's Steam. By an enormous margin.

As for security....yes, I'm terrified someone will steal my identity and...play video games? Steam doesn't have my cc info saved and neither does Epic. Security reasons aside, it keeps me from purchasing things on a whim. I use one password for things that don't matter, and more secure ones for things that actually do.

Even if they did have my info saved, it isn't visible. The worst case scenario would be someone gifting themselves some games though my Steam account which would be trivial to reverse. If someone wants to "hack" me and watch my netflix account or whatever? I'll survive.

[Rynjin]

Play your games...lock you out of your account...sell it to other people for a quick buck...while they're at it nab your email address too, sell that to information trawlers, try a few of your password variants on that for shiggles to see if they can get in, etc.

No big if you don't like your accounts that much and feel like dealing with the hassle of repurchasing everything or (if you're lucky) spending weeks dealing with customer support to get the account back, and so on.

[Anteros]

Play your games...lock you out of your account...sell it to other people for a quick buck...while they're at it nab your email address too, sell that to information trawlers, try a few of your password variants on that for shiggles to see if they can get in, etc.

No big if you don't like your accounts that much and feel like dealing with the hassle of repurchasing everything or (if you're lucky) spending weeks dealing with customer support to get the account back, and so on.

lol, ok. This is just baseless fearmongering. They would have to already have my email account to do any of that for one thing. For another, verifying your information with a company is as trivial as telling them your recovery email or your credit card info. It might be a bit of a hassle, and you might not be able to play your games for a day or two in the incredibly unlikely event you get hacked, but that's it.

[Cazero]

Just....tell it to leave you logged in? Or use the same password as you do for steam?

How is that supposed to help keeping my games in a single list where I can access them all?

[Anteros]

How is that supposed to help keeping my games in a single list where I can access them all?

I mean...it's 2 clicks. Literally. If that's the amount of inconvenience it takes to "infuriate you" then I suppose there's nothing I can say.

[Morgaln]

I mean the amount of things that require that sort of thing at this point is a bit ridiculous. I have passwords on more sites than I can count, which I don't always use daily. I might come back to something after a long time and have completely forgotten the password in the first place. To get proper passwords for all the things I do would probably require writing them all down in a notebook and consulting it each day to log into multiple sites every day. It would be a minor project in of itself to set that up, and hassle to keep to it every day. The concerns of security always inevitably, fall to the entropy of convenience.

That's where a password manager comes in. That way, all you need to remember is one password.

[halfeye]

At the very least you should be using different passwords on any site or service that has your credit card information...which these gaming service do, unless all your purchases are made via gift cards?

Or buy your games elsewhere. Steam is DRM to me, more acceptable DRM than having to keep the disc in the drive, but still DRM, and nothing more.

[Rynjin]

lol, ok. This is just baseless fearmongering. They would have to already have my email account to do any of that for one thing. For another, verifying your information with a company is as trivial as telling them your recovery email or your credit card info. It might be a bit of a hassle, and you might not be able to play your games for a day or two in the incredibly unlikely event you get hacked, but that's it.

I have had two friends permanently lose access to their Origin accounts because they got hacked. Everything they bought on the platform: gonezo.

It happens.

[Thomas Cardew]

lol, ok. This is just baseless fearmongering. They would have to already have my email account to do any of that for one thing. For another, verifying your information with a company is as trivial as telling them your recovery email or your credit card info. It might be a bit of a hassle, and you might not be able to play your games for a day or two in the incredibly unlikely event you get hacked, but that's it.

Or you know, fully lose control of your computer. Or elevate local privileges to download new malware.

Games run at fairly deep levels of access. Particularly online ones which utilize anti-cheat mechanisms. This leaves you vulnerable to both malicious attacks from the developers, mandated vulnerabilities from their governments, disgruntled employees or their general poor security practices. They don't need to be actively malicious just incompetent and other actors will find ways to exploit their mistakes.

And security in video games doesn't pay, so it's usually skimped on. Think of how many online games have problems with cheating and how infrequently those exploits are patched.

[Anteros]

Or you know, fully lose control of your computer. Or elevate local privileges to download new malware.

Games run at fairly deep levels of access. Particularly online ones which utilize anti-cheat mechanisms. This leaves you vulnerable to both malicious attacks from the developers, mandated vulnerabilities from their governments, disgruntled employees or their general poor security practices. They don't need to be actively malicious just incompetent and other actors will find ways to exploit their mistakes.

And security in video games doesn't pay, so it's usually skimped on. Think of how many online games have problems with cheating and how infrequently those exploits are patched.

Neither of those examples have anything to do with the conversation we're having. They're vulnerabilities through the programs for the computer you're playing on. Nothing to do with someone getting your password. They would have to have access to your actual computer to be relevant.

I have had two friends permanently lose access to their Origin accounts because they got hacked. Everything they bought on the platform: gonezo.

It happens.

If you say so. Seems like something a single phone call could fix. Unless you keep your account anonymous for some reason. I've heard of companies with notoriously ****ty customer service like Mihoyo refusing to restore hacked accounts, but never heard of it from a big developer.

[Rynjin]

They were basically just told to get ****ed by EA customer service, and it took a week to even get that.

Maybe don't comment on things you have no knowledge of or experience about?

[Anonymouswizard]

I mean the amount of things that require that sort of thing at this point is a bit ridiculous. I have passwords on more sites than I can count, which I don't always use daily. I might come back to something after a long time and have completely forgotten the password in the first place. To get proper passwords for all the things I do would probably require writing them all down in a notebook and consulting it each day to log into multiple sites every day. It would be a minor project in of itself to set that up, and hassle to keep to it every day. The concerns of security always inevitably, fall to the entropy of convenience.

Yeah, as was said earlier, password managers. Forget VPNs, paying for one of those is pretty much the best thing you can do for internet security.

And I need to doubycheck I'm using a strong password for my Origin account.

[Anteros]

They were basically just told to get ****ed by EA customer service, and it took a week to even get that.

Maybe don't comment on things you have no knowledge of or experience about?

I mean...I don't believe you.

I'm not calling you a liar, but I don't believe your friends actually pursued every possible channel or that the story went down exactly like they told you. I've been hacked before, and it's never been anything that a phone call didn't fix if the internet ticket didn't work. Call. Verify credit card info and identity. Done.

Also, I'll talk about whatever I want. Thanks.

[Rynjin]

Edited: You know what? You're not worth my time and energy.

[Zombimode]

I'm all for there being rival distributors, and if a service like GOG were to rise up and be the dominant distributor I'd have no issue.

Is GoG really that far off from Steam?

I've not warmed up to the "new" GoG Client, but it DOES combine all your games from all distributor clients you've installed on your machine in one library.

[Rynjin]

Is GoG really that far off from Steam?

I've not warmed up to the "new" GoG Client, but it DOES combine all your games from all distributor clients you've installed on your machine in one library.

In terms of prominence and selection it falls behind Steam. I know their dedication to DRM free versions of games have led to a lot of games just not being available on their platform. It also doesn't really have the brand appeal, likely because a lot of people see the name and think new games aren't available on the site, which is...partially true, due to the aforementioned limitation combined with a lot of major publishers having required DRM.

Trying to skirt that got them in hot water with their userbase recently (the Hitman "scandal").

[Anonymouswizard]

In terms of prominence and selection it falls behind Steam. I know their dedication to DRM free versions of games have led to a lot of games just not being available on their platform. It also doesn't really have the brand appeal, likely because a lot of people see the name and think new games aren't available on the site, which is...partially true, due to the aforementioned limitation combined with a lot of major publishers having required DRM.

Trying to skirt that got them in hot water with their userbase recently (the Hitman "scandal").

To be fair DRM free is a legitimate benefit to the user. But on the downside it does mean a less permissive refunds policy, I can see why there was outcry.

But this forum probably isn't the place to discuss DRM.

[Wookieetank]

Got three new games for my birthday recently, and now I'm having to try and juggle playing them.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: The combat is passable, but the story is good and the visuals are just stunning. Lots of exploring to be done, and plenty of side activities you can get lost in.

Hades: Haven't played a whole lot of this one yet, but it is solid. All the praise this game gets is well deserved, and I look forward to getting into the rest of it.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Just arrived yesterday (thanks amazon for delaying the shipping a week and some change), and definitely see this one winning out over the other two for me. Started off on Hard difficulty (why not, I've got several SMT titles under my belt at this point...), and after 3 game overs in the first hour of playing decided normal wasn't such a terrible idea. And normal is still rather tough, but at least its fair. Seeing the demons in 3d again for the first time since SMT3 is a real treat. They've also added in platforming exploration, which is great fun. Really any RPG with a jump button is okay in my book, even if you don't need to ever jump, its just fun.

[warty goblin]

To be fair DRM free is a legitimate benefit to the user. But on the downside it does mean a less permissive refunds policy, I can see why there was outcry.

But this forum probably isn't the place to discuss DRM.

GoG's current policy is that you can apply for a refund within 30 days, with essentially automatic approval if you have an unsolved technical issue, it's a pre-order that isn't out yet, or it's an in development title, and I suspect a very high rate of approval for other cases. Pretty comparable to Steam in other words.

I've come really like GoG's new launcher. I don't really use it for non-GoG games, mostly because I buy most stuff through GoG in the first place, but it's pretty easy to navigate and lets me do all the install management Steam does but in a sane interface. Unlike Steam it isn't clogged up with points and profiles and trading cards and account levels and the other detritus of years of monetization and engagement schemes. Galaxy is just a launcher that keeps stuff up to date, which is all I really need or want.


I continue my adventures in Solasta. This Defiler can go die in a fire, cause it keeps kicking my ass. I think the key is to lure it put of the magical darkness, then crank up the illumination and see if I can shank it in a hurry. Also, how cool is it that the game can support an entire dungeon themed around using lighting levels to your advantage? I don't think I've ever seen that before, and it's a really awesome piece of design.

[Cespenar]

I would love to use GoG more as an alternative to Steam since some of their stances are pretty laudable and all that... but they basically show a middle finger to the non-western world by proudly refusing regional pricing, so, yeah, nah.

I continue my adventures in Solasta. This Defiler can go die in a fire, cause it keeps kicking my ass. I think the key is to lure it put of the magical darkness, then crank up the illumination and see if I can shank it in a hurry. Also, how cool is it that the game can support an entire dungeon themed around using lighting levels to your advantage? I don't think I've ever seen that before, and it's a really awesome piece of design.

Yeah, if by Defiler you mean the not!Vampires, the trick is applying light indeed. I also did use a bit of 5e meta by having a Paladin AND Cleric in the party, so that should have made it a bit easier than it was supposed to be as well. Those classes are just too good in 5e.

[warty goblin]

Yeah, if by Defiler you mean the not!Vampires, the trick is applying light indeed. I also did use a bit of 5e meta by having a Paladin AND Cleric in the party, so that should have made it a bit easier than it was supposed to be as well. Those classes are just too good in 5e.

Yep, those are the ones. The wraith also cleaned my clock until I realized it regenerated all its hp if it got to stay in darkness, which was a mechanic I had basically been ignoring thanks to my entire party having darkvision. I'm got a druid, a sorcerer, a rogue, and a fighter (whom I think I built rather badly) so the undead have been a bit rough, but third time should be the charm.

Also maybe next time I won't roll quite so many 2s. When you have advantage and you roll double 4s, it just isn't your day.

[Cespenar]

Yep, those are the ones. The wraith also cleaned my clock until I realized it regenerated all its hp if it got to stay in darkness, which was a mechanic I had basically been ignoring thanks to my entire party having darkvision. I'm got a druid, a sorcerer, a rogue, and a fighter (whom I think I built rather badly) so the undead have been a bit rough, but third time should be the charm.

Also maybe next time I won't roll quite so many 2s. When you have advantage and you roll double 4s, it just isn't your day.

Btw, quick and dirty protip: any kind of light is good for those guys, not just magical/sunlight. So, even torchlights will hurt them if they start their turn near one.

[Wildstag]

The Pathless came out on Steam the other day, so I picked that up. I've only just finished Sauro's plateau, but it was really fun, and I love how the boss fights require puzzle-thinking too.

Also, Gunfire Reborn got an update and a new area/boss, so I've been playing that with some friends too.

[NeoVid]

How is that supposed to help keeping my games in a single list where I can access them all?

Because you can add non-Steam games to your Steam library and launch them through Steam as long as you stay logged into the other service.

[Cazero]

Because you can add non-Steam games to your Steam library and launch them through Steam as long as you stay logged into the other service.

Good to know. I'll probably never use it.

[halfeye]

Because you can add non-Steam games to your Steam library and launch them through Steam as long as you stay logged into the other service.

"Logged into the other service" means if you need the disc in the drive to play when not on Steam, you still need the disc in the drive to play when on Steam if the game isn't a Steam game, the lack of which is the main advantage to the customer of games being on Steam.

[Anteros]

"Logged into the other service" means if you need the disc in the drive to play when not on Steam, you still need the disc in the drive to play when on Steam if the game isn't a Steam game, the lack of which is the main advantage to the customer of games being on Steam.

Is that even a thing anymore? Or are you using a metaphor and I'm being dense? I haven't had a game require a disk in over a decade, and I certainly don't exclusively use Steam. Seems like a complete non-issue. Certainly no games that you buy through another launcher such as epic are going to require physical copies.

[Rynjin]

Is that even a thing anymore? Or are you using a metaphor and I'm being dense? I haven't had a game require a disk in over a decade, and I certainly don't exclusively use Steam. Seems like a complete non-issue. Certainly no games that you buy through another launcher such as epic are going to require physical copies.

I THINK what they're trying to say is Steam is the "disc in drive" equivalent here, and he's against even the soft-DRM Steam and other launchers provide so he only uses the raw EXEs?

It's very hard to tell what he means though.

[warty goblin]

I think the bigger failing of adding non-Steam games to Steam is that, so far as I am aware, it's literally just adding a shortcut in Steam, so I can launch it through Steam. That's no more convenient than a desktop shortcut; arguably less since it means I have to deal with Steam and it's still pretty dismal GUI. Managing patches, versions, installs, DLC, etc isn't helped at all by having a button in Steam. And I've got a triple digit number of games on GoG, with a fluctuating subset installed at any given time, going through and adding a new title to Steam is just making work for myself. The advantage of the Galaxy launcher is that it goes a fair way towards an actually unified game manager, not just a game launcher. You can for instance tell Galaxy to install a game you own through Steam, and it opens Steam and starts the download. Still gotta hit the Finish button after Steam prepares files for install, but that's on Steam's pretty dismal GUI. Same with uninstalls; I haven't tried switching to old versions of a game or enabling/disabling DLC for a Steam game through Galaxy though, so that might not be possible.

[halfeye]

Is that even a thing anymore?

It's a thing with some old games, Oblivion for one. It's not a Steam game, you can set it up to load from Steam, but if you do, you still need the Oblivion disc in the drive, so you're better off not bothering with Steam for Oblivion. There are other games that need discs (Dragon age Origins for one), I assume they work the same way.