Epic Games Joins GOG in the Goal to Deliver Universal Ownership of Digital Goods

[bug]

@EatingDirt If you read this thread carefully, you'll find GOG is the only client I approve of. I was talking about all the others

 

[demian_vi]

Doesn't GOG client already cover Steam store games as well?

Galaxy has community integrations for 3rd party stores and PS Network. The only offical integrations are Gog, Xbox and Epic, all my favorites brands.

 

[Vayra86]

Not to mention they all want to run at startup. You can stop that, but then you have to remember to start them by hand when you want to play something. I'd much rather these launcher didn't run on startup, but games purchased through them would start the launcher for you when they detect the required launcher is not running.
But who cares about UX, these are only there to police your purchases.

But that is how these launchers do alteady work. Nothing happens onstartup for me and if I click a game exe the launcher does get fired up.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Then occasionally you run into situations that seem completely backwards, like for example not too long ago epic launcher offered gta5 for free and I had actually never played it believe it or not so i downloaded it thru epic launcher but then it required me to download the rockstar launcher as well, so since i got gta thru the epic launcher but it actually requires rockstar launcher to run now all of a sudden i had to actually run two different launchers just for 1 game

Which is why I always buy Ubi games on Uplay, Rockstar games on Rockstar and Origin on Origin. Running 2 launchers is just cumbersome and has frequently been the number one factor in problems people have on Steam, for instance when they buy one of these other platform games on Steam. Same would apply to Epic.

 

[Franzen4Real]

I do like the idea: content usage is platform independant as it should be, and the seller/distributor is just that - it moves data around and gets money for it. The idea that there is some form of ownership tied to distribution is utterly ridiculous. And it will not hold in court, but we have yet to see that 'struggle' end up there

But yeah... said before, will say again... why reinvent the wheel and tie yourself to a NEW place with commercial outlook? As much as I like GoG... it really is just another tiny Steam with somewhat better conditions. The app below is not in beta but feature complete and will always work and you can put pretty much every exe in there that you fancy. Modded, unofficial, illegal, platform XYZ... whatever you want, and without the looming threat of telemetry or someone taking a peek at what you've got. Or constant UI changes.

Playnite - video game library manager

Video game library manager with one simple goal: To provide a unified interface for all of your games.

playnite.link

Unfortunately, I think it is going to be dinosaur Gabe, continuously refusing to evolve that will keep a universal launcher from becoming a standard across the big industry players. And the dinosaur followers will just keep building their walled Steam garden walls higher and higher, locking further into the ecosystem. Playnite is more than likely going to be the only option we have for some time, but thankfully it is a good one.

I was pointing out that you:
1. Don't need to remember to launch the clients if you use GOG Galaxy.
2. GoG galaxy does exactly what you want, it detects you wanting to run the game and starts both the launcher and the game. It will even close the launcher for you after you're done, if you change some settings. You don't need to have any other launcher active if you use Galaxy.

The Playnite app that Vayra86 linked above also does this (except I can not say for certain that it closes the launcher after use. I will have to try that later at home, or perhaps Vayra can chime in). But yea, I have never had launchers that start up with Windows. Playnite opens the launcher when you select the game you want to play.

 

[Mysteoa]

Then occasionally you run into situations that seem completely backwards, like for example not too long ago epic launcher offered gta5 for free and I had actually never played it believe it or not so i downloaded it thru epic launcher but then it required me to download the rockstar launcher as well, so since i got gta thru the epic launcher but it actually requires rockstar launcher to run now all of a sudden i had to actually run two different launchers just for 1 game

Which is why I always buy Ubi games on Uplay, Rockstar games on Rockstar and Origin on Origin. Running 2 launchers is just cumbersome and has frequently been the number one factor in problems people have on Steam, for instance when they buy one of these other platform games on Steam. Same would apply to Epic.

No you just need to register the copy on the rockstart launcher and then you can just run that launcher.
It is similar with Uplay. When you buy a Ubi game from steam it will launch the Uplay launcher and register the game license in your Uplay account. Then you can just start it directly from Uplay .

 

[Deleted member 177333]

I buy games on GOG all the time, but only download the offline installer and that's how it'll stay for me.

 

[Vayra86]

Unfortunately, I think it is going to be dinosaur Gabe, continuously refusing to evolve that will keep a universal launcher from becoming a standard across the big industry players. And the dinosaur followers will just keep building their walled Steam garden walls higher and higher, locking further into the ecosystem. Playnite is more than likely going to be the only option we have for some time, but thankfully it is a good one.



The Playnite app that Vayra86 linked above also does this (except I can not say for certain that it closes the launcher after use. I will have to try that later at home, or perhaps Vayra can chime in). But yea, I have never had launchers that start up with Windows. Playnite opens the launcher when you select the game you want to play.

No I dont think it closes launchers for us. But yeah. Non issue number two

 

[bug]

But that is how these launchers do alteady work. Nothing happens onstartup for me and if I click a game exe the launcher does get fired up.

Ha! They didn't do that last I checked (been a looong while). Glad to hear about that.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I buy games on GOG all the time, but only download the offline installer and that's how it'll stay for me.

Same here. That’s the thing I prefer about GOG that all installers can be downloaded and saved, and just run each game from a shortcut.

 

[Totally]

Origin is close to being a non-factor in comparison.

That's an overstatement.

 

[jayseearr]

Which is why I always buy Ubi games on Uplay, Rockstar games on Rockstar and Origin on Origin. Running 2 launchers is just cumbersome and has frequently been the number one factor in problems people have on Steam, for instance when they buy one of these other platform games on Steam. Same would apply to Epic.

No doubt junkie I agree with you, and normally I would do the same but occasionally you run into a good deal like I mentioned at the time gta 5 was free on epic launcher but it was not free on rockstar launcher so I guess you could say my desire to try a new game for free rather than paying for it out-weighed my desire for only using one launcher. Either way, it was a slippery on epic and rockstar's behalf if you ask me. If rockstar is going to offer an exclusive deal thru epic launcher then they should have somehow worked out a way to have the game launchable thru it as well. I guess it's their prerogative at the end of the day but it certainly isn't ideal

No you just need to register the copy on the rockstart launcher and then you can just run that launcher.
It is similar with Uplay. When you buy a Ubi game from steam it will launch the Uplay launcher and register the game license in your Uplay account. Then you can just start it directly from Uplay .

Thanks for the info mysteo I will look into that. i haven't played gta5 much since i got it (the game is literally a cesspool of cheating/modders) but if I ever get back into it that will be nice to know

 

[Nordic]

Is anyone else happy that we aren't limited to one store to purchase from like a console?

 

[bug]

Is anyone else happy that we aren't limited to one store to purchase from like a console?

That's the gist of the whole thread: when publishers dictate prices anyway, having several stores only gets in the way.

 

[Nordic]

That's the gist of the whole thread: when publishers dictate prices anyway, having several stores only gets in the way.

I was kinda responding to the news post where it said "The PC platform is currently struggling with that problem as there is no unified store where you can purchase all of your digital copies of games." As if that was a problem. That is not a bug, its a feature! Thank god we have store choice.

 

[Deleted member 177333]

Same here. That’s the thing I prefer about GOG that all installers can be downloaded and saved, and just run each game from a shortcut.

Ya I love GOG, so many great things - absolutely my #1 gaming storefront. I download the offline installer and store it on my server afterward for backup. Love their no-DRM policy and their awesome refund policy also.

 

[Camm]

If this was a cross ownership announcement that any game you owned on one store gave you a copy on other stores, I might give a shit.

 

[Vayra86]

No doubt junkie I agree with you, and normally I would do the same but occasionally you run into a good deal like I mentioned at the time gta 5 was free on epic launcher but it was not free on rockstar launcher so I guess you could say my desire to try a new game for free rather than paying for it out-weighed my desire for only using one launcher. Either way, it was a slippery on epic and rockstar's behalf if you ask me. If rockstar is going to offer an exclusive deal thru epic launcher then they should have somehow worked out a way to have the game launchable thru it as well. I guess it's their prerogative at the end of the day but it certainly isn't ideal

This kind of idea surprises me.

What is a launcher, really? What is Steam? Does it do anything for you? Because really, all it does, and this goes for first party launchers like Uplay too, is click that game exe for you. It just has buttons that point to an address. And all the extra it does, is in fact not something you ask for. It usually gets in the way, too.

So isn't Epics approach the best one? They point you to an exe, and they get out of the way. That damn well better be Rockstars launcher tbh. Rockstar's launcher is also its anti cheat, game loading and authentication for online.

This is further underlined by the fact a lot of games you install through Epic won't ask for the launcher to run alongside it. Try that with Origin, Uplay... etc.

 

[Totally]

This is further underlined by the fact a lot of games you install through Epic won't ask for the launcher to run alongside it. Try that with Origin, Uplay... etc.

Unless something changed within the past week, that is false. Can't launch a game unless EGS is running and logged in, and if EGS crashes, which if used to frequently do, whatever game was being played would be forcefully closed along with it.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Unless something changed within the past week, that is false. Can't launch a game unless EGS is running and logged in, and if EGS crashes, which if used to frequently do, whatever game was being played would be forcefully closed along with it.

EGS is not a mandatory run. It depends on the publisher. 2/3 of the games I have on Epic will run without the Launcher. Also never had a launcher crash with them.

 

[R-T-B]

Ownership of digital goods is an oxymoron.
You pay for the right to use the product only.

If you can download the files DRM free, you own them as much as you own physical media versions.

That's the gist of the whole thread: when publishers dictate prices anyway, having several stores only gets in the way.

No, because the stores often act as publishers. Hence, multiple storefronts means competition.

 

[INSTG8R]

So you’re saying I can use GOG Galaxy to play EGS games without EGS? This is what I’ve been waiting for. That said there aren’t really any games on EGS I’m missing playing...

 

[Totally]

EGS is not a mandatory run. It depends on the publisher. 2/3 of the games I have on Epic will run without the Launcher. Also never had a launcher crash with them.

EGS is not a mandatory run. It depends on the publisher. 2/3 of the games I have on Epic will run without the Launcher. Also never had a launcher crash with them.

if it goes by publisher then it's certainly not "a lot of games" the following games in my library require the launcher running in the background.

GTA V
CIV VI
SP:FBH
Outer Worlds
Borderlands
Far Cry 4 & 5
Watch Dogs
MTG:Arena

representing publishers

Ubisoft
Take Two
2K
WotC
Rockstar
Private Division

From a simple test, those publishers require the launcher to be running and that's a damned big net. I wasn't arguing whether EGS is mandatory or not because your words were "a lot of games don't require" EGS and this is patently not true. Currently a lot of of games do require EGS to be running in the backround.

If you alt-f4 out ofa game and quickly try to launch another one while it's cloud syncing EGS will crash roughly half of the time.

 

[bug]

No, because the stores often act as publishers. Hence, multiple storefronts means competition.

Seriously, you've been living in this world and noticed publishers competing among themselves on price?

In all industries other than entertainment, production is mandated by law to be separated from distribution. Why? Because that kind of monopoly drives prices up.

 

[Camm]

So you’re saying I can use GOG Galaxy to play EGS games without EGS? This is what I’ve been waiting for. That said there aren’t really any games on EGS I’m missing playing...

Havin a play last night with GOG's EGS integration, it still launches EGS.