Gamersgate

[vinraith]

I've never used Gamersgate before, I'm curious how it handles content control. On the two sides of the digital download divide you have Steam, which wants to phone home every time you start a game (but does, in fairness, include an all-too-flakey offline mode) and Impulse, which only requires a one time digital activation and an internet connection to download updates (which you'd have to do anyway). Where does Gamersgate fall on that line? That is, how does it work?

[garbon]

Case example:

I purchased CK-DV on my work computer, on which I don't have CK installed.  Unfortunately gamersgate wanted me to install ck-dv while the internet was connected.  I installed ck-dv to a fake folder.  I was then able to take that folder (via a removable harddrive) and copied that on top of my CK installation...and it worked.

So really, no problems with Gamersgate. Patches I could add-on manually.  So I guess it is like Impulse?

[vinraith]

Yeah, sounds reasonably close to Impulse, maybe even a little easier. Thanks garbon, that's what I needed to know.

[garbon]

Oh also, gamersgate is no longer a downloadable application. I believe it is now all web based.  I've not used it since the change.

[vinraith]

Oh also, gamersgate is no longer a downloadable application. I believe it is now all web based.  I've not used it since the change.

Interesting. Without a control program it almost has to be less intrusive than something like Steam, really. I'm glad to see comparatively non-obnoxious DLS's on the rise.

[dps]

Oh also, gamersgate is no longer a downloadable application. I believe it is now all web based.  I've not used it since the change.

When was that changed?  It must have been fairly recently;  last time I used it, it was still downloadable.

[Syt]

Oh also, gamersgate is no longer a downloadable application. I believe it is now all web based.  I've not used it since the change.

Interesting. Without a control program it almost has to be less intrusive than something like Steam, really. I'm glad to see comparatively non-obnoxious DLS's on the rise.

Yeah, you log into your account and then can download a small installer app for your games that will start the actual download/installation, plus asks for your serial key.

[garbon]

When was that changed?  It must have been fairly recently;  last time I used it, it was still downloadable.

Yeah Syt is right, it is a tiny little installer app now.  Before you used to have gamersgate installed as a program on your computer, and then you managed things through that client.  Now when you buy something, you click download which has you download a 65kb file that manages your download.

[OttoVonBismarck]

Steam can be annoying but in my experience at least Steam won't damage your computer in any way, it is just obtrusive.  Some forms of DRM can have pretty negative effects on your system and I've heard (at least in the past) that GamersGate uses SecuROM as the DRM for its games which is why I haven't bought a game on GamersGate in some time.

[garbon]

Steam can be annoying but in my experience at least Steam won't damage your computer in any way, it is just obtrusive.  Some forms of DRM can have pretty negative effects on your system and I've heard (at least in the past) that GamersGate uses SecuROM as the DRM for its games which is why I haven't bought a game on GamersGate in some time.

I think securom is present in some games when requested by the publisher/developer.

[crazy canuck]

I have never had a problem with GamersGate.  But I have only downloaded paradox games from there.

[Syt]

Something that I found a bit annoying was that a sometimes it would take a couple days or a week for a new patch of a non-P'dox game being adapted to the Gamersgate edition.