Did anyone see this news?

[Hippocrates Noah]

I can see buying the SNES games on Wii instead of shelling out for an "antique" cartridge that costs a lot of money, but that's kind of a different situation. Retro gaming as opposed to one making all of their purchases of new games digitally.

Robert, you bring up something that I've always been a little wary about when it comes to digital, with the taking our toys away. Especially on console. When it comes to XBOX I'm sure there might come a day when XBOX Live is no longer a thing, for whatever reason. Either Microsoft gives up on consoles, or maybe they stop supporting older consoles in favor of newer ones, who knows. It just seems like there could come a day when those digital purchases are just gone. I already have an XBOX 360 game (007 Legends) that has been pulled from all online services such as Steam and XBOX Live. Apparently because the company that made it went bust. I own the physical disc but I'm guessing the people that downloaded it won't be able to download it again should they have to get a new console or PC. It's not a great game so I'm guessing most people wouldn't be too bothered, but every crappy game has its fans, so somebody will probably be pissed. The GOG platform sounds like a good alternative for PC users though.

It might work for some people but I'm just too wary of it and maybe too old school to get with the times.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Still not as bad as the Deus Ex tiered pre-order crap SquareEnix tried to pull...

That is the first I have heard of this. What exactly have they done?

 

[Rincewiend]

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There was so much backlash they gave up on tiered idea...

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

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There was so much backlash they gave up on tiered idea...

Wow that's all kinds of bollocksy.

This is why I hate preorders....... Check out the preorder crap you get with the new Watch Dogs..... One version includes an app controlled robot.

I'm surprised that game got a sequel.

 

[SPCTRE]

The problem with physical discs is that those games still end up having large patches later. I remember when I bought Dragon Age: Inquisition on disc, installed it, and then it still had to download something like a 4GB patch on launch day.

This is just the world we live in now.

take that times 10 and you roughly have the day one patch for Halo MCC (which, funnily enough, was still very much broken)

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Hey as a related question can DLC be built into a game?

I just bought DLC for one of my older games and it was all there right away and unlocked and yet no new files were downloaded? I feel like I have paid to unlock files that were already there?

 

[SPCTRE]

it's called on-disc DLC (which was an outdated term even when it was coined during last gen, day-and-date digital distribution was - largely - a thing even then) and it absolutely is a thing

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

it's called on-disc DLC (which was an outdated term even when it was coined during last gen, day-and-date digital distribution was - largely - a thing even then) and it absolutely is a thing

Ah cool so even in the old days game companies liked to shag their customers for cash.

 

[Rincewiend]

Yeah, very often it's just a small unlock file that gets installed...
Nowadays the DLC is often part of the patches as well and the same thing happens there as well; when you decide to buy the DLC it will just unlock it...

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Yeah, very often it's just a small unlock file that gets installed...
Nowadays the DLC is often part of the patches as well and the same thing happens there as well; when you decide to buy the DLC it will just unlock it...

Yeah I bought Saints Row 3 in December on Steam and bought the DLC now but nothing new had downloaded so I figured it unlocks something already in the game files..

 

[Robert Maxwell]

This is common mainly because developers are lazy and would rather deliver everything and just unlock what you paid for, rather than have a key unlock some specific download.

The business software I work on for a living works the same way. Everyone receives the entire software package, but they only get to use the modules they have paid for.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

This is common mainly because developers are lazy and would rather deliver everything and just unlock what you paid for, rather than have a key unlock some specific download.

The business software I work on for a living works the same way. Everyone receives the entire software package, but they only get to use the modules they have paid for.

Ah that would be convenient, I get that. With games I'm sure some enterprising people have found ways to unlock those things without having to fork out money.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Ah that would be convenient, I get that. With games I'm sure some enterprising people have found ways to unlock those things without having to fork out money.

True, but that's why most such DLC relies on DRM platforms like Steam, where local file changes are easy to detect and can be overridden, or on consoles where you are both voiding your warranty and risking your online account by tinkering with the delivered software.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

True, but that's why most such DLC relies on DRM platforms like Steam, where local file changes are easy to detect and can be overridden, or on consoles where you are both voiding your warranty and risking your online account by tinkering with the delivered software.

True that.

How does modding in general affect one's account on consoles?

I mean like modding maps and adding things to a game?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

True that.

How does modding in general affect one's account on consoles?

I mean like modding maps and adding things to a game?

I don't have any current consoles but I understand that some games officially support mods. If you use those, there's no problem. But if you use any unofficial (read: unauthorized) modding mechanism, if the game has any online features you are risking having your online account suspended. Microsoft has been known to terminate Xbox Live accounts when they detect unauthorized modifications.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I don't have any current consoles but I understand that some games officially support mods. If you use those, there's no problem. But if you use any unofficial (read: unauthorized) modding mechanism, if the game has any online features you are risking having your online account suspended. Microsoft has been known to terminate Xbox Live accounts when they detect unauthorized modifications.

Wow that really sucks.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

They do it because mods often permit cheating, which is obviously a huge problem with an online game.

 

[SPCTRE]

if you want the Wild West in terms of modding games and disabling things like copy protection and the like, there's a platform for you: it's called a PC

 

[Hippocrates Noah]

I don't have any current consoles but I understand that some games officially support mods. If you use those, there's no problem. But if you use any unofficial (read: unauthorized) modding mechanism, if the game has any online features you are risking having your online account suspended. Microsoft has been known to terminate Xbox Live accounts when they detect unauthorized modifications.

Yeah, it looks like some games are going that route, though I don't currently own any that do. The upcoming Skyrim Special Edition is going to support mods and somebody here told me another game (I want to say BioShock) does as well.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

if you want the Wild West in terms of modding games and disabling things like copy protection and the like, there's a platform for you: it's called a PC

No I don't want the wild west because clearly in an online game you need checks and balances to stop cheating, but in single player games would it really matter?

Mind you for all that there still remain a hell of a lot of cheaters in a lot of online pvp games and they never seem to go away.

And yes PC is the place to go if you want more options for modding.