IvanV

I'm fairly new to digital distribution and so far I've only used Steam so I've got a couple of questions.

I've read of some stores which only guarantee that you'll be able to download your game over the next year or so (I believe it was EA Store, but I was unable to find the info on their site). I'd like to know what are the limitations of the major distribution services in this respect.

Also, Steam has a neat Backup/Restore Game feature. Does any other service offer a similar feature, or at least the ability to backup the installation files so I don't have to re-download them?

__________________
If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

BlueMak

Obviously I can't speak for all other stores but only for those I know.
BTW, not being able to redownload is not the only issue, some times there is an issue of even being able to activate the game to play more than X number of times...
Here is what I know, in random order.

EA shop, there is a time limit you can buy more time from, but if it is a game you bought elsewhere and activated/registered through the EA download manager, there is no limit. I don't know about making backup, perhaps manually.

Gamersgate, you can download a game as many times for as long as you wish without restrictions. You download a small exe which is the download manager/setup file, all in one. There is no automated procedure to backup, but each time you download and install a game, when you finish, it asks you if you want to keep the downloaded files so that you can run the exe to (after connecting online) re install the game without having to download the files. You can even do this manually by copying the files from the folder it creates to another folder.

GOG, no restrictions of any kind, all the games have no DRM so you can just copy the files anywhere you wish for backup. No reason to have a backup solution built in.

MatrixGames, up till recently there was no online activation, you just downloaded the zip file containing the game. The only DRM was a serial key you typed when installing the game, it didn't even need activating then. You could manually copy and store the zip containing the game. There was a limit on for how long you could download the game, a couple of months IIRC. This has now CHANGED, I don't know all the details, but from now on you can redownload the games as many times as you want. I haven't bought anything recently so I don't know how the rest goes.

D2D. No limits for downloading. You can download the game in three ways that I am aware of. One with the program Comrade which i haven't used thus I don't know at all. Two, with the D2D download manager, which works similarly to the EADM. Your downloads appear there, you choose where to download the files and when it finishes you can do whatever you want to the folder with the files. Most of the time you need activation of the game (securom etc). You can copy the files if you wish.

Impulse, it uses an application similar to the one Steam uses, only that you don't need to run all the time as in Steam. For installation and updates etc, you need to run the program. To create a backup you can choose the appropriate option from the menu. But you better not do it if you wish to restore the game from another computer or even a fresh windows installation. If you want to do a backup as the whole rest of the world thinks about it, you need to choose from the options the download and archive option. Even if you have already downloaded and installed the game. It's shit like that. To restore you need the application running.

Slitherine, as far as I know they have changed it recently so that it works more or less like Matrixgames or Gog. You can manually just copy the files.

Shrapnel Games, I have only bought disc versions from them which are completely drm free. From what I have heard the new download option lets you download the games without restrictions and drm either, but I am not 100% sure.

Getgamesgo, I have bought a couple of games from them but each time they were steamworks games so I just activated them on Steam. As far as I know though, they have no restrictions on downloading or backups.

Dotemu, exactly like Gog. Single file downloads, no restrictions of any kind.

That's all I have tried and know so far.

__________________

The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

IvanV

BlueMak, thank you very much for your reply and the time taken to type it. You gave me lots of good info, including some on services I didn't know about at all.

__________________
If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

[hobo]eclipse

That is some neat info, I've never heard of half those. I recall awhile back D2D games requiring a special D2D update, not being able to utilize standard patches put out by game devs. Kind of a pain really..

BlueMak

you are welcome

It depends on the game and the publisher. Some times the publisher releases a general "digital" patch which works with all (apart from Steam and Impulse which you have to use their own program), and other times you have to wait till D2D releases their own special patch. I know in the past they used to take a long time to do so, but I think today they are not taking long at all.

__________________

The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.

IvanV

It doesn't strictly fall into this topic but does anyone have any experience with G2Play?

They have some nice deals, such as this NFS: Hot Pursuit code for EA download service for just €16.99, which beats any deal on this game that I've seen by far, so I'd like to know how reliable they are.

__________________
If anyone has Portal 2 and hasn't played the co-op and wants to do me a favour, let me know (PM me or whatever).

BlueMak

Amazon has the game cheaper, at least on retail.

As for G2Play, I have zero experience but I also have zero trust for them and similar shops which sell keys.

__________________

The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis
This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm Sic semper tyrannis.