vv221: That’s 100% right.
And now I’m wondering how many people skipped buying games from Humble Bundle because of such misleading wording. They used to say a Steam account is required *for Steam keys redemption*, something that was much less confusing.
toroca: Well, if we weren't having this discussion here on GOG, I'd have never looked at Humble again because of that phrasing on their site. They really need to find a better way to state the actual requirements, because I can guarantee you it has cost them sales from at least a small percentage of gamers like myself. Not a majority, sure, but any needlessly-lost revenue matters, even moreso to the smaller players in an industry. And considering that their mission is to use some of their sales to support charities, that makes the misleading wording even more unfortunate in my mind. They're not just costing themselves, but also the people they're trying to help. The addition of just a few words would help here; they could simply say something like
"Steam keys are provided for this title, as well as non-DRM offline installers for supported platforms." So I thank you kindly for the clarification. :) This means I now have at least one other possible source for games, even if only 10% of their library falls under the DRM-free filter.
I have bought some DRM-free games from Humble successfully in the past but I can also confirm the confusing phrasing has kept me from buying several others.
Yes, they should be able to refund you but for me I felt it wasn't worth the time and energy. It reminded me of how GOG users were maintaining a list of games on Steam that could, once downloaded and installed through the client, apparently be played offline just like any other DRM-free game. Sure, I could buy various games from this list on Steam, but then if it turns out they added DRM in a recent update, I have to go through the hassle of reaching out to them, asking a refund, etc. I'd rather just support a different store that is more clear about their care in being DRM-free.
I will note that in my Humble experience (sorry), my perspective is colored by a time I tried to buy a fighting game (I believe it was entitled "Guts"), got myself hyped up I'd have a DRM-free fighting game to add to my collection, only for the download installer to be for a Demo version. Apparently, the actual full game version was only on Steam and I had paid $20 to access a demo. I do not know if this particular game's situation has been rectified, or if there are additional ones like it in the DRM-free section of which I'm just not aware. Humble refunded me without issue, but still.
P. Zimerickus: I definitely have plenty of enjoyment even from my old system. As long as you accept the fact that modern AAA titles are out of reach, there are still plenty of amazingly fun games out there, and even some relatively recent releases are perfectly playable.
Agreed to this too. There is a tendency among many PC players (not as much on GOG) that games have to run on max settings or else "what's the point" or "you're like a console bro". To me, there's no shame in running a game in whatever settings suit you and your PC the best. A game is made to accommodate a range of graphical settings, not unlike how it accommodates gamma correction, sound volumes, etc...there is not a "perfect configuration". Just as a further illustration, iirc, Kingdom Come: Deliverance (the first one) had options for graphical settings that were meant to be used on future, higher powered machines/cards, so even the perfectionist couldn't achieve their perfection yet at that moment in time, but the game is gorgeous by my standards even on the lowest settings.
