Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity - Original Sin - General Question about "ToS"

Hey all,
This is my first kickstarted funding. Hopefully linux will not get short-changed, and my kickstarting budget will get bigger

I have a question about the ToS of the game. If I pay $25, I get a digital copy of the game. So far so good. If I pay $40, I get two. My question is with regards to playing lan games.

It is released as a DRM-free game. I understand that behind some DRM free games, there is a honor system in place (or a term of service). That said, here goes my question:
With a single "key", will I be able to play local lan games? I ask this both technically and morally (according to ToS). I don't think this is unreasonable, provided third parties (friends) don't steal the game...i.e., break the honor code.

The issue is not in the money, but rather in the convenience. Provided the game turns out as good as it looks right now, convincing people to buy the game would not be hard. Personally, I think this would make the game a lot more enticing for me. This type of issue has stopped me from buying games in the past.

Sorry to make the question more verbose than it should be. I just worry my intentions might be misunderstood.

Thanks in advance for any comments on the matter.

Well, there may be no DRM, but I'm pretty sure it's against the terms of service to make a copy for someone who has not paid for the game. That's one of the reasons for the duo pack - two games for the price of one.

If you think your friend would be interested in getting the game, you could show him part of it in single-player, then tell him "if you had a copy, you could be controlling the other guy, making decisions, wandering around..." and if he was interested (but not enough to buying it for full price), but you bought a duo-pack you might even be able to get him to fork over $20 for a second key.

Mac and Linux versions of the games have been confirmed, and with the kickstarter funded there shouldn't be too much of a delay before they are released, compared to the PC version. Currently the editor used some Windows-only components, though.

There will be a demo for the game, so presumably you would be able to use that to play with a friend to see if they are interested in the game (even if it was single player only, they could get a good idea of the gameplay, if not the co-op aspect). Depending on when the demo is made compared to the release finalized, it could theoretically be possible for someone playing the demo to join a game hosted with the full version, and play through part of the game (depending on how the demo is designed and whether it matches the starting section of the full game, etc, etc).


Welcome to the forum.

Let me preface by saying that my goal was _only_ to know the ToS. This is not a request, etc.

Stabbey, well, that is why I said that it wouldn't be making a copy. I'm saying something along the lines of him coming to my house, and using the same key on two computers to play lan. I mean, I will have the same key on two of my computers regardless (I'm assuming this is fair game, as with most drm-free games). It would be awesome to be able to deploy a game fast, without having to rely on the impossible scenario that they also own the game. I'd care less if I only played in the US...then it's easy to get copies as needed, etc.

note: I say "impossible" because a lot of the people I tend to co-op with, are not avid gamers. Hence a large portion of my problem

As a sidenote, I don't really distribute my drm-free games. Beyond any moral issues, I don't like the very idea haha, not sure if I'm the only one.

All that said, two keys might work out just fine. It's just a hurdle.

Raze, I know they are confirmed, and honestly the delay is no issue at all. My concern is more with linux getting a one-time port, with little support later. e.g., Torchlight with missing polygons, etc, etc. I am happy to kickstart, but I "only" use linux, so this would be a huge deal for me.

Personally, the editor is not a deal-breaker.

Thanks for the kind welcome. I'm looking forward to seeing more, and I am trying to get people to help buy the game (I keep confusing kickstarting with donating). I am pretty sure I already got someone to kickstart.

Best

Installing the game on a couple computers that you own is fine, but if you only buy one copy of the game, playing them both at the same time would most likely be a violation of the TOS. That said, someone trying out a co-op session when they come over wouldn't be a big deal, IMO. Now if they wanted to come over every weekend for a couple months until they finish the game, they should get their own copy.


I am pretty sure I already got someone to kickstart.

I've told everyone I know personally who would be remotely be interested in RPGs about the kickstarter, but unfortunately that is a pretty small group.

The fact alone that you can play D:OS via LAN (!!!) and without DRM got me buying two copies of the game. I'm just sick of all those annoying always-on and "LAN? Just a big risk and besides, no one's playing LAN nowadays" games. It feels stupid enough to sit with two dozens of people in a room and everybody has to be online for SC2. I ONLY play LAN games with my girlfriend and buddies, I'm not interessted in playing with faceless strangers and never will be. So yeah, thank you Larian and take my money!

Raze, that sounds reasonable enough.

Celo, I agree on many points. Always-on made me not buy Diablo III. The idea that I always have internet when i want to play lan, is very narrow-minded. In the US, this might be true, but when i go to South America, I run into many circumstances where I want to play a lan game, and don't have internet. Last time, i went to my farm, wanted to play Cave Story (on steam) and wasn't able to because of my lack of internet access.

Co-op games are my favorite types of games. If I'm being honest, I think that out of the few games I've played co-op (excluding console games), Little Fighters 2 was the only one where we played in an entirely legal manner. I might care about not pirating, but that's not true about everyone.

I feel like an open-minded DRM-free platform cuts out a lot of BS that makes people specifically indifferent about pirating. I'm not saying it is warranted. On the other hand, I do know that, personally, I am willing to spend more money in games that I feel respect my (future) loyalty. This is a big reason for why I buy mostly drm-free games nowadays.