Ludeon Forums

Hello all,

I recently purchased the game on steam, as I only saw RimWorld for sale there, Shortly afterwards I had found out that it is possible to of have a DRM free version from the RimWorld website itself, And anyone who bought it there is allowed to have the exact same game license put onto steam (Not two copies of the game, Still only one copy, Only you have the option of using it DRM free via the download they provide, or the steam version downloadable via steam).

After realising this I emailed a help link to Ludeon Studios to which I was denied being allowed access to the DRM free version of my games license.

Why is it that If you buy it from the website you can have the license on and off of steam, and yet if you buy the game from steam, you are ONLY allowed the steam version?

What do you guys think about this?

I could easily ask steam for a refund from RimWorld (not enough online in-game time) and then simply use those funds on the RimWorld website and get the game there, then activate it again on steam. But then I lose out on transaction fee's and the conversion from AUD to USD as well as the time It would take to do all of that(Damn PayPal).

What do you guys think about this, How would you have felt if you bought it from steam and found this out afterwards? What do you all think I should do? (I mainly play on PC's without Steam).

~CutiesDeathCab

Not being a defenderbro of ludeon, but indie games can lose horrendous amounts of money to abuse surrounding access keys.  If it's a problem for them, just let it go.

Quote from: Greep on March 29, 2017, 05:57:56 AM
Not being a defenderbro of ludeon, but indie games can lose horrendous amounts of money to abuse surrounding access keys.  If it's a problem for them, just let it go.

I understand where you are coming from, However its ONE key, which they said themselves..

*shrug* as for refunding on steam, refund via steam wallet, no paypal issues :D  You know you'll buy 30 bucks of steam games over your lifespan lol.

I was allready looking for Nelson Muntz pictures to post ..

but I staid strong and will stay out of another Steam discussion.

Well think about it, you buy on steam, steam takes like 30% of that, now you want a DRM version given away free to you which Ludeon would have got ALL the money for if youd have bought it from them, they lose money doing it this way. The other way round they dont. They obviously want to keep the DRM free version available for purchase as they get more money if its bought via the website.

Quote from: skullywag on March 29, 2017, 06:28:57 AM
Well think about it, you buy on steam, steam takes like 30% of that, now you want a DRM version given away free to you which Ludeon would have got ALL the money for if youd have bought it from them, they lose money doing it this way. The other way round they dont. They obviously want to keep the DRM free version available for purchase as they get more money if its bought via the website.

I've decided to get a refund from steam. I'm going to be buying it directly afterwards

Good man. :)

After re-reading what I've written it looks like I'm angry. Can I just clarify I wasn't angry? Haha. It just seemed that way when I went back over it. Sorry if anyone got confused over that. :)

It's all good Cab you're fine.

fawgedaboudit

If you copy the RimWorld folder out of steam, and place it somewhere else, it will give an error about a Steam error, with the option to ignore or quit.  If you click ignore, you are playing the game without Steam...  That's really the only difference between the Steam/DRM-free version.  Manually installing mods on the Steam version works as well, regardless of whether it's running through Steam or not.

Having it running through Steam allows easier mod installation, but I move them from the workshop folder to the mods folder anyway, so that I don't worry about random mod updates causing issues.  Sure, having a completely DRM-free version might be a nice thing to include for people who purchase the game on Steam (check their account for games they own, and re-check on each DRM-free download to confirm the person still owns it on steam), but as I said it's not really necessary.

Quote from: CutiesDeathCab on March 29, 2017, 05:58:52 AM

Quote from: Greep on March 29, 2017, 05:57:56 AM
Not being a defenderbro of ludeon, but indie games can lose horrendous amounts of money to abuse surrounding access keys.  If it's a problem for them, just let it go.

I understand where you are coming from, However its ONE key, which they said themselves..

It seems like it is one key....but giving you a key sets a precedent...other people could come flocking to forrums demanding their key as well, which, technically, they'd have an argument for - after all, their situations are probably similar

It would be nice if you could provide proof of steam purchase and pay whatever the steam cut is to Ludeon to get a DRM-free version without another steam key, but that's probably more work to put together and support for a handful of customers than Ludeon wants to deal with. But it would be nice. I too didn't realize I could get it outside Steam and regret buying through Steam.

Just to add: always try to buy from indie developers directly. Not that I hate steam, but lately they are giving too little shit about their platform, so I see no reason to not give extra buck to indie studios (which need it a lot).

Steam is DRM no matter how you slice it. I only use it where absolutely necessary (for example you can't post on a steam forum without Steam). It's a glorified single tab browser.

I bought outside Steam, I got bot the DRM-free version and a Steam key.

We have no way to verify if or who owns the game on Steam.

Worse, we have no good way to cut off Drm Free access if you refund the Steam copy.

Multiply these problems by hundreds of thousands of players and it becomes totally infeasible. That's why no game company does this.

Quote from: Tynan on March 30, 2017, 08:29:43 PM
We have no way to verify if or who owns the game on Steam.

Worse, we have no good way to cut off Drm Free access if you refund the Steam copy.

Multiply these problems by hundreds of thousands of players and it becomes totally infeasible. That's why no game company does this.

That all seems fair, after the way that you said it,

However; I can verify ownership of RimWorld, I have a paypal and a steam receipt both showing RimWorld on them, and also the link to my steam profile shows I have the game. (I ended up deciding not to get a refund, and now my hours have gone over the limit to which they would even consider giving me one)

And one last thing, OMG Tynan spoke on my post. *dies*

Yeah, the situation might be slightly sucky for you right now, but its not the end of the world. But if Tynan and his mini-crew of helpers had to handle hundreds of ownership requests like yours every month, there would barely be time to do anything else, I fear. If rimworld had sold 500 copies total on steam, checking a few credentials would be feasible, but luckily, this game was pretty succesful. It is simply a can of worms a small indie developer cannot open.

Quote from: Stormfox on March 30, 2017, 08:51:01 PM
...

Yeah that is quite true. Another thing I literally just thought of would be like a "reverse" steam authentication. it might take a little bit to set up but it would be very similar to how they allow the drm free license to be used on steam as well.

Just have it so that you log in with steam. Then you can get a DRM-free download with the license that is used on your steam account. That'd automate the process.
I understand that it would take time, However when and or if Ludeon changes the Steam version so that it can only be played while steam is on, I'd Pretty much rely on having a DRM free version. I play the game portably, using a usb which has a batch to put the save files on the usb

If any developers wanted to look at how this could work  Click here  (https://steamcommunity.com/dev) More specifically  This one is a wiki link for dev's  (https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Steam_Web_API#GetPlayerSummaries_.28v0001.29)

Thanks

~CutiesDeathCab

well, please explain why you do want DRM free version and what will change for you in case of DRM free version.
If you just don't want to run steam, what reasons behind that "do not want".

also, what OS you are using, i hope you are aware that all versions of windows have DRM included?

and what is your browser, i hope you are aware that google steal your personal data just like all it's forks, IE, firefox\opera of latests versions and infamous flash plugin that callhome every time to check for updates.

Drm free because at some point or another eventually you'll be forced to have Steam enabled to play rimworld. (Happens almost always). I don't always use steam and all of my computers. I do use Windows 10. And as for the browser. I usually use opera without any plug-ins.  I'm constantly using a vpn. (Old habit) and I don't use Google.  I use either disconnect.me or DuckDuckGo.

Tl:Dr I play Rimworld off a USB stick, as I travel frequently. And I use computers which aren't always mine thus not allowing the installation of steam.

well, rimworld is not your only problem and not main one, have a good conspiracy theory day.

Haha, I like my privacy, But i'm not a nutjob. :)
No offence to anyone that is though.

When I purchase a board game, I own it and can rent it to anyone or sell it.

When I pay for a computer game, suddenly a bunch of people start questioning my motives and telling me what I can and can't do with my game. They do it for the same reason a lion licks its balls: because they can. The same reason why ebooks are not cheaper than paper books, and can even be more expensive.

I have a sneaky suspicion this thread has run it's course and will only go off a cliff xD

^^ Yes I think so too. Tynan himself has given some of the reasons why a DRM-free copy isn't provided to Steam purchasers, and the OP appears to have found a (hopefully satisfactory) solution to the issue that prompted the creation of this thread. So this thread has served its purpose, and judging by the most recent posts, is starting to go both O/T and downhill.