Let's Speculate About Gog Games New Presentation on April 14

[Gokyabgu]

Today I saw a sentence in the main page that goes on like this: 'What game made you go to underworld?' This 'underworld' word instantly reminded me of course 'Ultima Underworld". If that's the case, this means gog have made an arrangement with EA and all the Ultima games will come to our good old digital store. And finally, if EA agreed to publish their old games via non-DRM channel that means there is no obstacle left on Gog. Too many guess from one sentence?

[DoctorNarrative]

I have been on there speculating all day and it certainly seems to be EA. Dungeon Keeper and Ultima Underworld seem the most obvious so far, with the first clue likely being Wing Commander.

Exciting stuff!

[Roi Danton]

If it is EA I'll be happy bloke. Wing Commander, Syndicate, Command & Conquer, Ultima, Dungeon Keeper and so much more could be coming my way soon. Ah.. a man can dream. Then I'll only need Lucas Arts and the No One Lives Forever guys to satisfy my inner gaming child.

[blatantninja]

EA would be awesome, but I wouldn't bet on it. Also, even if they do get EA on board, the source code for Ultima VII has long been lost, supposedly and the playability in DosBox is so-so, so I'm not sure we'll be seeing the Black Gate or Serpent Isle in the near future.

[DoctorNarrative]

EA would be awesome, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Any particular reason? EA have released catalog titles DRM free before and all the clues are pretty obvious. The one before the last was obviously Dungeon Keeper.

[JDR13]

Well it looks like they're going to reveal one game at a time. The first game is Alone in the Dark. It's $5.99 and also includes Alone in the Dark 2&3.

They also revealed that The Witcher EE: Director's Cut will be available for $9.99 on May 10th.

[Von Paulus]

Ultima could make some sense. Remember this (http://news.bigdownload.com/2011/03/30/ultima-4-downloads-and-fan-projects-pulled-by-ea-mythic-project/) a couple weeks ago? It might be related.

[xSamhainx]

i am disappoint :-/

[TheMadGamer]

...the source code for Ultima VII has long been lost, supposedly...

I've always wondered about how on Earth the source code for U7 was lost. I mean really, how do you lose such a thing? Does anyone have any insight into how this happened?

[blatantninja]

I've always wondered about how on Earth the source code for U7 was lost. I mean really, how do you lose such a thing? Does anyone have any insight into how this happened?

Consider that back then hard drives were very small, cd burners did not exist and even company networks were pretty primitive. Backup was likely done to tape, which would be fine, but tapes get over ridden. Add in that EA gutted the Origin over the years, and it's pretty easy to see who the tapes that had the source code easily could have been lost, overridden, etc.

[Gokyabgu]

Gog presentation was over yesterday and it seems they made agreements with Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Square Enix/Eidos, Microsoft, Lucas Arts and Take 2.

From RPGcentric point of view that means we will see RPGs below:

Electronic Arts:

The Bard’s Tale Trilogy
Wasteland
Ultima main series
Ultima Underworld I-II
Lands of Lore series
System Shock I-II
Nox
Freedom Force
Hellgate: London
Dungeon Keeper I-II

Microsoft:

Jade Empire
Fable The Lost Chapters
Dungeon Siege I-II
Freelancer

Square Enix/Eidos:

Deus Ex I-II
Anachronox
Thief series

Lucas Arts:

Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic I-II

Also there will be new games from Atari. The Witcher has already been announced, so I'm guessing Neverwinter Nights 2 is on the way (which would be perfect to install all the game, expansions and patches with only one install without DRM).

From non-RPGcentric view there're tons of masterpieces like legendary Lucas Arts adventures, Legacy of Kain series, X-com series, Myth series, Alice, Rune, Undying, Jedi Outcast and many more.

Step by step gog.com is becoming my dream site. If they can convince Bethesda and Blizzard in the future then mission will be accomplished. :)

[xSamhainx]

Looks like i registered a disappointed smiley too early, all I saw initally was "alone in the dark" announced.

Would be nice to get the DK's rolling on a newer system

[JDR13]

Any links to support that? I've only seen a confirmation about Atari.

[Gokyabgu]

Any links to support that? I've only seen a confirmation about Atari.

" UPDATE: 5:30 p.m. GMT
CDP Days 2011 Spring Conference has just finished and everything is clear now. If you haven't been able to tune in to watch the live stream, don't worry. We've prepared a quick summary of our presentation with a video recap for your convenience. So, let's not wait any longer.

At the very beginning we had to brag a bit about how awesome the service is doing, of course thanks to you - our great users. And then, suddenly, the lights went off, creepy moans started letting out from all over the place while The EnigmaticT tried to discern something in the dark with his flashlight.

Worry not, it was the announcement of Alone in the Dark, that comes with Alone in the Dark 2 and Alone in the Dark 3 as free bonus materials! This great series starts a new wave of Atari games that will be available in the coming weeks! And on 10th of May as the last game from Atari, we'll release The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut. What's even cooler we're going to have a special, time-limited offer that will give you a 50% discount, so the game will cost you only $4.99!

As we're on the subject of The Witcher, we had more cool stuff about its upcoming sequel on GOG.com. Starting on May 10, everyone who pre-order The Witcher 2 on GOG.com will be able to pre-purchase the game and download 90% of the build, so they can play the game on release day! So if you haven't pre-ordered the game yet, you'd better do that before May 16! More details on The Witcher deals can be found here.

Pre-downloading such huge game like The Witcher 2 is some serious business, and you'd need some serious downloader to do that. That's where the GOG.com Spring Site Update comes in! Late April we'll introduce a brand new, improved and slick GOG Downloader which will allow you to download all your GOG games fast and easy. What else? Personal messaging will be now possible for all our users!

But that's not all! At the very end, spotlight was on your favourite French Monk, who had some news regarding new publishers coming to the site. Microsoft, Electronic Arts, LucasArts, Take2 and SquareEnix - one of those publishers is already signed, while two more from the list are almost on board! Which and when is coming? Well, you'll have to wait a bit for that :)
You can watch the video recap of the presentation here. Enjoy! "

Link:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/tune_in_to_watch_cdp_days_2011_spring_conference

[JDR13]

Cool… even though that statement is somewhat ambiguous. Hopefully they're able to actually get all five of those companies to sign on.

I'm curious as to which one is already a partner, and which 2 are "almost on board".

[Remus]

Woah this is excellent news!, although nowadays i barely able to catch up in finishing newly released game (Mafia 2, Dragon Age 2, Dead Space 2, etc). I wished i have more free time to play and re-play all those new and old games.

Hmm…, Gog is also getting better at inducing you to buy games that you already bought (from either physical copy or previously not playable on modern PC) with additional bonus/new contents.

Careful guys, Gog has big plan in raiding and invading your wallet ;)

[Zloth]

Hmmm, Square did release Final Fantasy 7 and 8 on PC....

[DoctorNarrative]

I'm curious as to which one is already a partner, and which 2 are "almost on board".

Since the one that has already signed on has "25 titles already agreed to for release this summer" I am going to guess it's EA. I can't imagine Take2 or Square/Eidos having 25 titles right out of the gate and I don't think Lucasarts is one of the companies they have or almost have. Lucasarts is going to be a tough nut to crack.

Microsoft will NEVER be on GOG, or Steam for that matter, and is a moot point.

[Zloth]

EA? We can play M.U.L.E. and Archon soon? ;)

[wiretripped]

They also revealed that The Witcher EE: Director's Cut will be available for $9.99 on May 10th.

AND with a 50% reduction between May 10 and May 24. I am definitely getting this. I've actually held off on buying it until GOG had it.

Also pretty excited about the prospect of MORE golden oldies, like System Shock, Dungeon Keeper and others...

[blatantninja]

They also revealed that The Witcher EE: Director's Cut will be available for $9.99 on May 10th.

Just looked at the wikipedia page as I didn't know what EE meant. It says The Witcher was published in 2007. Is that right? I thought it was a far more recent publication.

For $9.99, I may finally check it out!

[JDR13]

Just looked at the wikipedia page as I didn't know what EE meant. It says The Witcher was published in 2007. Is that right? I thought it was a far more recent publication.

For $9.99, I may finally check it out!

Yeah the original game was released in late 2007, and then the Enhanced Edition was a year later.

I think it's great that they're putting it on gog, but May 10th is cutting too close to the release of TW2, imo.

It's a classic though, imo. Definitely in my top ten crpgs.

[Von Paulus]

It's a classic though, imo. Definitely in my top ten crpgs.
Just out of curiosity, which are they?

[JDR13]

In no particular order..

Gothic
Gothic 2 + NotR
Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate 2
V:TM-Bloodlines
The Witcher
System Shock 2
Deus Ex

Ok.. I guess that's 8. It's hard to name the last 2 because there's so many games I've enjoyed over the years, but those are the ones that stand out.

Gothic 3, Wizardry 8, Arx Fatalis, Morrowind, Risen, and Fallout 3 could probably fight over those last 2 spots. :)

[DoctorNarrative]

If you liked Fallout 3 you are going to be insanely in love with New Vegas.

[JDR13]

If you liked Fallout 3 you are going to be insanely in love with New Vegas.

I hope so, but it'll be awhile before I have the time to play NV. I still haven't even opened my Collector's Edition.

[JDR13]

Two more games connected to that presentation have been released.

Star Control 1+2 (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/star_control_1_2) was actually released earlier in the week, and Desperados (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/desperados_wanted_dead_or_alive) was just released today.

Three more games to be revealed, with the hints being..

"What game made you fear your past?"
"What game made you go to the underworld?"
"What game made you feel like a hero?"

[Nerevarine]

Three more games to be revealed, with the hints being..

"What game made you fear your past?"
"What game made you go to the underworld?"
"What game made you feel like a hero?"

I would go with Arx Fatalis as a guess, but seeing as how they already have that, perhaps it's Ultima Underworld?

[JDR13]

I would go with Arx Fatalis as a guess, but seeing as how they already have that, perhaps it's Ultima Underworld?

I wish that could be a possibility, but remember that the games being revealed were all published by Atari.

*Edit*
I'm thinking it might be D&D: Dragonshard.

[Nerevarine]

I wish that could be a possibility, but remember that the games being revealed were all published by Atari.

*Edit*
I'm thinking it might be D&D: Dragonshard.

Ah yes, I forgot about that. Curse you EA!!

UU1+2 are actually the only Ultima games that I've played…if Gog somehow secures the rights to sell the series and make them capable of running on modern systems without dosbox or any other emulators/workarounds required, that would probably get me to finally play a few of the other games from the series. Speaking of which, I need to find my UU copy…finding it should be a nice quest in of itself :)

edit: Is Dragonshard any good? I haven't heard very much about it, but if I'm not mistaken, isn't it some sort of strategy game?

[JDR13]

edit: Is Dragonshard any good? I haven't heard very much about it, but if I'm not mistaken, isn't it some sort of strategy game?

Yes, it's an RTS game with some RPG elements. It uses the Eberron campaign setting and has dual-layer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7zrOn75Tdc) maps. I thought it was a pretty average game, and I don't think I would ever replay it. The single-player campaign was a bit on the short side, and I found the setting and characters somewhat forgettable.

I think the "What game made you fear your past?" might be Fahrenheit (Indigo Prophecy).

[DoctorNarrative]

Arx Fatalis is already on GOG.

[xSamhainx]

Dragonshard was a D&D RTS. It made no splash whatsoever, and I think I'm one of the ten people who really liked it and played it to death!

[JDR13]

I'm thinking it might be D&D: Dragonshard.


Heh heh…Look what GOG just revealed (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/dungeons_dragons_dragonshard). :)

[xSamhainx]

Heh heh…Look what GOG just revealed (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/dungeons_dragons_dragonshard). :)

Oh yeah, baby! OH YEAH!

I dont care what anyone says, Dragonshard - YOURE A GOOD GAME!

[DoctorNarrative]

I'd buy it but I hate RTS games.

On a side note GOG now has a Jowood sale going and they're strongly hinting the Jowood catalog might vanish after the sale is over, so if you want Gothic 2 or some of their other games now is the time to grab them.

[Zloth]

Gha!! From the end of the sale announcement:

Since you guys are all going to be asking: we don't know what the future holds for JoWooD. To be safe, though, we recommend that you download any JoWooD titles you've purchased--either from this promo or not--and archive a backup of the GOG installer, because it never hurts to be safe.

So a pretty big deal tacked on to the end of a pretty big deal.

[DoctorNarrative]

Indeed.

The cool thing about GOG obviously is that they're DRM free, so as long as you backup your games you'll never lose them. If a game is ever pulled completely from Steam due to legal issues you won't be able to say the same there, due to the required activation.

That said Steam has never had that problem as of yet and we don't know what they might do should it ever arise. They might patch the activation out before removing it from your game list or something to that effect.

[xSamhainx]

Sounds like a good ploy to get you to buy their Jowood pack asap, if I was a cynic...

So they may remove Jowood games from their catalog, and users who paid for the games may suddenly lose them if they dont back them up? That's pretty fucked up!

Looks like I better get downloading, thankfully all that I have is Spellforce platinum

[DoctorNarrative]

Sounds like a good ploy to get you to buy their Jowood pack asap, if I was a cynic…

It's a very real threat, they've lost games before. If the Jowood IP and catalog are sold to companies that do not want them sold on GOG they will be pulled. Depending on the situation they might be pulled from your game list, this has already happened on GOG before with some racing game.

So they may remove Jowood games from their catalog, and users who paid for the games may suddenly lose them if they dont back them up? That's pretty fucked up!

You should be backing up everything on GOG, that's the point of it being DRM free. One of the things they were trying to do with the fake site closure that they talked about in interviews is make you realize sites like GOG, Steam, Gamersgate and such are temporary, they will not be around forever. Back up your purchases and support DRM free!

[xSamhainx]

looks like I better buy a several TB external, I'm used to just thinking about those sites as online storage for my games. The way they put it when you sign up, it's "re-download your games at any time!", that's a big plus in my opinion.