What brings you to the epic game store? and if you haven't, what will?

[JZStudios]

On 2/21/2020 at 12:17 PM, Arrogath said:

Steam isn't exactly king shit either, it's just better than epic for the time being by merit of how long it has been polished.

If by polished you mean a steaming pile of cow dung. None of the UI elements are universal so there's 4 or 5 different styles, organization is a mess, the new library UI is cluttered and shows too much useless information...

Sure, it has friends and a forum, but it's not like discord and Reddit can't replace that. EGS also has friends lists and messaging. Frankly I only use Steam to buy and play games, but with free Epic games and Galaxy 2.0 as a launcher I haven't actually launched Steam (Which is missing basic features all other launchers have) in months. And if I did want to talk to Steam friends I could do it in Galaxy.

21 hours ago, zassou said:

yeah, the feeling of betrayal is slowly killing the company. for an indie dev, i dont think it's easy to say no to epic money, especially when you're having trouble paying the daily expenses. therefore i dont blame them for accepting that tim sweeney money. even as stupid as obblet's dev team, i can understand where they coming from, i just dont think they are very good PR people. (spoiler: they totally botched it)

 

that being said, knowing that epic is a giant prick of the industry, what could indie dev do to sell their game? probably just stick to your plan, say no to sweeney, and make a fuss about it. launch your game on multiple platforms, even microsoft store, just to piss off epic. players like this, it shows how much you care about your protential customer and you're respect their way.

The one guy from Ooblets is a bit of a sarcastic asshole, but people flipped their shit because an indie studio making a game no one's heard about took a pretty damn deal and upset exactly 0% of the backers. And for that, he was called an entitled dev, people were stating they were going to pirate his game, and the usual death threats and anti-semitic comments came flowing in because he made a freaking joke that idiots didn't get.

And for the record, I agree with him. If people are going to just straight pirate and steal your product because it's not sold in your store of choice, that makes you pretty entitled.

[JoostinOnline]

38 minutes ago, JZStudios said:

That god awful Steam UI and my acceptance into the GOG Galaxy 2.0 beta has prevented me from even periodically opening Steam because it gives me a headache to look at the afterbirth aftermath of that aborted brain child designed by a flock of blind monkeys. Maybe the flying ones from Wizard of Oz.

Ironically a bunch of the EGS games I've been snagging free are also DRM free, like Batman Arkham Knight which is 100% DRM free, and as such runs smoother than the still Denuvo'd Steam version. I also recommend Galaxy 2.0. When it gets a final launch you're supposed to be able to merge your friends list across all stores and even the consoles, and automagically keep track of everything. Works pretty well for me so far and already has more options than the terrible Steam UI.

I like it. It's not amazing, but I find it much better than the old one. I really like the I can add custom banners and icons to any non-Steam games I've manually added. But it just comes down to personal preference.

[JZStudios]

3 hours ago, JoostinOnline said:

I like it. It's not amazing, but I find it much better than the old one. I really like the I can add custom banners and icons to any non-Steam games I've manually added. But it just comes down to personal preference.

Personally I find that annoying. I mean, it's nice that it does, but in Galaxy 2.0 for example when you add a new game it automagically pulls in the data, banners, synopsis, etc. Then if you want you can further refine or change things if you want a different banner. It's really annoying that I can put a game from GOG to launch through Steam, and even though the game is on Steam, it won't populate it with the information. And a bunch of them don't even have a poster that actually fits, despite the games having a poster that actually fit. Galaxy 2.0 doesn't have any broken posters.

Also, the community shit can fuck right off. Like, the game page has a dedicated tab for community and workshop stuff, why is it infesting the main info page instead of giving me useful information, like maybe a plot synopsis or some review scores? I also hate that when you "View patch notes" after a game update it just shows the news section instead of having a dedicated patch note. There's so much shit on the screen and they don't give you the option to change, move, or remove any of it. It's like someone just threw everything they could into a randomizer and this is what was spit out. I could go on and on about all the bad UI decisions involved.

[RejZoR]

7 hours ago, JZStudios said:

That god awful Steam UI and my acceptance into the GOG Galaxy 2.0 beta has prevented me from even periodically opening Steam because it gives me a headache to look at the afterbirth aftermath of that aborted brain child designed by a flock of blind monkeys. Maybe the flying ones from Wizard of Oz.

Ironically a bunch of the EGS games I've been snagging free are also DRM free, like Batman Arkham Knight which is 100% DRM free, and as such runs smoother than the still Denuvo'd Steam version. I also recommend Galaxy 2.0. When it gets a final launch you're supposed to be able to merge your friends list across all stores and even the consoles, and automagically keep track of everything. Works pretty well for me so far and already has more options than the terrible Steam UI.

 

That's a dumb line of thought. You can't enjoy a game simply because it's beyond it's hype period? Not to mention that the Steam release should be relatively active given how many people boycotted the EGS version for literally zero reason.

Some of us have principles. I'm not gonna support companies that are sellouts and dicks to consumers. They could've opted for open release that would be available on same day on Steam, GOG and EGS. Instead they opted for year long EGS exclusive. If I could live 1 year without the game, I can live by not playing it at all. It's their loss, not mine even if people think "uh oh they'll live just fine without you". This goes both ways. And when I say I have principles, I mean it. It doesn't mean I then pirate the game. It means I ignore them entirely. I've been doing that for many years with Ubisoft. Haven't bought or played any of their games for last decade if not more. They simply don't even exist for me anymore. Same with EA and Blizzard.

[JZStudios]

16 hours ago, RejZoR said:

Some of us have principles. I'm not gonna support companies that are sellouts and dicks to consumers. They could've opted for open release that would be available on same day on Steam, GOG and EGS. Instead they opted for year long EGS exclusive. If I could live 1 year without the game, I can live by not playing it at all. It's their loss, not mine even if people think "uh oh they'll live just fine without you". This goes both ways. And when I say I have principles, I mean it. It doesn't mean I then pirate the game. It means I ignore them entirely. I've been doing that for many years with Ubisoft. Haven't bought or played any of their games for last decade if not more. They simply don't even exist for me anymore. Same with EA and Blizzard.

Okay. Most people I know shop at Costco and Wal-Mart and don't throw a hissy fit when they need something at another store. But whatever.

[RejZoR]

5 hours ago, JZStudios said:

Okay. Most people I know shop at Costco and Wal-Mart and don't throw a hissy fit when they need something at another store. But whatever.

Lol, that's not even remotely the same. We're talking the level of "You can only buy bread at Walmart" kind of deal. And only that Walmart on the far edge of the country that doesn't have any loyalty rewards, has no parking lot and you can't pay with a credit card. That's why ppl don't like EGS. It's clumsy and limited and dares to use stupid exclusivity bullshit on top.

 

But hey, it just might be you who is the reason why EGS is pulling the shit they are pulling. Because people don't like to throw "hissy fits" and eat whatever shit companies serve them. Do you want some lube with that as well? I know I don't, but hey, that makes me throwing hissy fits so I should somehow feel bad about it? LMAO

[Soag]

On 2/21/2020 at 8:10 PM, Arrogath said:

If their store has no significant benefit then they should just fuck off into obscurity.

In general, I agree. In this partucular case I don't think that's the core element here.

I believe the most important part is how, over the years, players got attached to Steam. And, given circumstances, it would be very hard to get them detached, even a little bit. Especially since 'other launchers hate' was already a thing.

And obviously Epic wouldn't be able to build a platform even remotely as complex as Steam is over short period of time. It took Steam over 10 years to get it to the current state...

So what they needed was something drastical. Maybe too drastical for most, given reactions we all seen.

But hey, it didn't stop many people to get Control, Borderlands 3 or Metro Exodus on their platform so that move might not have been as stupid as many try to make it.

Finally, as I stated in previous message, I'm not sure if they even could offer lower price (which would be the obvious incentive for players). Either it wouldn't be appealing enough to game studios and/or would put Epic under the risk of lawsuits based off of competition law. But if they go with a direct deal with studio there's no risk of it.

Many people don't see that aspect and hence the outrage. Further, lack of such communication regarding it might be either a poor PR decision or a consious one avoiding further discussions on the matter.

 

On 2/21/2020 at 8:10 PM, Arrogath said:

They have plenty of perfectly reasonable avenues for exclusivity, they could limit all future games using the unreal engine to their store. There's a reason they don't do that, they would lose developer interest in the market, but at least that would be a reasonable condition.

Reasonable? Yeah, maybe. Viable? You just disregarded it as such, so we already know the answer.

I've been thinking about 'you can sell on other platforms but for higher price (say 10 bucks)' but then again that might fall under competition law so why risk such move potentially losing money in lawsuits AND making people rage about it anyways? Poor call, I'd say.

 

On 2/21/2020 at 8:17 PM, Arrogath said:

Steam isn't exactly king shit either, it's just better than epic for the time being by merit of how long it has been polished. Online storefronts will always come with considerably large downsides such as games being removed from the store and players library without notice. The risk of being locked out of all the games you've bought is also pretty rough, especially for people with larger collections. DRM free games on GoG are one potential solution, but there will still be titles made unavailable so if you don't maintain backups you could be out of luck in the future

Agree with everything said here. That's why I have high hopes for GOG.

Perfectly we, as players, could pay x amount of cash directly to devs and download game installer from them somehow. But that would bring a LOT of problems into play. Starting with anti-piracy and ending on security for both parties in many shapes and forms.

 

On 2/21/2020 at 8:54 PM, Bumbummen said:

Looks like i should take english lessons then, another user even told me i was rude to him xD.

Glad I started being more mindful, considering way more possibilities in any situation rather than jumping to the 1st conclusion and sticking to it like glue.

Old me would instantly call you stupid and in return would make me look both rude and stupid in the long run xD. For a reason, though.

Guess I'm getting old :D.

 

On 2/21/2020 at 8:54 PM, Bumbummen said:

But what i meant by that is that it creates the situation of a temporary monopole, you can only buy it there for one year so it is time exclusive so in order to play it on release and "live the hype" you will have to use Epic Launcher so for the end user the choice is pretty much take it or wait one year.

Remember they could have made it a complete exclusive in the contract. Yet, for various reasons, they did not. I'm not saying 'be grateful', hell no. I'm just trying to put that into perspective. Considering more than just one option ;).

 

Also I get the feeling I came across not in the way I wanted to. By game devs I mean game studio. Sometimes that's basically the same (if studio is small or literally one person). A form of simplification on my end.

 

On 2/21/2020 at 8:54 PM, Bumbummen said:

What do you think about that and the communication of some of the games that got some shitstorm for being on epic for one year, do you think it could have been avoided to some extend by communication?

IMO some of the studios got flamed only because people were 'enraged' already and took their message with that attitude in the first place even though they weren't rude in communicating the fact in any shape or form.

In some cases it was unavoidable, as with mentioned fundraiser cases and various mambo-jumbo tightly tied to it.

I believe the best announcement would be 'We got too good of an offer to refuse it. Hope you can understand that'. Just make it short, informative and hope people understand your side of the story. Nothing more, nothing less. In many cases a short message is better than elaborate one. *Beep*

 

5 hours ago, RejZoR said:

Lol, that's not even remotely the same. We're talking the level of "You can only buy bread at Walmart" kind of deal. And only that Walmart on the far edge of the country that doesn't have any loyalty rewards, has no parking lot and you can't pay with a credit card. That's why ppl don't like EGS. It's clumsy and limited and dares to use stupid exclusivity bullshit on top.

You do realize there are plenty of bakeries that sell their bread only in one market for various reasons, right? It might not be the exact 'exclusivity deal' kinda thing for various reasons as well. I get the feeling people just don't think about it as it's not as visible/obvious/interesting and then when they see EGS doing what they do the same people go into some rage frenzy like a new, evil threat appeared right before their eyes and they feel irresistible need to take out their swords and holy water and purge it from the face of the earth. All hail our holy crusade! We are the bright light that will lead you to a better tomorrow! And shhh, we're definitely not killing anyone and are not just a bloodthirsty mass of blind maniacs ;).

[RejZoR]

@Soag

Even if we level the playing field, what would convince you to buy at EGS if price and availability was the same? Nothing. Steam is super complete with allt he bells and whistles and GOG does too and has DRM Free thing going on. What EGS has to offer? Nothing. Maybe over time, like years later they'll have same features. But GOG isn't sitting on their ass and Galaxy 2.0 will be sick to a point that's gonna be the preferred way of launching games, even if they aren't from GOG. And Steam isn't sitting on its ass either. Only one EGS might compete with is EA's Origin, which is clumsy garbage that i only install for playing that one rare game and then not bother with it at all. Especially because after system formats, you can't just import stuff, you have to reinstall and redownload everything which is moronic to the most extreme of extremes.

[Soag]

@RejZoR

Actually, since I already have and use their launcher, there's not too much convincing needed. But that's the 1st step they want people to get over, hence all the free stuff, deals etc.

 

I got Metro 2033 from them for free and at that time Last Light had a VERY good price in there so hey, want to play it anyway, might as well get it too.

Then, some time later, there was a sweet deal for gold edition of Exodus and I took it. Some time ago, and will be a long time until I see similar price on Steam. And that way I have a complete series in one place.

Then there were those new year discounts which made both Journey and Untitled Goose Game even more appealing than they already were.

Plus I have additional 56 free games, some of which I finished already. And ones I wanted anyways but never bought before, like Kingdom Come:Deliverance.

Still can't get over free Subnautica which I didn't get :P.

 

Personally, I don't like achievements, so no issue for me. Even better as they don't have them implemented, yet.

I don't care about the community stuff at all, scratch from the list as well.

What else is there on Steam that I would want and haven't listed? Only mods with workshop come to mind but that's nothing I can't easily do in another way. And only recently used that once - when I started XCOM2, to fix weak ass camera management.

 

Honestly, to me game launcher is just a...game launcher. I open it up only to start the game.

OK, I use wishlists (Steam and GOG) but only because thay are already there and are a tiny bit better option than keeping the data elsewhere. Never bought a game because I got a notification, to make it clear.

 

And finally, what really convinces me is how little money they take off the deal compared to Steam.

If I see the same title in other places, equally priced and can't get it cheaper on external sites like Eneba, AllYouPlay etc then I sure will get it from them.

 

BTW, soon enough you won't need Origin as they made a deal with Steam and you will be able to have their stuff there.

[JZStudios]

9 hours ago, RejZoR said:

Lol, that's not even remotely the same. We're talking the level of "You can only buy bread at Walmart" kind of deal. And only that Walmart on the far edge of the country that doesn't have any loyalty rewards, has no parking lot and you can't pay with a credit card. That's why ppl don't like EGS. It's clumsy and limited and dares to use stupid exclusivity bullshit on top.

 

But hey, it just might be you who is the reason why EGS is pulling the shit they are pulling. Because people don't like to throw "hissy fits" and eat whatever shit companies serve them. Do you want some lube with that as well? I know I don't, but hey, that makes me throwing hissy fits so I should somehow feel bad about it? LMAO

Lol, it's pretty much the same. What you're equating it to is "You can only buy games at Epic."

Do you have any idea how many exclusive products Costco and Wal-Mart have? Both have bread, but only one has the bread you like. Directly equivalent to EGS and Steam both have games, but only EGS has some of them.

 

No, I'm a sane and sensible human being. See, typically when I buy something I look around at multiple stores or websites to find what I want at the best price. It might be exclusive to Amazon, Newegg, B&H, Costco, Wal-Mart, etc. and then I do this crazy thing where I just buy the product I want. It's a pretty revolutionary idea. Sure, EGS being exclusive means I can't compare prices, but it's not like they cost any more than anywhere else and it's exactly the same product, so what actual difference does it make? Oh right, fucking none.

The reality is I could tell anyone who isn't in to PC gaming that there's another game store buying exclusivity rights and they wouldn't give a singular shit about it because it's not a big deal, especially when it's only for a year. People go to Wal-Mart and buy their favorite bread, and then go to Costco and buy their favorite alcohol. It's a thing millions of normal regular people do every day. Unless you also refuse to ever shop at more than one store, but that also makes you incredibly weird.

[Giganthrax]

I enjoy the free games.

 

I would never actually buy anything from there, however. No way I'm putting my credit card info into a store with such security breaches, and also I don't want to support console-like business practices. 

[Giganthrax]

On 2/20/2020 at 2:16 AM, zassou said:

however, recently something did shed some of my stubborness away: farming simulator 19, this is a game on my steam wishlist, it's a game i could throw many hours into, and it's currently out of my reach due to the prices

 

Just torrent it, dude. If you really feel bad about not paying the devs, you can always buy the game at a later date when you have money/it comes out on steam. 

[plsno]

Nothing will. I'll keep pirating their titles. 

[Xiee]

I know a lot of people have problems with the way Epic handles their business, but at the end of the day, I just want to play games.

I'm a diehard Metro fan. I was really disappointed when they announced a while back that Metro Exodus will be a timed exclusive for Epic. Sure I was mad, but I just wanted to play the game. I already had an Epic account from my Paragon (RIP) days so I figured, why not.

[Giwrgos]

It is just another launcher. It is also a company and will do anything it can to survive, as long as it is legal. I do not have any problem with their store, I have it installed just like Steam's.