Even more frustrating is that different releases and builds recategorize where certain settings are entirely. To the point where search is the only reliable way of knowing for sure you'll get to the right place. They haven't changed things too drastically recently but they kept moving shit around in Win10 throughout its lifetime.
Yeah I quit WoW in 2009 and never went back, which would have been 15 years ago now, and lines up with what the OP was saying for timeline. I remember all the coming class changes that would homogenize things drastically, and already being rather annoyed with how things already were, I dipped without a regret, other than losing touch with friends from there. I'm only in contact with a few of them at this point and that's a little sad, but we all move on eventually.
A friend begged me to play this and I just didn't for a couple years despite owning it. Once I finally did it quickly became an all-time favorite. You should fix this yourself.
If you fell for it, so did I, because yeah that was the whole damn point of Colbert's act. He played devil's advocate for entertainment. So was he funny to conservatives because they just never realized they were being mocked the entire time? Wow. I thought he laid it on pretty thick.
Yeah I basically ignored my teacher's suggestions and bought an HP instead because I really liked the Reverse Polish Notation it defaults to. I could do everything the TI could do and in fewer key presses. Took some learning though. Had the side benefit that no one would ever want to borrow it because they couldn't even do 1 + 1 in RPN.
Yep, if you're in charge of managing hundreds of computers, you don't want to guess at what it'll do. We have our defaults but also have people who make exceptions depending on their own work needs. Tbh, I rarely use that button anyhow though, I right click on the start menu to get that menu instead and use shutdown, restart, or log out.
Does --force-cursor-grab fix the issue where the mouse cursor might be misaligned with where you're clicking? Hadn't ever used that parameter in my setup and have avoided games that had 3rd party launchers because of this very issue.
I don't know of an instance where it's not used as DRM. Maybe on F2P games since there's no license management? Would be interested in knowing where you've found it isn't used. And yes, more clarity on what is happening under the hood would always be welcomed by me. I do feel I have a decent grasp of things just because of my IT background and work with cyber security, but closed source software will always have its secrets.
Also, definitely like the play on words with your username lol. I have a domain that is a pun on my last name, so I always like seeing creative ways people use their own names.
I completely agree with you that Steam itself is DRM and that we use it for convenience.
But I do disagree with the same statement about GOG Galaxy because it doesn't provide the same digital decrypting functionality that all DRM provides. They don't do it because they don't have to, proven by the ability to download the EXE and BIN files directly even in Galaxy. I liken the Galaxy app to using a VPN or other network tool like Hibachi people have used when a game only had couch co-op support.
Either way, your point is made, but I don't see an issue with running a client app that provides so much. I don't inherently trust Valve or GOG, but they haven't done anything that I know of to betray me as a gamer or consumer. I do NOT however see a point in running a client app that also has additional launchers required afterwards like all Ubi games. DRM on top of DRM is anti gamer imo.
That's news to me, but looked it up and confirmed you're absolutely right. That blows my mind, because in many circumstances it can be impossible for players to connect, especially in a double NAT situation or you're playing on a network you have no control over (e.g. university network).
But comparing a safety feature to a technical requirement is a bit misleading here, no? This is more about making sure gamers can just play rather than having to reconfigure network equipment, which they may or may not have access to.
Honestly if Steam is down at this point, I've got bigger things to worry about personally. Does it happen? Do I curse the name of GabeN? Sure, but it's such a rare instance and happens maybe once a year for a matter of an hour or so typically.
But let's not confuse using a client app as being DRM. On GOG Galaxy, it's not doing anything DRM related other than providing you access to download the game itself. All the client is doing is providing a "friends network" that everyone is connecting to and creating a cloud bridged connection. This solves any double NAT problems, obfuscates your IP, removes any need to make network config changes, and no one has to think about it.
Doing things with a direct connection to friends is something no one does anymore. Port forwarding for a game? Yeah it's fine for people who are technically minded like I'm sure anyone in the community is, but walking a friend through it on their router just to play with them is a nonstarter. No, the cloud connection is how this is handled now. I haven't seen a game in a decade do it via a direct connection from player to player.
I will say that in general I also agree, but there are games where I have been completely okay with it, like DRG. But those updates are always free and really just define (formerly) time period in which a long-term event is contained within. I do love that the latest season is really more of a chapter than a season since you can pick and choose whenever you want to jump into whichever season you want to play and progress through. Only seasonal events have time constraints now.
This is particularly nice since my DRG group has moved to playing Grounded instead, with the occasional DRG night and don't want to feel tethered to a release schedule.
And you're streets ahead.