Topic on Talk:Subnautica

Should the Epic Game store version really be classified as DRM-Free?

It is required to have an Epic account in order to install the game, you do not get a complete set of offline installer files to cleanly install the game on a new system (eg GOG, some Humble games, itch.io etc...).

I can definitely see the command line argument note as useful information to keep, but "Not Launching Client != DRM-Free" since an account is obstinately required to ever install the game again after initial purchase/download.

Yes, DRM-free* (notice the wildcard) is the middleground applied on PCGW for games that you can do whatever you want with post-download after the initial download, regardless of what that initial downlod might entail.

This is used for DRM-free titles on Steam, Epic, and other platforms that do not bother to give you a one-click installer.

If you want the same for Epic games, right click the downloaded game folder and hit Send to -> Compressed folder (archived).

Because the alternative is to start flagging accounts and requirements as DRM, such as the fact that you require an user account and a modern web browser to even download the installers off of GOG, not to mention that their installers themselves also have their own requirements beyond what a basic archive might have.

Basically, the DRM field is used to track the DRM requirement of a game post-download, regardless of how the initial game content was downloaded from a platform.

This middleground allows PCGW to properly account for and cover titles and lists such as this massive one of DRM-free titles on Steam: https://steam.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_DRM-free_games

That is why it has an asterisk next to the “DRM-free” icon. A similar thing is done for DRM-free Steam games.

Is that classification new to the site? I've never seen it before. Looking at a few articles seems like they were being changed in September of last year?

It seems like a lot of other forms of DRM could be put under the banner of DRM-Free* classification. Technically, a lot of games with Disk Check or Activation Codes or even one time online activation could be called DRM-Free*, simply if they can be run without a client, after install is all said and done.

That to me is troubling since it goes against the utilitarian and at a glance usefulness of the articles.

It should at least be changed to have the EpicGames logo next to the DRM-Free* logo to ensure people know at a glance, the EpicGames launcher and account based DRM are required to get the game.

September last year might be accurate, yes. I forgot when it was implemented, but it was sometime last year following multiple discussions on the Discord on the subject during both of 2017 and 2018, although I believe it was raised even earlier on the forums as well.

The Availability table as a whole will probably undergo a change sometime in the uncertain future due to other issues it also have (e.g. not remove an entire row as soon as it stops going on sale, as DRM info is still relevant for those owning a copy). Some staff members have sandboxes a variant or two in their own user space back in 2018.

A change in icon was also discussed, although I don’t think anything have been decided yet. The reason it is DRM-free* as is right now is more for convenience than anything else.