Support NeoGAF

[gwynplaine]

I keep seeing this but what games did you do it for and how many of them were within the last 2 years?

i never had any problems. dark souls, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and arkham city were the latest.

AA, bulletstorm and RE5 worked fine too.

the only time i had a problem was with gears of war, at release. i forget what it was but it basically wouldn't work on Windows XP and I had to install it on a Windows Vista partition

 

[Stumpokapow]

So does this imply that titles like Fable III and Age of Empires Online will be completely removed from places like Steam?

I think these are the only titles that would be impacted by MS pulling all of their self-published GFWL titles from Steam:
Fable 3
ITSP
Iron Brigade
MS Flight
Ms. Splosion Man

Age of Empires Online got GFWL patched out a while ago I think

 

[Stallion Free]

Quite a few.
The Arkham games, Dawn of War 2, Virtua Tennis, Fallout 3 (a while back, though), The Club, Dark Souls, the Dirt and Grid games that had achievements, etc.

Neither of the Grid games had GFWL.

i never had any problems. dark souls, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and arkham city were the latest.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet actually has broken achievements.

 

[morningbus]

Quite a few.
The Arkham games, Dawn of War 2, Virtua Tennis, Fallout 3 (a while back, though), The Club, Dark Souls, the Dirt and Grid games that had achievements, etc.

So 2 games within the last 2 years.

My point is that, especially lately, it's become such a minor, minor benefit I'm amazed people still bring it up.

It's like saying you love how fast a horse and carriage is as if you haven't been driving a car for years.

i never had any problems. dark souls, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet and arkham city were the latest.

AA, bulletstorm and RE5 worked fine too.

the only time i had a problem was with gears of war, at release. i forget what it was but it basically wouldn't work on Windows XP and I had to install it on a Windows Vista partition

The problem of GFWL eating save files is so widespread it unfortunately trumps your anecdotal evidence.

 

[Fox318]

A Vampyre Story is on GamersGate (but not Steam, Amazon, or GameStop) so I scratched it out in the list in post #100 of non-GFWL games that are no longer available digitally as of next week.



If Microsoft releases Gears of War on Steam, you can buy Gears of War on Steam. And it'll work until the GFWL activation servers go down, unless Microsoft patches it not to require the GFWL activation servers.



you get cash equivalent which can be used in W8 or on Xbox 360/Xbox One/WP marketplaces

Ahh thank you. Now I just need to figure out what is worth buying.

 

[Grief.exe]

Neither of the Grid games had GFWL.



Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet actually has broken achievements.

Oh, wow

@ Morning, can we use this yet?

I think these are the only titles that would be impacted by MS pulling all of their self-published GFWL titles from Steam:
Fable 3
ITSP
Iron Brigade
MS Flight
Ms. Splosion Man

Age of Empires Online got GFWL patched out a while ago I think

Going by the registry, Age of Empires Online still installs GFWL on download, but my experience with that game is nill.

 

[Cynar]

I was asking why you prefer GFWL over Origin or Uplay. There all bad, but Origin and Uplay have never had the widespread problems of GFWL.

Ah! It's mainly the companies behind them that is my issue and what they are attempting to do to PC gamers. I didn't like Uplay due to the requirements of always online with Assassins Creed 2 and have boycotted it since. Origin I feel is a trap to try(I'll never install it) and capture the PC market while screwing us over at the same time. I also dislike how they have acted with their titles on Steam. You can never trust a company but we know for sure where EA/Ubisofts intentions really are with wanting to lock us into their awful business practices.

 

[witchedwiz]

dawn of war 2 and dow2 chaos rising..
yeah, thanks gfwl!
thank you based thq!

 

[Veelk]

So about Batman games: Does this mean there will be no more DRM on them at all? Or is securom still there? Will I atleast not have to be online to play?

 

[morningbus]

Ah! It's mainly the companies behind them that is my issue and what they are attempting to do to PC gamers. I didn't like Uplay due to the requirements of always online with Assassins Creed 2 and have boycotted it since. Origin I feel is a trap to try(I'll never install it) and capture the PC market while screwing us over at the same time. I also dislike how they have acted with their titles on Steam. You can never trust a company but we know for sure where EA/Ubisofts intentions really are with wanting to lock us into their awful business practices.

1) uPlay is actually separate from the always-online check. They're often conflated because they were introduced at roughly the same time. But always online was not a feature of uPlay. Of course, both were done by Ubisoft, so any general distrust towards them is understandable.

2) Your second criticism mainly exists because we've been living in a post-GFWL environment for years now. Literally everything you fault EA and Ubisoft for there, Microsoft initially attempted with GFWL. Except, hell, not even EA was brazen enough to try to charge you money for multiplayer.

 

[Version 3.0]

That's funny, but it's not accurate. We don't all share one heart that works for some and not others. Whether a service or product is good or bad overall depends on how it is collectively. Both of these people's stories are (statistically) irrelevant.

All that said, yeah, "it works for me" is the shittiest response to any problem. I (almost) hope everyone who said "it doesn't affect me" about awful DRM gets bit by it someday.

 

[Grief.exe]

That's funny, but it's not accurate. We don't all share one heart that works for some and not others.

All that said, yeah, "it works for me" is the shittiest response to any problem. I (almost) hope everyone who said "it doesn't affect me" about awful DRM gets bit by it someday.

That was why I posted it, seems like plenty of people coming in here saying, "GFWL worked fine for me, I will miss it."

 

[EsotericManiac]

are the shadowrun servers really down for good?

i was actually going to buy that game on this service

 

[Lordwindowlicker]

So 2 games within the last 2 years.

You're making the assumption that tI only played those games as they came out.

 

[Diablohead]

Guess that I should log in and check what downloads I have, I think shadowrun and viva are the only games I bought from the PC store.

Hang on, does this stop us earning achievements in GFWL titles or is that ok still? I have a big disc based collection of GFWL titles, maybe I am reading the OP wrong or my mind is farting.

 

[Tain]

Where can I get Stranglehold now?

 

[Gbraga]

GFWL is not so bad until your games stop working and you have to buy a game you already bought for every platform one more time.

 

[Bedlam]

It's tragic that the MP of great games on PC such as Dark Souls depends on the existence of the failed abomination that GFWL is.

 

[Crawl]

YAY! Time to celebrate! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M

 

[morningbus]

You're making the assumption that tI only played those games as they came out.

But as an on-going benefit of the service, it's one that's been almost entirely mitigated.

I suppose your ability to gain a second set of achievements from all games ever released on GFWL isn't going to be affected yet, though.

 

[Zombie James]

Woo! Can't wait for the flood of patches.

 

[Jotamide]

I want to point out that the W8 version of BlazBlue Calamity Trigger is a stripped down version of the GFWL one. It doesn't include story mode, online multiplayer, and many other game modes; it is basically a port of the arcade version.

So by losing the GFWL version, you're technically losing the better port. One that had cross-platform multiplayer surprisingly.

 

[Trakdown]

Anybody know where GFWL will be buried? I really need to pee.

 

[Crawl]

Anybody know where GFWL will be buried? I really need to pee.

With the ET carts.

 

[Booshka]

are the shadowrun servers really down for good?

i was actually going to buy that game on this service

Nah, they are still going, it's a Peer to Peer game with Private Dedicated Servers that Users can set up if they want, but no one does.

Hopefully they don't get shut down, not even sure how it would work because there are still a ton of people playing it on Xbox 360.

 

[vazel]

are the shadowrun servers really down for good?

i was actually going to buy that game on this service

Shadowrun is still online. It's the best cs-clone I've played so it's well worth playing.

 

[Grief.exe]

Shadowrun is still online. It's the best cs-clone I've played so it's well worth playing.

Really? It plays like Counter-Strike?

I might have to check out some gameplay while I eat lunch.

 

[Lasthope106]

My prediction is that MS is going to shut down the servers and people will be unable to play any GFWL game, which include games like Fallout 3, Gears of War, RE5, and Dark Souls. We should start a petition for the developers of these games to remove GFWL. I want to continue playing those games decades from now.

 

[vazel]

Really? It plays like Counter-Strike?

I might have to check out some gameplay while I eat lunch.

CS with superpowers. What I find most impressive about the game is it forces people to actually co-operate as a team; the team that isn't actively healing and reviving and backing each other up is the team that will lose.

 

[Sinatar]

Really? It plays like Counter-Strike?

I might have to check out some gameplay while I eat lunch.

Yea it does. Despite being one of the worst uses of an IP ever, it's still a truly fantastic multiplayer shootbanger.

 

[Booshka]

Really? It plays like Counter-Strike?

I might have to check out some gameplay while I eat lunch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqb7ZTlHpuU

Here is some good gameplay from an Online Tournament I played in a couple years back. I'm on the other team, this is a clip from late-game, so everyone has tons of powers and high powered weapons.

 

[Grief.exe]

CS with superpowers. What I find most impressive about the game is it forces people to actually co-operate as a team; the team that isn't actively healing and reviving and backing each other up is the team that will lose.

Yea it does. Despite being one of the worst uses of an IP ever, it's still a truly fantastic multiplayer shootbanger.

Wow I hope Microsoft pushes this one onto Steam as a budget release along with the inevitable Halo games.

Removing GFWL and adding in dedicated servers would not be too terribly difficult or expensive. And as a budget release, it would see success on the PC market.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqb7ZTlHpuU

Here is some good gameplay from an Online Tournament I played in a couple years back. I'm on the other team, this is a clip from late-game, so everyone has tons of powers and high powered weapons.

Are you guys playing the 360 version? The only reason I say this is because it doesn't seem like he is aiming with a mouse.

Looks awesome though for the little bit I watched. I want a Steam release with dedis. Is the PC port solid?

 

[Storm360]

Dirt 3 DLC requires GFWL, not on Steam
Lost Planet 2 - Sequel doesn't use GFWL, Original Lost Planet (non Colonies edition is Steamworks)
Microsoft Flight - F2P
Section 8 - GFWL
Street Fighter X Tekken - DLC is on Steam, no GFWL registration required (auto added after purchase)
Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition - Same as Above


The Club - GFWL
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II + Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising Base game and CR are GFWL with a required Steam activation, Retribution is only Steamworks

Added some info where I know, Hope it helps

 

[televator]

Guess I'm one of the few that liked it. It seemed a lot better than Origin and I preferred the achievements over steam points.

Still, the main reason I hate these content platforms is because one of them bound to pack it up and then I gotta worry about what games I have DLC for and whether or not it'll continue to work.

 

[Salsa]

I liked GFWL oddly enough.

thank god this wasnt the first post

 

[Salsa]

I think GFWL is the only way to buy BlazBlue digitally

so uh yeah

http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/Games/Pages/blazblue.aspx

 

[EsotericManiac]

Nah, they are still going, it's a Peer to Peer game with Private Dedicated Servers that Users can set up if they want, but no one does.

Hopefully they don't get shut down, not even sure how it would work because there are still a ton of people playing it on Xbox 360.

I've played the game an absolute ton on 360 before mine broke, again, then again, then again (6 times)

i want to get it for PC, but they wanted $20 from the store and I just haven't done it yet.

 

[GHG]

I want to get Viva Pinata before it disappears but there is no way I'm paying £14.99 for it...

 

[Booshka]

Wow I hope Microsoft pushes this one onto Steam as a budget release along with the inevitable Halo games.

Removing GFWL and adding in dedicated servers would not be too terribly difficult or expensive. And as a budget release, it would see success on the PC market.



Are you guys playing the 360 version? The only reason I say this is because it doesn't seem like he is aiming with a mouse.

Looks awesome though for the little bit I watched. I want a Steam release with dedis. Is the PC port solid?

Yea this was all 360 players. It's a pretty bad PC port to be honest, I think it's actually an emulation of the 360 game because some of the game mechanics break above 30 FPS. It was also designed for cross-platform play with M+KB and Controllers in the same game. They made some pretty obnoxious tweaks to M+KB controls to make it fair, so if you are flicking your mouse around very quickly you will have decreased accuracy. For M+KB players, this is blasphemous, handicapping one of the inherent benefits of the Mouse.

If there was a re-release, it should be PC only on Steam with none of the nonsense that was done to M+KB controls to balance for controllers. It should also be designed to run at 60 FPS.

Tied to Windows Vista, back when PC gamers had to pay for online with GFWL, overpriced, and a bad PC port that intentionally handicapped PC players so MS could market cross platform play. There is a reason it's a prime example of the failed GFWL experiment.

Underneath all the sludge of shitty business decisions it's a great game though. But, I still consider it a great console shooter and a bad PC port.

 

[CountAntonius]

Dark souls and GTA IV still are fairly popular games. I wonder if they'll get patched.

 

[Htown]

by the way

in case any of you are having problems logging into the GFWL client

it's because you have to go to xbox.com in your browser, log in, and accept the new TOS

that's right

the gfwl client breaks when a new Xbox TOS comes out, and neither tells you there has been a TOS change nor gives you a link

that's the level of quality PC support we're "sadly" losing here

 

[Grief.exe]

Yea this was all 360 players. It's a pretty bad PC port to be honest, I think it's actually an emulation of the 360 game because some of the game mechanics break above 30 FPS. It was also designed for cross-platform play with M+KB and Controllers in the same game. They made some pretty obnoxious tweaks to M+KB controls to make it fair, so if you are flicking your mouse around very quickly you will have decreased accuracy. For M+KB players, this is blasphemous, handicapping one of the inherent benefits of the Mouse.

If there was a re-release, it should be PC only on Steam with none of the nonsense that was done to M+KB controls to balance for controllers. It should also be designed to run at 60 FPS.

Tied to Windows Vista, back when PC gamers had to pay for online with GFWL, overpriced, and a bad PC port that intentionally handicapped PC players so MS could market cross platform play. There is a reason it's a prime example of the failed GFWL experiment.

Underneath all the sludge of shitty business decisions it's a great game though. But, I still consider it a great console shooter and a bad PC port.

Thanks for the history and the context behind that game.

Converting that game over to Steam would be more difficult than I originally imagined. If the animations are calculated on 30 fps and the M/KB controls are that jacked up, then there is a fair amount of work to be done.

 

[BasilZero]

This is full of Win

@OT - What about save files for games like Dark Souls? D:

Also the multiplayer for both Dark Souls + GTAIV T_T

 

[Madrugador]

I think GFWL is the only way to buy BlazBlue digitally

so uh yeah

http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/Games/Pages/blazblue.aspx

Damn, I had no idea BlazBlue was on PC. Hope they put it on Steam some day.

 

[BasilZero]

I think GFWL is the only way to buy BlazBlue digitally

so uh yeah

http://www.microsoft.com/games/en-US/Games/Pages/blazblue.aspx

WAT

I didnt know it was on PC either xD

I hope this comes over to Steam n_n.

 

[AutumnAve]

by the way

in case any of you are having problems logging into the GFWL client

it's because you have to go to xbox.com in your browser, log in, and accept the new TOS

that's right

the gfwl client breaks when a new Xbox TOS comes out, and neither tells you there has been a TOS change nor gives you a link

that's the level of quality PC support we're "sadly" losing here

damn.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Also the multiplayer for GTAIV T_T

Which hasn't really worked... well... for a long time? GFWL on GTAIV has been busted for a looooooooooong time already.

 

[Lordwindowlicker]

But as an on-going benefit of the service, it's one that's been almost entirely mitigated.

I suppose your ability to gain a second set of achievements from all games ever released on GFWL isn't going to be affected yet, though.

I'm a bit confused. From what I could glean from the information, as of the 22nd we will no longer be able to log into our accounts from within these games. Am I missing something?

 

[$h@d0w]

this alarms me as I have 10k points sitting in the bank of Microsoft, any advice in what I should do? I was thinking of blowing it on x1 games.

 

[morningbus]

I'm a bit confused. From what I could glean from the information, as of the 22nd we will no longer be able to log into our accounts from within these games. Am I missing something?

No, you should still be able to log in like normal.

What's happening here is that they are shutting down the marketplace, so you won't be able to purchase any more games through there.