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Batman: Arkham City is NOT a GFWL title

I NEED SCISSORS said:
Thank fuck. GFWL is a horrendous service which needs to be erased from the industry.

That said, I do also hope that Steamworks can one day be optional for retail games. It's logical when they include it in games sold through Steam, or with Steam keys, but I hate it how you need to install through Steam for a retail copy. Doing that ties the game to your account so you can never get rid of it. It's effectively a coaster once you've installed it, and turns buying retail into a gamble since you don't know what won't work (eg Black Ops and Brink). I would much prefer it if there was an optional code in the box that you could use to permanently tie it to Steam if you want.
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That would be just about impossible for multiplayer games that use Steam for online. I could see single player games that only use leaderboards, cloud save and acheivements have an optional Steamworks install.


Quicksilver4648 said:
I think I am the only one here who not only hasn't had a negative experience with GFWL and sees no reason to hate it, but also might prefer it. I own Dirt 2-3, Just Cause 2, GTAIV, Bioshock, and a few other yet I have not had a single bad thing to happen to me.
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JC2 is Steamworks, not GFWL.
 
add me to the club of users that hasn't had any issues with Games for Windows Live either.

i prefer Steamworks, but i don't mind GFWL. eventhough i don't play on consoles much anymore, i still like adding to my xbox gamertag achievements.
 
lupinko said:
Master Race wins again!
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Hmm this is more like a half win for us. A full win would be steamworks and all the features that come with that. Is it too late for them to use it? I'm not really aware of the process.
 
Bought two Games For Windows Live titles, and was unable to play either of them due to that shitty, shitty system. Its intrusive, prone to disastrous failure without warning, and renders purchases unplayable from the moment of installation.

I can't understand why any company would actually choose to anchor their PC releases to a such a toxic product, and can only assume they do so because they prioritise agreements with Microsoft over the quality of the consumer experience. Instant disrespect to any publisher and developer that is either idiotic or corrupt enough to force it on their customers.

Good on Rocksteady for abandoning it, if only everyone else would follow suit.
 
Quicksilver4648 said:
I think I am the only one here who not only hasn't had a negative experience with GFWL and sees no reason to hate it, but also might prefer it. I own Dirt 2-3, Just Cause 2, GTAIV, Bioshock, and a few other yet I have not had a single bad thing to happen to me.
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Dirt 2,3, GTA, Fuel, Viva Pinata and Batman AA here, no problems. I was looking forward to playing in super high res with full Physx while earning some achievements =\ Oh well lol
 
People oblivious to the GFWL problems should just do a forum search with "GFWL, shit, patches".

Not having problems with GFWL is more an exception than the rule.
 
Ravenn17 said:
Twitter:

@GreenManGaming: is there a chance that it'll activate on Steam? :D:D

@wilflare: Our version is a Capsule title that will be using Securom, sorry. /Rob

I just posted that in the other thread.
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it's weird to see myself quoted without actually.. lol posting here
 
Although i too never had problems with GFWL this news is still awesome.
Well, "no problems" isn't entirely true. I hate it having to login into GFWL if I'm already logged in on Steam which should be more than enough protection and stuff.
Sure, GFWL achievements get added to my Gamerscore but who cares, right?

Batman Arkham City might easily be renamed "Best Game Ever feat. Batman" now.
 
Just caught this news, nice. It is disappointing that it's not Steamworks, though, since I could take advantage of the GMG deal and still own it on Steam. Oh well, game will be fuckawesome either way.
 
keltickennedy said:
Call me ignorant.....but what are the big problems with GFWL? Personally, I never had a problem with a game that featured it.
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When I tried to download Minerva's Den the GFWL client crashed more than a dozen times and forced me to restart my computer multiple times and waste several hours looking up completely unhelpful error messages.

You know what other program on my PC does shit like that? There aren't any.
 
I hope this turns out to be true and it isn't a classic case of left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

It could be they are doing different versions, like Steam = steamworks, GMG = Capsule, Retail = GFWL, etc. This is what I'm hoping for if it turns out GFWL is still in this game.
 
Des0lar said:
People oblivious to the GFWL problems should just do a forum search with "GFWL, shit, patches".

Not having problems with GFWL is more an exception than the rule.
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Even with a 100% ideal experience it's still not very pleasant how patches ARE done. What, I have to leave my computer sitting there as I update a game because I can't download them separate from the game? I guess I can toggle out, but that's not always a great idea with a game. If they had been a bit closer to Steam in implementation from the start with good backup options (and was just plain less buggy) then it'd be a mild nuisance at worst. As is, it's like being told to shoot my foot for a Klondike bar, and I guess some people REALLY want that Klondike bar.
 
Not having problems with gfwl is such a foreign concept to me. I've lost saves, had my profile corrupted, been unable not only to launch the client but launch my games, and in one case (Dirt 3), been simply unable to log in to my account at all (wrong password error).

That's without mentioning the fucking awful patching system that frequently takes fifteen minutes only to end in some obscure error message that dozens others have asked about and no one has figured out.
 
So, uh, what are the full list of GFWL games released this worldwide this year?

- Bulletstorm
- Fable 3 PC
- Section 8 Prejudice
- OpFlashpoint RR
- Dirt 3
- SSFIV Arcade
- AoE Online

and I guess Dead Rising 2 OTR and Raccoon City are coming up this year.

Pretty slim lineup.
 
Even ignoring GFWL's bugs, the fundamental concept of the system makes it inconvenient.

I can't, say, play Dead Rising 2 without kicking off whoever's using Netflix.
 
Stumpokapow said:
So, uh, what are the full list of GFWL games released this worldwide this year?

- Bulletstorm
- Fable 3 PC
- Section 8 Prejudice
- OpFlashpoint RR
- Dirt 3
- SSFIV Arcade
- AoE Online

and I guess Dead Rising 2 OTR and Raccoon City are coming up this year.

Pretty slim lineup.
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Makes you wonder if Microsoft will try a come back (again). GFWL has been pretty crappy, but at the end of the day I think it's better to have Microsoft not completely ignore PC gaming.
 
everyone should just go with Steamworks and get it over with.

i mean, i haven't had any issues so far with GFWL, and i own probably 10 of those titles, but just get it over with and put it out of its misery.
 
How does DLC work for this then? I know Steam can handle DLC, but what about other sources or retail?

Also, will retail need the disc inserted?
 
Massa said:
Makes you wonder if Microsoft will try a come back (again). GFWL has been pretty crappy, but at the end of the day I think it's better to have Microsoft not completely ignore PC gaming.
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hah! their attempt @ rebooting their online store for pc was quite laughable.

microsoft just don't get it, or just don't care. for a company with so much stake in the pc market, you'd think they'd at least try a little bit.

i mean, fuck, just about any dimwit could muster up a better attempt at an online pc digital store.
 
GFWL now is like that fetus Voldemort from the last Harry Potter film: terrifically disgusting and still barely holding on.
 
applause_clap_1878.gif


THIS MADE UP FOR EVERY BAD THING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME IN THE PAST YEAR!
 
Great news on GFWL being toast with this game. Bad news Securerom is still there. Trading one devil for another. Perhaps Rocksteady will have a Steam Special edition ready like some companies make available like Witcher 2 or Tropico 4.

Massa said:
Makes you wonder if Microsoft will try a come back (again). GFWL has been pretty crappy, but at the end of the day I think it's better to have Microsoft not completely ignore PC gaming.
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Perhaps MS received the message, as the Robot Entertainment (former Ensemble dudes) Orcs Must Die digital title is being published by MS on 360/PC, and the PC version will be Steamworks.

http://twitter.com/#!/OrcsMustDie/status/92987828178395136
 
So what's the difference in "Games for Windows" and "Games for Windows Live"? Is GFW just a "it's designed to run on Windows"?
 
Jive Turkey said:
So what's the difference in "Games for Windows" and "Games for Windows Live"? Is GFW just a "it's designed to run on Windows"?
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GFW, I believe, means it's guaranteed to run on Windows and (at least used to) mandate 360 controller support.
 
Mrbob said:
Games for Windows is just branding.

Games for Windows Live includes GFWL as the DRM service for the game.
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ShockingAlberto said:
GFW, I believe, means it's guaranteed to run on Windows and (at least used to) mandate 360 controller support.
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Yeah that's what I figured. Thanks guys!
 
Jive Turkey said:
So what's the difference in "Games for Windows" and "Games for Windows Live"? Is GFW just a "it's designed to run on Windows"?
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http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee417691(v=VS.85).aspx

1.1 Games Explorer Integration
1.2 Support Family Safety / Parental Controls
1.3 Support Rich Saved Games <- retired feature
1.4 Support the Xbox 360 Common Controller for Windows [Conditional Requirement]
1.5 Support Multiple Aspect Ratios and Resolutions
1.6 Support Launch from Windows Media Center <- retired feature
1.7 Direct3D Support
1.8 Enable High-DPI-Aware
 
Carm said:
...

I'm confused as to why people are taking this as true.

1. box art has already been released with the GFWL logo on it

2. this is being reported by one outlet, a new one at that
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Because its a digital outlet saying they got a direct response for Warner in both their Twitter and Facebook?

why would they lie?

Stallion Free said:
I just looked at the Steam page for FEAR 3 (the last WB published game) and noticed it has Steam achievements. I'm not gonna give up hope that GMG is still wrong about this.
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People forget that Warner also published Bastion, and it had steam achievements.

At this point i dont think it'll be steamworks, but that doesnt rule out that the Steam version could have achievements and stuff like that, without registering on the service. Like Borderlands.
 
SalsaShark said:
Because its a digital outlet saying they got a direct response for Warner in both their Twitter and Facebook?

why would they lie?



People forget that Warner also published Bastion, and it had steam achievements.

At this point i dont think it'll be steamworks, but that doesnt rule out that the Steam version could have achievements and stuff like that, without registering on the service. Like Borderlands.
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I'm not saying they are lying, I'm questioning the information given to them as being correct. It wouldn't be the first time info given was wrong.
 
My only problem with GFWL is that I have to manually start it if a game requires it. Never had a problem with it and liked the fact achievements carried over on 360.
 
DaBuddaDa said:
Yes, you are probably quite literally the only one on that side of the fence.
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I and all the people I know that use GFWL (around 10ish) have never had any issues, It's a great service, especially when you have a bunch of friends with 360s. The hate all seems to be coming from a loud few on gaming forums.
 
Conflict NZ said:
I and all the people I know that use GFWL (around 10ish) have never had any issues, It's a great service, especially when you have a bunch of friends with 360s. The hate all seems to be coming from a loud few on gaming forums.
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Except for the fact that it's worse than every other competing service available in every way imaginable, and people have more issues with it than any other service.

But hey, if you look at it inside a bubble, it's fantastic...
 
Conflict NZ said:
I and all the people I know that use GFWL (around 10ish) have never had any issues, It's a great service, especially when you have a bunch of friends with 360s. The hate all seems to be coming from a loud few on gaming forums.
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The best explanation ever posted on GAF for why GFWL sucks:

Stumpokapow said:
Girlfriend bought Where's Waldo. I can't play it on the same computer she bought it on. I have no idea if this is by design or by defect.

Girlfriend boots up 360 while I'm playing RE5 on GFWL. Oops, signed out, because my tag was set to auto sign-in on 360. The reasoning behind this (prevent account sharers or frauds or whatever) is truly irrelevant to me. It negatively impacts me, so I don't like it.

Patching system is horrendous. With Steam, it auto-detects game patches and downloads them for me. With GFWL, I start the game, login with my gamertag. At this point it's probably been 30-45+ seconds. Oh, wait, game has a patch. Okay, let's patch it. Boom, game boots me out, and downloads and installs the patch. Okay, time to launch the game again. Oh wait, I have to sign in again.

But also, even if GFWL was exactly on par with Steam, why would I use it? I'm already running Steam 24/7. It has the same social functionality. It has achievements. If I wanted to "prevent Steam from gaining a monopoly", wouldn't I be rooting for the little guys, not Redmond, Washington?

And it's not on par. The selection is terrible, they don't have the truly epic sales the other guys have, they don't have any developer outreach in the indie community (with their only indie support being games that are on every other platforms). Efforts to improve the selection would mostly boil down to offering to sell me copies of games that I've already bought on other platforms, and efforts to secure better selection for the future will basically be the same.

Which is another thing. MS needs to stop being so schizophrenic with everything they do. Windows Phone 6.5. No, wait, Windows 7 but we'll still do 6.5. Here's the Kin! The Kin is cancelled! The Zune isn't cancelled but it's clearly not being supported. PC gaming is old, let's fire most of the GFW team, ignore the system for a year or more, and stop porting our games. Wait, now we like PC gaming, how come we don't have a foothold. The browser war is over, time to dismantle IE's team. Oh, no, now people don't use our outrageously shitty browser and developers hate us, I guess we'll set up the IE team again. Outside of MS's most very core products, their reliability for continued support is 0. I would trust some third-tier service like Greenhouse Games over GFW. The problem isn't that I doubt the sincerity of this change in direction, the problem is that I doubt there won't be another change in direction 12-18 months from now.

You say you want arguments for why GFW sucks besides "MS sucks, GFW sucks", but half the arguments for using GFW boil down to "It's Microsoft! And you can talk to your Microsoft friends! And use Microsoft achievements! How are those things better than anyone else's implementation? They're from Microsoft!"

When you say "Mindless rabble when get us nowhere", I disagree. Mindless rabble has worked spectacularly so far. I'm very happy with PC gaming. I'm very happy with Steam. I'm very happy that developers are increasingly abandoning GFWL. Mindless rabble has created an absolutely excellent situation right now. Ignoring the mindless rabble has gotten MS nowhere. Tough break, guys.
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I understand this is a good thing for the majority of people, but as someone who has never had an issue with GFWL it's a bit disappointing for me if it can't be Steamworks. I like having GFWL games add achievements to my Live account, being able to bring up the tab to see my friends online on consoles and send them messages, etc.

It's not a big deal, but if it's not Steamworks I'd prefer it to be GFWL.
 
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