SHP Forums

There was some rumblings before about the GK1 Remake Demo being requested. It's now, OFFICIALLY, available on Steam.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/262000

You will see to the right for downloading the demo. Have at it.

Hmm. I tried to download it earlier... do I need to be signed into Steam before I can download the demo? I assume so (otherwise Steam won't know who I am), but then if I log in, I may as well get the full game.

You do need to be logged in. The difference is that, in order to play the demo, you don't need to pay $20 . If you've already decided it's worth buying at that price, there's no need to try the demo first.

adeyke wrote:You do need to be logged in. The difference is that, in order to play the demo, you don't need to pay $20 . If you've already decided it's worth buying at that price, there's no need to try the demo first.

Hmmm. I've already decided it's worth buying - and I would like to buy it at some point - but what do you mean "at that price"? I thought Steam prices were set? (Except, of course, when Steam has sales - but who knows when GK1 might go on sale)... *shrug*

The game currently costs $20. Different people can choose different courses of action from this:
1. Some people might already know that they'd be happy to pay $20 for it. They can just buy it now.
2. Some people might not be sure if they want to buy it. Playing the demo can help them make up their mind. They might decide that it really is worth buying now for $20. Or they might decide that it's not.
3. Some people might already have decided it's not worth buying for $20. These people don't need a demo; they just won't buy the game.

Steam has small sales every weekend and huge sales twice a year. Also, there are always some bundles being sold somewhere. It's not possible to predict when GK1 in particular will be available for less than $20, but it's almost inevitable that it'll happen eventually. And if someone wasn't willing to buy it at full price, they might be willing to buy it later a reduced price. Or they might decide, after waiting, that it's worth full price after all.

Rath, if logging into Steam is an issue for you, you have three alternatives:

1. GK1 uses Steam strictly as a delivery platform, which means you can play GK1 on Steam without logging into your account. You need to log into Steam to download and install it, but once it's on your hard drive, you can access the game without logging in at all.

To play without logging in, go to where you have Steam installed (the default path is "c:\program files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Gabriel Knight 1") and find "GK1.exe." From there all you need to do is double-click it and play like any non-Steam game.

That's for the full game. I don't know if it also works on the demo, but it probably should. I'm not sure it matters since I can see you're currently playing GK1 (you're on my friends list) while logged into Steam.

2. Buy GK1 on GOG. No demo there, but they never do demos and you can find a demo on Steam anyway.

3. Purchase GK1 on Phoenix Online's own website. You should get a DRM-free copy (like you would on GOG) that way. I don't know if you'd also get an extra GOG or Steam key. Some developers reward gamers who buy directly from them with an extra game key, usually for the Steam version.

DeadPoolX wrote:Rath, if logging into Steam is an issue for you, you have three alternatives:

1. GK1 uses Steam strictly as a delivery platform, which means you can play GK1 on Steam without logging into your account. You need to log into Steam to download and install it, but once it's on your hard drive, you can access the game without logging in at all.

To play without logging in, go to where you have Steam installed (the default path is "c:\program files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Gabriel Knight 1") and find "GK1.exe." From there all you need to do is double-click it and play like any non-Steam game.

That's for the full game. I don't know if it also works on the demo, but it probably should. I'm not sure it matters since I can see you're currently playing GK1 (you're on my friends list) while logged into Steam.

2. Buy GK1 on GOG. No demo there, but they never do demos and you can find a demo on Steam anyway.

3. Purchase GK1 on Phoenix Online's own website. You should get a DRM-free copy (like you would on GOG) that way. I don't know if you'd also get an extra GOG or Steam key. Some developers reward gamers who buy directly from them with an extra game key, usually for the Steam version.

Thanks for the detailed reply, DPX. You're right - I did download the demo and tried playing it (and finished it, too). The game looks and sounds pretty amazing, and plays pretty well too. (By the way, I'm not sure what happened to Gabriel's grandma or Napoleon House - will they crop up later in the game?) At any rate, I'm convinced - and $20 for a game this good is definitely a bargain!

My concern about Steam started after reading Collector's two posts about Heartbleed (and doing some research myself). I think I became a little paranoid about Steam, being online generally, and buying things online specifically. This is mainly because I've heard lots of horror stories about online identity theft (and theft of credit card details), and I'd like to protect my credit card's security (as any sensible person would!)

Of course, I already have a good software firewall, a good anti-virus program and a good anti-malware program, and I keep them updated regularly. I also have a good hardware firewall. I'm just unsure if all that is enough to protect myself - though I'd like to believe so. Or maybe I've misunderstood the magnitude of the threat, and I'm just being unduly paranoid?

I've bought a few games strictly through Steam; there's an option to not have it save your credit card info, if that helps you be more at ease with it.

Steam is dangerous...not necessarily because of data breach stuff, but because when they offer great games for $5 or less, you can end up spending a lot of money really quickly.

Just like how easy it is now to rent online stuff through Amazon. If you don't keep yourself in check, you can find yourself spending much more than you intended.

Rath Darkblade wrote: My concern about Steam started after reading Collector's two posts about Heartbleed (and doing some research myself). I think I became a little paranoid about Steam, being online generally, and buying things online specifically. This is mainly because I've heard lots of horror stories about online identity theft (and theft of credit card details), and I'd like to protect my credit card's security (as any sensible person would!)

There's always a certain amount of risk whenever you buy something online. As far as online vendors go, Steam is very secure. Is it 100% safe? No, but nothing is, online or not.

I don't know about Australian credit cards, but in the US and Canada, if your credit card information is stolen, you're only liable for a very small amount of the charges. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be cautious (cancelling and replacing credit cards is a tedious process), but it's not like you'll be held responsible for the actions of someone else.

Rath Darkblade wrote:Of course, I already have a good software firewall, a good anti-virus program and a good anti-malware program, and I keep them updated regularly. I also have a good hardware firewall.

You really don't need a software firewall if you've got a hardware firewall. Hardware firewalls are better and have far fewer issues. Unless you've paid for the software firewall, I'd recommend ditching it.

Tinuviel wrote:I've bought a few games strictly through Steam; there's an option to not have it save your credit card info, if that helps you be more at ease with it.

There's also the Steam Wallet, where you prepay a set amount and then pay for games through it. It's like pre-loading a gift card.

Tinuviel wrote:Steam is dangerous...not necessarily because of data breach stuff, but because when they offer great games for $5 or less, you can end up spending a lot of money really quickly.

This is very, very true. Steam has sales all the time (daily sales, weekly sales, company-specific sales, free weekends, etc), but their most "dangerous" times are their massive summer and winter sales. It's incredibly easy to spend a ton of money without realizing it.

The only reason that I mentioned Heartbleed was that even supposed secure protocols can become compromised. Note that not all sensitive sites were vulnerable. That is not to scare anyone, but to be sure to use good judgement when conducting business. Many sites use multiple layers of security. This is especially true with financial institutions. These were not vulnerable to this exploit. Heartbleed has been patched, but any critical passwords not changed since should have been changed after it was patched.

DeadPoolX wrote:There's always a certain amount of risk whenever you buy something online. As far as online vendors go, Steam is very secure. Is it 100% safe? No, but nothing is, online or not.

The Target breach shows that even in store usage can be risky. But as you say the card companies do not hold the victims accountable for bogus charges. It would be crazy for them not to. Their profit is mostly from fees charged to vendors. If the card holders were afraid of using their cards, that revenue would quickly dry up. They just think of those losses as overhead of a very lucrative business.

Well, huzzah! Having played the demo and decided to plump for the GK1 Remake, I'd just parted with $20 and am downloading it now.

I must say, playing the demo has made me super-excited about playing GK1 again. It's been too long.

Is anyone else playing it? What do you think?

Rath Darkblade wrote:Well, huzzah! Having played the demo and decided to plump for the GK1 Remake, I'd just parted with $20 and am downloading it now.

I must say, playing the demo has made me super-excited about playing GK1 again. It's been too long.

Is anyone else playing it? What do you think?

I have it, but have been currently obsessed with Legend of Grimrock 2.