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Baron Dupek

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
1,870,765
Moonstone is here
https://af.gog.com/game/moonstone_a_hard_days_knight?as=1649904300
0d588875b6c6a680d9a47d68af537722b86cbec1f1cd37c0dc03c8142f92bf0f.jpg

Red knight... fighting with THE Guardian, not the bootleg version from some spinoff?
I have deja vu...
 
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J_C

One Bit Studio
Patron
Developer
Joined
Dec 28, 2010
Messages
16,947
Location
Pannonia
Project: Eternity Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag. Pathfinder: Wrath
750+ games amounting to almost 500 GB in total have now been uploaded safely to a cloud. It took time, effort and much of my remaining sanity but it's finally done. GOG Galaxy is now but a memory and I'm glad to see the back of it, to be honest. Old games in the cloud and new games from Steam - that's the way forward. Steam is at least good for keeping games updated and the workshop is a neat bonus, I guess.

Going forward I'll also use Launchbox as a hub for my games and it's looking pretty good so far, especially with the Big Box mode that comes with Premium.

This is what Big Box looks like by the way, although it can change appearance pretty jarringly depending on what theme you're using:
4WbUgc6.png
What cloud service are you using for that 500 GB?

And I know I could Google it, but could you give a TLDR version of what LaunchBox and Big Box is?
 

Dux

Arcane
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
635
Location
Sweden
Google One. It's about 10 € a month for 2 TB. Even though it's Google it works the way it should and is stable. My choice was based mainly on long-term stability to keep my games safe.

LaunchBox is a game database and launcher made by some guy. It allows you to create your own game libraries from scratch, allowing in-depth options for games that you add. You can also use LaunchBox's integration mechanic to import libraries from Steam, GOG etc. The big difference between LaunchBox and something like GOG Galaxy is that you are responsible for where you store your own games. You can't automatically download games on the fly from some server, unless the integration mechanic handles that too. I don't use integrations so I can't say. For example, if I want to play some old game I have to download it myself from my private cloud, then install it before finally linking the installation to the game entry within LaunchBox. It can be a bit awkward at times but I don't mind.

Big Box is the fullscreen feature that comes with the Premium version of LaunchBox - which you'll have to pay for. There's a renewable license option and there's the one-time payment for full access until the end of time - supposedly. I chose the latter one. The prices are pretty reasonable, I think. Big Box is quite similar to Big Picture Mode in Steam, I believe, but with far more customisation available. I think the main point behind it was to offer enthusiast/autistic gamers a chance to build their own custom arcade machines. There's a multitude of themes to download to change the way Big Box looks, depending on what you're after. I went for a fairly standard and unobtrusive theme while others might go for something more extreme and immersive - complete with video clips and music.

The reason I like LaunchBox is because it allows me freedom to tinker and customise my game collections to achieve the look that I want.
 

racofer

Thread Incliner
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
25,577
Location
Your ignore list.
What cloud service are you using for that 500 GB?

And I know I could Google it, but could you give a TLDR version of what LaunchBox and Big Box is?

Google One. It's about 10 € a month for 2 TB. Even though it's Google it works the way it should and is stable. My choice was based mainly on long-term stability to keep my games safe.

LaunchBox is a game database and launcher made by some guy. It allows you to create your own game libraries from scratch, allowing in-depth options for games that you add. You can also use LaunchBox's integration mechanic to import libraries from Steam, GOG etc. The big difference between LaunchBox and something like GOG Galaxy is that you are responsible for where you store your own games. You can't automatically download games on the fly from some server, unless the integration mechanic handles that too. I don't use integrations so I can't say. For example, if I want to play some old game I have to download it myself from my private cloud, then install it before finally linking the installation to the game entry within LaunchBox. It can be a bit awkward at times but I don't mind.

Big Box is the fullscreen feature that comes with the Premium version of LaunchBox - which you'll have to pay for. There's a renewable license option and there's the one-time payment for full access until the end of time - supposedly. I chose the latter one. The prices are pretty reasonable, I think. Big Box is quite similar to Big Picture Mode in Steam, I believe, but with far more customisation available. I think the main point behind it was to offer enthusiast/autistic gamers a chance to build their own custom arcade machines. There's a multitude of themes to download to change the way Big Box looks, depending on what you're after. I went for a fairly standard and unobtrusive theme while others might go for something more extreme and immersive - complete with video clips and music.

The reason I like LaunchBox is because it allows me freedom to tinker and customise my game collections to achieve the look that I want.

I recommend to encrypt your games when uploading to Google Drive. Google is known to hash-scan uploaded files looking for pirated content, which applies to GOG game installers since they are widely distributed in piracy circles, i.e., if the oficial Witcher 3 installers from GOG are flagged for some user sharing the installers, then Google flags all copies of that content everywhere. This might become a problem for you in the future, with the risk of account cancelation due to violating Google's terms of service.

I recommend https://rclone.org/ since it interfaces with a lot of cloud services (including Google), and you can setup the encrypted storage of your files transparently. What this means is that files in your computer/storage remain unencrypted, but rclone encrypts your stuff when you upload, so that it rests at the remote storage in an encrypted form.

This is what my GOG installers look like in Google Drive (a garbled mess):
k739cpnwp7q.png


And this is what rclone shows when I access Google Drive:
w7w6cem5nye.png


If you want to go full autistic, though, check my post earlier in this thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/gog-com.69065/page-462#post-7052838
 

Dux

Arcane
Joined
May 26, 2016
Messages
635
Location
Sweden
I recommend to encrypt your games when uploading to Google Drive. Google is known to hash-scan uploaded files looking for pirated content, which applies to GOG game installers since they are widely distributed in piracy circles, i.e., if the oficial Witcher 3 installers from GOG are flagged for some user sharing the installers, then Google flags all copies of that content everywhere. This might become a problem for you in the future, with the risk of account cancelation due to violating Google's terms of service.

I can't do much about the 500 GB of GOG installers I've already uploaded. Whatever happens, happens. I figure as long as I don't share them (which I never intended to do anyway) I might be okay. Who knows? I have a few other games, though, that might not be strictly legal. They are old games which have been replaced by remasters and are no longer available for digital purchase. I doubt Google gives a shit about such things but you know never know, so I repackaged them in 7-Zip with a password. That'll have to do.
 

Semiurge

Cipher
Joined
Apr 11, 2020
Messages
6,083
Location
Asp Hole
I recommend to encrypt your games when uploading to Google Drive. Google is known to hash-scan uploaded files looking for pirated content, which applies to GOG game installers since they are widely distributed in piracy circles, i.e., if the oficial Witcher 3 installers from GOG are flagged for some user sharing the installers, then Google flags all copies of that content everywhere. This might become a problem for you in the future, with the risk of account cancelation due to violating Google's terms of service.

I recommend https://rclone.org/ since it interfaces with a lot of cloud services (including Google), and you can setup the encrypted storage of your files transparently. What this means is that files in your computer/storage remain unencrypted, but rclone encrypts your stuff when you upload, so that it rests at the remote storage in an encrypted form.

This is what my GOG installers look like in Google Drive (a garbled mess):
k739cpnwp7q.png


And this is what rclone shows when I access Google Drive:
w7w6cem5nye.png


If you want to go full autistic, though, check my post earlier in this thread: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/gog-com.69065/page-462#post-7052838

Fuck them, fuck them in the ass for scanning people's uploads. Besides, a lot of GOG games incorporate cracked executables that originated from crack circles.
 

ADL

Prophet
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Messages
3,682
Location
Nantucket
Waiting for reviews on this but it definitely looks cool. Renders the real world and the "otherworld" simultaneously so you can switch between them.
 

Narushima

Cipher
Joined
Jun 14, 2019
Messages
2,035
You can't automatically download games on the fly from some server
EXoDOS lets you do just that. It gives you a custom installer for Launchbox that populates it with metadata from a few thousand DOS games, and you can download them automatically from within Launchbox from a torrent. It's all automated and works really well.
 

Bad Sector

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
2,223
Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.

I agree. Everyone should pay full price to support the devs
What am I missing, is it bad or good?

Years ago i wrote a review for a paper magazine about the game. The magazine had a (sort of gimmick) box near the score with images of games that the game you were reviewing was better and worse (ie. the reviewed game is better than XYZ and worse than ABC). When i reviewed Soldier of Fortune Payback i added a photo of moldy beans for the "is better than" image.

The editor changed that to Daikatana, with which i completely disagreed but only noticed after i received the printed magazine so it was kinda late :-P.
 
Glory to Ukraine
Joined
Nov 22, 2020
Messages
2,164
Strap Yourselves In Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming!
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.
Do not buy Soldier of Fortune 3 on sale.

I agree. Everyone should pay full price to support the devs
What am I missing, is it bad or good?

Well, SoF 3 was made by a small-time studio based in Slovakia that made a cult classic TBS Spellcross, a meh FPS Chaser, an OK TBS Battle Isle 4: The Andosia War and few low profile titles that no one ever heard of (later they became part of Bohemia Interactive, the makers of Flashpoint/ARMA). I have no clue how they managed to end up with such a big name franchise given their track record up to that point, but there had to be some kind of drama regarding the IP rights or something like that. Predictably the game itself reflects the competence of the devs - its not a catastrophe, but they should have stuck to making TBS games instead.

Its more like SoF II than SoF I in that it has you fight mostly "realistic enemies" (like various rag heads driving in technicals etc) instead of the more cartoon villain types in the first game. If you want to play an FPS with over the top violence, you will be better off with SoF I or II in any case.
 

Bad Sector

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 25, 2012
Messages
2,223
Insert Title Here RPG Wokedex Codex Year of the Donut Codex+ Now Streaming! Steve gets a Kidney but I don't even get a tag.
Ok, perhaps i should try the game at some point again. I've certainly mellowed out towards games over the years and at the time i was a bit too harsh (i also didn't like Far Cry 2 much but nowadays i just... well, neat fire mechanics aside, i just find it boring). Since i was buying the games i was reviewing i still have the original disk, so i might try it on my old PC (that should be around recommended system specs).

EDIT: so, i installed it on the old PC and played the first level. Let's see... regenerating health with no health indicator aside of the screen becoming increasingly red, middle east setting (first level) with enemies screaming at you, sprinting doesn't allow turning and has the stamina of an asthmatic 80 year old, four weapon limit, a bunch of optional turrets scattered, said turrets being worthless because you are exposed and get a ton of damage so it is better to just use your weapons anyway, completely linear level design with absolutely no reason (nor space really) to find side stuff, a marker visible at the middle of the screen telling you where to go, enemies spawning behind you, a bulletspongy "boss fight" (kinda) ... it is certainly a low budget version of every midlate-2000s FPS cliche :-P.

It reminds me more of something i'd see in GamersGate alongside City Interactive's titles than a Soldier of Fortune title. Then again even City Interactive's titles aren't that linear (and they tend to have more humorous writing, even if not necessarily always intentional).

On a positive note, the disk doesn't seem to have DRM so i can probably just zip the files in there :-P
 
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ADL

Prophet
Joined
Oct 23, 2017
Messages
3,682
Location
Nantucket
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Lagi

Savant
Joined
Jul 19, 2015
Messages
726
Location
Desert
Soldier of Fortune 1 is a godlike game that I complete without crosshair.
SoF 2 is a garbage, marginally better than Blood2.
 

ferratilis

Magister
Joined
Oct 23, 2019
Messages
2,224
Are PC ports of Way of the Samurai 3 and 4 worth playing? Or would it be better to play PS3 version through emulator? Sorry if it's off-topic, just wanted to know since I read they have some issues.
 

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