DRM and lack of mods

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Wondering who else is put off by DRM on games these days. I think if a game or even just a part of a game can't be played without an internet connection it's completely ruined. Maybe we would want to play it some time in the future? I wait for offline lan server emulation hacks to come out for a game before I will buy it and then add it to my game collection

Also modern PC games tend to not support modding anymore. As a creative person I love making content for my favourite games. But new games don't have mod tools anymore so I stick to old ones. Does this bother you?

It doesn't really bother me because I've never played any game released during the last twelve years or so. I wouldn't even touch any game that has to be activated over the internet, never mind has to be played online.

As far as mods go, I'm quite happy to enjoy other people's offerings. Have played loads of Doom mods 'n' wads over the last year or two. I do have Doom Builder, but my efforts have been very basic and half-hearted so far.

It hasn't bothered me since I went back to playing tabletop RPGs with other people in the same room with me.

Well, a couple of things.

Firstly, it depends on what sorts of games you are playing. I dont touch AAA stuff (usually). It's too simple, too easy, and the publishers are WAY too greedy. I stick to indie games.

And many of THOSE do not have DRM. Even on Steam, DRM isnt mandatory; it's decided upon by each individual dev whether or not to use it. So, I have plenty of games that do not have DRM.

However... the worry about DRM is very overblown. In all of my time with PC games, which is... many many years... it has been totally irrelevant no matter what games I'm playing. The ONLY time when the online bit can be an issue is if it's a genuine MMO or something, because once the servers for THOSE are taken down, you'll never play that game again, period. But for any other game? Nah.

The only one I ever had mild issues with was Diablo 3, the servers were a little funky for a short time after launch. That game being one of the few AAA titles that are the exception to my usual rule.

As for mods, again, since I dont do AAA games it's a bit different in my case. The biggest reason why alot of bigger games dont support mods: It means less of a chance for them to sell you stupid DLC. If you can make your own content, why would you buy DLC from them? I wouldnt expect this to ever change, either. Now that they've figured this bit out, they WILL stick by that rule for the most part.

The sorts of games I play often DO have modding capabilities though, so this has never been really lacking in my experience.


Overall, it just depends on what sorts of things you're into as to what experience you'll get with these things.

No, but you do have the restriction of not being able to play if others arent around. Certainly one of the reasons I dont bother with tabletop stuff.

Well, that and I dont want to deal with people for the most part. People tend to be jerks/idiots, so... bah, screw it.

Which is why TTRPGs are so great! A few hours once a month and I'm done 'socializing'.

See I just tell people to go away right from the start. Saves time.

Just bypass the socializing part entirely, that's what I always say. It's efficient!

The games I play don't really have DRM. Not really seen any problems with mod support either. I've mostly been playing Civilisation V (with mods) and Warframe which is an MMO, the latter which is going to quite reasonably have always on online features.

The last game I bought was A Hat in Time, which has some of the best mod support in a game I've seen. Just speak to the NPC who will take you to the mod content, and earn cosmetics doing so.

I'm not a huge fan of DRM, but if it's something that's really cheap on Steam, I will get it.

Otherwise I try to get stuff from GoG or Humble Bundle instead (though a lot of HB's stuff is Steam Keys).

I don't really mind if games support modding or not, since most mods these days aren't very good. I'd rather play mods for games that are open source, like id Software's games.

That's not true. Gary Gygax actually wrote a system for playing D&D and AD&D by yourself; it was originally published in an issue of Dragon Magazine, and then it was included in the back of the 1st Edition DMG (Appendix A: Random Dungeon Generation).

There are also a few modules designed for solo play (involving a marker that reveals invisible ink), and I know there's a simple solo dungeon included in Frank Mentzer's Basic book.

There's another game called Tunnels & Trolls, and the majority of modules created for it are designed for solo play. They influenced a huge number of "copycat" book series, like Fighting Fantasy, Lone Wolf, Grail Quest, as well as books that don't require dice and character sheets, like Twist-a-Plot and Choose-Your-Own-Adventure.