Civilization VI is the latest free game on the Epic Game Store

Pokemon_Tea_Sea_Jee · May 21, 2020

Lilith Valentine said:
I kind of wish they would get off their hatred of Linux and MacOS and port the store over. Until then, I am just going to keep using Steam.

I do not think that they hate Mac, but they have to start somewhere.

I used to think that Linux is good. I still think so, but for different reasons (mainly it being free software and its non-home user uses). It is not useful for most home users imho and despite all the different attempts by different distro people I really do not think that it ever really will be.

Arras · May 21, 2020

Seliph said:
I wouldn't really say at it's finest...

There are still only two notable digital storefronts (obviously Epic and Steam, though I acknowledge the existence of GOG and Twitch and a few other lesser-known ones), and while Epic is giving away free games, their storefront just isn't as good as Steam's. The only reason why people use the Epic Store is for Epic Store exclusive titles, and some free games (games that have been out for quite a few years at this point I might add).

So, if you want a better user experience, you're gonna be using Steam, but now if you want some Epic exclusive games you also have to download the inferior Epic Games launcher and take up more space on your hard drive and deal with worse user experience. Ideally, you should be able to have a centralized location for your games, but Epic exclusives mess that all up.

And having more storefronts won't really help this either, just look at all of the streaming services there are, you have to download Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Crunchyroll, etc... if you want to be able to watch a variety of movies/shows. It's a pain in the ass navigating all of those services and they can get away with shitty user experience just because they have exclusives (Hulu and Disney+ have pretty awful UIs) I don't want that same situation with video games.

Now I'm not advocating for a Steam monopoly, but I wouldn't exactly call this good competition. The idea of perfect competition is kind of a myth anyways really. We shouldn't praise Epic's comparatively lame game launcher just because they're giving away some old games for free.

You can still get centralized locations for your games, you just have to use another launcher to do so. Playnite and GOG Galaxy both support linking your accounts for other launchers and showing and launching games from them. You still need to have said launchers installed on your PC, but at least it lets you browse all your games in one spot.

Seliph · May 21, 2020

Arras said:
You can still get centralized locations for your games, you just have to use another launcher to do so. Playnite and GOG Galaxy both support linking your accounts for other launchers and showing and launching games from them. You still need to have said launchers installed on your PC, but at least it lets you browse all your games in one spot.

Oh, I didn't know that about GOG and Playnite, that's pretty cool. So you can access both epic and steam games through those launchers?

Arras · May 21, 2020

Seliph said:
Oh, I didn't know that about GOG and Playnite, that's pretty cool. So you can access both epic and steam games through those launchers?

Yeah, they sync to your accounts and then you can access the games from both of those. However, for DRM reasons it has to launch the launcher too when you launch the games. I know gog has an option to automatically close the launcher when you turn off the game, and I imagine playnite has something similar. While it'll show not installed games, it won't be able to install them by itself though, probably for DRM reasons again, so you still need to go through the proper launcher to download games. Once you have them installed it should all work though, and just for browsing your library and starting games it's pretty handy. But if the goal is reducing the amount of installed programs it won't help.

FAST6191 · May 21, 2020

Seliph said:
their storefront just isn't as good

Do I need my storefront to do more than allow me to click on the game I want, tap in some details and download afterwards/later once I can be bothered (and then maybe again in the future)?

"more space on your hard drive"
Is that more than a drop in the bucket for modern drives?

" Ideally, you should be able to have a centralized location for your games, but Epic exclusives mess that all up."
And Steam exclusives don't?

tranceology3 · May 22, 2020

Seliph said:
I wouldn't really say at it's finest...

There are still only two notable digital storefronts (obviously Epic and Steam, though I acknowledge the existence of GOG and Twitch and a few other lesser-known ones), and while Epic is giving away free games, their storefront just isn't as good as Steam's. The only reason why people use the Epic Store is for Epic Store exclusive titles, and some free games (games that have been out for quite a few years at this point I might add).

So, if you want a better user experience, you're gonna be using Steam, but now if you want some Epic exclusive games you also have to download the inferior Epic Games launcher and take up more space on your hard drive and deal with worse user experience. Ideally, you should be able to have a centralized location for your games, but Epic exclusives mess that all up.

And having more storefronts won't really help this either, just look at all of the streaming services there are, you have to download Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime, Crunchyroll, etc... if you want to be able to watch a variety of movies/shows. It's a pain in the ass navigating all of those services and they can get away with shitty user experience just because they have exclusives (Hulu and Disney+ have pretty awful UIs) I don't want that same situation with video games.

Now I'm not advocating for a Steam monopoly, but I wouldn't exactly call this good competition. The idea of perfect competition is kind of a myth anyways really. We shouldn't praise Epic's comparatively lame game launcher just because they're giving away some old games for free.

Well the way I look at it is, am I happy a consumer, is everything working the way I want, do I have options?

A lot of what you said is subjective, and is just user preference. All I really care about is playing the game. Sure there are little things that I may not like about Epic and Steam, but at the end of the day its 95% about playing games and 5% about actually caring about the store's platform ( and this is just my preference ). Again, I have never had an issue with the "user experience" with Epic because I just find my game, and hit play, and I am good - but each their own and thats fine.

Your analogy to more storefronts like all the streaming platforms doesn't apply in this case because Steam and Epic don't require a monthly subscription to use. All those other video streaming sites add up big time cause you usually pay $10/month just to have a few exclusives. Steam and Epic are free to access, super easy to launch on my PC and I can access my library in seconds, personally I couldn't care less which store has which exclusives. As long as its the same game - I will use the store that offers the cheapest one.

Again your idea of a lame game launcher is totally subjective. It works perfectly fine in my experience, and they offer free games that are still decent - so I will 100% support that as it will pull me away as a customer from Steam, which will have to compete to get me back as a customer. Now if say they were offering free games but needed something sensitive from me, like personal data, ok then, I am not in favor of their business model. So I still think this is one of the best things for consumers - free is free, no other way at looking at it, as long as the game runs exactly like it would on Steam I dont know how anyone can complain. Low income, and particularly kids are loving life right now with Epic!

Seliph · May 22, 2020

FAST6191 said:
Do I need my storefront to do more than allow me to click on the game I want, tap in some details and download afterwards/later once I can be bothered (and then maybe again in the future)?

Yes, I think a good storefront is pretty impor

tranceology3 said:
Well the way I look at it is, am I happy a consumer, is everything working the way I want, do I have options?

A lot of what you said is subjective, and is just user preference. All I really care about is playing the game. Sure there are little things that I may not like about Epic and Steam, but at the end of the day its 95% about playing games and 5% about actually caring about the store's platform ( and this is just my preference ). Again, I have never had an issue with the "user experience" with Epic because I just find my game, and hit play, and I am good - but each their own and thats fine.

Your analogy to more storefronts like all the streaming platforms doesn't apply in this case because Steam and Epic don't require a monthly subscription to use. All those other video streaming sites add up big time cause you usually pay $10/month just to have a few exclusives. Steam and Epic are free to access, super easy to launch on my PC and I can access my library in seconds, personally I couldn't care less which store has which exclusives. As long as its the same game - I will use the store that offers the cheapest one.

Again your idea of a lame game launcher is totally subjective. It works perfectly fine in my experience, and they offer free games that are still decent - so I will 100% support that as it will pull me away as a customer from Steam, which will have to compete to get me back as a customer. Now if say they were offering free games but needed something sensitive from me, like personal data, ok then, I am not in favor of their business model. So I still think this is one of the best things for consumers - free is free, no other way at looking at it, as long as the game runs exactly like it would on Steam I dont know how anyone can complain. Low income, and particularly kids are loving life right now with Epic!

You're right, I suppose I was just saying what mattered to me most and thinking about it, your post does make quite a bit more sense than mine.

frankGT · May 22, 2020

Goku1992A said:
I have mixed feelings because I'm a pirate / consumer. If you buy the game you are actually going to play it and invest your time into it. When you pirate it you have no value of the game because you didn't pay for it so you can download 50 games and only probably invest your time in 1. It's always a good balance between buying and pirating

I like your logic, i think the same, the difference being, if only 1 game out of 50 made me spend time gaming, that's the one to buy and support.
I hate having to be invested in a game just because i bought it, pirating makes all the value come from the game itself!

Silent_Gunner · May 22, 2020

Flame said:
why even buy games anymore.

that is the question.

Why download a game I know I'll have no interest in playing? After all, if I wanted a game free, I could just go and sail-*cough* ahem, I mean, support the developers monetarily!

I can't see this strategy working for them long term. Every company has a profit motive, and not every company would just start going and giving every latest release away for free. Money has to be made, especially if said companies want to turn games into services, as much as I hate the whole concept of that.

And I take it that EGS still has a ways to go in getting all of the features Steam has, especially if @Lilith Valentine mentioning a lack of Linux support. As someone who tried a few games with Proton, it actually usually just works. If not, either the game has some stupid always-online BS like Injustice 2, MK11, or Deus Ex Mankind Divided or just has some visual glitches in KOF XIII's case that requires switching to an older version of Proton that's easy to do, all things considered!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

yoyoyo69 said:
It's nice to have a "AAA" game for free, just a shame it's a broken mess of a game.

They can't sell the game, as there are so many problems, hence give it away and hope someone buys the dlc.

CIV V was better, but last one I actually enjoyed was on console believe it or not.

Oh, I see. They're looking for free beta testers...

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Goku1992A said:
I have mixed feelings because I'm a pirate / consumer. If you buy the game you are actually going to play it and invest your time into it. When you pirate it you have no value of the game because you didn't pay for it so you can download 50 games and only probably invest your time in 1. It's always a good balance between buying and pirating

I'm guilty on both because i pirated a million games and I probably beat like 20 of them and I bought a ton of games I didn't even play

Just because you bought a game doesn't mean you're obligated to play it immediately. I'd say that a lot of people's Steam backlogs from Steam sales and Humble Bundles/Fanatical deals is larger than you'd think. I got Skullgirls for a whopping $1 off of Fanatical. $1! About the amount you'd pay for a drink at a vending machine! I haven't played the game as much as the others in my backlog, but it's not like I won't ever play the game ever!

Silent_Gunner · May 22, 2020

tranceology3 said:
Epic has boat loads of money from Fortnite. They just really want to compete with Steam and start grabbing users so they are throwing tons of money around. Its competition at its finest, and I love it!

This model simply isn't sustainable, though. Fortnite had its MW2 moment in 2018, no doubt about it, but I know people who've quit playing it in favor of Apex, COD: Modern Warfare...Modern. Warfare. (There's a series for a Chronologically Confused episode for the AVGN) and COD: Warzone. Epic may have made a lot of money from Fortnite, but they're going to have to do more than depend on a stream that will dry up one day and keep spending money left and right.

They just made a new version of their Unreal engine, but are they going to even be able to recoup costs for development on it if, like some games this past generation, they just use a modified Unreal 3 like with most of WB's higher profile games, or if they just use their own engine in Capcom's case? And let's not get into the performance issues for some games like Tekken 7 running in 900p on the base PS4 models which, for a fighting game, is headscratching that it can't reach 1080p with no problem.

We'll have to wait and see how each dev adopts and use each engine for the new consoles, but if what I heard about AC: Valhalla's performance is anything to go off of, all I have to say about the PS5 and XSEX's performance is:

CactusMan · May 22, 2020

We probably pirated the game anyway, why even bother. Just sell COD players some more loot crates.

Dasanko · May 22, 2020

Seliph said:
(games that have been out for quite a few years at this point I might add).

But even games that are years old are better than none. For instance, they gave away Crimes & Punishments, which I hadn't bought in Steam in all these years because the price there is absurdly high, even during seasonal sales.

Seliph said:
Ideally, you should be able to have a centralized location for your games, but Epic exclusives mess that all up.

I'm not sure why hasn't this been a much bigger problem with other exclusive storefronts, such as Origin and Uplay. Feel free to add the Bethesda launcher and the RockStar launcher there now, too. You may argue they too are a problem, but you explicitly singled out Epic's alone.

MadMakuFuuma · May 22, 2020

SuperDan said:
Everyone keeps bitching about gta5 being free recently.. What gives? I think it's awesome... I so nearly bought it on steam... Some people just love whinging.. Miserable twats... Get a damn grip..

nah man, just ignore the trolls XD

eyeliner · May 22, 2020

I was waiting for the definitive edition to come, but I'll get this one for now. I had Civilization Anthology (that I later sold) and CIV V.
I'm not one to complain, and Epic sometimes has some good deals.
My favorite is still GoG, though.

MiiJack · May 22, 2020

Time to play that game that has no exploit whatsoever

FAST6191 · May 22, 2020

Silent_Gunner said:
This model simply isn't sustainable, though. Fortnite had its MW2 moment in 2018, no doubt about it, but I know people who've quit playing it in favor of Apex, COD: Modern Warfare...Modern. Warfare. (There's a series for a Chronologically Confused episode for the AVGN) and COD: Warzone. Epic may have made a lot of money from Fortnite, but they're going to have to do more than depend on a stream that will dry up one day and keep spending money left and right.

They just made a new version of their Unreal engine, but are they going to even be able to recoup costs for development on it if, like some games this past generation, they just use a modified Unreal 3 like with most of WB's higher profile games, or if they just use their own engine in Capcom's case? And let's not get into the performance issues for some games like Tekken 7 running in 900p on the base PS4 models which, for a fighting game, is headscratching that it can't reach 1080p with no problem.

We'll have to wait and see how each dev adopts and use each engine for the new consoles, but if what I heard about AC: Valhalla's performance is anything to go off of, all I have to say about the PS5 and XSEX's performance is:

Make hay while the sun shines, if you are investing before you are dying then that is probably for the best, if you have blue skies then do what you feel like but if grey then prepare for rain...
If they can establish themselves now then that is an awful lot easier than in a few years if they get a downturn.

Also they more or less get 5% off the top (sales and any internal transactions, probably DLC as well)
https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/eula/publishing (worth a read actually as it speaks to it maybe being used in some quite interesting things like architecture).
Don't know if that changes if you get holdouts on unreal 3 but I don't imagine the cut changed that much (maybe between 1 and today but by 3 they were already well established).

Re: Linux and a guess OSX
Does it really matter? Is it either that big a market or full of taste makers that it is more than a nicety? Equally on Valve/Steam was it them being nice or wanting a soft push so they don't have to ride the directX/Microsoft train into the scene of the crash?

Paulsar99 · May 22, 2020

Nice giveaway. As a steam fanboy these kinda makes me want to swallow my pride and finally install epic games launcher.

SuperDan · May 22, 2020

MadMakuFuuma said:
nah man, just ignore the trolls XD

Alwsyd do! Always will!

Gon Freecss · May 22, 2020

We should make a thread to keep a list of free games as they release

DANTENDO · May 22, 2020

Gon Freecss said:
We should make a thread to keep a list of free games as they release

https://gbatemp.net/threads/free-games-thread.487357/ useful thread

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