Simple question: where should I pre-order the game?

I really actually want it on Steam for convenience (and updates) but I don't see why I should give up a DRM free Linux version because of that. GOG seems OK but I've had issues with GOG stuff that hasn't been kept as up-to-date as the Steam versions of the same.

What about the other stores and portals? I don't know what they're offering. There is WAY too much choice and confusion.

So... where should I pre-order it and why?

Why not Steam. It really depends on how much you use it though. I use it everyday so that's a nobrainer for me.

If you really want the DRM free Linux version = GoG
If you want convenience = Steam

Both stores get updates, but with most titles, Steam provides better ease-of-use for developers & customers in the Patch department.

Edited March 18, 201510 yr by Osvir

If you use steam alot, like me, I don't see the point of not useing steam for yet another game. 
its good for updates and open on your computer anyway.

To help with the confusion - For non-backers there is only Steam and GOG.

Any place that is not GOG.com will offer a Steam key. Retail boxed copies will be Steam as well.

 

More places/services may appear later, but it's one of those two for now.

 

(Backers can choose a key of either service - and if they backed for a boxed copy, theirs will be DRM-free non-Steam, probably the same as the GOG version.)

Edited March 18, 201510 yr by Ark Evensong

Given a choice, I would always go with the DRM-free solution. Yes, it may maybe involve having to wait a day (sometimes two) extra, especially for frequently updated, newer titles. But when all is said and done, when the frantic period is over and when push comes to shove, a GOG version is your forever and future-proofed. With Steam, you'll always be at the mercy of Steam, whether it's a question of it being online or not, if the servers are up, what the current pressure on the system is, or if the company is even alive anymore, and so on.

Not all of those issues are immediately realistic in the foreseeable future, but they're still there. GOG is the DRM-free lover that just keeps on lovin'.

I don't understand why GoG users have to wait longer for patches, can't developers just throw it up on Mega or something so non Steam users can just grab it themselves?

 

Either way GoG solely for its DRM-free policy is without a doubt the best consumer choice. You should feel about the same amount of loyalty to Steam as they do toward you, which is to say none of course.

Don't be at all surprised if we hear more about the triple crown chievo (exclusive to Steam) in the pro and amateur press in the lead up to release as its obvious that devs abhor the idea of you and not them having any control over the games you've purchased.

Edited March 18, 201510 yr by NegativeEdge

I don't understand why GoG users have to wait longer for patches, can't developers just throw it up on Mega or something so non Steam users can just grab it themselves?

 

[...]

 

You'd think, but once the patch is released from the developers, GOG needs to repackage it into their own installers and they also do internal testing. Part of the issue (as I've come to understand it) is that GOG's processes aren't actually developed for new releases, which means that they've got a patching process that goes pretty well and beyond something you'd expect.

 

GOG was built for Good Old Games first and foremost, so they've got some legacy issues since they started selling modern games and completely fresh releases. Which is also why I keep saying that patching could be delayed - it's entirely possible that it won't be, by the time PoE is released. I definitely would expect the "Day 1 Patch" to be no problem as GOG probably has all hands on deck to make sure it goes smoothly.

I don't understand why GoG users have to wait longer for patches, can't developers just throw it up on Mega or something so non Steam users can just grab it themselves?

 

Either way GoG solely for its DRM-free policy is without a doubt the best consumer choice. You should feel about the same amount of loyalty to Steam as they do toward you, which is to say none of course.

Don't be at all surprised if we hear more about the triple crown chievo (exclusive to Steam) in the pro and amateur press in the lead up to release as its obvious that devs abhor the idea of you and not them having any control over the games you've purchased.

gog uses a different install process so the patches need to be configured for their installer before you can use them. the same more or less goes for steam too, but the process is automatic there while on gog you have to wait for the patch to be configured and uploaded on the site and then grab it manualy

Interesting, I didn't know that.

I've been spoiled by modders doing all this hard work and hosting their own patches for free so people like me can actually enjoy games like Arcanum and VTM:B amongst many others.

Interesting, I didn't know that.

I've been spoiled by modders doing all this hard work and hosting their own patches for free so people like me can actually enjoy games like Arcanum and VTM:B amongst many others.

Oh, VtM:B. The best, most amazing, most wonderful buggy piece of crap I've ever put down money for.

 

Interesting, I didn't know that.

I've been spoiled by modders doing all this hard work and hosting their own patches for free so people like me can actually enjoy games like Arcanum and VTM:B amongst many others.

Oh, VtM:B. The best, most amazing, most wonderful buggy piece of crap I've ever put down money for.

 

 

R.I.P Troika. D:

 

I really wish VTM:B would've gotten a lot of official patches and at least one spin-off or sequel.

 

Maybe one day someone will build on the concept. The OWoD setting has a lot of potential and is sorely underexposed when it comes to gaming.