Localization Question (US vs UK)

[c7g Laser 0]

I am currently considering purchasing a physical copy of Pillars of Eternity from the UK but my laptop and all of it's current software are US based.  I'm a mostly console gamer and I know that there are typically different versions (NTSC and PAL) for console games and I was wondering if there was anything similar for PoE that I needed to be aware of before purchasing.

[AstralWanderer 19]

PC games software on CD/DVD doesn't tend to have regional restrictions (with a few exceptions, only Quake II springs to mind) however any physical copy you buy is going to contain the Steam version, which being Steam, has its own longevity, privacy and security issues (Obsidian will release a DRM-free disc to Kickstarter supporters as noted here, but that won't be done until most of the current bugs have been fixed and doesn't seem likely to be made available to non-backers).

 

If you want to avoid potential DRM issues, the best option is to purchase from GOG. No physical items, but no need for online connections, background services or a valid account (once you've downloaded it).

 

As someone who's received the physical version, I can say that the box is great but the contents are rather bleh (cloth map too blurry to be legible, manual OK but rather small, no printed copy of the 500-page strategy guide - mouse mat and T-shirt were OK but not things I'd get excited over). I don't think most people would miss out by getting the GOG digital version.

[Xosmi 31]

PC games software on CD/DVD doesn't tend to have regional restrictions (with a few exceptions, only Quake II springs to mind) however any physical copy you buy is going to contain the Steam version, which being Steam, has its own longevity, privacy and security issues (Obsidian will release a DRM-free disc to Kickstarter supporters as noted here, but that won't be done until most of the current bugs have been fixed and doesn't seem likely to be made available to non-backers).

 

If you want to avoid potential DRM issues, the best option is to purchase from GOG. No physical items, but no need for online connections, background services or a valid account (once you've downloaded it).

 

As someone who's received the physical version, I can say that the box is great but the contents are rather bleh (cloth map too blurry to be legible, manual OK but rather small, no printed copy of the 500-page strategy guide - mouse mat and T-shirt were OK but not things I'd get excited over). I don't think most people would miss out by getting the GOG digital version.

 

This is solid advice. 

One more thing that i've read is that the GOG version of the game works with updates that only updates the changed data, whereas the steam version replaces the entire file(s) that have changed - the steam updates being far bigger as a consequence. 

I havn't been able to compare the 2 myself, but what i've gathered from reading posts online the difference can be huge, a GOG update being <50MB whereas the same update for the steam version can run upto ~500MB.