Don't forget:
4) successfully exited the client after putting it into offline mode
If the steam process gets killed (like you turned off your computer before closing it, or you had a power outage, etc) then the offline mode won't work.

IMO Soulstorm is the best of the DoW games. The issue is that it's buggy as all hell, which is due to Relic not giving a fuck about it and pushing out the game even though it wasn't finished... and then waiting 6 months before they patched it, by which time the SoB bug had completely obliterated multiplayer. It was virtually abandoned in favor of DoW2, which is a complete shame. If you use a bugfix patch or a big mod like DoWPro, it's a much better experience than the others.

Some people have reported issues with not being able to keep it in off line mode for long periods, but I've tested it with a couple my games and had no problems in off-line for up to 3 weeks at a time.

I think they fixed that bug a couple of patches ago. Worked fine for me after a crash, at least.

That's sad, the 2nd DoW did seem the most interesting, squad based tactical rpgs are a favourite of mine.

It's funny, I spend more time reading up on new games releases on RPG watch, Rock paper shotgun, GOG and Gamespy than I do actually playing games anymore.

Yup.

Yes, but it can be ... Kind of screwy. To be honest, I wouldn't trust Steam games and Steam itself to remain activated and functional on my PC, but a lot of people do so without issues.
That I agree with. I for one got DoW 2 on the day of release and Games for Windows Live! didn't even let me into the singleplayer campaign until I've persuaded it that I'm from the US. Yeah, I've bought the game in Czech Republic from a Czech store. It was pretty mad. Still, the game was worth it.

Hmmm, you might be interested in the Forsaken Fortress kickstarter, if you haven't heard of it.

Don't get too scared with "this game has DRM!!!" comments. Most of the time its something simple (windows live for example is just giving your email and registering once - a very short process).

Generally the only DRM you have to worry about are:
1) Online all the time requirements for singleplayer games (or those games with a significant portion of singleplayer). This is very RARE but is out there. Ubisoft had it in a lot of titles but they've been patching and phasing it out (it basically crashed their PC sales). A few other games have it such as Diablo 3 and Command and Conquer 4

2) Securom - now this one can be a pain but only for some people. It mostly revolves around the fact that the program can clash and break some DVD drives. It's a rare problem, but it does happen.


Generally speaking only the first really makes me avoid buying a game, the rest of the DRM I've generally not had a problem with.

Huh, woops, I was under the impression that every time I wanted to play a game, it needed to connect. I guess I have just been talking to people who didn't use the offline functionality.

I think I will still pass though, I have a back log of games both on DVD and 40 odd games from GOG (some of which are just back-ups). The main reason I joined GOG was just to show my support for DRM free games, then the convenience of having access to games when I move countries. Now I don't plan on buying anymore physical media.
I have heard of it, but not terribly familiar. I clicked the link but got an internal server error.

Not sure what the issue is with the link. I just tried it (the one embedded in the post of mine you quoted) and it works for me.

I was so sad to find out diablo 3 was online only, was looking forward to it. Ah well, guess it doesn't matter now that indies are going strong and there are so many amazing games being made at the moment.
I avoid all DRM, I just see that there is an alternative, why compromise when I have GOG.

I dont mind so much about steam and online things, what I am concerned about is the share of profit given to developpers. I assume developpers are paying a fee for each transactions processed on the steam platform? This is one of the reason why I buy mp3s directly from artist websites instead of itunes and other platforms. Does anyone have precise numbers for Steam?

Probably not, every time I have heard stuff like that raised, they say Steam don't talk about it. Very secretive. I bet the developers make more money via steam than through traditional publishers though.

If heard of 30% share but I'm not sure how accurate they are but on the other hand gog also gets their share on each sale.

Steam takes a percentage of each sale, how big that is depends on the agreement between Steam and the studio. One game might be 15% while another might be 50%. I have also heard that building Steamworks into the game automatically gets you a better deal. As it is a percentage, Steam gets less money on sales along with the developer.